Town Limits

SHARPSBURG Sharpsburg Town Council members said Monday they were hesitant to pledge support for a Civil War heritage plan geared toward attracting tourism for fear that the small, historic town would become too commercial. "The town is trying not to become commercialized as a Civil War site ... like Gettysburg ...," Town Attorney Charles Wagaman Jr. said. Antietam National Battlefield and Antietam National Cemetery are just outside Sharpburg's town limits. Steve Goodrich, of Washington County's Planning Department, asked the Town Council to approve a resolution in support of the Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area's management plan.

CLEAR SPRING Pamela M. Sasser won a tight race Monday in a runoff election to fill a seat on the Clear Spring Town Council. Fifty-six votes were cast in Monday's election, according to Town Clerk Juanita Grimm. Sasser, 43, received 29 votes, and her opponent, Walter D. Irvin Jr., 44, received 27 votes. Monday's election was a follow-up to the town's Nov. 4 election that resulted in a tie between Sasser and Irvin. Each received 23 votes that day. Vice Mayor Steven L. Blickenstaff also ran in that election, but was unopposed.

marlob@herald-mail.com Three incumbents and two newcomers will be on the ballot for two Clear Spring Town Council seats and the office of mayor when voters go to the polls in November. Longtime Mayor Paul Hose Jr. filed for re-election, as did council members Gary L. Grove and Mason Mundey, according to Town Clerk Juanita Grimm. While only Hose, 56, filed for the mayoral position, write-in votes for other candidates are allowed for all open positions on Election Day. Grove, 55, is a correctional officer with the Maryland Division of Correction and Mundey, 68, is the former owner of Clear Spring Hardware.

From the week of July 8, 1958 Williamsport's Mayor and Council plan a second effort to obtain a swimming pool for the town. Discussed last night was a new proposal for a pool that would cost far less than the $100,000 originally proposed. Specifications for the pool, which would measure 50 by 100 feet, will be put out for quotations from contractors. If the pool can be built for the new sum that the town has in mind, it will become a reality. A committee has been appointed by Mayor L. Beard Miller to look into the pool construction project.

marlob@herald-mail.com CLEAR SPRING - Carol Hovermale was successful in her first run for public office, winning Monday's special election for a vacant seat on the Clear Spring Town Council. "I'm feeling pretty good about my win," said Hovermale, who received 28 of the 56 ballots cast. Timothy Bonds came in second with 17 votes as he tried for a council seat he had been unable to win in two previous regular town elections. Newcomer Daniel Tedrick collected 11 votes in his first try. Tedrick, 31, showed up at Town Hall as polls were closing to see how he had fared.

Town recorder turns in resignation BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. - Garnet Marsh, town recorder for Bath, resigned her position effective Sept. 30. Marsh is moving outside the town limits and no longer is eligible to serve on the town council, Mayor Susan J. Webster said at Tuesday's night's council meeting. "Garnet is and will continue to be an advocate for the Town of Bath," Webster said. Webster said the council members will fill in where they are needed until someone is appointed.

Greenway Cemetery annexation mulled BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. - The Town of Bath Cemetery Advisory Board recommended Greenway Cemetery be annexed into the town limits at Tuesday night's Bath Town Council meeting. Former Councilwoman Irene Hedrick, who heads up the advisory board, spoke on behalf of the advisory members who attended the meeting. Mayor Susan Webster said, "they believe as we do to create laws and regulations" to protect Greenway Cemetery from vandalism and make it illegal to use the cemetery as a "pass-through" route from U.S. 522 to Johnson's Mill Road.

SHARPSBURG - Sharpsburg's tax rebate, which is $4,427 this fiscal year, will again be kept by Washington County to go toward the cost of having a deputy assigned to the area, officials said Tuesday night. The Washington County Commissioners met with Sharpsburg officials on Tuesday night to discuss the town's tax rebate. Municipalities get tax rebates from the county's general fund for some services the town provides that the county would otherwise. Sharpsburg receives a rebate because it pays for maintenance of its park.

Town discusses 150th anniversary The Hancock Mayor and Town Council on Wednesday discussed the town's upcoming 150th anniversary and how it will be observed. The council voted 5-0 to move forward with sending out requests for donations to fund a $1,225 time capsule, which would be a safe that is sealed and displayed in the Community Center building, either in the Hancock Historical Society Museum or in the main hallway. Council member Greg Yost said about $1,000 in donations already have been collected.