Radio Stations

Wolf Furniture on Leitersburg Pike is holding a Christmas tree decorating contest to benefit Food Resources Inc. of Washington County. Customers may vote for their favorite tree using nonperishable foods as "ballots," which will go to the regional nonprofit food warehouse, according to Brad Sell, Food Resources Inc. executive director. The contest, which includes Mix 95 and WKMZ radio stations as sponsors, will award prizes to the tree with the most food items, or votes. Cash prizes will be awarded to the nonprofit organization of the winner's choice.

FREDERICK, Md. - On the morning of Feb. 16, radio station WJTM broadcast its usual fare of Christian preaching and prayer. But that afternoon, the programming changed to something longtime listeners abhorred. An anthropologist spoke approvingly of casual sex. A "gay historian" fielded calls on same-sex marriage. National Public Radio had arrived. WJTM, a 4,000-watt station reaching 1.2 million listeners on the western outskirts of Baltimore and Washington, had been taken over by radio station WYPR, a Baltimore-based NPR-affiliate.

Each year since 1993, Wolf Furniture has organized a major event to raise funds for local charities. The result of the Wolf Furniture 14th Annual Vendor Outing is donations of more than $40,000 to the United Way and other local charities in communities served by the company. This year's event at Seven Springs Mountain Resort in Somerset, Pa., drew 215 vendors from as far away as Texas. They included executives from furniture suppliers like Broyhill, La-Z-Boy and Sealy, as well as supporters from television and radio stations, newspapers, printers, financial institutions, contractors and other associated service providers.

NEW YORK (AP) - Howard Stern says he was pulled off four radio stations this week for using a pair of newly forbidden words: Satellite radio. Citadel Broadcasting Corp., which aired Stern's envelope-pushing syndicated show, opted to yank the program Monday because the host was devoting too much time to his impending switch to Sirius Satellite Radio, Stern told his listeners. Stern's decision to abandon terrestrial radio is often a topic of conversation on his show. Citadel felt the program had become "an infomercial" for Stern's next employer and pulled the plug, the shock jock said.

martinsburg@herald-mail.com Martinsburg, W.Va. - Starting next month, parents of students in Berkeley County should be able to start receiving e-mails from the school system, notifying them of any school closings, specifically those related to inclement weather. The program is aimed especially at parents who work in Washington, D.C., or any place where they may not be able to hear such information on local radio stations, said schools spokeswoman Mary Jo Brown. "It will ease the minds, I think, of a lot of parents," Deputy Superintendent Frank Aliveto told Berkeley County Board of Education members at their meeting Monday night.

Bridge to be closed; Job Expo planned Bridge to be closed for maintenance work The Washington County Engineering Department has announced the Keedysville Road Bridge over Little Antietam Creek will be closed to through traffic from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. next Monday through Friday for maintenance work. Appropriate detours will be posted. This bridge is at the eastern end of Keedysville Road, near Md. 34. For information, call the County Engineering Office at 240-313-2400.

Thumbs up to the organizers of another successful Boonsboro Green Fest held last month at Shafer Park. The fourth annual event featured 142 eco-friendly vendors. It was fun and a great way to take better care of our planet.   Thumbs up to The Walt Disney Co., which recently became the first major media company to ban ads for junk food on its television channels, radio stations and websites, hoping to stop kids from eating badly by taking away the temptation. Thumbs up to the Langlet family of Jefferson County, W.Va., who donated a portion of land to be used for a new medical center campus for the county.

More than a decade after making a limited splash on the regional gospel scene, Brad Cotter is poised to make an even bigger impression as the second winner of USA's "Nashville Star. " The 33-year-old defeated George Canyon and Matt Lindahl in the "Star" finale, which aired live Saturday. Cotter wins a recording contract with Sony Music Nashville. His first single, "I Meant To," co-written with Rick Giles and Steve Bogard, hit country radio stations Monday. "This has been a long, strange trip," Cotter said.

Maroon 5 to perform at Grammy Awards WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (AP) - Neo-soul rock band Maroon 5 will perform the opening musical number at next month's Grammy Awards. "It's going to be awesome," lead singer Adam Levine said Thursday. "We're going to do 'This Love' unless they change it up on us and say, OK, 'Superfreak.'" Maroon 5 has earned two Grammy nominations for its debut album, "Songs About Jane," which has sold more than eight million copies since its June 2002 release and was the seventh best-selling album in 2004.

Heavy holiday traffic moved smoothly through Washington County as motorists traveled to their homes Sunday, with only minor accidents reported. Maryland State Police officials said traffic was extremely busy throughout the day. Related traffic accidents in the county were concentrated on Interstate 70, according Sgt. D.W. Kloos with the Hagerstown Barracks. "None of them were serious," he said. State Police at Hagerstown and local police added patrols in Washington County targeting aggressive drivers, speeders and drunken and drugged drivers.