Fort Bragg

A man suspected in the fatal shootings of a Fort Bragg councilman and a county land trust official was shot and killed Saturday after a massive manhunt in the redwood forests of Northern California, a sheriff's deputy said. Deputy Ron Parsons of the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department said Aaron Bassler was shot and killed around midday, according to The Santa Rosa Press-Democrat. He said a member of his agency had been involved in the shooting. Bassler, 35, had been the subject of a manhunt since Councilman Jere Melo and a second man separately confronted him while investigating reports of an illegal marijuana farm outside of town.

Pvt. Amanda Reese completed Army basic training May 7 at Fort Jackson, S.C. Reese continued her training for psychological operations specialist graduating July 9 from Fort Bragg, N.C. Reese graduated from James Buchanan High School in Mercersburg, Pa. She is the daughter of Mary Nelson of Hagerstown and Ralph Daugherty of Mercersburg. o To submit service news items, call 301-733-5131, ext. 2322, e-mail sharons@herald-mail.com "> sharons@herald-mail.com, or mail to The Herald-Mail Co., P.O. Box 439 Hagerstown MD 21741

U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. James A. Mills has been serving in and around Iraq since February. He is a member of the VMU-1 Special Unit. Upon return to the United States, he will be stationed at Twentynine Palms, Calif. where his wife, Christine, lives. A 1998 graduate of Clear Spring High School, he is the son of Shirley L. Mills of Hagerstown. U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Mark A. Wiley, 33, serves in Quality and Training Aircrew Life Support with the 436th Operations Support Squadron at Dover (Del.

Birthdays May 17 - Terry Wray, Maugansville, turned 44. Today - Pvt. Daniel Lee Guyer, Fort Bragg, N.C., turns 19; Malorie A. Melius, Grant Shook Road, Greencastle, Pa., turns 7. Anniversaries May 17 - Ernie and Doris Shoemaker, Chestnut Grove Road, Sharpsburg, celebrated their 40th anniversary. Today - Todd and Lisa Hoffman, Broadfording Road, Hagerstown, are celebrating their 23rd anniversary. · If you'd like your birthday or wedding anniversary to appear in The Herald-Mail, mail the information to The Herald-Mail, P.O. Box 439, Hagerstown, MD 21741; fax it to 301-714-0245; or e-mail tonym@herald-mail.

Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Lester J. Powlen III , son of Lester J. Jr. and Mary M. Powlen of Hagerstown, has been awarded the master parachutist badge for completing 65 jumps. He also served in jump status with an airborne unit or other organization of authorized parachutists for at least 36 months. Powlen is a polygraph examiner assigned to the 10th Military Police Battalion, Fort Bragg, Fayetteville, N.C. His wife, Betsy, is the daughter of John H. and Janet W. Wyckoff of Valparaiso, Ind. Powlen graduated in 1977 from Williamsport High School and received an associate degree in 1979 from Hagerstown Junior College.

wandaw@herald-mail.com HAGERSTOWN - Williamsport native U.S. Army Spc. Patrick Meyers stopped by Western Heights Middle School on Tuesday to visit students who wrote 300 letters of support to soldiers in his unit while they were in Iraq. "It was just unreal. All the letters and the things they were saying, it was overwhelming," Meyers, 22, said. Meyers, who is stationed with a signal battalion at Fort Bragg, N.C., ended his one-year deployment to Iraq last month and is home for a visit before returning to Fort Bragg on Friday.

DEC. 13, 1964-MAY 7, 2011 Sgt. Rick Dwaine Weicht, 46, of Statesville, N.C., went to be with the Lord Saturday, May 7, 2011, at Wake Forest University Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C. Born Dec. 13, 1964, in Waynesboro, Pa., he was the son of Nelson D. and Alice J. (Tracy) Weicht. He attended schools in Maryland and graduated from Smithsburg High School in 1982. Rick was an 18-year disabled veteran of the Maryland National Guard and was activated in the U.S. Army during 1990 to support Desert Storm.

A man suspected in the fatal shootings of a Fort Bragg councilman and a county land trust official was shot and killed Saturday after a massive manhunt in the redwood forests of Northern California, a sheriff's deputy said. Deputy Ron Parsons of the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department said Aaron Bassler was shot and killed around midday, according to The Santa Rosa Press-Democrat. He said a member of his agency had been involved in the shooting. Bassler, 35, had been the subject of a manhunt since Councilman Jere Melo and a second man separately confronted him while investigating reports of an illegal marijuana farm outside of town.

DEC. 13, 1964-MAY 7, 2011 Sgt. Rick Dwaine Weicht, 46, of Statesville, N.C., went to be with the Lord Saturday, May 7, 2011, at Wake Forest University Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C. Born Dec. 13, 1964, in Waynesboro, Pa., he was the son of Nelson D. and Alice J. (Tracy) Weicht. He attended schools in Maryland and graduated from Smithsburg High School in 1982. Rick was an 18-year disabled veteran of the Maryland National Guard and was activated in the U.S. Army during 1990 to support Desert Storm.

A Green Beret who grew up in Greencastle, Pa., and served in several hotspots around the world was killed Saturday by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan, U.S. Army officials said. Sgt. 1st Class Benjamin F. Bitner, 37, was serving his sixth tour of duty when he was killed in Kandahar province, according to information provided by U.S. Army Special Forces Command (Airborne) at Fort Bragg, N.C. In addition to serving in Afghanistan, Bitner had served in Africa, Kosovo, Kuwait and Iraq.

While growing up in Dargan, we never talked much about racism. We already knew we were better than anyone outside of Dargan, and I later discovered that most outsiders had a similar view of us. "Must be normal thinking," I concluded. "We're not racists, are we?" Brownie Turner, who lived in our town, was a little more dark skinned then most, but was well-liked by all the community. He was a great mechanic. People could have treated Brownie differently because he was different in a way, but no one ever did. Brownie died one day alongside the Dargan back road near the Shinham lime kiln.

Pvt. Amanda Reese completed Army basic training May 7 at Fort Jackson, S.C. Reese continued her training for psychological operations specialist graduating July 9 from Fort Bragg, N.C. Reese graduated from James Buchanan High School in Mercersburg, Pa. She is the daughter of Mary Nelson of Hagerstown and Ralph Daugherty of Mercersburg. o To submit service news items, call 301-733-5131, ext. 2322, e-mail sharons@herald-mail.com "> sharons@herald-mail.com, or mail to The Herald-Mail Co., P.O. Box 439 Hagerstown MD 21741

JUNE 18, 1919-JUNE 4, 2009 Louise Geddie Eyler, 89, formerly of Nottingham Road, Hagerstown, Md., died Thursday, June 4, 2009, at NMS Healthcare, where she was a resident. Born June 18, 1919, in Cumberland County, N.C., she was the daughter of the late Paul A. and Katie C. Sessoms Geddie. She married Charles I. Eyler Jr. on June 12, 1971. At the time of their marriage, her church membership was transferred from Hay Street Methodist Church, Hay Street, Fayetteville, N.C., to Grace United Methodist Church in Hagerstown.

Birthdays May 17 - Terry Wray, Maugansville, turned 44. Today - Pvt. Daniel Lee Guyer, Fort Bragg, N.C., turns 19; Malorie A. Melius, Grant Shook Road, Greencastle, Pa., turns 7. Anniversaries May 17 - Ernie and Doris Shoemaker, Chestnut Grove Road, Sharpsburg, celebrated their 40th anniversary. Today - Todd and Lisa Hoffman, Broadfording Road, Hagerstown, are celebrating their 23rd anniversary. · If you'd like your birthday or wedding anniversary to appear in The Herald-Mail, mail the information to The Herald-Mail, P.O. Box 439, Hagerstown, MD 21741; fax it to 301-714-0245; or e-mail tonym@herald-mail.

Family proud of soldier son PFC Hunter Bowman, a 2006 WHS graduate, enlisted in the Army Aug. 29, 2006. He was first stationed in Lawton, Okla., for basic training, then to Fort Bliss, Texas, for schooling, and achieved his Airborne wings at Fort Benning, Ga. He was stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C., until April 15 when he was deployed to Camp Bucca, Iraq, for a 15- month tour of duty. Hunter is greatly missed by his family and friends. His family is so proud of their soldier son. It is their daily prayer and ours that Hunter comes home safely.