Town Clerk

Funkstown’s mayor and Town Council will again try to have a work session about this year’s budget. The work session has been rescheduled at least twice. It now will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Town Hall, according to a phone message from Town Clerk/Treasurer Brenda Haynes. — Julie E. Greene

WILLIAMSPORT — Three Williamsport Town Council seats will be up for grabs in the town’s municipal election on March 7. The three council seats are those held by council members Tearza Knode, Larry Jessop and James Kalb-fleisch, Mayor James McCleaf II said. Anyone wishing to run for one of the seats must register with the town clerk before 4 p.m. Feb. 25, McCleaf said. Voting on March 7 will be conducted at Town Hall from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Anyone who has registered to vote in a general election in the county and state does not have to register to vote in the town election.

FUNKSTOWN -- A 6-foot privacy fence might be installed at Joker's Pub & Grill to close off its second entrance and provide an enclosed outdoor patio, Funkstown Mayor Paul N. Crampton Jr. said Monday night. The issue came up at the mayor and council work session because the steps are in the town's right-of-way so the business needs an easement from the town for the fence, Crampton said. Crampton asked Town Clerk/Treasurer Brenda L. Haynes to see if anything was needed from the Washington County liquor board or fire marshal's offices before the council makes a decision.

FUNKSTOWN - Construction could begin on the first leg of Southern Boulevard, aka the Funkstown bypass, this coming year, and work will continue on a new basketball court in Funkstown Community Park. Work has already begun on the basketball court in the new part of the park and should be ready by the spring, said Town Clerk/Treasurer Brenda Haynes. A new walkway also will be built, from the new pavilion on the third-base side of the ballpark to the existing sidewalk. The basketball court costs $41,738 and the 320 feet of walkway cost $6,400, town officials said when the project was approved in October.

WILLIAMSPORT - Several construction projects will be going on this year in Williamsport, including improvements at Riverbottom Park and Byron Memorial Park. Town Clerk/Treasurer Donnie Stotelmyer is hoping to get the boat ramp at Riverbottom Park rebuilt by spring so it won't interfere with the boating season. The ramp needs to be steeper. He's also hoping to add trees to the shoreline and improve the parking area in 2010. Town officials also are considering getting a floatable dock for the ramp that can be removed if the Potomac River floods, Stotelmyer said.

WILLIAMSPORT -- A draft of a recent audit of Williamsport's government identified several "conditions" and made recommendations for addressing them, according to the report that was reviewed Tuesday night by the mayor and Williamsport Town Council members. The audit said a front desk clerk is involved in several parts of the cash receipts process, including receiving the cash, processing it, filling out a deposit slip and taking the money to the bank. Those duties should be separated so no person has complete control over the process and there is a less chance of fraud or error, the report said.

SHARPSBURG -- Tuesday's special election in Sharpsburg filled two vacant seats on the town council, one by just a single vote. The top two vote-getters were William McCullough, who received 38 votes, and Brandon Smith, who got 30 votes, according to Anna Jamison, town clerk. Patricia Hammond received 29 votes, while Tracy Stride received 12 votes and Stephanie Taylor garnered eight. A total of 61 people voted, representing 14 percent of the town's eligible voters, Jamison said.

GOOD HOPE, Ala. - It's one thing for a church in a big city like Dallas or Atlanta to tackle the ticklish topic of sex. It blends in with the urban scene. It's another thing when a small-town congregation puts up billboards with the phrase "Great sex: God's way" on rural highways to promote a sermon series. You can't even legally buy beer in Cullman County, and a preacher is talking about S-E-X on Sunday morning? Daystar Church, whose congregation has grown dramatically under pastor Jerry Lawson, has run up against the sensibilities of a conservative north Alabama community with a monthlong focus on sex. Sex just isn't an appropriate topic for church, some say, and others are upset over the church's signs, which advertise the sermon series and accompanying Web site.