Trash

A trash collection worker was taken to Meritus Medical Center on Wednesday morning after he was struck by an automobile at 8039 Sharpsburg Pike (Md. 65), according to Maryland State Police. At about 7:55 a.m., the employee of Apple Valley Waste was struck by a Toyota which was attempting to pass another vehicle, according to Trooper James A. Bowers. The man was taken to Meritus Medical Center with minor injuries at about 8:25 a.m., Bowers said. State police, the Washington County Sheriff's Office and an ambulance from Sharpsburg Emergency Services responded to the accident.

Electronic methods of paying water, sewer and trash bills are coming to the Borough of Waynesboro in the next few months. The municipality hopes to have electronic billing in place by July 1, according to Assistant Borough Manager Jason Cohen. Testing will begin in May, he said. The borough will accept debit- and credit-card payments online in addition to the existing method of receiving payments by mail and at municipal offices. Utility payment processing will tie into the Caselle electronic accounting system being installed by the borough.

Trash is not normally a topic for community discussion. Most people just want it taken away. However, a group of disabled veterans recently petitioned the Washington County Commissioners for a discount on the annual residential trash permit fee. This petition has prompted me to explore the trash permit — or self-service — system, and to invite a broader community discussion about trash and the way our county deals with it. Like the disabled...

Surrounded by piles of trash bags, boxes and even furniture, Washington County’s recycling drop boxes might sometimes look like miniature dumps, but a new advertising campaign aims to set the record straight. The boxes are for recyclables only, and dumping anything else could lead to fines of $1,500 to $12,500, or 30 days to a year in jail under Maryland’s litter control law, said Cliff Engle, who heads the county’s Solid Waste Department. That’s the message officials hope to spread through a Public Service Announcement set to air soon on Antietam Cable as part of a campaign by the solid waste department and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office to address increasing abuse of the drop boxes, Engle said.

— Boonsboro Town Council members decided Monday night to extend a contract with the town’s garbage hauler, a move that disappointed one council member because she said it delays consideration of any new options the town could pursue in trash services, like recycling. Key Sanitation, the town’s current trash hauler, is able to ask for a one-year extension if the company makes the request within a certain time frame. The request was made within the allowable time frame and council members approved extending the contract for one year.

West Virginia schools • All Berkeley County Schools will be on a two-hour delay tomorrow, Wednesday, Feb. 23.  All BCS faculty and staff should report at their regular times for Faculty Senate meetings. • Morgan County Schools will be closed Wednesday, Feb. 23.  Employees are to follow Reporting Code A. • Jefferson County Schools will be operating on a two-hour delay Wednesday, Feb. 23.   Amy Roloff lecture at Shepherd Due to inclement weather, Tuesday evening's Intramurals lecture with "Little People, Big World" reality television star Amy Roloff at Shepherd University has been rescheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 23, at 11 a.m.     City of Hagerstown trash and recycling collection The large amount of snow has significantly hampered the collection of trash and recycling.

FUNKSTOWN -- Funkstown Town Councilman Robert "Bobby" Rodgers Jr. said the town might have "dropped the ball" in notifying residents about the change in trash collection. The Herald-Mail published several stories about the change. Perhaps people should have been notified via postcard because many residents didn't realize trash collection had been cut to once a week, Rodgers said at Monday's council meeting. The change went into effect in August with the new contract. Even after trash wasn't picked up on the first Monday, some residents weren't sure it wasn't a fluke and that they couldn't set it out the next Monday, he said.

FUNKSTOWN -- Funkstown's Town Council will hold a special meeting Tuesday at 6 p.m. in Town Hall to vote on a new trash contract, Town Clerk/Treasurer Brenda Haynes said Tuesday afternoon. The council did not vote on a new contract at Monday night's special meeting because it did not have a quorum. Council members will consider bids for the contract Tuesday after confusion arose over the awarding of a garbage service contract in June that resulted in the service being rebid.

FUNKSTOWN -- The Funkstown Town Council on Tuesday night picked Key Sanitation to handle the town's trash pickup for the coming year, Town Clerk/Treasurer Brenda Haynes said. Key Sanitation was the lowest bidder for trash service that complied with all of the town's requirements for trash pickup, Haynes said. Key Sanitation's bid was $52,539.61, Haynes said. Under the service, garbage will be picked up once a week on Thursdays and yard waste will be picked up on Tuesdays, Haynes said.

FUNKSTOWN -- Funkstown's second attempt at securing a trash-collection contract for the year continued Monday night with bid openings during the town council meeting. The council is expected to vote on a contract during a special meeting July 19 at 6 p.m. in Town Hall. The new contract will be for Aug. 1 to June 30, 2011. Mayor Paul N. Crampton Jr. read aloud figures from four bidders at Monday's meeting, but it wasn't clear who had the official low bid. Crampton said bids would have to be reviewed to ensure they meet bid criteria.