Job Security

Letterkenny Army Depot and Franklin County officials celebrated a milestone Thursday that they say will ensure that between 300 and 400 jobs stay in Chambersburg through 2013. Depot commander Col. Cheri A. Provancha recognized the men and women at Letterkenny for completing two separate systems - a Patriot Launcher and a Patriot Guidance Enhancement Missile, or GEM-T, during two ribbon-cutting ceremonies at the depot. Provancha said the two programs are not creating new jobs, but will maintain job security.

With the United States in an ongoing unemployment crisis, two authors have offered strategies to help you keep your job. "Fifty-eight percent of job performance is affected by emotional intelligence," said author Travis Bradberry during a telephone interview with The Herald-Mail. Bradberry and Jean Greaves have updated their 2004 bestseller "Emotional Intelligence Quick Book" and retitled it "Emotional Intelligence 2.0" (TalentSmart, 2009). Bradberry said emotional intelligence is more than just feelings.

In just six months, American workers are showing more confidence in their job security, according to a survey. More than 80 percent of workers believe there's little to no chance they could lose their jobs in the coming year, an increase of 5 percent in six months, according to a survey by Right Management. Only three out of 10 expect unemployment to rise this year, down from 45 percent half a year ago. Right Management surveyed more than 1,000 full-time American workers.

John Kerry offers more To the editor: I want our physical boundaries to be protected by a strong Department of Homeland Security. I want to maintain an all volunteer militia by strengthening veteran services and benefits. I want affordable health care and prescription drug insurance for everyone. I want to maintain the right for individuals to make their own health decisions. I want all Americans and our guests to feel safe in their homes and on our streets by increasing funding for first-responders and re-starting the war on drugs.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) - Maryland athletic director Debbie Yow affirmed her support for men's basketball coach Gary Williams on Monday, expressing optimism for this season and stressing that his job is secure. The Terrapins are 14-7 this season and 3-4 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, but Williams has been criticized for letting the program sink since Maryland won the NCAA championship in 2002. The coach, in his 20th season with the Terrapins, has been forced over the past couple of weeks to defend his recruiting and determination to win. Yow has not commented on the situation in the aftermath of the death of her sister, North Carolina State women's basketball coach Kay Yow, who died last month of cancer.

Two Hagerstown firefighters set to hang up their boots By TARA REILLY tarar@herald-mail.com With a combined experience of 71 years in public safety, two Hagerstown firefighters are closing in on battling their last blaze. Mitch Gearhart, 62, of Hagerstown is hanging up his boots early this morning, while Larry Williams, 56, of Clear Spring, is retiring from the department on Jan. 31. "I'm really going to miss both of them," Battalion Chief Richard Hopkins said.

julieg@herald-mail.com The president of GST AutoLeather, formerly Garden State Tanning Inc., said Thursday that company officials will decide whether to keep open the local cutting plant and whether to expand the tanning operation. Final decisions have not been made about the possibility of laying off workers or closing the cutting plant, said Mark Lecher, president and chief operating officer of the automotive leather manufacturer. Lecher said he couldn't say if company officials will come up with a plan to prevent layoffs.

Richard "Rich" Gaver has lived in Funkstown his entire life. Many in the community know him for the work he does on the Funkstown Town Council and for his involvement with the town's Olde Tyme Christmas and Day in the Park. He admits he likes to keep busy and isn't one to sit around. That's why Gaver likes his work as an inspector for Washington County. “It's different every day because every job is different,” Gaver said. Gaver, 51, has worked in the electrical field since he was 16. Before taking a job with Washington County 15 years ago, he worked as a master electrician, getting his start in the field from the former Washington County Vo-Tech, graduating in 1978.

Make no mistake, economic development - or lack of economic development - in Washington County over the next five years will be thick with the fingerprints of former County Commissioner and current EDC board warrior Ron Bowers. Give Bowers credit for this: Outside of, perhaps, Hagerstown Mayor Robert Bruchey, Bowers is the only public official or quasi public official in Washington County who doesn't mind having a bull's-eye sewn squarely to his chest. Shoot away boys, just remember I'm more than capable of returning fire.

Richard "Rich" Gaver has lived in Funkstown his entire life. Many in the community know him for the work he does on the Funkstown Town Council and for his involvement with the town's Olde Tyme Christmas and Day in the Park. He admits he likes to keep busy and isn't one to sit around. That's why Gaver likes his work as an inspector for Washington County. “It's different every day because every job is different,” Gaver said. Gaver, 51, has worked in the electrical field since he was 16. Before taking a job with Washington County 15 years ago, he worked as a master electrician, getting his start in the field from the former Washington County Vo-Tech, graduating in 1978.

Letterkenny Army Depot and Franklin County officials celebrated a milestone Thursday that they say will ensure that between 300 and 400 jobs stay in Chambersburg through 2013. Depot commander Col. Cheri A. Provancha recognized the men and women at Letterkenny for completing two separate systems - a Patriot Launcher and a Patriot Guidance Enhancement Missile, or GEM-T, during two ribbon-cutting ceremonies at the depot. Provancha said the two programs are not creating new jobs, but will maintain job security.

Table games are essential for economic success To the editor: As a local worker and mother who found herself looking for a new line of work when the housing market collapsed, I became an employee at Charles Town (W.Va.) Races & Slots. My job there provided me with additional income to put my two daughters through school at West Virginia University. And both my daughters now work part time at Charles Town Races & Slots. As their mother, security is, of course, of utmost importance.

With the United States in an ongoing unemployment crisis, two authors have offered strategies to help you keep your job. "Fifty-eight percent of job performance is affected by emotional intelligence," said author Travis Bradberry during a telephone interview with The Herald-Mail. Bradberry and Jean Greaves have updated their 2004 bestseller "Emotional Intelligence Quick Book" and retitled it "Emotional Intelligence 2.0" (TalentSmart, 2009). Bradberry said emotional intelligence is more than just feelings.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) - Maryland athletic director Debbie Yow affirmed her support for men's basketball coach Gary Williams on Monday, expressing optimism for this season and stressing that his job is secure. The Terrapins are 14-7 this season and 3-4 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, but Williams has been criticized for letting the program sink since Maryland won the NCAA championship in 2002. The coach, in his 20th season with the Terrapins, has been forced over the past couple of weeks to defend his recruiting and determination to win. Yow has not commented on the situation in the aftermath of the death of her sister, North Carolina State women's basketball coach Kay Yow, who died last month of cancer.

In just six months, American workers are showing more confidence in their job security, according to a survey. More than 80 percent of workers believe there's little to no chance they could lose their jobs in the coming year, an increase of 5 percent in six months, according to a survey by Right Management. Only three out of 10 expect unemployment to rise this year, down from 45 percent half a year ago. Right Management surveyed more than 1,000 full-time American workers.

martinsburg@herald-mail.com Even its name is mostly numbers. Sino Swearingen Aircraft Corp.'s SJ30-2 - the main shell of which is assembled in a plant outside of Martinsburg - is a seven-person jet, including crew, that is defined by its statistics. Jet-setters, consider this: Its cabin pressure is 12 psi, meaning it maintains sea-level pressure at 41,000 feet - the highest ever in the industry; it can travel 2,500 nautical miles without refueling, and it travels at Mach .83, or 560 mph. As the sales brochure puts it, the SJ30-2 will enable its buyers to go "Farther, Faster, Higher for Less!"