Stations

Two area radio stations are back in the hands of local owners after being purchased at an auction last week, Manning Broadcasting President Gene Manning confirmed Tuesday. Manning Broadcasting was the successful bidder for three stations, including two it once owned, WWEG-FM and WARK-AM, according to a notice from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. Manning Broadcasting Inc. of Hagerstown sold WARX-FM and WARK-AM in 2005 to Nassau Broadcasting Partners of Princeton, N.J., for approximately $18 million, according to a previously published report inThe Herald-Mail.

HAGERSTOWN Philadelphia-based Main Line Broadcasting President Dan Savadove said in an interview Wednesday he does not anticipate any programming or staffing changes at the five Dame Broadcasting stations in the Tri-State area he acquired for $22.5 million on May 19. "This will be an evolution, not a revolution," Savadove said. "We're starting this radio group, this is our first acquisition. We think this is a great initial acquisition because, as you know, it's in a growth market.

laurae@herald-mail.com HAGERSTOWN, MD. - WHAG-AM radio has dropped the news/talk format it's offered for more than 20 years due to low ratings and higher expenses. Dame Broadcasting decided to change the format of both of its local news/talk AM stations to adult pop standards, Operations Manager Rick Alexander said. The Harrisburg, Pa.-based company also owns WCHA, 800-AM. Beginning at 10 p.m. Wednesday, both stations began running the satellite feed called "Music of Your Life," Alexander said.

WASHINGTON COUNTY - It was the first day of rifle season, and the parking lot was almost empty at Keystone Country Store in Hagerstown. "Normally, this lot would have been completely full," shop owner Tim Stahl said. The change, Stahl said, came two years ago, when the Maryland Department of Natural Resources updated the procedure for hunters checking in their kills. Deer that once had to be taken to a certified checking station, usually a small store such as Keystone, now can be registered online or over the phone.

The Hagerstown-Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau is sponsoring a trolley service between Discovery Station and Cushwa Basin on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The trolley is being provided so visitors can experience both the new permanent C&O Canal Exhibit at Discovery Station and the traveling National Park Canal exhibit at the Trolley Barn at Cushwa Basin. "This will be an exciting historic ride to experience between downtown Hagerstown and Williamsport on a similar route the original old trolley ran," said Discovery Station President B. Marie Byers.

To accommodate Vehicle Emission Inspection Program customer demands, the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration has changed the hours its VEIP stations operate. The new hours of operation are from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Thursday and Friday and from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday. The Saturday hours of 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. remain the same. There are 19 centralized VEIP stations in 13 counties and Baltimore City. To find a VEIP station near you, log on to the MVA's Web site at www.marylandmva.

The Antietam Radio Association will return to the Leitersburg Ruritan Park behind the fire company Saturday for annual field day exercises. The official on-the-air amateur radio activity starts about 2 p.m. Approximately 3,000 stations in the United States and Canada are participating. Most are club stations like Antietam Radio which will use its club call sign W3CWC. Temporary amateur stations with antennas in fields and radios in a tent or a pavilion will attempt to contact some of the other participants, partially as a training exercise in how to set up stations, teaching folks how to operate under stressful conditions and learning to use an emergency power source among other things.

The Antietam Radio Association will return to the Leitersburg Ruritan Park behind the fire company Saturday for annual field day exercises. The official on-the-air amateur radio activity starts at about 2 p.m. Approximately 3,000 stations in the United States and Canada are participating in the exercise. Most are club stations like Antietam Radio, which will use its club call sign W3CWC. Temporary amateur stations with antennas in fields and radios in a tent or a pavilion will attempt to contact some of the other participants, partially as a training exercise in how to set up stations, teaching people how to operate under stressful conditions and learning to use an emergency power source.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - Dozens of third-graders stumbled about a room at the Falling Spring Presbyterian Church Tuesday afternoon, trying to see things through "fatal vision goggles. " "I liked when we had to wear those goggles," said Olivier Dejoie, a student at Corpus Christi Catholic School. "Yeah, it was weird. You had to concentrate and you're like moving side to side," said classmate Tim Rook. About 1,500 Franklin County third-graders will get the same experience this week at one of the stations for the seventh annual Children's Wellness Days, said Nickie Hockenberry, the community health coordinator for Summit Health.

charlestown@herald-mail.com CHARLES TOWN, W.VA. - Developers of the 3,200-home Huntfield development south of Charles Town say they will begin removing soil at old chemical mixing sites next week as part of an ongoing effort to remove pesticides from soil in the development. The work of removing soil has been under way for three years because of arsenic at the site, according to a press release from Delta Strategies, a Leesburg, Va., firm assisting the developers with the project.

A Jefferson County, W.Va., man died when he was struck by a train Thursday evening at the train station in Harpers Ferry, the Harpers Ferry Police Department said. Paul R. Cavalier, 78, of the Summit Point area, was pronounced dead at the scene by the medical examiner, according to a police department news release. Police said they were dispatched at 7:20 p.m. to the train station at 112 Potomac St. for a report of a man who had been struck by a train. An investigation determined that Cavalier failed to notice warning devices and stepped in front of an oncoming northbound train, according to the release.

The 32nd annual Texaco Country Showdown is coming to Hagerstown. WAYZ 104.7 FM will host the country music talent search and radio promotion. About $200,000 in cash and prizes will be awarded nationwide including the Grand Prize of $100,000 cash to the National Winner, presented at the National Final televised special. The contest is open to vocal and instrumental performers as well as groups with no more than seven members. Acts also must not have performed on a record charted in the top 100 country format of Billboard within 18 months preceding local competition.

The northbound lanes of Interstate 81 near the Tabler Station Road exit have been reopened following a brief shutdown for a vehicle crash, according to Berkeley County Central Dispatch.

The Discovery Station program "Slimy Science" scheduled Saturday, April 6, with Jamie Kenton, 4-H Extension educator, has been canceled. Call 301-790-0076 or go to www.discoverystation.org .

A Washington County delegation bill proposed by Del. Neil C. Parrott that would alter electioneering boundaries to 50 feet from the entrance and exit of a polling station from the current 100 feet has been withdrawn after opposition from the Washington County Board of Elections. Parrott, R-Washington, feels that changing the restriction would help provide more information to voters at some polling stations. Washington County Election Director Kaye Robucci said the 100-foot limit works well and lets a voter interact with campaigners only if they choose to do so. “We have reasons why we think lesser is better,” Parrott said.

Farm crops could be planted and cattle could very well be pasturing in the near future on undeveloped portions of Tabler Station Business Park in Berkeley County. The Berkeley County Development Authority hopes to lease the available land, which now stands at about 580 acres, to a farmer while they continue to work to develop the property, Executive Director Stephen Christian said Wednesday. The development authority's board voted Wednesday to allow the group's business park development committee to interview two of the five interested parties who responded to a request for proposals, Christian said.

Washington County legislators who have introduced bond bills during the current session of the Maryland General Assembly remain optimistic that they will be fully funded. These bills - one seeking $300,000 to demolish the former Municipal Electric Light Plant in Hagerstown, another seeking $85,000 for the Antietam Fire Company for renovation of its firehouse and a bill requesting $175,000 for improvements to Lock 44, Lockhouse 44 and the Maryland Railroad Lift Bridge in Williamsport - were heard at committee hearings Saturday.

Jamie Kenton, 4-H Extension educator, will present “We Do Love Robots” Saturday at Discovery Station in downtown Hagerstown. The event will be from noon to 3 p.m. Registration is limited to 25.  The Robotics Club meets monthly from 3 to 5 p.m. Discovery Station  is at 101 W. Washington St. in Hagerstown. For more information, call 301-790-0076 or go to www.discoverystation.org .  

The Antietam Fire Co. Ladies Auxiliary will host a basket and cash bingo Sunday at the Western Enterprise Fire Station, 526 Washington Square, Hagerstown.  Doors open at 12:30 p.m. and bingo starts at 1:30 p.m.  Tickets cost $20 and there will be food available for purchase. Tip jars will be available. Participants must be 16 to play bingo.  The proceeds will be used to help the local community.   For tickets, call Linda Findley at 301-791-5175 or Annette Semler at 301-992-6151.

A basket bingo will be held Sunday at the Maugansville Fire Station, 13730 Maugans Ave. Doors open at 11:30 a.m. and bingo begins at 1 p.m. Tickets cost $20 and include six bingo cards for regular games and one of each for bonus games. Food will be available for purchase. All proceeds will benefit the fire company. For tickets, call 301-797-6770. Line dancing  planned Saturday The Country Western Dance Association will hold a line dance for singles and couples Saturday from 7 to 10 p.m. at the former Quincy School Gym, 7888 Anthony Highway in Waynesboro, Pa.  The dance is open to the public and the cost is $5 per person.