Cells

WAYNESBORO, Pa. - The Washington Township Supervisors, on a 3-1 vote Monday, gave land development approval to a cell phone tower in Blue Ridge Summit, Pa. Representatives of Liberty Towers said construction could begin in two to three weeks and last less than 30 days. The supervisors approved a galvanized pole, rather than requiring the tower to be painted. Supervisor John Gorman voted "no" because he preferred a brown pole. The months of negotiations and presentations pushed the project out of several wireless carriers' capital budget cycles, representatives of Liberty Towers said.

BLUE RIDGE SUMMIT, Pa. - Sprint Nextel antennas have been activated for the new cell tower off Pa. 16 on Pen Mar Youth League property, according to a spokeswoman and news release. Shenandoah Telecommunications Co. (Shentel) added the antennas to expand Sprint's 3G network, the news release stated. Sprint activated 13 tower sites in Franklin and Adams counties in the past two years. Most involved putting antennas on existing structures. Construction started last spring for the 190-foot monopole developed by Liberty Towers.

HANCOCK - The Hancock Police Department's innovative Crime Call cellular phone system is little more than a week old but already has proven its worth, according to Chief Donald Gossage. [cont. from front page ] When about 150 people were stranded in the town after being detoured around a 36-vehicle pileup on Interstate 70 during March 14's snowstorm, Hancock police officers used their cell phones to keep in contact throughout the day. Officers were forced to use private four-wheel drive vehicles because of the weather, and the distance from the radio receivers made the walkie talkies' reception poor, Gossage said.

tarar@herald-mail.com A 330-foot cell tower proposed along Interstate 70 is part of a state effort to improve public safety communications across Maryland, state officials said at a meeting Wednesday night. The tower would also contain space at no charge for Washington County if the commissioners decided to upgrade the county's emergency communications system, said Ed Ryan, assistant director of telecommunications for the Maryland Department of Budget and Management. The Department of Budget and Management has proposed the communications tower for the State Highway Administration's maintenance building at I-70 and Md. 65, near the Maryland State Police Hagerstown barrack.

The Washington County Board of Zoning Appeals Wednesday night unanimously rejected a proposal to put a 190-foot telephone communications tower in Rohrersville. About 75 people, including two state elected officials, attended a June 7 public hearing to express their opposition to the proposal by American Tower Corp. of Millersville, Md., to build a tower on Locust Grove Road near the Appalachian Trail. Opponents presented a petition with 400 signatures to the board. During deliberations Wednesday, Board of Zoning Appeals members said they agreed with an argument made by some of the opponents: American Tower did not prove it considered all other available sites.

A 90-foot cellular telephone tower disguised to look like a flagpole will be erected near the Appalachian Trail east of Boonsboro. The Washington County Planning Commission on Monday approved the site plan for the tower, submitted by AT&T Wireless. One other commercial carrier may be located on the tower, according to information provided by the planning department. The tower, called a "stealth" tower because of its disguised design, will be on the Old South Mountain Inn property at 6132 Old National Pike.

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - The Jefferson County Commission took action Thursday to protect Blue Ridge Mountain from wireless communication towers. The commissioners voted 4-1 to bar the towers from sticking up above the tree canopy on the top of the mountain. The towers cannot be higher than the ridge line, although the less-intrusive antennas could go higher, said County Commissioner Dean Hockensmith. The commissioners voted to have staff work on three issues to amend the long-debated proposed ordinance to regulate the towers.

ANNAPOLIS (AP) -- A House committee has approved a measure that would require drivers to use handsfree devices to talk on cell phones while behind the wheel. The House Environmental Matters Committee voted Wednesday to approve a bill that already has been passed by the Senate. Drivers could only use their hands to turn a phone on and off. They wouldn't be allowed to hold a cell phone during the conversation. Drivers could be fined $40 for violations, under the bill. On the Net: Read Senate Bill 321: http://mlis.

Some area AT&T cell phone users in recent days had problems with calls to and from landline phones, said Jennifer Clark of Fleishman-Hillard, a public relations firm, speaking on behalf of AT&T. Clark said in a telephone interview Tuesday that there apparently was a routing problem, but she wasn't able to elaborate. She said AT&T was working to figure out the cause. In an e-mail Tuesday, Clark wrote: "Technicians were dispatched immediately and service was restored about 1 p.m. today.