Funkstown

ANNAPOLIS -- Two tennis courts in Funkstown will be renovated with $36,450 provided by the State of Maryland. Gov. Martin O'Malley announced Wednesday the approval of recreational projects in nine counties and Baltimore City through Program Open Space and the Community Parks and Playgrounds Program. Funkstown will receive the money to renovate the courts with a new surface, netting, fencing and lighting.

FUNKSTOWN -- The town of Funkstown has hired a contractor to clean the town's streets Thursday and Friday, Mayor Paul N. Crampton Jr. said Wednesday. "No parking" signs are posted in the areas to be cleaned and the signs indicate which sides of a street will be cleaned during the two-day period, Crampton said. The street cleaning will remove cinders and other material that was used to treat roads in the winter, Crampton said. In the past, the town has used employees armed with brooms and shovels to clean the streets, Crampton said.

The Funkstown American Legion Post 211 baseball team shook off its first loss in the Western Maryland District in a big way Thursday, throttling Woodsboro Post 282 19-5. Funkstown fell to Frederick 20-11 on Wednesday, but put it all together Thursday. Despite falling behind 3-0 in the first inning, Funkstown (4-2, 2-1) scored 12 runs in the bottom of the frame, taking advantage of four Woodsboro errors and shaky pitching. Charles Cvijanovich started the 12-run rally with a leadoff homer to deep left field, and Tyler Byers capped it with an RBI single.

Funkstown's planning and zoning commission will be asked to review the town's sign ordinance and bring it “more in keeping with today's standards,” Mayor Paul N. Crampton Jr. said Monday night after Councilman Luke Barnette proposed changes to the ordinance. Saying it would be nice to have more conformity among signs in town, Barnette distributed a sheet of recommended amendments to the sign ordinance during Monday night's council meeting at Town Hall. Barnette said he wouldn't want bright, neon lights to be visible as people go through town, and he didn't believe the town's current sign ordinance prohibited someone from putting up a 100-square-foot sign with neon lights that would be “grossly disgusting.” The council voted 6-0 to have planning and zoning officials review the sign ordinance and recommend changes.

Funkstown held its annual Halloween parade Thursday evening.

A water line that broke at the intersection of Maple Street and Frederick Road in Funkstown has been repaired, a town spokeswoman said. Town officials believe the line ruptured overnight, but it is not clear why, town secretary Kelli Roser said. The pipe was an older water line, Roser said. Some residents lost water service as a result of the broken line, Roser said. The line was fixed about 12:30 p.m. and water customers might see cloudiness in their water for a while, Roser said.

Two pit bulls killed several sheep at a Funkstown-area farm over the weekend, Maryland State Police said. The dogs are believed to be family owned and not strays, according to a state police news release. Police were called to the farm at 116 Old National Pike shortly before 9 a.m. Sunday after the farm’s owner, Joseph Frey, arrived to tend to the farm and was confronted by two large pit bulls, which chased him into a barn, police said. Frey was able to shut the barn door and keep the dogs from entering, but discovered several sheep in the barn who had been attacked and mauled during the night, police said.

A compliance inspector with the Maryland Comptroller’s Office told the Board of License Commissioners for Washington County on April 13 that he believed Joker’s Bar & Grill in Funkstown was buying bulk quantities of 1.75 liter bottles of liquor and using them to refill 1 liter and 750 milliliter bottles in the bar. There was no allegation by the inspector that the larger bottles were not purchased from a licensed distributor. The allegations also stated that the business’ purchase records accounted for the larger bottles.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013 PREP BASEBALL St. Maria Goretti fell to Avalon 1-0 in the championship game of the Maryland Private Schools 'B' Division Tournament on Wednesday. Casey Bartholomew had two hits for the Gaels, who finish the season 11-15. Mercersburg 7, Episcopal 0 MERCERSBURG, Pa. - Mike Collins pitched a one-hitter with five strikeouts and top-seed Mercersburg Academy shut out Episcopal Academy in the quarterfinals of the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Tournament.

Property tax rates are expected to increase in the upcoming fiscal year, but Funkstown residents will not pay more because of low property assessments, according to a town official. The town's proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year calls for a property tax increase from 32 cents per $100 of assessed value to 35 cents per $100 of assessed value. A public hearing on the proposed budget will be held at 6 p.m. on Tuesday at Town Hall at 30 E. Baltimore St. As housing assessments are so low, the tax raise is only a measure to maintain the constant yield - or “hold the revenue” the town brought in the current fiscal year, Town Clerk/Treasurer Brenda Haynes said.

With attendance increasing at community events, Funkstown officials are exploring ways of making the upper floor of its Town Hall more accessible to people with physical disabilities. Mayor Paul N. Crampton Jr. on Tuesday asked the Washington County Board of Commissioners during an evening meeting in the town for help in securing a grant to bring the town's headquarters at 30 E. Baltimore St. into compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements. The mayor said it could cost about $40,000 to install a lift and retrofit the upstairs bathroom to make it ADA accessible.

Washington County Commissioners to meet in Funkstown Tuesday FUNKSTOWN - The Washington County Commissioners will hold a meeting at Funkstown Town Hall at 7 p.m. Tuesday, according to the commissioners' agenda. The meeting includes an opportunity for members of the public to address the commissioners. Apple Valley Waste to continue trash collection FUNKSTOWN - Apple Valley Waste will continue to handle the town of Funkstown's trash collection service for another year.

Enjoying sips of teas such as ginger-peach and tasty treats like mango-curry chicken salad rounds and blackberry tarts, several Tri-State area mothers enjoyed a Mother's Day tea Sunday at Sereni-Tea Room in Funkstown. “Just a special event that I could bring her to ... where we could share a nice meal and ... just get out with our families and enjoy the day,” said Boonsboro resident Joanie Costlow. Ranota Marcotte said she opened the tearoom in October after her husband saw that the small cottage-type shop on Funkstown's East Baltimore Street was available for rent.

Attiya Latif is the youngest of three children and the last of her siblings to participate in the local American Legion Oratorical Contest. The contest is designed to foster a deeper knowledge of and appreciation for the U.S. Constitution among high school students, according to the legion's website. “It was always a big thing. It was like a family thing,” said Attiya, 16, who was born and raised in Hagerstown. The Latif children were raised to value the freedoms and protections of the U.S. Constitution, upon which the contest is based.

Funkstown's mayor and Town Council will have a budget work session at 6 p.m. today at Town Hall. The public hearing on the proposed budget will be held on Tuesday, May 21, at 6 p.m., Town Clerk/Treasurer Brenda Haynes said. The town will review bids for garbage services for the coming fiscal year at its May 13 meeting, Haynes said. No change in the trash pickup schedule or yard waste schedule was proposed in the bid advertisement, she said. The Town Council is expected to vote whether to adopt the budget at its June 10 meeting, she said.

Funkstown residents are not expected to see property tax rate increases in the coming fiscal year but a proposed budget for the period includes passing along a 6.5 percent water rate increase to town residents, town officials said Monday. Funkstown Mayor Paul N. Crampton Jr. and council members met in a workshop meeting at town hall Monday night to review the proposed budget for the 2013-2014 fiscal year. Last year, council members passed a 10 percent water rate increase. The 10 percent water rate increase was intended to cover a 6.5 percent increase the City of Hagerstown is imposing on Funkstown as part of a five-year plan to raise wholesale water rates to towns as Hagerstown looks to cover general inflation, operating costs and several major projects for its water system.

Garman “Bob” L. Bowers Sr., 85, of Fairplay, Md., passed away Monday, April 22, 2013, at the home of his daughter. Born Oct. 11, 1927, in Sharpsburg, Md., he was the son of the late Kenneth W. and Nora (Benner) Bowers. His wife of 46 years, Wahneta F. Bowers, preceded him in death in 2002. Garman worked at Brandt Cabinet Works, Vertol Aircraft, Custer Channel Wing, Fairchild Industries, and retired from Mack Trucks, Inc. He was a member of St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Funkstown, Md. He was a U.S. Army Veteran of World War II. He is survived by one son, Garman L. Bowers Jr.; one daughter, Karen W. Pierce and husband, Michael A.; two grandsons, Michael A. Pierce II and wife, Kelly G., and Garman L. Bowers III and fiancée, Olivia F. Tomsic; one great-grandson, Joseph B. Pierce; and one great-granddaughter, Chloe M. Pierce.

Boy Scout Troop 23 in Funkstown more than doubled in size the first year. The troop started with six boys a year ago and now has 15 members. The Scouts have completed more than 200 hours of community service, and 10 boys have advanced in rank and earned 35 merit badges. The troop earned the title of honor unit at summer camp, the Gold Level Journey to Excellence award and the Founder Unit award, and the patrols earned the National Honor Patrol award. Scoutmaster Rich Gaver, an Eagle Scout, is proud of the unit and the things it has accomplished.