Ice Rink

ZULLINGER, Pa. - For Carol Henicle, the unthinkable is happening. The financially stressed Doris I. Billow Ice Arena is being put up for sale. cont. from news page Henicle, executive director of the Greater Waynesboro Chamber of Commerce, led the effort two years ago to secure grants and loans to build the $3 million, 38,000-square-foot rink. She said Tuesday the facility has been put in the hands of ERA Penn First Realty. Henicle said she didn't know the selling price.

Griffith resigns as ice rink manager By JULIE E. GREENE Staff Writer The interim manager of the Hagerstown Ice & Sports Complex on Wednesday said he was resigning to take a job as an assistant pastor in Southern Maryland. Michael Griffith said his last day on the job will be Tuesday. He is to assume his duties as assistant pastor at Victory Baptist Church in Charlotte Hall, Md., the following day. Griffith was one of four finalists for the executive director post that was vacated when Walter Dill resigned on Oct. 15, said William M. Breichner, board chairman of the Washington County Sports Foundation.

waynesboro@herald-mail.com WAYNESBORO, Pa. - A Zullinger, Pa., businessman who was defeated in his bid for a Washington Township Supervisor seat in the May primary, asked the supervisors Monday to consider bidding on the Doris I. Billow Ice Arena building when it comes up for auction next month for use as a new municipal office building. Jeff Zody, who also lives in Zullinger, told the supervisors that the auction may present the township with a chance to get the property at a good price.

By ELLEN LYON Staff Writer The City of Hagerstown's decision to invest $1.2 million in a proposed ice rink at the old Hagerstown Fairgrounds also represents an investment in the ideas and abilities of the rink's chief promoter, Walter Dill Sr. Those who have worked with him on ice rink projects describe Dill as a hard-charging, determined organizer who has an ability to raise money and turn plans into reality. "If someone could literally sell a freezer to an Eskimo in an ice storm it would be Walt.

shappell@herald-mail.com The Hagerstown Sports and Ice Foundation took no action against Hagerstown Sports & Ice Complex General Manager Carl Langford following its meeting Wednesday. Langford was convicted last week on a second-degree assault charge. Board member Barbara Martin said Langford's conviction, in connection with kissing a juvenile employee, was discussed during a closed portion of the foundation's Wednesday meeting. Martin deferred all other comments to board Chairwoman Kristy Pottol.

By JULIE E. GREENE Staff Writer A $375,000 donation from an unidentified contributor has brought ice rink officials close to raising their $1.1 million share for the $2.3 million rink at the Hagerstown Fairgrounds, city officials said Tuesday. The name of the contributor will be announced at a 10 a.m. press conference on Thursday at the rink off Security Road, officials said. Councilman Lewis C. Metzner said he was impressed that Washington County Sports Foundation officials were able to raise within six months most of the $1,092,537 they have so far for their share of the rink's cost.

Two years ago, when Walter Dill challenged Hagerstown to open an ice rink before one opened in nearby Waynesboro, Pa., he predicted this area could not support multiple rinks. "The first one that opens is going to be successful. The rest are going to crash," he said at the time. --cont from news -- Hagerstown opened last August, four months before the Waynesboro rink. But today it is Hagerstown's rink - not the one in Waynesboro - that has shaky finances. Hagerstown Ice & Sports Complex is expected to lose roughly $100,000 in its first year, said Gary Wright, president of the nonprofit board that runs the rink.

ZULLINGER, Pa. - A feasibility study has concluded that a fund drive probably would not raise enough money to bail out the financially troubled Doris I. Billow Ice Arena, prompting its board to consider, among other options, selling the rink. cont. from front page "Our financial position is causing the board to evaluate and pursue all alternatives that will enable us to satisfy all creditors, which could include the sale of the rink," according to a statement issued Thursday by L. Michael Ross, president of the Board of Directors for Cumberland Valley on Ice, the nonprofit corporation that owns and operates the rink.

By JULIE E. GREENE Staff Writer Hagerstown City Council members on Tuesday took their biggest step yet toward construction of a $2.3 million ice rink complex at the Hagerstown Fairgrounds. City Council members voted 4-0 during a special meeting Tuesday to approve an agreement designating the nonprofit Washington County Sports Foundation as developer of the project. Councilman Lewis Metzner was absent. The complex, to include a National Hockey League-size ice rink and a pro shop, is scheduled to open Aug. 15. Council members also approved releasing $400,000 of the city's $1.2 million share of the project to the sports foundation so work can progress at the site off Security Road.

By JULIE E. GREENE Staff Writer Hagerstown officials Friday took another step toward bringing a $2.2 million ice rink complex to the Hagerstown Fairgrounds, allowing work to begin on the site as soon as next week. Now the nonprofit group that will operate the rink must have $600,000 in cash and in-kind contributions before the project gets any city money, officials said. The nonprofit group had been told to have $500,000 available. City officials had postponed a vote Tuesday on an agreement between the city and the Washington County Sports Foundation because some Council members were concerned that the group had failed to produce proper documentation to confirm it had raised $550,000 in private funds.