Boots

shappell@herald-mail.com SMITHSBURG - Chronic parking offenders in the Town of Smithsburg might soon get the boot. The Smithsburg Town Council voted 5-0 Tuesday to approve an emergency ordinance that will allow the Smithsburg Police Department to place an immobilizing boot on vehicles owned by motorists with three unpaid parking tickets. Department Police Chief Michael Potter said similar ordinances have worked well as a deterrent in other towns such as Williamsport and Hancock.

tarar@herald-mail.com Hagerstown city officials will introduce an ordinance at an upcoming City Council meeting that would give the Hagerstown Police Department the power to put the "boot" on vehicles belonging to owners who don't pay parking tickets. The City Council authorized the move at Tuesday's meeting. Under the proposed ordinance, people who have at least three unpaid parking tickets more than 30 days old might be given the boot, which is a device that immobilizes cars.

A program called Boot Camp for Dads will be held at the Rhonda Brake Shreiner Women's Center in Summit Health Center from 7 to 8:30 p.m. the fourth Thursday of each month. Veteran dads, accompanied by their two- or three-month old babies, will orient rookie dads on the realities of fatherhood. According to information from the center, classes will focus on: Caring for babies, particularly when they are crying; Caring for new moms, particularly when they are crying; Working your regular work week with no sleep; and Dropping a diaper into a trash can at 40 feet.

Hubs boot Rebels in football finale Jeremy Petty said he approached his third-quarter extra point attempt Friday like he's approached every other extra point attempt this season. Still, the North Hagerstown senior knew that it had the potential to be a much bigger kick. Petty did what South Hagerstown kicker Tony Marker couldn't do - convert a point after touchdown - and made all the difference as the Hubs beat the Rebels 7-6 at School Stadium in the 44th meeting between the city rivals.

HAGERSTOWN -- A good baby sitter is priceless, as parents of young children know. A current TV commercial emphasizes that point as one mother desperate to find a baby sitter offers a vacation to the friend who will part with the name of their baby sitter. It is with great reluctance that a phone number finally is shared. A crop of local baby sitters could find themselves in demand after the training they received at the Washington County Red Cross Babysitter Boot Camp this summer.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - First-time expectant fathers get together with experienced dads and their babies in an innovative new program that helps to prevent child abuse and increase father-child bonding, according to Carol Ann Baran, program coordinator for the Rhonda Brake Shreiner Women's Center. Boot Camp for Dads was started by a father in California who needed support, then came up with the curriculum, she said. The U.S. military, as well as hospitals around the country, use the program, she said.

MAY 27, 1927-AUG. 17, 2009 Arbutus Mae "Boot" Whorton, 82, passed away Monday, Aug. 17, 2009, as a guest well cared for at the Golden Living Center in Hagerstown, Md. Born May 27, 1927, in Tilghmanton, Md., she was the daughter of the late Florence and John Carter. Besides her parents, she survived the demise of three husbands, William A. Whorton Jr., Kenneth E. Kline and James F. Howell Sr. Arbutus loved all animals, and particularly found great comfort and companionship with her beloved poodle, Ralph.

Scofflaws beware. The Hagerstown City Council on Tuesday supported a plan to start "booting" cars with three or more unpaid parking tickets. The boots, devices put on a vehicle's wheel that immobilizes the vehicle, could begin appearing on vehicles in May, City Finance Director Al Martin said. City Police Chief Arthur Smith said the boots would be put on vehicles with three or more parking tickets that are more than 30 days old. There are now about 800 vehicles that would be in danger of being booted.

By LISA GRAYBEAL Staff Writer, Chambersburg SOUTH MOUNTAIN, Pa. - A 17-year-old boy with just two weeks to go in the Abraxas Leadership Development Program escaped over the weekend from the boot camp for troubled youth, police said. The boy was on a camping trip with his platoon at Michaux State Forest in Greene Township when he fled, police said. Pennsylvania State Police and officials from Abraxas believe the white male, dressed in a white T-shirt, camouflage fatigues and black boots, drove off in a pickup truck sometime Saturday night.

scottb@herald-mail.com HAGERSTOWN - The Hagerstown City Council on Tuesday voted to introduce an ordinance giving the Hagerstown Police Department the legal authority to "boot," or immobilize, the vehicles of some people who fail to pay their parking tickets. The council is scheduled to vote on adoption of the ordinance at its March 25 meeting. Last year, the council gave its general support for the police to begin using the boots, which are devices put on a vehicle's wheel to immobilize it. Under the ordinance, police can put the boots on scofflaws who have at least three unpaid parking tickets more than 30 days old. Under the proposal, when a boot is placed on a car, a written notice also will be left explaining the situation, Hagerstown Police Chief Arthur Smith said.