Organizer

An organizer of a petition drive to overturn in-state college tuition for illegal immigrants said Wednesday that results have been good, but declined to provide the number of signatures that have been gathered thus far. Del. Neil C. Parrott, R-Washington, said he and others working on the effort are “on target” to get the issue onto the ballot for the 2012 general election. But Parrott would not provide specifics when asked how many signatures had been collected. The General Assembly passed the bill last month, and Gov. Martin O’Malley signed it into law this month.

If organizing your home seems like a daunting task, there's an easy way to make it more manageable-focus on one room a day and work in short intervals. Here are some helpful tips from the experts at Lowe's on how to rid the clutter from your home one room at a time. Bathroom: The first step to a tidy bathroom is to clean out all the drawers and cabinets by tossing out expired products and items you haven't used in at least a year. Read the labels on prescriptions and over-the-counter products to check the "use by" date.

Earth Day shouldn't just be about "green, green, green," said Stephanie Unger, organizer of the annual Panhandle Earth Day Celebration on Saturday at Morgans Grove Park. "It should be more of a celebration of the earth," she said. Her thoughts run to a community type gathering with music, good food and vendors promoting a variety of save-the-earth-themed homegrown produce and homemade everything from cotton diapers from the Rosebud Diaper Boutique with its "Go Cloth, Go Green" slogan, to Space Lotus Studio's T-shirts and tapestries that have been "tied and dyed with love," cotton puppets and Journalistic Tendencies' notepads made from recycled paper.

Throughout Fairgrounds Park Tuesday evening, a unique sound hung in the humid air. It was a symphony composed by 1,000 people, led by a splash of water layered with youthful squeals, punctuated by crunching chips and popping balloons as the call of prize numbers rose over the melody of conversation. The din rising from the park was the music of crime prevention as people gathered for National Night Out, said organizer Carolyn Brooks. A national event aimed at stemming the tide of crime through community-police partnership, awareness and open dialogue, Brooks said she has been orchestrating the event for the last decade.

FUNKSTOWN - A Ulysses S. Grant impersonator will be at the annual Battle of Funkstown re-enactment in June, organizer Ron Benedict told the Mayor and Town Council on Monday. The re-enactment will be held June 8 and 9, with some set-up work being done on June 7, Benedict said.

WILLIAMSPORT -- In its first year, the Williamsport "Bike Nite" attracted about 3,000 people and more than 800 motorcycles to the town July 19, organizer Bruce Logan reported to the town council Monday. Logan also presented the council with a donation to the Williamsport Food Bank from the proceeds from the event. Councilmembers said the event was well-run and that the town would be interested in making it an annual event.

Leave it to ox tails, curried goat and reggae music to make you feel irie Saturday at Wheaton Park. "Irie" is a Jamaican term for feeling good, and good feelings are what organizers of the Jamaican Festival hope to spread. The Jamaican Festival is a celebration of Caribbean culture, drawing from the local community of former islanders dwellers - a community that is bigger than most people think, said organizer Theodore Williams, who moved to Hagerstown from St. Thomas, Jamaica, more than a decade ago. Up until the death of community leader Ruth Monroe in 2005, the event was a fundraiser for the Memorial Recreation Center, where Monroe served as longtime executive director, said former organizer Alesia Parson-McBean.

Approximately 100 people participated in a fundraiser for the Wounded Warrior Project on Sunday that centered around a 75-mile ride to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C., organizer Chad Craig said. Forty motorcycles and a couple cars took part in the Ride for Recovery, which was sponsored byHarley-Davidsonof Williamsport, Cancun Cantina and 101.5 Bob Rocks, said Craig, who organized the event with his wife, Lisa. The ride began at theHarley-Davidsonshop, and participants were invited to Cancun Cantina for a party afterward, he said.

SHARPSBURG - The Town of Sharpsburg will sponsor a Y2K informational meeting at the Antietam National Battlefield visitor's center on Monday, June 28. Capt. Bill Ashforth, commanding officer of the U.S. Coast Guard Computer Center in Martinsburg, W.Va., will talk about how people should prepare for the possibility of Y2K emergencies, said organizer Jan Wetterer. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. Ashforth has worked with Y2K problems for the Coast Guard for the last 18 months, Wetterer said.

On Joey Chukla's 15th birthday Wednesday, he thought briefly of air conditioning and television, but instead worked up a sweat painting and doing yardwork for a woman who was a stranger two days earlier. In the process, the Hagerstown boy made new friends with other members of his Chambersburg Project crew. He's one of 178 youths spending the week in service to residents in Franklin County, Pa. In its 14th year, the Chambersburg Project is a weeklong interdenominational youth camp.

The Hagerstown-Washington County Economic Development Commission on Tuesday unveiled its top five strategic priorities for the future, highlighting the need for renewed emphasis on overall product development, better marketing and leaving the county-level agency's organizational structure alone. Accepted unanimously by the county's Board of Commissioners, the unranked priorities are preparing an infrastructure needs assessment report; workforce development needs; a focus on Hagerstown's City Center; developing a countywide marketing plan; and establishing the EDC as the lead organization to provide a more unified focus in economic development.

The Drew Michael Taylor Foundation and the Summit Health Community Health department recently received grants from Summit Endowment to aid them in implementing or continuing programs to benefit the community. The grant awarded to the Drew Michael Taylor Foundation will be used to expand the foundation's grief and loss lending library. The grant awarded to Summit Health's Community Health Department will be used for a Drop 10 in 10 with Smart Technology program. This program is an enhancement to the weight loss education now being offered in Summit Health's GetFit!

With Catherine “Katie” Stevens' 99th birthday behind her, the calendar is closing in on her centennial birthday. March 13 marked the last birthday Stevens's age could be counted in double digits. She said she received many floral arrangements, more than 50 cards and was still scheduling lunch dates to celebrate with friends. Stevens still lives independently, occasionally drives, flies annually to visit her granddaughter in Florida  and plays the organ at her church, Washington Square United Methodist in Hagerstown.

A bill introduced by two local legislators that could become law would make it a crime to interfere with the reporting of suspected child abuse or neglect. Current Maryland law requires teachers, counselors, social workers, caseworkers, and parole or probation officers to notify appropriate agencies if they suspect child abuse. The bill seeks to punish anyone who tries to interfere with such reporting. The legislation was introduced in the House of Delegates by Del. Michael J. Hough, R-Frederick/Washington, and in the Senate by state Sen. Christopher B. Shank, R-Washington.

The Waynesboro (Pa.) Area Gala Cancer Auction drew one of the largest crowds in its 32-year history due in part to a change in location, according to event organizers. It was the first time in the history of the event that it has been held outside of Waynesboro, said Jill Kessler of the fundraiser's steering committee. Saturday's auction moved from downtown Waynesboro to Green Grove Gardens off Pa. 16 outside Greencastle. The change in venue brought some new faces to the auction, Kessler said.

One hundred days after the second-deadliest school shooting in United States history, community members gathered at the Boonsboro Free Library on Thursday to sign a petition advocating universal background checks for firearm sales. Hosted by public advocacy group Organizing for Action, close to 150 petition-signing events occurred throughout the country Thursday, according to Carlotta Joyner, Western Maryland chapter director. “We're part of this nationwide effort to make the public aware and make congress aware that there's some common-sense legislation that we think is needed,” Joyner said, noting approximately 1,900 people have been killed by a gun since the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

The Washington County Gaming Commission will begin accepting applications for the 2013 funding cycle beginning April 1. All qualifying charitable organizations operating in Washington County are encouraged to apply, according to a news release from the county. Last year, the Washington County Gaming Commission received more than 100 applications requesting approximately $2.4 million. More than $929,000 was allocated to 95 charitable organizations. Gaming fund application packets are only available online.

With the Boy Scouts of America's longtime membership policy burning under the heat of the national spotlight, the debate about whether or not to allow openly gay people to participate in the organization took the local stage Monday night. Close to 50 people, including adult leaders and parents of Scouts in the local Mason-Dixon Council, or MDC, attended a Monday night meeting at Hagerstown's Northern Middle School to hear an update about what's taking place nationally, and to ask questions and express opinions about the potential change in national policy.

Organizers announced the cancellation of the Thunder Over the Blue Ridge air show Monday, citing the loss of the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds' performance as the reason for the decision. The air show was scheduled May 11-12 on the civilian side of Eastern West Virginia Regional Airport. The 167th Airlift Wing of the West Virginia Air National Guard was told recently it no longer could host the show due to budget constraints. The 167th hosted the air show and held an open house at the base since 2010.

Sizable donations from a Waynesboro man's estate are allowing two organizations to consider expanding their facilities. The Alexander Hamilton Memorial Free Library's board of directors learned about eight months ago that it will receive $1 million from the estate of Donald E. Nary, board President Pat Groff said. Likewise, the Antietam Humane Society off Lyons Road stands to receive about $1 million. “We were notified by the attorney we were named as a recipient,” said Andrea Haugh, executive director of the animal shelter.