Funkstown

Seventeen boys. Fifty dollars each. Aisles full of toys. And ... go! Members of Funkstown Cub Scout Pack 23 and Boy Scout Troop 23 hit the shelves Saturday afternoon at Walmart on Garland Groh Boulevard, snatching up four carts full of the toys they like best. Then, in a flurry of excitement and a novel twist, they gave them away. Pack 23 Cubmaster Don Harriman said the pack and Troop 23 financed the project with excess funds from a popcorn sale along with a contribution from Funkstown American Legion Post 211. Walmart agreed to partner with the group, and some of the Scouts' parents gave monetary donations, bringing the dollar value of purchased toys to more than $1,000.

Funkstown officials are considering traffic cameras to catch speeders after the issue of drivers speeding through town, particularly on Baltimore Street, came up during Monday night's Town Council meeting. Mayor Paul N. Crampton Jr. asked Town Clerk/Treasurer Brenda Haynes to find out more about speed cameras and whether the town would receive the revenue from them. “It's like a racetrack through here,” Donald Knodle, who lives on West Baltimore Street, said of traffic between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m. It's also “terrible” in the evenings, he said.

An accident in Funkstown briefly closed the Antietam Creek bridge near the fire hall Sunday afternoon, according to Lt. Sam Sarvey of the Funkstown Volunteer Fire Co. A vehicle coming down the hill on East Oak Ridge Drive slid into another car, Sarvey said. The one-lane bridge was closed for about 15 minutes, Sarvey said. No one was injured in the accident, which occurred on a wet road, he said. The accident was reported at 1:51 p.m. Sunday, according to Washington County Emergency Services.

Cool air and warm spirits congealed into a nostalgic Christmas experience Friday night in Funkstown. Numerous houses were lit up with decorations, and hundreds of luminarias lining the streets gave the appearance of an almost continuous strand of white lights, lighting the way for people to enjoy the town's annual Olde Tyme Christmas. The goal of the free three-hour event, featuring festive holiday music, carolers, wagon rides and a special visit from Santa Claus at Town Hall, is to show “Christmas at its best” and showcase Funkstown's hard-to-find family atmosphere, said Rich Gaver, a town councilman and co-chair of the event for the past 13 years.

Mayor Paul N. Crampton Jr. said he expects signs to be posted in Funkstown Community Park this week stating that no metal detecting will be allowed in the park that is bordered by Beaver Creek Road and Old National Pike. Funkstown Town Council members in November decided to ban metal detecting in the park after council member John Phillips III said the activity appears to be a problem there. A Civil War battle occurred in the area of the park and Phillips said a “very expensive piece” was dug up in the park recently.

Evelyn “Hope” (Showe) Shrader, 90, of Day Road in Hagerstown, passed away Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012, at Emeritus Senior Living. Born April 9, 1922, she was the daughter of the late Mary Josephine (Strode) and Frisby Branton Showe. She was the widow of Jack Leroy Shrader Sr., who died Dec. 16, 1996. Hope graduated from Hagerstown High School in 1940. She was employed at Fairchild Aircraft for 11 years. She then went on to work at WCARC for 17 years, retiring in 1984. She was an active member at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Funkstown since 1937.

Good morning friends. Such a busy week. Turkeys are thawing, pie recipes are ready, decorations are being moved from storage and families are preparing for a day of food and reflecting on all of the blessings for which we are indeed thankful.  The calendar is inching closer to December and all the good tidings that it brings.   Let's look at the calendar and see what awaits us: Bus trip to D.C. St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Funkstown is planning a bus trip to Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, Dec. 2.  The bus will leave the church parking lot at 11:30 a.m. and head to Washington to hear the U.S. Army Band perform a holiday concert.

Bar owner upset by motorcycle comment FUNKSTOWN - The owner of Joker's Bar and Grill took exception Monday night to a comment that Funkstown Councilman Luke Barnette made during an Oct. 8 Funkstown Town Council meeting about a motorcycle burning rubber on a sidewalk during an event involving the bar. Barnette said during the October meeting that because of what he saw, he believes the council might want to rethink granting permission to...

Two Hagerstown residents were charged with burglary and other counts in connection with a breakin at a home in Funkstown on Sunday night, the Washington County Sheriff's Office said. Paul Tierney, 24, of no fixed address, was charged with one count each of first-degree burglary, second- degree assault and two counts of malicious destruction of property, according to sheriff's office spokeswoman Carly Hose. Felicia Rudisill, 20, of 220 Alexander St., was charged with one count each of first-degree burglary and second-degree assault.

Funkstown School for Early Childhood Education recently conducted a voting exercise for the kindergarten students, having them vote on candidates for House of Representatives, U.S. Senate and president. Teacher Tammy Montini created a lesson about the election process for the students.