Time Limit

Board of Education holds secret meeting By TARA REILLY tarar@herald-mail.com Washington County Board of Education members met Monday in an unannounced closed meeting but would not disclose the time, location or purpose of the meeting. School Board Vice President Bernadette Wagner called the meeting a "planned" executive session. She would not say why the board decided to meet and declined further comment. The Herald-Mail was not made aware of the meeting, and it was not on the Board of Education's meeting agenda.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - Some borough workers are questioning the enforcement of Chambersburg's residency requirement for its employees, saying not everyone is obeying the policy. All Chambersburg Borough employees must move to the borough within one year of being hired. This is the second time in six months that the residency issue, which some borough council members have previously said limits the pool of qualified applicants, has come up. "I had to move, and I did it," said Rob Roberts, one of two gas department employees who addressed the Borough Council at Tuesday's meeting.

Inmate, adviser stuck in visit room FREDERICK, Md. - An inmate and volunteer religious adviser had an inadvertent marathon counseling session Monday after they were mistakenly locked in a private visitation room at Frederick County Jail for 10 hours. Sheriff Jim Hagy said the counselor went to the jail to visit the inmate during regular visiting hours and was given a private room for their conference. He refused to identify the inmate or the counselor. The inmate was incarcerated for a violation of probation for a nonviolent offense, he said.

Hagerstown and Washington County governments Tuesday officially adopted an agreement to merge sewage treatment operations for 111 residential households and 20 commercial properties. Under the plan, the waste from the properties, all south of Oak Ridge Drive along Sharpsburg Pike, would go to the county's Conococheague Industrial Pretreatment Facility instead of to Hagerstown's treatment plant. The Washington County Commissioners unanimously approved the plan, including three amendments, at its morning meeting.

Goretti puts it together : Changes give Gaels win in first game By DAN SPEARS / Staff Writer photos: JOE CROCETTA / staff photographer St. Maria Goretti midfielder Bobbie Johnson compares soccer to a jigsaw puzzle. Her coach, Victor Della Mea, looks at it more like a Rubik's cube. Either way, the Gaels solved the puzzle under the time limit Tuesday afternoon, getting two goals from Johnson for a 3-2 victory over Hedgesville in the season opener for both teams.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - A Frederick developer was given permission to build six duplexes in the Fairground Heights subidivision Thursday night, but not before a heated debate between the builder and a Martinsburg City Council member. Council member Glenville Twigg said he does not like James Rizzo's plan to "cram" six duplexes on six, 50-foot wide lots. Twigg, who lives across the street from the site, said that is too much housing for the 1.5-acre building lot. "He thinks he's in West Virginia and West Virginians will buy anything.

A "can-do" attitude coupled with careful organization and no aversion to hard work have kept the Washington County Circuit Court on top of an ever-increasing number of caseloads. Thus, the need for two new judges might not be as acute as the figures seem to indicate, say some local attorneys and judges. "We've done a good job scheduling cases here," said Washington County State's Attorney Kenneth Long. Long credited the judges for their cooperation when there is an overflow of cases.

BOONSBORO -- An economic slump and a national crisis involving housing foreclosures has made its way to Boonsboro, Mayor Charles F. "Skip" Kauffman Jr. said. There are several homes in town that have been neglected after being abandoned by their owners, he said during a town council meeting Monday. One in particular caused the town council to vote unanimously on an emergency amendment to the town's municipal infraction ordinance. The amendment allows Kauffman or Town Manager Debra Smith to waive the usual 30 days notice given to a property owner once a property is deemed unsightly or unsafe, and also the five days notice given before the town begins charging a fine.

ANNAPOLIS (AP) - Gov. Martin O'Malley, an opponent of capital punishment, said Thursday he will "sadly" move forward with getting Maryland's execution protocol approved, a step required by the state's highest court before another execution can take place. The Court of Appeals ruled in late 2006 that the state could not hold another lethal injection until a legislative committee gave proper approval to the rules about how executions are carried out. O'Malley has backed a repeal of capital punishment, but legislation to replace a death sentence with life in prison without possibility of parole has failed for two consecutive years in the Maryland General Assembly.

Amended noise ordinance adopted GREENCASTLE, Pa. - After many months of discussion, the Greencastle Borough Council unanimously adopted an amended nuisance ordinance on Monday. Borough Council President Charles Eckstine said the council began working to amend the ordinance about nine months ago on the advice of borough solicitor Melissa Dively. "Our solicitor advised us that we should update the ordinance to comply with the law," he said. The amendments updated many definitions in the ordinance including the definitions of the terms nuisance and junk.