Homeland Security

chambersburg@herald-mail.com CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - Ninth District Congressman Bill Shuster held a narrow lead over challenger Michael DelGrosso in his bid for the Republican nomination for U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday night. With 98 percent of the vote in, Shuster had 40,882 votes, while DelGrosso had 39,013 votes. The Associated Press said the race was too close to call. Shuster, seeking a second full term, held a 7-percentage point margin over DelGrosso in Franklin County, according to complete but unofficial results.

Leslie LeBlanc of Hagerstown, who has family living in Massachusetts, said she could not reach her niece, who lives in Boston, for several hours after the Monday explosions during the Boston Marathon that left three people dead and scores injured. “That was a real source of concern for us,” she said Tuesday. LeBlanc, 55, described the explosions as “disconcerting,” but said she does not feel any less safe because of them, nor is she worried about something happening in Hagerstown or to her family in Massachusetts.

Upon my return to this great country, I was gratified to see that federal immigration agents had waxed the House of Kobe, keeping us safe from tempura for yet another year. All we know at this point is that the feds stormed the popular restaurant and hauled away seven people. They didn't say why. The feds never do, but in the olden days that didn't bother me too much. They would swoop mysteriously in here or there and pluck out a few guys, but you always figured they had a good reason and were making the world a safer place.

Don't ride with strangers To the editor: Since I was a very small girl, I remember my parents teaching and preaching, "Don't get into a car with anyone you don't know. " The Hagerstown Police's criminal investigation division would have one fewer case to work on if one woman had been taught that lesson. I refer to the Christmas Day incident in which a woman was "picked up" at a Sheetz store, admittedly for the purpose of smoking marijuana and "partying. " I do believe that women should be respected, and when one says "no" to advances, the man should understand and believe she means "no," and should not force himself upon her. However, what a waste of police time and energy because a woman who willingly went with a stranger for "partying" had the nerve to complain that she has been sexually assaulted.

Commentary Once in a blue moon - make that a paisley moon - it pays to take a sunny afternoon and sit down with C-SPAN, which, as excitement goes, is generally the Paul Sarbanes of cable television. I do know this: From now on, anytime I get wind that former FEMA chief Michael Brown is appearing on any television show, I am so there. What a piece of work. Who does no work. Whose arguments need work. Here's why Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans so much harder than it did Mississippi and Alabama: New Orleans' state of Louisiana has a Democratic governor, while Mississippi and Alabama have Republican governors.

HOUSE Homeland security budget Voting 347 for and 70 against, members on Oct. 6 approved the conference report on a bill (HR 2360) appropriating $30.8 billion for the Department of Homeland Security in fiscal 2006, including $6.3 billion for the Transportation Security Administration, $3.4 billion for immigration and customs enforcement and $1.8 billion for border protection. The bill provides $2.6 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency while shifting FEMA's preparedness functions to a new, multiagency unit.

"Homeland Security" A 32-year-old American doctor of Indian descent and his American girlfriend are detained at O'Hare airport when they return home from a vacation in Amsterdam. Playwright Stuart Flack asks if trust and tolerance can exist in a post-Sept. 11, 2001, world. "Homeland Security" features original live music composed and performed by Fareed Haque and Kalyan Pathak. All performances take place at Frank Center Stage: Friday, July 9 - 8 p.m. Followed by opening night reception on Frank Center lawn Saturday, July 10 - 2 p.m. Sunday, July 11 - 7 p.m. Thursday, July 15 - 8 p.m., followed by a discussion Saturday, July 17 - 8 p.m. Sunday, July 18 - 2 p.m. Wednesday, July 21 - 8 p.m. Friday, July 23 - 8 p.m. Saturday, July 24 - 2 p.m. Sunday, July 25 - 7 p.m. Thursday, July 29 - 8 p.m. Saturday, July 31 - 8 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 1 - 2 p.m. "Flag Day" Lee Blessing explores race relations in America in his satirical comedy.

BALTIMORE - Herald-Mail Editor and Publisher John League was driving to the airport Thursday morning when he heard on the radio that a possible terrorist plot had been stopped. He said he expected security delays before boarding his flight to Sarasota, Fla., which was scheduled to leave about 10 a.m. from Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. After making it through a security checkpoint, League and many other passengers missed their flight. League said he would be going back to the airport today, when he hoped he could take another flight.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Berkeley County Sheriff W. Randy Smith wants permission from the county commission to hire 10 more deputies to get West Virginia's fastest growing county closer to its recommended staffing level of 68 law enforcement officers. Circuit Clerk Virginia Sine wants to add three people to help process papers and court matters for five Circuit Court judges and two family court judges who now preside in the county. After Sine's request on Thursday came County Assessor Preston B. Gooden's plea for two more appraisers.