Rainbow

Emily Noe, a freshman at North Hagerstown High School, took this photo of a rainbow over Hagerstown recently.

Washington County Playhouse presents "The Wizard of Oz," the musical story of a girl from Kansas who flies over a rainbow to a magical land with witches and talking scarecrows. Fridays, Saturdays and most Sundays from Friday, Aug. 4, through Saturday, Sept. 9. The Washington County Playhouse dinner theater is at 44 N. Potomac St., Hagerstown. For showtimes and ticket information, call 301-739-7469.

“New Year's Eve” is a movie that if nothing else has a lot going on. The film consists of multiple stories each with its own handful of recognizable actors. The logic is that everything can't possibly fail at once and everyone should find something to enjoy. It's a faulty logic because the variety of characters and storylines are all products of the same uninspired writing and direction. What we want is a rainbow, what we get is multiple shades of grey.   I'll just list the storylines and share a few random thoughts.

HANCOCK - A group of five shaped a mound of snow, then began spraying on several different colors. The result? A bright rainbow. Nearby, members of a Brownie troop carved out an American flag using cookie cutters to make the stars. The entries in the snow sculpting contest were part of the Hancock Winter Festival held Saturday at Widmeyer Park. The event, in its sixth year, was sponsored by the Hancock Arts Council. Musician Michael Kligerman, a member of the council, said there were about 10 entries in the contest.

HANCOCK ? A group of five shaped a mound of snow, then began spraying on several different colors. The result? A bright rainbow. Nearby, members of a Brownie troop carved out an American flag using cookie cutters to make the stars. The entries in the snow sculpting contest were part of the Hancock Winter Festival held Saturday at Widmeyer Park. The event, in its sixth year, was sponsored by the Hancock Arts Council. Musician Michael Kligerman, a member of the council, said there were about 10 entries in the contest.

GREENCASTLE, Pa. - Harold Meyerson, Washington Post columnist and editor at large of The American Prospect and the L.A. Weekly, will speak at a public forum sponsored by the Greencastle Antrim Democratic Club today at 7 p.m., at the Greencastle Train Station on Jefferson Street. Meyerson's column appears weekly in The Washington Post and his work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Harpers, The New Republic and others. He is the author of a critical biography of lyricist Yip Harburg, "Who Put the Rainbow in the Wizard of Oz?"

Social Security should be there for everyone To the editor: Unlike the letter writer of Friday, Aug. 28, I am thankful that my wife and I have Social Security as the basic floor for our retirement income and planning. I support health care reform. While the stock market was shrinking rapidly in 2008, impacting the funds available for pension funds distributions, Social Security actually increased the amount given to retirees because it was tied to the cost of living.

marlob@herald-mail.com SMITHSBURG - As a nurse and a Christian, Debbie Mooney can reach a lot of people. If Mooney can't make an impression through those avenues, she puts on a bright blue wig, a round red nose and paints her face white. Mooney has found that being a Christ clown she calls Rainbow allows her to touch lives in ways unavailable to her as a licensed practical nurse or coordinator of children/youth ministries or even as the wife of a United Methodist minister in Smithsburg.

bobp@herald-mail.com WAYNESBORO, Pa. - Waynesboro's chances of winning the Mid-Penn Class AAA tournament ended somewhere at the end of a rainbow. Instead of finding a pot of gold - or at least a golden trophy - the Indians found nothing but thin air. That was pretty much what Waynesboro was swinging at as Central Dauphin pitcher Bryan Snyder's curveballs kept the Indians on their heels, resulting in an 8-1 loss in a losers' bracket elimination game. Snyder struggled against fatigue while floating breaking pitches that seemed to start 8 feet in the air before dropping over the plate for strikes.

Nearly 40 years ago, Jim Exline's wife, Twana, asked him to plant a row of dahlias to brighten up their yard. That's the reason Exline now has a two-acre garden exploding with the glorious hues of more than 1,800 color variations of bearded irises. Exline said he told his wife that he didn't want to dig up and replant dahlias every year. Instead, he visited an iris garden owned by Harry and Whrelda Pittman in Warfordsburg, Pa., in 1973. He bought irises from the Pittmans over the next four or five years until the couple told him they were going out of business.

“New Year's Eve” is a movie that if nothing else has a lot going on. The film consists of multiple stories each with its own handful of recognizable actors. The logic is that everything can't possibly fail at once and everyone should find something to enjoy. It's a faulty logic because the variety of characters and storylines are all products of the same uninspired writing and direction. What we want is a rainbow, what we get is multiple shades of grey.   I'll just list the storylines and share a few random thoughts.

Social Security should be there for everyone To the editor: Unlike the letter writer of Friday, Aug. 28, I am thankful that my wife and I have Social Security as the basic floor for our retirement income and planning. I support health care reform. While the stock market was shrinking rapidly in 2008, impacting the funds available for pension funds distributions, Social Security actually increased the amount given to retirees because it was tied to the cost of living.

Emily Noe, a freshman at North Hagerstown High School, took this photo of a rainbow over Hagerstown recently.

o If you like reading Tim Rowland, you'll love watching him. See what else Tim has to say I'd never seen such a vivid rainbow, so I really can't quibble. But why did it have to be shining so brightly over a strip shopping center? And would we even have seen it if it weren't for Shake 'n Bake? Even toy farming has its ups and downs. It can make all but the most exceedingly pious man paranoid, convinced the Lord is up in heaven purposely steering every rainstorm around your land so that everyone else's fields are drenched, while you don't get squat.

Maryland Francis Murphy 20014 Rosebank Way, Hagerstown 240-313-9300, ext. 154 Lunch served Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday at 11:30 a.m.; and Wednesday at 11 a.m. Bingo - Monday and Friday, 9:45 a.m. Bring your favorite CD or tape to listen to - Tuesday, 10:30 a.m. Celebrate August birthdays - Wednesday, 10:45 a.m. Eating from the rainbow and exercise with Helen House - Thursday, 9:45 a.m....

WAYNESBORO, Pa. - Nicole Burd says the best things about her cheerleading team are the friendships and camaraderie. "We're all so close, it's like a big family," said Nicole, 13. She and the other girls identified teamwork as the reason why they won a national championship at the end of March, although that win seems to have been kept in perspective. "It's not about winning. It's about having fun," said Nicole, who lives in Waynesboro. Eighteen girls ages 14 and younger from Waynesboro's Rainbow Gymnastics represented the junior team of Rainbow All Starz at the Cheer and Dance Extreme "National Championships by the Sea" in Virginia Beach, Va., on March 29 and 30. "This is our fourth national title, our first junior national title," said Barb Hafer, cheerleading coordinator and coach of the senior team.

The competitive cheer teams from Rainbow All Starz have started their competitive season with a bang. In only five competitions this season, the teams have accumulated six first-place wins, four by the small senior Xplosion and two by the small junior Xcel. During the month of November, the senior team won grand champion at the Central Pennsylvania Cheer Challenge in Lewistown, Pa., having the highest score of 24 other teams. At their next competition, the Central Pennsylvania Cheer Challenge in Harrisburg, Pa., both teams took first place and in addition, they received a cash award for being the third best program at the competition.

HANCOCK - A group of five shaped a mound of snow, then began spraying on several different colors. The result? A bright rainbow. Nearby, members of a Brownie troop carved out an American flag using cookie cutters to make the stars. The entries in the snow sculpting contest were part of the Hancock Winter Festival held Saturday at Widmeyer Park. The event, in its sixth year, was sponsored by the Hancock Arts Council. Musician Michael Kligerman, a member of the council, said there were about 10 entries in the contest.