Hopefuls

Farm crops could be planted and cattle could very well be pasturing in the near future on undeveloped portions of Tabler Station Business Park in Berkeley County. The Berkeley County Development Authority hopes to lease the available land, which now stands at about 580 acres, to a farmer while they continue to work to develop the property, Executive Director Stephen Christian said Wednesday. The development authority's board voted Wednesday to allow the group's business park development committee to interview two of the five interested parties who responded to a request for proposals, Christian said.

Dr. Ben Carson, a world-renowned pediatric neurosurgeon at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, was honored at last year's American Red Cross Hometown Heroes event at the Lyric Opera House in Baltimore. Tyler Durr of Hagerstown was a guest, one of the youngest in attendance, and had several conversations with Carson. Tyler attended Grace Academy from kindergarten through eighth grade. He went to Boonsboro High his freshman year and graduated as a junior in 2009. He played soccer and AYSO in Boonsboro.

For more than 30 years, Robert Stum paced the sidelines at Waynesboro High School and left an indelible imprint on the community as he pioneered the school's first boys soccer team in the 1960s and paved the way for the formation of its first girls soccer team in the late 1990s. Now, the torch has been passed on to his son. Brian Stum was named Waynesboro's new boys soccer coach on Feb. 13. Stum, who replaces Doug Beckner, will be just the Indians' fourth head coach, as they prepare for their 50th season.

I'm an addict. There I've said it. I'm addicted to several things, but the one I'm talking about in this column is books. I am a voracious reader and that costs me money, time, a broader behind and a larger girth. None of the costs is really good for me, but I can't help it. Like I said, I'm addicted. Although I read books in a variety of genres, mysteries and historical fiction are my favorites. My favorite authors are James Patterson, W.E.B. Griffin and Jeff Shaara. (And Nelson De Mille, Ralph Peters, John Grisham, David Baldacci, Bernard Cornwell, Ken Follett …)

In golf, they “Drive for show and putt for dough.” Tee shots are for showing off, but holing putts is where the money is won. Junior college basketball has reached that similar stage. Hagerstown Community College will be one of four teams vying for the Region XX title, starting Friday night at HCC's athletic complex. After driving for five months, it's money time for the Hawks. “As a coach, this is a very exciting time of the year,” said HCC coach Barry Brown. “We have played the entire season to get to this point.

As Nick Snyder said, “It's an exciting time to be at HCC.” Right now, Snyder couldn't be more excited to be at Texas Tech University. The Hagerstown Community College second-year coach will have several male athletes competing there Friday at the NJCAA National Indoor Track & Field Championships. Grant Smith is the No. 1 seed in the shot put at 56 feet for the Hawks, while Brandon Horning is seeded eighth in the 1,000-meter run (2:35.01), Stephen Starliper is seeded 32nd in the 1,000 (2:39.35)

Recently, I wrote a column in which I quoted an Episcopal canon who was speaking on the subject of “splintering” within Christian churches. The quote I used was: “Came looking for God; got church.” I applied that same thought - looking for something and getting (finding) something different - to a discussion about political parties. Several people liked that approach and asked me if it had other applications - positive or negative. The answer is yes. Most humans, and I can easily write about Americans from a point of view spanning nearly 50 years of personal observation, are always looking (searching)

Recreation officials hope to move into the W. Randy Smith Recreation Center on Musselman High School's campus in Inwood, W.Va., by mid-June. Steve Catlett, executive director of the Martinsburg-Berkeley County Parks & Recreation Board, told board members Tuesday that the gym portion of the facility is now enclosed. Contractors, however, are still waiting for structural steel for the support area, a one-story section of the 18,200-square-foot facility that is to include the lobby, bathrooms and concessions.

There's something to be said for not wasting a second chance. Christian Lopez of Martinsburg, W.Va., knows that all too well as he basked in the glory of making it to the next phase of “American Idol” during the infamous Hollywood Week, which aired Wednesday and Thursday nights. But Christian's journey ended this week when he was cut from the Thursday night elimination round. “I have absolutely no regrets,” Christian, 17, said during a telephone interview from his home.

The odds are against receiving a “golden ticket” to Hollywood for most who audition for “American Idol.” Christian Lopez, 17, of Martinsburg, W.Va., has not only heard those words “You're going to Hollywood” once - but twice. Christian auditioned last year in Pittsburgh for season 11 of the Fox singing competition. At that time, he had to perform for then-judges Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler - and won a pass to the mass auditions in Hollywood. But because of the flu combined with a poor group performance, Christian was sent packing.