Feelings

Mark Sands of Hagerstown expressed his unhappiness Monday at the way residents in rural communities in Maryland are treated by elected officials. “Rural people get the short end of the stick throughout the state,” he said. “Even with a gasoline tax, rural people have to pay more because they have to drive further into work. Then, the money is disbursed back into the cities.” Sands, 50, was among Hagerstown residents who said elected officials in Maryland tend to put the needs of rural areas in Maryland, particularly Western Maryland, behind the needs of the rest of the state.

In the continuation of our breakfast quest using a 12-inch, cast-iron skillet, I combined a recipe I found online with a few ingredients from our well-stocked frugal pantry and fridge.  I've incorporated some red skin potatoes and some chopped scallions with some rainbow Swiss chard for a beautiful color and brightness of flavor. If you want to add in some meat, please feel free to experiment. As I see it, the dish is complete and looks great as is, but, again, I too love to change recipes and this one is ripe for the picking.  As is, it's a great lacto-ovo vegetarian dish but with a few diced and sliced ham or spicy pepperoni you have a meat lovers' paradise.

Special to The Herald-Mail Everyone hears about the health benefits of salmon, right? Well, do you know there is a big difference between the health benefits of Atlantic salmon and Pacific salmon, the two types most commonly found in our supermarkets?    More than 90 percent of all Atlantic salmon is farm raised and eats only food that has been engineered to make the salmon pack on weight in short periods of time.  This "super food" is bad for the salmon and bad for us when we eat the fish.

Behind the scenes of the doo-wop show at The Maryland Theatre on Oct. 28, the staff and volunteers were marking a milestone of sorts, ushering in the end of an era. Mevis Shatzer, who served as house manager for 23 of the 27 years she volunteered at the theater, was "retiring. " After the performance, Shatzer's contributions to the theater were celebrated with a cake, accompanied by a big side of well wishes. On top of that, Shatzer, 67, said it was "a very nice show - that was a nice sendoff.

I consider myself to be the brave, gladiator type of guy. But when I get to this time of year, I feel like my chariot is on fire. No, I don't start running in slow motion. But I get antsy since we are only a couple of weeks from the end of high school football's regular season. I have my football locker in order, but I start worrying about what I'm going to do with the other nine months of the year once this all ends. I'm one of those guys who looks forward to the autumn of life … I have trouble filling the winter, spring and summer of it. I'm lonely.

Tuesday's special gubernatorial election didn't make much sense to some Berkeley County voters, given that the winner only gets a 14-month term. "There should have been an easier way to do it," said Eric Fortney after voting at Tuscarora Elementary School in Martinsburg. While Fortney said he feels it is his civic duty to vote, he added that the special election made "absolutely" no sense and also questioned the expense of early voting. Supporters of Republican Bill Maloney said the election was justified because their candidate could get much accomplished in the remaining months of former Gov. Joe Manchin's unexpired four-year term.

"Drive" is a hard movie to figure out. That isn't to say that the plot is overly complicated (it's actually pretty straightforward), but the film goes in some directions creatively that come seemingly from out of nowhere. These directions aren't always good or bad necessarily, but they at least represent different and interesting decisions. To start with, the main character has virtually no personality. The unnamed Driver (Ryan Gosling) is pretty much a blank slate, going through the plot without letting the viewer pick up on any discernable traits.

Tri-State area residents, along with millions of others along the East Coast, felt the earth rumbling beneath them just before 2 p.m. as a 5.8-magnitude earthquake struck the region. The epicenter of the 1:51 p.m. quake was about 9 miles south of Mineral, Va., in Louisa County, about 123 miles south of Hagerstown, according to the United States Geological Survey. The USGS reported an 2.8-magnitude aftershock from the same spot in Virginia at 2:46 p.m. A 5.8 magnitude earthquake is typically intense enough to be felt by all, to move heavy furniture, and to cause slight to moderate damage in well-built ordinary structures, according to USGS.  It may cause considerable damage in poorly built or badly designed structures.

OK, so you are probably wondering why I'm so crabby. Well, it's a delicious protein that is so easy to us. in a variety of ways. I love the flavor, texture, and the way it takes to just about every dish I create. You will have to forgive my lack of style, however, in that I am simply adding ingredients to this dish based upon what I use on the mainland.  I've never been to Hawaii, but if one of my loyal readers ever heads that way and needs a personal chef, give me a call, I'd be glad to taste my way across the Hawaiian Islands with you. - Scott C. Anderson is associate food service director and chef with Shepherd University dining services in Shepherdstown, W.Va., and Chef Ambassador to the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

Chris Curran threw his weight around on Sunday. Normally, at 5-foot-10 and 150 pounds, it isn't that scary. But this time, Curran carried the clout of a sumo wrestler. The Hagerstown center fielder had three hits and four RBIs but stole the show by throwing his body around Municipal Stadium in the Suns' fourth straight win, a 9-1 victory over Lexington. Curran extended while on the run to pull in Bryce Lane's drive to right-center to end the sixth inning. He topped it with an RBI triple that ended with him scoring on a Lexington error.