Funding

There’s been a lot of talk about the economy lately. Couple that with the role of federal, state and local government, and you have a subject that will usually set anyone’s hair on fire. So, what is the role of government in the economy? On one side, you have conservatives, who believe the government’s role in the economy must be “hands off.” The more conservative in nature, the more and more hands off. Some conservatives beat their chests and shout, “Don’t spend taxpayer money (often expressed as “my money”)

BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. -- The Morgan County Commission unanimously approved giving $3,000 to the Morgan County Solid Waste Authority to ensure that the county will continue recycling plastics. The Morgan County Forum for Arts, Sciences and Technologies (FAST) agreed to give $2,000 to the authority to print and distribute information to inform the public about the benefits of recycling if the commission would match $3,000 to pay for the processing and hauling of plastics, authority chairman Bennett Lentczner said.

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- Funding for the Washington County Early Intervention Program recently was cut, and officials with the group's governing body said they are brainstorming ways to cope with that loss. The Early Intervention Program serves children from birth to 3 years old with developmental disabilities and their families, said Mariam Robins, coordinator of special education programs and itinerant services for Washington County Public Schools. The school system is the lead agency with the program and works with the county's Health Department, social services and other agencies.

Top four priorities in the proposed fiscal year 2008 Capital Improvement Program: · Pangborn Boulevard Elementary replacement funding Total estimated cost: $22,377,000 · Westfields Elementary new school planning Total estimated cost: $1,289,000 · Westfields Elementary new school funding Total estimated cost: $24,243,000 · Eastern Primary new school planning Total estimated cost: $1,483,000 ...

trishr@herald-mail.com BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.VA. - The new War Memorial Hospital will have an access road built with $500,000 in federal funds secured by U.S. Rep. Shelly Moore Capito, R-W.Va. The money will be used to make highway improvements and build a new road that will connect the new hospital in Morgan County with U.S. 522, Capito said in a news release. "The funding will help construct an access road for the new War Memorial Hospital, moving the project closer to completion," Capito said in the release.

The Hagerstown-Washington County Economic Development Commission announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, recently extended conservation practices funding under the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Initiative to April 19. Funding selections are made at specific times throughout the year, with the next round of funding cycle deadlines set for May 17. Applications are accepted, ranked and prioritized based...

ANNAPOLIS -- The House of Delegates voted Wednesday to pass a capital budget bill that includes an amendment that strikes a $550,000 grant to fund repairs to the dam at Devil's Backbone Park. The bill passed, 108-33. Dels. Charles A. Jenkins, R-Washington/Frederick; Del. LeRoy E. Myers Jr., R-Washington/Allegany; Del. Andrew A. Serafini, R-Washington; and Del. Christopher B. Shank, R-Washington, voted against the bill. Del. John P. Donoghue, D-Washington, voted for it. Some local lawmakers had speculated an amendment restoring the funding would be offered Wednesday on the House floor, but no such amendment was offered.

Future funding for the University System of Maryland at Hagerstown appears safe again  after another attempt to divert money from it has been abandoned in the state legislature - at least for this year. Earlier in the Maryland General Assembly session, Del. John L. Bohanan Jr., D-St. Mary's, renewed his quest to direct more money toward six higher-education centers outside the university system at the expense of the two centers inside the university system. Under his proposal, USMH stood to lose about $1 million, or more than half of its operating budget, in fiscal  2014.

12 groups applied for funding CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - A dozen Franklin County groups applied for funding through the 2002 Community Development Block Grant program, including: HEIGHT="6" ALT=" "> Metal Township Municipal Authority, $210,000 for sewer system tap fee and hook-up subsidy. HEIGHT="6" ALT=" "> Indian Lake Camp Corporation, $100,0000 for water system upgrades. HEIGHT="6" ALT=" "> Mont Alto Municipal Authority, $200,000 for water system upgrades.

scottb@herald-mail.com A majority of Hagerstown City Council members gave general approval on Tuesday to giving $17,000 to the program formerly known as HotSpot Communities for after-school programs. Program coordinator Carolyn Brooks had asked for $45,000. Brooks has told both the Washington County Commissioners and the City Council that a state budget cut left the organization without $90,000 to pay for after-school programs at Winter Street, Bester, Eastern and Fountaindale elementary schools.

The Berkeley County Building Commission advanced a bond ordinance to second reading Thursday that would allow officials to obtain up to $700,000 in financing to complete the new Hedgesville, W.Va., public library building. The bond ordinance for the county's public library system, along with another ordinance that proposes bond refunding to reduce county debt incurred from construction of the county's judicial center, are on track for final approval June 6. The building commission Thursday separately adopted a resolution that will allow the county to shave off nearly six years of payments on debt incurred from the ongoing public safety building project.

The Borough of Chambersburg and an area business have been awarded state funding to purchase natural gas vehicles or convert existing vehicles to natural gas. The Borough of Chambersburg, along with project partners IESI Corp. and the Borough of Shippensburg, will receive $472,500 for the purchase or retrofit of 19 vehicles to operate on compressed natural gas. The vehicles include refuse and recycling trucks, a utility bucket truck, and an ambulance, according to a news release from state Rep. Rob Kauffman, R-Franklin/Cumberland.

The Franklin County (Pa.) Department of Emergency Services is seeking local businesses affected by a tractor-trailer fire Thursday that closed Interstate 81 in Dauphin County, Pa., for several days. Due to the crash and fire last week, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett declared a state of disaster. He is consulting with the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to determine if there is a need for a federal declaration, according to a news release. If a federal declaration is made, there might be federal funds available to offset uninsured business losses due to the incident.

The Home Builders Association of Washington County recently presented a donation of $600 to the Transition Skills Program at Washington County Technical High School for the students to purchase home tool kits.  The students learn the skills in school to work with all of the tools in the kit, and then they are able to take the kits with them when they graduate.  This is the second year the association has provided the funds for the tool kits....

Since her daughter's death a year ago, Jonna Vinci said she has been hearing stories about what a wonderful person Samantha Kelly was. “I've been proud all year,” Vinci said Sunday afternoon during an event at The Improved Order of Red Men Tribe 84 in Williamsport to raise money for a scholarship program in Kelly's honor. Members of the championship Williamsport High School girls volleyball team made the memories even sweeter for Vinci. Members of the team - of which Kelly once served as the captain - presented Vinci with a ring that had Kelly's name, team number and “in memory of” inscribed on it. Vinci showed the silver ring as she and her husband, Brian, checked people in at the fundraiser.

Catie Breslin is living proof there have been advances in cystic fibrosis research. When she was born, the average age a person with CF expected to live was age 18. Today, it's 37. That's why the 21-year-old Hagerstown native is hoping that people will dig into their pockets for the chance to sweat for the Zumbathon for Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The event is from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, May 18, at St. Mary's Catholic School in Hagerstown. According to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, CF is an inherited, chronic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system of about 30,000 children and adults in the U.S. and 70,000 worldwide.

The administrator and former chief of The Volunteer Fire Co. of Halfway, Md. Inc., requested a jury trial on theft  and theft scheme charges during an appearance Thursday in District Court. District Judge Ralph H. France II ordered the case of Jeffrey C. Ringer forwarded to Circuit Court. Ringer, 53, of 11221 Hollywood Road in Hagerstown, was charged earlier this year with misusing more than $10,000 in company funds over four years to pay for bar and restaurant bills, and a family member's tuition, according to the application for statement of charges filed by Maryland State Police.

The Hagerstown City Council on Tuesday unanimously accepted a grant that will provide 1,100 energy conservation kits to local electric customers whose meet income guidelines. The 2013 EMPOWER Clean Energy Communities Grant from the Maryland Energy Administration will give the Hagerstown Light Department $71,000 to purchase and distribute the kits to qualified customers living in the 21740 and 21742 zip codes.  According to an April 16 memo from city Director of Utilities Michael S. Spiker, “Utilizing Department of Energy calculations, the eight-piece kit will be capable of conserving approximately 495 kWh per year per household or totalized on our system as 527,000 kWh per year.” The kits will go to individuals, households or facilities having incomes that are 85 percent or less of the state-established Washington County Median Income Limit of $67,000.

Lynn and Rick Bibbee's story is one of hope and heart. It's a story about caring and compassion and taking dedication to a whole different level. It's about putting their efforts into preserving a place where all of God's creatures, big and small, exist in harmony. It's about saving a zoo. A few years ago, the Hagerstown couple didn't even know Tri-State Zoological Park existed in Cumberland, Md. - despite the fact that they had lived there for many years. But during a visit to the area last March, Rick Bibbee picked up a local magazine and spotted a discount coupon for admission to the zoo. When he returned home, he shared the information with his wife and the two decided to make it a destination.

  The following appropriations for area fairs and festivals were included in the 2013-2014 budget bill that state lawmakers approved this week, according to the enrolled final version of the legislation posted on the Legislature's website:   Berkeley County Apollo Theater-Summer Program, $1,710 Belle Boyd House, $1,710 Berkeley County Youth Fair, $15,818 General Adam Stephen Memorial Foundation, $15,840 ...