Washington County

Editor's note: It has been 150 years since the Civil War moved into Washington County and North and South met Sept. 17, 1862, on a battlefield along Antietam Creek. The following story is part of a package of stories that look back at the Battle of Antietam and the Civil War's impact on Washington County, Md., and the surrounding area.   The merchants in downtown Hagerstown fled and farmers in Sharpsburg secured their operations as best they could. Some farmers went to stay with family members while others huddled in churches, caves and cellars.

Washington County bands perform Tuesday night at South Hagerstown High School stadium at the 31st annual Showcase of Marching Bands.

The owner of a popular Hagerstown restaurant and lounge who failed to renew his liquor license on time said he had to close for dinner Wednesday before the issue was resolved. Alexander Tiches, owner and general manager of LJ's and the Kat Lounge at 1130 Conrad Court, said he was told by Washington County liquor officials that he would have to reapply for the liquor license because he paid the renewal fee on May 1 - a day after the April 30 deadline. As a result, he said he made the decision to cancel dinner service Wednesday evening.

Commissioners seek broadband study funding The Washington County Board of Commissioners unanimously agreed on Tuesday to apply for Appalachian Regional Commission funding for a broadband impact study in the county. The project would be connected to the One Maryland Broadband Network, which, according to the state Department of Information Technology's website, is “a planned 1,294-mile fiber optic broadband network that will link 1,006 government facilities and community 'anchor institutions' in every county in the state ....” A memorandum from Robert P. Mandley of the Hagerstown-Washington County Economic Development Commission said Washington County's “fiber optic backbone” is expected to be done by 2013.

While debate continues over whether local or state education officials should determine how teachers are evaluated, teachers in Washington County Public Schools will have a new evaluation model for the coming school year that will hold them accountable for student achievement. Teachers have not all had the same reaction to the model the school system submitted to the state on June 3 and which was approved last week. Some teachers are embracing it and others are not looking forward to change, Washington County Teachers Association President Denise Fry said.

Myers to discuss charter home rule at breakfast Del. LeRoy E. Myers Jr., R-Washington/Allegany, will be hosting a breakfast at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday at Hagerstown's Academy Theater to discuss the possibility of moving Washington County to charter home rule. According to a state website, a charter government separates the executive branch from the legislative branch and “typically, it consists of a county executive and a county council.” Washington County currently operates under the county commissioner form of government.

Clean Currents presented by Kia, a team based in the nation's capital, took the term “Team Racing” to heart this weekend, winning all four races and the general classification title in the Pro I, II, III category of the 2013 Tour of Washington County. Jason Meidhof earned the general classification crown with a 24th-place finish in Sunday's Williamsport Criterium, a 30-mile, 43-lap race on a 0.7-mile loop with the start/finish at Williamsport Town Hall. Meidhof, the winner of Saturday's Smithsburg Road Race, came into the criterium wearing the time leader's yellow jersey after a third-place finish in the Boonsboro Time Trial on Sunday morning.

The United Way of Washington County awarded grants worth $854,060 to 21 community agencies to fund 27 programs. A total of 29 local nonprofits requested nearly $1.68 million in grant money to fund 48 programs this year. The United Way has changed the way the grants are distributed, part of a plan set in motion in 2009 that will make the disbursement “more targeted and more strategic,” said Melissa Reabold, executive director of the United Way of Washington County. Reabold said that in the past, the United Way raised and gave out the money to its member agencies to fill revenue gaps.

Jason Meidhof was able to outlast scores of other riders and took first place in Saturday's Smithsburg Road Race as part of the 2013 Tour of Washington County. “It was a competitive field,” Meidhof said after his victory. “This is one of few local stage races that brings out the best guys in the area, so to get a good result here is very exciting.” Meidhof competed in the Pro I, II, III group that had 100 riders take the road. The group started the race at Smithsburg High School shortly after 1 p.m. and did 10 laps - 64 miles total - around the Smithsburg area before finishing up back at the high school.

Following a dirt path off a quiet countryside road north of Hagerstown led the curious to an atypical sight Saturday, when an outdoor music festival cropped up in rolling fields normally reserved for cornstalks. The event was Hagerstock, a fundraiser benefiting the Washington County Community Mediation Center and a music fete that also featured food, souvenirs and massage vendors. The mediation center is a nonprofit that helps resolve disputes at no cost to Washington County residents, program manager D.J. Allen said.

More than 600 people signed up this year to take part in the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life of Washington County, a fundraising event that began Friday afternoon and was scheduled to extend into the morning hours Saturday. Cancer survivors, their families, caregivers and assorted well-wishers thronged to the relay, which was held at Hagerstown's Fairgrounds Park. Missy DeHaven, co-chairwoman of the event, said the relay had 623 registered participants from 56 teams this year.

Artist Erin Mettille opened her one-woman exhibit and hosted an opening reception at the Washington County Arts Council May 30.  Mettille's art was chosen from multiple submissions to be the “look” of the 18th annual Western Maryland Blues Fest. The Barbara Ingram School for the Arts graduating senior is on her way to Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Ga., in the fall and plans to major in illustration.   Mettille participated in the Maryland Symphony Orchestra Collaboration in 2012 and the painting of the Greater Hagerstown Bicycle Mural Project in 2011-12.

The crowd lining South Potomac Street in Hagerstown grew anxious Friday night awaiting the first of a series of bike races to begin the three-day Tour of Washington County. Rhythmically pounding on the metal gates that separated them from a .0.8-mile course through downtown streets, the spectators produced a sound that would soon not be heeded by the cyclists in the women's open race. At least according to the cyclists. “Some people say it's like tunnel vision - I guess that's the best way to describe it,” said cyclist Rik Lee, noting the focus a race requires that causes a rider's surroundings to fade away.

County gives $36 incentive not to recycle To the editor: I recently received my vehicle permit application from the Washington County Solid Waste Department and it is official:  The county is again offering me $36 to not recycle and instead throw my recyclables in the landfill.  Well, sort of. Because I live in an area with no garbage pickup I pay $130 for a permit to take my garbage to the landfill.   Beginning last year...