Discrimination

She started her story with the night she was paralyzed - a then 18-year-old lying on the side of a European road, rain splashing on her face, a searing pain as she tried to stretch. “I can't stand to touch my body,” she said. “It feels like a stranger. I place my hands high on my chest where I can feel me.”  On her flight home from Spain, her gurney was situated over the airplane seats and she was concealed behind curtains. “Midway through the flight, a strange woman sticks her head between the curtains and asks me the question that I will hear for the rest of my life: 'We've all been wondering, what's wrong with you?

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the extension of the voluntary claims process for Hispanic and women farmers and ranchers who allege discrimination by the USDA in past decades. All claims must be filed by May 1. The process offers a voluntary alternative to litigation for each Hispanic or female farmer and rancher who can prove that the USDA denied his or her application for loan or loan-servicing assistance for discriminatory reasons for certain time periods between 1981 and 2000.

A Waynesboro, Pa., man claims that a Hagerstown Suns promotion that gives families a discount on Sundays for bringing a church bulletin to the ballpark violates his civil rights and is religious discrimination, a team spokesman said Tuesday. But officials of the Class A minor league baseball team, an affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, say they believe the popular promotion is a natural for an area with a high percentage of churchgoers and is not discriminatory.

By DAVE McMILLION Staff Writer, Martinsburg KEARNEYSVILLE, W.Va. - The U.S. Justice Department Thursday filed suit against the owners of Images nightclub, claiming the owners refused to allow African Americans to enter the bar. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Wheeling, W.Va., alleges that Images falsely told African Americans who wanted to enter the club that it was private and open only to members. White customers, however, were routinely admitted without regard to membership, according to the Justice Department.

By KERRY LYNN FRALEY Staff Writer If Washington County businesses are violating federal law by discriminating in hiring, the U.S. Justice Department needs to become involved, U.S. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett said Wednesday night during a forum at Bethel Gardens Community Center. "If what you say is happening is happening, that's illegal," said Bartlett, R-Md., after hearing numerous complaints from people who said local businesses refused to hired black people or kept them from progressing to better jobs.

Senate hears testimony on gay rights bill Annapolis By LAURA ERNDE laurae@herald-mail.com A Washington County man told a Senate committee Wednesday that he lost a job as an office administrator because he's gay. David Poole said that two weeks before he was going to start his new job, his boss-to-be found out about his sexual orientation and told him not to show up for work. "I was without recourse," said Poole, who asked the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee on Wednesday to approve a gay rights bill that would give others in his situation the right to sue. The bill would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation in public accommodations, employment and housing.

Those ages 18 and younger can enjoy a free meal and activities while school is out as part of the Summer Food Service Program. The program is sponsored locally by the Washington County Community Action Council in partnership with the City of Hagerstown. It will operate today through Friday, Aug. 11. Lunches will be provided at the following locations: Wheaton Park, Noland Village, Elgin Station, Frederick Manor, Boys & Girls Club of Washington County (Pennsylvania Avenue), Pangborn Park, Hellane Park and the WIC office.

We asked the high school seniors who agreed to participate in our monthly Senior Moments series the following question: Have you ever taken a stand for something you believed in? If not, what would you take a stand for? Here are their answers. Jessey Flowers, 17 Clear Spring High School Recently, Jessey Flowers has been pushing for more school spirit at Clear Spring High School. The senior says it's been lacking in the past, but he believes that an improved school store could change that.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama signed an equal pay bill into law Thursday, declaring that it's a family issue, not just a women's issue. The president picked the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act for the first piece of legislation to sign as president. He appeared before a packed East Room audience for a ceremony, and Ledbetter stood at his side. His entrance in the room was met with hearty cheers from the many labor and women's groups represented there. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the first woman speaker in the history of Congress, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, were present.

FOR the purpose of expressing regret for the role that Maryland played in instituting and maintaining slavery and for the discrimination that was slavery's legacy. WHEREAS, The State of Maryland relied on slavery for 200 years; and WHEREAS, To meet the needs of its economy, Maryland prior to 1808 imported men, women, and children, torn from their homes in Africa and subjected to the brutality of the Middle Passage; and WHEREAS, Maryland citizens trafficked in human flesh until the adoption of the Constitution of 1864; and WHEREAS, Slavery subjected its victims to unspeakable cruelties, including beatings, rape, and the forcible separation of family members from one another; and WHEREAS, A native of Maryland, nurtured by the slave culture of our State, wrote the Supreme Court's Dred Scott decision declaring African Americans incapable of citizenship because they had "no rights which the white man was bound to respect"; and WHEREAS, Slavery fostered a climate of oppression not only for slaves and their descendants but also for people of color who moved to Maryland subsequent to slavery's abolition; and WHEREAS, Slavery's legacy has afflicted the citizens of our State down to the present; and WHEREAS, Slavery and discrimination are utterly contrary to the principles that this Nation and this State profess; and WHEREAS, It is time for the State of Maryland to acknowledge the role the State played in maintaining the institution...

She started her story with the night she was paralyzed - a then 18-year-old lying on the side of a European road, rain splashing on her face, a searing pain as she tried to stretch. “I can't stand to touch my body,” she said. “It feels like a stranger. I place my hands high on my chest where I can feel me.”  On her flight home from Spain, her gurney was situated over the airplane seats and she was concealed behind curtains. “Midway through the flight, a strange woman sticks her head between the curtains and asks me the question that I will hear for the rest of my life: 'We've all been wondering, what's wrong with you?

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the extension of the voluntary claims process for Hispanic and women farmers and ranchers who allege discrimination by the USDA in past decades. All claims must be filed by May 1. The process offers a voluntary alternative to litigation for each Hispanic or female farmer and rancher who can prove that the USDA denied his or her application for loan or loan-servicing assistance for discriminatory reasons for certain time periods between 1981 and 2000.

The Maryland Senate voted by the narrowest of margins this week to send a bill that aimed to address rental housing discrimination back to committee, effectively ending its chances of passing this year. Sen. Christopher B. Shank, R-Washington, who opposed the bill, said that downtown Hagerstown would have been negatively affected if the bill were to pass. According to the Associated Press, a primary focus of the measure was to prevent landlords from declining to rent to people who get government assistance for housing.

A former employee of San Mar Children's Home in Boonsboro has filed a discrimination complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights, claiming she was discharged from her job because she is a lesbian, according to documents. Sarah Rutledge, 29, alleges her co-workers made disparaging remarks about her sexual orientation and marriage to a woman throughout her time at San Mar. Rutledge said she also was placed on probationary status on Sept.

It is senseless to place labels on Jesus Christ To the editor: I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. With more and more frequency, twice in the past week or so, I read doubts about the existence of God and confusion over who exactly Jesus is. Just let me throw this out for any doubter, skeptic or unbeliever. In Heaven, there will be only two things that this earth contains. God's Word, which is the Holy Bible, written by God Himself, using men led by His divine spirit over hundreds of years to convey His message of love, redemption and salvation.

Former Hagerstown Police Department officer Margaret Kline talked about having a larger-than-usual amount of clerical work when she was hired as the city's first female beat officer. Former Hagerstown City Council member Alesia Parson-McBean talked about going to a predominantly black beach in Florida as a youngster. Jeanne Jacobs related seeing Jews being deported from France during the Nazi occupation of the country, and teacher Diane Macklin recalled her experiences being a black teacher.

The longtime Jefferson County administrator fired in September 2009 on a 3-2 vote by the county commissioners this week filed an eight-count civil suit claiming discrimination, human rights violations and wrongful discharge, according to the suit filed in the Jefferson County Circuit Clerk's office. Leslie Smith's suit alleges that all five commissioners violated her rights, discriminated against her on the basis of sex and age, harassed her and broke her work contract, and accuses them of retaliatory discharge and violating the state's wage payment and collection act in firing her Sept.

View all of the photos for purchase! As Boonsboro sophomore Sarah Zielinski was easily beating all the girls Wednesday at a four-team cross country meet at South Hagerstown, she entertained herself by taking target practice against the boys, picking them off one by one. The boys and girls races were run simultaneously on the Rebels' 3-mile course, and Zielinski capitalized on the rare opportunity. "Racing guys is really fun," she said. "It pushes you more.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. -- Pennsylvania Nonbelievers Inc. (PAN) has filed a discrimination complaint against the Borough of Chambersburg for the borough council's November decision to ban all public displays from Center Square. PAN President Steve Neubauer said Tuesday that his organization filed a complaint with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (PHRC) to affect a position of religiously neutral in local government. In November, the Chambersburg Borough Council overturned a 14-year policy of allowing displays at the fountain in Center Square when PAN requested permission to place a sign honoring atheist soldiers and the Winter Solstice, which was Monday.

I've spent nearly my entire adult life as an advocate for fitness and healthful living. I know from personal and professional experience that living in a fit, strong body empowers you to live life with fewer physical limitations. If you aren't currently in your best condition, you are missing out on a lot of cool stuff you could be doing if you put the work in. The scientific world agrees that a life of physical fitness prolongs life, wards off debilitating disease and improves virtually every bodily function you can think of. So why is there a "fat acceptance" movement?