Bleachers

chambersburg@herald-mail.com CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - Chambersburg Area School District officials will know in less than three weeks whether there will be any bids on repairing the closed bleachers of Trojan Stadium, but time is running short until the start of the next football season. Bids on the project are due by Monday, June 27, and the board could award a contract on June 29, but Richard Bender, the district's director of buildings and grounds, said after Wednesday's Chambersburg Area School Board meeting he is worried about getting bids on the project.

By LAURA ERNDE Staff Writer The Washington County Agricultural Education Center is poised to get a 2,000-seat section of bleachers from Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Two county agricultural groups have pledged $38,500 to buy the bleachers, said former state Del. Peter G. Callas, who negotiated the deal. Volunteers will go to Baltimore this weekend to explore how to dismantle them and bring them back to the ag center near Sharpsburg. "This will be nice for Hagerstown to have a piece of Memorial Stadium," Callas said.

Marty Kilmer of Inwood, W.Va., builds a handrail in the bleachers at Mumaw Stadium at Hedgesville (W.Va.) High School on Monday. Kilmer was among a group of workers preparing for today's appearance by President Bush in Hedgesville.

martinsburg@herald-mail.com MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Visitors to Martinsburg High School's Cobourn Field might reasonably assume that the aluminum, enclosed bleachers on the east side of the football field are for the home fans, and the wooden ones covered in chipped paint on the west side are for fans of the visiting team. They would be wrong. School officials are hoping to replace the home side bleachers and are counting on using proceeds raised by sales of "Martinsburgopoly," a localized version of the popular board game.

SMITHSBURG - The bleachers were splintered, needed repairs and were unsafe to sit on. Now, thanks to a project by Smithsburg High School senior John T. Martin, the bleachers at the Smithsburg Little Sluggers/Cal Ripken baseball field have been replaced. "They definitely needed repairs," said Roger Kuehl, president of the Smithsburg Little Sluggers. Martin, who is called Tim, completed the work as part of an Eagle Scout project about two years ago, but recently was given an award for his efforts.

Three years ago, a group of “just regular folks” sat down to talk about upgrading athletic facilities at James Buchanan High School. Last week, those same people announced they have reached $1 million in donations and pledges toward their goal. “We didn't know what to expect when we started. We're just regular folks,” said Marianne Quinn, a parent and active member of Fix JB Sports. Quinn joined others from the organization, which is part of the nonprofit James Buchanan Athletic Boosters Association, in announcing the $1 million milestone at a wrestling match.

HAGERSTOWN North Hagerstown High School's stadium will not be complete by the Oct. 6 Homecoming football game, the originial date a private committee had hoped to meet, according to school principal Valerie Novak. Officials would have liked the stadium to be complete even earlier, by a Sept. 27 football game, but rain slowed the construction progress, said John Williamson, a member of the committee raising money for the stadium. The Hubs should be able to play this season's last home game on the new field Nov. 3. Recent rainfall delayed laying down artificial turf and setting up bleachers, Novak said.

Two 14-year-old Clear Spring boys admitted Wednesday in Washington County juvenile court that they threw paint - causing more than $20,000 worth of damage - on Clear Spring High School's track and bleachers in September. Circuit Judge Donald E. Beachley, sitting in juvenile court, placed the boys, who already have been suspended from school for their actions, on 30 days of community detention and probation. Washington County Deputy State's Attorney Steven Kessell said his office is waiting on a final estimate of the damages to the school's track and bleachers, but - so far - it's about $21,000.

chambersburg@herald-mail.com CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - The Buildings and Grounds Committee of the Chambersburg Area School District will make a recommendation to the school board next month on what to do with the high school's Trojan Stadium, closed last month after a bleacher floorboard broke. At Wednesday night's Chambersburg School Board meeting, the cost of repairing the bleachers was estimated at $1.3 million by Paul Taylor, an architect for Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Associates of Mechanicsburg, Pa. Replacing the bleachers would cost about $1.8 million and Taylor predicted that only the visitors section could be completed by football season.

HAGERSTOWN - North Hagerstown High School's stadium will not be complete by the Oct. 6 Homecoming football game, the originial date a private committee had hoped to meet, according to school principal Valerie Novak. Officials would have liked the stadium to be complete even earlier, by a Sept. 27 football game, but rain slowed the construction progress, said John Williamson, a member of the committee raising money for the stadium. The Hubs should be able to play this season's last home game on the new field Nov. 3. Recent rainfall delayed laying down artificial turf and setting up bleachers, Novak said.

Council candidate urges residents to vote To the editor: I would like to thank everyone who has encouraged me to run for re-election to the Boonsboro Town Council. During my first four-year term, I have met challenges head-on and have always tried to represent the interests of all of the people of the town when making decisions. I promise to continue to speak out for more open, more accountable and more responsive government. Please be sure to vote on Tuesday, May 8, in the Boonsboro Town election at the Community Center in Shafer Park.

Three years ago, a group of “just regular folks” sat down to talk about upgrading athletic facilities at James Buchanan High School. Last week, those same people announced they have reached $1 million in donations and pledges toward their goal. “We didn't know what to expect when we started. We're just regular folks,” said Marianne Quinn, a parent and active member of Fix JB Sports. Quinn joined others from the organization, which is part of the nonprofit James Buchanan Athletic Boosters Association, in announcing the $1 million milestone at a wrestling match.

Amid budget talks and personnel issues, the Waynesboro Area School Board took steps Tuesday night to ensure new aluminum bleachers at Waynesboro Area Senior High School’s Rip Engle Stadium would be installed in time for football season this fall. The board unanimously approved a motion to accept an installation bid from Recreation Resource Inc., a Kennett Square, Pa.-based company, to complete the project by Aug. 1. Board President Edward Wilson, who also sits on the Buildings and Grounds Committee, said materials for the project have already been bought through COSTARS, a collaborative purchasing program for public organizations in Pennsylvania.

The Waynesboro Area School Board is seeking volunteer labor to install aluminum bleachers at Indian Stadium. Board members plan to continue discussing how to recognize volunteers, whether through signs, tax deductions or a ceremony. What they do agree on is the help would be appreciated to drive down costs for the bleachers. "If the public gets involved, it's a win-win for everybody," Board President Ed Wilson said. District employees will be tearing out the wooden bleachers and materials delivered for the replacements, Wilson said.

WILLIAMSPORT -- Dorothy followed the yellow-brick road. The Hancock Junior All-Stars followed the Trail. Tyler Trail's pitched 6 2/3 outstanding innings Sunday, dashing Conococheague's hopes of an underdog victory as Hancock clinched the Maryland District 1 Junior All-Star title with a 6-1 victory. "Errors kept it away," said Hancock manager Dennis Douglas, "It's a day late. " After failing to bring home the title Saturday night, Hancock came back Sunday with a vengeance.

On behalf of the parents and coaches of the Federal Little League All-Stars, thank you, thank you, thank you! Our boys took us on an unforgettable, six-week journey that would not have been possible without the incredible support shown by our community. From Easton to Bristol to Williamsport, Federal fans were there in number and in spirit, and we will always be grateful. I remember saying to my father during the state championship game versus Easton how incredible it was that Federal had more fans that Easton.

SMITHSBURG - The bleachers were splintered, needed repairs and were unsafe to sit on. Now, thanks to a project by Smithsburg High School senior John T. Martin, the bleachers at the Smithsburg Little Sluggers/Cal Ripken baseball field have been replaced. "They definitely needed repairs," said Roger Kuehl, president of the Smithsburg Little Sluggers. Martin, who is called Tim, completed the work as part of an Eagle Scout project about two years ago, but recently was given an award for his efforts.

HAGERSTOWN - North Hagerstown High School's stadium will not be complete by the Oct. 6 Homecoming football game, the originial date a private committee had hoped to meet, according to school principal Valerie Novak. Officials would have liked the stadium to be complete even earlier, by a Sept. 27 football game, but rain slowed the construction progress, said John Williamson, a member of the committee raising money for the stadium. The Hubs should be able to play this season's last home game on the new field Nov. 3. Recent rainfall delayed laying down artificial turf and setting up bleachers, Novak said.

HAGERSTOWN North Hagerstown High School's stadium will not be complete by the Oct. 6 Homecoming football game, the originial date a private committee had hoped to meet, according to school principal Valerie Novak. Officials would have liked the stadium to be complete even earlier, by a Sept. 27 football game, but rain slowed the construction progress, said John Williamson, a member of the committee raising money for the stadium. The Hubs should be able to play this season's last home game on the new field Nov. 3. Recent rainfall delayed laying down artificial turf and setting up bleachers, Novak said.

HAGERSTOWN - At the Williamsport High School season opener against Hancock High School, hundreds of fans waited in line at the front gate, well into the second quarter. "We never wait this long, not even for the Redskins," said Todd Breeden, who waited with his wife and daughter to watch his son play in Williamsport's marching band. Inside the gate, the Williamsport stands filled while about 50 people sat scattered along the Hancock bleachers. Teenage boys hung out near the fence on the visitor's side.