Mails

To our readers Since we have been getting so many longer comments on our Mail Call line, it has become necessary for The Daily Mail to shorten the time allotted for calls. When calling Mail Call, you should try to limit your calls to 30 seconds. If you have trouble getting your comment across in a timely manner, it might be worth writing your comment down first on paper, then reading it when you call the Mail Call line. In addition, e-mails received for Mail Call have also been much longer than we can run in the column.

HAGERSTOWN — It was a need for work that inspired Merle Elliott to get involved in the community decades ago, but today countless local residents owe their jobs, in part, to his efforts. Now retired from a successful accounting career, Elliott, The Herald-Mail’s 2010 Person of the Year, has devoted much of his life to supporting economic development, education and other community initiatives in Washington County. Elliott is the 12th person to be named The Herald-Mail’s Person of the Year, an annual award that goes to someone who makes a positive contribution to the community.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. - Five or six e-mail messages circulating under the premise of being from the First National Bank of Greencastle are actually phishing scams and should not be trusted, bank officials said Wednesday. "What happens with phishing is an e-mail is sent to individuals seeking account information," Bank Security Officer Michael Russo said. While the messages vary, each instructs the recipient to verify or change account information. "Generally once they get the information, they use it to make ATM withdrawals," Russo said.

As of Friday afternoon, Maryland House Speaker Michael Busch had only received a dozen e-mails protesting the House Appropriations Committee's decision to slash funding for the University System of Maryland's Hagerstown campus. Even if 100 more were sent over the weekend, that's not good enough. The governor and the General Assembly's top officials need to get a flood of e-mails telling them that too many local people worked too hard to bring this facility here to see it destroyed.

Richard Stouffer, who is visiting from Fredonia, NY, collects leaves Tuesday at Pen Mar County Park. He preserves the leaves with a warm iron and wax paper, and mails them to his daughter in Arizona, to remind her of fall foliage in the East.

HAGERSTOWN - Principals at Washington County Public Schools received e-mails Oct. 2 directing them to focus on safety and security in light of recent school shootings nationwide. The e-mails were sent by Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Instruction JoEtta Palkovitz-Brown and Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Instruction Donna Hanlin. Superintendent Elizabeth Morgan said she requested they be sent. The messages requested that officials make sure school safety plans were up to date and that safety drill procedures were reviewed and practiced, according to the e-mails provided to The Herald-Mail.

Did you see the story about a penguin being stolen from a Boston aquarium? Or did you receive an e-mail warning you not to microwave plastic containers? These are just some of the online urban legends or hoaxes that some people believe could be true while others delete them without a second thought. There are Web sites, such as the privately run www.snopes.com and www.symantec.com, that list known cyber urban legends and hoaxes. For fraudulent e-mails in general, Web users can check other sites, such as the FBI's Cyber Investigations site, www.fbi.

SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.VA. - An employee in Shepherd University's information technology department was arrested Tuesday after a threatening e-mail was sent to President David L. Dunlop stating that the campus would be "visited by random violence" if the school was not closed for a week, court records state. Four e-mails were sent to Dunlop and other administrators and one of the e-mails stated the possibility of campus buildings being burned and students being shot as they tried to leave them, according to Jefferson County Magistrate Court records.

Del. Richard B. Weldon Jr. said last week that most feedback from his decision to leave the Republican Party was positive, but a few people were upset. Weldon said during an interview Oct. 6 that he received seven negative e-mails, including one from Washington County and four from Frederick County, Md. The Washington County comment was from John B. Dunlap, a former Washington County Republican Central Committee chairman, who blasted Weldon and urged him to resign. The Herald-Mail obtained copies of e-mails exchanged between the two men. Weldon announced on Sept.

Second Christian planning VBS Join the Second Christian Church at its vacation Bible school Aug. 11 to 15, from 6 to 8 p.m. This year the theme is "Son World Adventure Park. " There will be crafts, games, bible stories and snacks. All are welcome. Women's Day Mark your calendars on Sunday, Aug. 24, at 3:30 p.m. for Second Christian Church's Annual Women's Day program - 100 Women in White. The special guest speaker will be Minister Geneva Conway, St. Stephen's Missionary Baptist Church.

“Starting 2006 to 2012, Morgan County took 10 steps forward. In the last four months, Morgan County has taken 30 steps backward.” - Berkeley Springs, W.Va. “This is another quote I decided to call in. Yes, indeed, children do learn what to live and what we the parents teach them. 'If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn. If a child lives with hostility, he learns to fight, if a child lives with ridicule, he learns to be shy. If a child lives with shame, he learns to feel guilty.

The Herald-Mail on Friday received 20 awards, including one Best In Show distinction, from the Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Press Association. The newspaper's awards included six first-place and 14 second-place honors in its division. The Herald-Mail is in Division B, for newspapers with daily circulation between 30,000 and 75,000. Tri-State Editor Bill Kohler earned the Best In Show award in the Local Column: Critical Thinking category. HM Media Publisher Andy Bruns said he was proud of his staff's “stellar” commitment to continued print success in 2012, especially while adapting to the growing realms of digital media and video reporting.