Northern Avenue

“Just see where all these oversized loads are using Route 40 West, are putting large potholes in the concrete bridge on Route 40. The bridge is already deteriorated. This should be fixed immediately.” - Clear Spring “I never did see a response to a caller's question as to why we cannot fill out our tax returns until after the end of January. The tax changes that occurred at the beginning of this year should have absolutely no effect on 2012 taxes. Why is the IRS making everybody wait?

Northern Avenue will be partially shut down starting Dec. 8, so a dormant railroad track can be removed and rough pavement can be fixed, city officials said. The work is not expected to take more than a week, weather permitting, officials said. Half of the road will be closed at a time so traffic can pass, said Assistant City Engineer Rodney Tissue. CSX Corp. will remove the western track and repave the area, he said. CSX will pay for the work. The entire road is expected to be shut down for about two days next July as CSX replaces the entire railroad crossing, Tissue said.

After several delays the deteriorated railroad crossing at Northern Avenue will be replaced in early August, requiring the road to be closed to through traffic for at least four days, officials said. Hagerstown elected and engineering officials have for several years asked CSX and the state to upgrade the crossing because the wooden ties along the crossing raise up when cars travel over them. The road will close at 7 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 2, city officials said. CSX crews expect to reopen the road during the afternoon or evening of Thursday, Aug. 5. Access will be maintained for local residences and businesses, but emergency vehicles will not be able to get through the work zone.

A cat has tested positive for rabies after it was captured by animal-control agents last week in the 300 block of Northern Avenue in Hagerstown, the Humane Society of Washington County said Friday. Humane Society spokeswoman Catherine Cooker said the 6- to 8-year-old male, brown- and black-tabby had been behaving erratically, hissing one moment and being friendly the next. “The behavior was very erratic and a great concern,” Cooker said. “Anyone who came in contact with the cat needs to contact the (Washington County)

Fire raced through a two-story house at 950 Northern Ave. Tuesday evening, blowing flames outside a second-story window, according to a spokesman for the Longmeadow Volunteer Fire Co. When firefighters arrived at the house near the intersection with Pennsylvania Avenue, they entered the front door with a fire hose and started battling the fire on the first floor, Lt. Zachary Thomas said. The fire also extended into the second floor, Thomas said. Because of extreme heat firefighters were facing in the home, more departments were called to the scene, Thomas said.

Hagerstown Mayor Bob Bruchey and Washington County Commissioners President John Barr participated in a ribbon cutting ceremony at Hospice of Washington County's new headquarters on Feb. 26. They joined Hospice's Board President Doug Fiery, Medical Director Frederic Kass, III, Executive Director Susan G. Taylor, CFO Michael Smith, BFM Architect Norman Morin, Frank Traver of Eagle Construction and other members of the Hospice board, Richard Lenehan,...

An unattended patio grill caused a fire that heavily damaged a house on Northern Avenue in Hagerstown Tuesday evening, according to the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office. Gary Williar of 950 Northern Ave., suffered first- and second-degree burns to his upper body in the 6:46 p.m. fire at his home, a fire marshal's report said. Deputy State Fire Marshal Ed Ernst said Williar was taken to the Johns Hopkins Bayview Burn Center in Baltimore, where a spokeswoman said Wednesday that he was in fair condition.

What could have been a tragic morning for a lost Jack Russell terrier took a happy turn Friday thanks to the efforts of an ex-Hagerstown mayor, a McDonald's manager, and several dog-loving breakfast patrons. "Several of us were at McDonald's on Northern Avenue when we saw this cute little wirey-haired Jack Russell terrier walking up the sidewalk," former Mayor Steven T. Sager said. Concerned about safety, Sager went outside and called the dog, who took two steps toward him, then changed his mind and ambled out into traffic, Sager said.

A two-alarm attic fire at 850 Northern Ave. drew nearly 60 firefighters to the scene Friday afternoon. According to emergency dispatchers, the fire call was at 1:36 p.m. Friday for the residence, which is just across the city line into Washington County. When Long Meadow firefighters arrived on the scene, a second alarm was called. As of 3 p.m., no injuries had been reported and no one had been transported from the scene, dispatchers said. As of 3:50 p.m., four buses to North Hagerstown High School had yet to reach the school to pick up students because of the fire equipment blocking nearby streets, said Richard Wright, public information director for Washington County Schools.

Two workers operating a crane and a blowtorch spent less than an hour Tuesday removing a piece of popular culture that has stood watch over Northern Avenue in Hagerstown for nearly four decades. The Ronald McDonald sign that stood in front of the McDonald's restaurant at 520 Northern Ave. is gone. Store owner Mark N. Levine said his deceased father, Murray, had the sign shipped from Texas to place in front of the restaurant in 1973. Murray Levine opened the store - the first McDonald's in Washington County - in the late 1960s.