Waynesboro

The Waynesboro Borough Council has established a tax abatement program designed to stimulate economic development. On Wednesday, the council approved a Local Economic Revitalization Tax Abatement (LERTA) program and a map of eligible commercial and industrial properties. The council's efforts mirror ones in neighboring Washington and Quincy townships. The Waynesboro Area School Board and Franklin County (Pa.) Commissioners will be asked to extend similar tax savings, officials said.

Wednesday, May 1, 2013 PREP BASEBALL Josh Miller pitched a three-hitter with 11 strikeouts as Smithsburg edged South Hagerstown 4-3 in the MVAL Antietam on Wednesday. J.R. Rinehart and Justin Smith had two hits each for the Leopards (6-10, 4-7). Timmy Kitchen had two hits for the Rebels (4-12, 1-9). Smithsburg    030    100    0    -     4    7    5 South    011    000    1    -     3    3    2 Miller and Durning.

The Waynesboro Area YMCA's second annual Choose to Lose weight-loss competition concluded recently with 34 having weighed out, losing a combined 492.9 pounds. The winning team was Steve and Shae Marvich, who lost a combined 12.7 percent body weight. For winning, they'll each receive one-year YMCA memberships and a $100 cash prize, according to a news release from the YMCA. The team of Karen Shaffer and Michelle Zeigler took second place, losing a combined 12 percent body weight.

Vivian Elaine Goetz Shatzer, 75, of Waynesboro, Pa., died Monday, April 29, 2013, at Shippensburg (Pa.) Health Care Center. The service will be private and at the convenience of the family. Arrangements are by Grove-Bowersox Funeral Home, Waynesboro.

A Waynesboro (Pa.) Borough Council member who was charged in a 2011 bar fight in Martinsburg that left a man with severe injuries was ordered to serve 200 hours of community service Monday and placed on probation for five years. Craig L. Newcomer, 48, who also was ordered to pay $2,900 in restitution, was sentenced in Berkeley County Circuit Court moments after he entered an Alford plea to one misdemeanor count of battery. A one-year jail sentence was suspended by 23rd Judicial Circuit Judge Christopher C. Wilkes, who accepted a plea agreement that was presented to the court in February to resolve what had been a felony case.

It was a day of education and fun Saturday at Renfrew Institute's Earth Celebration Day and Festival of Art. Now in its 23rd year, about 40 exhibitors and environmental artists set up on the lawn at Renfrew Park from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. About 500 people attended Saturday's event. Renfrew Park is the most beautiful park in Waynesboro, said Melodie Anderson-Smith, executive director of Renfrew Institute, and she said it's the perfect place to bring people outdoors to celebrate the Earth.

The largest donation in the history of the Waynesboro Area Business, Education and Community (WABEC) Foundation has allowed the organization to purchase 120 laptops for elementary students. The Eagles Club Inc. of Waynesboro donated $77,116 to WABEC for computers and computer carts in Waynesboro Area School District's four elementary schools. “We just finished up science fair projects, and students used (the laptops) to do research and develop their projects,” said Rita Sterner-Hine, principal of Summitview Elementary School and operations director for WABEC.

Helen R. Timmons Hartman, 96, of Jacksonville, Fla., and formerly of Waynesboro, Pa., died Thursday, April 18, 2013, in Jacksonville. The family will receive friends Friday one hour before the service at Grove-Bowersox Funeral Home, Waynesboro. The service will be Friday at 11 a.m. at the funeral home. Burial will follow in Green Hill Cemetery, Waynesboro.

The Greater Waynesboro Chamber of Commerce will host a mixer Thursday, April 25, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Elite Window Fashions' new location, 2102 E. Main St. in Waynesboro. The deadline to RSVP is Tuesday, April 23. To RSVP, call 717-762-7123 or send an email to admin@waynesboro.org .

The Waynesboro Area School Board has whittled down a budget shortfall for 2013-14, preliminarily approving a $49 million spending plan that does not raise taxes. The board has until June 30 to adopt a final budget. On Tuesday, the district's business administrator, Thomas Dick, talked to the school board about an $832,765 deficit he had anticipated. He said the administration and school board's budget committee eliminated that deficit over the past month using several methods.