Input

The Franklin County Commissioners and Planning Department is asking for input from the public into its county comprehensive planning project. Three meetings have been scheduled around the county in July. They are: July 18 — Norlo Park Community Center, 3050 Lincoln Way East, Fayetteville, Pa., 6 p.m. July 25 — Renfrew Park Visitors Center, 1010 E. Main St., Waynesboro, Pa., 2 p.m. July 25 — Peters Township Municipal Building, 5000 Steele Ave., Lemasters, Pa., 6 p.m.

Biking enthusiasts are invited to offer input on a new pumptrack planned in Washington Township, Pa. Township officials will host a meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday at 13013 Welty Road. “It's an open forum for anyone interested. The purpose of the meeting is to evaluate and get many eyes on ... the design before it is finished,” Township Manager Mike Christopher said. The township supervisors expect to pay $4,000 for a design by Colorodo-based Lee McCormack, who operates www.leelikesbikes.com . They received a preliminary sketch late last week from McCormack and must return it with feedback.

In the wake of a Maryland State Teachers' Association report suggesting improvements to the state's standardized testing program, the state's assistant superintendent made a comment that demonstrates what the real problem is. Speaking about teachers' proposals for outside reviews of some of the testing material, Ron Peiffer said the state is already doing extensive reviews, and changing the test where it's appropriate. And then Peiffer revealed the true nature of the problem: "Unfortunately, teachers don't know we make those little adjustments as we go along.

FUNKSTOWN - All municipalities have been invited to a meeting on a proposed uniform skateboarding ordinance Wednesday, June 11, at 1 p.m. at the Washington County Sheriff's Department. The idea of a uniform ordinance came from the law enforcement community which wants uniform rules so enforcement will be the same from community to community, according to Town Clerk Brenda Haynes. The questions to be answered will include where skateboarding will and won't be allowed, time restrictions and penalty amounts for violations.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources will hold a public meeting in Hagerstown to gather public input on proposed hunting and trapping regulations for resident game species and select migratory game birds for 2012-13 and 2013-14. The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 13, at 7 p.m. at South Hagerstown High School at 1101 S. Potomac St. The DNR's Wildlife and Heritage Service re-evaluates hunting and trapping regulations every two years, according to the DNR's website.

U.S. Senators Benjamin L. Cardin and Barbara Mikulski have reintroduced legislation to allow for an advisory commission that helps communities along the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park have input on the park's operations. The Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park Advisory Commission was established in 1971 as part of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Development Act. The commission must be reauthorized every 10 years but last year it was not reauthorized, said Williamsport Mayor James G. McCleaf II, who was on the commission until last year.

For almost 10 years, a group of citizens from around the region has met monthly to provide The Herald-Mail's editorial page staff with input on our performance. Except for some light refreshments, they're not paid for their time, even though the feedback they provide is invaluable. And the questions they ask guests ranging from the superintendent of schools to the CEO of the Washington County Hospital show us that the concerns of Herald-Mail journalists are not always the same as those of local citizens.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- Del. John Overington, R-Berkeley, announced that he will hold a town meeting Monday, April 26, at the Bedington Ruritan building to discuss legislation passed by lawmakers in the 60-day session and a possible special session on education. The meeting will be from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Ruritan building, which is south of Bedington Crossroads on the west side of U.S. 11. and about three miles north of Berkeley Plaza. Overington said in a news release that he is seeking suggestions to pass on to Gov. Joe Manchin to include in the call for the special session, which the delegate said could happen next month.

An urban ballpark could mean a lot to Hagerstown To the editor: If Hagerstown indeed decides to proceed with full or partial public funding for a new ballpark, then these funds would be best assigned for a mixed-use neighborhood ballpark to be in Hagers-town's historic downtown for the following reasons. First, a ballpark as part of a mixed-use neighborhood would be more conducive to promoting walkable streets and vitality in the vicinity than a suburban ballpark in a single-use zone.

School board, teachers' union bicker over bill By LAURA ERNDE / Staff Writer ANNAPOLIS - A bill before the Maryland General Assembly this session is pitting Washington County teachers and School Board members against each other. continued The Maryland State Teachers Association wants to expand collective bargaining rights, allowing the union to negotiate issues such as class size, school calendars and curriculum. Some members of the Washington County Board of Education worry that such new rules could bankrupt schools and leave parents out of the decision-making process.

Hagerstown residents are invited to give input on two local government channels as part of the city's process of reviewing the Antietam Cable television franchise. The franchise is reviewed periodically and the current review process allows city residents to give input on local government channels 25 and 99. A public meeting to explain the review process was held at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at City Hall. The City of Hagerstown uses channel 25 to televise Hagerstown City Council meetings, a bulletin board and other programming, said Karen M. Giffin, the city's community affairs manager.

he state recently approved $12,600 for the Town of Smithsburg to plan development of a new section of Veterans Park, and now town officials want to know what residents would like to see at the park, Mayor Mildred “Mickey” Myers said Monday. The town bought 2.52 acres adjacent to the northeast side of Veterans Park in 2008 for $140,000 from the Kline family, according to town officials and Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation online records. The Maryland Board of Public Works granted approval for the $12,600 in Program Open Space funds during its March 6 meeting, according to the board's website and an email from James W. “Chip” Price, director for Program Open Space grants.

U.S. Senators Benjamin L. Cardin and Barbara Mikulski have reintroduced legislation to allow for an advisory commission that helps communities along the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park have input on the park's operations. The Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park Advisory Commission was established in 1971 as part of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Development Act. The commission must be reauthorized every 10 years but last year it was not reauthorized, said Williamsport Mayor James G. McCleaf II, who was on the commission until last year.

A partnership between the Arts & Humanities Alliance (AHA!) of Jefferson County and Eastern Panhandle Transit Authority is expected to give new meaning to the definition of a “traveling exhibit.” Transit Authority Executive Director Cheryl L. Keyrouze announced at a planning session with community stakeholders Wednesday about plans for mural art to be painted this spring on one of the agency's buses that serves Jefferson County. Given that raising local money is the public transit agency's biggest challenge, Keyrouze welcomed the partnership, which she said might have been unthinkable and unlikely to some.

In the final weeks before they adopt a 2013 spending plan, the Washington Township (Pa.) Supervisors are seeking public input on a proposed budget that includes a property tax increase. The budget, which can be viewed at www.washtwp-franklin.org , will be discussed in upcoming workshop meetings prior to the planned Dec. 17 adoption, township officials said. The preliminary $4.7 million budget includes a 2-mill tax increase. A mill represents $1 of every $1,000 assessed property value.

Several people expressed concerns about plans for a multiuse facility in downtown Hagerstown, the lack of a public hearing about the proposed facility and the effect on parking for St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church during a meeting at the church's campus Sunday. James Kercheval and Tim Henry, who serve on a City of Hagerstown committee that has assisted in studying the possibility of a downtown multiuse facility, presented information to about 50 people during a Sunday afternoon meeting that lasted about 90 minutes.

The Washington County Board of Commissioners agreed Tuesday to seek public input on the idea of instituting a “leash law” for dogs. The five commissioners agreed to schedule a public hearing on several proposed changes to the county's animal-control ordinance, including the addition of a requirement that dogs be leashed when off of their owner's property, except under certain circumstances. A date for that hearing has not been set, but the commissioners requested that it be scheduled in the evening to make it easier for more people to attend.

Smoking and other use of tobacco products could be banned in Borough of Waynesboro parks if the Waynesboro Borough Council proceeds with a proposal it discussed Wednesday. Councilman Wayne Driscoll shared information he gathered in meetings with the Waynesboro Police Department, Penn State Extension and an organization called Healthy Communities Partnership, which receives funds from a tobacco lawsuit settlement from 11 years ago. Driscoll said he worries about children seeing people smoking in a family-friendly setting.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources will hold a public meeting in Hagerstown to gather public input on proposed hunting and trapping regulations for resident game species and select migratory game birds for 2012-13 and 2013-14. The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 13, at 7 p.m. at South Hagerstown High School at 1101 S. Potomac St. The DNR's Wildlife and Heritage Service re-evaluates hunting and trapping regulations every two years, according to the DNR's website.

An urban ballpark could mean a lot to Hagerstown To the editor: If Hagerstown indeed decides to proceed with full or partial public funding for a new ballpark, then these funds would be best assigned for a mixed-use neighborhood ballpark to be in Hagers-town's historic downtown for the following reasons. First, a ballpark as part of a mixed-use neighborhood would be more conducive to promoting walkable streets and vitality in the vicinity than a suburban ballpark in a single-use zone.