Recreation

BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. -- At the Morgan County Parks and Recreation meeting Wednesday night, board president Kenny Mason said the Berkeley Springs Bike and Skate Park (BS2) has collected about $35,000 toward construction at Harmison Field. BS2 will spend the money for the concrete pad that will begin the project, board member Jim Slough said. BS2 members are to meet with the Parks and Recreation board Aug. 27 with plans and cost estimates, he said. Board member Gordon McLeod said BS2 will then raise money to add to the skate park piece by piece.

ANNAPOLIS -- Gov. Martin O'Malley on Wednesday announced Board of Public Works approval of two recreational projects in Washington County through Program Open Space and the Community Parks and Playgrounds Program. According to a press release from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Washington County will receive: o $500,000 to engineer and build a 3,500-square-foot addition to the Eastern Primary School Recreation Center gymnasium. The facility will be available for community use in the evenings, on weekends and during the summer.

Earlier this month, when the Shepherdstown Men's Club turned down the transfer of 22-acre Morgan's Grove Park to the Jefferson County, W.Va., government, the club's secretary said he felt the proposal "wouldn't go anywhere for now. " At the time we said that might be wishful thinking, since neighboring property owner Gene Henry had offered an adjacent 11 acres, complete with a house and a pool, to the county, for $1 million. County Commission Jane Tabb called the price "outrageous," but with 50 townhomes now proposed for the property, Henry just might get his asking price and more.

Speed limit set at 25 mph for CV Avenue WAYNESBORO, Pa. - The speed limit on CV Avenue was set at 25 mph on Wednesday. Waynesboro borough staff reported witnessing speeding problems on the road now that it has been reconstructed. The road re-opened Monday, after a months-long effort to repair its severe cracks. The Waynesboro Borough Council voted unanimously to set the speed limit for the road between West King Street and West Main Street. Borough might consider fees for recreation WAYNESBORO, Pa. - Staff members and a lawyer will be looking into a proposal to charge recreation fees on new buildings constructed in the Borough of Waynesboro.

SMITHSBURG - A state grant was approved Wednesday for an expansion of Smithsburg's Veterans Park by more than 2 1/2 acres, an area that might later be used for sports fields, state and local officials said. The $145,500 grant comes from Program Open Space, a state program that helps communities fund the planning, acquisition and development of recreation land or open space areas. Smithsburg Mayor Mildred "Mickey" Myers said the town will use the money to purchase a piece of land adjacent to the current park near Smithsburg Elementary School.

BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. -- Further discussions regarding a possible increase to the hotel/motel tax were heard at Thursday night's Morgan County Commission meeting. Morgan County Parks and Recreation had requested the commission increase the tax from 3 percent to 6 percent, which would help it make repairs and maintain the ball fields and help fund new projects. Stephanie Rebant, president of Travel Berkeley Springs, said because of bad economic times, it was not a good idea to increase the tax. She said costly changes would have to be made to update brochures and promotional material.

WILLIAMSPORT -- Nearly two years after being damaged in a fire, the Springfield Farmhouse in Williamsport now has a roof, councilman Anthony T. Drury announced at Monday's council meeting. Drury said the town hopes to have enough progress made on the restoration of the farmhouse to open it for tours during Williamsport Days later this month. He said it will not be ready for the full historical recreation the town had planned, but it may be completely fixed in time for the town's USO night celebration Sept.

By DON AINES Staff Writer, Martinsburg MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - "I see this as the best Christmas present the county of Berkeley could have this year," Berkeley County Commission President James Smith said after the commission approved a $400,000 bond issue to help renovate the pool at War Memorial Park. "It's probably the largest amount of money ever spent on recreation by the city and county," Commissioner Robert L. Burkhart said of the $1 million project for the pool, which has been closed for the past two summers.

dank@herald-mail.com Jim Brown said he knows Washington County, and is in the process of figuring out what his goals would be if elected to the Washington County Commissioners. Brown, a Democrat best known as the former men's basketball coach at Hagerstown Community College, would not say exactly what he hopes to do if elected. But Brown said Thursday that he will share his positions on issues "long before" the election. "I will not come out with positions until I talk to the citizens.