Pharmacist

Why do flu shots cost more when government pays? To the editor: A few weeks ago, I was in one of our local food markets and decided to get a flu shot at the pharmacy counter. The pharmacist asked if I had Medicare, and I presented my card and got the flu shot. About two weeks later, I received a statement from Medicare stating that they had paid $50 for my flu shot. Yesterday, I went to a different branch of the same store chain and asked how much a flu shot was. Again, I was asked if I have Medicare.

The Chambersburg Area Hospital Auxiliary recently held its spring luncheon at Chestnut Landing Menno Haven Northgate Common. Officers were installed, and scholarships were presented to the following area students who are working toward a medical career: Irene Barbour, a student at Shippensburg (Pa.) University. Barbour is a chemistry major and hopes to become a pharmacist. Gregory Boyer, a senior at Greencastle-Antrim (Pa.) High School. Boyer will attend Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., and hopes to become a family physician.

The Chambersburg Police Department is looking for a white male who robbed the North Point Pharmacy in Chambersburg on Tuesday. Police said the man entered the pharmacy at 370 Philadelphia Ave. at around 9:08 a.m. The suspect presented a pistol and subsequently took numerous  prescription drugs from the business, police said in a statement. According to North Point Pharmacy Manager/Pharmacist Lax Modha, no one was injured in the robbery. Police said the suspect fled the scene on foot, police said.

Earl E. Shank Jr. and Norma Jean (Goodwin) Shank recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary with family and friends at Beaver Creek Christian Church in Hagerstown. The Shanks were married April 1, 1953, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Connellsville, Pa., and honeymooned in Hershey, Pa. Mr. Shank is a retired pharmacist, having owned stores in Emmitsburg, Md., and Confluence, Pa. He also worked at various pharmacies including People's and Whitsell Pharmacy in Frederick, Md., and Chatkins Pharmacy in Hagerstown.

AUG. 15, 1928-AUG. 13, 2010 Elizabeth Anne Clark Kitchens died quietly at home on Friday, Aug. 13, 2010, surrounded by her children and grandchildren. She was 81 years old. Anne was preceded in death by her husband of more than 60 years, Claude Estes Kitchens Jr.; and her sisters, Carolyn Clark and Sarah Duggan. Anne is survived by her sister, Mary Jo Ferguson; brother, Thomas B. Clark Jr.; and her four children, Carol Anne Crane and husband, David A. Trout, Thomas Estes Jr. and wife, Jeanne Kitchens, Margaret Kitchens and husband, Ron Pike, and Jennie Marie Lindman and husband, Glen Lindman.

martinsburg@herald-mail.com HEDGESVILLE, W.Va. - The man who allegedly robbed a Hedgesville pharmacy Wednesday afternoon was found dead outside his home Wednesday night, police said. The body of 65-year-old Roy Shipe Jr., who lived on North Lawrence Street in Charles Town, was sent to the medical examiner's office in Morgantown, W.Va., for an autopsy. It could be weeks before the results are known, said Lt. K.C. Bohrer of the Berkeley County Sheriff's Department. Lt. Mark Johnston of the Charles Town Police Department said his office received a call around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday about a possible drunken person passed out along North Lawrence Street.

Local pharmacist adds flavorings to medicines By Laura Ernde Staff Writer BOONSBORO - It's bad enough when Jennifer Carroll's 5-year-old twins get ear infections, but getting them to swallow their medicine could be a whole separate challenge. Except Carroll has a secret. Her pharmacist, Gary Haas, can doctor kids' medicines to taste like practically anything, from cherries to chocolate. The last time little Jeremiah got sick, Haas flavored the antibiotic to taste like bubble gum. "He likes the pink stuff," said Carroll, 34, of Boonsboro, whose daughter, Rebecca, was spared from getting sick that time.

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- On a recent day, teacher Sally Irwin's classroom was full of Washington County Technical High School students who are taking her biomedical science classes, along with sophomores from Williamsport and North Hagerstown high schools on a second visit because they are considering attending the school. After lunch, in came several seniors who this year are taking advanced placement biology and who last year took Irwin's introductory biomed course. Chodian Nelson, a Williamsport sophomore, wants to become a pediatrician.

andrear@herald-mail.com MERCERSBURG, Pa. - Pharmacist Deke McLaughlin of Mercersburg filled a prescription for success in The Herald-Mail's Pet Dress-Alike Contest - one Dalmatian, two red ties and a spotted mask. McLaughlin mimicked his 7-month-old Dalmatian, Rosie, with a Dalmatian face mask. Rosie mirrored her owner in a matching red striped necktie. "Since I don't have spots, I figured the only thing I could do was wear a mask," said McLaughlin, 67, who often wears a red striped tie to work as a pharmacist at Wal-Mart in Hagerstown.

Before I interviewed Dave Russo, I was prepared to feel sorry for him. He'd just built up a nice little family pharmacy - Russo's RX - on Hagerstown's Cannon Avenue when CVS plunked a giant store halfway done the block. And his opponent in the District 2B delegate race - Christopher Shank - had already defeated him once in 1998. But when I talked to Russo, I found him confident, not only about his business, but the political race to come. No one would minimize the difficulty of defeating Shank, who knocked off Bruce Poole, who was just coming back into the legislative leadership's good graces after an unwise spat with House Speaker Cas Taylor.