Factory

Two men were arrested Wednesday night while trying to steal copper wire from a former Hagerstown furniture factory, Hagerstown Police said in a news release. Steven Duane Bloyer Jr., 33, of 1017H Noland Drive, Hagerstown; and Charles Arthur Sullivan, 29, of 1596 Carey Lane, Frederick, Md., were charged with second-degree burglary, felony theft, destruction of property, trespassing and possession of burglary tools, according to the release. Bloyer and Sullivan were arrested shortly after 11 p.m. Wednesday by detectives from Hagerstown Police and the Washington County Sheriff's Office as they attempted to steal copper wire from the Statton Furniture Manufacturing Co. building at 504 E. First St., the release said.

Rezoning approved for Cannon factory Hagerstown City Council members voted 4-0 Feb. 24 to rezone the former Cannon Shoe Co. factory downtown for commercial use. In doing so, council members said it had been a mistake for the 148 W. Franklin St. building to be zoned industrial restricted, which allows for light manufacturing and warehousing. The zoning change will become effective March 27, said City Clerk Gann Breichner. The building was left to the neighboring Christ's Reformed Church.

World Kitchen factory to close Staff and wire reports MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Local economic development and county officials Thursday tried to be philosophical about the news that a 40-year-old Berkeley County factory that produces Corningware and Visions cookware will close within a year under a corporate restructuring plan. World Kitchen Inc., owned by WKI Holding Co. Inc. of Elmira, N.Y., will transfer those product lines and the Corelle cup line to another plant by March 2002, company officials said Wednesday.

Maryland’s Teachers of the Year come from many regions and backgrounds, and teach varied subjects at different grade levels. This year, however, many of them have one thing in common: a Salisbury University degree. Nine Salisbury University alumni have been named Teachers of the Year in counties statewide for 2011-12, the most of any higher education institution represented in the state. In all, more than one in three of this year’s honorees are Sea Gulls, including Katharine Long of Washington County.

Pa. factory closing ends way of life for some By RICHARD F. BELISLE / Staff Writer, Waynesboro MERCERSBURG, Pa. - When the Mercersburg Apparel factory closes today it will end a way of life for the 20 women and one man who work there, some since the plant opened in 1954. continued For Cindy Lockbaum, 57, it's the only job she ever had. Lockbaum has worked there since high school. She said the closing means more than just the loss of a job; some workers are close to retirement anyway.

A stubborn fire started in a lower level of an addition on the historic M.P. Moller Pipe Organ factory in Hagerstown Thursday afternoon, spreading into the upper levels of the structure as firefighters started to bring it under control, making it increasingly difficult to extinguish, fire officials said. Heavy gray smoke billowed from openings in the metal-sided addition at 403 North Prospect St., as firefighters attacked it from above with a ladder truck and on the ground. It took three hours to bring the blaze, first reported at 3:23 p.m., under control, fire officials said.

Sonny Keyes throws horseshoes Friday on his lunch hour near the former Moller Pipe Organ factory on North Prospect Street. Keyes works at Blue Mountain Wood Works Inc.

Send me a line I am grateful to all of those who have sent me news in the past and hope they will continue to send me news that our Maugansville friends and neighbors would like to know about. For those who haven't sent me news, please consider doing so. Just email me at catgrant@myactv.net or call me at 301-791-1890.   More about Maugansville In 1888, a carriage factory was operated in Maugansville by Benjamin F. Stouffer. Stouffer not only made carriages and buggies, but also repaired and repainted them.

HAGERSTOWN -- After 82 years of business in Hagerstown, Statton Furniture Manufacturing Co. will close, the company's president, T. Hunt Hardinge III, said Monday. Hardinge said sales dropped off "significantly" in the last several months. He said the company is going out of business on its own terms rather than filing for bankruptcy. "The business is going to close with dignity, just like it's always operated," said Roger Schlossberg, an attorney who has represented the company off and on for years.

In 1898 Home Builders Savings and Loan Association, the forerunner of Home Federal, was organized in Hagerstown when former knitting mill press operator Sigmund H. Weihenmayer promoted the concept that factory workers should save money and buy their own homes instead of paying rent. Other founders were M.P. Moller Sr. (president), J. Frank Roessner, William H. Smith, Henry C. Foltz, William Preston Miller, Charles M. Watson, George C. Snyder, and William H. Fridinger. - The Maryland Cracker Barrel

Smelly, dirty, greasy, men, noise. These are descriptions a few of the Washington County Public Schools guidance counselors gave when Volvo Group Trucks Operations Vice President Wade Watson asked what they think of when they hear “diesel engines.” Approximately 70 guidance counselors, from elementary to high schools, listened to Watson talk about changing perceptions of manufacturing, including job opportunities and workplaces. “We've really modernized the way of working, (we)

Send me a line I am grateful to all of those who have sent me news in the past and hope they will continue to send me news that our Maugansville friends and neighbors would like to know about. For those who haven't sent me news, please consider doing so. Just email me at catgrant@myactv.net or call me at 301-791-1890.   More about Maugansville In 1888, a carriage factory was operated in Maugansville by Benjamin F. Stouffer. Stouffer not only made carriages and buggies, but also repaired and repainted them.

Two men were arrested Wednesday night while trying to steal copper wire from a former Hagerstown furniture factory, Hagerstown Police said in a news release. Steven Duane Bloyer Jr., 33, of 1017H Noland Drive, Hagerstown; and Charles Arthur Sullivan, 29, of 1596 Carey Lane, Frederick, Md., were charged with second-degree burglary, felony theft, destruction of property, trespassing and possession of burglary tools, according to the release. Bloyer and Sullivan were arrested shortly after 11 p.m. Wednesday by detectives from Hagerstown Police and the Washington County Sheriff's Office as they attempted to steal copper wire from the Statton Furniture Manufacturing Co. building at 504 E. First St., the release said.

The Unilever ice cream plant in Hagerstown will close its doors for good on July 27, leaving 391 hourly and salaried employees without jobs, a company spokesman said Tuesday. Jeff Graubard said news of the closure was no surprise. “They've known about this beforehand,” he said. Unilever officials told employees in 2009 that the plant at 1100 Frederick St. would close around the end of 2011, but that date was delayed. Then, in September 2011, the company announced plans to close the plant in August 2013.

Maurice Snyder, who has lived in Williamsport for all of his 97 years, said he can remember the overall factory at the intersection of Potomac and Artizan streets. "We lived on a farm and bought a pair or two of those overalls," he said. "We thought, living on a farm, we were dressed when we wore a pair of the overalls. " Snyder - a Williamsport historian according to town Councilwoman Joan Knode - said the Barnhart Overall Factory occupied the now-vacant building on the Red Barron property.

The Volvo Powertrain North America plant that manufactures Mack Truck engines near Hagerstown will be featured in a program to air Saturday on The National Geographic Channel . Mack Trucks spokesman John Walsh said film crews recently were at the plant to shoot segments for an hourlong episode of “Ultimate Factories,” a show that goes behind the scenes to unveil how some of the world's most popular products are made. “We focused on the production of Mack engines,” Walsh said of the filming portion at the Mack facility off U.S. 11. Walsh said crews also concentrated on filming plant employees working on a drag-racing truck.

Maryland’s Teachers of the Year come from many regions and backgrounds, and teach varied subjects at different grade levels. This year, however, many of them have one thing in common: a Salisbury University degree. Nine Salisbury University alumni have been named Teachers of the Year in counties statewide for 2011-12, the most of any higher education institution represented in the state. In all, more than one in three of this year’s honorees are Sea Gulls, including Katharine Long of Washington County.

Good things from Ohio wind up in Maryland. That is if you're a fan of the Cleveland Browns or Longaberger baskets. On Friday, hundreds of basket lovers and a few Browns fans turned out for the grand opening of a Longaberger Factory Store at Hagerstown Premium Outlets. Longaberger CEO Tami Longaberger was joined at the ribbon-cutting ceremony by former Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar, who signed autographs and posed for pictures. Two years after Kosar left the Browns in 1993, then-owner Art Modell announced that he was moving the franchise east.

I normally don't approve of marginally pointless lawsuits, but in this case I'm willing to make an exception. A California woman is suing Taco Bell for hinting around that its beef filling might contain some actual beef. Which it does, of course, but only 35 percent's worth, the lawsuit contends. The rest is filler, all the stuff you would expect — corn, soy, oats, and so on. The only thing that really grabs your attention is the "anti-dusting agent. " As is getting to be the case in these matters, the reaction to the news is far more interesting than the news itself: 1. A Miami newspaper noted that Taco Bell had pulled its advertising from a promiscuous television show on MTV, but then made a pretty good argument that Taco Bell is worse for you than the show.

Gettysburg Stage will host auditions for "The Triangle Factory Fire Project" at 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 16 and 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 17, in the basement of the Trinity United Church of Christ, 60 E. High St., Gettysburg.  March 2011 is the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Factory Fire, a fire that killed 146 people. From that disaster, however, rose the framework of today's fire safety regulations, better treatment of workers and improved workplace safety. Performances will begin in late March.