A Taste of Germany Comes to Washington County

Its the celebration that brings hundreds of people from all over the country to Hagerstown. They are all looking to get their taste of the German culture which over the years has become the driving force of the festival. Charles Sekula, the organizer of the festival, said the event is "to enhance the downtown [and] practice our culture and heritage. And were supporting the youth exchange program with Wessel, Germany [which is] our sister city." Its the only place in town where you can listen to authentic German music and learn how to dance the traditional German waltz. And where else can you get a taste of that famous German cuisine? 93-year-old Bob Stevenson was at the festival to celebrate his first love. "I love to polka." If you really want to know just how authentic this weekends celebration is why not ask an expert? Juliana Lange said "I think the music [is] very good. [Its] very equal to the German music." Lange, however, didnt seem to enjoy the food. "Just the taste of it, I dont like it. When we eat the hotdog, they put in the sandwich and there we dont have that." And if you werent able to make it out on Saturday, dont worry because Augustoberfest will still be here on Sunday. The gates open at ten a.m. and they close at five p.m. Reported by Marie Coronel [email]mcoronel@nbc25.com[/email]" Citizens Summon Candidates to September 17 Forum,1156710993,0,"On Sunday September 17, area citizens will assemble in Historic Scrabble, the West Virginia hamlet that symbolically straddles the Berkeley-Jefferson County line, for an in-depth discussion of county planning and growth management with four candidates for county commission this year - Democrat Ryan Frankenberry and Republican Bill Stubblefield from Berkeley County, and Republican Jane Tabb and Democrat Frances Morgan from Jefferson County. The forum is sponsored by the "Scrabble Rabble," a grassroots group of citizens in both counties who are concerned about the adequacy of local planning in the face of recent unprecedented growth in the Eastern Panhandle. The forum will be held at 4 p.m. on September 17 at the Mt. Wesley United Methodist Church on Scrabble Road in Scrabble, located between the nearby communities of Shepherdstown and Bedington. It will be moderated by Daniel Friend, editor of the weekly Shepherdstown Chronicle. oomplete press release attached