Recreation

chambersburg@herald-mail.com CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - The Chambersburg Borough Council supports a change in its recreation policy that will enable the borough to secure larger parcels of land from developers for neighborhood parks. Assistant Borough Solicitor Welton Fischer presented a new policy to the council last week that doubles to .02 of an acre the amount of land developers must set aside per single-family house to be built in the development. Developers would still be able to pay a fee in lieu of setting aside land, but that now equates to fair market value for the amount of acreage it would have to set aside.

BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. -- Ridersville Cycle has been honored by Polaris Industries for its dedication to recreational vehicle enthusiasts. The business has been selling recreational vehicles, including motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles, since the 1980s and is one of the top five Polaris dealerships in the country. Harold and Dawn Unger, owners of Ridersville Cycle, attended a ceremony in Las Vegas last July when their company was inducted into the 2008 Polaris Hall of Fame.

City Council creates recreation department Hagerstown will have a Department of Recreation. The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to create the new department, which will oversee the operation of city facilities such as the golf course, pool and Fairgrounds Park, as well as recreational programs such as summer youth camps. The recreational programs and facilities previously were managed by the Public Works Department, which will continue to be responsible for streets, park properties, signals, public buildings and fleet maintenance.

chambersburg@herald-mail.com CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - The Chambersburg Borough Council has again delayed a public hearing to amend its land development ordinance while it fine-tunes an agreement for recreation land with a developer in the north end of the borough. The new ordinance would require developers to give the borough more land for recreation, or pay a larger fee in lieu of land, to create more substantial parks for youths and adults. But before it approves the proposed changes, the council wants to finalize an agreement with GS & G, the developers of a residential and commercial tract along Norland Avenue.

Franklin County drafts recreation plan By DON AINES / Staff Writer Franklin County could get into the recreation business in a limited way, assisting municipalities and groups with planning and securing funding for projects, according to a draft version of a comprehensive Recreation, Park and Open Space plan. In addition to helping townships and boroughs with recreation projects, the plan suggests two other areas where the county can act to improve recreational opportunities: A countywide plan for hiking and biking trails and helping to preserve open space and greenways for public use. "It's local efforts that are filling the need," said John Trant, a planner for Pashek Associates, the consulting firm that is conducting the study.

Want to add a little learning to your leisure? Elderhostel offers thousands of programs for travelers 55 and older that combine recreation with education. Elderhostel is a not-for-profit organization designed to provide lifelong learning experiences. Programs last from a few nights to a few weeks and are available in a number of price ranges. The price of a trip includes accommodations, meals and instruction in various subjects. The trips range from very active to more instructional programs.

City creates new department to manage parks, recreation By LAURA ERNDE / Staff Writer The City of Hagerstown is creating a new department to oversee all its recreational facilities, including Municipal Golf Course, Potterfield Pool and the Hagerstown Fairgrounds. The parks previously were managed by the Public Works Department, which will continue to be responsible for streets park properties, signals, public buildings and fleet maintenance, said City Administrator Bruce Zimmerman.

Input sought for Pa. recreation, open space By RICHARD F. BELISLE / Staff Writer, Waynesboro CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - A new master plan adopted by the Franklin County Commissioners last year raised questions about what the county should do about improving recreation and open space. Now county residents will have chance to come up with their own ideas. continued Two public meetings on the issue are scheduled for next month, Philip Wolgemuth, a Franklin County planner, said Wednesday.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. - A plan to build a youth league football field in a vacant 9-acre field in the borough's south end will be turned over to the borough recreation department for consideration following a public hearing on the proposal Wednesday night. Most of the nearly 30 residents attending the hearing opposed the plan or questioned how it would affect their neighborhood. The Waynesboro Stallions, one of 11 teams in the South Central Pa., Keystone Youth Football League, currently plays on the Waynesboro Area Senior High School football field.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- At a meeting Tuesday where dreaming big ideas for recreation trails was encouraged, the "ultimate" possibility in Steve Catlett's mind for Berkeley County was building a trail along the Winchester & Western railroad line to the C&O Canal. "How awesome would that be?" said Catlett, executive director of the Martinsburg-Berkeley County Parks & Recreation Board. The meeting at the Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center Eastern Division in Martinsburg was facilitated by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy officials and Matthew Pennington of the Berkeley County Planning Commission.

Memorial Recreation Center to change its name to honor Robert Johnson The Board of Directors at Memorial Recreation Center invites the community to a rededication ceremony Saturday, June 15, from 2 to 4 p.m. The building will be renamed the Robert W. Johnson Community Center in honor of Johnson and his contributions to the community and Washington County. Johnson's life reflected the adversities the community has overcome and diversity that enriches the area. His actions were compatible to the hope that is offered at the center.

The south end of Hagerstown's City Park was full of the sounds of love and heartbreak Sunday afternoon as the Hub Opera Ensemble performed excerpts from an upcoming performance of “Don Giovanni.” The performance was the first in a new series of events, to be held at 1 p.m. in the park every other Sunday through September, called “Arts in the Park.” The events are being produced by a partnership between Historic City Park Neighborhoods 1st...

Contemporary School for the Arts  and  Gallery and Memorial Recreation Center are teaming to offer classes for young people in Hagerstown. On April 3, pianist/instructor Rob Earp taught the children at Memorial Recreation Center. The program has been available for the past six weeks for the youth in the community. “The young ladies are quick learners, and have learned scale, notes and are also learning to play songs on the piano,” Earp said. There will be a recital June 15 at the center to showcase the young musicians' skills.

The Hagerstown Community College Board of Trustees has said the lobby of the Athletic, Recreation and Community Center will be named the ARCC Volunteers Tribute Lobby in honor of the Al Sheaffer Volunteer Corps. “For more than 25 years, this dedicated group of volunteers has contributed countless hours of volunteer service and raised approximately $500,000 for student-athlete scholarships,” HCC President Guy Altieri said in a news release. “I'm so pleased that the board of trustees made the unanimous decision to honor them in this special way.” Soon after the ARCC was built in 1988, this volunteer group was created through the leadership efforts of Sheaffer, a local community leader, the release says.

Delays in completing Berkeley County's public recreation center in Inwood, W.Va., have prompted officials to nix a plan to hold summer camps for children there this year. Martinsburg-Berkeley County Parks & Recreation Executive Director Steve Catlett said Tuesday that uncertainty about when the W. Randy Smith Recreation Center will be completed factored into the decision to  postpone until 2014 the launch of the camps at the center. Catlett said officials decided to make the announcement the month before people registered for the Berkeley Summer Energy & Explorer Camps at the new $2.1 million facility.

Hagerstown Community College officials announced Wednesday that the school's basketball court and first floor arena space will be named after former athletic director and men's basketball coach Jim Brown, a leading advocate for the facility. Although the court will be known as the “Coach Jim Brown Court and Basketball Arena,” the building that houses the basketball court will still be known as the Athletic, Recreation and Community Center, Elizabeth K. Stull, HCC's director of public information, said Wednesday.

At the age of 10, William Kellibrew witnessed the murder of his mother and 12-year-old brother. That 1984 summer day, he was spared by his mother's boyfriend, who pointed his gun at Kellibrew but then instructed him to run from the Capitol Heights, Md., residence before taking his own life. But the nightmares have since stayed with him. “Sometimes it's very difficult to sleep,” Kellibrew said, addressing close to 40 students of the Memorial Recreation Center's after school program Tuesday in Hagerstown.

Recreation officials hope to move into the W. Randy Smith Recreation Center on Musselman High School's campus in Inwood, W.Va., by mid-June. Steve Catlett, executive director of the Martinsburg-Berkeley County Parks & Recreation Board, told board members Tuesday that the gym portion of the facility is now enclosed. Contractors, however, are still waiting for structural steel for the support area, a one-story section of the 18,200-square-foot facility that is to include the lobby, bathrooms and concessions.

With food to nourish their bodies, about 20 children and others at the Memorial Recreation Center Inc. on Sunday were encouraged to reach inside their souls to reflect on the words of Martin Luther King Jr. Covered dishes of food like macaroni and cheese, chicken, soup and pasta salad were laid out on a table for the guests to enjoy. Then it was time for study. Children sitting around a group of tables were encouraged to read aloud quotes from King, whose legacy is being celebrated across the nation today.

The Berkeley County Council voted Thursday to take ownership of a 1.7-acre parcel that is being donated for a park in the community of Bedington, W.Va. The new recreation site, which is proposed to be named Goldie Gibbons Park, is along Bedington Road across from the Bedington Volunteer Fire Department's main station. The land also borders the Winchester & Western Railroad. “It's too nice of a piece of property to say no to,” R. Stephen “Steve” Catlett, executive director of the Martinsburg-Berkeley County Parks & Recreation Board, told council members Thursday.