Bowers

Bowers' business park plan includes stadium Washington County Commissioner Ronald L. Bowers said Monday he'll unveil plans today for a West End business park complex to include a new baseball stadium, a tourist information center and a rest stop for Interstate 81 travelers. The plans will include a map with proposals for roads on 68 acres owned by Vincent Groh between Md. 58 and Maugansville Road. A business park would maximize the use of the land, which borders two interchanges, and would bring new businesses to the county, Bowers said.

On Sunday, Feb. 9, The Herald-Mail printed my column entitled "Bowers needs more than an enemies list," detailing the struggles of Washington County Commissioner Ron Bowers with the Washington County school board, Hagerstown Mayor Steve Sager and the Hagerstown/Washington County Chamber of Commerce. The column's message was that if Bowers is running for re-election (and it certainly seems that he is), he needs to do more than say that other people are wrong. To win again, he has to show us how to put things right, especially in the areas of education, economic development and water/sewer.

Washington County Commissioner Ronald L. Bowers said Wednesday he does not want County Administrator Rodney M. Shoop and Human Resources Director Alan J. Davis to play a role in the search for a company to manage the county's $31 million pension fund. The commissioners voted on Tuesday to cancel the last two years of a three-year contract with INVESCO Capital Management Inc. and seek new proposals. INVESCO arranged for Shoop, Davis and Commissioners President Gregory I. Snook to attend the prestigious Masters golf championship last year.

Smithsburg Emergency Medical Service provided lunch to the staff at the Washington County 911 Center as a token of appreciation for National Public Safety Telecommunications Week on Wednesday, but workers had no time to relax. Dispatchers grabbed food, went back to their desks and continued working as they ate. Washington County Emergency Communications Center Assistant Supervisor Tina Bowers described a lunch in the call center room as “one of the best things” the staff could get. “There are a lot of times during the day we get busy, and people don't even have time to step out and go to the bathroom, much less eat,” Bowers said.

HUYETT -- Police say a 24-year-old man was stabbed in the chest Sunday night at the New Del-Mar Inn and Lounge on National Pike, west of Hagerstown. The man was taken to Washington County Hospital, where he was being treated Monday morning for non life-threatening injuries, Maryland State Police Sgt. J.A. Bowers said. The man had been living in cottage nine at the inn, Bowers said. Shortly before 10:30 p.m. Sunday, a woman knocked on his door, Bowers said. The man answered the door, and shortly afterward, the woman stabbed him in the chest, Bowers said.

HAGERSTOWN - Police were searching Wednesday for a Maryland Correctional Training Center inmate who drove off from a work detail earlier this week. Raymous Little, 43, was last seen Monday at a Washington County Roads Department shop on National Pike at 1:35 p.m., according to Sgt. Dave Bowers of the Maryland State Police. Police believe Little escaped in a Chevrolet truck that was parked in the shop's lot, Bowers said. A retake warrant has been issued for Little, who has family in the Baltimore area, Bowers said.

By MARLO BARNHART Staff Writer Smithsburg Police Chief Tommy Bowers has fired his gun in the line of duty only twice in his 13 years of service with three police agencies. The second time came early Sunday when Bowers, 46, fired off eight rounds as he tried to avoid being struck by a suspect's car, he said. The driver of the car, Richard A. Sheffler, 29, of Waynesboro, Pa., was struck in the legs by one of the shots from Bowers' gun, Maryland State Police said. Sheffler, of the 300 block of West Sixth Street, has been charged with assaulting a police officer, driving while intoxicated, destruction of property - a police car - and numerous traffic violations, police said.

By MARLO BARNHART Staff Writer Fired Smithsburg Police Chief Tommy Bowers will have a due process hearing Nov. 25 at 5:30 p.m., a U.S. District Court judge in Baltimore ruled Friday. "Sounds good to me. I just want a chance to defend myself," Bowers said after hearing the decision. Bowers' attorney, Lewis C. Metzner, said Friday that the defense may include testimony about a specific incident that allegedly occurred before Bowers' firing in August. "We believe one reason Bowers was fired was his total disagreement to put his signature on forms he feels were fraudulent," Metzner said.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - Chambersburg Area Middle School Principal Timothy Bowers said Wednesday he is resigning to become superintendent of the Northern Tioga School District. "It's the district I attended as a kid. I'm going home," said Bowers, 36, who has been principal of the middle school for two years. The district on the New York border has about 2,600 students attending three elementary and three secondary schools, according to Bowers, compared to more than 8,000 students in the Chambersburg Area School District.

Police still were searching Thursday for a Maryland Correctional Training Center inmate who drove off from a work detail earlier this week. Raymous Little, 43, last was seen Monday at a Washington County Roads Department shop on National Pike at 1:35 p.m., according to Sgt. Dave Bowers of the Maryland State Police. Little escaped in a white, 1995 Chevrolet S-10 truck that was parking in the shop's lot, Bowers said. Troopers believe Little might be in the Baltimore area because he has family there, Bowers said Thursday afternoon.