Ice Rink

The privately operated Hagerstown Ice & Sports Complex will still need city funds to operate but the necessary subsidy will decrease in future years, according to five-year budget projections for the ice rink presented Tuesday. In July the City Council approved spending $217,908 on the ice rink, which was on top of $229,200 previously committed by the council. The contributions were expected to cover some back bills and keep the rink operating through August 2000. According to budget projections the city will be asked for about $165,000 for the 2000-2001 fiscal year, which begins July 1. The requested city contribution to the ice rink will decrease by $10,000 in each of the following two fiscal years, and go down $20,000 in each of the two years after that.

The Washington County Sports Foundation, which operates Hagerstown's ice rink, expects rink operations to cost roughly $204,000 more than the rink will take in over the next 12 months, according to a budget presented to Hagerstown's Mayor and City Council on Tuesday. The projected deficit was expected, and the formal budget shows that the city's previously approved contribution to the rink should be sufficient, said City Finance Director Al Martin. The foundation was required to present the city with a formal budget under the terms of a $450,000 contribution to the foundation the council approved last month.

Hearing that the Hagerstown Ice & Sports Complex is on track to post a $20,000 surplus in the current fiscal year is a bit like hearing that the Chicago Cubs have secured a berth in baseball's World Series. Both are possible, but we would have bet against either becoming a reality anytime soon. Our thanks to the Washington County Sports Foundation, which is responsible for daily operations, for getting the facility into the black. Building an ice rink was proposed in April 1996 by a group headed by Walter E. Dill Sr., a Hagerstown businessman.

By LISA GRAYBEAL Staff Writer, Waynesboro ZULLINGER, Pa. - State Sen. Terry Punt said a grant to help build an ice rink was not approved for political reasons, but because the $250,000 will help revitalize a Franklin County community. The grant to help Cumberland Valley On Ice build the Doris I. Billow Ice Arena was awarded by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, which Punt oversees as chairman of the state Senate's Community and Economic Development Committee.

Hagerstown Mayor Robert Bruchey made a stop at the Hagerstown Ice and Sports Complex last Friday to check out the many improvements that have taken place since July 1. During the two weeks the ice rink was closed, a new sheet of ice, featuring the logo of the Hagerstown Bulldogs youth team at center ice, was installed. In addition, the dasher boards surrounding the ice have been repaired or replaced and the locker room area has been renovated and repainted in the colors of the Bulldogs - red, blue and gold.

shappell@herald-mail.com The general manager of the Hagerstown Ice & Sports Complex was found guilty Wednesday in Washington County District Court on one of two assault charges stemming from allegations he inappropriately touched a 17-year-old female employee. Carl F. Langford, 41, of 10831 Clinton Ave. in Hagerstown, was found guilty on a misdemeanor count of second-degree assault in connection with a Feb. 23 incident at the rink by Washington County District Judge M. Kenneth Long Jr., court records say. Long sentenced Langford to probation before judgment, fined him $300 and placed him on 18 months unsupervised probation, effective Jan. 21, records say. Langford was found not guilty Wednesday on a second misdemeanor count of second-degree assault in connection with an incident involving the same girl in late 2003.

A new general manager who took over at Hagerstown's ice rink on Thursday will be more visible in the community than his predecessors, the rink's board chairman said. Mike Olson will get out in the community more, giving talks about the rink at schools, churches and service organizations, said Gary Wright, chairman of the nonprofit Washington County Sports Foundation, which oversees the rink. The Hagerstown rink has tremendous potential, Olson said. "I just think it's a matter of time before people realize what the building has and the programs we have to offer," he said.

By STEVEN T. DENNIS Staff Writer Winter came a little early for more than 2,000 people Friday afternoon at the opening of the $2.3 million Hagerstown Ice and Sports Complex. Swarms of children flying across the ice experienced spills, chills and thrills and gave the city's newest attraction an enthusiastic thumbs up. Specials including free skating packed the center after it opened at 2 p.m. Hagerstown Olympic hopeful Emily Keller, 11, wowed an audience with a figure skating routine featuring a series of single jumps, spins and twirls.

By JULIE E. GREENE Staff Writer Construction on a $2.1 million ice rink at the Hagerstown Fairgrounds could begin next month if City Council members approve proposed agreements tonight concerning the rink's construction and operation. Several council members said Monday they would approve the agreements if their concerns about a recent jump in the ice rink's price tag from the original $1.7 million to $1.98 million had been addressed. After the council discussed the ice rink last week, the price rose by an additional $151,000, said City Finance Director Al Martin.

By RICHARD BELISLE Staff Writer Falling snow and cold temperatures created the perfect backdrop Saturday for a groundbreaking ceremony for a new $2.1 million public indoor ice-skating rink to be built this year at the old Hagerstown Fairgrounds. The rink, to be called the Hagerstown Ice and Sports Complex, is scheduled to open Aug. 15, said Walter Dill, executive director of the Washington County Sports Foundation, the non-profit agency that got a $1.2 million loan from the city for the project.