Hagerstown

Eighteen years ago, when a Maryland judge sent William Joseph Parker to prison for life, I thought it was an extremely good idea. Parker was, physically and by deed, one of the scariest men I'd ever seen in a defendant's chair. No one I know wanted to see his face or to recall his ugly crime again.But by complete coincidence, Parker's is the last of three cases scheduled on the day I've chosen to check out the state's relatively new system of open parole hearings.Emerging from a holding cell, Parker appears before us -- wide forehead, receding hairline, the nose as flat as a boxer's and the lips fixed in a subtle sneer -- in the sunlit room set aside for hearings at the Maryland Correctional Institution at Hagerstown.

Matt Fortese came 75 miles from Hagerstown to meet Taylor Queen at Camden Yards. She drove more than three hours from Virginia. Their second date was going well, Queen said, until an hour of taunting from two fans boiled over into an altercation that left Fortese fighting for his life. Fortese, a lifelong Yankees fan who wore his team's cap to Wednesday's game, suffered severe head trauma and a skull fracture. He was listed in serious condition at Maryland Shock Trauma Center Saturday.

A Hagerstown teenager died following a single-car crash in Clear Spring, Maryland State Police said. Authorities said they were called to the accident on National Pike, near Garrow Drive, early Sunday. They found an overturned Buick Reatta off the roadway, with the driver trapped inside. The driver was extricated from the vehicle and taken to the Meritus Medical Center, where he later died, according to police. Authorities identified the victim as 17-year-old Quinn Hoover. He attended Washington County Technical High School, according to The Herald-Mail of Hagerstown.

“Hacksaw” Jim Duggan is wrestling at the Big Time Wrestling show at the Maryland Theater in Hagerstown on Friday night.  We were able to talk to him about what he's been doing since his last extended run with the WWE, as well as his memories of Wrestlemania over the years. Since your last run with the WWE several years ago, what have you been doing? Duggan: I keep busy with quite a bit of stuff.  The big thing for me right now is that I do a lot of charity work.  I do about 200 hours a year.

A company that manufactures airplanes in Hagerstown that are used to monitor the nation's borders would receive $43 million to continue production under legislation approved by the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday. Sierra Nevada Corp., a Nevada-based company with a plant in Hagerstown, outfits the twin-engine aircraft with sensors that assist Customs and Border Patrol agents on the ground with catching people who cross the border into the U.S. illegally. If approved by Congress, the funding will keep the company's production line open, allowing it to begin work on two new aircraft.

Valley Mall in Hagerstown was temporarily closed Saturday morning after a crowd of patrons seeking to buy the new Nike Foam sneakers became out of control, police said. At 8:10 a.m., with about 100 people gathered in front of the mall's Footlocker store, a security officer called police to say that the crowd "was beginning to become unruly," said a news release from the Washington County Sheriff's Office. About 15 officers from the sheriff's office, the Maryland State Police and Hagerstown police arrived at the mall to discover that up to 150 patrons were involved, the release said.

In a move hailed by Gov. Parris N. Glendening as a prime example of Smart Growth, the state Board of Public Works voted yesterday to keep the Washington County District Court in the historic district of Hagerstown.The board voted unanimously to spend $390,000 to buy a downtown warehouse that will be demolished to make way for a $6 million court building. The District Court is now in a former department store.Last year, former District Court Chief Judge Robert F. Sweeney proposed a new building on the outskirts of Hagerstown, but local officials, fearful that law offices and other businesses also would move from the city center, protested and won the support of the Glendening administration.

One night earlier, the Anne Arundel Community College men's basketball team had taken a sizable lead into the locker room at halftime.Last night, against Hagerstown Junior College, the Pioneers were carrying a heavy burden.They were down by 12 points after 20 minutes, and their hottest shooter and leading rebounder, Sylvester Clarke, had been sitting with three fouls.The Pioneers had stayed close for a while against a bigger, faster and deeper opponent, but it wouldn't last. Visiting Hagerstown ran away in the second half, getting points from all 13 players in a 119-78 win.Four Pioneers scored in double figures, led by Aderio Jones with 18 points, including 9-of-10 from the line.

His team accomplished a first over the weekend, but he hopes it isn't the last positive thing to happen this season.Jim Fontaine's Anne Arundel Community College women's cross country team never had beaten Hagerstown until Saturday, when the Pioneers withstood the hot and humid conditions at the Howard Express Invitational in Columbia to finish ahead of the Hawks.Salisbury State won the meet, with Anne Arundel placing second and Hagerstown third.Lynn Kurchock, an All-American last year, took second out of 35 runners.

Hagerstown residents elected a new mayor yesterday as Robert Bruchey, a car salesman and former state prison guard, defeated incumbent Steven T. Sager in an election that was considered a referendum on downtown redevelopment in the Western Maryland city.Bruchey received 2,112 votes to Sager's 1,562, according to the Washington County elections board. Turnout was 21.7 percent, the board said.Sager, the city's one-time planning and development chief, spent much of his 12 years as mayor promoting efforts to revive Hagerstown's downtown area, a once-booming retail area that had fallen on hard times.

The Bel Air Independence Day Committee is looking for its 2013 "Miss Bel Air Independence Day," the official hostess for the all-day festivities in Bel Air on Thursday, July 4, beginning with the flag-raising and pancake breakfast and ending with the traditional parade and fireworks. Miss Bel Air Independence Day 2013 will also compete at the 2013 Miss Maryland Pageant in Hagerstown in late June. The winner will be chosen by interview from all eligible applicants. Applicants must be young women from Harford County at least 17 years of age, and who will not turn 25 before Dec. 30, 2013.

Kevin Nash is wrestling at the Big Time Wrestling show at the Maryland Theater in Hagerstown on Friday night. We were able to talk to him about what he's been doing since last being on WWE television, and as well as his memories of Wrestlemania over the years. Last time most people saw you, it was at the TLC pay-per-view in Baltimore in December of 2011.  What have you been doing since then? Kevin Nash: I've been keeping busy.  I've been making personal appearances as well as doing independent bookings.  I've been working on a movie project locally with some writers and a production group.  It has a good script, and a medium-budget of about $1-to-1.5 million.  There's also a reality show that I've been in talks with.  I also have a legends deal with WWE, so I go in from time-to-time for DVD commentaries, and I sometimes go to developmental (NXT)

State police are investigating the possible killing of an inmate Tuesday night at a prison in Hagerstown, the fifth such incident at a state prison in six months. State police said the victim was a 22-year-old inmate at the Maryland Correctional Institution, a medium-security prison. Authorities have declined to identify him pending notification of his family. According to state police, the inmate was found standing near a bunk and with blood on his clothes about 10:30 p.m. by a guard conducting a nightly count.

Nine current and former guards at a state prison in Hagerstown were charged Wednesday in a federal indictment that alleges they conspired to assault an inmate and covered up the incident. The U.S. Department of Justice indictment refers to two separate beatings of an inmate, identified only as "K.D.," in the same weekend in March 2008. K.D. was beaten so badly that he had to be taken to a hospital, the indictment says. None of the current and former prison officers was actually charged with assault.

Many area volleyball fans thought Friday's match between Centennial and North Hagerstown would be a dream to watch. It turned out to be a nightmare for the No. 2 Eagles. North Hagerstown (18-1) outscored, played better defense and hustled more than Centennial (18-1) to win its second consecutive Class 3A title, 25-20, 25-22, 25-12, at the University of Maryland's Ritchie Coliseum tonight. Peyton Wallech led the Hubs with 21 kills, while Trisha Mockapetris led Centennial with 15 kills.

For Trisha Mockapetris, a trip back to the state championship was a must. On Wednesday night, Mockapetris and her Centennial teammates made sure that happened. The No. 2 Eagles played an aggressive but smart style to defeat La Plata of Charles County, 25-13, 25-14, 25-10, in the Class 3A state volleyball semifinals at Ritchie Coliseum. Centennial (18-0) will face defending Class 3A champion North Hagerstown in the title game Friday at 8 p.m. at Ritchie Coliseum. The Hubs defeated No. 4 Bel Air, 3-0, in the other semifinal.

HAGERSTOWN -- Two months after they learned they would lose their Double-A baseball team at the end of this season, fans of the Hagerstown Suns finally were heard.In what sounded like the release of frustration, they booed during pre-game ceremonies for last night's season opener against the Canton-Akron Indians.In particular, they booed Peter Kirk, principal owner of the Suns, and they booed Steven Sager, mayor of Hagerstown.By the end of the night, the crowd of 3,632 had something to cheer about -- a 4-2 Eastern League victory.

Services for Matthew J. Powlen, vice president for administration of the Powlen Equipment Co., will be held at 10 a.m. today at the Minnich Funeral Home in Hagerstown.Mr. Powlen, who was 34 and lived in Hagerstown, died of leukemia Monday at Frederick Memorial Hospital.He started as a salesman at the family-owned industrial and construction equipment company in 1983 and became a vice president three years later.A native of Logansport, Ind., who moved to Timonium as a child with his family, Mr. Powlen was a 1974 graduate of Dulaney High School and a member of the Havenwood Presbyterian Church.

Thelma C. McDonough, a homemaker who never lost her affection for Baltimore, died Aug.1 from complications of leukemia at Julia Manor Health Care Center, Hagerstown. The longtime Towson resident was 98. Thelma Caroline Catherine Virginia Veronica Lewis was born and raised in East Baltimore. She was a descendant of the family that founded Fenwick Island, Worcester County, and Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis and Clark expeditions. She graduated from St. Elizabeth's Parochial School and worked at The Fountain of Youth soda fountain at North Calvert and Fayette streets, where she met her future husband, Edward J. McDonough.

A Hagerstown toddler is expected to recover from a gunshot wound to the chest suffered when a handgun he found in a parking lot discharged, family members said. Police said the 3-year-old boy, who was not identified, was playing with his 7-year-old sister Friday morning in a parking lot on West Franklin Street in Hagerstown when they found the gun, a .22-caliber Beretta, in the weeds. The gun fired and the young girl ran to alert her parents, police said. The boy was taken to Meritus Medical Center in Hagerstown, police said, adding that the extent of his injuries were not known.