Hearings

The Washington Township (Pa.) Supervisors will host two public hearings Monday night, one of which deals with the concept of conservation by design. If adopted, conservation by design would be an option available to developers. They could set aside open space and in exchange be allowed to build on smaller lots in the agricultural and forest conservation districts. The second public hearing concerns a request for portable signs by the Furniture Market. The supervisors meeting is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. at the municipal offices at 13013 Welty Road.

Fifth-graders at Salem Avenue Elementary participated in the “We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution” simulated Congressional hearings April 25. The simulated hearing is an authentic, performance-based assessment in which students demonstrate their understanding of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. During the simulated hearing, students assumed the role of constitutional experts. They presented oral statements before a panel of judges and responded to follow-up questions.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Medicaid waiver hearings will be held from 3 to 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Comfort Inn-Aikens Center in Martinsburg. For information, call Ken Ervin at ADAPTof West Virginia at 1-304-293-4255, Ext. 26100 or Cindy Knighten at 1-304-926-1710.

BALTIMORE - Maryland Public Television will air highlights of legislative hearings on two controversial issues this week - same-sex marriages and Gov. Parris Glendening's "smart growth" proposal. The the House Judiciary Committee hearing on a bill to allow same-sex marriages will be aired Wednesday at 11 p.m. The Judiciary Committee hearing on the growth bill will be aired Thursday at 11 p.m. Washington County residents can see the highlights on Channel 33.

waynesboro@herald-mail.com GREENCASTLE, Pa. - Borough residents in Greencastle requesting hearings before the local zoning board or applications for special exceptions will now be paying $350 for the privilege following a Borough Council Monday night. The new fee, which takes effect immediately, more than doubles the old fee of $150 per hearing. "We're playing catch up," said Borough Manager Kenneth Myers after the meeting. "We're losing money. We're trying to get closer to our costs.

Washington County officials have scheduled a series of public hearings about the future of recycling and solid waste programs in the county. The county's planning and solid waste departments are in the process of developing a new 10-year plan for the handling of solid waste and recycling of material that could affect the solid waste stream, county spokesman Norman Bassett said in a news release. At the hearings, county officials will explain the plan and invite ideas, comments and input from residents, Bassett said.

Pre-trial hearings held in 1985 disappearance By STACEY DANZUSO / Staff Writer, Chambersburg CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - Two people charged in the disappearance of a Franklin County man more than 15 years ago were back in court Tuesday as their cases come closer to trial. Joan Snyder Hall, 57, of 12850 Grant Shook Road in Greencastle, Pa., is charged with criminal conspiracy and criminal homicide in the disappearance of her former husband, Melvin Snyder, on May 25, 1985.

C&O Canal National Historical Park management will hold public meetings in Hancock and Hagerstown concerning the park's Draft Land Protection Plan. The meeting in Hancock will be Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m. at Hancock Town Hall and Community Center, 126 West High St. The Hagerstown meeting will be Wednesday, March 12, from 7 to 9 p.m. at C&O Canal National Historical Park headquarters, 1850 Dual Highway, Suite 100. The Draft Land Protection Plan is required by National Park Service policy to supplement the park's General Management Plan.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - Seven of eight female juveniles facing felony riot charges were in Franklin County Court Friday for adjudication hearings on their roles in a May 6 incident at the VisionQuest Madalyn Program in which they fought with staff and threw rocks at responding ambulance crews. Pennsylvania State Police and municipal police departments from Franklin, Cumberland and Adams counties responded to the disturbance at the facility on Rocky Spring Road near South Mountain, Pa., according to Pennsylvania State Police.

The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals launched a video system in 1998 that allows defendants to participate in preliminary and parole hearings as well as trials from jail rather than having to appear in court. The system saves the state about $3 million in prisoner transportation costs each year, Justice Robin Davis of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals said Thursday in Charles Town. Davis said the system was established in the late 1990s to cut down on the costs and dangers of transporting prisoners for arraignments.

The pretrial hearing for a Bunker Hill, W.Va., woman accused of selling a lethal dose of heroin to a man who died at her home in March 2012 was postponed due to a question involving potential conflict of interest. Autumn T. Blaine, 38, was indicted in October on single counts of felony murder and delivery of heroin in the death of Paul Dwayne Burcham, 32, also of Bunker Hill. Defense attorney Kevin D. Mills, who has represented Blaine, told 23rd Judicial Circuit Judge Gray Silver III on Monday that additional review of the professional conduct question raised by Prosecuting Attorney Pamela Games-Neely is needed.

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.

Jefferson County residents and businesses will get their first look at proposed fire service fees next week after a 4-1 vote Thursday by the County Commissioners. A public hearing on the fees is schedule for 7 p.m. Thursday in the commissioners meeting room below the Charles Town Library at 200 E. Washington St. Discussion about whether the meeting should be postponed lasted several hours Thursday among commission members and officials of the Jefferson County Emergency Services Agency (JCESA)

Fifth-graders at Salem Avenue Elementary participated in the “We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution” simulated Congressional hearings April 25. The simulated hearing is an authentic, performance-based assessment in which students demonstrate their understanding of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. During the simulated hearing, students assumed the role of constitutional experts. They presented oral statements before a panel of judges and responded to follow-up questions.

The Washington County Board of Education will hold a public hearing Tuesday at 6 p.m. to give the public a chance to comment on the proposal to change the attendance zones for Pangborn and Paramount elementary schools. The proposed redistricting would shift part of the Cortland development, off Leitersburg Pike, from Pangborn's attendance zone to Paramount's, starting with the next school year. The hearing is being held at the 820 Commonwealth Ave. administrative complex. Before the hearing, at 5 p.m., the board will have a short business meeting.

Cycler the recycle robot met with students at Pangborn Elementary School on Monday in the University Plaza in downtown Hagerstown for the City of Hagerstown Earth Day Celebration that featured Mayor David S. Gysberts, Barbara Ingram School for the Arts students, and other local officials. The robot, made out of recycled material, answered the students' questions about recycling. “How was recycling invented?” one student asked. “How old is the earth?” asked another student.

A girl is warming up on her violin as her instrumental music class gets in gear at Pangborn Elementary School in Hagerstown's East End. The class is sitting on the stage in the cafeteria/auditorium. Lunch isn't going on, but during the short time that class is in session during lunch, the stage curtains are closed to limit distractions for the music students, Principal Eric Meredith said. The instrumental music class is on the stage because the instrumental music classroom is home to a kindergarten class, Meredith explained.

Bond hearings were held Thursday for three of four people charged Wednesday by the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office in connection with a series of arsons in Washington County on the night of March 22 and 24. Two Clear Spring men and two Mercersburg, Pa., women were charged, their arrests bringing the number of people accused in the arson spree between March 17 and April 7 to eight, Washington County District Court records said. The bond on Brandy Lynnett Sneider-Koontz, 19, of 10733 Knob Road, Mercersburg, Pa., was reduced from $120,000 to $65,000 during a bond review before District Judge Mark D. Thomas.

Two public hearings before the Washington County Board of Commissioners are set for Tuesday to allow for input into proposed utility rate increases and user fees at Hagerstown Regional Airport. The first hearing, slated to begin at 11 a.m., is for the consideration of water and sewer rate increases, as well as “certain other fees” for fiscal year 2013-14, according to a news release from the county. Per 1,000 gallons used, proposed quarterly increases for residential sewer service are 24 cents and 26 cents for water service.

A Leitersburg man appeared before Washington County liquor officials on Wednesday to complain about a tavern on Leitersburg's town square. John Thomas told the Board of License Commissioners for Washington County, known as the liquor board, that patrons of Dewey's Pub at 21400 Leiter St. were parking in his driveway. Thomas also said the business' Dumpster was protruding into the square. “I'm not here to close the bar down or anything else,” Thomas said. “I'm just here over a couple of issues.” Charles Beachley, owner of Dewey's Pub, said he would move the Dumpster.