Perfect Score

We asked for two things last week in Lifestyle - read The Herald-Mail and get out to really see Hagerstown. For the seventh annual landmarks contest, we raised the stakes. Contestants needed to check out six newspapers for all the clues. In return, the winner will receive $500, up from $100 in 2002. We published photographic clues from buildings and structures throughout Hagerstown. All clues are visible from the street. They are not historic landmarks, but they are relatively distinct parts of the downtown area.

By LISA GRAYBEAL Staff Writer, Chambersburg CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - Franklin County Judge John R. Walker Tuesday ordered Corey Allen Kean, a teen charged in the 1993 Halloween night shotgun slaying of his uncle, to be transferred from maximum security to residential status at Alternative Rehabilitation Communities Inc. Walker issued the order with the stipulation that Kean remain "intellectually challenged. " The move means Kean, 18, will be allowed to go out into the community in supervised groups to participate in various social activities and participate in field trips.

WASHINGTON COUNTY - All five of Washington County's competitive high school marching bands wrapped up their marching seasons with a trip to Allentown, Pa., for Atlantic Coast Championships, which were held Nov. 15 and 16. Just like athletic teams, each high school marching band season is different. The senior class moves on and a new group of freshmen comes in. This year, the bands of Hancock Middle/Senior High and Boonsboro High schools also welcomed new band directors, Scott Benford and Micah Socks, respectively.

TRI-STATE - With schools across the Tri-State area poised to begin the new academic year, schools systems last week were winding down their search for teachers. Washington County Public Schools had filled all positions, although officials said they could face last-minute resignations. In West Virginia, Berkeley County Schools had 20 vacancies last week, and Jefferson County Schools officials had 26. School districts in Pennsylvania's Franklin and Fulton counties reported having most, and in some cases all, positions filled.

NASCAR details on April 17M To the editor: I wish to respond to the negative criticism printed in The Journal regarding Farmland Preservation and Indoor Clean Air regulations and NASCAR. First, I would like to address Farmland Preservation and my amendment to the bill, I was a co-sponsor of the Farmland Preservation bill and voted for both the Senate bill and the House bill. As this is a growth-county issue, the other 52 counties and their delegations do not care.

NASCAR details on April 17 To the editor: I wish to respond to the negative criticism printed in The Journal regarding Farmland Preservation and Indoor Clean Air regulations and NASCAR. First, I would like to address Farmland Preservation and my amendment to the bill, I was a co-sponsor of the Farmland Preservation bill and voted for both the Senate bill and the House bill. As this is a growth-county issue, the other 52 counties and their delegations do not care.

With schools across the Tri-State area poised to begin the new academic year, schools systems last week were winding down their search for teachers. Washington County Public Schools had filled all positions, although officials said they could face last-minute resignations. In West Virginia, Berkeley County Schools had 20 vacancies last week, and Jefferson County Schools officials had 26. School districts in Pennsylvania's Franklin and Fulton counties reported having most, and in some cases all, positions filled.

photo: RIC DUGAN / staff photographer enlarge One of the most significant accomplishments the Washington County Board of Education has touted during the past decades was the implementation of a new curriculum intended to be a blueprint for the things students should learn in county classrooms. But there was one significant problem with what is known as the essential curriculum: There are few ways to measure if it's working. "It's like building a building and not putting a foundation under it," said Schools Superintendent Herman G. Bartlett Jr. --cont from front page -- A lack of sufficient assessment tools was one of the many deficiencies cited in a study last year of how well the school system delivers the product of education to its student customers.

In noting that Washington County lost more than 440 jobs last year, Timothy R. Troxell, executive director of the Hagerstown-Washington County Economic Development Commission, said something you almost never hear a development advocate say: The reality was probably worse.   We certainly expect our development officials to be cheerleaders, but it's more helpful when, like Troxell, they're honest. That way, we know how much needs to be done.   EDC figures show that businesses added 300 jobs in the year, for a net loss of 140. However, Troxell said, there were many job losses that didn't show up on the EDC's radar because the companies did not approach the EDC for consultation.

Carolyn Etzler of Hagerstown has returned to the top of the heap. Her Lemon Lavender Cookie Sandwiches were selected as the winning entry in The Herald-Mail's 19th Cookie Exchange Contest. She won $100, beating a field of 22 entries. Cookies were judged on taste, appearance, quality and originality of the recipe. This year, for the first time, entries were required to be original or significantly adapted from another recipe. The 10 judges liked Etzler's creative cookie, awarding it 181 points out of a perfect score of 200. The irony is that Etzler wasn't happy with her recipe.