Package

After about 2 1/2 hours of careful inspection, rescue officials Wednesday night determined that a suspicious package found at a driveway on Mapleville Road contained some type of blue liquid inside it, a fire official said. “Exactly what it is, I don't know,” said Deputy State Fire Marshal Ed Ernst as authorities were leaving the scene about 10:30 p.m. The package was on the driveway at about 5 to 10 feet from the road, said Terry Stouffer, chief of Mt. Aetna Vol. Fire Co. Stouffer said the package was black, about 1-foot wide and about 1-foot deep, with the word “contaminants” written on it. Authorities were able to rule out any explosives in the package, which was similar to a Rubbermaid container, Ernst said.

A suspicious package found on CSX railroad property Tuesday morning turned out to be an inventory manifest, Pennsylvania State Police said in a news release. Police were called to the CSX railroad yard at 700 Kriner Road in Guilford Township at 6:45 a.m. about the package, which was taped to the underside of a US Express trailer on a train, police said. Country and Kriner roads were immediately closed "to ensure the safety of the citizens and property," the release said. A Franklin County Emergency Services dispatcher said trailer-trailer traffic was being diverted from the property to a staging area.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The House voted Tuesday to rush rebates of $600-$1,200 to most taxpayers, but a partisan battle brewed in the Senate over Democrats' efforts to add jobless aid and help for the poor to the economic stimulus package. The House plan, approved 385-35 after little debate, would send rebates to some 111 million families and give tax breaks to businesses, costing $161 billion over two years. President Bush and House leaders urged the Senate to take the bipartisan agreement and pass it quickly.

By BRENDAN KIRBY Staff Writer The U.S. Post Office in downtown Hagerstown was closed for about two hours Tuesday morning as investigators examined a package that was making hissing and popping noises, authorities said. Officials from the state fire marshal's office said the package did not contain hazardous materials, but mail carriers were delayed because of the evacuation of the 44 W. Franklin St. building. Bomb experts from the fire marshal's office were called in at about 9 a.m. Deputy State Fire Marshal Ted Meminger said the package was "opened remotely," but would not elaborate on the technique used.

chambersburg@herald-mail.com CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - The third of three woman convicted of stealing holiday packages last year will be spending the holidays in jail after being sentenced Wednesday in Franklin County Court. Cindy Lou Hykes, 33, of Chambersburg was sentenced by Judge John R. Walker to two to 23 months in the county prison and seven more years on probation on one felony and one misdemeanor count of receiving stolen property. "It caused a lot of inconvenience and heartache ... kids that didn't get Christmas presents, people that didn't get their high blood pressure medicine," Walker told Hykes, who pleaded guilty to the charges in August.

The Washington County State's Attorney's Office has filed paperwork with Washington County Circuit Court to try a Clear Spring man charged with receiving methamphetamine through the mail. Washington County Assistant State's Attorney Elizabeth A. Camuti-Carranza said Wednesday that the paperwork filed Tuesday formally transferred the case of Danny Lee Spears Sr., 49, of 13645 Dry Run Road in Clear Spring, from Washington County District Court to the Circuit Court. Spears was arrested on Feb. 22, the Washington County Narcotics Task Force said in court documents.

Police seized a package containing about 20 pounds of marijuana Saturday that was shipped to Inwood, W.Va., from Arizona via the United States Postal Service, according to Berkeley County Magistrate Court records. Sheila Jean Stevens, 40, of 82 Preschool Lane, who signed for the package, was arraigned Saturday by Magistrate JoAnn Overington on single counts of possession with intent to deliver marijuana and conspiracy, according to court documents. Police were told Friday by the United States Postal Service that the package was suspicious and a West Virginia State Police K-9 subsequently “alerted” the dog's handler when the canine was taken to examine it, according to court documents.

A New Market, Md., man was charged with drug crimes last week after he accepted a package mailed from Los Angeles that contained 27 pounds of marijuana packed in five-gallon buckets, the Washington County Narcotics Task Force said. Agents from the task force, working in conjunction with the Los Angeles Police Department, learned that a large package, possibly containing drugs, was mailed to Hagerstown, according to a news release. Task force agents intercepted the package when it arrived in Hagerstown.

Money for Washington County Free Library is part of a fiscal year 2008 omnibus budget package that Congress passed, U.S. Sens. Barbara A. Mikulski and Benjamin L. Cardin of Maryland said in a news release Wednesday. The entire package totals $555 billion, according to The Associated Press. On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed the spending bill, which the Senate previously approved. It will go to President Bush for his signature. A Housing and Community Development section of the package contains $196,000 for Washington County Free Library to help design and build a new branch in Boonsboro.

Through the generosity of Harley-Davidson of Frederick, the Frederick County (Md.) Sheriff's Office is sporting two new police-package Harley-Davidson motorcycles. The motorcycles will be used for special events and details, rides, escorts and traffic enforcement. Since 2008, Michael Vantucci, owner of Harley-Davidson of Frederick, has provided motorcycles to the sheriff's office on three occasions through the company's law enforcement program. The latest contract was signed in May and provides the office with two police-package motorcycles for six months.

The Washington County State's Attorney's Office has filed paperwork with Washington County Circuit Court to try a Clear Spring man charged with receiving methamphetamine through the mail. Washington County Assistant State's Attorney Elizabeth A. Camuti-Carranza said Wednesday that the paperwork filed Tuesday formally transferred the case of Danny Lee Spears Sr., 49, of 13645 Dry Run Road in Clear Spring, from Washington County District Court to the Circuit Court. Spears was arrested on Feb. 22, the Washington County Narcotics Task Force said in court documents.

From a hill, it's like a child's sandbox dream to see the giant earth movers, smaller bulldozers and dump trucks moving earth and rock on the field next to the FedEx Ground package distribution center near Hagerstown. But to the several dozen heavy equipment operators, millwrights, electricians, iron workers, plumbers, and data and security installation workers who have started building FedEx's big expansion, the activity is a dream come true, best summed up in a few words. “It's definitely job security,” said Don Fleagle, 58, who is operating one of the two mammoth pans - huge rubber-tired machines that Chambersburg, Pa.-based contractor David H. Martin Excavating Inc. is using to scrape, fill and flatten fields as part of the FedEx project.

Pennsylvania State Police are investigating a bank robbery that took place Thursday afternoon on U.S. 30, east of Chambersburg near Walmart in Guilford Township, Pa. An unidentified male entered M&T Bank at 1798 Lincoln Way East (U.S. 30) and demanded money from the teller, Trooper 1st Class Chris Ott said in a news release. The man, who got away with an undetermined amount of cash, then placed a package on the teller's counter and “made reference to a bomb,” Ott said. The man fled the bank through the front door and crossed U.S. 30 to the north of the building, Ott said.

Three men, two of them being held in Franklin County, Pa., have been charged by the Washington County Sheriff's Office in a series of burglaries and thefts. Ashton Lee Frisby, 19, and Devon Lee Frisby, 20, both of 838 W. Washington St., Hagerstown, and 21-year-old William Koreem Becton Hardison, of 308 1/2 Jonathan St., Hagerstown, were charged with four counts each of first-degree burglary and malicious destruction of property; three counts each of fourth-degree burglary and theft; and additional criminal conspiracy counts, police said.

Chances are that those presents under your Christmas tree traveled a long way to get there. And chances are, whether they came from a local retailer or were bought online, they passed through a “hub” and a distribution center at a shipping company such as FedEx or UPS or a sorting center at a local post office. The warehouses where these shippers operate tend to be busy places this time of the year with thousands of packages swiftly passing through the buildings en route to their destinations.

Police seized a package containing about 20 pounds of marijuana Saturday that was shipped to Inwood, W.Va., from Arizona via the United States Postal Service, according to Berkeley County Magistrate Court records. Sheila Jean Stevens, 40, of 82 Preschool Lane, who signed for the package, was arraigned Saturday by Magistrate JoAnn Overington on single counts of possession with intent to deliver marijuana and conspiracy, according to court documents. Police were told Friday by the United States Postal Service that the package was suspicious and a West Virginia State Police K-9 subsequently “alerted” the dog's handler when the canine was taken to examine it, according to court documents.

After Democratic mayoral candidate David S. Gysberts posed several questions to a city development official Wednesday night about a proposed $30 million stadium project in downtown Hagerstown, a suggestion was made that he limit his inquiries. Gysberts, a member of the Hagerstown Planning Commission, was asking questions about the stadium project while Jill Estavillo, economic development manager for the city, was giving an update to the group. Planning Commission Chairman Douglas S. Wright Jr. said a few questions about the project from Gysberts would be fine, but Wright said the overall purpose of the meeting was to give Estavillo a chance to give all the planning commission members an update.

Through the generosity of Harley-Davidson of Frederick, the Frederick County (Md.) Sheriff's Office is sporting two new police-package Harley-Davidson motorcycles. The motorcycles will be used for special events and details, rides, escorts and traffic enforcement. Since 2008, Michael Vantucci, owner of Harley-Davidson of Frederick, has provided motorcycles to the sheriff's office on three occasions through the company's law enforcement program. The latest contract was signed in May and provides the office with two police-package motorcycles for six months.

A blue liquid found inside a suspicious package on a Mapleville Road driveway Thursday night proved not to be hazardous, according to a Washington County emergency service official. The liquid had a neutral pH, had no odor or any other indication it was hazardous, Deputy Emergency Services Director Charlie Summers said Friday. The black package found shortly after 7 p.m. on Tuesday on the 21000 block of Mapleville Road was about 1-foot wide and 1-foot deep and had the word “contaminants” written on it, fire officials said on Thursday.

After about 2 1/2 hours of careful inspection, rescue officials Wednesday night determined that a suspicious package found at a driveway on Mapleville Road contained some type of blue liquid inside it, a fire official said. “Exactly what it is, I don't know,” said Deputy State Fire Marshal Ed Ernst as authorities were leaving the scene about 10:30 p.m. The package was on the driveway at about 5 to 10 feet from the road, said Terry Stouffer, chief of Mt. Aetna Vol. Fire Co. Stouffer said the package was black, about 1-foot wide and about 1-foot deep, with the word “contaminants” written on it. Authorities were able to rule out any explosives in the package, which was similar to a Rubbermaid container, Ernst said.