Photos

The Pennsylvania Senate is expected to vote Wednesday on a bill requiring the state's voters to present photo identification at the polls. The Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed voter-identification legislation several months ago and will review it again after Senate amendments, according to state Rep. Rob Kauffman, R-Franklin/Cumberland. Kauffman said he initially hoped the April 24 primary election could be a trial run for the new requirements. Among them are presenting a photo ID issued by the government, accredited colleges and universities, or nursing and personal care homes.

Crime-scene photographs of Carol Brown's body and other forensic evidence were shown to the jury Wednesday in Washington County Circuit Court in the second day of trial for a Hagerstown man accused of killing her nearly four years ago. Darrol Chris Sands, 44, is serving a 15-year state prison sentence on a 2011 drug-trafficking conviction. He was indicted in 2010 with the April 19, 2008, murder of Brown, a 22-year-old mother of two found dead in the bathtub of her Mitchell Avenue apartment in Hagerstown.

The opening reception and awards ceremony for the 79th annual Cumberland Valley Photographic Salon was held Sunday afternoon at the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts in Hagerstown's City Park. Hagerstown resident Jamie Turner won $100 for having the best photograph - “The New American Family” - by a Washington County photographer. Sara Howell of Gainesville, Va., won best of show and $300 for “Frosted Gingko Leaves.” Sterling “Rip” Smith of Martinsburg, W.Va., won a $250 Juror's Choice Award for “Forgotten Places: North Dakota Series, Grain Elevators.” The other $250 Juror's Choice Award went to Beamie Young of Dickerson, Md., for “Sunday Morning.” The Juror's Choice Awards worth $150 went to Martin L. Heavner of Ijamsville, Md., for “Carnival Memories”; Judith MacArthur of Rockville, Md., for “Sunflower Morning”; Bruce E. Morgan of Bethesda, Md., for “Inspiration No. 1”; and John Zimet of Winchester, Va., for “The Thinker.” The exhibit will be up through April 29. Visitors can vote for their favorite photograph.

A few years ago, Washington County Museum of Fine Arts officially began accepting photographs for its permanent collection of fine art. But these days, society is way past asking whether photos are art. With widespread use of digital enhancement of photography, the question is more like: Are photos ever simply photographs? This weekend, the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts presents a look at the state of the art of photography with the opening of the 79th annual Cumberland Valley Photographic Salon.

A surveillance photo published in The Herald-Mail resulted in the arrest of a man suspected in an armed robbery and an attempted armed robbery, according to charging documents filed in Washington County District Court. Sean Eric Scott, 41, of no fixed address was charged with the robbery Saturday at the Motel 6 on Massey Boulevard and an attempted holdup on Friday at the 7-Eleven on Salem Ave., court records said. Scott also is charged with a Dec. 27 theft, court records said. Scott was being held Tuesday in the Washington County Detention Center on $1,007,500 bond on the three cases, the records said.

The Hagerstown-Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau has produced a new Destination Planning Guide. “This publication serves as valuable resource for potential bus groups and any volume visitor business,” said Director of Sales Betsy De Vore. The 48-page guide provides information about what Washington County has to offer for business meetings and convention services, venues and accommodations, points of interest, attractions and recreation, as well as shopping and dining.

Photos with Santa will be available at Valley Mall today from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Saturday (Christmas Eve) from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call 301-582-0700. Hickory Elementary to hold spirit day Students at Hickory Elementary School are encouraged to wear red and green attire today for spirit day. Polar Bear Plunge set for Jan. 1   The annual Polar Bear Plunge is planned Sunday, Jan. 1, at River Bottom Park in Williamsport.

At Christmastime 2010, my daughter was barely 9 months old. She had two teeth, could walk around objects as she held on, and had just learned to say, "Mum. " She was friendly to everyone and happily sat on Santa's lap and posed for pictures. In the space of a short year, she has become an ardent eater, walks freely around the house, and talks a mile a minute. And she's not as friendly with strangers as she used to be, and her cautious mommy is OK with that. My daughter loves pictures, particularly of herself, so I prepped her for her meeting Santa Claus this year by showing her pictures of last year's visit.

Beginning Jan. 1, food service workers in Jefferson County will be required to wear a health department-issued photo badge that will double as the food-handling card they are already required to have. The new badge system will make it easier to determine if workers at more than 400 food-service businesses comply with the county's food-handling training requirements, according to Jefferson County Health Department Administrator Amy Jones. The new badge system was approved by the Jefferson County Board of Health last year, and officials have been working with businesses to gradually implement it since then, Jones said.

A Sept. 18, 1997, copy of Andrews (AFB) Field News was among dozens of newspapers, magazines, clippings and other memorabilia sold Saturday at Ralph D. Albertazzie's estate sale. Albertazzie, who flew Air Force One more than 275,000 miles during Richard Nixon's 5 1/2-year presidency, died Aug. 15 at the age of 88. In an interview in the 1997 Andrews Field News, Albertazzie recounted a conversation with Nixon on Aug. 9, 1974, the day he resigned the presidency. Albertazzie was flying Nixon home for the last time.