Young People

Coming Saturday Hip hop on tap: A Gateway Ministries group sponsors a hip hop music program designed to give young people an alternative musical experience.

His left sleeve is empty and he wears a patch over one eye, but Clebe McClary has not let the injuries he received more than four decades ago in Vietnam dampen his spirit. The Christian motivational speaker was the guest speaker Saturday night at the Bible Brethren Church father-son banquet, regaling a room of about 100 sons, fathers and grandfathers with a mixture of humor and inspiration. Patrick Cleburne “Clebe” McClary was a young Marine Corps lieutenant leading a platoon on a reconnaissance patrol when his unit was ambushed.

What are the biggest challenges to agriculture today? I get asked that question a lot and I find that while the orders of the answer change, the primary answers don't. When I say the order, I mean the order of importance. For instance, a few years ago when the building boom was in full swing, urban sprawl would have been much higher on the list in the Mid-Atlantic region than it is today. That is not to say the urban sprawl is still not a concern. At last glance, they aren't making any more land, and for some reason, prime farm land is also prime development land.

HEDGESVILLE, W.Va. - Taylor Williamson is about to begin her freshman year in high school but will have the chance of a lifetime in January when she attends the Congressional Youth Inaugural Conference in Washington, D.C. Among the events Taylor will attend during the conference are the presidential oath of office, the inaugural parade and one of the inaugural balls, she said. Because Taylor attended a similar conference four years ago, she was a shoo-in for this year's event. "Only a select few people can go," said the 13-year-old Taylor, who will be a freshman this fall at Hedgesville High School.

Last week's question: Is the plan to have a new Washington County Senior Center share space with Girls Inc. a good idea or is there a better site to be considered? Poll results · I don't care. - 10 votes (71 percent) · I'd rather make a comment. - four votes (29 percent) One comment: "I think this is a great idea! Especially with Student Service Learning hours still being a graduation requirement, giving these young people an opportunity to volunteer at the senior center - seeing as how they're there anyway - is great.

The Hagerstown Area Police Athletic League is looking for young people to participate in a football camp. Registration will be held at Fairgrounds Park on Wednesday from 6 to 8 p.m. The camp will run July 21-25 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Police Athletic League has asked that anyone interested call 301-797-2085 for more information.

High-energy rap concert held in W.Va. By BOB PARTLOW / Staff Writer, Martinsburg Photos: KEVIN G. GILBERT / staff photographer SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. - A sellout crowd of about 4,500 mostly young people enjoyed the sunshine and the high-energy music of rap star Nelly in a field at Shepherd College Sunday. Although about 70 police officers from seven police agencies were standing by for crowd and traffic control, some of the officers holding hand-held metal detectors, they had no major problems, said Chief Deputy Jesse Jones of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department.

Youth club to expand, change its name The No Smoking Youth Club will change its name to the Neighborhood Youth Club and expand the services offered by Brothers United Who Dare To Care for young people and their families. The club had a successful program year and concluded it with the distribution of a tobacco education book. The new club will be designed to empower young people through life skills activities and events to help them become successful members of the community.

Brian Robinson has a dream for the Jonathan Street neighborhood that includes a mentoring program for young people and restoration of some of the historic properties there. Perhaps the Hagerstown city government can find a way to help him make these dreams a reality. At the African-American Heritage Program this past Saturday at Wheaton Park, Robinson talked about what he hopes to accomplish. With the help of the children, he said, the neighborhood that's the spiritual heart of Hagerstown's black community can be preserved and improved.

A challenge for the Cortland dance crew was to use umbrellas in their dance performance Saturday in Doub's Woods Park at the seventh annual Hood Hop. “Thank God, we didn't need (them),” event host Spencer Jackson told the crowd of more than 100 who turned out for the dance-off competition, which was delayed by the threat of rain in the form of dark clouds that passed overhead. Cortland was among six neighborhood-based dance groups to compete in the dance-off, which caps off Hood Hop's summer dance program for youth.