Paperwork

Former Hagerstown Mayor Robert E. Bruchey II filed paperwork Friday, making his write-in candidacy official for an attempt at re-election to the office. Bruchey announced Thursday that he would file as a write-in candidate. In the March 8 Republican primary, Bruchey lost his bid to be nominated as the party's official candidate in the May 17 general election. Bruchey was mayor from 1997 to 2001, when he lost to incumbent Mayor William M. Breichner. The Republican nominee for mayor is Richard F. Trump.

Hagerstown city officials recently condemned Zipper's, a bar on North Jonathan Street, because the owners were doing electrical, plumbing and other types of construction without proper permits, said John Lestitian, the city's director of code administration. Lestitian said the business was condemned March 13 for failure to obtain the permits. Since then, the owners have applied for and been granted electrical and plumbing permits. All they need now is a building permit, he said.

The top administrator of the organization that owns Washington County Hospital said on Monday that he wants to avoid setting deadlines for his staff to submit paperwork that needs state approval before construction can begin on a new hospital. The necessary paperwork is a revised application for a certificate of need to build a new hospital that would replace the current one at East Antietam Street. The state agency that will consider the paperwork is the Maryland Health Care Commission.

martinsburg@herald-mail.com MARTINSBURG, W.VA. - A couple facing murder charges in Louisiana in the death of a man found buried in a shallow grave in Berkeley County last week indicated in court paperwork Wednesday that they do not plan to return to Louisiana willingly. Shawn Jason Cole, 29, and Mary Amor Crawford, 31, both said they want to challenge extradition and will not surrender themselves to authorities in Jefferson, La., according to fugitive paperwork filed in Berkeley County Magistrate Court.

HAGERSTOWN - Two brothers charged with second-degree murder in the April death of their father, who died as a result of what investigators alleged was neglect, were scheduled to appear Thursday morning in Washington County Circuit Court. Kenneth Allen Record, 62, and Gerald Wolford Record, 46, did not appear for the arraignment, however, because attorneys have filed paperwork indicating the men are represented. A January 2008 trial date has been set for the case. The men were being held Thursday at the Washington County Detention Center, each on $750,000 bond, a jail spokeswoman said.

martinsburg@herald-mail.com MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - The wives of two elected officials filed this week to run for a magistrate's position, while a longtime lawyer plans to challenge the county's current prosecutor and a local delegate has filed paperwork to run for governor. JoAnn B. Overington, wife of Del. John Overington, filed to run for one of the five open magistrate slots, as did Mary Christine Teufel, wife of Berkeley County Commission President Steve Teufel. Both women filed to run as Republicans.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Although the official candidate filing period in West Virginia does not begin for almost two weeks, several people have filed paperwork to run for a variety of offices. In Berkeley County, as of Wednesday, five people had filed pre-candidacy paperwork - which allows them to raise money earlier than usual. The official filing period runs from Jan. 12 to midnight Jan. 31. Positions that are up for election in Berkeley County are: sheriff, prosecuting attorney, circuit clerk, county clerk, assessor, all five magistrate seats, one of the three county commission seats, county surveyor, two of the five Board of Education seats, all House of Delegates seats and the state senator seat held by Sen. Herb Snyder, D-Jefferson, according to election officials.

Q: Any last-minute tips for taxpayers filing their taxes just before deadline? A: Start earlier next year. Gathering paperwork can take time, and starting earlier leaves more time to hunt things down. Here's a paperwork tip, courtesy of Hannah Cramer, Washington County Commission on Aging deputy director and program director for the COA's tax assistance program. "Ask your physician's office, pharmacist, dentist and other healthcare providers to provide you with a printout of what you paid in 2009," Cramer wrote.

Boat buyers now have a faster and more convenient way to register their vessels with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. For a $45 fee, Frederick Street Title and Tag Service will save someone the hassle of filling out the required paperwork. For the last five years, people who buy boats privately have had to correspond by mail or in person with the nearest DNR Service Center, which is in Cumberland, Md. If you buy a boat from a dealer, the dealership will take care of the paperwork, according to the DNR. Pat Boden used to offer the service when she had her own business, Pat's Title and Tag, but no one locally took her place when she closed the business five years ago, the DNR confirmed.

waynesboro@herald-mail.com MERCERSBURG - Pennsylvania State Police, acting on complaints from 109 area businesses and residents in a case involving more than $220,000, charged a former Mercersburg tax collector with more than 300 theft, tax and bad check counts, according to District Court records Monday. Police said Sharon Lee Selser, 45, of 245 N. Main St., has been under investigation for more than a year. Selser, a notary public, processed vehicle registrations, titles and taxes for residents and businesses as Selser's Business Services at 307 N. Main St. There was no connection in any of the charges on file in District Justice David E. Hawbaker's office to her former job as Mercersburg's tax collector.

About 200 Shepherd University students and staff volunteered Tuesday for the school's 12th annual Day of Service at 20 locations in Jefferson and Berkeley counties. The volunteers performed tasks that ranged from sorting paperwork and making bulletin boards to cleaning streams and trimming trees at sites that included nonprofit agencies, public parks, schools, memorials and day care centers. “I just want to give back to the community because I know they always are giving to Shepherd University,” said Hailey Brown, a first-year student and business major from Annandale, Va. She spent the morning organizing class rosters at Jefferson High School.

BLUE RIDGE SUMMIT, Pa. -- The Washington Township (Pa.) Supervisors have applied for a grant that would help them acquire land believed to have been part of the Battle of Monterey Pass during the Civil War. The application paperwork described the property as the site of Gen. George Custer's battlefield line at 3 a.m. July 5, 1863. Historian John Miller has described the battle, the second-largest in Pennsylvania, as confusing due to poor weather and terrain. An interesting aspect of the battle is that it was fought on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Line, he said.

Q: Any last-minute tips for taxpayers filing their taxes just before deadline? A: Start earlier next year. Gathering paperwork can take time, and starting earlier leaves more time to hunt things down. Here's a paperwork tip, courtesy of Hannah Cramer, Washington County Commission on Aging deputy director and program director for the COA's tax assistance program. "Ask your physician's office, pharmacist, dentist and other healthcare providers to provide you with a printout of what you paid in 2009," Cramer wrote.

Hagerstown city officials recently condemned Zipper's, a bar on North Jonathan Street, because the owners were doing electrical, plumbing and other types of construction without proper permits, said John Lestitian, the city's director of code administration. Lestitian said the business was condemned March 13 for failure to obtain the permits. Since then, the owners have applied for and been granted electrical and plumbing permits. All they need now is a building permit, he said.

HAGERSTOWN - Two brothers charged with second-degree murder in the April death of their father, who died as a result of what investigators alleged was neglect, were scheduled to appear Thursday morning in Washington County Circuit Court. Kenneth Allen Record, 62, and Gerald Wolford Record, 46, did not appear for the arraignment, however, because attorneys have filed paperwork indicating the men are represented. A January 2008 trial date has been set for the case. The men were being held Thursday at the Washington County Detention Center, each on $750,000 bond, a jail spokeswoman said.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - "When filing for candidacy, the key is don't wait until the last minute," Franklin County Deputy Chief Clerk Jean Byers said. "If even one box is not checked or one name is incomplete, we can't process your paperwork. " For many of the people gathered at the Franklin County workshop "How to Run for Local Office" on Wednesday, Byers' caution would be the best advice of the evening. "Some of this is overwhelming," said Larry Funk of Peters Township, who plans to run for Franklin County controller.

HAGERSTOWN - A man charged with murder told a police detective he "only" stabbed Leo Morris seven times - not 32 times - when told why he could face life without the possibility of parole in Morris' April stabbing death, according to police testimony Thursday. Marshall Adams' Nov. 29 statement might or might not be allowed as evidence in his May trial on charges of first-degree murder, second-degree murder and manslaughter in Morris' April 13 stabbing death on Bethune Avenue, Washington County Circuit Judge M. Kenneth Long Jr. said Thursday.

gregs@herald-mail.com HAGERSTOWN - Washington County Hospital and the City of Hagerstown recently traded more barbs in what might be the last volley of paperwork between the two in the hospital's attempt to gain state approval for its moving plans. The paperwork is part of the state regulatory process to consider the $234 million proposal to move Washington County Hospital from its East Antietam Street buildings to a new complex off Robinwood Drive. A final decision by the Maryland Health Care Commission could happen as soon as May, commission officials have said.

Former Hagerstown Mayor Robert E. Bruchey II filed paperwork Friday, making his write-in candidacy official for an attempt at re-election to the office. Bruchey announced Thursday that he would file as a write-in candidate. In the March 8 Republican primary, Bruchey lost his bid to be nominated as the party's official candidate in the May 17 general election. Bruchey was mayor from 1997 to 2001, when he lost to incumbent Mayor William M. Breichner. The Republican nominee for mayor is Richard F. Trump.

martinsburg@herald-mail.com MARTINSBURG, W.VA. - A couple facing murder charges in Louisiana in the death of a man found buried in a shallow grave in Berkeley County last week indicated in court paperwork Wednesday that they do not plan to return to Louisiana willingly. Shawn Jason Cole, 29, and Mary Amor Crawford, 31, both said they want to challenge extradition and will not surrender themselves to authorities in Jefferson, La., according to fugitive paperwork filed in Berkeley County Magistrate Court.