State Capital

HAGERSTOWN - Before Washington County Public Schools can move forward with several new building projects, it must acquire land. Assistant Superintendent for School Operations Boyd Michael said officials need to know now where a potential new high school in the eastern part Hagerstown would be built. According to a draft of the state capital improvement plan discussed Tuesday, that high school would open in 2012. Local planning funds have been requested for fiscal year 2009, but Michael said a site still needs to be determined.

ANNAPOLIS -- Del. Andrew A. Serafini warned fellow lawmakers Friday about the dangers of borrowing money to pay for the state's capital budget. Serafini, R-Washington, said $1.1 billion of the $1.7 billion state capital budget approved Friday by the House of Delegates is paid for with borrowed money, which will result in even larger sums of debt over the long term from interest payments. Maryland currently has about $5.4 billion in state debt, which results in $692 million annually in principal and interest.

The Franklin County no-till meeting will be Dec. 17 at the Franklin County Cooperative Extension office in Chambersburg, Pa., from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. in basement meeting room 3. Grant Troop, an agronomist from the Penn State Extension Capital Region, will provide new and up-to-date no-till information and demonstrations. Jere Wingert, Penn State Extension agronomy Educator, will discuss utilizing cover crops and then a roundtable discussion will be conducted. Morning refreshments will be served.

Chamber of Commerce 28 W. Washington St. Suite 200 Hagerstown President: Brien PoffenbergerTelephone: 301-739-2015 E-mail: chamber@hagerstown.org Web site: www.hagerstown.org Whether locally or in the state capital, the Hagerstown-Washington County Chamber of Commerce serves businesses and organizations by providing programs and services designed to meet the business and professional needs of its members. It lobbies for local business interests in Annapolis and includes a mission of promoting efforts to make the community a great place to live and work.

ANNAPOLIS - With the Maryland House of Delegates poised to pare the state's capital budget, Hagerstown's university project looks secure, Del. Sue Hecht said Wednesday. Hecht, D-Frederick/Washington, serves on the subcommittee that will decide as soon as Friday what to carve out of the capital budget. "I'm feeling really confident. We're continuing to watch it in these last very confusing days," she said. The House cuts represent the biggest thing standing in the way of the University System of Maryland Hagerstown Education Center.

Union supporters had a bigger crowd at a rally in the state capital Tuesday, but a group of counterprotesters — including two from Washington County — made their share of noise, too. Members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees rallied near the State House to show support for public employees in Wisconsin, who could lose their collective bargaining rights under a plan by Republican Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker....

A head-on train crash in eastern Germany killed 10 people and injured at least 33 others, eight of them severely, local firefighters said Sunday, and police feared the death toll could rise. A passenger and a cargo train crashed head-on near Hordorf village, close to Saxony-Anhalt's state capital Magdeburg, and several cars of the train carrying some 45 passengers derailed and overturned, a spokesman for the district's firefighters said. He declined to be named in line with department policy.

Washington County capital projects are scheduled to receive $23.2 million in the next fiscal year out of a proposed state capital budget of $1.5 billion. Those state figures do not include another $2.1 billion being proposed as part of the capital budget for the Department of Transportation. In Washington County, the Winebrenner Wastewater Treatment Plant, which is on Pen-Mar Road near Fort Ritchie, will receive $9.1 million for miscellaneous improvements. Hagerstown Community College will receive $4.5 million for expansion of its student center and another $666,000 to replace the roof at its Athletic, Recreation and Community Center.

JoaneAnne Hawkins Marsiglia, 52, of Mont Alto, Pa., passed away unexpectedly Sunday, Oct. 2, 2011, in her home. Born April 28, 1959, in St. Petersburg, Fla., she was the daughter of the late Owen B. and Isabella (Jones) Hawkins of Clear Spring, Md. She was a graduate of Clear Spring Senior High School, and later received her bachelor of science degree from Shippensburg University. JoaneAnne had been employed as a welder at Grove Worldwide, Shady Grove, Pa. Prior to her retirement, she was a police officer for the Pennsylvania State Capital.

COUNTY COMMISSIONERS Joint Meeting with Board of Education 100 W. Washington St., Room 255 Tuesday, Sept. 9, 8:30 a.m. Agenda o 8:30 a.m.:  (1) Fourth Quarter Budget Adjustments (2) State Capital Improvement Program FY2010-15 Closed Session 100 W. Washington St., Room 255 Tuesday, Sept. 9, 9:10 a.m. Agenda o 9:10 a.m.: Closed Session (to consider the acquisition of real property for a publc purpose and matters directly related thereto; to consider a matter that concerns the proposal for a business or industrial organizations to locate, expand or remain in the State; to consult with staff about pending or potential litigation; and to consult with counsel to obtain legal advice)