Bermuda

Local travel agents saw no surprises in this summer's most popular travel destinations, with Disney vacations once again battling cruises for top honors. "This business is not trendy at all," said Renee Brink, owner of Uniglobe Chambersburg Travel, who has been fielding requests for the animation empire's theme parks and Caribbean cruises for years. Disney World's new Animal Kingdom, which is partially open, has added to Disney's already powerful appeal. Chris Franklin, general manager of CW Travel Inc. in Hagerstown, recommended families wait to take trips to Animal Kingdom until winter, when more of it has opened and the park is less crowded.

WILLIAMSPORT - When Don Bowman was a teenager pumping gas and washing cars at Betholine Sinclair gas station on Pennsylvania Avenue in Hagerstown, he often would admire the attractive new cars that pulled in for service. "At 40 cents an hour, all you can do is dream," said Bowman, 69, of those days. Thanks to several successful business ventures, including D.M. Bowman trucking, Bowman has been able to gather about 40 collectible cars since 1980 as well as about eight antique trucks.

There's nothing like firsthand knowledge. Home-schooled student Sarah Keely found that out Friday after she became the only Washington County student to make it into the finals at the Maryland Geography Bee. Two of the questions Keely, 12, encountered during the finals were about places she had just visited on a family vacation to the Southwest. Because of her trip, Keely knew the Rainbow Bridge, on Lake Powell, was in Utah. And she knew the name of a river in the Southwest that is also the name of a poisonous lizard: Gila River.

tarar@herald-mail.com HAGERSTOWN - The international satellite communications company that may become the first client at Allegheny Energy's Friendship Technology Park would bring 50 new jobs to Washington County, Senior Planner Tim Lung said Monday night. The Washington County Planning Commission unanimously approved the site plan for the project submitted by Mountainside Teleport Corp., a subsidiary of Intelsat Global Service Corp. in Washington D.C. Intelsat Global Service is a subsidiary of Intelsat Limited, which is headquartered in Bermuda.

Martin-Matthews Mary Elizabeth Matthews and Jeffrey Lynn Martin were married Friday, July 26, 2002, on Warwick Long Bay in Bermuda. The bride is the daughter of Bill and Joanna Dixon of Hagerstown and Raymond Matthews of Schenectady, N.Y. The bridegroom is the son of the late Dick and Ivy Martin. The bride attended South Hagerstown High School and is a graduate of Hagerstown Business College. She is a privacy officer at Summit Health of Chambersburg in Chambersburg, Pa. The bridegroom attended South Hagerstown High School and Hagerstown Community College.

Ehrlich's funding for roads generous To the editor: I am responding to Tim Rowland's latest column about Gov. Robert Ehrlich's transportation program and how it affects Washington County. Since Gov. Ehrlich took office, transportation projects have been finished throughout Washington County. These include the replacement of the bridge at Shepherdstown Pike and the Potomac River, improvements to Interstate 70 and U.S. 40, and rehabilitation of the bridge at U.S. 11 and the Potomac River.

Block party a hit The second annual Locust Point block party was a huge success thanks in part to the addition of a DJ. There were people dancing the jitterbug, the macarana, and one hip-hop dancer had moves that amazed and entertained the crowd. The children played in spray from the fire department hose, tossed water balloons, got their faces painted and covered the street with chalk art. There was good food and company. Glenn Smith won the 50/50 raffle and there were door prizes donated by Locust Point Market, Potomac Liquors, Potomac Beauty Boutique, Food Lion, Sam's Club and Martin's Food.

Echinacea is herb of the year Sometimes the most satisfying gardening pleasures sneak up on you while you're performing the peskiest of chores. One year, struggling to dig out Bermuda grass advancing toward the base of a sturdy, gloriously blooming Echinacea, I was joined by a butterfly. She settled down and began, contentedly, sipping nectar from the spiny cone rising from the center of the daisy-like magenta petals. It is from this orange-tipped seed head that the plant derives its name - echinos is Greek for hedgehog or sea urchin.

by Richard T. Meagher / staff photographer see the enlargement Kite builder to share simplest hobby secrets WAYNESBORO, Pa. - There are kites so high-tech and so aerodynamically designed that they can be flown on days when there's no wind. Those aren't the kind that Bill Flohr designs and builds. "I'm a simple guy who builds simple kites. I used to try to make those high-tech things, but I only got frustrated. Now I'm back to the basics," said Flohr, 45, who lives in a house at 227 Philadelphia Ave. in Waynesboro that resembles a box kite with its squat shape, flat roof and sharp angles.