Energy

With all the attention focused on the multi-billion dollar energy business, I think we need to keep things in a certain perspective. Many people, especially women, are constantly suffering from a lack of energy. Fatigue can be caused by a number of different factors, but for many people, poor nutrition is to blame. Because food is the body's fuel, how well you're able to perform during the day may be directly related to what foods you fill up with during meal and snack time. When it comes to energy levels, foods and drinks that play the biggest role are carbohydrates, protein, and water.

Even though they have played quite a few games lately, the Williamsport Wildcats did not show any signs of being worn out on Wednesday night as they toppled the Saint James Saints 50-25 in a Washington County high school girls basketball game. “We played well enough to win,” Williamsport coach Chris Malott said. “It wasn't the smoothest of performances, but this was our fifth game in the last nine days. We were able to win four of those games.” Freshman guard Kate Wade scored a team-high total of 15 points and made three steals for Williamsport (12-7)

Energy assistance phone numbers Board of Assistance , Chambersburg, Pa., 717-264-6121. Board of Assistance , Waynesboro, Pa., 717-762-5950. Board of Assistance , Fulton County, Pa., 800-921-8839. Maryland Department of Social Services , Hagerstown, 240-420-2330. Community Action Council , Hagerstown, 301-797-4161. Interfaith Service Coalition , Hancock, 301-678-6605. West Virginia Department of Human Services , Martinsburg, W.Va.

Scientists have studied the effect of color on our mood, health and way of thinking for many years. Our preference of one color over another may have something to do with the way color makes us feel. Light is absorbed by the eye and converted into another form of energy, which enables us to see color. This energy affects and is felt even by people without sight. Light energy stimulates the pituitary and pineal glands, which regulate hormones and other physiological systems in the body.

There was a Valentine's Day dance following the Williamsport-St. Maria Goretti basketball game at the Gael Center on Friday night, but while the lights were on, Williamsport did the two-step. Rebounding from a loss on Thursday to Brunswick that officially eliminated them from contention in the MVAL Antietam, Williamsport rebounded to post a 58-49 victory over the Gaels. "It was rewarding to see the guys come out and execute the offense after Thursday's game," said Wildcat coach Scott Mowbray, who earned his first win over Goretti.

It would take Harry Houdini's skills to get us out of the four-way bind we are in on energy policy. It's obvious to all but the flat-earthers that fossil fuel burning is altering the climate of the planet in ways that we cannot tolerate. Forget about the effects on other nations if you like, the U.S. could not tolerate the loss of half of Florida, half of New York City, and whatever's left of New Orleans and other cities on the Gulf Coast. So we need about the same amount of energy, but with less fossil fuel.

HAGERSTOWN -- U.S. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md., spoke Friday with a small group gathered at ABC-Barr Construction Institute on Locust Street in Hagerstown. The event was billed as a chance for members to hear the congressman discuss health care reform. "We have a very bad economy and a very difficult war, and we're passing health care," Bartlett said Friday. The House bill passed Nov. 7 by a 220-215 vote. Bartlett voted against it. "I don't think this will get through the Senate," he said.

Coming Monday Wind power: A windmill placed near the entrance of Washington County Technical High School wouldn't produce much energy, but officials say it would provide an alternate education source.

At one time, I didn't do cardio training - whatsoever. Then I started getting old. When I was in my 20s, I was perfectly happy being one of the "strong guys" in the gym. Just don't ask me to run a mile. Nowadays, in my late 30s, I've actually learned to appreciate (and enjoy) cardio training activities like rowing, cycling, and boxing. I even designed a 16-week progressive interval training program all my clients must do at least twice per week. But just like me, many people don't give cardio training the time of day. Lemme tell ya why ya should .... Cardiorespiratory training What is cardiorespiratory training?

Area business people learned how to conserve energy and reduce costs Thursday at the 2013 Potomac Edison Customer Workshop and Trade Ally Seminar at the Ramada Plaza in Hagerstown. Representatives of Potomac Edison's Energy Efficiency Incentive Program talked about how businesses that are customers of the utility company can take advantage of energy-efficiency incentives. “This is a way to allow some of our customers to come in and get a nice overview of the platform of programs that we offer under the EmPOWER Maryland programs,” said Lucas Cade, program manger for the Potomac Edison Energy Efficiency Program.

Three-day weekends used to mean a day off of work and time spent with family. Period. This year, three-day weekends have evolved into something else. There is still a much-appreciated day off of work and some time spent with family, but a few more things have been added to the mix. Our three-day weekends this year have been spent at sports tournaments, and I'm slowly learning my way around the courts: Coolers full of water, Gatorade, fruits and veggies ... Gym bags stuffed with warmups, extra socks, deodorant and body spray ... Camera bags stocked with extra batteries, memory cards and USB cords ... Trunks packed with foldable chairs, blankets ... and bigger coolers.

Vinayaka Missions, which recently sold approximately 44 acres to Washington County Public Schools, has paid its overdue property taxes, County Treasurer Todd Hershey said Monday. The former owners of 10435 Downsville Pike, the site of the former Allegheny Energy headquarters, paid the $56,076.54 in overdue taxes and interest on April 24, Hershey said. Vinayaka Missions sold the land to the school system a week ago for $5.5 million. The school system plans to renovate the building on Downsville Pike so it can move its administrative offices, now off Commonwealth Avenue, to the Downsville Pike property.

The Hagerstown City Council on Tuesday unanimously accepted a grant that will provide 1,100 energy conservation kits to local electric customers whose meet income guidelines. The 2013 EMPOWER Clean Energy Communities Grant from the Maryland Energy Administration will give the Hagerstown Light Department $71,000 to purchase and distribute the kits to qualified customers living in the 21740 and 21742 zip codes.  According to an April 16 memo from city Director of Utilities Michael S. Spiker, “Utilizing Department of Energy calculations, the eight-piece kit will be capable of conserving approximately 495 kWh per year per household or totalized on our system as 527,000 kWh per year.” The kits will go to individuals, households or facilities having incomes that are 85 percent or less of the state-established Washington County Median Income Limit of $67,000.

The Washington County Board of Education now owns approximately 44 acres and the former headquarters of Allegheny Energy along Downsville Pike. The school board settled the $5.5 million purchase with property seller Vinayaka Missions on Monday, school system spokesman Richard Wright said. The school system plans to move its administrative offices, now at buildings on Commonwealth Avenue and Frederick Street, to the 10435 Downsville Pike property. The school system has already begun seeking bids or quotes on some of the work that needs to be done at the Downsville Pike property, said Rob Rollins, director of facilities planning and development.

The Washington County Board of Education ended months of speculation Tuesday afternoon by voting unanimously to buy the former Allegheny Energy building on Downsville Pike to house its administrative offices. The $5.5 million purchase agreement includes more than 44 acres that one day could serve as the site for an elementary or middle school. Last week, schools Superintendent Clayton Wilcox told board members that renovating the 10435 Downsville Pike office building is estimated to cost $6.6 million.

Visiting the mound in a bases-loaded, no-out situation, the late Baltimore Orioles Manager Earl Weaver - fresh out of good advice - once told his beleaguered pitcher, “If you know how to cheat, this would be the time.” In a similar vein, if the City of Hagerstown has an ace up its sleeve to lure the Washington County Board of Education downtown, Tuesday will have to be the day it's unveiled. This week, board members indicated they are leaning strongly not to downtown, but to the former Allegheny Energy headquarters on Downsville Pike as the site for their new central offices.

Recalling his first tour of the former Allegheny Energy headquarters on Downsville Pike, Washington County Board of Education member Wayne D. Ridenour said he thought of the possibility the office building could house the school system's administrative offices and possibly a school. It was around 2005 and Ridenour, who knew the building's owners at the time, took a tour of the Downsville Pike building with a Realtor and Elizabeth Morgan, who was schools superintendent at the time.

Borough of Waynesboro officials aired grievances about FirstEnergy practices last week as they questioned why electric meters are not read more often. David Kline from FirstEnergy talked to the Waynesboro Borough Council on Wednesday about complaints about power bills having estimated meter readings several months in a row. When Allegheny Energy merged with FirstEnergy two years ago, there were not many immediate changes, Kline said. However, computer systems and meter-reading policies started changing about a year ago, he said.