Herald Mail

Whether just playing around with their cameras or repeatedly making trips back to the photo subject to check the lighting, these Tri-State-area residents captured some striking images. The Herald-Mail is always looking for the best recent photos from the Tri-State area. Lots of amazing things happen in the area that others don't get to see. This is an opportunity to share those sights. On the weekly Gallery page, we do not have space for family portraits, posed scenes or news photos that are published elsewhere in the newspaper, but we will make room for amateur photographers to share their talent.

For two months, I've run around Hagerstown without gloves or a hat, and the first without a winter coat, which at first - and second - glance seems fairly stupid. But there's an explanation. A guy like myself, living in toasty Eastern North Carolina for nearly three years, felt no need to look like an Iditarod racer. March 6 marked two months for me both living in Hagerstown and working as the Lifestyle editor at The Herald-Mail. I feel smarter, warmer and not at all comforted by assurances that this winter is wildly abnormal.

Spying a rabbit stealing a bite, catching water frozen on a fountain and accidentally photographing an ice-covered bush (after the intended subject ran away) were among the moments Tri-State-area photographers sent in to share with Herald-Mail readers. We want to run readers' photos on this weekly photo page. So we're looking for the best recent photographs from the Tri-State area. This is a chance for amateur photographers to share their best images. Quality is key. Sharp, large, color images look best.

Editor's note: The Washington County Commission for Women is trying to document women in the county who were pioneers in their career fields. In honor of Women's History Month, The Herald-Mail is presenting, each Sunday in March, a sample of women that the commission is considering as "firsts" for a book. This is the first of a four-part series. andrews@herald-mail.com WASHINGTON COUNTY - On a motorcycle ride, Helen Cox C. Bikle saw Washington County's airport.

Symposium April 1 - Hagerstown-Washington County Chamber of Commerce, Brown Bag Symposium: Hiring Practices; noon, Center for Business and Training. Free for members and nonmembers. To register, call 301-739-2015, extension 100, or e-mail donna@hagerstown.org . Eggs and Issues April 2 - Hagerstown-Washington County Chamber of Commerce, Eggs and Issues; topic: Economic Development Update, 7:30 a.m., Plaza Hotel, Hagerstown. Early registration, $15; late/billed registration and nonmember registration, $25. Call 301-739-2015, extension 100, or e-mail donna@hagerstown.

If I'm having a really bad day, I make it a point to avoid our Web site poll question and the accompanying comments. When you're already feeling grumpy, the last thing you want to do is read a bunch of comments about how stupid you are. Luckily, my skin has gotten pretty thick over the years, and eventually I go back online. Go to our Web site some time - at www.herald-mail.com - and look at the poll question on the home page. You can vote and you can comment on the question.

On Thursday, when Hagerstown was Maryland's Capital for a Day, Gov. Martin O'Malley met with Herald-Mail reporters and editors at the University System of Maryland at Hagerstown campus downtown. The following questions and O'Malley's answers are from that meeting, with editing for clarity and length. Herald-Mail: Can you explain your role in restoring the funding that was cut from the University System of Maryland at Hagerstown? And did Senator Munson's vote on the computer tax repeal play a part?

On Thursday, when Hagerstown was Maryland's Capital for a Day, Gov. Martin O'Malley met with Herald-Mail reporters and editors at the University System of Maryland at Hagerstown campus downtown. The following questions and O'Malley's answers are from that meeting, with editing for clarity and length. Herald-Mail: Can you explain your role in restoring the funding that was cut from the University System of Maryland at Hagerstown? And did Senator Munson's vote on the computer tax repeal play a part?

"Isn't it amazing how anxious the incoming administration is to show how fast they can make things happen? Wish they could have shown support for President Bush instead of a party bash party. " -- Falling Waters, W.Va. "I was reading in Thursday's (Herald-Mail) about the prospective cutbacks in the state employees. I think -- I happen to be one of them that was hit by Gov. Schaefer some 20 years ago in a state layoff -- and I think the supervisors need to look over the work and see what's being done, and which one's productive.