Firms

Less than two weeks after a company that announced plans to start a business incubator in Hagerstown met with city and financial representatives, one of its principles says the makeup of the group has changed and the project has been put on hold. Cascade Management Group Inc., a newly formed Hagerstown company that was established April 4 as a business development entity, says it has severed ties with Perry Ealim, president and CEO of Merge Business Development Systems Inc., who had been providing pro-bono guidance for Cascade.

HAGERSTOWN - Washington County Health System has embarked on a public campaign that blames five residents and their attorney for holding up the construction of a $255 million hospital off Robinwood Drive. One of the five residents, however, said by phone Thursday the campaign isn't working. The residents don't plan to drop an appeal that challenges a Washington County Board of Zoning Appeals decision allowing the hospital to be built next to Robinwood Medical Center, resident Charles Hongell said.

HAGERSTOWN - Duvinage Corp., the oldest manufacturer of steel spiral and circular staircases in the United States, was purchased for an undisclosed amount Wednesday by Key Bridge Partners investment firm. The firm will not change Duvinage's product or fire any of the workers at its factory on Oak Ridge Drive, according to Key Bridge Partners Representative Robert Maruszewski. "Nothing will change. The company will still build stairs. We are going to help Duvinage grow by bringing in capital and ideas," Maruszewski said.

Firms designing new stadium Designs for a new baseball stadium to replace Hagerstown's Municipal Stadium are expected to be completed by November. The Maryland Stadium Authority is overseeing preliminary engineering and design work being done by HOK Sport in Kansas City, Mo., and Barton Malow in Baltimore. The work is being paid for with $120,000 in city funds, $190,000 from the county and $35,000 in private contributions, including $30,000 from Winston Blenckstone, owner of the Hagerstown Suns baseball team.

A Hagerstown architectural firm that is working on the new Maugansville Elementary School will design the future stadium at North Hagerstown High School. The Washington County Board of Education voted unanimously Tuesday to award a contract for design services of Mike Callas Stadium to Bushey Feight Morin Architects Inc. The contract is for $199,132, school system Chief Operating Officer William Blum told the board, but the firm has agreed to provide $25,000 worth of services to the system on a pro bono basis, making the price $174,132, Blum said.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - As four former employees of Pennsylvania Modular Homes Inc. looked on Thursday, the company and the owner of the building in which it once made homes concluded what one attorney called a "business divorce. " [cont. from news page ] At the hearing on a preliminary injunction filed last Friday in Franklin County Court, Pennsylvania Modular agreed to pay back rent to DRI Holding Co. Inc. along with utilities and other bills through the end of March, according to Steve Bresset, the attorney for DRI. DRI Holding owns the South Main Street building where Pennsylvania Modular Homes was located, according to court records.

shappell@herald-mail.com HAGERSTOWN - A finalized Allegheny Energy Inc. refinancing plan, the company's top priority this year, was announced Monday, according to a company spokeswoman and a prepared news release. The deal, which includes acquiring $1.55 billion dollars in new debt to replace old borrowings, helped the company to reduced its debt by about $175 million and provided some much needed financial stability, the company said. Janice Lantz, a spokeswoman for Allegheny Energy, said the company used proceeds to refinance existing bank debt the company had until April 2005 to pay and used other cash to reduce other outstanding debts by about $175 million.

The attorney representing a billboard company said Wednesday that Washington County planners re-interpreted the county's zoning ordinance, resulting in the Planning Commission's rejection of four billboard site plans last month. Great Outdoor Advertising Company appealed the Planning Commission's decisions to the Washington County Board of Zoning Appeals. A hearing on the appeals was held Wednesday night at the County Administration Building. The Planning Commission rejected the four billboard site plans, stating that the total size of each structure, including all sides of the signs, exceeded 1,000 square feet, the maximum size allowed under the county's zoning ordinance.

On Oct. 1, the accounting firm of Rotz & Stonesifer P.C. became the newest life member of the Tuscarora Area Development Association. Pictured, from left, are Todd F. Stonesifer, CPA, principal and business entities group manager; Lynn Rotz, CPA-CEO, founder and managing principal; and Mary-Anne Gordon, president and executive director of the Tuscarora Area Development Association.

An educational consulting firm on Tuesday night gave the Washington County Board of Education the results of an evaluation of its Student Achievement Specialist Program. There are about 50 student achievement specialists working in the school system with teachers on job development and training, officials said. The evaluation surveyed 1,286 faculty, administrators and specialists in a 20-minute, Web-based survey. The evaluation will take place in three stages, and the board was briefed about the first stage Tuesday by Doug Walker, project manager with RMC Research Corporation, based in Arlington, Va. The company found that teachers and principals feel that the specialists are knowledgeable and skillful in their roles, and that their implementation is significantly shaped by the school principal and the specialists' personalities.