Mar. 8—100 Years Ago
March 8, 1923
The C&O Canal, not operated last year, will be opened this spring, it was learned from unofficial sources in Hagerstown today. The inability to move coal promptly over railroads and the assurance of plenty of business to continue at a profit, it is understood, has induced the Towage Company to again operate the old waterway over which much of the coal for Washington, D.C., has been carried from the coal fields around Cumberland.
Frederick county, in common with the whole Atlantic seaboard north of the Virginia capes at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, was swept to the worst blizzard and sleet storm of the winter Tuesday and Wednesday. The storm was county-wide and did damage everywhere. The vicinity of Yellow Springs, the section of the county lying between Frederick and Brunswick and the vicinity of Licksville and Buckeystown were the hardest hit, according to reports, however. About 1,000 telephones knocked out in this county of which about 900 were still out as a late hour Wednesday evening.
40 Years Ago
March 8, 1983
Frederick County schoolteachers and the board of education were unable Monday to resolve two key issues holding up ratification of a new teachers' contract. "Neither side moved far enough to come together," said Beverly Stonestreet, president of the Frederick County Teacher's Association, after a "tedious" day of talks with a third-party mediator. The teachers' union and school board have been unable to agree on pay raises and activities supervision compensation.
All Frederick County government workers should get a $3,500 pay raise in addition to other benefits, a state employees organization told the county commissioners Monday. The Maryland Classified Employees Association — which represents about 117 of the 670 full-time county employees — believes "the county has fallen behind" the state and neighboring counties in pay and benefits, said Eric W. Prior, MCEA labor relations representative.
(Editor's Note: The News-Post does not have access to archives from 50 years ago for August 1972 through March 1973. The "50 Years Ago" summary will return April 1, 2023.)
20 Years Ago
March 8, 2003
Boscov's Department Stores, a major regional retailer, plans to take over the empty JCPenney store in the ailing Frederick Towne Mall, the company and Frederick officials announced Friday. Boscov's would spend between $9 million and $10 million on the Golden Mile building if the plan goes through, according to Richard Griffin, the director of the City of Frederick's office of economic development. Mayor Jennifer Dougherty said the store would be open by this year's holiday season.
Just who would be in charge if a terrorist attack occurred in Frederick County? That's what the Frederick County Commissioners, Sheriff Jim Hagy and the Local Emergency Planning Committee are debating, sometimes in closed-doors sessions in Winchester Hall.