Travelers

WASHINGTON COUNTY - That drive to the beach this summer will cost about twice as much as it did just five years ago. With gasoline prices averaging around $3 per gallon on the East Coast and about $3.25 per gallon in the West, summer travelers are having to make adjustments to pay for the added costs. And some aren't traveling at all. "For people that are not traveling, the No. 1 reason is high gas prices," AAA Mid-Atlantic spokesman Troy Green said. Among those who are traveling, many are choosing to take shorter trips to closer destinations, Green said.

WASHINGTON COUNTY erinc@herald-mail.com Rising gas prices are not expected to keep travelers off roads Labor Day weekend, AAA spokeswoman Bevi Norris said Thursday. Norris said 34.5 million people nationwide will travel 50 miles or more from their homes this weekend, a nearly 1 percent increase from the 34.2 million who traveled last year. Nearly 30 million of those will drive, she said. "We've seen record high gas prices, an early start to the hurricane season and terror attacks in London, but Americans have traveled nonetheless," AAA Senior Vice President Jim Lehman said in a release.

Hagerstown Community College's Center for Continuing Education is offering a short-length course in beginning and elementary Italian for those interested in traveling to Italy. Taught by native Italian Elsa Bradford, students will be introduced to the fundamentals of Italian language and will develop the necessary pronunciation skills and learn the essential vocabulary and patterns of dialogue needed for real-life situations that are often encountered when traveling to a foreign country.

HANCOCK - When Sgt. Shawn Tasker entered Hancock's Sheetz store on Sunday evening he walked out of a snowstorm and into a blizzard of people. The place was packed with travelers who had left Interstate 70 in the midst of the storm, the Hancock police officer said. [cont. from front page ] Some 50 cold and hungry travelers were trying to get warm and escape the area's biggest snowfall of the season, Tasker said. They came to the right town. Hancock residents, businesses and charitable organizations rallied to feed and shelter about 150 travelers who were detoured to the town after being stuck for hours behind a massive pileup on Interstate 70. The wreck included 36 vehicles, including four tractor-trailers, two buses and 30 cars and light trucks, Maryland State Police had said.

shappell@herald-mail.com Experts say the good news is that Christmas-season traffic is expected to be lighter and less frustrating than it was over the Thanksgiving holiday. They say the bad news is that there may be plenty of aggressive, drowsy and drunken drivers on roadways in Maryland and elsewhere. AAA Mid-Atlantic spokeswoman Amanda Knittle said a slight increase in auto traffic is expected on the days around Christmas. She said the biggest reason for increased traffic is the number of people traveling 50 miles or more to spend Christmas with family or friends.

HAGERSTOWN - Daris Phillips had been sitting on her chaise lounge in the Florida sun when the cruise ship she was traveling aboard suddenly tilted. "All of a sudden, a big gush of water came up from the pool. Everyone started screaming," said Phillips, 77, of Hagerstown. "It was almost like the Titanic. " Phillips, her son and a local couple were aboard the new Crown Princess cruise ship Tuesday when it tilted 15 degrees in the waters off Florida, 11 1/2 miles southeast of Port Canaveral on its way to New York.

The Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau has had two unpleasant surprises last year. The first was when the group discovered that its executive director had stolen $15,000 to feed his gambling addiction. The second was when CVB board members realized, in the wake of the scandal, that many citizens didn't know exactly what the organization did. Tom Riford is out to change that. The CVB's new executive director, who took office March 8, said that getting the word out, about how important tourism is and how CVB promotes it, is one of his top goals.

Randy Morral doesn't think occupancy rates tell the whole story when it comes to demand for new motels in Washington County. Those rates don't factor in all the travelers on Interstate 81, who now drive past the county into Pennsylvania or West Virginia to stop for the night, said Morral, 31, who is hoping to capture some of that business with his new motel in Maugansville. "We're missing the boat if we can't stop them," the Smithsburg resident told a group of local business people Tuesday morning at the Hagerstown-Washington County Chamber of Commerce's monthly Eggs & Issues breakfast.

FREDERICK, Md. - Gov. Robert Ehrlich announced that Maryland will invest $23 million to upgrade the South Mountain Welcome Centers along eastbound and westbound Interstate 70 in Frederick County. The centers, which were built in the 1970s and are maintained by Maryland's State Highway Administration and the Maryland Office of Tourism Development, are used by more than 200,000 travelers each year. There are 13 such centers in Maryland. When the renovation is completed, the South Mountain centers "will become a destination in themselves, with outdoor exhibit areas, expanded facilities and parking, and the latest in wireless technology to serve both tourists and business travelers," Ehrlich said.

Group wants moratorium on truck plazas By SCOTT BUTKI scottb@herald-mail.com Opponents of a "travelers plaza" D.M. Bowman Inc. proposes building in Williamsport are calling for a moratorium on such facilities, saying county rules governing them are not clear and are not followed consistently. They also contend there is a proliferation of the facilities in Washington County, said Toni Shrader, a spokeswoman for the opponents. The Bowman proposal calls for construction of a fuel stop/truck plaza at the southwest quadrant of the intersection of Md. 63 and Md. 68 and Interstate 81. It would be built on 9.1 acres zoned highway interchange 1. The facility would include a convenience store, a car wash and about 150 parking spaces, including 75 for trucks.

Fill up on good food and fine art and music when downtown Hagerstown restaurants and art galleries host Taste of the Arts on Thursday, May 16. The annual moveable feast features samples of food from 12 restaurants, music performed by students with Barbara Ingram School for the Arts and art on display at Just Lookin' Gallery and Contemporary School for the Arts & Gallery. Karen Giffin, community affairs manager with the City of Hagerstown, said the organizers want to draw people downtown to have a good time.

Christine Trent is a bit of a travel guide - but not in the traditional sense. She might take you to far-off places and breathtaking locales. You'll meet interesting and influential people and get a glimpse of their lives and careers. But in addition to taking you to another land, Trent transports you to another time. And it's all within the pages of her books. Trent is a historical fiction writer, weaving the past with stories of emotional intensity, mystery, tragedy and love.

Hager House to mark 275th birthday next year Next year will mark the 275th birthday of Hagerstown's historic landmark, the Jonathan Hager House and Museum in City Park, a local tourism official told Hagerstown City Council members at City Hall on Tuesday. “This is going to be a big deal,” said Tom Riford, president of the Hagerstown-Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau. Riford and Washington County Historical Society Board President Roger Fairbourn went before the city council to ask for the city's continued support of the Hager House - a rare historical resource - that promotes “heritage” travelers and to urge the elected body to take steps to increase public accessibility.

A Martinsburg attorney who has led efforts to preserve and redevelop the 19th century Baltimore & Ohio Railroad shops in Martinsburg for more than 15 years said it's time for the next generation to take over the project. Clarence E. “CEM” Martin III, who has chaired the Berkeley County Roundhouse Authority board since it was created in 1999, said Wednesday his resignation letter to Berkeley County Council President Tony Petrucci was delivered Monday. Martin's wife, Judy, who has served with her husband on the Roundhouse Authority for as many years, said separately Wednesday that she, too, had sent a letter of resignation to the county this week.

Students from Springfield Middle School in Williamsport earned national recognition at the 2013 Junior Theater Festival, the world's largest musical theater festival, which took place Jan. 18  to 20 in Atlanta. Produced by New York's iTheatrics and Atlanta's Theater of the Stars, the festival celebrates young people and the power of musical theater. This year's festival brought together 4,000 students and teachers representing 82 groups from 23 states.  Springfield Middle School students presented selections from Disney's “The Little Mermaid JR.” for adjudication by dancer, choreographer, theatrical producer and Butler University and Anderson University professor Kenny Shepard and actor, composer, musical director and vocal coach Brad Simmons.

A tractor-trailer flipped over while it was traveling north on Interstate 81, according to a Berkeley County 911 spokeswoman. The truck, which was hauling Gatorade, was off the road and not causing any traffic backups, the spokeswoman said. The driver of the tractor-trailer was not hurt in the crash, which was reported just before 10 p.m. at the Spring Mills exit, the spokeswoman said.

More than 1.9 million Marylanders are expected to travel 50 miles or more during the holiday period, which is the highest forecasted level for travel for the time period in the state since the AAA began forecasting Maryland state travel in 2001, according to a news release from the organization. That is a 1.2 percent increase from last year, the release said. AAA defines the holiday period as  Dec. 22 to Tuesday, Jan. 1, the longest travel period of the year. More than 1.7 million Marylanders are expected to travel by automobile, a 0.9 percent increase from last year, more than 106,900 are expected to travel by air, a 4.1 percent increase from last year, and more than 77,000 are expected to use another mode of transportation, including buses, trains, or cruises.

Whitney Winfield was just 8 years old when she first decided she wanted to be in theater. After attending a local performance of "The Sound of Music," she said she got up on stage and said to her mother, 'Mom, find me a play to be in.'" The Naples, Fla., native, now 22, stars as Princess Fiona in "Shrek The Musical," an off-Broadway production based on the Oscar-winning film. The troupe will stop Tuesday, Dec. 18, at H. Ric Luhrs Performing Arts Center on the campus of Shippensburg University in Shippensburg.

With nearly 900,000 Maryland residents expected to drive 50 miles or more for this Thanksgiving holiday, travelers might have to face heavy traffic en route to their destination. For many area residents the solution is simple: travel when there is not a lot of traffic. “I travel at the time it's convenient for me,” Hagerstown resident Dennis King, 61, who plans on having Thanksgiving Day dinner in Silver Spring, Md., with his son. “It doesn't seem to be any different on Thanksgiving Day than a normal weekend day.” The total number of anticipated Maryland travelers for the Thanksgiving holiday period only increased slightly this year, according to an AAA press release.

Maryland officials have lowered the speed limits on interstates and U.S. highways in Maryland to 45 mph, effective immediately and until further notice, and are encouraging people to stay home as during the upcoming height of the storm as conditions continue to deteriorate due to Hurricane Sandy, state officials said Monday afternoon. The speed limit was lowered because of the dangerous combination of speed and high winds, according to the announcement that was released by state officials shortly after 3 p.m. Monday.