Tourists

andrews@herald-mail.com As Willie Mays' limousine was on its way to Municipal Stadium Monday evening, one of the Hagerstown Suns' opposing players talked about his family's connection to the Hall of Fame center fielder. Ed Montague, who played right field for the Asheville (N.C.) Tourists on Monday, is the son of the Major League umpire Ed Montague. Montague the umpire is the son of the late Ed Montague the baseball scout. It was the eldest Ed Montague who went to see a promising player for the Birmingham Barons of the Negro Leagues in 1950 - and ended up spotting a terrific young outfielder named Mays instead.

By GUY FLETCHER Staff Writer WINCHESTER, Va. - A highway visitor's center catering chiefly to tourists taking in the region's Civil War historical sites might be located in Washington County, a Maryland official said Thursday. The proposed center would be located near the Interstate 81/Interstate 70 interchange, a natural crossroads for Civil War tourists, said George Williams, director of the Maryland Office of Tourism. From there, tourists could visit the battlefields at Antietam, Gettysburg in Pennsylvania, and sites like Harpers Ferry in West Virginia, he said.

charlestown@herald-mail.com HARPERS FERRY, W.Va. - In addition to the restaurants and retail shops in the lower town area of Harpers Ferry, a new offering for tourists is in the works. It's local craftspeople at work and it's just what the public wanted. Last year, tourists visiting Harpers Ferry were surveyed to determine what type of attractions they would like to see in town, said Linda Rago, program director for Harpers Ferry Main Street. Tourists repeatedly said they would like to see more craftspeople, Rago said.

bobp@herald-mail.com No matter how you looked at it, nothing was going to add up to the advantage of the Hagerstown Suns on Sunday. "We didn't get a real good start and they are a good hitting ball club and we kicked it around a little," Hagerstown manager Mike Ramsey said. "It all adds up to a poor day ... a real poor day. " It was 15 plus six plus three equaling 12 - 12 runs, that is - for Asheville as the Tourists scored in five of the nine innings and steamrolled the Suns by a 12-3 count.

BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. - You don't have to wait until Sunday to get locally grown produce, cut flowers, plants, jams and jellies and baked goods. The Thursday Berkeley Springs Farmers Market opened for the first time on a weekday, and will be open every Thursday through Oct. 4 from 3 to 6 p.m. Vendor booths were set up on the southwest side of Fairfax Street, next to the Berkeley Springs State Park. Larry Lower, the market coordinator, said "we had five vendors today, and we are working on adding more.

o What do you think should would draw more tourists to towns along the C&O Canal? Vote in our online poll . TRI-STATE -- One issue that comes up when talk turns to tourism on the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park is this: How do you get there from here? The question of easy access to the canal and towpath is one of the issues being discussed as area towns try to find ways to attract more tourists, both to the C&O and to the towns. There are those, for instance, who say getting to the canal and towpath at Harpers Ferry, W.Va.

New tourism exec aims to unite efforts By DAVE McMILLION / Staff Writer MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Every community makes its own efforts to lure tourists, and that has never made a lot of sense to Bob O'Connor. Counties often have their own visitors bureau, and efforts to promote communities individually are undermined by politics or by too narrow a focus on that community, said O'Connor, the new executive director of the Martinsburg-Berkeley County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Room tax approved in county By STACEY DANZUSO chbbureau@innernet.net CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - Visitors to Franklin County will pay a 3 percent local tax on hotel room rentals beginning Jan. 1. The tax is expected to generate about $400,000 to promote tourism in the region. The county will use 2 percent of the revenues for administrative costs. The rest will be split between the county and the Capital Region's Vacation Bureau, Norma Bigham, president of the vacation bureau, said.

marlob@herald-mail.com Always active in the county where he was born and raised, Stephen C. Palmer said he finally decided to seek public office because of the "lack of direction and leadership in this community. " Palmer, 53, is a Republican candidate for Washington County Commissioner who said he plans an aggressive campaign. "I'm going to be out beating on doors," Palmer said. Although Keedysville has always been home, Palmer and his wife, Celia, recently bought a farm along Spielman Road east of Williamsport.

Ryan Meyers was far from being the center of attention, even though he was the man in the middle. The Hagerstown pitcher, who has been pressed into multiple roles this season, was like the second through fifth clues in a Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game. He wasn't a show-stopper, but very much needed to get the Suns to the final destination - the winner's circle. Meyers pitched three innings of hitless relief to help steady the Suns after a shaky fifth inning and make sure Drew Butera's clutch RBI single held up as the difference in Sunday's 4-3 victory over Asheville at Municipal Stadium.