Radiography

For some people, the worst part of breaking a tooth or having an abcess isn't the pain that can shoot to your core. The absolute worst is visiting the dentist. On the surface, dental phobia might seem a little out of proportion. After all, it's not open heart surgery. Yet, according to the American Dental Association, an estimated three-fourths of Americans have some degree of anxiety -   even when it comes to a routine checkup. Nearly one-quarter of the population avoids dentists completely because they're afraid.

King-Bussard Jennifer Lynn Bussard and Jonathan Edward King were married Saturday, May 21, 2005, at St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Funkstown. The bride is the daughter of Charles Bussard and Kendra Forcino of Funkstown and the late Richard Forcino. The bridegroom is the son of the Rev. Terry and Linda King of Hagerstown. The bride is a 1999 graduate of South Hagerstown High School and is studying radiography at Hagerstown Community College. She is employed as a customer service representative with Hagerstown Trust Co. in Hagerstown.

Computer CPR Clinic set for Saturday If you've ever felt helpless because of computer problems, visit Hagerstown Community College's Computer CPR Clinic on Saturday, April 22. Students from HCC's Information Technology Association will provide consulting and repair services for home computer headaches. For a small donation, you can bring in your computer to the clinic between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. for a variety of services. Student technicians will help diagnose problems on PCs related to hardware, provide advice on upgrading computers with new hardware and scan computers for problematic issues such as viruses, adware or spyware.

Several students at Greencastle-Antrim High School turned a school course project into a successful outreach effort. Aditi Patel, Paige Penrod and Lindsay Werling, students in Martina Fegan's contemporary literature course, a course on 20th and 21st century genocide, selected the genocide in Darfur as their final exam project for the course. They researched the genocide, which is an attempt to annihilate the non-Arabic population in Darfur, and discovered that 51 percent of the 3.4 million people have been affected in some way. Approximately 400,000 have died, and thousands have become refugees.

When her floral design business withered with the economy around it, Heather Rumenkowski did what an increasing number of Americans are doing. She went back to school. But after one semester at a state university, the 22 year-old began rethinking the thousands of dollars she would owe in student loans by graduation. In December, after much soul-searching, she packed her bags and came home. Now, instead of heading 70 miles down the road, the local resident is detouring her education to a campus just a few blocks from her own backyard.

o Read more Darylene Mowen columns at washingtoncountyliving.com Memorial Day ceremony The annual Memorial Day ceremony will be at Smithsburg's Veterans Park on Sunday at 6 p.m. The featured speaker will be Lt. Col. Paula Penson from the District of Columbia Air National Guard. A canopy and chairs will be provided. Red Cross instruction The Washington County Chapter of the American Red Cross will offer a class on becoming a volunteer Red Cross instructor beginning June 9. It will include standard first aid, adult, child and infant CPR/AED.

Keller-Barr Elena Christine Barr and John King Keller were married Saturday, Aug. 8, 1998, at St. Joseph's Monastery Church in Baltimore. The bride is the daughter of Paul and Claudia Barr of Williamsport. The bridegroom is the son of Ann Keller of Surfside Beach, S.C., and the late Lt. Col. Andrew King Keller. The bride is a 1989 graduate of Williamsport High School, a 1993 graduate of University of Maryland at Baltimore, with a bachelor of science degree in nursing and a 1998 graduate of Bowie State University, with a master of science degree in nursing and certification as a family nurse practitioner.

Hospital employee receives scholarship Amber Brown was among 17 recipients of the 2007 Maryland Hospital Association (MHA) Hospital Scholars Award. Each recipient received a $2,500 scholarship award at a reception Sept. 18. Brown, a unit secretary in critical care at Washington County Hospital, is pursuing an associate degree in radiography from Hagerstown Community College. She plans to graduate in May 2008, after which she will pursue a career as a radiology technologist.

alician@herald-mail.com In 1906, Washington County Hospital held its first public Donation Day in an effort to collect food to serve patients. As hospital lore has it, the day netted 88 cans of fruit, 119 jellies, beets, sweet potatoes, celery, chickens, beans, rice, apples, eggs, coffee, cabbages, nuts, roast beef and ice cream. In 2003, efforts to garner resources for the hospital have become rather more sophisticated than the food drives of years gone by. In fact, the Washington County Hospital Auxiliary Inc. exists solely to support heath-care programs and services for patients and their families.