Pavers

Employees, parents and children who attend the Children's Learning Center at Hagerstown Community College recently pitched in to make improvements to the center's playground area. Adults and children worked together to shovel five tons of sand, fix the fence around the playground, trim, assemble a raised flower/garden bed and lay concrete pavers for a bike path. Participants in the fix-up day included parents Todd Fitzgerald, Nashea Thomas, Andrew Smith, John Kessler and Scott Reed; children Sydney Butler, Gabrielle Butler, Ashley Kessler, Amy Kessler, Stella Fitzgerald and Caroline Reed; preschool teacher Brenda Butler; teaching assistant Jodie Coode; center director Terry Kitchen; and center food service manager Mary Mock.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. -- Mature trees on Waynesboro's Main Street might be cut down in coming months, the borough engineer confirmed Thursday. Brick pavers soon will replace existing sidewalks on Main Street from Grant Street to Walnut Street. A contract has been issued giving J.D. Eckman Inc. the authority to cut down trees if needed during the brick pavers and Center Square construction work. Borough Engineer Kevin Grubbs said several trees have roots that will push up the sidewalk.

And here I thought the Hagerstown Suns were my friend. No, I'm not all that concerned that we have an estimated 453 gallons of chili in the fridge leftover from our stand at the Suns' annual chili cook-off, and that we will be eating bowls of chili every day until Thanksgiving, at which point we will be eating chili molded into drumstick shapes. No, the problem was that I had to help, after Kate, Stacey and the Hormel in High Heels (she'll kill me for that one) formed the "Barbecue Barbies" and entered the chili cook-off representing a Competing Publication that I refuse to name because it is quite clearly trying to take food out of my mouth.

MARTINSBURG, W.VA. - It is a polygon with 16 equal sides of red brick, 13 inches thick, and topped by a bell-shaped roof, stiffened by a cast-iron frame. It survived the first days of the Great Railway Strike of 1877, a pivotal episode in American labor history. It is the last of its kind in the United States, an important example of mid-19th century industrial construction that used standardized, prefabricated structural elements to create an efficient and fire-resistant building.

chambersburg@herald-mail.com WAYNESBORO, Pa. - Waynesboro's Downtown Revitalization and Street committees will be forwarding their ideas to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation on how a revamped Center Square should look, Council President C. Harold Mumma said Wednesday. Borough businessman Harry Morningstar Jr. addressed the council, asking what steps had been taken since August, when he presented the council with sketches of how the square might look once the transportation department finishes its $1.2 million project to replace and synchronize traffic lights along Main Street to improve traffic flow.

McCONNELLSBURG, Pa. - Officials with the Fulton County Medical Center have announced a "Last Call" campaign, seeking to raise $400,000 to meet the remaining fundraising goal for the new $37 million hospital. "To be included on the elegant donor wall in the main lobby for the grand opening, your gift must be received by June 30 of this year," said Cheryl Brown, director of community relations. A news release listed several naming opportunities: 10 long-term care rooms at $10,000 each, two long-term care day rooms at $25,000 each, two nurses stations at $5,000 each, several offices at $1,000 each and an unlimited number of pavers at $250 each.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. -- Construction work on Center Square should start at the beginning of March, Waynesboro Borough Engineer Kevin Grubbs said this week. Reconfiguring the square has been in the works for 14 years. Grubbs said contractor J.D. Eckman Inc. of Atglen, Pa., updates him regularly and reports being on schedule. The contractor has been submitting documents to the state. "They're pretty much ready to go," Grubbs said. The $3.2 million project will eliminate the existing double set of traffic lights, making the square a more traditional intersection for motorists.

Work crews from Slurry Pavers Inc. will begin sealing cracks in existing pavement beginning today at 7 a.m., weather permitting. The work is being done as part of the City's Pavement Preservation Program. The work will be performed on the following streets: o Security Road between North Cleveland Avenue and Pangborn Boulevard o Pangborn Boulevard between Security Road and Monet Drive o Conrad Court o Opal Court o Professional Court The crack-sealing work is a mobile operation and the contractor will use flaggers, signs, cones and other devices to control traffic around the work zone, the city said in a press release.

Traffic in the vicinity of Martinsburg's town square Wednesday was reduced to one lane Wednesday as work continued on a pedestrian and aesthetic improvement project there. Wednesday was the contractual completion date for the $1.6 million project, but contractors have been delayed by rainy weather. Martinsburg City Manager Mark Baldwin said Wednesday that he believed the project was in "the final stages" being substantially completed, but could not say when East King Street would be reopened to traffic from Queen Street.

Town square in Martinsburg at the intersection of Queen and West King streets reopened Tuesday morning after being closed since Oct. 5 for ongoing pedestrian safety improvements. The square was initially closed for about three weeks this summer for the work, but officials opted to close it again to replace brick used in the new crosswalks. Officials determined that the brick initially used was failing to withstand traffic flow at the busy intersection and decided to replace it with a concrete paver.