Jobs

Facing competition from interior designers working for large furniture factories, Hagerstown-based Beachley Furniture of Maryland has developed a reupholstery service that it plans to offer to the public soon. "What reupholstery has done for us is open doors," said David Beachley, co-owner of Beachley Furniture in Hagerstown. "We can do big jobs, small jobs ... We're able to offer the (interior design) industry more. We've become more important to them. " Since beginning operations in March, Beachley Furniture's West View Upholstery Service has reupholstered 60 pieces of furniture for a Hagerstown hotel, furniture for a local dental office and furniture for a Maine interior designer.

The House of Delegates has passed Gov. Martin O'Malley's proposal to create a grant process to help get people the skills for jobs that are in high demand. The House passed the bill 115 to 23 on Tuesday. The Senate already has approved the measure. It makes $2.5 million available for the Employment Advancement Now Initiative. The program will encourage regional training collaborations among businesses, nonprofits, colleges and local governments. It also will focus on industries such as traditional and advanced manufacturing, cybersecurity and health care.

Two new government contracts won by AECOM Technology Corp. will preserve 420 jobs at Letterkenny Army Depot as the company begins to handle technical support services at the depot. The affected employees, who were working under an existing contract, will move to the contracts awarded by the U.S. General Services Administration to AECOM, a Letterkenny spokeswoman said. The two concurrent contracts total $72 million over three years, an AECOM news release stated. AECOM will work with production engineering, electronic support, manufacturing and fabrication, mechanical equipment, and paint.

FREDERICK, Md. (AP) - JPMorgan Chase & Co. will close its credit card center in Frederick by the end of the year, eliminating 600 jobs, the company said Thursday. Tim Keefe, spokesman for Chase, said the facility, which deals mainly with delinquent accounts, will be phased out beginning in the summer. He said the decision was based on diminishing delinquent account volumes and the need to increase efficiency. Keefe said that operations will be moved to other Chase locations.

With possible changes in the works for the Hagerstown-Washington County Economic Development Commission, area residents recently offered advice about what they thought the EDC could do to bring jobs to the area. Bryan Martin of Hagerstown said the Hagerstown-Washington County area should be able to use its airport and highways as selling points to lure prospective businesses. “We've got an airport that is underrated and we're right at the intersection of two major highways (Interstate 70 and Interstate 81)

Chambersburg Mall was packed with people Thursday, but they weren't shopping for bargains - they were shopping for jobs. Even before the second annual Here to Help Job Fair opened at 9 a.m., hundreds of job seekers flooded into the mall in search of employment. “Jobs are something that excite me. Economic opportunity for people is what drives me,” said state Sen. Richard Alloway, R-Franklin/Adams/York, who hosted the event “Hearing all the stories about people who are struggling to make ends meet really breaks my heart,” he said.

Dr. Hal Butler wants to hire a receptionist for his Hagerstown dental practice. Thus far, more than 200 people have applied. John Kelly wants to hire five new workers for his Mount Airy, Md., sign company. He's got stacks of applications - some from people who, he said, are far overqualified. “It's heartbreaking, really,” Kelly said. “I've worked in large companies myself. Some of the resumes we're getting are people who should be in companies like that. But these people just need a job.” So it is in an economy where new job opportunities still are scarce and unemployment rates remain higher than before the recession.

Md. lawmakers approve natural gas surcharge bill ANNAPOLIS (AP) - Natural gas companies would be able to seek a surcharge of up to $2 on monthly gas bills to help recover costs for replacing aging infrastructure, in a measure approved by state lawmakers Thursday. The Senate voted 35-12 after spirited debate. The House of Delegates' vote was 120-17. The measures are similar and any differences will need to be worked out for the legislation to go to Gov. Martin O'Malley. Lawmakers who supported the bill said companies need the cash to help replace aging pipes and address safety concerns.

25 jobs left to fill About 30 Head Start positions have been filled, with another 25 still to go, according to Paul Pittman, executive director of Resources for Children and Families. Pittman said Resources for Children and Families has been interviewing job candidates since last week and plans to continue through early next week. Resources for Children and Families had 55 openings in mid-July. The Head Start school year begins on Tuesday, Sept. 5. Positions left to fill include teachers, teacher assistants, administrative assitants and bus drivers.

HAGERSTOWN karenh@herald-mail.com About 200 workers face the choice of losing their jobs or moving elsewhere as part of a restructuring plan that will eliminate about two-thirds of the positions at Hagerstown's Roadway Express terminal. "Everybody has a chance to follow the work, but whether you want to go, that's the big thing," truck driver Mike Mimnall said Tuesday. According to a reorganization plan that takes effect March 12, Hagerstown's East Oak Ridge Drive terminal, which employs about 292 people, will lose 196 positions, Teamsters Local 992 Secretary-Treasurer Tom W. Krause said.

A $15.9 million expansion of U.S. Coast Guard operations in the Eastern Panhandle announced Thursday by U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller will add 150 new information technology jobs, according to the senator's office. The expansion of the Coast Guard Operations System Center's activities to a new facility in Jefferson County will soon begin to reduce the center's overall operating costs, the announcement said. “Jefferson County is going to get a long-awaited economic boost, and this expansion will make sure the center can continue providing top-notch support for the Coast Guard,” said Rockefeller, D-W.Va.

If you want to know what working with hundreds of students challenged with various developmental or learning disabilities over the past three to four decades has meant to Nina Clopper, Betty Schriver and Margie Wolverton, you just had to see them on stage at a recent graduation. Taken by surprise when Washington County Job Development Program Principal Amy Norris invited them on stage to recognize them for their service, the women spoke from their hearts. “I want to thank everybody for their support and, mostly, I want to thank the students,” said Clopper, choking up as she left the podium.

The Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority has approved a $970,731 loan to support the construction of a 46,100-square-foot facility for Stouffer Mechanical Contractors LLC, the Franklin County Area Development Corp. said Thursday in a news release. The building will be built along Opportunity Avenue in the Cumberland Valley Business Park near Chambersburg. In addition to the PIDA loan, Columbia Bank has agreed to lend $1,154,031, bringing the total project cost to $2,124,762, according to the release.

Addressing a lunch gathering Wednesday organized by the Hagerstown-Washington County Chamber of Commerce, Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown stressed the value of partnerships between the state and private businesses to create more opportunities and jobs. Brown, a Democrat who is running for governor in the 2014 elections, earlier this week picked Howard County Executive Ken Ulman to be his running mate. Brown's address was focused on the economy and jobs, and how the state can better help local entities.

We respect Hagerstown-Washington County Economic Development Commission member Stuart Mullendore for stepping up and agreeing to take over a temporary position responsible for implementing a set of business strategies designed to pull Washington County out of its economic doldrums. Mullendore has the passion for the assignment and a sincere concern for the community. We also thank him for doing the job for free, which will save the county at least $25,000 over six months. This won't be any easy job, however, as the EDC has seemingly been spinning its wheels for more than a year now - since it fired its executive director and announced it was seeking a new path.

Wendy Kidd was working inside a client's home, cleaning the master bathroom when, suddenly, she heard a noise in the bedroom. Peeking around a corner, Kidd gasped when she saw a man - the husband in the family that owned the house - beginning to undress. “I said, 'What are you doing?!!'” Kidd remembers screaming. As it turned out, the man hadn't known she was there, and he was just changing his clothes. “I don't know who was more embarrassed - him or I,” Kidd said.

The opening of a new Freightliner of Hagerstown building will result in the addition of more than 30 jobs, the owner of the parent company and the truck dealership's service manager said Friday. Larry Hufford, owner of Transteck Inc., and Freightliner Service Manager Dan Stine were among those who attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday for the truck dealership's new 65,000-square-foot building, which will open for business Monday. The truck dealership at 16777 Halfway Blvd. currently has about 75 employees.

Rocky Gap Casino Resort's Human Resources department will hold a job fair this weekend in Cumberland. The job fair will be held Saturday, June 1, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Allegany College of Maryland's Cumberland Campus, 12401 Willowbrook Road in Cumberland, resort personnel said in an emailed news release. The job fair will be in rooms 12, 13, and 14 in the Continuing Education Building. During the job fair, Human Resources representatives from Rocky Gap Casino Resort will be looking for approximately 50 people to fill such positions as cooks, servers, housekeepers, environmental services (janitorial)

It might not be clear whether the economy is improving, but what is clear to Norine T. Dagliano is that many workers and unemployed people suddenly seem hopeful. “Since the beginning of this year,” said professional Hagerstown job resumé writer Dagliano, “I have just seen a tremendous increase in business, of employed people and unemployed people who are feeling enough hope in the economy now, they're ready to pursue other opportunities.” There has been a surge this year in the number of temporary and temporary-to-permanent jobs that area companies are offering, a jobs specialist said, referring to jobs that last only a few weeks and those that offer a few weeks' employment with the potential of becoming more permanent.

Teachers and graduates exchanged hugs, high-fives and smiles on-stage Wednesday morning as more than 200 people celebrated the graduation of students from the Washington County Job Development Program and Marshall Street School. As each graduate was recognized, an administrator read a list of that person's accomplishments, including the jobs the graduate had at companies, schools and community organizations. “We have worked hard to reach our goals,” said graduate William McCrary IV, one of four student speakers during the ceremony at Hagerstown Community College's Kepler Center.