Coalition

The Washington County Homeless Coalition announces a logo contest. The WCHC seeks a logo that will identify and represent the organization. The contest is open to all Washington County residents age 13 and older as of March 3, 2011. The deadline is Sept. 1, 2011. Prizes will be awarded in the following amounts: First place $250; runner up $100; honorable mention, $50.  For more information, contact Cindi Hockenbury at 301-797-4161, ext. 130, or chockenbury@wccac.org .

A lobbying group from Washington County spent Wednesday in Annapolis, promoting its legislative agenda with state officials. The coalition is composed of government and community advocates who jointly pursue issues of local importance during the annual 90-day Maryland General Assembly session. This year's agenda includes road projects on Eastern Boulevard and U.S. 340 at Keep Tryst Road, University System of Maryland at Hagerstown funding and a possible bio-tech/high-tech business park on the Mount Aetna Farms property near Hagerstown Community College.

Hagerstown City Council identified Tuesday four issues it will introduce to a community lobbying coalition. East End revitalization, hotel-motel tax legislation, highway-user revenue and income-tax revenue were all identified as issues the city would like to see lobbied to the state delegation. Disagreement about how to introduce its priorities to the coalition slowed the discussion, which lasted about 45 minutes. As the council debated how it should approach the coalition, the four issues floated to the surface.

With Maryland’s legislative session nearly over, the results of a local lobbying coalition’s 2011 wish list are becoming clearer. Brien J. Poffenberger, president of the Hagerstown-Washington County Chamber of Commerce, said Friday that the coalition knew this was the wrong year to ask for anything that required much money. Instead, the coalition focused on protecting Washington County’s progress, he said. This year’s coalition agenda included road projects and economic development initiatives, as well as a “watch list” for previously approved library and higher-education funding.

The Washington County Community Coalition on Tuesday unveiled a tentative agenda that it wants its state legislators to pursue at the upcoming Maryland General Assembly session at a lunch meeting with the county delegation Tuesday. The meeting was organized by the Greater Hagerstown Committee, which is part of the lobbying coalition. John Latimer, a member of the community coalition, said that state-funding for a downtown stadium will continue to be a priority for the coalition if the newly elected Hagerstown City Council wants it to be. “If this is still a priority, we will support that,” Latimer said.

ANNAPOLIS - Wednesday was full of meeting, greeting and lobbying in Annapolis for a Washington County coalition of local governments and business groups. After talking to the county's state lawmakers about legislative priorities, the coalition met with Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr., House Speaker Michael E. Busch and other legislators in key positions. The Hagerstown-Washington County Community Legislative Coalition also hosted a midday reception for the entire General Assembly.

WASHINGTON COUNTY - While Washington County's leaders do business, govern and go about their daily lives, a paid lobbyist is guarding their interests in Annapolis. That's a local coalition's rationale for hiring lobbyist Michael V. Johansen last year and giving him four issues to pursue. Satisfied with last year's results, the business and government coalition - with one new partner - brought Johansen back this year and gave him four new issues. The coalition is paying him almost $20,000.

WASHINGTON COUNTY - Officials from six states, including Maryland, have formed a coalition that will advocate for funding and improvements along Interstate 81. The I-81 Corridor Coalition also hopes to create a Web site that can alert drivers about roadwork and delays along the road, said James F. Kercheval, a Washington County Commissioner who is a member of the coalition. Kercheval, Washington County Director of Special Projects Gary W. Rohrer and Hagerstown/Eastern Panhandle Metropolitan Planning Organization Executive Director Robert Gordon are the coalition's three Maryland representatives.

HAGERSTOWN -- The City of Hagerstown is considering whether to spend $5,000 to help hire a lobbying firm to represent the city and other members of the Washington County Community Lobbying Coalition at the upcoming session of the Maryland General Assembly in Annapolis. Brien Poffenberger, president of the Hagerstown-Washington County Chamber of Commerce, requested the money Tuesday during a City Council work session. Poffenberger said the money would be used to hire Rifkin, Livingston, Levitan and Silver, the same firm that has represented the coalition for the last three years.

A panel of speakers discussed different approaches to optimal health during a program sponsored by the Interfaith Coalition of Washington County at Hagerstown Church of the Brethren on East Washington Street on Wednesday night. One of the three speakers was Chris Holland, pastor at the Seventh-day Adventist Church on Robinwood Drive, who spoke about the benefits of plant-based diets. Holland said people who follow vegetarian diets are less likely to suffer from health complications such as heart disease and stroke.

Two representatives of the Maryland Competitiveness Coalition were critical of the state's public policies that deal with issues such as private business at a breakfast meeting Wednesday. At the same time, they praised Maryland's emphasis on such areas as education during the Hagerstown-Washington County Chamber of Commerce's Eggs and Issues breakfast at the Ramada Plaza. The chamber is a partnering organization of the coalition. Kathy Snyder, president and chief executive officer of the Maryland Chamber of Commerce, and Tom Lynch, principal of Miles & Stockbridge in Frederick, Md., partnering organizations of the coalition, spoke about the coalition to local business leaders.

Stretching 855 miles through six states from New York to Tennessee, Interstate 81 is the most important transportation artery in the region and keeping it flowing safely and efficiently are among the goals of the I-81 Corridor Coalition, which met in Hagerstown this week. About 100 people met Monday and Tuesday to discuss issues affecting the corridor at the coalition's annual meeting, said Carolyn Blanton, the administrative assistant for the coalition. “There is no transportation artery more important for commerce than I-81” in the eastern United States, said Mike Ross, President of the Franklin County (Pa.)

Washington County Homeless Coalition is seeking volunteers for its Saturday, March 2, event. The event is from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., but volunteer duties begin one hour before and last one hour after the event. Volunteers can sign up for more than one shift or sign up for the full day. All volunteers for the day of the event must be 18 years of age or older and not currently enrolled in Washington County Public Schools. However, high school students may volunteer on Friday, March 1, for the event set up or March 2 after 3 p.m. only.

The Washington County Interfaith Coalition presents a winter day retreat from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 12, at Shepherd's Spring, 16869 Taylor's Landing Road, Sharpsburg. The title of the retreat is "Beauty - the Invisible Presence. " Drawing on the theme of beauty, participants will focus on its classical and contemporary expressions, its relation to goodness, and its ability to unite us with the Divine and with each other. Participants will explore and share the many ways that we experience "the beautiful" in our lives.

The Washington County Community Coalition on Tuesday unveiled a tentative agenda that it wants its state legislators to pursue at the upcoming Maryland General Assembly session at a lunch meeting with the county delegation Tuesday. The meeting was organized by the Greater Hagerstown Committee, which is part of the lobbying coalition. John Latimer, a member of the community coalition, said that state-funding for a downtown stadium will continue to be a priority for the coalition if the newly elected Hagerstown City Council wants it to be. “If this is still a priority, we will support that,” Latimer said.

A coalition says it has gathered a wealth of helpful information about Washington County health-care needs. The Health Improvement Coalition's work hopefully will lead to positive changes, said co-chair Allen Twigg, the director of behavioral sciences for Meritus Health. The group capped a yearlong period of research by releasing a report on its findings on Thursday at Robinwood Professional Center. In January, the coalition - which includes representatives from several local health and social-service organizations - held a community health summit.

Sharing information is crucial for law enforcement agencies that work together to protect their communities from criminals, especially repeat offenders, according to Capt. Mark Holtzman, acting chief of the Hagerstown Police Department. “It's been said that no police department can do it alone, and working on these collaborative efforts really helps bridge the gap,” Holtzman said. As a way to combine efforts and share information, HPD recently became a member of an interagency program in Hagerstown and Washington County called the Safe Streets Coalition.

The Washington County Board of Education decided not to support an effort for the county lobbying coalition to advocate for state legislation requiring the school year to begin after Labor Day. Board member Justin Hartings, who represented the school board at a lobbying coalition meeting, took the issue before the board at the end of its Oct. 16 meeting. Each member of the coalition, which includes the school board, can veto an agenda request for the coalition, he said. Hartings said his personal view was that items the county lobbying coalition advocates should focus on Washington County.