Boards

WILLIAMSPORT - Will Taylor literally was the chairman of the boards on Monday night. Taylor, Williamsport's 6-foot-5 senior center, pulled down 17 rebounds to go with 16 points to help the Wildcats defeat Catoctin 63-48 in a Maryland Class 1A West East Sectional semifinals. "I did my role on the boards," Taylor said. "I wanted to get the rebounds. Playing like a family helped us to pull out the win. Everybody did their job and we came out with a victory. " Williamsport (17-6)

The City of Hagerstown is accepting applications for vacancies on two city planning boards. The openings are on the Board of Zoning Appeals and the Preservation Design District Commission. The Board of Zoning Appeals has an opening for one regular board member and one alternate, who would fill in when a regular member is absent. The Board of Zoning Appeals hears applications for special land-use permits, variances and appeals of decisions made by the zoning administrator.

BOONSBORO - The more physical play got inside for Boonsboro center Amy Rhoderick on Tuesday night, the more motivated she became. The Warriors senior constantly fought through the outstretched arms of Brunswick's players in the paint to control the boards while posting a double-double for a 71-44 victory in a Maryland Class 1A West East Sectional semifinal. Rhoderick finished with 13 points and a season-high 16 rebounds for the Warriors, who will face Williamsport in the section final Thursday at 5:30 at North Hagerstown.

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - Two Eastern Panhandle county commissioners say they want to set up their own boards in their counties to run the state's new Farmland Protection Program signed into law Wednesday by Gov. Cecil Underwood. By doing so, they would be able to apply for the same federal funds as the state and not have to rely on West Virginia to distribute the money among its counties, Berkeley County Commission President D. Wayne Dunham said. Under the plan, which was proposed in the recent session of the Legislature by Sen. John Unger, D-Berkeley, "protective easements" would be set up on local farms to protect them from development.

CAMP HILL, Pa. - PHI and Quincy Retirement Community announced last week that both boards have approved an affiliation agreement that will combine two of central Pennsylvania's leading faith-based providers of health care, housing and related services to seniors. Under the agreement, Quincy Retirement Community will become one of PHI's subsidiary corporations. Founded in 1927 and based in Camp Hill, the not-for-profit PHI network provides housing and health-care services to approximately 3,500 older adults in 18 locations within the mid-Atlantic area of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and Ohio.

Hubs dominate boards, tip Lions By MARK KELLER / Sports Editor photo: RICHARD T. MEAGHER / staff photographer On paper, North Hagerstown's boys basketball team isn't a whole lot bigger than Walkersville's. continued But on the boards Tuesday night, the Hubs played like giants, outrebounding the Lions 44-28 to earn a 72-67 Monocacy Valley Athletic League win in the season opener for both teams. "There are going to be teams bigger than us, but we can hold our own on the boards," said North coach Tim McNamee.

For once, planning boards seem to be listening to citizens Since childhood we've been taught that growth, like God, is good. And developers showing up before planning and zoning boards had correspondingly been offered little more resistance than the Almighty had He requested a setback variance for the pearly gate. But now, perhaps, an interesting trend may be in its embryonic stage in the Tri-State area. In the past few weeks, developers of a cell phone tower, a Wal-Mart Supercenter, a truck stop and a major housing development have been beaten into a retreat in the face of local planning boards and the citizenry at large.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. - The post-election ritual of shuffling leadership seats on borough councils and township supervisor boards in southern Franklin County, Pa., took place with its usual lack of fanfare in the first week of the new year. Some jurisdictions opted for new leaders, some decided to stick with incumbents, and one, in an attempt at fairness, rotates its top job each year. Richard Starliper will stay on as president of the Waynesboro Borough Council, a post he assumed two years ago from the retiring Kinney Stouffer.

CHAMBERSBURG, PA. - The Chambersburg Area School District's plan to take over ownership and operation of the Franklin County Career and Technology Center took a somewhat tentative step forward Thursday when the center's Joint Operating Committee tabled consideration of the plan until after it has been presented to all the school boards. The Chambersburg School Board voted 6-3 Wednesday to allow the administration to present the plan to the other districts - Waynesboro, Greencastle-Antrim, Shippensburg, Tuscarora and Fannett-Metal.

For generations, the large brick-and-wood building in Hagerstown's West End was known for the wonderful smells it produced, maybe even more than the hundreds of jobs it provided. “Oh, my gosh, what a fragrance!” recalled Linda Irvin-Craig, 68, who lived in Hagerstown until 1952. “You drove down that street or anywhere in that neighborhood and, if you weren't hungry - you were after you drove by there.” The building - home to Manbeck Bread Co. until it closed in about 1980, and then a military contractor until last fall - is being demolished.

A former Chambersburg Area School District assistant superintendent plans to sue the district for reinstatement to her position. Catherine “Cathy” Dusman's attorney sent a letter to the school board threatening legal action if it did not reinstate her as assistant superintendent of elementary services, give her a pay raise to bring her salary in line with male assistant superintendents and apologize for changing her position March 13. ...

Grant would pay for $800,000 in ADA improvements Washington County is planning to bring its administration building on West Washington Street in Hagerstown into compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act regulations. The county Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved a resolution to authorize county staff to apply for $800,000 through the Community Development Block Grant program for fiscal year 2013-14. Jim Hovis, director of the county's Office of Community Grant Management, said ADA improvements at 120-128 W. Washington St., include new ramps, doors, railings and upgrades to restrooms to make it more accessible.

The 2013-14 budget for Berkeley County Schools will be “absolutely tighter” than the current year as the district absorbs the costs of adding a fourth high school, Superintendent Manny P. Arvon said Monday. The opening of Spring Mills High School in August comes with about $4.6 million more in personnel costs for the school district, Arvon said Monday night after the Berkeley County Board of Education meeting. The school board Monday night approved budgets totaling more than $190 million for the new budget year, which begins July 1. “It's going to be tight,” Arvon said.

The school system's got milk - from low-fat to fat and lactose free - in a variety of flavors. Chocolate is the favorite milk flavor of students in Washington County Public Schools, followed by vanilla, according to the school system's Food and Nutrition Services Supervisor Jeff Proulx. Washington County Board of Education members, who were about to vote on a contract for a milk supplier, asked Proulx about the vanilla flavoring and the sugar in flavored milk during a May 7 school board meeting.

Morgan County (W.Va.) Schools officials will be forced to make budget cuts after taxpayers voted against renewing a levy that would have raised $5.86 million from July 1, 2014, to June 30, 2019, Morgan County Board of Education President David Ambrose said Tuesday.   With all 13 precincts reporting, the levy failed during a Saturday election by a vote of 1,672 to 1,323, or 56 percent opposed and 44 percent in favor, according to Morgan County election officials.   In order for the existing levy to be renewed, at least 50 percent of voters had to cast favorable ballots.

Schools legislative liaison is recognized On behalf of the Washington County Board of Education, Schools Superintendent Clayton Wilcox recently presented a certificate of recognition and a pin to the board's legislative liaison, Ardath Cade. “One of the things that we've been blessed with are your services,” Wilcox told Cade during the school board's May 7 meeting. Wilcox said that, not long ago, a member of the county's state legislative delegation said that, in regard to securing a disparity grant for the county, there was no “tougher bird dog than you on it.” Referring to the disparity grant, Wilcox said Cade brought $1.5 million to the county.

Tuscarora School District property owners could face a tax increase to support the district's preliminary 2013-14 budget. On Monday, the school board approved a preliminary budget that calls for a three-fourths of a mill real estate tax increase. A mill represents $1 of every $1,000 assessed property value. The proposed increase would cost the average property owner $14, according to Business Administrator Eric Holtzman. The school board must pass a final budget by June 30. Even with the proposed tax increase, the school board would not be able to balance its revenues and expenditures without dipping into savings.

Two Republican candidates will appear on the May primary ballot for Peters Township supervisor. Roger Blattenberger, 68, is vying to unseat incumbent John Brake, 81, who has served in the role for more than 30 years. There are no candidates running on the Democratic ballot in the May 21 primary, so both candidates are hoping to secure Democratic write-in votes in the primary election. Both candidates are Republican and retired, but that's where the similarities end. Brake wants to maintain the status quo in the running of the township, while Blattenberger isn't satisfied with the way the current board of supervisors has been running it. Brake, of 7117 Renninger Road, said he's proud of the job he's done for township residents and wants to continue to serve.

Matt Harsh, co-owner and operator of Chesley Vegetable Farms, a 45-acre fruit and vegetable farm in Washington County, was appointed by Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley as one of five new members of the Young Farmers Advisory Board. The board is comprised of representatives from different commodity groups who provide the agriculture secretary with information and recommendations on policies and issues facing the agriculture industry. Members serve three-year terms and are eligible to serve two consecutive terms.