Fairplay

A Fairplay man has been charged with robbing the Williamsport Pharmacy, according to a Washington County Sheriff's Office news release. Bradley Steven Lapp, 42, of 8617 Sharpsburg Pike, Apt. B, was charged with robbery, deputies said. Deputies said they were called to the pharmacy Saturday after employees there reported that a man told them he had a gun and wanted narcotic pills. However, the man later said he did not have a gun and the pharmacist did not give him pills, deputies said.

Lawyers are paid to say such things, but even so it is hard to swallow Fairplay Fire Co. attorney Ed Kuczynski's assertion that his embattled client has failed to receive due process. Fairplay had a response-failure rate of 26.3 percent. This could have been grounds, not for a lengthy inquiry, but for a summary judgment against the department, and a hasty change in management and practices. But the Washington County Commissioners chose a more conservative route, appointing a task force that spent months investigating what went wrong before recommending that the department receive a top-to-bottom overhaul, including the dismissal of its current leadership.

Fairplay Volunteer Fire Co.'s chief and president faced questions Monday from other members of a task force working to revive the suspended company. This was the task force's first time hearing directly from officials with firsthand knowledge of the company's problems. More than 40 people sat in the audience at Washington County Agricultural Education Center for Monday's meeting, listening to Chief Leonard Heller and President Bill Pennington field a number of questions about the company's operations, membership and shortcomings.

“We will be back!!” - underlined twice - is the message in red on the white board in Fairplay Volunteer Fire Co.'s main bay area. Despite the Washington County Commissioners' 4-1 vote Jan. 29 to no longer recognize the Fairplay fire company, and to no longer provide it funding or in-kind services, the fire company has members who continue to work to raise funds and who still are receiving training for emergency services. “We think we should be reinstated,” President Bill Pennington said Wednesday night.

A man who became trapped in a trench that collapsed Thursday afternoon behind a Fairplay home was able to free himself about one hour after emergency crews arrived, according to a fire official. About 40 Washington County emergency personnel responded to a home at 17802 Spielman Road about 10 minutes after the 2 p.m. dispatch for the reported trench collapse, said Jay Morgan, assistant chief of the Sharpsburg Volunteer Fire Co. While crews worked to stabilize the ground around the trench, the man, who was trapped from the knees down about 10 feet below ground level, continued to dig himself out using a metal coffee can, Morgan said.

Holly Kays loves writing, the outdoors and building relationships with people. This year's Outstanding Graduating Senior in the College of Natural Resources and Environment at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Va., Kays has been involved in campus publications and has served her community through inner city and trailer park ministries. According to information provided by Virginia Tech, the Outstanding Graduating Senior is awarded on the basis of grade point average (3.4 or higher on a 4.0 scale)

Amid concerns about Fairplay Volunteer Fire Co.'s ability to respond to emergency calls, the Washington County Commissioners will consider on Tuesday whether to suspend the fire company's operations, according to county officials and a presentation document for the commissioners' meeting. The concerns are mostly about Fairplay's ability to respond to daytime weekday and emergency medical service calls, something fire company officials expect to improve by paying to have an emergency medical technician/driver work out of the fire hall from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. starting Monday, Fairplay Fire Chief Leonard Heller said Sunday.

Hagerstown police are looking for a Fairplay man who allegedly stabbed another man in the neck after a party Friday night, according to a Hagerstown Police Department news release. Robert Wayne Brechbill, 25, of 17920 Lappans Road is wanted on charges of second-degree attempted murder, first- and second-degree assault and reckless endangerment, police said. Police were dispatched to 1344 Jay Drive for a report of a male who had been stabbed at 3:43 a.m. Officers learned that several people had been at the residence Friday night for a party.

Bond for a Fairplay man who was charged over the weekend with stabbing another man in the neck remained at $600,000 Monday. Washington County District Judge Mark D. Thomas ruled not to change the bond amount for Robert W. Brechbill during a bond-review hearing that was transmitted on a live television feed between district court and the Washington County Detention Center. Defense attorney Michael Wilson asked Thomas to lower the bond, saying Brechbill wasn't a flight risk because he turned himself in to authorities.

HAGERSTOWN - Washington County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association President Glenn Fishack and Fairplay Volunteer Fire Co. President Bill Pennington met Friday morning to try to work out personnel problems within the fire company, Fishack said Friday afternoon. The Washington County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association on Thursday night voted against suspending the membership of the Fairplay Volunteer Fire Company by one vote. Thursday's vote came after at least four Fairplay volunteer firefighters were informed Nov. 11 by the Fairplay company's president that their memberships were not being renewed, the affected firefighters have told The Herald-Mail.

John Sylvester Kennedy, 76, of Cumberland, Md., passed away Sunday, April 28, 2013, at Western Maryland Regional Hospital in Cumberland. Born Feb. 23, 1937, in Hagerstown, Md., he was the son of the late John F. and Catherine I. (Ricketts) Kennedy. He was a 1956 graduate of Hagerstown High School. John had worked for Dow Jones in Silver Spring, Md., and was a machinist at The Herald-Mail for more than 20 years. John retired in 2001 from Canteen, where he repaired vending machines.

A Fairplay woman accused of breaking the arms and legs of her 8-month-old daughter told investigators the injuries occurred while exercising the infant, a charging document filed with Washington County District Court said. The documents alleged that Stacey Renee Reese, 25, told investigators “I've always been rough, and I don't mean to hurt her.” Reese, of 7821 Sharpsburg Pike, is charged with six counts, including first-degree child abuse resulting in severe physical injury and first-degree assault.

First-responder emergency service coverage was re-established to the Fairplay area as of Saturday afternoon through a new volunteer program known as Neighbors Helping Neighbors. James Ulrich, acting chairman of the Washington County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association's EMS Committee, said the plan will provide EMS coverage using certified volunteer EMTs in the wake of the indefinite closure of the Fairplay Volunteer Fire Co. The interim plan initially includes 24 volunteers from companies and agencies throughout the county, including Sharpsburg, Hagerstown, Smithsburg, Williamsport and Boonsboro, according to Damien Teal, assistant chief and operations manager for Sharpsburg EMS. “We have a good number of people who are stepping forward, and I think once we get more people involved, I think more people will want to help out as well,” said Ulrich, chief of operations for Smithsburg EMS. Sharpsburg EMS and Sharpsburg Volunteer Fire Co. were two of the lead agencies in implementing the plan, under which a vehicle will be stationed at the Washington County Agricultural Education Center on Sharpsburg Pike or at other residences in the Fairplay area to respond to fire and medical calls.

“Is the City of Hagerstown out of its mind? Are they really paying $320,000 for a rundown building with a collapsed roof and numerous code violations? Why wasn't the owner forced to comply with the code, rather than rewarded with a nice, fat check?” - Hagerstown “Has anyone heard - including the new mayor - has anyone heard anything about the senior center in Hagerstown? I have not seen anything in The Herald-Mail since last December.” - Hagerstown “I wish to put a good word in for the MVA. The recent experience was appreciated.

Birthday Today - Andrew Bohan, Smithsburg, turns 25. Anniversary Today - Joshua and Gaynell Myers, Fairplay, are celebrating their 59th anniversary.

Margaret Arlene Stevens, 91, went home to be with her Lord on Sunday, April 7, 2013. She passed away at her daughter's home in Hagerstown, where she lived for the past seven years. Formerly, she lived at 7701 Sharpsburg Pike for more than 50 years. She was born Jan. 20, 1922, to Lottie Ruth and Omar Joseph Hennesy of Fairplay. She worked in several factories in her early life. During World War II, she volunteered to work at Fort Meade, Md., in a gun factory. This is where she met the man she would fall in love with and was married to for more than 56 years, James Clayton Stevens.

Dale Eugene Frushour, 76, of Hagerstown, passed from this life on Monday, March 25, 2013, at his daughter's home in Fairplay while surrounded by his family. Born July 18, 1936, in Wolfsville, Md., he was the son of the late Edgar Martin and Ethel Irene (Winfield) Frushour. He was preceded in death by his wife, Bonnie Mae (Henson) Frushour, in 1984. Dale was a 1954 graduate of Middletown High School and attended Hagerstown Business College. He grew up as a member of St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Wolfsville, and later was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Boonsboro.

With the Fairplay fire company out of service, a plan spearheaded by Sharpsburg Area EMS has been approved by the Washington County Vol. Fire & Rescue Association to provide interim emergency medical services to that coverage area, association President Dale Hill said Friday. Hill said the proposal, unanimously passed by WCVFRA membership during a meeting Thursday night, would call for a Sharpsburg EMS ambulance and a corresponding chase vehicle to respond to calls for service in the Fairplay area.

A Fairplay man who stole a neighbor's van, unsuccessfully tried to rob a pharmacy and then was caught by the son of the van's owner was sentenced to five years in state prison after pleading guilty Thursday in Washington Circuit Court to attempted robbery. Bradley Steven Lapp, 43, formerly of 8617 Sharpsburg Pike, also pleaded guilty to fourth-degree burglary. In exchange for the plea, charges including theft, motor vehicle theft and assault were dismissed. On the morning of Oct. 13, 2012, Lapp entered the unlocked apartment of a neighbor and removed the keys to the van, Assistant State's Attorney Michele Hansen said, reading from the statement of facts in the case.

Four generations of a local family are shown. Pictured from left are, great-grandmother, Betty J. Thomas of Hagerstown; grandfather, Gary E. Thomas Jr. of Fairplay, holding Ethan Howard, age 5; mother, Courtney Thomas Howard, holding Morgan May Howard, 17 months of Gilbert, Ariz.