Property Line

Company tabbed for snow removal The Hagerstown City Council on Tuesday officially approved hiring a company for this year's sidewalk snow-removal program, which allows the city to remove snow from public sidewalks on private property. Servtec Custodial Inc. was approved for the contract as part of a consent agenda - usually a list of items such as purchases that is voted on as one item. The council approved the agenda 3-1, with Councilman Kristin B. Aleshire voting against the agenda.

Council passes vegetation ordinance WILLIAMSPORT - The Williamsport Town Council passed a new town ordinance Monday that imposes a height limit of 6 inches for weeds, grasses, brush and other nonornamental vegetation. The requirement also will apply to the area between the property line and the curb line of any street. The ordinance allows 24 hours from the time of notification for compliance before the town may cut the vegetation at the cost of the person notified or the property owner.

The Washington County Commissioners voted 4-1 Tuesday to pass an ordinance that allows small wind-energy systems and solar panels in all Washington County zoning districts with limits on size, placement and other factors. The ordinance amends the county's zoning ordinance, which does not apply in Hagerstown or incorporated municipalities. Commissioner James F. Kercheval said he voted against the ordinance because he disagreed with the other commissioners' decision to allow wind-energy systems in front yards as long as they are set back a certain distance from the property line.

By JENNYLYNN BROWN Staff Writer CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - Fire destroyed a large hay-filled barn and damaged a corn crib on Earl Road early Saturday morning, fire officials said. Chief Ed Smith of Independent Fire Company in Charles Town said the call came in at 1:39 a.m. "We arrived to find a large barn totally involved in a fire that had radiated across the property line and started burning a corn crib. We let the barn burn and saved the corn crib and other attached storage buildings," Smith said.

HAGERSTOWN -- A Williamsport man will have to keep his distance from -- and keep his eyes off -- neighbors who sued him for harassing behavior and emotional distress, according to court orders issued Friday by Washington County Circuit Judge John H. McDowell. A jury on May 6 awarded plaintiffs Eric and Mary Haberkorn, Arthur and Sonja Pereschuk, and James and Renee Rudolph more than $150,000 in compensatory and punitive damages against Jeffrey Lynn Hurd, 56, of 11835 Camden Road.

GREENCASTLE, PA. -- Antrim Township has settled its six lawsuits against Jeff and Connie Todd out of court, effectively ending more than two years of litigation in a compromise. The township agreed Monday not to seek repayment of legal fees and to lessen the setback requirement for their driveway, despite one resident's request to go to court. In exchange, Jeff Todd agreed to post a $24,937 line of credit or bond that the township can draw on if he does not meet the requirement of the agreement within nine months, according to the Global Settlement and Release Agreement.

Dear Pat: A house is being built next door to my sloping lot and I am going to need some privacy. I think a fence might do the job. What kind of fence do you recommend that I can build myself? - Sara Z. Dear Sara: Installing a fence can be an excellent way to provide privacy for your home. It can also be a deterrent to burglars if it is high enough and secure enough to make it difficult to make it difficult to pass over or through the fence. The first step to installing a fence or any other structure near your property line is to check the local municipal building codes.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. -- Early plans for an antique motorcycle shop on West North Street stalled Monday when they went before the Waynesboro Planning Commission. Planning commission members said they would welcome the business, but said they had concerns about the size of the proposed building as well as parking constraints and potential noise problems. "It's going to be a noisy business in a tightly packed neighborhood. ... It seems like this is the wrong lot for this business," planner Stephen Monn said.

waynesboro@herald-mail.com WAYNESBORO, Pa. - The historic Harbaugh Church Cemetery moved a step closer to becoming ringed by a 56-lot housing subdivision when the Washington Township Planning Commission gave conditional approval Monday night to Glen Afton Farms, a name that has been in the news in recent years. The plan advances to the Washington Township Supervisors for its consideration Monday night. Contingencies attached to the planners' approval include a look at the plan by the township's engineering consultant, a review by the Washington Township Municipal Authority to ensure that a hydrant serving the subdivision has adequate water supply and an agreement between Susan Elgin of Hagerstown, the property's owner, and members of the Harbaugh Church Cemetery Association over an unwritten easement across Elgin's property.

BUNKER HILL, W.Va. - Police seized nearly 13 pounds of marijuana Monday from the garage of a Berkeley County couple's home, according to magistrate court records. Kimberly Ann Gregory-Lowe, 42, and Joseph Martin Lowe, 49, of 213 Michael Lane, Bunker Hill, were charged by Berkeley County Sheriff's Department Lt. Gary Harmison with cultivation of marijuana and conspiracy to cultivate marijuana, according to court records. Magistrate Harry L. Snow set a $65,000 bond for both defendants.

Earlier this year, the City of Charles Town Planning Commission denied a request to rezone Hunter Hill, a historic home on the city's east side because the owner had no specific plans for the property. Monday night, the planning commission reprised its earlier vote on similar grounds - that owner William Trussell is still not offering specific plans on how the four-acre property between East Liberty and East Washington streets might be developed. Mark Reinhart, planning commission chairman, said before Monday's public hearing on the rezoning request that the property is for sale.

“In response to the caller who was questioning whether you can trim branches from neighboring properties that are encroaching onto their property, you absolutely have the right, as a property owner, to trim those branches to the property line. I would ask the individual who owned the trees if they wanted to trim them. If not, you may trim them. And as I said, it’s your right, it’s your property. They’re extending over onto your property, so trim away.” — Fountain Head “I was reading in today’s paper where ‘O’Malley signs immigration tuition bill,’ but I don’t see John Donoghue in there anywhere.

HAGERSTOWN -- A Williamsport man will have to keep his distance from -- and keep his eyes off -- neighbors who sued him for harassing behavior and emotional distress, according to court orders issued Friday by Washington County Circuit Judge John H. McDowell. A jury on May 6 awarded plaintiffs Eric and Mary Haberkorn, Arthur and Sonja Pereschuk, and James and Renee Rudolph more than $150,000 in compensatory and punitive damages against Jeffrey Lynn Hurd, 56, of 11835 Camden Road.

HAGERSTOWN -- A Williamsport man who was ordered in December 2008 to serve 90 days in jail for killing two dogs that were running on his property was back in Washington County Circuit Court Monday after neighbors complained of hearing gunshots coming from the man's property. Jeffrey Hurd, 56, of 11845 Camden Road, has been free since posting bond Dec. 19, 2008, two days after a Baltimore attorney filed a notice of appeal of Hurd's conviction. Hurd killed a Labrador retriever with a high-powered rifle in July 2007, and killed a German shepherd in May 2008.

The Washington County Commissioners voted 4-1 Tuesday to pass an ordinance that allows small wind-energy systems and solar panels in all Washington County zoning districts with limits on size, placement and other factors. The ordinance amends the county's zoning ordinance, which does not apply in Hagerstown or incorporated municipalities. Commissioner James F. Kercheval said he voted against the ordinance because he disagreed with the other commissioners' decision to allow wind-energy systems in front yards as long as they are set back a certain distance from the property line.

Dear Pat: A house is being built next door to my sloping lot and I am going to need some privacy. I think a fence might do the job. What kind of fence do you recommend that I can build myself? - Sara Z. Dear Sara: Installing a fence can be an excellent way to provide privacy for your home. It can also be a deterrent to burglars if it is high enough and secure enough to make it difficult to make it difficult to pass over or through the fence. The first step to installing a fence or any other structure near your property line is to check the local municipal building codes.

GREENCASTLE, PA. -- Antrim Township has settled its six lawsuits against Jeff and Connie Todd out of court, effectively ending more than two years of litigation in a compromise. The township agreed Monday not to seek repayment of legal fees and to lessen the setback requirement for their driveway, despite one resident's request to go to court. In exchange, Jeff Todd agreed to post a $24,937 line of credit or bond that the township can draw on if he does not meet the requirement of the agreement within nine months, according to the Global Settlement and Release Agreement.

BUNKER HILL, W.Va. - Police seized nearly 13 pounds of marijuana Monday from the garage of a Berkeley County couple's home, according to magistrate court records. Kimberly Ann Gregory-Lowe, 42, and Joseph Martin Lowe, 49, of 213 Michael Lane, Bunker Hill, were charged by Berkeley County Sheriff's Department Lt. Gary Harmison with cultivation of marijuana and conspiracy to cultivate marijuana, according to court records. Magistrate Harry L. Snow set a $65,000 bond for both defendants.

HAGERSTOWN -- A Williamsport man ordered to serve 90 days in jail for killing two dogs that were running on his property has appealed his case and is free on bond, court documents show. Jeffrey Hurd, 55, of 11845 Camden Road, killed a Labrador retriever with a high-powered rifle in July 2007 and killed a German shepherd in 2008. In each case, the dogs were chasing wild game onto Hurd's property, Washington County Circuit Judge W. Kennedy Boone III said in November. Boone heard the case Oct. 27, and in November announced he found Hurd guilty of two counts of mutilating an animal and two counts of malicious destruction of property under $500.

HAGERSTOWN -- A Washington County Circuit judge on Thursday morning found a Williamsport man guilty of two counts of mutilating an animal and two counts of malicious destruction of property under $500. Jeffrey Hurd, 55, of 11845 Camden Road, killed a Labrador retriever with a high-powered rifle in July 2007 and killed a German shepherd in 2008. In each case, the dogs were chasing wild game onto Hurd's property, Washington County Circuit Judge W. Kennedy Boone III said. Hurd also faces a multimillion dollar lawsuit filed by the owners of the dogs and other neighbors who allege that Hurd is a nuisance who patrols the property line armed with a gun, fires a gun daily and has made death threats to his neighbors and government officials.