Local Group

charlestown@herald-mail.com About a dozen state and local agencies are scheduled to come together Thursday to discuss ways of continuing the battle against littering, an official with one of the groups said Sunday. Roadside littering and open dumps have been ongoing problems in the county, said officials with Keep Jefferson Beautiful Inc., a nonprofit group that formed five years ago. Members of the group believe people who are not customers of Waste Management of the Shenandoah Valley or who do not use some other type of trash removal service sometimes dump their trash around the county.

Kevinc@herald-mail.com Elvis had left the building. Suspicious minds might have pointed to a conspiracy, all shook up at the inaugural Elvis festival's cancellation last summer. After all, fans can't help falling in love with the rock 'n' roll icon, their surrender to his dark good looks and charismatic stage presence unconditional. They should never have fretted. The postponement was but a temporary hiccup in bringing the King and his still flaming star to Washington County.

Local group sets marks in first-ever round at Whitetail course By DAN SPEARS dans@herald-mail.com MERCERSBURG, Pa. - Steve Davis took at least one thing away from his first round at the Whitetail Golf Resort on Sunday afternoon. "That second hole's a toughie," the Hagerstown resident said. "That high fade ... it wasn't such a good idea. " Davis, along with friends Dick Block, Donald Knadle and Jerry Beard, all of Hagerstown, played the first official round at the new golf course just down the road from Whitetail Ski Resort, and came home with great reviews.

Tri-State-area communities will be remembering those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom this weekend by hosting ceremonies, services, parades and speakers. Events in Franklin County and West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle include: Berkeley County, W.Va. In Martinsburg, W.Va., the traditional Memorial Day service at War Memorial Park along North Tennessee Avenue will begin at 10 a.m., according to Steve Catlett, executive director of the Martinsburg-Berkeley County Parks & Recreation Board.

Most - but not all - of the Washington County candidates endorsed by a local labor group last week are Democrats. The Central Maryland AFL-CIO Council announced nine endorsements Wednesday for the Sept. 12 primary. The two Republicans are William J. Wivell, an incumbent, for county commissioner and Gordon A. Lynn, who is running for state's attorney. The council's Democratic choices are Donna L. Brightman, J. Herbert Hardin, Paul L. Swartz and Hampton W. Wedlock Jr. for county commissioner; incumbent Dennis Weaver for clerk of the circuit court; incumbent John R. Bloyer II for register of wills; and Douglas W. Mullendore for sheriff.

HAGERSTOWN Christina Wolfe said she could "feel the sadness" on the Virginia Tech campus upon her arrival Wednesday with other members of Gateway Ministries in Williamsport. Fifteen members of the church piled into two vans early Wednesday and made the 4 1/2-hour drive to Blacksburg, Va., to offer spiritual support, she said. They gathered in a large field next to the building where more than 30 people were killed Monday morning by a lone gunman. "You could just feel the sadness," said Wolfe, a Hagerstown resident.

HAGERSTOWN - Stories of relationships, decision-making and sexuality brought hundreds of people to The Maryland Theatre on Friday to see a test run of "Know Love, Know Power," a theatrical montage. More than 100 people from age 6 to 66 were in the show, the first effort at theater for many of them, said Niki Perini, the artistic director for Authentic Community Theatre, which put on the show. "Know Love, Know Power" tries to raise awareness in a community where teen pregnancy rates are high and frank discussion is hard, she 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.

The Ladies of the Elks and Associates of Hagerstown Elks Lodge 378 are participating in a project to create care packages for female soldiers in Iraq. The Ladies of the Elks are asking for donations of products or cash from the community to complete this project which continues through the first week of October. Items most needed are mouth wash, toothpaste, toothbrush, hair brush, comb, emery boards, deodorant, hand lotion, sanitary napkins, panty liners, feminine wipes, white socks, pocket tissue packs, stationery, disposable cameras, trail mix, individual powdered-drink mix, breath mints and gum. Baskets for donations are placed in the front lobby and side entrance of the lodge at 11063 Robinwood Drive.

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.