A new building commissioner for Hagerstown will be in place within a month, if all goes according to plan. For five months, the Town Council has been looking to replace Bob Bullock when he retires. It appears that the lone applicant for the job, Terry Ford, will be hired by the council Oct. 2. The […]
Author Archives: Bob Hansen
Bob Hansen is a reporter for the Western Wayne News.
Food need outstrips township’s resources
Hunger knows no boundaries. A food pantry for the Hagerstown area, run by the Jefferson Township trustee, continues to grow and is asking for help meeting the need for food. Jefferson Township trustee Chris Lane has asked trustees of other Wayne County townships for assistance. When he took office on Jan. 1, he inherited a […]
Scout sees world at Korea gathering
A Centerville lad’s summer experience half a world away from home turned out differently from what he expected when record heat changed the plan. Quentin Turner, the 14-year-old son of Kelly and Karen Turner and a freshman at Centerville Sr. High School, attended the 25th World Scout Jamboree in Saemangeum, South Korea. A member of […]
Superintendents aim to improve schools
Two years ago, Emily Schaeffer didn’t know that she’d be a school superintendent when the 2022-23 school year started. Andy Stover, on the other hand, had just become one. Schaeffer, 38, is starting her second year leading the Nettle Creek School Corporation from Hagerstown. Stover, 35, is starting his third year leading Western Wayne School […]
Egg farm hearing plans scrambled again
A Hagerstown-area couple’s plans for a 20,000-hen egg farm have been delayed a second month because of problems with notification of the neighbors. At the same time, the town is searching for a new building commissioner. The town Board of Zoning Appeals canceled an Aug. 23 hearing. The date had been scheduled during a July […]
Town buying a crack sealer
Hagerstown is planning to buy a crack sealer to prolong the life of town streets. The Town Council authorized Town Manager Chris LaMar to buy a machine that will seal cracks in streets after quizzing him about it on Aug. 8. LaMar told the council that the machine, which puts tar in cracks, would keep […]
Educators focused on improving ILEARN scores
Some Wayne County educators are relieved that last year’s instructional changes boosted their student’s state-mandated standardized test scores, while all say they’ll analyze their districts’ weaknesses and target improvements to score better next year. Statewide, 40.7% of Hoosier students who took the Indiana Learning Evaluation and Assessment Readiness Network (ILEARN) test in 2023 were at […]
Hagerstown evaluates its letter jacket policy
There’s talk of changing how letter jackets are awarded at Hagerstown Jr.-Sr. High School. Nettle Creek Schools board members agreed on Aug. 9 to ask the school’s athletic director to consider whether changes should be made to a system that has been in place for as long as anyone remembers. Board member Shaun Lieberman brought […]
Hagerstown’s Jubilee Days begins with gyroscopes
For at least 70 years, Jubilee Days has been a late summer fixture of life in Hagerstown. Organized by Nettle Creek Lions Club, the annual festival returns this weekend. Activities start Thursday evening with the Gyroscope Championship of the World at 6 p.m. in The Meeting Place at 11 E. Main St. Anyone can enter […]
Town delays egg farm hearing
A farmer’s plan for a 20,000-hen egg farm has been delayed a month because neighbors weren’t properly notified of a zoning hearing. On July 26, the Hagerstown Board of Zoning Appeals tabled action on a variance request by Gideon and Anna Ebersol. They want to start a commercial egg farm on their property, east of […]