Graduation Day

As graduation gets closer, area high school seniors will experience a range of emotional highs and lows as many juggle last-minute details for college, final exams and finding time to say goodbye to friends and family. "It's very bittersweet," said Jessica Hanlin, a senior at North Hagerstown High School. "I'm so excited and I'm ready to get out of here. " The 18-year-old will attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the fall. "It's going to be like starting all over," said Hanlin, who said none of her friends will be attending North Carolina.

bonnieb@herald-mail.com SHIPPENSBURG, PA. - Parents and grandparents waved, cheered and shot video as the long line of 1,205 students marched into Seth Grove Stadium Saturday morning. Five members of the class of 1954 led the procession, while the Shippensburg Community Band played "Pomp and Circumstance" and an airplane flew overhead trailing a congratulatory banner. Shippensburg University's commencement services attracted an overflow crowd to the stadium on a bright, cool day. Those who could not obtain seating in the bleachers and grandstand sat on blankets on the grass outside the stadium, adding to the festive mood with cheers and honking horns.

Sosa's bat was a big deal To the editor: You should have pulled Donald Kaul's column of June 23. I usually read his work, but now fear that I have lost all confidence in his ethical judgment. 1. Sammy Sosa's illegal bat is a very "big deal" for both the game and Sosa. Sosa has batting records that might some day be historical records in the Hall of Fame. Thousands of Little Leaguers collecting baseball cards, must already wonder if his scores are legitimate.

andrear@herald-mail.com When Hagerstown Community College student Cassandra Pugh graduated from Thomas Johnson High School in Frederick, Md., in 1997, her father wrote her a poem to commemorate the occasion. The poem and such keepsakes as photos of her high school friends and a journal to chronicle her transition into college proved to be Pugh's most memorable graduation gifts, she said. HCC student Yvette Kebe won't ever forget her graduation trip to Trinidad, she said.

bobp@herald-mail.com COLLEGE PARK, Md. - When the dust settled Saturday, all the Maryland football team did was finish the seventh week of Ralph Friedgen's 10-week self-realization class. It was the end of an important grading period for the Terrapins. They had just knocked off No. 13 North Carolina State 24-21 on Nick Novak's last-minute 26-yard field goal, but the victory meant so much more. The victory may have signaled that Maryland has finally arrived as a team to be reckoned with.

Editor's note - Please be as brief as possible when calling Mail Call, The Daily Mail's reader call-in line. Mail Call is not staffed on weekends or holidays so it is best to call Mail Call during the week. The Mail Call number is 301-791-6236. You are welcome to leave a recorded message on any subject, but some calls will be screened out. Here are some of the calls we have received lately: "I want to thank the gentleman who came over to my driveway on Saturday morning as I was cleaning up from the storm.

An estimated 361 students will graduate from Hagerstown Junior College this year, only a few more than last year, according to HJC's Student Services Division Dean Dr. Carl Galligan. At a meeting of the college's Board of Trustees on Tuesday, Galligan said the number of graduates has held steady at between 350 to 370 annually for the past few years. No change in that trend is expected, he said. Galligan profiled this year's graduating class for the trustees, but said all figures were preliminary.

Car show Where - Valley Mall, Halfway When - Today from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Free Hagerstown Speedway will have its 13th annual Race-A-Rama car show. Roller skating Where - Family Skating Center, 17333 Virginia Ave., Hagerstown When - Tonight from 7:30 to 11:30; today and Sunday matinees from 1 to 4 p.m. Cost - varies Skate lessons are this morning from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for $3, including rental. Tonight's admission is $5 and matinees are $3. Regular skate rental is $1, speed skates and in-line skates rentals are $2.50.

Editor's note - Please be as brief as possible when calling Mail Call, The Daily Mail's reader call-in line. Mail Call is not staffed on weekends or holidays so it is best to call Mail Call weekdays at 301-791-6236. Readers are welcome to leave their recorded message on any topic they choose, but some calls are screened out. Here are some of the calls we have received lately: "I was wondering if anyone at all knows a telephone number of someone who sells Knapp shoes?