Joint Venture

by Yvette May / staff photographer click images to view larger versions New knees a joint venture Marybelle Foster and Anna McSherry are the best of friends with four new knees between them. "We first met in Washington County Hospital in April 1997 when we each had our first knee replacements," said McSherry, 72. That chance meeting and shared experience blossomed into a friendship that has continued and on Jan. 20, they checked in together to have their other knees replaced.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - Thoughts about the future of the Franklin County Career and Technology Center are moving along several paths, as the Chambersburg School Board Wednesday authorized spending $15,000 to determine the feasibility of starting its own career and technology program. The money will be used by Crabtree Rohrbaugh & Associates, the district's architects, to examine how much it would cost the district to acquire and renovate an existing building for a career and technology center, or build one from scratch.

The Washington County Planning Commission is recommending rezoning 10 acres on Downsville Pike next to the former Moose lodge from residential multifamily to highway interchange . The Planning Commission made the recommendation during its meeting Monday night, Planning Director Robert Arch said. The recommendation goes next to the Washington County Commissioners, Arch said. About 20 local residents had petitioned against the rezoning. But Clyde Bartles, president of the homeowners association for Town Oak Village, which is adjacent to the property, supports the rezoning.

Sydney Parks, 16, of Boonsboro will compete for the title of Miss Maryland Teen USA 2011 on Oct. 29, 30 and 31 at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center in Bethesda, Md. Parks attends Boonsboro High School and lives in Keedysville. Her sponsors for the pageant are Vinco Capital Inc., M.W. Willard Plumbing and Heating Inc. and Boonsboro Pharmacy. The Miss Maryland Teen USA pageant is the official preliminary to the Miss Teen USA pageant and is a Donald J. Trump and NBC Universal Inc. joint venture.

By LISA GRAYBEAL Staff Writer, Chambersburg CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - The production division of United Defense at Letterkenny Army Depot will continue to operate as usual under its new owner, a Washington, D.C.-based investment firm, according to a United Defense spokesman. "United Defense will continue to operate as United Defense," said Herb Muktarian, adding that the same management team will remain in place and the approximately 75 workers at the Chambersburg production plant will retain their jobs.

CAMP HILL, Pa. (AP) - An investment firm headed by former U.S. Defense Secretary Frank Carlucci has agreed to buy military vehicle maker United Defense L.P. for $850 million. The deal, announced Tuesday, would put the joint venture of FMC Corp. and Harsco Corp. in the hands of Carlyle Group, which is based in Washington, D.C., and has other holdings in the defense industry. United Defense was formed in 1994 by FMC, a Chicago-based manufacturer of heavy machinery, and Harsco, an industrial services and products company headquartered near Harrisburg, Pa. A production division of United Defense is located at Letterkenny Army Depot in Chambersburg, Pa., where Paladin howitzers, cannon-type weapons used to fire projectiles at relatively high angles, are manufactured.

By RICHARD F. BELISLE Staff Writer, Waynesboro GREENCASTLE, Pa. - A Greencastle businessman, one of 31 from Pennsylvania leaving Friday on a trade mission to Japan and the Far East, said he sees opportunity in the financial turmoil that is ripping through the Pacific Rim nations. John Moran, owner of Bio-Oxidation Inc., maker of the Bio-Oxidizer, a machine that safely disposes of medical waste, is seeking a joint venture deal in Japan. Moran developed the Bio-Oxidizer to recycle medical waste.

About 20 local residents are petitioning against rezoning 10 acres on Downsville Pike from residential multifamily to highway interchange zoning. The land is next to Town Oak Village and the former Moose lodge. The Washington County Planning Commission is scheduled to discuss and possibly act on the rezoning request during its Monday meeting. The meeting is at 7 p.m. in the Commissioners Meeting Room, County Administration Building. The vacant land is on the southeast side of Downsville Pike near the intersection with Halfway Boulevard, adjacent to the north side of Interstate 70. The request is being made by 632 Joint Venture, a Maryland general partnership.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - The Chambersburg Area School District will explore what it will take to operate its own career and technology program, but Wednesday held out an olive branch to the other five districts, proposing a joint venture to upgrade the Franklin County Career and Technology Center. Chambersburg has proposed taking over ownership and operation of the career and technology center and upgrading the school, a project the district estimates could cost up to $47 million. In turn, the proposal calls for the other districts - Waynesboro, Tuscarora, Greencastle-Antrim, Shippensburg and Fannett-Metal - to each commit to fund a certain number of student slots.

Since last December, officials in Jefferson County, W.Va., have been working to preserve a state-run visitors center near Harpers Ferry, W.Va. which serves an estimated 300,000 tourists a year. The problem is they don't seem to be getting much help from the state. The center is located at the intersection of U.S. 340 and Washington Street near Harpers Ferry, in a chalet-style structure built in 1990 as a joint venture that allowed the Division of Tourism to rent the first floor for $150 a month.

Philip and Laura Denny and their three children were having a great time Saturday afternoon taking in the festivities of Olde Tyme Christmas. "We usually come to Harpers Ferry in the summer, but this year we saw Olde Tyme Christmas online, so we decided to drive over," said Laura Denny, whose family is from Canfield, Ohio. The family was approaching the steps to St. Peter's Catholic Church when they saw Santa Claus. Affable Paul Ashbaugh, dressed as the jolly old elf, spotted the Denny kids about the same time they saw him. Greetings were exchanged and the trio - Julia, 6, Leah, 3 and Nathanael, 2 - jumped into the stooping Santa's arms for a quick photo op. In White Hall Tavern, Melinda Day, a Harpers Ferry National Historical Park interpreter, was explaining how the village celebrated Christmas in 1864, the last full year of the Civil War. She was surrounded at her small table by youngsters intent on helping her make icicle ornaments from strips of metal.

Sydney Parks, 16, of Boonsboro will compete for the title of Miss Maryland Teen USA 2011 on Oct. 29, 30 and 31 at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center in Bethesda, Md. Parks attends Boonsboro High School and lives in Keedysville. Her sponsors for the pageant are Vinco Capital Inc., M.W. Willard Plumbing and Heating Inc. and Boonsboro Pharmacy. The Miss Maryland Teen USA pageant is the official preliminary to the Miss Teen USA pageant and is a Donald J. Trump and NBC Universal Inc. joint venture.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - The Chambersburg Area School District will explore what it will take to operate its own career and technology program, but Wednesday held out an olive branch to the other five districts, proposing a joint venture to upgrade the Franklin County Career and Technology Center. Chambersburg has proposed taking over ownership and operation of the career and technology center and upgrading the school, a project the district estimates could cost up to $47 million. In turn, the proposal calls for the other districts - Waynesboro, Tuscarora, Greencastle-Antrim, Shippensburg and Fannett-Metal - to each commit to fund a certain number of student slots.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - Thoughts about the future of the Franklin County Career and Technology Center are moving along several paths, as the Chambersburg School Board Wednesday authorized spending $15,000 to determine the feasibility of starting its own career and technology program. The money will be used by Crabtree Rohrbaugh & Associates, the district's architects, to examine how much it would cost the district to acquire and renovate an existing building for a career and technology center, or build one from scratch.

Emily and Benjamin Wernick, twins just 6 months old, are getting an early start learning about the fascinating world around them through reading. Mom, Melissa, and Dad, Steve, have been reading to them and playing recordings within "earshot" for months before they were even born. The twins share this experience with their older brother Andrew, who is 2 1/2. In turn, the whole family participates when reading with Andrew, so Benjamin and Emily absorb sounds and concepts that they will encounter as they grow from infancy to early childhood.

A Civil War feature film, "No Retreat From Destiny: The Battle That Rescued Washington," will hold its premiere March 10 at Faith Chapel, 6 S. Potomac St., in Hagerstown. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m., with the film starting at 7:30. A reception and question-and-answer period will follow. Tickets cost $5 at the door. To reserve seats, call 301-241-4000. The film was shot almost entirely in Washington County. Many local actors and re-enactors are in the film, which was co-produced by Washington County-based Historical Entertainment LLC. Set in 1864, the story follows the Confederate attempt to capture Washington, D.C., in hopes of ending the war in the South's favor.

bobp@herald-mail.com Nick Adenhart learned at an early age that diversity is the key to being a success. When he picked pitching as his chosen craft and aimed to become a major leaguer, the ability to choose from three pitches - a fastball, a curve and a changeup - separated him from most everyone else. The value of diversity will be tested again by Adenhart after being diagnosed this week with a torn elbow ligament that will require surgery. Now, instead of the possibility of being one of the first 10 players being selected in the June 7 amateur baseball draft, Williamsport's star pitcher will be weighing alternate scenarios he must use until he can take another shot at professional baseball.

For years, auto-making giant General Motors has been criticized for conservatively standing at while the rest of the auto world went progressive, but the subtle renovation of GM continues to ramp up in 2004, starting at the top, with Cadillac's corporate flagships expanding their new and more aggressive appearance in quest of matching the world's best luxury vehicles. The addition of the XLR sports car and the SRX crossover sport-utility vehicle indicates that Cadillac has turned a corner beyond the conventional DeVille and Seville sedans, and is primed to carry GM's torch to higher ground.

Since last December, officials in Jefferson County, W.Va., have been working to preserve a state-run visitors center near Harpers Ferry, W.Va. which serves an estimated 300,000 tourists a year. The problem is they don't seem to be getting much help from the state. The center is located at the intersection of U.S. 340 and Washington Street near Harpers Ferry, in a chalet-style structure built in 1990 as a joint venture that allowed the Division of Tourism to rent the first floor for $150 a month.