Feasibility Study

What began as a Mercersburg family doctor's vision to promote healthy living has evolved into an initiative to study hiking and biking routes in the area. Dr. Elizabeth George said she was seeing children in her office who were clearly obese and out of shape. "I could see that diabetes and hypertension were in their future," George said. "There are communities like Boulder, Colo., that have an obesity rate of 11 percent. Ours is 30 percent by the time people reach their 20s. " George's vision is all about walking, biking, exercise and leading a healthy life, she said.

The Montgomery-Peters-Mercersburg Connectivity (MPMC) plan is expected to take a giant step forward today when group leaders meet with Campbell Thomas & Co. to sign a contract for a feasibility study to develop a plan for walking and biking connectivity between the Borough of Mercersburg and Montgomery and Peters townships. The connectivity includes neighborhoods, schools, parks, business areas, historical and recreational opportunities, according to a news release. The public is invited to the kickoff event tonight at 6 in the James Buchanan Middle School Library to learn more about the study, meet the community architects and study team, and thank the donors who have funded the study.

Tantara West Virginia Inc., the company credited with prodding Berkeley County into establishing an inland port, "just kind of went away," but the economic development initiative is still very much alive, officials said this week. A master plan that serves as a general outline for the port concept has received state approval, and the Eastern Panhandle Inland Port Coalition now needs funding for a feasibility study, coalition Chairman Hunter Wilson said Thursday. The study will lay out what would be needed to make the inland port a reality from "point A to the end," Wilson said.

Four site plans for a new/renovated Bester Elementary School were presented to the Washington County Board of Education on Tuesday. The school board voted Tuesday afternoon to eliminate concepts B and C, both of which would have incorporated part of the existing Bester Elementary School into the new Bester Elementary. The two options left both call for building a new Bester Elementary. One, Concept A, would raze the existing school and the other, Concept A1, would leave it for an undetermined use. According to the Bester Elementary School Feasibility Study, the four concepts are: Concept A Construct a new U-shaped 73,186-square-foot school building on the back end of the property.

HAGERSTOWN -- Washington County Public Schools will seek a private firm to study the feasibility of replacing Bester Elementary School in Hagerstown. The Washington County Board of Education on Tuesday gave school system officials permission to hire architectural and engineering services to conduct the study. Rob Rollins, executive director of school operations, said the study would cost about $150,000. The money to pay for the study probably would come from the school system's surplus fund, Chief Financial Officer Chris South said.

SMITHSBURG -- A youth baseball organization is interested in creating baseball diamonds on 2.5 acres of land in Veterans Park along Water Street, a town official said Wednesday. The Smithsburg Little Sluggers league uses two baseball diamonds behind the Smithsburg Volunteer Fire Co., according to Brad Nee, an assistant coach with the league. One of those diamonds is often occupied, and some practices have to be held on a separate grassy area to accommodate players, Nee said Wednesday afternoon.

HAGERSTOWN -- The Hagerstown City Council heard a proposal Tuesday from the Hagerstown-Washington County Chamber of Commerce to begin examining the feasibility of a third parking deck downtown. There are two downtown parking decks, in the first blocks of North and South Potomac streets. An informal survey of downtown businesses in the area indicated a demand for 842 spaces, said Shelby Penn of the Chamber's Downtown Task Force. The Columbia Bank, Hagerstown Trust Division, is willing to negotiate with the city to develop the parking lot behind its West Washington Street branch, according to documents provided by Penn.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- The "Inland Port of Martinsburg-Berkeley County" may sound a little odd given there is no commercially viable waterway for shipping in the community, but there is plenty of capacity for planes, trains and automobiles. The transportation modes -- Interstate 81, Eastern West Virginia Regional Airport, CSX and Winchester & Western railroads -- represent the "three legs of the stool" to establish such a waterless port that could spur substantial economic development, according to proponent Clarence E. "CEM" Martin.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- Consultants told the Martinsburg City Council on Tuesday night that a 250-space downtown parking garage projected to cost about $4.8 million does not appear to be feasible given current economic conditions. The presentation of findings by three firms involved in the parking garage study came minutes after the council agreed to spend $550,000 on property to move ahead with another major capital improvement project - expansion of City Hall and the police station.

ANNAPOLIS - A new economic strategy could help Washington County find new users for its large, empty stores, county leaders told a state cabinet official Wednesday. Members of the county's legislative lobbying coalition pitched a "reuse" concept for vacant buildings, hoping it could include state incentives. Although David W. Edgerley, the secretary of Maryland's Department of Business and Economic Development, said the financial climate isn't right for new tax breaks, coalition representatives called the meeting productive.