Designation

HAGERSTOWN -- Local firefighters give away smoke alarms to homeowners, help the elderly with home safety makeovers and teach children about fire dangers at Children's Village of Washington County. Now Hagerstown is vying for a national safety designation that officials hope will allow it to do more of the same. The City of Hagerstown is pursuing a Safe Community designation, to which only seven communities in the United States can lay claim, said Michael Weller, public education officer for the Hagerstown Fire Department.

As the nation's growing dependency on technology continues to rise, computer networks will require continued protection in order to remain secure from outside threats. To better protect the national information infrastructure, the National Security Agency is working to enhance partnerships with government entities, industry and academic institutions. HCC was recently designated as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Two-Year Education by the NSA and is one of only six two-year schools to receive the honor.

Carnegie Mellon University's Software Engineering Institute issued NETCONN Solutions of Hagerstown a Capability Maturity Model Integration Maturity Level 2 rating May 27, a designation that positions the information technology company to compete for prime contracts through the U.S. Department of Defense. "Basically, the reason we got the certification is we're going after a prime contract role for a government contract," NETCONN spokeswoman Angie Davidson said. "It's very important as far as growing the business because, first of all, just the rating opens the doors.

Hagerstown arts district gets state designation By DAN KULIN dank@herald-mail.com Tax breaks are coming for artists and developers who create space for artists to work and live in Hagerstown's downtown Arts and Entertainment District. The tax breaks will be available because the Hagerstown district, which includes the four blocks around Public Square, received a state designation as a Smart Growth-Arts and Entertainment District. Mayor William M. Breichner said the designation and tax breaks are "another plus to attract new business downtown.

RANSON, W.Va. - A new designation for Jefferson Memorial Hospital will put the facility in a position to attract more physicians, purchase new equipment, expand the emergency department and offer all private rooms for patients, according to hospital officials. The advancements will be possible because of a "critical access designation" that has been awarded to the hospital by the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services, according to a news release from the hospital. With the new designation, Jefferson Memorial Hospital's Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements will switch to a more favorable system available for community hospitals.

Cascade school seeks special weather designation By DAVE McMILLION Staff Writer CASCADE - Washington County Board of Education officials have proposed a special weather zone designation for Cascade that would allow the elementary school to delay the start of classes during wintry weather. The proposal for the Cascade mountain zone came after parents asked school officials to re-examine the way they determine whether roads are safe enough for school buses in the winter.

ANNAPOLIS - Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele honored Maryland's farm families for their commitment to farming and leadership in preserving agricultural land by presenting Century Farm designations Nov. 16 to eight families who have farmed the same land for more than 100 years. One of the farm families honored is from Washington County. Felfoot Farm, on Dogstreet Road near Keedysville, is a 406-acre corn, soybean and hay farm that also has produced a variety of livestock. Established in 1889, the farm is now owned by Austin A. Flook, Joanne M. Flook and Dwayne A. Flook.

Coming Wednesday Decision on Alms House: Find out what designation was given by the Hagerstown City Council to the Alms House on North Locust Street.

Jason Carbaugh, Realtor and owner of Advantage Realty LLC in Hagerstown, recently was awarded the Graduate Realtors Institute designation by the Realtors Institute of Maryland. Attaining the GRI designation requires completion of 90 hours of course work outlined by the National Association of Realtors.

Commissioners support art districts The Washington County Board of Commissioners Tuesday unanimously agreed to support applications by the Town of Hancock and the City of Hagerstown for special state designations for Arts and Entertainment districts. Hagerstown is applying to have the four-block area around Public Square designated a Smart Growth Arts and Entertainment District, Hagerstown Senior Planner Kathy Maher said. If approved, such a designation would make tax incentives and loans available to artists and some businesses within the district, she said.

Michael “Mike” Gouker of Hagerstown has known since his early years that art would be a part of his life. “Art was the thing growing up that I could do the best. It was my interest. I told my sixth-grade teacher I wanted to teach art,” Gouker said. The retired art teacher and professional artist has been honing his craft since childhood and keeps looking for new venues for exposure. About three years ago, Gouker submitted a drawing of a sunburst to CBS “Sunday Morning” hosted by Charles Osgood.

The band played, many of the students wore Boonsboro Warrior blue and white, and dignitaries, including the state superintendent of schools, praised the young people for their academic, athletic, and extracurricular accomplishments. Maryland State Schools Superintendent Lillian M. Lowery visited Boonsboro High School on Thursday morning to applaud its students and staff for the school being recognized as a Maryland Blue Ribbon School. Boonsboro High was one of six Maryland schools, and one of two high schools, to receive the 2013 designation in December.

A draft of the follow-up study that looks at the economic feasibility of two additional sites for a new ballpark for the Hagerstown Suns has been sent to the city for review, a Ripken Design official said Wednesday afternoon. Dan Taylor, project manager with Ripken Design, said a copy of the report was delivered to Jill Estavillo, the city's economic development manager. Taylor said he expects the city to review the draft over the next “week or two” and then report back to the firm with any requested revisions or changes.

The Hagerstown firm of Bushey Feight Morin Architects has been chosen to design the new “West City” elementary school, which is expected to open in August 2016. The Washington County Board of Education voted unanimously Tuesday night to award the design contract to the firm, which submitted the low bid of $932,287 for the architectural and engineering services for phase one of the new school. Purchasing Supervisor Lisa Freeman told the school board that Bushey Feight Morin Architects designed the new Maugansville Elementary School, which opened in 2008.

Every spring, there comes a day when area schoolchildren beg to have class outside as warmer weather returns. The 175 students at Franklin Learning Center will get that wish granted this year. Their school has plans to develop a sensory garden, where the students with disabilities can do more than dig in the dirt. If developed as planned, the garden would feature aromatic herbs, a waterfall and specially designed instruments that generate vibrations in the ground. “It truly is encompassing all the senses we're trying to shoot for,” said Jackie Drooger, a life skills teacher who is acting supervisor at the school.

Hagerstown Community College is partnering with AIGA (American Institute of Graphics Artists) Blue Ridge to hold a graphic design contest called "stylUS. " "StylUS" is a poster contest where participants design an original piece of artwork based on a specific theme. This year's theme is "poetic pixels. " Designers choose lines from a song or poem of their choice and create a design based off that. The goal is to show the delicate balance between music and poetry and the visual arts in a beautiful and creative way. This contest is open to any designer in the Tri-State area including HCC students, staff, and faculty.

Susan Benjamin is the owner of Cool Confectionaries, a candy shop in Harpers Ferry, W.Va. She makes confections and sells historical candies. Recently, she wrote an article about aphrodisiacs. But not the stereotypical aphrodisiac - a food or drug used to stimulate sexual desire. Benjamin was talking about food as a sensual experience. "An aphrodisiac - it can have several different meanings," she said. "Aphrodisiacs enhance romantic and sexual love. When we speak of an aphrodisiac, it could be any food - anything that is really sensual or the taste is really good or the texture is really smooth.

A Designer Bag Bingo attended Sunday afternoon by about 100 people at The Women's Club on South Prospect Street was one of a number of fundraisers the Miss Washington County/Miss Western Maryland Foundation Inc. holds for its pageant scholarships. Players paid a $20 to $25 entrance fee, which set them up for chances to win about 27 designer bags, said Barbara Carson, president of the board of directors for Miss Washington County/Miss Western Maryland. The game was set up as a typical bingo game, except the prizes were the purses.

Clear Spring High School students have kicked off the Race for Awareness program at the school to help students cope with everyday life. Created and organized by Clear Spring High School FBLA Vice President Kayla Stoner, the Race for Awareness is a service project that will be carried out by three organizations at the school: Future Business Leaders of America, Future Farmers of America and National Honor Society. The three organizations plan to raise awareness of their respective issues and show their individual interest in helping a cause.

The Baltimore chapter of the American Institute of Architects, or AIA, recently presented the 2012 Good Design = Good Business Award to Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects for its design of the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts courtyard enclosure and atrium. The award was presented at the annual Design Excellence Event at the Center for the Built Environment and Infrastructure Studies at Morgan State University. Murphy & Dittenhafer's design repurposed the museum's exterior courtyard as a 3,200-square-foot atrium space to better serve the historic institution.