Safety

The Washington County Commission on Aging will hold an AARP driver-safety program Saturday, March 16, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Volunteer Fire Co. of Halfway, 11114 Lincoln Ave. The instructor is Terry Marshall. The class is designed to help drivers improve their skills. The course costs $12 per person for AARP members and $14 for nonmembers. Checks should be made payable to AARP. For more information, call Judy Brewer at 301-790-0275, ext. 220.

Washington County officials provided the following list of practical measures people can take to help ensure their safety during Hurricane Irene: Listen to radio or television for weather reports and emergency information. Maintain adequate food and medical supplies. Avoid travel in low-lying areas that are prone to localized flooding and do not drive through standing water. Avoid over-exertion and provide adequate rest periods during clean-up and recovery efforts.

A farm equipment safety seminar will be held Saturday from 9 to 11:30 a.m. at Smith's Implements, 13115 Cearfoss Pike in Hagerstown. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. and advanced registration is requested by Friday. The two-hour seminar will include demonstrations and hands-on activities with tractors, weed trimmers, chain saws and power take-off safety. The seminar is a partnership of Hagerstown-Washington County Economic Development Commission, Agricultural Marketing, Smith's Implements and Nationwide Insurance.

A Martinsburg-area contractor was the apparent low bidder for heating, ventilation and air-conditioning work to be done in Berkeley County's new public safety building for the sheriff's department's law-enforcement division. The $340,000 bid by Air-ROW Sheet Metal Co. Inc., announced Thursday by Berkeley County Council President William L. “Bill” Stubblefield, was $9,000 less than the bid submitted by Hagerstown-based M.S. Johnston Co. Inc. Millers Electric Co. Inc., also of Martinsburg, submitted a $434,200 bid for the county project under way at 510 S. Raleigh St. A fourth bid was rejected because the contractor failed to attend a mandatory prebid conference, Berkeley County Deputy Administrator Alan Davis said.

What Pennsylvania's State Department calls a “safety net” photo identification card is now available to certain registered voters. The card, which is being rolled out Monday and Tuesday at PennDOT centers, was developed in response to complaints many voters cannot qualify for a conventional PennDOT identification card. To apply, voters must first apply for a PennDOT card. If they cannot provide the required birth certificate, officials say they'll be issued a State Department card so long as they're registered to vote, know their Social Security number and can verify their address.

The following agencies are scheduled to participate in a public safety seminar scheduled for Aug. 22 at Hagerstown Community College's Kepler Theater. Hagerstown City Police Maryland State Police Washington County Sheriff's Department Division of Parole and Probation Department of Social Services Citizens Assisting and Sheltering the Abused (CASA) Department of Juvenile Justice Washington County Health Department City Housing Authority Washington County State's Attorney's Office Maryland Correctional Training Center

Tommy Brown watches as a large tree is cut into pieces Monday after being pulled by a crane from Antietam Creek in Funkstown. Brown and other Washington County Highway Department workers were clearing trees and debris lodged against the bridge.

WILLIAMSPORT - It was a matter of answering one big play with another. No. 7 Williamsport did it in the fourth quarter when Greg King returned a kickoff 87 yards for a touchdown after a Brunswick score. The Railroaders did it in the second quarter after the Wildcats stopped them on the 1-yard-line. And although the safety they recorded put just two points on the board, it turned out to be the difference in Brunswick's 9-7 Monocacy Valley Athletic League win Friday night. On fourth-and-1 from the 1, Williamsport (2-1, 1-1)

Maryland Natural Resources Police are offering safety tips to hunters following a tree-stand accident last week east of Hancock that sent a man and woman to the hospital. Robert D. Funk, 53, and Holly E. Funk, 22, both of Hancock, were taken to Meritus Medical Center near Hagerstown after the tree stand they were using became detached from a tree and fell about 13 feet, according to Natural Resources Police Sgt. Art Windemuth. The injuries were not life-threatening, Windemuth said.

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- Local police and State Highway Administration officials want to make sure children arrive home safely after trick-or-treating. Trick-or-treaters should be accompanied by adults and take flashlights or wear glow bracelets when they are out, Lt. Mark Holtzman said Tuesday. The Washington County Sheriff's Department will have off-duty deputies patrolling neighborhoods throughout the county where children will be trick-or-treating, Lt. Timothy Baker said. As part of its Vests for Visibility program, the State Highway Administration is loaning safety vests to parents for free.

No right to speed through school zones To the editor: I am surprised at how many people think they have a constitutional right to speed through school zones. In the few last weeks, several writers have voiced their displeasure at having to pay speeding fines for this previously “routine” behavior.  Mostly, they justify their careless and unsafe actions on the grounds that a heartless mechanical Robocop has caught them (on camera and red handed) and is completely uninterested in their flimsy excuses.

The Washington County Commission on Aging will hold an AARP driver-safety program on the following dates: • Saturday, June 15, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Robinwood Medical Center, 11110 Medical Campus Road, Hagerstown. The instructor is Terry Marshall. • Wednesday, June 19, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Washington County Sheriff's Office, 500 Western Maryland Parkway, Hagerstown. The instructor is William Baschke Jr. The class is designed to help drivers improve their skills. The course costs $12 per person for AARP members and $14 for nonmembers.

Hagerstown Community College will host the annual Public Safety Awards ceremony on Wednesday beginning at 6:30 p.m., in the Kepler Center on HCC's main campus. The awards recognize officers who have served the citizens of Washington County in an exemplary manner during the past year. The public is invited. Light refreshments will be served. For more information, contact Jeffrey Morgan, assistant professor, HCC administration of justice program, at jamorgan@hagerstowncc.edu.

As South Hagerstown High School students walked down the main hallway to leave school Friday, 121 students in red shirts, representing teenagers who have died from distracted driving accidents, stood on either side of them and did not say a word. They held up signs such as “I wanted to be a veterinarian” or “I wanted to graduate,” in addition to providing statistics about distracted driving accidents. Many of the students entering the hallway who first acted surprised, making jokes and talking loud about the situation, began to quiet down and read the signs as they continued to walk down the hallway, with many of them silent by the time they went outside.

 The Continuing Education and Business Services Division at Hagerstown Community College is offering two food safety courses in April for food service providers. The first course, “Food Safety Managers Certification,” will be offered on Tuesdays, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., beginning April 16 and ending April 23. Course topics will include proper methods of food handling and preparation, the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point concept of food safety, proper cleaning and sanitizing of equipment and facilities, guidelines for working with regulatory agencies, and personal hygiene.

State Rep. Todd Rock, R-Franklin, has been selected to serve on the newly formed Pennsylvania House of Representatives Select Committee on School Safety and Security, which is tasked with developing and examining legislation to enhance the protection of school students and personnel. “As a father and former educator, I am absolutely dedicated to making sure our schools are able to provide a safe and secure environment in which our children can learn and grow,” Rock said in a news release.

The Washington County Commission on Aging will hold an AARP driver-safety program on the following dates: • Tuesday, May 7, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Otterbein United Methodist Church, 108 E. Franklin St., Hagerstown. The instructor will be Terry Marshall. • Wednesday, May 15, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Homewood, 16505 Virginia Ave., Williamsport. The instructor will be William Blaschke Jr. The course costs $12 per person for AARP members and $14 for nonmembers. Checks should be made payable to AARP.

A combination of federal grants and drug seizure money will be used to purchase an emergency communications and command vehicle, following a unanimous vote Tuesday by the Washington County Board of Commissioners. The $589,418 to purchase the 42-foot vehicle from Atlantic Emergency Solutions Inc. of Manassas, Va., is coming from a Department of Homeland Security grant and $260,000 in money seized by the County Narcotics Task Force, said Division of Emergency Services Director Kevin Lewis.

On Feb. 25, Waynesboro Hospital received the 2012 VHA mid-Atlantic APEX (Achieving Patient Care Excellence) Award. According to Kathleen Williams, director of performance improvement for VHA's mid-Atlantic region, Waynesboro Hospital scored tops in quality and safety measures among the 57 acute-care hospitals in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. “Every person on our team at Waynesboro Hospital is responsible for excellent quality care and patient safety,” said Jill Keller, vice president of nursing and quality and risk management at Waynesboro Hospital.