Smithsburg High School

A planning meeting for the Smithsburg High School 2013 All-School Reunion will be Thursday, Jan. 10, at 4:45 p.m. at the Smithsburg Historical Society, 20 E. Water St. in Smithsburg. The reunion is for those who attended the school between 1916 and 1966. All graduates interested in helping plan the event are encouraged to attend.  For more information, call 301-824-2604. Chewsville Lions news Members of the Chewsville Lions Club wish everyone a merry Christmas and a safe, healthy and happy New Year.  Also, thanks to everyone in the community for their continued support of the club.

Second marking period Distinguished honor roll Grade nine - Murad M. Akhmedov, Ernst C. Arnold, Alaina M. Black, Noah W. Daigneault, Megan M. Davis, Morgan M. Fraser, Maheen H. Haq, Cassandra Li, Zakary S. Newberry, Lindsay K. Penwell, Devon H. Robinson, Bryce K. Scharenbroch, Joseph J. Schwartz, Kennedy E. Shaver, Josephine A. Snyder, Dakota L. Vaughn, Sarah E. Wagner, Ethan E. Wilt, Fiona R. Zahm Grade 10 - Payton...

Homecoming queens from high schools throughout Washington County gathered Saturday afternoon at the Alsatia Club before Saturday night's Mummers Parade. Through the luck of the draw, one of them would be named queen of the parade. Chuck Metz, chairman of club's Princesses and Queens Committee, explained the process. “This is the way we pick. We have the same number of necklaces as girls. They are all identical. But they all say 'Alsatia Mummers Parade Princess,' and only one says 'Queen,'” he said.

Most of the summer maintenance projects for Washington County Public Schools are complete, but work remains to be done on a few of them, according to Mark Mills, director of maintenance and operations. Among the projects still to be completed, with work going on after school hours, are replacing auditorium lighting at Clear Spring High School and upgrading lighting in Smithsburg High School's cafeteria, Mills told the school board's facilities committee on Aug. 28. For the Clear Spring project, the lighting came in late and wrong, Mills said.

Standing in a giant circle all holding lighted candles, a group of about 50 people came together Wednesday night in Smithsburg to share stories and remember a loved one and friend who was taken from them far too soon. Joseph Alexander Ulrich Jr., 40, who was better known as Alex, died early Friday morning in Baltimore after he was shot multiple times while talking with a friend near his home in the Mount Vernon area of the city. Ulrich's friend, Lawrence Peterson, 56, also suffered gunshot wounds to his torso.

Ida Mae Pepple, 66, of Smithsburg, Md., passed away Thursday, Aug. 9, 2012, at Meritus Medical Center after a very courageous battle with cancer. Born June 23, 1946, in Smithsburg, she was the daughter of the late William L. Kendall Sr. and Dorothy E. (Stottlemyer) Kendall. She was a 1964 graduate of Smithsburg High School. In her earlier years, Ida was employed by Austin Hill Sewing Factory in Waynesboro, Pa., and Jerry's Restaurant in Hagerstown. In her later years, she was employed by Food Lion in Smithsburg, Smithsburg Market, Hartle's Subs in Smithsburg; and she did domestic housekeeping around the area.

Emily Bolton has a sweet seat for Baltimore Orioles games this year - and an even sweeter job. Bolton, a 2009 Smithsburg High School graduate, is working as an Orioles ball girl this season at Baltimore's Camden Yards. “It's awesome, I love it,” she said. “I really appreciate the opportunity. I've been an Orioles fan my whole life.” Bolton works at about a half-dozen games a month, seated in foul territory on either the first- or third-base line, waiting to field foul balls.

When his time came to speak during Friday's Smithsburg High School graduation ceremony, Valedictorian Abdul R. Latif chugged some water and grabbed the microphone. Nine minutes later, he had received two standing ovations for a sharp, punchy monologue filled with inside jokes, advice and a tribute to a classmate who died - all delivered without notes. Near the end, he zipped through a one-minute rap-style chronology of the Class of 2012's high-school career. It was a lively sendoff at The Maryland Theatre in Hagerstown for a class that has experienced both significant successes, through its athletic teams, and the loss of a friend - Mitchell Akers, who died in April after an accident at Municipal Stadium.

Roger Lee Brown, 58, of Bradbury Ave., Smithsburg, Md., passed away Thursday, May 17, 2012, at Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C. Born May 23, 1953, in Hagerstown, Md., he was the son of Lester Brown Jr. of Smithsburg and the late Alice Marie (Lewis) Brown. He was a graduate of Smithsburg High School, Class of 1971. He was employed by Shearer's Custom Speed & Accessories in McConnellsburg, Pa. He was a member of St. Paul's United Methodist Church in Smithsburg.