Williamsport High School

Betty Jane Teach, 84, of Hagerstown, Md., and formerly of Williamsport, Md., passed away Sunday, June 9, 2013, at Williamsport Retirement Village, Williamsport. Born Sept. 19, 1928, in Hagerstown, she was the daughter of the late William Allison and Suella Decker Speaker. She was preceded in death by her husband, Evan Francis Teach, in 1999. She was a 1946 graduate of Williamsport High School, Williamsport. She was employed by A&P grocery for 20 years until retiring in 1983.

Karl Kristofer Werder, 55, of Williamsport, Md., passed away on Wednesday, May 15, 2013, at Meritus Medical Center Hagerstown, Md., and gave the gift of life to Living Legacy Foundation. Born Aug. 21, 1957, in Washington, D.C., to Dr. Richard H. Werder of Williamsport and the late Dorothy Elizabeth Sennett Werder. He was a 1975 graduate of Williamsport High School and received his bachelor's degree in business administration from George Washington University. Karl was employed by the CIA for more than 20 years until his retirement.

Renovations will be done at Williamsport High School this summer to create a security vestibule at the front entrance that visitors would be directed to go through instead of directly entering the school, Washington County Public Schools officials said. The Board of Education unanimously approved a contract for the work as part of its March 19 consent agenda. The contract was awarded to GRC General Contractors, of Zullinger, Pa., said Purchasing Supervisor Lisa Freeman, according to an online video of the March 19 board meeting.

Williamsport High School is getting a new principal about halfway through the school year, as Principal Henry “Hank” Bohlander is retiring for personal reasons, Washington County Schools Superintendent Clayton Wilcox said Tuesday. April Bishop, the school system's secondary math supervisor, became acting principal at Williamsport High, effective Tuesday, according to a news release from the school system. While the title is acting principal, Wilcox said his intent is for Bishop to become the regular principal at Williamsport High.

The Williamsport High School SADD (Students Against Destructive Driving) Chapter will conduct a campaign this week called “It Only Takes One,” meaning it only takes one text, one phone call or one drink to throw your judgment off the road. The campaign will target junior and senior students who have a driver's license, to urge them to stay focused on the road. Many activities are scheduled throughout the week to support this issue. Students from SADD plan to decorate the sidewalks outside the school to remind students to stay focused on the road.

Feeling horrified and numb, a steady stream of friends of Williamsport High School seniors Brendon Edward Colliflower and Samantha Rae Kelly turned out at the spot along Rench Road on Sunday afternoon where the two sports standouts were killed in an accident the night before. Colliflower, a pitcher on this year's Williamsport High School baseball team, and Kelly, a tennis and volleyball athlete at the school, had been to the high school's prom at the Clarion Hotel & Conference Center in Shepherdstown, W.Va., Saturday night.

The Center for Joint Surgery and Sports Medicine announced that high school seniors John C. Britton III of North Hagerstown High School and Natalie Rudisill of Williamsport High School are the recipients of its annual Dr. Tom Altizer Memorial Scholarship Award. This year's pool of scholarship applicants was one of the largest and most competitive in recent history, but Britton and Rudisill stood out due to their academic excellence, perseverance in the face of adversity and the valuable insight they wished to pass on to incoming freshmen.

Ida Kate Grimes, 108, of Williamsport, Md., passed away Sunday, June 9, 2013, in Hagerstown, Md. Born Feb. 16, 1905, in Williamsport, she was the daughter of the late Samuel Hamilton and Nettie Lee Bowser Grimes. She was a graduate of Williamsport High School, and received her teaching certificate at Towson Normal School in Towson, Md. She started her teaching career at Pinesburg School, and ended it at Surrey School in Hagerstown. She taught for 44 years until retiring. She was a member of Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, Williamsport.

Betty Jane Teach, 84, of Hagerstown, Md., and formerly of Williamsport, Md., passed away Sunday, June 9, 2013, at Williamsport Retirement Village, Williamsport. Born Sept. 19, 1928, in Hagerstown, she was the daughter of the late William Allison and Suella Decker Speaker. She was preceded in death by her husband, Evan Francis Teach, in 1999. She was a 1946 graduate of Williamsport High School, Williamsport. She was employed by A&P grocery for 20 years until retiring in 1983.

William “Bill” Byers was a beloved teacher in Washington County. He taught 42 years for the county school system, the last 29 as a driver's education teacher at Williamsport High School, where he taught countless teenagers to drive. Bill knew a lot about what was going on in the community from the back-seat conversations of students awaiting their turn at the wheel, said his wife of 68 years, Ruby. “My dad, he knew everything going on in the high school,” said son Joseph “Joe” Byers of Hagerstown.

Like the proverbial elephant, the community of Williamsport never forgets. Saturday's fourth annual Nick Adenhart Memorial 5K was a sea of red and blue, as 275 participants, many decked out in Williamsport Wildcats and Anaheim Angels gear, came out to Williamsport High School to support the Nick Adenhart Memorial Fund. “This is why I love small towns. Everybody cares about each other and we just have fun,” said Williamsport volleyball coach Emily Crabtree, the organizer of the event.

Touching on themes as varied as legacy, the workforce, teamwork and the speed of technology, student and adult speakers took to the podium Thursday night to prepare Williamsport High School's 206 graduates for the next chapter in their lives. Co-Salutatorian Benjamin M. Seibert, asked the students how they want to be remembered in life. Will they volunteer? What kind of parents will they be? Will they put others' needs before theirs? “Only you know the answers to these questions,” Seibert said in his address inside Hagerstown Community College's Athletic, Recreation and Community Center.

Each Sunday since mid-April a league of 36 peppy 4- and 5-year-olds have gathered at Springfield Middle School to participate in the Williamsport Youth Soccer program's U-6 clinic headed by North Hagerstown High School girls soccer coach Rick Aleshire. Aleshire receives help each week from the program's vice president, Rodney Reed, and he also relies heavily on a quartet of volunteers from Williamsport High School's girls soccer team who selflessly donate their time to teach the game they share a passion for. “I love sharing my love for the sport and showing kids how much fun it is,” junior Erin Palmer said.

The community is invited to a street fair Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on East Salisbury Street, sponsored by Rehoboth United Methodist Church. The event is free. The event includes food and drinks, games, yard sale items, children's crafts, M-CHIP child identification and other activities. For more information, call 301-223-9554 or go to www.rehobothumc.org.   Fishing rodeo planned Saturday The annual Chesapeake and Ohio Canal fishing rodeo at Cushwa Basin will be Saturday from 9 to 11:30 a.m. There will be free fishing for those ages 15 and younger.

Larry Edwin Gross, 62, of Hagerstown, Md., and formerly of Williamsport, Md., passed away Sunday, May 26, 2013, at Autumn Assisted Living, Hagerstown. He was born July 25, 1950, in Hagerstown to the late Howard Luther Glenn and Jean Marie Hull Gross. He was a 1968 graduate of Williamsport High School. He belonged to the Maryland National Guard. He was employed as manager of Ben Franklin Crafts, Wheeling, W.Va., until his retirement. He attended Faith Christian Fellowship, Williamsport.

Monday, May 27, 2013 ADULT BASEBALL WILLIAMSPORT - The Hagerstown Braves scored five runs on six hits in the sixth inning to take a 12-2 win over the Virginia Cardinals on Monday in the championship game of the Reno Powell Memorial Tournament at Williamsport High School. The Braves got all the offense they would need in the bottom of the first when RJ Smith hit a bases-loaded triple. Trevor Cobb had four hits and three RBIs, Zack Swisher added three hits and Smith had two hits and five RBIs.