Ged

Jerry Sirbaugh was headed to the phones to call his parents. It was his first day at Freestate Challenge, a 22-week, military-oriented resident program at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Aberdeen, Md. He wanted out. "You're not leaving. You're going to make it," said a sergeant who stopped him. The 18-year-old Hagerstown resident is glad he stayed. "I wanted to do the right thing. I needed something to get on the right track," Sirbaugh says. --cont. from lifestyle -- Sirbaugh earned his GED and learned a lot of other things during the five-and-a-half month alternative education program for high school dropouts between the ages of 16 and 18. Although his grades at North Hagerstown High School were good, he says he had a reputation for goofing off and says he was kicked out for having a chain wallet.

Michael Miller recently did something to make his mom proud - he earned his high school diploma with honors. Miller's only regret is that he didn't do it sooner and that it took place behind bars. The Harford County native scored 310 on the GED exam at the Maryland Correctional Training Center. A perfect score is 380 and anyone who gets more than 300 is recognized with a certificate of membership to the "300 club. " Miller, 22, said the test was not easy. It required problem-solving ability and the need to read and write quickly and well, he said.

by RIC DUGAN / staff photographer enlargement By BRENDAN KIRBY / Staff Writer It's not every day that a graduate's father and grandchildren are on hand for high school graduation. But when Les and Jean Milburn walked across the stage at South Hagerstown High School Wednesday night, their supporters - including Jean Milburn's father and five of their nine grandchildren, ranging in age from 11 to 18 - cheered them on at the graduation ceremony. --cont from news -- Both dropped out of high school in the 1950s and didn't look back until years later.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. - Waynesboro Adult Learning Center will hold its 13th annual GED graduation at 5 p.m. Saturday at Waynesboro Middle School. L. Michael Ross, president of Franklin County Area Development Corp., will speak on employment opportunities and expectations in the Cumberland Valley. A dinner will follow the ceremony at Savoy Restaurant in Waynesboro for graduates and their guests. For information about the ceremony or about earning a GED, call William H. Witherow at 1-717-762-1191.

GED program offered in Pa. WAYNESBORO, Pa. - A group orientation for Franklin County residents 18 and older interested in obtaining their General Equivalency Diplomas is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 5 or Tuesday, Jan. 6 at Waynesboro Area Senior High School. Enter the front lobby near flagpole. Participants can elect to attend sessions from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Monday and Wednesday or Tuesday and Thursday at the school. Classes in English, social studies, science, literature/art and mathematics are taught and a guidance counselor is on staff every evening for assistance.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. - The Waynesboro Area School District is sponsoring a new set of GED classes beginning Tuesday, Oct. 28. Registration will be at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 22 at Waynesboro Area High School. For more information, call William Witherow at 1-717-762-1191.

By KERRY LYNN FRALEY Staff Writer Linda Tritch was an honor-roll student at North Hagerstown High School when, at 16, she dropped out to get married. That's what you did, generally, when you found yourself pregnant, said Tritch, now 50. As a teen, she dreamed of becoming a nurse. "You did something stupid, you did the next stupid thing," said Tritch, whose son, Phil, was born three days before her 17th birthday. For years, Tritch said she thought about going back to school but figured her family's needs came before her own. It took a bout with breast cancer in 1992 and two mastectomies to realize she should be attending to her needs.