Asbestos

The Maryland Department of Juvenile Services Diversion Office at 5 Public Square in Hagerstown was closed earlier this week until officials can determine whether the office is contaminated with asbestos, said Beth Blauer, a Department of Juvenile Services spokeswoman. "They are running tests on the office, but (found) nothing conclusive," she said. The rest of the building remains open for business. In the meantime, employees from the office will work elsewhere, Blauer said.

andrews@herald-mail.com SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. - Shepherd College is closing two residence halls for the rest of the spring semester after particles found on a desk tested positive for asbestos, the college announced in a news release Thursday evening. The extent of the problem is not known, but the cost of repairs might run hundreds of thousands of dollars - or possibly $1 million - per building, college President David L. Dunlop said in a telephone interview Thursday night.

SCHILLER PARK, Ill. (AP) - HoHo's, Twinkies and more than a dozen other types of snacks were recalled in Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and 18 other states because a bakery might have been contaminated by asbestos. Managers at several Tri-State area food markets said Tuesday they were unaware of the recall. Interstate Brands Corp. said Tuesday it recalled the snacks and closed its plant in this Chicago suburb because of a potential threat from asbestos fibers in insulation removed from a boiler Jan. 11. State inspectors had planned to close the plant Monday night when it was shut down voluntarily.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - A Chambersburg Area Senior High School teacher Monday began serving a 10-day suspension without pay for removing floor tiles containing asbestos and causing the school to be closed on the final day of classes, according to Director of Human Resources Lynn Lerew. The name of the teacher would not be released, Lerew said Monday. The suspension for 10 working days will last until July 7. "It's being handled as a personnel matter by the administration," Lerew said.

The vice president of student affairs at Shepherd College said Friday that college officials knew asbestos was in the building materials used in two residence halls, but had no reason to take any action until recently. "That problem hadn't surfaced," Sharon Kipetz said during a press conference held Friday afternoon in the College Center. Shaw and Thacher halls will be closed for the rest of the semester because asbestos was found in the dormitories. Both dorms were built in 1970.

MERCERSBURG, Pa. - Six hundred James Buchanan Middle School students will soon be back in familiar surroundings now that repairs have been completed from the bursting of a steam pipe expansion joint early this month. "We're going to reopen Friday morning. We're dismissing the high school and middle school at 1 p.m. Thursday," Tuscarora Schools Superintendent William Konzal said Wednesday. The early dismissal today will allow time to transfer teaching materials back to the middle school, he said.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. - While Waynesboro Area Senior High School students might be enjoying a summer without schoolwork, contractors are continuing theirs at the site of the $46 million renovation and expansion project. Construction efforts at the high school remain on schedule, and there haven't been any significant surprises, district Superintendent Barry Dallara said. Workers over the next several weeks will be laying foundations and starting to construct the walls of the school's 108,000-square-foot addition, Dallara said.

HAGERSTOWN - Renovations to the Washington County Courthouse that originally were expected to be finished by December 2005 should be done by January, said Gary Rohrer, Washington County's director of special projects. The now 5-year-old project has been delayed by design changes to enhance safety, unexpected asbestos and more than 60 change orders. The courthouse renovations first were designed in 2002, and construction began in September 2004, according to county documents that Rohrer provided.

Renovations to the Washington County Courthouse that originally were expected to be finished by December 2005 should be done by January, said Gary Rohrer, Washington County's director of special projects. The now 5-year-old project has been delayed by design changes to enhance safety, unexpected asbestos and more than 60 change orders. The courthouse renovations first were designed in 2002, and construction began in September 2004, according to county documents that Rohrer provided.

pepperb@herald-mail.com HAGERSTOWN - A portion of an alley that runs behind the Washington County Courthouse to Summit Avenue will be closed through December 2005 when renovations to the courthouse's annex are due to be completed. A fenced-in trailer, Dumpster and tubs for asbestos removal will remain in the section of the alley beside the annex - a three-story courthouse addition facing Summit Avenue that was built in 1962 - until the approximately $4.2 million project is finished, said Gary Pozzouli, project manager for the renovations.

The Antrim Township (Pa.) Supervisors are moving forward with plans to upgrade the township's 34-year-old municipal building. Township Supervisors Pat Heraty and John Alleman, who sit on the building project committee, said upgrades to the building are preliminary, but are under way. The board has budgeted $800,000 in the township's 2013 budget for renovations to the building. “No square footage will be added. We're reconfiguring so the space is a little bit more usable,” Heraty said.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- The Berkeley County Commission in an emergency meeting on Tuesday decided to close the county's administration building for at least four days next week because of an ongoing roof replacement project that involves asbestos removal. The closure of the Dunn Building at 400 W. Stephen St. will begin at 5 p.m. on Friday and could be extended beyond 5 p.m. on Thursday, depending on weather conditions and other factors, according to county officials. Most faculty and staff of Blue Ridge Community and Technical College, the building's first-floor tenant, will be available via e-mail, according to Student Enrollment Director Leslie See, who said the school was putting together a contingency plan.

BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. -- An asbestos abatement project was approved Tuesday night by the Morgan County Board of Education.  Maintenance Superintendent Alston Yost and Treasurer Nancy White said Greenwood Elementary School, Great Cacapon Elementary and Paw Paw High School are the top priorities. Great Cacapon is being used for pre-kindergarten Head Start students.   Asbestos will need to be removed from five schools and the Board of Education office building, formerly North Berkeley Elementary, White said Wednesday.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- Eleven areas of roofing atop Berkeley County's Dunn Building contain asbestos, but County Administrator Deborah Hammond said a roof replacement project to abate the toxic materials will not affect public services while staff temporarily are relocated. "It's actually five buildings with five different roof systems ... so there are different roof materials and there are different roof areas," Hammond said at Thursday's Berkeley County Commission meeting. The project will affect offices of the Eastern Panhandle Regional Planning and Development Council, West Virginia University Extension Service, the county commission, and the county's engineering and building inspection and IT departments, Hammond said Thursday in an e-mail.

HAGERSTOWN -- Crews are working to remove asbestos from two Washington County schools as part of scheduled summer maintenance projects, Washington County Public Schools officials said. The asbestos removal work began Monday at both Fountaindale Elementary School on Northern Avenue and E. Russell Hicks Middle School on South Potomac Street, said Michael Whiteley, project manager for Washington County Public Schools. At Fountaindale, the asbestos removal is preparation for a project to replace all of the exterior doors and windows, Whiteley said.

CHAMBERSBURG, PA. - The Chambersburg Area Development Corp. will take care of one financial headache faced by the Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter in its effort to get a new building. The corporation will pay approximately $60,000 for the removal of asbestos from derelict buildings at the former Kenny Gardens housing complex, according to the report issued at the CADC's 48th annual meeting on Friday. Kenny Gardens was military housing at Letterkenny Army Depot, but the buildings were on property conveyed to the Chambersburg Area School District several years ago. Several months ago, the school board announced it would donate 10 acres of the land to the shelter for a new building.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa.-- The Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter got welcomed news with the announcement Friday that the Chambersburg Area Development Corp. would pay for asbestos removal from buildings at the proposed site of a new shelter. CADC President David Sciamanna announced the corporation would pay approximately $60,000 for the removal of asbestos from derelict buildings at the former Kenny Gardens housing complex. The announcement was made at the corporation's 48th annual meeting.

Labor council observes Workers Memorial Day on Monday, April 28 To the editor: On April 28, the labor movement will again observe Workers Memorial Day to remember workers who have been killed or injured on the job and to renew our never-ending struggle for stronger safety and health protections. Congress, more than three decades ago, passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act and the Mine Safety and Health Act, promising our American workforce the right to a safe job. Unions have waged a strong battle to make their promises become realities.

HAGERSTOWN - Renovations to the Washington County Courthouse that originally were expected to be finished by December 2005 should be done by January, said Gary Rohrer, Washington County's director of special projects. The now 5-year-old project has been delayed by design changes to enhance safety, unexpected asbestos and more than 60 change orders. The courthouse renovations first were designed in 2002, and construction began in September 2004, according to county documents that Rohrer provided.

Renovations to the Washington County Courthouse that originally were expected to be finished by December 2005 should be done by January, said Gary Rohrer, Washington County's director of special projects. The now 5-year-old project has been delayed by design changes to enhance safety, unexpected asbestos and more than 60 change orders. The courthouse renovations first were designed in 2002, and construction began in September 2004, according to county documents that Rohrer provided.