Street Signs

HAGERSTOWN ? The City of Hagerstown wants more people to get involved in Neighborhoods 1st, a program that helps residents improve their neighborhoods by working more closely with public officials. Cindy Blackstock, city community development coordinator, said eight Neighborhoods 1st groups are active in the city and four more are forming. Neighborhoods 1st groups meet once a month at City Hall to network and learn how the local system of government works. That knowledge makes it easier for group members to work the system to get the resources they need, she said.

Public Works stayed busy throughout July SMITHSBURG - The Town of Smithsburg's Public Works Department was busy throughout the month of July. Public Works Director William Loughridge said employees installed stop/street signs at the intersections of Joel and Byron drives, Colton and Amanda drives, Bachtell and Amanda drives and Amanda Drive at Smithsburg/Leitersburg Road. Employees also made repairs stemming from several malicious destruction incidents, including replacing a woman's toilet that was ripped out of the floor of a Community Park bathroom and replacing an American flag put up for Smithsburg Pride Days that was stolen.

Blast from the Past Week of March 18, 1951 Mrs. Anna B. Reeves, Oak Hill Avenue, reported that her father, J.A. Binkley of State Line, uncovered an old gold coin, dated 1853, while spading his garden this week. He hasn't found any others in the area and will keep the one he found. Marylanders will celebrate two holidays next Sunday. March 25 is not only Easter Sunday, but also the 317th birthday of the founding of our state. And speaking of holidays, no plans have yet been laid for the celebration of Washington County's 175th birthday Sept.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. -- New signs coming to the Borough of Waynesboro would light up the night somewhat to help motorists unfamiliar with the town find their way. APX Enclosures, of Mercersburg, Pa., offered to donate 16 street signs with lighting designed to illuminate the road name. Borough Engineer Kevin Grubbs said the details are still being worked out with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. PennDOT will either need to approve the signs under a pilot program, which would require significant paperwork, or it can accept APX as a vendor approved by the agency, Grubbs said.

BOONSBORO -- During an impromptu stop Saturday afternoon in Boonsboro, Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley said he would try to help town officials secure state funding to rebuild a portion of the square that was gutted Feb. 22 in a fire. After O'Malley viewed the charred remains of the historic Boone Hotel, he said aid could be available from a handful of state agencies, including the Maryland Insurance Administration and the Department of Housing and Community Development. The governor said historic tax credits and zero- or low-interest loans could be procurable as well.

Residents 'elated' about paving BOONSBORO - Paving on Main Street is finished, Town Manager John Kendall said Monday. Residents have called Town Hall with "elation" that the road renovation is virtually complete, he said. Yellow striping in the middle of the road was completed Monday and side striping may be done today, Kendall said. Street signs have not yet been put up and some landscaping is left to be done. Kendall told the Town Council that several streetlights are not level and will have to be fixed.

Hagerstown Police respond to incidents The Hagerstown Police Department responded to the following incidents. Thursday o An assault was reported at Court Place and Antietam Street. Tuesday o Artwork was reported stolen in the unit block of South Prospect Street. Monday o At 1:01 p.m., a gym bag was reported found in the 100 block of Salem Avneue. o At 1:30 p.m., Russo's Pharmacy, 25 N. Cannon Ave., reported a fraudulent prescription.

By BRENDAN KIRBY Staff Writer Hagerstown officials are considering fighting the illegal drug trade with an unlikely weapon: one-way street signs. A group consisting of police, prosecutors and officials from various city departments has proposed a series of traffic changes that would make Sumans Avenue and nearby streets one-way roads headed north. The hope is to disrupt drug dealers in the area, making illegal activities easier to detect and law-breakers easier to catch.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - A plan to change the names of 500 roads in Berkeley County as part of an enhanced 911 system will cost businesses and homeowners millions of dollars and damage the county's tourism business by using "generic, sterile names that have no identification with our county," according to a suit filed against the county. The costs will stem from address changes that will have to be made on car registrations, licenses, bank accounts, letterheads and business advertising, according to the suit filed by Berkeley County Citizens for Common Sense 911. The suit claims that the plan uses no logical numbering sequence and will cause widespread confusion, and that the county is discriminating against a large part of the population by requiring them to buy and erect their own street signs.