Cows

SHARPSBURG heatherk@herald-mail.com If you have any questions about whether this year's Miss Washington County Farm Bureau is the real thing, just ask her what she's been reading lately. She'll think for a moment, then tell you about a research book on mad cow disease and the latest articles in Dairy Today magazine. "I like things like that a lot better than Shakespeare and stuff," said Hannah Smith, 17, who is dreading the Advanced Placement English Literature class she will take next year as a senior at Clear Spring High School.

Owner believes missing cows were stolen By LISA GRAYBEAL Staff Writer, Chambersburg MERCERSBURG, Pa. - A Mercersburg, Pa., dairy farmer is hoping deer hunters will flush out nine Holstein heifers this week that have been missing since last Tuesday after a gate was found open to the pasture. But just in case the missing young black and white cows don't show up, owner Garry Martin has contacted most of the cattle auctions on the East Coast and Pennsylvania State Police are investigating the incident as a theft.

lizb@herald-mail.com Sitting in his little red wagon across from his younger brother, Taylor Crabtree summed up his perspective on dairy cattle: "I like the cows, but they're stinky. " Taylor, 5, of Hagerstown, was at the Washington County Ag Expo with his parents and 2-year-old brother Jayden Eichelberger Wednesday. He said he rode the ponies and petted the "big animals, not the small ones. " Taylor said he wanted to see the bulls because he was not afraid of them, even if he only came up to their knees.

A restitution hearing was postponed again Wednesday for a Berkeley County woman who pleaded guilty to animal cruelty in October 2010 for the mistreatment of more than 50 horses and two cows. Mary O'Brien, 37, pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of animal cruelty and was fined $1,000 in October. She still could be ordered to pay thousands of dollars in restitution stemming from the care that officials said was provided to keep the animals alive. Found malnourished and with little to eat or drink at Hidden Meadows Equine Rescue Inc., the horses and cows were seized Sept.

A man who was charged in January with five felony violations of causing the cruel killing of an animal asked a judge Wednesday in Washington County District Court for a jury trial. The case of Gregory Charles Wiles, 41, was forwarded to Washington County Circuit Court, where jury trials are heard. Wiles also was charged in January with 29 misdemeanor violations of failing to provide sufficient food and drink, according to court documents. The Humane Society of Washington County in December 2007 seized 34 cows - 15 Holstein heifers from a pasture on College Road in the Hagerstown area and 18 cows and one dead cow from a pasture on Neck Road in the Williamsport area.

WASHINGTON COUNTY - A herd of cows seized by the Humane Society of Washington County late last year has a new home. A pasture owner outside Washington County has paid $10,000 for the cows, which were taken from their previous owner, Gregory Charles Wiles, in December 2007. Wiles pleaded guilty earlier this month in Washington County Circuit Court to animal cruelty charges. The 26 cows and one bull calf were taken to the new pasture Saturday, a spokeswoman for the Humane Society said Monday.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Four cows died early Monday after a dump truck struck the bovines on U.S. 11 near Bedington Crossroads, West Virginia State Police and Division of Highways officials said. Truck driver Daniel Riner, 28, of Shippensburg, Pa., wasn't injured in the 6 a.m. collision, State Police Sgt. G.S. Petsko said. One of the cows was "put down" after it was seriously injured from the predawn collision, according to Mark Baker, the West Virginia Division of Highways assistant superintendent for road maintenance in Berkeley County.

HAGERSTOWN - A man who has been in the news over the past several years for owning two cloned cows and their offspring pleaded guilty Monday morning to two felony counts related to the death of two cows. Gregory Charles Wiles, who was charged with five felony counts of aggravated animal cruelty in connection with 31 cows seized and impounded by the Humane Society of Washington County in December 2007, won't serve any time in jail. But as one of several conditions of his three-year probation, Wiles may not own or possess any livestock.

BOONSBORO - Melody and Dorie are used to being pampered. They receive the best food, are constantly groomed and have spacious grazing pastures. In return, they have provided cattle developer Ernie Kueffner with some rather large trophies and valuable frozen embryos. Now Kueffner, 48, of 431 Potomac St., is preparing to sell them and about 38 other cows, heifers and calves on July 3 at an auction that is expected to draw 300 to 500 people to the Washington County Agricultural Education Center off Sharpsburg Pike.

WILLIAMSPORT - The Humane Society of Washington County is investigating a complaint about the farm where a financially burdened farmer cares for 110 animals, including two cloned cows. Humane Society Executive Director Paul Miller on Wednesday confirmed the investigation but would not provide details, saying it was an "open investigation. " Greg Wiles keeps the cows on his father's 200-acre farm on Big Bend Way near Williamsport. Wiles faces an eviction hearing next week in Washington County Circuit Court for allegedly failing to pay rent on the property.