Careers

photo: RICHARD T. MEAGHER / staff photographer enlarge A two-day law enforcement camp was held Monday and will be held again today at the Maryland State Police barracks in Hagerstown, the first ever such camp in Maryland, according to Dan Seiler, president of the Western Maryland Troopers Association. A group of 14 to 15 youngsters, ranging in age from 12 to 14, signed up for the camp, which included tours and radar demonstrations. The camp is designed to encourage children to seek law enforcement careers and to improve relations between young people and police.

While some teens are spending the lazy days of summer lounging by swimming pools, sleeping late or relaxing with friends, Katie Gonder is learning how to start an IV. The 14-year-old Gettysburg, Pa., resident is one of 17 students participating in Penn State Mont Alto’s MedCamp this week. “I want to do nursing, and this is helping me learn more about it and how to do stuff,” Katie said. Working in the health care field runs in the Gonder family. Katie’s sister is a nursing student at Messiah College.

HAGERSTOWN-What Bill Bullard tries to spice up, his boss, Chris Jefferies, tries to cool down. Forty years ago, Bullard taught Jefferies how to hold a knife. On a recent afternoon at the Red Horse Steak House & Anvil Bar, where the two chefs met, Bullard and Jefferies laughed about their differences and reflected on their careers as they prepared to close the Dual Highway restaurant. The steakhouse is to officially close after dinner today. "We're like friends. You know someone for 40 years ... We carry on and tease a lot," said Jefferies, 56, who started out as a dishwasher in 1967 at the restaurant he has owned since 1972.

MONT ALTO, Pa. - Twenty-eight teenagers will be turning off "Grey's Anatomy" and "CSI" next week in favor of the show's real-life counterparts through Med Camp. In its second year, the day camp will offer trips to Waynesboro (Pa.) and Chambersburg (Pa.) hospitals, Hershey (Pa.) Medical Center and Quincy Village Retirement Community. Lessons will be taught in labs, emergency rooms and Penn State Mont Alto classrooms. The goal for the eighth- and ninth-graders is to "whet their taste buds and think about all the job opportunities in health care," said Kathy Donzella, a school liaison for Summit Health.

Sarah Ryan, 15, a junior at South Hagerstown High School, left, and her mother, Amy Ryan, talk Monday with Laury McIntyre, an admissions representative from Antonelli Institute, at Choices In Colleges and Careers 2005 at South High.

The Maryland Grain Producers Utilization Board named Cody Fletcher of Laytonsville, Md., Brittany Gaban of Centreville, Md., Grace Garst of Walkersville, Md., and Ben Murphy of Ijamsville, Md., as award recipients of a $2,500 scholarship to further their education in agriculturally related careers.

Barbara B. Whitcomb of Silver Spring, Md., formerly of Hagerstown, Md., passed away Tuesday, May 21, 2013.  She was the beloved mother of Matthew Whitcomb (Debbi), Julie Whitcomb (Mark Doeler) and Wendy Whitcomb (Daryl Leckron); and the devoted and loving grandmother of Jeremy, Amy, Zoee and Margot. She was the widow of Dr. David T. Whitcomb. Barbara was a graduate of Cleveland Heights (Ohio) High School; the Ohio State University, where she was a member of Mortar Board Senior Honor Society; and the George Washington University.

The Chambersburg Area Hospital Auxiliary awarded five scholarships at the group's spring luncheon held at the Veterans of Foreign Wars post. Auxiliary President Karen Marshall presented the scholarship checks to the recipients, who are pursuing careers in the health field. Two $1,750 scholarships, one funded by the Million Penny Drive, were awarded to Chambersburg Area Senior High School seniors Brittany Martin and Mary Bernacker. Vedran Okilj of Greencastle-Antrim High School was awarded a $1,000 scholarship.

Careers available to young people today might not have even been identifiable to students of 20 or more years ago. Gone are the days when a teen could learn to rivet sheet metal and be set for life; instead, students today are learning to animate computer games, fiddle with gnomes and install solar panels. Washington County has been blessed with some visionary educational leaders who are seeing to it that our children are schooled in careers that will have relevance in the modern world.

I'm sure many students during the years have wondered, "Why do I have to spend every day of my young life in school?" Well, there are some very important reasons why education is important. Face it, there are careers out there that require a lot of smarts, such as psychologist, computer engineer and wildlife biologist. And in order to get to these careers, you need some sort of education. Now a lot of people could argue that you could just apprentice for whatever career you want to take, but there is a flaw in that.

Barbara B. Whitcomb of Silver Spring, Md., formerly of Hagerstown, Md., passed away Tuesday, May 21, 2013.  She was the beloved mother of Matthew Whitcomb (Debbi), Julie Whitcomb (Mark Doeler) and Wendy Whitcomb (Daryl Leckron); and the devoted and loving grandmother of Jeremy, Amy, Zoee and Margot. She was the widow of Dr. David T. Whitcomb. Barbara was a graduate of Cleveland Heights (Ohio) High School; the Ohio State University, where she was a member of Mortar Board Senior Honor Society; and the George Washington University.

Franklin County's career and technology center will showcase the school's $14 million renovation and expansion during a day-long open house Saturday. The open house at the newly named CareerTech is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the school's campus on Loop Road. A full day of activities is on tap including tours of the school at 10 a.m., 11 a.m. and noon. “I'm hoping that the public sees the value in what they have invested in in order to upgrade (our facilities) and move this school forward for the future,” said Keith Yohn, administrative director of CareerTech.

A image from a microscope was projected onto the screen in a classroom at Bester Elementary School on Friday afternoon, showing a translucent worm slithering into view. The response it elicited from the students was not unexpected. “Eeyoou!” they said in unison. “I love my job,” said Kristen A. Lennon, the Biotech Microscopy Outreach Coordinator at Hagerstown Community College. She explained to the students it was a vinegar eel, though they are filtered out of the cider vinegar their parents buy at the store.

Students in career technology education will present information about opportunities in nontraditional programs in Washington County Public Schools at a public meeting at Hancock Middle-Senior High School Thursday at 5:30 p.m. The meeting will be held in the school library. The students will explore the theme “Dare to be Different,” focusing on why they chose nontraditional career technology programs, what they have been learning, their involvement in special projects and the value the programs will have in helping shape the students' future careers.

The Waynesboro Area School Board on Tuesday became the second board to reject the Franklin County (Pa.) Career and Technology Center's 2013-14 operating budget, sending the career center back to the drawing board as it hammers out a spending plan. Waynesboro's school board voted 8-0 to reject the proposal because of increased expenditures. Board President Chris Lind specifically pointed to a proposed 3.5 percent salary hike for career center staff. “It's not right we vote for something there that is more than our teachers, administrators and support staff are getting,” he said.

In one sense, the event had the feel of a traditional college fair with college representatives there to help high school students plan for a career. But this was a much broader view of higher education with sessions geared at ways to even get elementary school students on the right track for college. The Future Starts Now: College and Career Planning for K-12 Families also helped parents with tips on how to pay for college education, such as applying for financial help through university trusts, offered high school students advice on what kind of preparation they need to start taking now for various fields and featured various panel discussions.

Washington County Public Schools will host its second annual College and Career Planning for K-12 Families event Wednesday at South Hagerstown High School, according to the school system's website. More than 600 people attended last year's event, said Beth Moore, college readiness specialist for the school system. This year's event is from 5:30 to 9 p.m., Moore said. The event includes panel discussions, workshops and professionals from various careers so parents and students can get answers to their questions about college and careers, according to www.wcps.k12.md.us . This year, workshops are zoned, Moore said.

Suzette Snyder, labor exchange administrator, CPRW for Western Maryland, recently signed a statement of support for the National Guard and Reserve. The statement-of-support program has been the cornerstone of the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserves effort to gain and maintain employer support. The intent of the program is to increase employer support of the Guard and Reserve by developing employers that advocate for employee participation in the military. The statement confirms that Washington County Workforce Services joins other employers in pledging that: We fully recognize, honor and enforce the Uniformed Services Employment and Re-Employment Rights Act. Our managers and supervisors will have the tools they need to effectively manage those employees who serve in the Guard and Reserve.

The sign on the door at the Frederick office still says "Rep. Roscoe Bartlett. " But inside, it is an office in transition. Late last month, boxes were waiting to be packed. Some computers and televisions had been dismantled and were on a center table. Staffers scurried around talking on their cellphones. On this morning of Nov. 26, some of the women on Bartlett's staff said they were not wearing any makeup. “Moving day,” they said by way of explanation. In just a matter of a few weeks, Bartlett, 86, will become a former congressman, having lost the Nov. 6 election for Maryland's 6th District to John Delaney, his Democratic challenger.