NEWS
By JULIE E. GREENE | julieg@herald-mail.com | May 22, 2013
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.
NEWS
By ARNOLD S. PLATOU | arnoldp@herald-mail.com | May 18, 2013
One thing Ed Grimes hates about his current work schedule is trying to explain it to others. “It's confusing,” he said. Since being laid off in 2009 after nearly four decades at Hagerstown's Noland Company, the 61-year-old Funkstown man has been jockeying between jobs at two stores and one school or another around the county, while piecing things back together financially. Yet Grimes, like some other area victims of the recession, feels lucky to be working now, especially considering how tough the economy has been.
NEWS
By ARNOLD S. PLATOU | arnoldp@herald-mail.com | May 18, 2013
Unlike many Americans, Ruby Harley didn't lose work during the recession. In fact, the Inwood, W.Va., woman gained work - holding two jobs at the same time before the recession, three jobs simultaneously during the recession and two jobs now. Harley, 42, likes the life, working seven days a week or very long five-day weeks for years. “There's a saying I was told by my father,” Harley said. “The day you start slowing down is when everything - like, your health can go down - catches up to you. And so, I'm not slowing down.” Plus, having been divorced twice and raising two children, Ruby has needed the extra income.
NEWS
May 5, 2013
Where one business has closed, another has opened. Scott Electric, a large wholesale electrical distributor and supply business based in Greensburg, Pa., opened a Hagerstown branch in the 18043 Oak Ridge Drive building long used by Flameless Heating Supply Inc. Scott, which was a supplier for Flameless until it closed last fall, now has five employees working out of the Hagerstown facility and wants to hire three more, said John Forish, general...
NEWS
By ARNOLD S. PLATOU | arnoldp@herald-mail.com | May 4, 2013
The Washington County government announced recently that its annual business and industry survey showed there had been a net gain of more than 440 jobs in the past year. But that isn't the whole story. Despite the increase in the county's January unemployment rate, the county said in an emailed news release on March 22, “the annual Hagerstown-Washington County Economic Development Business Industry Report confirmed an increase of 448 jobs within the County based on 2012 reporting data through March 22, 2013.” What the county didn't say is that almost all of that net gain was because of new jobs funded by taxpayers, according to an examination of the county's data by The Herald-Mail.
NEWS
By DAN DEARTH | dan.dearth@herald-mail.com | April 29, 2013
Labor leaders from across the state gathered in Hagerstown on Monday to remember workers who have been killed or injured on the job. The annual event, known as Workers Memorial Day, was attended by about 40 people at the Central Maryland AFL-CIO Labor Council building at 511 E. Franklin St. Chip Cook, president of the Central Maryland AFL-CIO Labor Council, said the gathering in Hagerstown was one of many remembrance ceremonies that were held...
NEWS
By MATTHEW UMSTEAD | matthewu@herald-mail.com | April 27, 2013
Budget changes approved last week will allow nearly 100 contract workers who recently lost their jobs at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives National Tracing Center in Berkeley County, W.Va., to be rehired, U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller's office announced Saturday. “The terrible tragedy in Boston reinforces that those who protect our country and respond to emergencies should be able to get the resources they need to do their jobs to the fullest,” Rockefeller, D-W.Va., said in a news release.
OPINION
By LLOYD WATERS | April 27, 2013
You can lose a job for many different reasons. Maybe it's because of job performance, decision-making, office politics or economic conditions. Or even a multitude of other factors. Regardless of the reason, losing a job can be a very stressful situation for a person desiring to get out of bed and contribute to his own livelihood. A few weeks ago, I went to work and - due to budgetary shortfalls with our federal government - witnessed the permanent layoff of 98 people at our government work site. During my last nine years of employment there, I had the opportunity to come to know many of these people.
LIFESTYLE
By CRYSTAL SCHELLE | crystal.schelle@herald-mail.com | April 25, 2013
Kellan Bermudez has something in common with Superman: He also can fly. As a member of the Cole Bros. Circus of the Stars, Bermudez is known as the Human Cannonball, whose death-defying feat is to be shot out of a cannon. Cole Bros. Circus of the Stars will be at Review & Herald in Hagerstown Monday, April 29, and Tuesday, April 30. Bermudez was in North Carolina getting ready for two shows when he took a moment to chat about making a career out of being a cannonball and life in the circus.
NEWS
By CALEB CALHOUN | caleb.calhoun@herald-mail.com | April 20, 2013
Stephen Vanmeter of Greencastle, Pa., who will finish school at Hagerstown Community College this spring, went to the Mega Job Fair on campus Friday to look for a full-time job in the information technology field that he could work while pursuing his bachelor's degree. “I'm looking for anything around the area of PC, hardware, software, troubleshooting,” said Vanmeter, 26. “I was visiting First Data because they have a lot of IT jobs there.” More than 550 people showed up for the job fair at HCC's Athletic, Recreation, and Community Center.