Town Hall

U.S. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md., will hold a Town Hall meeting from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesday in the Funkstown Volunteer Fire Co.'s social hall, according to an emailed news release from his office. Funkstown's fire hall is at 2 S. Westside Ave.

FUNKSTOWN -- Funkstown Town Councilman Richard Nigh said Town Hall needs repairs and suggested Monday night that town officials advertise for donations. That might be the only way to the get the work done, Nigh said during a town council meeting. Nigh said his family expected to make a donation, but he would not say how much. Town officials have said windows need to be replaced at the 30 E. Baltimore St. building and the roof is in bad shape. Mayor Paul N. Crampton Jr. said a separate fund should be set up for people who want to make donations.

CLEAR SPRING -- The Clear Spring Town Council is awaiting results from a recent energy audit before it spends federal grant money to upgrade town hall. Town Clerk Juanita Grimm said a home performance analyst audited the building Sept. 9, identifying repairs that would improve energy consumption. It could take about two weeks to receive the energy audit report, she said. Numerous projects could improve the energy efficiency of the building on U.S. 40, Mayor Paul D. Hose Jr. said.

Funkstown resident Greg Sullivan told Funkstown's mayor and Town Council Monday night the town no longer needed the siren atop Town Hall to alert firefighters because they can be notified by electronic devices such as pagers. Sullivan has three properties in downtown Funkstown, including his home next door to Town Hall, he said after a council meeting. Sullivan said he's been unsuccessful in getting the fire company to stop using the siren, which he described as being at an unhealthy decibel level.

U.S. Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett, R-Md., faced dozens of questions Tuesday at a town hall meeting he hosted in Funkstown. About 30 people attended. The audience used the opportunity to ask about a range of topics - health care, Social Security, education, illegal immigration, energy and more. Bartlett is trying to win an 11th term as the 6th District representative in Congress. He is facing two challengers in the November general election: John Delaney on the Democratic line and Nickolaus Mueller on the Libertarian line.

FUNKSTOWN - The Funkstown Mayor and Town Council on Monday decided to repair the bell tower atop Town Hall. Councilman Richard Nigh in January had suggested the option of removing the tower, after Mayor Robert Kline presented a Hagerstown company's repair proposal. The bell tower on Town Hall, a former church, is rotting, said Kline. But the tower is protected as a historic landmark, according to a letter to the Funkstown Planning and Zoning Commission from the Washington County Historic District Commission.

Town Hall renovations under way in Charles Town By CLYDE FORD Staff Writer CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - Charles Town Mayor Randy Hilton did not know what to expect when he stuck his head through a trap door in a ceiling at Charles Washington Hall. "This is wonderful," Hilton said as he looked around at the dust covered walls and floors. The sight of the thick wood trim and wainscot wood ceiling inspired Hilton to imagine how grand the meeting room must have appeared.

KEEDYSVILLE -- Keedysville is getting a new town hall. The southern Washington County town has agreed to buy a former bank on South Main Street for $225,000 and will move its town hall there in the next month or so, Mayor Matt Hull said. Moving the town hall, which shares space with the town's library at 22 Taylor Drive, has been a priority for town officials for more than a year, Matt Hull said. Hull's wife, Sally, who is the branch manager of the Keedysville Library, said the move will provide more room for books and events in the library.

The Great Boonsboro Ambulance Carnival opens Friday at the Boonsboro Ambulance and Rescue Co. in Shafer Park, off North Main Street in Boonsboro. On Friday and Sunday, attendees can ride all night. On Sunday, the entertainment will be provided by local favorite Skwueeze Play. Anniversary celebrated The 100th birthday of the American Cancer Society will be celebrated Tuesday, starting at 6:30 p.m. at Mount Nebo United Methodist Church, 134 S. Main St. in Boonsboro. The public is welcome to attend the preview of many of the activities that will take place at the Relay for Life in June.

Tax meeting set FUNKSTOWN - Funkstown will hold its annual tax set off meeting at 7 p.m., March 6, 2001 at Town Hall.

Williamsport's next classic car cruise-in is set for Friday on Potomac Street (U.S. 11). Registration begins at 5 p.m. A donation of $3 is requested. Entertainment will be provided by a disc jockey. There will also be a 50/50 drawing. An antique bicycle will be given away as a door prize. The event is sponsored by the Town of Williamsport. The rain date is May 31. For more information, call Jimmy at 301-573-1501. Pancake breakfast set for Saturday There will be an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast Saturday from 7 to 11 a.m. at Williamsport United Methodist Church, 25 E. Church St. The menu includes pancakes, sausage and fruit cup, with juice and coffee.

The Great Boonsboro Ambulance Carnival opens Friday at the Boonsboro Ambulance and Rescue Co. in Shafer Park, off North Main Street in Boonsboro. On Friday and Sunday, attendees can ride all night. On Sunday, the entertainment will be provided by local favorite Skwueeze Play. Anniversary celebrated The 100th birthday of the American Cancer Society will be celebrated Tuesday, starting at 6:30 p.m. at Mount Nebo United Methodist Church, 134 S. Main St. in Boonsboro. The public is welcome to attend the preview of many of the activities that will take place at the Relay for Life in June.

With attendance increasing at community events, Funkstown officials are exploring ways of making the upper floor of its Town Hall more accessible to people with physical disabilities. Mayor Paul N. Crampton Jr. on Tuesday asked the Washington County Board of Commissioners during an evening meeting in the town for help in securing a grant to bring the town's headquarters at 30 E. Baltimore St. into compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements. The mayor said it could cost about $40,000 to install a lift and retrofit the upstairs bathroom to make it ADA accessible.

Tuesday, May 7 Antietam Exchange Club meets at Academy Theater Banquet and Conference Center, 58 E. Washington St., 7:30 a.m. Therapeutic Gardens Committee, Western Maryland Hospital Center, 1500 Pennsylvania Ave., Hagerstown, 9:30 a.m. Toddler time for ages 18 to 36 months, Boonsboro Free Library, 11 a.m. Toddler time for ages 18 to 36 months, Central Library North Pointe Branch, 11 a.m. Registration required by calling 301-733-8655....

There were some proud moments at Town Hall on Friday morning for the ladies of the Tuesday Craft Group as they showed off the big signature quilt they made for the town's 250th anniversary in 2012. The 5-by-8-foot textile hangs in an environmentally protected case on a first-floor wall of Town Hall, a temporary home until it moves to a permanent home if a new town library is ever built, according to anniversary officials. The “nondenominational” craft group meets Tuesdays at Trinity Episcopal Church.

Monday, May 6 Hagerstown Business and Professional Women's Club meets at Hager Hall, Crystal Ballroom, 5:30 p.m. networking, 6 p.m. dinner. For more information, call membership chairwoman Donna Smith at 301-797-8761. Long Meadows Rotary meets at Nick's Airport Inn, 6:15 p.m. Clear Spring Lions Club meets at Clear Spring American Legion, 6:30 p.m. West Hagerstown Lions Club meets at Washington Square United Methodist Church, 538 Washington Ave., 6:30 p.m. Boonsboro Town Council meets at Community Building in Shafer Park, 7 p.m. Keedysville Town Council meets at Town Hall building, 7 p.m. Sharpsburg Town Council meets at Town Hall, 7:30 p.m. The Mason-Dixon Chorus meets every Monday at 7:30 p.m. at Haven Lutheran Church in Hagerstown.

Happy birthday to Gladys Short, who turns 89 Wednesday. Except for a brief time in Florida, Mrs. Short has lived in the Williamsport area all her life.   Horsepower will return cannons to Doubleday Hill On Saturday at 10 a.m., the refurbished Doubleday Hill cannons will be brought back to their mount overlooking the Potomac River. The three cannons with new carriages will be hitched up and pulled by horses through town for the first time in approximately 150 years.

Funkstown residents are not expected to see property tax rate increases in the coming fiscal year but a proposed budget for the period includes passing along a 6.5 percent water rate increase to town residents, town officials said Monday. Funkstown Mayor Paul N. Crampton Jr. and council members met in a workshop meeting at town hall Monday night to review the proposed budget for the 2013-2014 fiscal year. Last year, council members passed a 10 percent water rate increase. The 10 percent water rate increase was intended to cover a 6.5 percent increase the City of Hagerstown is imposing on Funkstown as part of a five-year plan to raise wholesale water rates to towns as Hagerstown looks to cover general inflation, operating costs and several major projects for its water system.