Local Group

Washington County Commissioner John F. Barr and Hagerstown Regional Airport officials were in Arizona this week to talk to Allegiant Air officials about additional flights in and out of Hagerstown, including Myrtle Beach, S.C., and more Florida destinations, Barr said Thursday. Airport Director Phil Ridenour told the commissioners Tuesday he would meet with Allegiant representatives Friday to discuss the possibility of opening a route from Hagerstown to Myrtle Beach. Direct Air had scheduled flights to Myrtle Beach that ended in 2011.

Dave McCandless is laboring over a musical note. He doesn't like the sound coming from the assembled group of 30 musicians, and the director taps his baton to bring silence to the room. With gestures and articulation, he translates what he expects to hear with quiet authority. And, in a few seconds, he gets what he wants: a single note, then another and another until the room swells with music. It's a rainy spring afternoon and the band is rehearsing in a room next door to the racquetball courts at the Hagerstown YMCA.

Entertainment at Mercersburg Lions Club Community Fair MERCERSBURG, Pa. - Besides Mercersburg Area Community Band, other entertainment at Mercersburg Lions Club Community Fair at Lions Club Fairgrounds on Park Street in Mercersburg includes: Monday, Aug. 11 - Blue Grass Cut Ups, country-western Tuesday, Aug. 12 - Bob and the Kaktus Kowboys, country-western Wednesday, Aug. 13 - Branded, country-western Thursday, Aug. 14...

Blast from the Past Week of April 29, 1951 The walls of offices and corridors of City Hall are sporting fresh coats of paint in pale green and cream, with the exception of the walls of the Mayor's office and City Clerk's office which were painted a brilliant pink color. The new American Legion home on Northern Avenue was formally dedicated last night in ceremonies in the Legion ballroom. Historian Samuel Cohen read a history of the local group, bringing out the fact that the post's name is actually spelled incorrectly.

julieg@herald-mail.com WILLIAMSPORT - Y-ME of the Cumberland Valley on Friday announced a name change as the local chapter steps away from the national organization so it can continue focusing on the community. Starting Jan. 1, the local Y-ME chapter will become Breast Cancer Awareness of Cumberland Valley, board member Brandon Younger announced. The breast cancer information and support group will no longer be a Y-ME affiliate, but as a Program Partner will continue to have its programs certified by Y-ME, Executive Director Joan Fell said.

CLEAR SPRING -- Clear Spring High School's Future Farmers of America chapter/alumni fundraiser is Friday at Clear Spring High School. Doors will open at 5 p.m. Food will be available, including homemade potato, chicken corn, vegetable and bean soups, sandwiches, beverages and pie. For the first time, the opening act at 7 p.m. will feature a local group called Not Forgotten. At 7:30 p.m., The Lewis Family will perform gospel and bluegrass music. Advance tickets cost $10, while tickets at the door cost $12. Advance tickets may be reserved by calling 301-766-8086 or 301-766-8082.

The PEO Sisterhood, Chapter I of Hagerstown, held a "Hot Chili on a Cold Night" fundraiser Feb. 23 at the home of Jim and Lynn Vink in Black Rock Estates in Hagerstown to help add to the endowment of the national organization's educational loan fund. The cooks were Mary Helen Strauch, Lynn Vink, Cindy Noia, Georgia Newman and Gann Breichner. Headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, the PEO Sisterhood is a philanthropic educational organization. Since 1907, the organization has loaned $115,295,100 to 40,879 qualified women who demonstrate financial need in order to complete their education.

The Hagerstown chapter of Quilts for Kids Inc. recently delivered 166 quilts to National Children's Medical Center in Washington, D.C., as part of Proctor & Gamble's Downy Touch of Comfort campaign. Proctor & Gamble sponsored the national organization to provide 10,000 quilts during the first half of the year to be donated to Children's Miracle Network hospitals. The organization has exceeded the request. In addition to the delivery, the Hagerstown chapter also donates to the Parent Child Center and Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.

By RICHARD F. BELISLE Staff Writer, Waynesboro WAYNESBORO, Pa. - Waynesboro residents will have a chance to see some 18th century craftsmanship next week, as restoration work begins on the borough's oldest existing structure. Local preservationist Terry Pelton will hoist an ancient broadax and hew a stack of oak timber into the logs that will be used to recreate the cabin he dismantled earlier this month. Called Burns Cabin, or Bourns Cabin, depending on the version of local history consulted, the one-story log cabin will stand on the hillside overlooking the old tollgate building that houses the Greater Waynesboro Chamber of Commerce office at the intersection of East Main Street and Roadside Avenue.

The Hagerstown Suns are being sold to a group of investors that includes two Hagerstown men, returning the 30-year-old franchise to local ownership. Los Angeles-based Mandalay Entertainment Group, which bought the Suns in December 2002, is selling the team for $6.7 million to a group headed by Bruce Quinn, a Florida businessman and general manager of Polo Trace Country Club in Delray Beach, Fla., and Tony Dahbura, a corporate vice president of Hub Labels in Hagerstown. Dr. Mitesh Kothari of Hagerstown and Quinn's sister, Sheri, are part of the ownership group, which also has some minor investors, Bruce Quinn said.

TriState Astronomers will have telescopes set up near the visitors center at Antietam National Battlefield Friday and Saturday from 7 to 11 p.m. for the public to observe the wonders of the spring night sky.  Attendees can visit any time throughout the evening to look through the telescopes. Laser guided sky tours will be available. A free children's zone will be set up where children can have hands-on use of several child-friendly telescopes. The event is free. The event will be canceled in the event of cloudy skies.

Washington County Commissioner John F. Barr and Hagerstown Regional Airport officials were in Arizona this week to talk to Allegiant Air officials about additional flights in and out of Hagerstown, including Myrtle Beach, S.C., and more Florida destinations, Barr said Thursday. Airport Director Phil Ridenour told the commissioners Tuesday he would meet with Allegiant representatives Friday to discuss the possibility of opening a route from Hagerstown to Myrtle Beach. Direct Air had scheduled flights to Myrtle Beach that ended in 2011.

According to storyteller Faith Crumbly, her latest project is only a year old, and already it has a happy ending. Or at least a happy beginning. “We've been going for a year,” Crumbly said. “And people would get to meetings before I did. I was surprised at the interest.” Crumbly, a retired writer and editor with The Review & Herald Publishing Co. in Hagerstown, organized the Christian Storytelling Cafe a year ago. The group meets at a variety of venues, religious and secular, and welcomes the public.

Hagerstown Community College will host the Neshema Dance Co. for a special performance Friday, Oct. 5, at 7 p.m., at Kepler Theater. Neshema is a professional, contemporary dance company based in Hagerstown. The dance group will perform a modern dance as part of HCC's first Dance Appreciation Week, which seeks to celebrate HCC's dance programs. The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served following the performance. For more information, contact dance instructor Alyssa Foley at ajfoley@hagerstowncc.edu.

Dave McCandless is laboring over a musical note. He doesn't like the sound coming from the assembled group of 30 musicians, and the director taps his baton to bring silence to the room. With gestures and articulation, he translates what he expects to hear with quiet authority. And, in a few seconds, he gets what he wants: a single note, then another and another until the room swells with music. It's a rainy spring afternoon and the band is rehearsing in a room next door to the racquetball courts at the Hagerstown YMCA.

The Hagerstown Suns are being sold to a group of investors that includes two Hagerstown men, returning the 30-year-old franchise to local ownership. Los Angeles-based Mandalay Entertainment Group, which bought the Suns in December 2002, is selling the team for $6.7 million to a group headed by Bruce Quinn, a Florida businessman and general manager of Polo Trace Country Club in Delray Beach, Fla., and Tony Dahbura, a corporate vice president of Hub Labels in Hagerstown. Dr. Mitesh Kothari of Hagerstown and Quinn's sister, Sheri, are part of the ownership group, which also has some minor investors, Bruce Quinn said.

HAGERSTOWN -- A group of investors, including two with local ties, have made an offer to buy the Hagerstown Suns. Bruce Quinn, the chief operating officer and general manager of a Florida golf club, confirmed that he is heading a group that is in the confirmation process for purchasing the 30-year-old minor league baseball franchise. "There might be some truth in that," Quinn said, with a laugh. "I have a local group and some family and friends who are interested in buying the team.

The Hagerstown chapter of Quilts for Kids Inc. recently delivered 166 quilts to National Children's Medical Center in Washington, D.C., as part of Proctor & Gamble's Downy Touch of Comfort campaign. Proctor & Gamble sponsored the national organization to provide 10,000 quilts during the first half of the year to be donated to Children's Miracle Network hospitals. The organization has exceeded the request. In addition to the delivery, the Hagerstown chapter also donates to the Parent Child Center and Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.

HAGERSTOWN -- Carmen Fox said it's a good way to get Christmas shopping done. Mary Lou Wurmb always comes out to The Sun Rises Over Rotary Dinner & Auction, and she has enjoyed the items she has taken home over the years. "I got a lot of nice stuff, a lot of rugs," Wurmb said as she looked over items during the Hawaiian-themed event Sunday afternoon at Elks Lodge 378 on Robinwood Drive. It was the eighth annual installment of the event, which raises money for five local organizations, including the Boys and Girls Club of Washington County, Discovery Station at Hagerstown, Washington County Arts Council, Sunrise Rotary Foundation and Villa Maria of Washington County, which offers mental health counseling and psychiatric services for people in need.

CLEAR SPRING -- Clear Spring High School's Future Farmers of America chapter/alumni fundraiser is Friday at Clear Spring High School. Doors will open at 5 p.m. Food will be available, including homemade potato, chicken corn, vegetable and bean soups, sandwiches, beverages and pie. For the first time, the opening act at 7 p.m. will feature a local group called Not Forgotten. At 7:30 p.m., The Lewis Family will perform gospel and bluegrass music. Advance tickets cost $10, while tickets at the door cost $12. Advance tickets may be reserved by calling 301-766-8086 or 301-766-8082.