Prize

SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. --Contemporary American Theater Festival playwright Michele Lowe was recently awarded The Francesca Primus Prize for "Inana. "The play is part of the five show repertory of new plays featured during the festival at Shepherd University. The Francesca Primus Prize is considered one of the highest honors for a woman in theater. The $10,000 award honors outstanding contributions to the American theater by an emerging female theater artist who has not yet achieved national prominence.

A stack of trophies sat beside a few bags of trash waiting for roadside pickup. As I drove by the house in our neighborhood, the sight filled me with mixed emotions. I felt a kindred spirit with the owner. There comes a point where the memories of yesterday become the clutter of today. Yes, we want to remember those shining moments. We don't want to throw away trophies that were so valiantly won, but is the trophy really evidence of the prize? Or is the prize really evidenced in the trophy?

WASHINGTON COUNTY 9 The first of four digits that would win $100,000 for someone on Saturday drew a mix of cheers and boos. Mike Weller, who announced the prize drawings at the Bonanza Extravaganza at Hagerstown Speedway, moved on to the next number. 2 More cheers, more jeers. Rain was pouring all around the cavernous white tent, but not inside, where eyes were fixed on the winning plastic balls. 8 After a smattering of reactions, Weller moved on to the last number ... 1 Weller repeated the winning sequence - 9281.

FREDERICK, Md. - The U.S. Flag Service in Frederick recently won first place in the Flag and Banner Design competition at the National Independent Flag Dealers Convention in Atlantic City. The association represents many independent flag dealers throughout the U.S. The flag, titled "United We Stand," received top honors in the flag competition. Hugh Warner is retired from the military, having served with the U.S. Army in Vietnam, the Army Reserve and the Air National Guard.

HAGERSTOWN One silver egg won 9-year-old Angelica Scott and her 3-year-old cousin, Mariyah Scott, a bicycle at Saturday's second annual Great Egg Hunt at City Park, but sharing the prize appeared harder than sharing the glory. Angelica tugged on the tassels hanging from the bicycle's handlebars as Mariyah sat upon it, sucking a pacifier. Other prize winners swarmed the amphitheater to trade in their prized silver eggs for rewards such as a Little Tikes car or other bicycles.

Williamsport High School sophomore Vicki Johnson won a prize for best craftsmanship in the recent Rethink Recycling Sculpture Contest, sponsored by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE). Vicki's chicken made out of aluminum cans earned her an iPod docking station. Other participating students and their entries from Washington County were: o Williamsport High School: Christine Bell, (giraffe); Alexis Bowers ("Trash Monroe"); and Brandon Barlow and Tracey Forsythe (sheep)

City boy reels in top prize A 9-year-old Hagerstown boy out-cast four other regional champions Friday to win the BASS Masters national Casting Kids competition for children age 7 to 10. Jessey Flowers, the son of Richard and Chris Flowers, won the title at the 30th Annual BASS Masters Classic Show in Chicago. The Chicago championship completed a string of competitions that began with the Clear Springs Carnival last August, said Betty Henson, one of the boy's grandparents.

The Silver Starlettes majorette group attended the Maryland State Fireman's Association parade in Ocean City, Md., in June where it came home with first place honors for Best Appearing Majorettes. The group is under the direction of Rocky Willis.

HAGERSTOWN Ticket-holders for the Bonanza Extravaganza were expecting $750,000 in cash and prizes. But a recent addition to the three-day fundraiser, hosted by Hagerstown's career firefighters, includes a $1 million-prize. "We want to make our event the best," said Rick Conrad, spokesman for the International Association of Firefighters Local 1605. "Why not just blow this out of the water. " Ticket holders for the event, scheduled for May 12 to 14 at Hagerstown Speedway, are eligible for prizes that include 2006 vehicles and Harley-Davidson motorcycles, rifles, camping trailers, recreational watercraft and cash.

A Chambersburg man has claimed a $1 million Powerball ticket from the May 11 drawing, according to the Pennsylvania Lottery. Robert Knotts claimed the ticket that was sold at Sheetz at 900 Wayne Ave. in Chambersburg, a lottery department spokeswoman said Thursday. She said Knotts declined to be interviewd about his experience. Knotts' ticket was one of two from Pennsylvania that matched all five white balls (6-13-19-23-43) that day. The tickets did not match the red Powerball, which was 16. The combination meant each ticket had a prize of $1 million, less 25 percent federal withholding.

The winner of the $100,000 grand prize at Saturday's Bonanza Extravaganza at Hagerstown Speedway has asked that his name not be released, according to John Murray, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 1605. Murray did say Sunday that the winner is a man from Alexandria, Va. The winner was not present when the winning ticket was announced, he said. There were plenty of other winners, with more than 60 people walking away with cash prizes from $1,000 to $15,000, Murray said.

It was a school of fisherman - not fish - that huddled in one area of Conococheague Creek at Wilson College in Chambersburg, Pa., on Saturday. Those anglers, like all of the others standing in the water, were after one thing - the elusive tagged fish that come with prize money. Every year, thousands of fishermen from the Tri-State area come to Chambersburg for the annual Noontime Lions Trout Derby. This is the 16th year for the event, which offered nearly $50,000 in cash and prizes this year.

“Twenty Million People,” a romantic comedy made by three filmmakers from New York City, claimed the top prize Saturday at the Maryland International Film Festival-Hagerstown. The film was named Best Feature at the three-day film festival's closing ceremonies Saturday night at the Academy Theater off East Washington Street. The film asks the question, “There are TWENTY MILLION PEOPLE in the greater New York City area. So why is it so hard to find someone you like?” Co-producer Chris Prine, who also acted in the movie with co-stars Michael Ferrell and Devin Sanchez, said the picture was shot over a 12-day span in Jersey City, N.J. The budget was $12,000.

A 66-year-old woman from Sharpsburg is Washington County's latest lottery jackpot winner. The woman claimed a $625,000 Multi-Match jackpot Friday, according to a press release from the Maryland Lottery. She correctly matched all six numbers in the Feb. 11 drawing. “I found out I won late Monday night when my twin sons woke me up with the news,” the woman said in the release. “They came knocking on my door screaming that I had hit the jackpot.” The woman's sons checked her ticket online and saw that all her numbers matched.

Two Maryland Lottery tickets bought in the Tri-State area have resulted in big payouts for the purchasers, including a $1 million prize claimed Tuesday by a Middletown, Md. man. A $1 million winning ticket in Saturday night's Powerball drawing was bought at Fountaindale Service Center in Middletown. The ticket matched the numbers 05, 06, 16, 36 and 58, but missed the Powerball, which was 03. A ticket bought at Boonsboro Exxon for Monday night's Multi-Match drawing is worth $625,000 after matching all six numbers.

A Hagerstown man has come forward to claim his lottery winnings, but the winner of the $575,000 Multi-Match top-tier prize wants to remain anonymous, Maryland Lottery officials said Friday. The ticket holder had all six numbers in the Jan. 21 Multi-Match drawing. The disabled Army veteran bought his winning ticket at Roxy Liquors at 761 E. Wilson Blvd. in Hagerstown, lottery officials said in a news release. The winning numbers were 1, 2, 13, 22, 37 and 43. Before he discovered he won, the man joked about possibly being the winner of the Multi-Match jackpot that he knew had been sold by a Hagerstown retailer, according to the release.

A Dodge Charger worth $60,000 and a chance to rub shoulders with the who's who of NASCAR at a banquet in Las Vegas was a dream for Rich and Paula Robertson, a dream that came true when the couple won a Dodge Charger sweepstakes competition online. Those who know Rich Robertson know of his passion for NASCAR. He has loved cars since he was a kid, and working as an auto mechanic fueled his passion. So when his wife Paula saw an online competition offering the NASCAR banquet and a chance to win the Dodge Charger sweepstakes, among other prizes, she didn't hesitate to enter.

Usually, hobbies cost money. But Sam Pritt's extracurricular project has earned him $3,000 and could bring in an additional $100,000. Sam, 17, lives in Walkersville and has been home-schooled by his parents, Christine and Mark, his entire life, he said Wednesday. About a year and a half ago, he got the inspiration for his lucrative idea, a software application that can pinpoint a photograph's location by mapping the horizon. “After taking AP computer science, I was just looking around for a project,” he said.

The Downtown Business Council announced the winners of Saturday's 43rd annual Chambersburg holiday parade, which was sponsored by F&M Trust. The winners are: Class A band First place - Shippensburg (Pa.) Area Senior High School Marching Band. Prize sponsored by Franklin Shopper. Second place - Waynesboro (Pa.) Area Senior High School Band. Prize sponsored by Wagner's Supply Depot. Class B band First place - James Buchanan High School Rocket Band.