Boots

koelble@herald-mail.com When the 'E' portion of your linescore has a greater number than your run production, it's likely the final outcome is not going to be part of a highlight reel. The Rebels scored nine runs on Thursday, a day after their pitchers walked 12 in a season-opening loss. This time, the defense took an early vacation with 12 errors to help Urbana to a 20-9 victory. "Our fielding practices have been pretty good," Rebels coach Ralph Stottlemyer said.

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.

kauffman@herald-mail.com CLEAR SPRING - If Smithsburg boys soccer coach Paul Newman had one wish Tuesday night, it was for his slumping Leopards to score the first goal against Clear Spring. Wish granted. Gerry Spessard's penalty-shot goal in the 17th minute gave Smithsburg a lead it would not relinquish as the Leopards snapped a three-game losing streak as well as the Blazers' three-game winning streak with a 2-1 victory in the MVAL Antietam Conference. "That really allowed our guys to settle into their game," Newman said.

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.

CLEAR SPRING - The Williamsport Wildcats scored consistently throughout the game as they had contributions from several players. That wide variety of scoring helped the Wildcats build a 4-1 halftime lead as they went on to beat the Clear Spring Blazers 8-1 on Tuesday night in a Washington County high school boys soccer game. "We don't concentrate on one player," Williamsport coach Stan Stouffer said. "The whole team played well. We are a balanced team. We have got about six guys on the team that can score for us. We are looking for balance in scoring the whole way around.

tammyb@herald-mail.com Plastic boots, an egg in a plastic spoon, a tunnel made of hay bales and two-by-fours - the international Olympics were never quite like this. Contestants in Saturday's Barnyard Olympics at the Washington County Ag Expo had to dress, balance, crawl and waddle their way to victory as they completed an obstacle course that also included melons and balloons. The event kicked off the expo's Family Night events, which were moved from the open track to the main show ring, protected by a tarp, because of a threat of rain.

andrear@herald-mail.com BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. - For accomplished dancer, choreographer and instructor Yvonne Salcedo Williams, her career is not a job - it's her passion. "I love everything about dance," says Salcedo Williams, who recently moved to Berkeley Springs from Jacksonville, Fla., where she founded Arts Triumphant Dance Theatre with her husband, Colin Williams. "Dance to me is a universal language. It is a passionate art form that breaks barriers in every sense.

tarar@herald-mail.com SMITHSBURG - Preston Law placed a pair of worn combat boots under a flagpole bearing the American flag at Smithsburg's Veterans Park. He wondered, with others in the crowd of about 50 people who attended the Smithsburg Memorial Day Commemoration on Friday, whether the World War II combat boots he had picked up at an antique show were worn by someone who had died in action, a female soldier or someone who had made it home from the war alive. "This much we do know," Law, of the Smithsburg Historical Society, said.

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.

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.