(Editor's Note: On July 6, we asked readers of the editorial page to tell us what they did with the $150 property tax refund checks recently sent out by the Washington County government. What follows are the replies. The winner will be named at the end of this column.)

Reliving our youth

To the editor:

How to spend $150? Being a senior citizen, I decided to relive my childhood. Superman was our hero, so my husband and I went to see "Superman Returns." Not our Superman, but good. (No popcorn - saving money!) On to Boonsboro Community Days, where we shared a cup of ice cream (two spoons). Our next venture was buying berry boxes at a yard sale. Memories of picking berries for extra money brought smiles. Our big purchase was an inexpensive store-bought bicycle for me. Reliving our bike-riding days, we rode 25 miles on the Western Maryland Rail Trail. I am now stiff, but happy. Where did our last dollar go? To buy BenGay!

Lorraine (Kretzer) Eccard

Boonsboro

Cleaning up a mess

To the editor:

Wow, this reminds me of the reports we used to write following our summer break in school, "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" or a report for grown-ups "How I Spent My Refund Check."

Our story begins on Tuesday, June 27. Our neighbor had a sewer manhole cover in his back yard and during the heavy rain the cover blew off and raw sewage spewed out about two feet in the air. As soon as this happened, the raw sewage began to flow out of our commode and floor drain into our basement. We ended up with a yard full of raw sewage and a basement with about four inches of the aromatic fluid. Our neighbor also was blessed with about six inches of aromatic fluid in his basement.

There are many more vivid details we could include but we will keep this a "clean" as we can.

The City of Hagerstown sent a very nice lady out who took pictures and filed a claim with their insurance company. The adjustor with the City of Hagerstown's insurance company was nice enough to explain that the city could not help it that we got so much rain and our claim for clean-up was denied. We cleaned up as much as we could ourselves, but our doctor advised us to stay out of the "stuff" unless we wore protective suits, because of the many diseases you can contract.

So my family used the big rebate check of $150 to help pay for a professional company to come in to clean and sanitize our basement. If you can, mention their name; it was ServiceMaster. We want to thank them for the wonderful job they did in a very hot and dirty environment. The bill was approximately $1,300 and for the work they did, it was well worth it. Thanks again, City of Hagerstown, for all your "help."

Mary, Ed and Brian Klitch

Hagerstown

'Something better'

To the editor:

What to do with our tax rebate was the question of the day,

We discussed it on and off and here's what we have to say:

We could give it to our church for organ repair,

BUT in our budget those funds are already there.

Then, there's the high road, return it to the county uncashed for a miscellaneous need,

BUT bookkeeping nightmares might end up costing more than the receipt of a good deed.

So, we'll simply cash it by the time you read this letter,

AND put it in our cash kitty - unless you come up with something better!

P.S: Amazingly, you came up with "something better" that we will do:

Send the rebate monies to Alivia and pray for the family, too!

Robert and Sally Hatch

Hagerstown

Two new cats

To the editor:

I recently lost my cat of 19 years and my $150 will be used to adopt two cats from the animal shelter and provide them with a loving home.

C.J. Shank

Hagerstown

A show and dinner

To the editor:

In regard to the tax-rebate check I received from Washington County government, I spent it to take my family to a show and later spent the balance treating everyone to dinner afterwards, and some groceries at Food Lion.

Thank you, county government, I feel it was well spent. Thank you again.

Leonard Shade

Hagerstown

And the winner is...

Although we regret what happened to Ed Klitch and family and appreciate the donation to Alivia Koontz, the Hagerstown area 2-year-old with a rare heart defect, we liked Lorraine Eccard's letter that combined what happened today with memories of yesterday.

She and her husband will receive a $25 gasoline card, so she can haul that new bike up the Western Maryland Rail Trail again.

Thanks to all who participated. We look forward to the next contest. What will the next one be? Send suggestions to Editorial Page Editor, The Herald-Mail, P.O. Box 439, Hagerstown, MD 21741.