Grand Prize

The Washington County Chapter of the American Red Cross and the Hagerstown YMCA held their second Family Fun Treasure Hunt Sept. 22 at the YMCA, 1100 Eastern Blvd. in Hagerstown. Among other activities the event included: • Antique appraisers appraising items for the public for $5 each item • Vendors selling their crafts and other items • Activities for children, including a climbing wall provided by Mason-Dixon Boy Scouts of America, fire truck from the Longmeadow Volunteer Fire Co., and a scavenger hunt sponsored by Leitersburg Cinema.

Nine teen dancers busted their best moves Friday night at Valley Mall in the auditions for the second annual JUST DANCE competition, hoping to pick up the $500 grand prize in the finals set for later this month. There were a lot more dancers than the six individuals and trio that took the concourse stage, but the others did it just for fun before an appreciative crowd of family, friends and shoppers that ringed the venue a few rows deep. Rahmeik “Bamn-Bamn” Venable, a North Hagerstown High School graduate, performed what was probably the most daring move of the night, a back flip off the stage that did not end with an ambulance ride.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - Winners of the second annual farmland preservation art contest, the Preserving Our Agricultural Heritage Art Show, were announced at a reception Nov. 14 at the Ag Heritage Center, 185 Franklin Farm Lane in Chambersburg. Alisha Marshall of Greencastle, Pa., was chosen as the grand prize winner for her photo collage titled "What Will We Do When There is Nothing Left?" Paintings, photographs and digital images by 71 artists were entered. The grand prize was $250, and use of the winner's artwork by the Farmland Preservation Board for advertisements and posters.

MARTINSBURG, W.VA. One whiff of funnel cakes and Cort Grubb and Mandy Chapman knew there might be a future for biodiesel. The Musselman High School 10th-graders spent three days in November 2005 riding in circles atop a farm tractor behind Chapman's Berkeley County, W.Va., home to test a theory that an even mixture of corn oil and diesel fuel would perform better than diesel fuel alone. Filling an extra fuel tank attached to the tractor with a half-gallon of diesel fuel, a 50/50 mixture of the fuel and oil and lastly, the oil alone, at the start of each day's trial, the students rode together on a 194-meter track to test their hypothesis.

Nine-year-old Bijal Kikani prefers pastels, but her work with crayons and markers won her the grand prize in this year's Maryland Symphony Orchestra holiday poster contest. Read the full story in Friday's Herald-Mail newspapers.

CLEAR SPRING - Clear Spring's Tony Mirra recently took on Ray Lewis, a linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens. At a recent EA Madden 2005 Football Tournament in Baltimore, Mirra, 23, won the video game tournament and subsequently played and bested Lewis, who had been undefeated in the video game. Part of Ray's Summer Days, the three-day event was to benefit underprivileged children. The 32-player tournament was single elimination, with the winner playing the video game against Lewis for the grand prize.

Washington County Free Library hosted its first Adult Summer Reading Club in conjunction with the Children's Summer Reading Club that has been a highly anticipated annual event for many years. More than 150 adults heeded the call to be among the inaugural year's club. From the potluck kickoff event in June to the closing ice cream social in August, more than 430 book reviews were entered in the weekly and grand prize drawings. Weekly winners receiving a Washington County mug filled with chocolate were Ruth Anne Valentine, Ruth Curry, Marilyn Wood, Donna Sales, Lisa Key, Cassie Burtner, Joan Snapp, Angie Garcia, Tammy Gantz, Crystal Fales, Chris Hawkins, Jessica Reehl, Donna Chwalek, Joan Fredrickson and Merry Stinson.

The winners of the sixth annual Hancock Area Photo Contest were announced Saturday, Oct. 1, at War Memorial Library, by Sam Judge, contest organizer.   A $100 cash prize was awarded to the grand-prize winner, Christy Hixon, Prizes of $25 were given to the first-place winners in four categories - people, places, animals and Hancock values.   The winners and honorable mentions are listed below, and the grand-prize-winning photo "Puddle Jumpers" by Christy Hixon. The photos listed will be on display at War Memorial Library through the end of the year.

The North Hagerstown High School Athletic Boosters Club will hold a Steak Bonanza Friday at the Williamsport Red Men Lodge on Lappans Road to benefit Mike Callas Stadium. Doors open at 5 p.m., dinner will be served at 6 p.m. and drawings begin at 7 p.m. Musical entertainment will follow. Tickets cost $40 per couple. Drawings include a $1,000 grand prize. Every 10th ticket drawn is a winner. The deadline to purchase tickets is today. The event is for ages 21 and older. For tickets or details, call Sue O'Boyle at 301-739-7368.

The Washington County Chapter of the American Red Cross is holding a blood drive today and Saturday. Each donor will be entered into a grand prize drawing for a year's supply of gas, valued at $2,400, or one of five $100 gas cards offered as runner-up prizes. The blood drives will be held at the following locations: · Today, Hagerstown City Hall, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. · Saturday, Keedysville Community Center at the Little Antietam Community Center, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The winner of the $100,000 grand prize at Saturday's Bonanza Extravaganza at Hagerstown Speedway has asked that his name not be released, according to John Murray, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 1605. Murray did say Sunday that the winner is a man from Alexandria, Va. The winner was not present when the winning ticket was announced, he said. There were plenty of other winners, with more than 60 people walking away with cash prizes from $1,000 to $15,000, Murray said.

The Hagerstown YMCA's gala fundraiser, “A Toast to the Twenties,” will be Saturday at Hager Hall Conference and Event Center on Dual Highway in Hagerstown. The evening will begin with cocktails at 6:15 p.m., followed by dinner at 7:15 p.m. Tickets cost $295 per couple and include cocktail hour, dinner for two, dancing and a chance at winning the grand prize, a 2013 Volkswagen Passat or $20,000 cash prize.  Other prizes from local establishments will be given away throughout the evening.

The United Way of Franklin County's 250-ticket bonanza and silent auction will be held on Sunday, Nov. 4, from noon until 4 p.m. at Green Grove Gardens. A $20 ticket provides one entry into the drawing to win the $1,000 grand prize sponsored by CenturyLink, a barbecue dinner for two provided by CM Pig Out, and beverages, including Coors Light, wine and non-alcoholic beverages. Raffles, fishbowls, games and the opportunity to bid on silent auction items will continue throughout the afternoon.

Nine teen dancers busted their best moves Friday night at Valley Mall in the auditions for the second annual JUST DANCE competition, hoping to pick up the $500 grand prize in the finals set for later this month. There were a lot more dancers than the six individuals and trio that took the concourse stage, but the others did it just for fun before an appreciative crowd of family, friends and shoppers that ringed the venue a few rows deep. Rahmeik “Bamn-Bamn” Venable, a North Hagerstown High School graduate, performed what was probably the most daring move of the night, a back flip off the stage that did not end with an ambulance ride.

The Washington County Chapter of the American Red Cross and the Hagerstown YMCA held their second Family Fun Treasure Hunt Sept. 22 at the YMCA, 1100 Eastern Blvd. in Hagerstown. Among other activities the event included: • Antique appraisers appraising items for the public for $5 each item • Vendors selling their crafts and other items • Activities for children, including a climbing wall provided by Mason-Dixon Boy Scouts of America, fire truck from the Longmeadow Volunteer Fire Co., and a scavenger hunt sponsored by Leitersburg Cinema.

Recycling has come to Hancock. In case you hadn't noticed - and they're hard to miss - bright yellow recycling cans/bins have been delivered to most residences around town.  Some local churches have also elected to participate.  Town officials have entered into a contract with Peck's Refuse Disposal to pick up the contents of the recycling containers every other Wednesday morning.  The pickup will coincide with the weekly trash pickup,...

A money “Bone-Anza” will be held Saturday from 5 p.m. to midnight at the Improved Order of Red Men Tribe 84, 16129 Lappans Road, Williamsport. The event will benefit the Humane Society of Washington County. Tickets cost $30 per couple and include bottomless beverages, all the beer you can drink from 5 to 8 p.m. and a chicken dinner. Entertainment will be provided by WhiteNoiz. Tip jars, raffles and money wheel drawings will be available. “The odds of winning the grand prize of $1,000 are very good because we are only selling 150 tickets, and you don't have to be present to win,” said Paul Miller, shelter executive director.

The winners of the sixth annual Hancock Area Photo Contest were announced Saturday, Oct. 1, at War Memorial Library, by Sam Judge, contest organizer.   A $100 cash prize was awarded to the grand-prize winner, Christy Hixon, Prizes of $25 were given to the first-place winners in four categories - people, places, animals and Hancock values.   The winners and honorable mentions are listed below, and the grand-prize-winning photo "Puddle Jumpers" by Christy Hixon. The photos listed will be on display at War Memorial Library through the end of the year.

The Hancock Volunteer Fire Co. has hosted cash-prize giveaway events before. But this year, the group hoped to take its annual fundraising bash to another level. Organizers settled on a rugged, outdoorsy theme, and purchased $50,000 in prizes for Saturday's Sportsman's Bash on Sensel Road. "We wanted to try to make something a little bit bigger, something to bring in more money," event coordinator Bob Hoopengardner Jr. said. "Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate. " More than 400 people sloshed through mud, and braved downpours and 50-degree temperatures.