Tourists

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Asheville's three home runs, and seven strong innings from starter Esmil Rogers, were enough as the Tourists defeated Hagerstown, 6-1. The Tourists scored a run in each of the first three innings off Suns starter Jeff Mandel (2-5), including Matt Repec's solo shot in the third. Joe Napoli scored on a John Poppert single in the fourth to provide the only Hagerstown run of the game. Solo homers by Geoff Strickland in the seventh and Michael McKenry in the eighth against the Hagerstown bullpen served as insurance for the Tourists.

Town officials wanted to attract more tourists to Williamsport, and some business owners say the plan is working to the point that it has been "crazy. " Local restaurant owner Mike Waugh recalled last summer's Bike Night, when crowds of motorcycle riders pulled into town for a night of music, camaraderie and fundraising. It was a boon for business at Tony's Pizza Time Cafe at the corner of Conococheague and Salisbury streets. "We couldn't get people in and out fast enough.

tarar@herald-mail.com WASHINGTON COUNTY - Sitting around a camp fire roasting marshmallows these days might be considered a little old school by some, according to a local campsite owner. Modern-day campers are interested in a bit more excitement, said Ron Vitkun, owner of Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park, near Williamsport. "People today want to be taken care of," Vitkun said. "They want to be amused. They want to be entertained. " At Jellystone, campers can expect visits from Yogi and Boo-Boo, hayrides, an 18-hole miniature golf course, swimming and a list of other things to do, according to its Web site, www.jellystonemaryland.

Open season on all the tourists? All this, and we're expected to be nice as well? That's the message of an ad campaign cooked up by local tourism brass who believe that perhaps we're not being as kind as we could be to strangers. So, the ads coach, we should be polite and smile if, for example, a tourist asks for directions. We should not, the spot cautions, try to run tourists down. Oh, come now, who do the travel people think we are, John Rocker? Don't answer that.

Editor's Note: Tim Rowland is on vacation. While he's away, some of his favorite columns are running again. This column ran on July 26, 2000. All this, and we're expected to be nice as well? That's the message of an ad campaign cooked up by local tourism brass who believe that perhaps we're not being as kind as we could be to strangers. So, the ads coach, we should be polite and smile if, for example, a tourist asks for directions. We should not, the spot cautions, try to run tourists down.

Hagerstown was the fourth most popular destination in Maryland in 1997, up from eighth in 1996, according to the Maryland Office of Tourism Development. Only Baltimore, Ocean City and Annapolis attracted more tourists, the office said. That finding confirms a recent state study that showed an increase in tourism activity in Washington County. And local business and government leaders say the number of visitors has grown even larger since the report was compiled. "The Economic Impact of Travel on Maryland Counties 1997," a study prepared for the Maryland Office of Tourism Department by the U.S. Industry Association of America, attempts to determine how many tourists come to each county.

Hagerstown resident Mary Haines on Tuesday told the City Council that it should take advantage of the city's Civil War history to garner more tourist dollars. She said the city should use the city-owned Alms House at 239 N. Locust St. as one of the marketing tools. During her presentation to the council, Haines said Civil War soldiers were shot in front of the Alms House and probably were treated there during the Confederate retreat from the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863.

Baseball people agree, walks hurt ... especially when they come before doubles. David Kandilas drove in three runs with two doubles as Asheville scored five runs off Hagerstown walks on Sunday to take a 7-3 victory. Suns pitching walked nine batters and hit three others to help ignite the Tourists. Suns starter Wirkin Estevez (5-2) walked six batters and hit another in four shaky innings. Asheville scored two in the first as Estevez walked the bases loaded to set up Brian Humpheries' two-run single.

Justin Miller hit an RBI triple in the first inning and an RBI double in the eighth to drive in all the runs the Hagerstown Suns needed in a 2-1 victory over the Asheville Tourists on Saturday night at Municipal Stadium. Hagerstown (82-53, 40-26) - which has clinched the South Atlantic League Northern Division's second-half title - has two more games to play against Asheville (86-51, 39-29) before opening the playoffs with a home game against the Greensboro Grasshoppers on Wednesday.

In September 1862, a majority of Sharpsburg residents fled their homes as Union and Confederate soldiers converged on the town to wage war. Now, almost 150 years later, Antietam National Battlefield officials are bracing for an influx of another sort. Susan Trail, a National Park Service ranger and superintendent at the battlefield, said Wednesday during a Hagerstown-Washington County Chamber of Commerce breakfast that thousands of tourists are expected to attend the sesquicentennial celebration of the battle from Sept.

The end of the line came as abruptly as the end of the game for the Hagerstown Suns. Corey Dickerson hit a pinch-hit, walkoff two-run home run off of Ben Graham with one out in the ninth inning on Monday to lead the Asheville Tourists to a come-from-behind 12-11 victory over Hagerstown to eliminated the Suns from playoff contention. The loss puts the Suns (71-32, 31-32) 6 1/2 games behind Northern Division-leading Hickory with six games remaining in the season. The Suns have lost six straight and 10 of their last 12. Once again, the Suns came out on the wrong end of a wild affair with the Tourists in cozy McCormack Stadium.

The Asheville Tourists feasted on Hagerstown Suns pitching for a second straight day, rolling to a 15-5 victory Sunday that left the Suns' South Atlantic League playoff chances looking even more bleak. Asheville (65-67, 34-29) mashed out 16 hits and overwhelmed Hagerstown (71-61, 31-31) with a seven-run third inning and an eight-run fifth. The Suns are in fifth place in the Northern Division, 5 1/2 games behind Kannapolis with seven games to play. After Wade Moore walked, stole second and eventually scored on a wild pitch to give the Suns a 1-0 lead in the top of the third, The Tourists ripped Hagerstown starter Matthew Grace (12-7)

Editor's note: This is the seventh in a series about neighborhood grocery stores. Family-owned grocery stores used to thrive in small towns across America. Now, many are ghosts in old business directories. But in Sharpsburg, where the past looms large, one such store is still keeping the locals happy. Canned foods line the shelves, milk fills the dairy cooler and cookies, soda and candy satisfy the sweet tooth. Need fishing supplies? You can buy that, too. Want a homestyle meal?

It's not Disney World or Washington, D.C., but Franklin County, Pa., has raked in its share of tourism dollars. In 2007, more than $390 million was spent on travel in Franklin County, according to a Global Insight study. The Franklin County Visitors Bureau broke off from the larger Hershey/Harrisburg Visitors Bureau in 2005 and launched its website in 2007. "We were often thought of as a bedroom community for the Gettysburg experience, the Hershey experience, even the Lancaster experience," said Janet Pollard, director of tourism for the Franklin County Visitors Bureau.

Hagerstown was taken by storm on Thursday. Then, then the Suns were taken by Asheville. The Suns withstood a 1-hour, 51-minute rain delay caused by a tornado warning and severe thunderstorms but couldn’t fend off Avery Barnes’ three-run home run in the 11th inning which gave Asheville a 4-1 victory at Municipal Stadium. The game came down to a battle of bullpens as the heavy rain hit in the middle of the second inning, ending the day for Asheville starter Erik Stevart and Hagerstown’s Robbie Ray. “The weather is so hard to predict,” said Suns manager Brian Daubach.

Town officials wanted to attract more tourists to Williamsport, and some business owners say the plan is working to the point that it has been "crazy. " Local restaurant owner Mike Waugh recalled last summer's Bike Night, when crowds of motorcycle riders pulled into town for a night of music, camaraderie and fundraising. It was a boon for business at Tony's Pizza Time Cafe at the corner of Conococheague and Salisbury streets. "We couldn't get people in and out fast enough.

It is usually a good thing to know that actors had a good time filming a movie. If the movie is a comedy, their natural glee will make their performances that much more believable. If the actors are good friends with each other, their chemistry will bring out the best in each other’s performances even if the movie isn’t a comedy. However, it is a bad thing that Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie had fun filming “The Tourist,” because there is no reason for “The Tourist” to exist other than for Depp and Jolie to have fun. “The Tourist” is another one of those dreadful “Actors’ Paid Vacation” movies.