Project Manager

Eight years in the making, Martinsburg's new social studies and history-focused children's museum at the city's downtown train station is set to open to the public Saturday with a dedication ceremony. Doors open at 9:30 a.m. Tickets, which include brunch, a walking tour of the museum and one free admission (for a return visit) are $15 for adults, $7.50 for children age 6-17 and $1 for those 5 and under. Tickets are $7 without brunch. A dedication program, which is part of Martinsburg Heritage Day festivities, is set to begin at 10 a.m. at the train station.

Washington County Public Works Director Gary Rohrer asked the County Commissioners Tuesday to add two positions to the Engineering Department but they took no action on the request. The two positions are needed if the county is to meet the demands of current and future projects, Rohrer said. "Now I have this information and I'd like to think about it," Commissioner John L. Schnebly said. Rohrer requested funding for a third project manager and a structural engineer. His request was unrelated to the suspension of Project Manager Steven Kenneth Spalding, County Administrator Rodney Shoop said.

Hagerstown Paint and Glass Co., Overhead Door Co. of Hagerstown, Overhead Door Co. of Martinsburg, W.Va., and Overhead Door Co. of Cumberland, Md., recognized their employees recently for accomplishments in 2002. Employees receiving tenure awards include, for 25 years: Roger Byrd, warehouse manager. Jerry Rohrer, assistant general superintendent. Mike Spiker, project manager/estimator. Terry Toms, counter sales. For 15 years: Jeff Cecil, install assistant.

The Greensburg Road Bridge near Smithsburg, which had been closed since June 14, reopened Tuesday at 2 p.m. The bridge over Antietam Creek is near the Greensburg Road and Fruit Tree Drive intersection. The $143,000 project included a deck replacement and construction of a support wall, Melissa Yates, project manager for Washington County's Engineering Department, said Tuesday. Building Systems Inc. of Hagerstown performed the repairs.

Crews upgrading Hagerstown's downtown traffic signals expect to close Summit Avenue between Antietam Street and Washington Street this Tuesday, said Gary Street, the contractor's project manager. Whether the road is closed Tuesday depends on the weather, Street said. It would be shut down between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. There will be various lane closures along Franklin Street starting Tuesday and running through the weekend between Cannon Avenue and Jonathan Street, Street said.

North Jonathan Street in Hagerstown will be closed between West Franklin and Church streets today so crews can upgrade traffic signals. Another stretch of North Jonathan Street between West Franklin and West Washington streets will be closed on Thursday, according to officials with contractor Lockheed Martin. Both roads will be closed between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Detours will be posted. Crews will be digging trenches to lay conduit for the signal upgrades, said Gary Street, Lockheed's project manager.

West Antietam Street will be closed again today between Summit Avenue and Walnut Street as crews continue upgrading downtown area traffic signals. The block will be closed from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., said Gary Street, project manager for Lockheed Martin, the contractor. North Potomac Street between Church and Franklin streets and North Jonathan Street between West Franklin and West Washington streets will be closed briefly this morning, Street said. The streets are expected to be closed between 15 minutes and 30 minutes between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m., he said.

Summit Avenue in Hagerstown will be closed today between Washington and Antietam streets so crews can upgrade traffic signals between 6 a.m. and 3 p.m. On Monday, Mulberry Street between East and Franklin streets will be closed from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., said Gary Street, project manager with contractor Lockheed Martin. Monday and Wednesday, the right lane of Franklin Street will be closed between Mulberry and Locust streets from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., he said. Crews will quit working Thursday at noon for the Independence Day holiday weekend.

 Barnes Road in Boonsboro will reopen to through traffic at Beaver Creek, effective 1:30 p.m. Friday, Washington County road officials said.  The county thanked the community and motorists for their patience during the rehabilitation of the historic bridge, according to a news release.  Additional information can be obtained by contacting Jessica Spring, project manager at 240-313-2414 or Robert Slocum, deputy director of public works, at 240- 313-2418.

The remaining mobile homes on land at the intersection of Burhans and Elgin boulevards are being torn down as part of a redevelopment project. Glenn Worgan, project manager with Pennrose Properties, said the homes recently were bought from their owners to make room for a new phase for the Gateway Crossing public housing development. Those living in the mobile homes were given assistance in finding new homes under a federal program. Parts of Gateway Crossing have already opened.

Eight years in the making, Martinsburg's new social studies and history-focused children's museum at the city's downtown train station is set to open to the public Saturday with a dedication ceremony. Doors open at 9:30 a.m. Tickets, which include brunch, a walking tour of the museum and one free admission (for a return visit) are $15 for adults, $7.50 for children age 6-17 and $1 for those 5 and under. Tickets are $7 without brunch. A dedication program, which is part of Martinsburg Heritage Day festivities, is set to begin at 10 a.m. at the train station.

Jeffrey Lynn Swartz, 64, of Hagerstown, Md., went to be with his Lord and Savior on March 11, 2013, at Meritus Medical Center. Born June 10, 1948, in Hagerstown, he was the son of Jacob Beckley Swartz and the late Anna Irene Myers Swartz. He was a 1966 graduate of South Hagerstown High School. In addition to his father, he is survived by two brothers and two sisters, Gary L. Swartz of Boones Mill, Va., the Rev. Daniel R. Swartz of Cadiz, Ky., Kathy A. Merritt of Smiths Station, Ala., and Pamela K. Markel of Williamsport, Md. He was particularly fond of and interested in the lives of his four nephews, 10 nieces, nine great-nephews and 12 great-nieces.

Information about Hagerstown's proposed downtown stadium project - dubbed “MUSEC,” short for multiuse sports and entertainment center - has been removed from the city website, not even 24 hours after a new plan to possibly build a facility in the city's East End was pitched. A link on the city's homepage titled “Multiuse Center” was taken down Wednesday afternoon on the heels of Hagerstown Suns majority owner Bruce Quinn's concept for the alternative $25 million stadium project.

Hagerstown officials hosted a public information meeting and hearing Tuesday night as a way to provide updated information about its proposed downtown multiuse sports and events center and hear concerns from the public. About 80 citizens turned out to Hager Hall Conference and Events Center for the meeting, which included a video presentation laying out the progress of where the project currently stands as well as the city's plan for the facility, if officials decide to move forward.

F&M Trust CHAMERSBURG, Pa. - Lisa A. Hogue recently was promoted to financial services officer and community office manager at F&M Trust's Lincoln Way East Office in Chambersburg. Hogue joined the bank in 2008, and has served as a teller, financial services officer and most recently as assistant community office manager at the Lincoln Way East office. In her new role, she will be responsible for consumer lending, developing business relationships and enhancing the bank's customer base, as well as serving customers' financial needs with a variety of services, including loan and deposit products.

Using projections from a consultant's report as “more of a road map than a prescription,” Hagerstown Economic Development Manager Jill Estavillo said Wednesday that a proposed downtown multiuse sports and events center could bring 224,000 new visitors to City Center each year. “And we'll have additional visitors from nonbaseball events,” Estavillo told about 100 people in the Cumberland Room of the Ramada Plaza Hotel in Hagerstown. Add an estimated 500,000 people a year who are expected to visit the Washington County Regional Free Library, which is slated to open next year on South Potomac Street, and it will cause a “dramatic change to foot traffic” in the downtown area, she said.

The possibility of constructing a new multiuse sports and events center in downtown Hagerstown is being viewed by local elected officials as a long-overdue catalyst for redevelopment of the city's struggling downtown. But exactly how the stadium, which would be the new home of the Hagerstown Suns, would help facilitate that goal - in the form of new development and jobs - remains to be seen. According to the Ripken Design feasibility study released Friday, conservative projections indicate that the construction of the $30 million multiuse center would support about 132 baseball-related jobs and $4.5 million in earnings over the first decade.

Hagerstown and Washington County officials have agreed on a leadership structure for a potential project to build a multiuse stadium at the intersection of Baltimore Street and Summit Avenue in Hagerstown. Should the project move forward, the city will take the lead, but county, state and private-sector support will be critical, city and county officials agreed during a joint session Tuesday. The session marked the first time the city and county had discussed a stadium together in open session since the latest push for a new stadium began.