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Bill Tchakirides, age 66, retired, of Shepherdstown, W.Va., died peacefully Saturday, April 27. Bill was born May 24, 1946, in Waterbury, Conn., the son of the late William Tchakirides and Doris (Barsale) Tchakirides, formerly of Bristol and Farmington, Conn., now residing in Manassas, Va. Bill is survived by his wife, Ellen Louise Smith of Shepherdstown, and by his children, Cassandra Corrigan and husband, Matthew Corrigan, of Manchester, Conn.; Penelope Cantor of Williamsport, Md.; William “Buddy” Tchakirides and wife, Rachel Neal-Tchakirides, of Milwaukee, Wis.; five grandchildren, John, Milo, Jason, Aden and Jacob; his sister Ellen Forbes Gerhard and husband, Jeff Lychwick, of Gainesville, Va.; and several nieces and nephews.

West Virginia Republican Party state Chairman Conrad Lucas said Tuesday he is “completely confident” the GOP will hold Shelley Moore Capito's seat in Congress when she runs for the U.S. Senate in 2014. Since Capito announced her campaign to replace Jay Rockefeller, only former state Del. Larry V. Faircloth, R-Berkeley, has publicly announced a campaign to run for the 2nd District House seat. But Lucas said Tuesday that he expects more candidates to enter the race after the regular session of the state Legislature ends in April.

With today being Veterans Day, I want to take this opportunity to announce several features at The Herald-Mail that focus on veterans.  “Through a Veteran's Eye” is a relatively new television show on HMTV6.  Fred Shinbur (Maryland's Veteran of the Year for 2011 and the current chairman of the Maryland Veterans Commission) and I are the hosts. The purpose of this show is to inform veterans about benefits and services available in our area. The show airs Tuesdays at 8 a.m., noon and 4 p.m. on Antietam Cable channel 6, and on a random basis throughout the weekend.

Old-timers spray watered-down raw egg on their plants. As the egg decomposes, the smell keeps deer away. Someone else spreads bone and blood meal around to create the smell of death in the garden. Hunters tend to sprinkle predator urine to ward them off. A neighbor even creates tangles of fishing line that confuse a deer's senses, particularly at night. These are just a few of the many age-old ways country gardeners try to protect their plants, and they are little more than folklore.

A Martinsburg soldier wounded last week in a rocket attack in Afghanistan is recovering at a military medical center in Bethesda, Md., his father said Tuesday. U.S. Army Spc. Uriah Horst, 21, has several surgeries ahead of him, but Richard Horst Sr. said his son is in “good spirits” and doing well. “He's doing good, I'm proud of him,” his father said. “He's been through a lot.” Uriah Horst returned to the U.S. on Sunday, Richard Horst said. He was wounded on July 25 and flown from Afghanistan to Germany before returning to the United States.

Have you already written off fitness in the month of December as a lost cause. Are you already planning on another New Year's resolution to get in shape? You are missing a grand opportunity to roll into 2009 having already made some decent progress. The last 3 weeks of 2008 can be a crucial jumpstart for your fitness goals, if you've got the moxy. I'm going to share with a you a few strategies to lay the foundation for success in 2009. Know where you stand You have to know where you are before you can plan where you want to go. Get a comprehensive fitness assessment from a National Academy of Sports Medicine-certified personal trainer.

Grand opening planned A grand opening will be held Friday for the Washington County Democratic Central Committee's permanent headquarters in Hagerstown. There will be a meet-and-greet with candidates Friday at noon at the headquarters. Democratic candidates for the 6th Congressional District have been invited to attend the event, and refreshments will be served. Campaign literature, bumper stickers and other materials also will be available. The headquarters will be open, except for Sundays, though Feb. 12 - the day of the primary election.

In December 2004, humor columnist Dave Barry announced he would take a year off from writing his weekly column, which The Herald-Mail has carried for many years. Assuming that he would return in 2006, The Herald-Mail spent a year reprinting "classic" Barry columns. Now Barry has decided that he will no longer write a weekly column. In a Dec. 28 interview with Editor & Publisher, Barry said that while he will write an occasional column for he Miami Herald and maintain his blog, the earliest his weekly column would return would be "several weeks after my death.

Kenneth Albert Wright Jr., 76, of Berkeley Springs, W.Va., died Sunday, Sept. 11, 2011, at Winchester (Va.) Medical Center. Born Nov. 11, 1934, in Union Springs, N.Y., he was the son of the late Kenneth Albert Wright Sr. and Clara Jeanette Nosworthy Wright. He was a member of Berkeley Springs Seventh-day Adventist Church. He was a member of Alderton-Dawson American Legion Post 60, American Red Cross Disaster Volunteer and treasurer of the Tower Acres Homeowners Association. Kenneth was a U.S. Army veteran, serving in the Korean War. He obtained his bachelor's degree in business from Columbia Union College in Takoma Park, Md. He managed two credit unions before becoming the business administrator for the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

People these days have plenty of definitions for the word "emo," but here to help you out is "Everybody Hurts: The Essential Guide to Emo Culture" by Leslie Simon and Trevor Kelley, a funny, tongue-in-cheek key to all things emo. From vegan-friendly eateries around the country to "How to Emo-fy Your Blog Post," the witty book cites dozens of emo artists and even points out emo hotspots within an hour of Hagerstown, such as the Black Cat club...