Memorial Day

As Memorial Day weekend approaches, gasoline prices continue to slide. The national average for regular grade gas dropped for the sixth consecutive week down to $3.69 from $3.73 per gallon, according to the AAA Mid-Atlantic Weekend Gas Watch. It was $3.89 a gallon at this time last year. The price continues to fall in the Hagerstown area, where the average is now $3.59 per gallon, down from $3.63 last week and $3.90 this time last year. The average on Wednesday in the area was $3.57 per gallon, according to the AAA Fuel Price Finder at midatlantic.aaa.com.

It was a fitting kickoff to summer as two new bridges opened to traffic just in time for the Memorial Day rush to Twin Bridge Meadow Family Campground. Franklin County commissioners and supervisors from St. Thomas and Hamilton townships cut a ribbon on Wednesday to officially open the two-lane bridges to traffic. Bridge 27 crosses Dennis Creek and is on Twin Bridge Road while Bridge 28 is on Crottlestown Road and also crosses Dennis Creek. Twin Bridge Road is off U.S. 30 a few miles west of Chambersburg.

As the area observes Memorial Dayon Monday, remember to thank those who have served in the military and sacrificed for our freedom.   Volunteer recognized The Washington County Chapter of the American Red Cross recently recognized Kate Pound for volunteering since 1985. Pound is an active member of Christ's Reformed Church, at 130 W. Franklin St., where she also gives many hours of her time.   NHHS Class of '82 reunion The North Hagerstown High Class of 1982 will celebrate its 30th class reunion Sept.

The public is invited to attend a free preview of Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University at Calvary United Methodist Church at 220 W. Burke St. Financial Peace University, taught on DVD by author and radio talk show host Dave Ramsey, teaches debt reduction and building financial wealth one step at a time. Previews will be offered today at 3 p.m. and Monday at 6:30 p.m.  The course begins Monday, March 5, and runs for 13 consecutive Mondays through June 4, except for Memorial Day, at 7 p.m. The dates might be extended if weather-forced cancellations occur.

Editor's note: Caitlin Kelch is a marketing coordinator and analyst in The Herald-Mail digital department who was living and working in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001. What follows is her account of that day and the impact the terrorist attacks have on her life 10 years later. --- To me, there is something deceiving about a beautiful late summer day. As summer ends, the skies take on a pristine blue shine on sunny days and the light appears nearly golden. This is when I start to get nervous.

A Hagerstown man serving 15 months in jail on charges from a 2010 fatal accident entered an Alford plea Tuesday in Washington County District Court to a charge stemming from a Memorial Day incident at his home. Cory Scott Kuczynski, 26, of 17544 Gay St., entered the plea to a charge of failure to obey a reasonable and lawful order from a law enforcement officer, and was fined $100 by Judge James Vaughn, attorney D. Benson Thompson III said after the hearing. Related charges of second-degree assault, resisting arrest, disturbing the peace and disorderly conduct were dismissed, he said.

When James Warner and his comrades were freed from a prisoner of war camp, they waited until the C-140 pilot said they were out of Vietnam before cheering. "We refused to show any emotion (when being freed) because we didn't want the enemy to see that," Warner said. Warner, a U.S. Marine Corps captain, spent 5 1/2 years in captivity. The Rohrersville, Md., resident went on to serve as a domestic policy adviser for President Ronald Reagan and argued before the U.S. Supreme Court in a case challenging the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act. On Monday evening, Warner delivered the keynote address at Smithsburg's Memorial Day commemoration.