The globe-independent. (Hagerstown, Md.) 1943-19??, 1952-06-19
Around Town With
The Editor
Just For The Record!


all verbiage - regarding the con-
troversy over the site for a State
chronic disease hospital, to be built
in Washington County:
/. The former Board of County
Commissioners offered the State Of
Maryland the present site of. the
Bellevue Home for the Aged on
Pennsylvania Avenue, as a site for
the proposed hospital, and the pres
ent Board, through whose efforts
coupled with those of State Senator
Kenneth Mclaughlin who got the
three-million dollar appropriation
for the hospital passed by the Sen
ate at the last session of the Legis-
lature - the State decided to build
the hospital in Washington County,
have again offered the Bellevue
Home site for the location of the
hospital.
2. Last January DR.. r. II. Riley,
state health director, and the state
engineer, told the County Commits
sioners that they believed the hos
pital should be built as near as pos
sible to the present County hospital
and they asked the Board to obtain
an option on the Holzapfel tract,
back of Cannon Avenue, as a pos
sible site.
3. The Commissioners, in order to
cooperate with the State, but with
out committing themselves to the
proposed new site, obtained six
month option on the Holzapfel site,
for a price of $45,00000, paying ex-
actly one dollar for the option. AS
matter of fact, the dollar didn't
even come out of county funds, one
of the Commissioners putting it up
out of his own pocket
4. A conference was held on Mon
day, between the County Commits
sioners, the Mayor of Hagerstown,
DR.. Riley, the State Engineer and
DR.. Prather the county Health Off
Ger, during which it was brought out
that the State officials were not only
still in favor of the Holzapfel site,
but now wanted the Commissioners
to take options on further property
in that area, that would cost another
$20,000.00, or more, leaving open the
question of who would pay for the
properties if the options were event
ually taken up.
During this conference it was
brought out that Dr. Riley and his
associates had in mind a sort of med
ical centre, centered around the
County hospital.
The Board of County Commits
sioners have taken no action what
ever on securing the additional OPP
tionS asked for, and have no inten-
tions of doing so at this time.
S. Senator Mclaughlin states that
one of the big factors in getting the
Senate to appropriate the three mil
lion dollars for the hospital here -
and you must remember that other
Senators were fighting to get the hos
pital for their counties - was his
statement that Washington County
had offered the State a perfect site
for the hospital, absolutely free, thus
saving the State thousands of dol
lars.
6. Both the Board of County Com
missioners and Senator Mclaughlin
are in agreement that the Bellevue
Home site is the logical one for the
hospital, and both are agreed that
the big thing is to get the building
of it started, and Senator McLaugh-
lin told me that he is going to take
the matter up with Governor Nickel
din Immediately, with view to get
ting the matter settled right away.
Ii you get a chance any evening In
the near future, why not drop by the
Boys Club on the Market House
parking lot for few minutes and
when you get there, walk up to the
third floor, where you will find a
model automobile plant in operation.
No less than sixteen members of
the club Cloth from the white and
colored sections) are entered in the
Soap Box Derby which will be run
here on July %, and they are all
making their racers in the clubs
workshop, under the guidance of
Jack Riffee and Henry Williams, the
two supervisors.
1 don't know whether any of these
youngsters will win the big event
would like to see them run one,
two, three-but l do know that they
are showing a tremendous interest
in the race and are working like
beavers to get their cars in the best