Potomac

When a pitcher throws as well as Washington Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg did Friday night, it takes some pressure off his catcher. "When you throw 98 or 99 (miles per hour), it's easy to catch," said Sandy Leon, catcher for the Class A Potomac Nationals. "He puts the ball where he wants it. " Strasburg showed off his arm and his glove in a rehab start with Potomac. He struck out five and walked none in three scoreless innings, giving up only two infield hits to the visiting Myrtle Beach Pelicans.

Tuesday will be the last day of business for Traders on Potomac, the convenience store next to Bulls and Bears in downtown Hagerstown, Bulls and Bears general manager Jason Elmore said. Bowman Development Corp., which owns Bulls and Bears and Traders on Potomac, decided to close the convenience store due to lack of sales, Elmore said. “It hasn't been a profitable business pretty much from the day it opened, and we saw an opportunity to expand Bulls and Bears,” he said. The convenience store area will be turned into a private dining room, business meeting room, and conference room, Elmore said.

Burnside Bridge Road, at the bridge over Antietam Creek, was closed Sunday night, according to Washington County Emergency Services. Earlier Sunday, some roads near Conococheague Creek were closed. On Sunday morning, Conococheague Creek at Fairview hit 13.63 feet and remained above the 10-foot flood stage Sunday night, according to the National Weather Service. By 4 a.m. Monday, the creek was at 11.4 feet, the weather service reported. It was expected to recede below flood stage after 2 p.m. Monday.

SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. - The Potomac Valley Youth Orchestra will present a spring concert Wednesday, May 17, at 7 p.m. at Shepherd College's Frank Center for the Creative Arts. The group is under the direction of Anne Munro and Mark McCoy of Shepherd College. Shepherd College student conductor Mark Albright also will conduct part of the program. Music will include compositions by Mozart, Britten, Copland, Grieg, Handel, Haydn and Ippolitov-Ivanov. Violinists Matthew and Michael Polanchak will be the soloists for "Entrance of the Queen of Sheba" by George Frederic Handel.

Duffy's on Potomac has been fined $100 by the Board of License Commissioners for Washington County as punishment for two fights that occurred at the Hagerstown restaurant and bar last November. The commissioners made their decision based on findings from a Jan. 16 hearing and Hagerstown police reports, according to a letter that was drafted Wednesday by the commissioners. The letter was sent to Mike Deming, owner of Duffy's on Potomac at 28 S. Potomac St. "That was (the commissioners')

BOYS LACROSSE Potomac 8, Saint James 5 POTOMAC, Md. -- Jordan Barr had two goals and an assist for Saint James in a season-ending loss to Potomac. Spencer Draper had two goals for the Saints, while Andrew Bonds had two assists and Barrett Brown added an assist.

8-year-old cyclist hit by car Hagerstown man convicted in fatal crash gets 3 years Duffy's on Potomac closes Charges reduced against man in mall incident Martinsburg youth pulled from Potomac dies at hospital

Mike Gellar will perform jazz at 9 p.m. today, at Duffy's on Potomac, 28 S. Potomac St., Hagerstown. There is no cover charge. Backroads Band will perform at 9 p.m. Saturday, June 2, at Duffy's on Potomac; $5 cover. For more information, call 301-745-6648. Stack O' Blues, with DC Carnes, will perform at 10 p.m. today, and Saturday, June 2, at 43 South, 43 S. Potomac St., Hagerstown; $5 cover each night. For information, call 301-745-5443. The $5 cover charge on Saturday night will cover Duffy's on Potomac and its basement bar, Ava Lounge, as well as 43 South and its basement bar, Flo Lounge.

Green Drinks International will meet at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 17, at Duffy's on Potomac, 28 S. Potomac St., Hagerstown. The event is open to the public. Green Drinks International is active in cities worldwide and gives people in the environmental field a chance to get together once a month to share ideas and conversation in an informal setting. For information, go to www.greendrinks.org .

Today, June 7 Acoustic music in the garden 6 to 9 p.m., KClinger's Tavern, 304 Poplar St., Hanover, Pa., 717-633-9197. No cover. Chris Knight Country, with guest Lynn Routzahn, 8:30 p.m. Jimmy Jay's Log Cabin, 7536 Millstone Road, Hancock. 301-678-5670. $20 in advance; $25 at the door. Karaoke 7 p.m. to midnight, Casey's Bar and Grill at the Holiday Inn, 5400 Holiday Drive, Frederick, Md. 301-694-7500. Friday, June 8 Marsiglia 10 p.m. 43 South, 43 S. Potomac St., Hagerstown; 301-745-5443.

A public utility law judge on Monday is expected to set the procedural schedule for the Maryland Public Service Commission's investigation into complaints that Potomac Edison overbilled some Western Maryland electric customers by failing to read meters as often as required. Judge Dennis H. Sober will preside over a pre-hearing conference set to start at 1 p.m. in the PSC's 19th floor hearing room at the William Donald Schaefer Tower on Saint Paul Street in Baltimore. The case stems from complaints made more than a year ago, including those filed last May by the former Frederick-based Sugarloaf Conservancy.

The Potomac Valley Audubon Society will sponsor a bird walk at Harpers Ferry on Wednesday, May 29. Participants will meet at 7 a.m. in the parking area on Shenandoah Street just below the intersection with U.S. 340. The walk will be free and open to anyone regardless of birding skills. Children are welcome. Advance registration is required and participants must sign a waiver of liability because part of the route is on a railroad track. To register or get more information, go to the society's website at www.potomacaudubon.org or contact Deb Hale at 304-535-2346 or debhale72@gmail.com . Participants should wear sturdy footwear, dress appropriately for prevailing weather conditions, and bring along water and bug spray.

The body of a 54-year-old Frederick, Md., man was pulled from the Potomac River at Point of Rocks State Park on Sunday, according to a Maryland State Police news release. Police found a suicide note in the man's home, state police said. The body was taken to the chief medical examiner's office in Baltimore to determine the cause and manner of death. A bicyclist reported seeing the body in the water along the river bank around 4 p.m. Sunday, police said. Carroll Manor Fire Co. firefighters recovered the body, which was in a cove along the river.

Civil War cannons that occupied Doubleday Hill in Williamsport from the late 1800s until they were removed in 2000 returned to their home during a ceremony Saturday. Williamsport Town Councilman Scott Bragunier coordinated the historic project, through which the cannons were sent away to Kentucky firm Steen Cannons for restoration. Bragunier said in 1896, U.S. Sen. Louis E. McComas donated the tubes that had been stockpiled following the war. The town of Williamsport mounted the tubes on bricks and dedicated them on Doubleday Hill on July 4, 1897.

Hagerstown police cited a Chambersburg, Pa., woman after her car was struck by a CSX train Friday in the 700 block of Potomac Avenue near the McComas Street intersection. Shonda M. Dosher, 34, of 4095 Ricklyn Drive in Chambersburg, was charged with failure to stop at a railroad crossing, according to Hagerstown Police Chief Mark Holtzman. One train engine pulling another engine struck the Dodge Neon that Dosher was driving as she tried to cross the tracks shortly before 9 a.m., Holtzman said.

Tuesday, April 30, 2013 COLLEGE BASEBALL KEYSER, W.Va. - Dylan Dunn had two hits, including a two-run homer in the first inning, and three RBIs for Hagerstown Community College in a 6-4 loss to Potomac State (32-13) on Tuesday. Hagerstown led 4-3 before surrendering three runs with two outs in the bottom of the eighth. Jamie Miller pitched 3 2/3 innings of no-hit relief to pick up the win for Potomac. Tyler Walter had three hits and Eric Schanzenbacher had two hits for Hawks (28-25)

A coin collection organized by school health personnel at Potomac Heights Elementary School, with support from Meritus Health, recently generated $832.06, which was donated to the March of Dimes. The students in the classroom of Jamie Smith, which is being covered by long-term substitute Heather Snow, raised the highest total of $225.01, earning a pizza party for the class. The students of Julie McGee, James Barnhart and Lynn Wilcox earned ice cream sandwiches for the amount of money they raised.

A coin collection organized by school health personnel at Potomac Heights Elementary School, with support from Meritus Health, recently generated $832.06, which was donated to the March of Dimes. The students in the classroom of Jamie Smith, which is being covered by long-term substitute Heather Snow, raised the highest total of $225.01, earning a pizza party for the class. The students of Julie McGee, James Barnhart and Lynn Wilcox earned ice cream sandwiches for the amount of money they raised.

Potomac Edison will spend $55 million this year in an effort to limit power outages in Maryland and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, company officials said Tuesday. James V. Fakult, vice president of Potomac Edison and president of FirstEnergy's Maryland Operations, said about a third of the money, about $17 million, will be used to trim trees to keep them from falling onto power lines in Washington, Allegany, Frederick and Garrett counties in Maryland, and in Berkeley County in West Virginia.

About 1,570 Potomac Edison customers in Washington County lost their power for about an hour Tuesday afternoon when a circuit malfunctioned at a substation in West Virginia, a spokesman for Potomac Edison said. David Kline said the outage was reported at 12:57 p.m. A check of the utility's website showed power was restored to all customers in the affected area, which included some in the Hagerstown, Clear Spring and Williamsport areas.   - Dan Dearth