Home Improvement

Frederick Penderwhite said he attended the 28th annual Home Show at Hagerstown Community College on Saturday to get information about a generator. The Williamsport resident said he didn't want to go through the same thing he did last fall, when a storm knocked out his power for nearly two days “I've never had my power out that long before,” Penderwhite said. He said he has been attending the Home Show, which is sponsored by the Home Builders Association of Washington County, Herald-Mail Media and Shawley's Superior LP Gas, for the past three years.

"Do It Yourself: Home Improvement in 20th-Century America," a National Building Museum exhibit 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays Through Aug. 10, 2003 National Building Museum 401 F St. NW Washington, D.C. Free. For information, call 1-202-272-2448 or go to www.nbm.org on the Web.

marlob@herald-mail.com Debbie Wise and her daughter, Cassidy, weren't sorry they put the ninth annual Eastern Panhandle Home Builders Association Home Show on their itinerary Saturday. "I'm a do-it-yourselfer wannabe," Wise said as she strolled around Martinsburg Mall gathering useful information for her home projects ... both real and imagined. While only 9, Cassidy also was having a great time, collecting giveaway items from the more than 125 exhibitors who were set up throughout the mall.

Author and home-improvement expert Allegra Bennett will demonstrate "How to Fix a Hole in a Wall" and share other home-repair hints Sunday, July 9, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Washington County Free Library, 100 S. Potomac St. in Hagerstown. A book signing will follow the program. Books will be available for purchase or attendees may bring their own. Bennett, publisher of Renovating Woman, is a home-repair expert on "Home Made Easy," a home-care show on DIY cable network, and the author of three home-improvement books.

A Hagerstown contractor who was jailed for 60 days last November for working without a home improvement license was back in Washington County Circuit Court on Monday for another offense. Daniel Lee Little, 41, of 246 Bryan Place, was sentenced to six months in jail by Judge Kennedy Boone for acting as a contractor without a license, and six months concurrent for failure to perform a contract. According to court records, Little contracted with Vaughn Shatzer on Oct. 15, 1997, to perform $1,800 worth of home improvements at his Mont Valla Avenue residence, replacing rafters and fascia boards.

Norman Chavez Frazier, 25, of 1307 Lindsay Lane, Hagerstown, Md., died on Monday, Nov. 12, 2012, at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore, Md. Born Feb. 9, 1987, in Montgomery County (Md.), he was the son of Marlene Darnette Frazier Frazier of Hagerstown and Norman Allen Frazier of Rockville, Md. He was employed in construction and home improvement. In addition to his parents, he is survived by four sisters, Ellesse N. Frazier, Taylor D. Battle, Tatyana M. White and Naynay Frazier; two brothers, James Frazier and Marshall Frazier; maternal grandmother, Mildred E. Frazier; paternal grandmother, Nadine Howard;  a devoted friend, Chrissy Shaffer; and the Blue Nation.

Jeffrey Dean Lehman, age 54, of Chambersburg, Pa., passed away Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013, at his home. He was born Oct. 10, 1958 in Tampa, Fla., the son of Nate and Kathy B. Lehman. He had been self-employed as a home improvement professional for the past 30 years. Jeff loved all odd jobs and easily created solutions for them. He was the perfect handyman and could confidently make it happen. His positive attitude about life was contagious, because he trusted his intuition and trusted God. He lived a Big Life, knew and loved many people.

NEW YORK (AP) - If Oprah Winfrey and Bob Vila had a kid, their offspring could be Norma Vally, the Discovery Home Channel's "Toolbelt Diva" who wants to empower women - with power tools. She became familiar with unwieldy weapons of mass construction while renovating 100-year-old homes for her cousin's contracting business. On her show, Vally guides a female homeowner - sometimes knowledgeable, usually not - in painting, sawing, nailing and demolishing in the name of home improvement.

RANSON, W.Va. - It looked like a fair as much as it did the opening of a store. Customers snacked on cake and fried chicken while others spun wheels for free prizes. It was the opening of The Home Depot store in the new Potomac Marketplace shopping center along the Charles Town Bypass. The store hosted a "Neighborhood Night" from 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday to give local residents a feel for things to come when the store has its regular scheduled grand opening at 6 a.m. today, said Elva Carr, operations manager for the home improvement store.

She's been to the Eastern Panhandle Home Builders Association's annual home show before, but said this year she was looking at the 200 exhibits differently. "I'm looking for a nice home," said Belinda Lawton, of Martinsburg. Lawton spoke with a home building company and a mortgage company Friday as she walked among several vendors in Martinsburg Mall. "I like the area they can get me in," Lawton said, referring to a parcel of land the company American Acreage could build her future home.

Frederick Penderwhite said he attended the 28th annual Home Show at Hagerstown Community College on Saturday to get information about a generator. The Williamsport resident said he didn't want to go through the same thing he did last fall, when a storm knocked out his power for nearly two days “I've never had my power out that long before,” Penderwhite said. He said he has been attending the Home Show, which is sponsored by the Home Builders Association of Washington County, Herald-Mail Media and Shawley's Superior LP Gas, for the past three years.

Jeffrey Dean Lehman, age 54, of Chambersburg, Pa., passed away Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013, at his home. He was born Oct. 10, 1958 in Tampa, Fla., the son of Nate and Kathy B. Lehman. He had been self-employed as a home improvement professional for the past 30 years. Jeff loved all odd jobs and easily created solutions for them. He was the perfect handyman and could confidently make it happen. His positive attitude about life was contagious, because he trusted his intuition and trusted God. He lived a Big Life, knew and loved many people.

Norman Chavez Frazier, 25, of 1307 Lindsay Lane, Hagerstown, Md., died on Monday, Nov. 12, 2012, at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore, Md. Born Feb. 9, 1987, in Montgomery County (Md.), he was the son of Marlene Darnette Frazier Frazier of Hagerstown and Norman Allen Frazier of Rockville, Md. He was employed in construction and home improvement. In addition to his parents, he is survived by four sisters, Ellesse N. Frazier, Taylor D. Battle, Tatyana M. White and Naynay Frazier; two brothers, James Frazier and Marshall Frazier; maternal grandmother, Mildred E. Frazier; paternal grandmother, Nadine Howard;  a devoted friend, Chrissy Shaffer; and the Blue Nation.

It was easy to tell a home show was in progress Friday afternoon because people were walking around Martinsburg Mall carrying yardsticks. Friday was the first day of the three-day show organized by the 210-member Eastern Panhandle Home Builders Association, Inc. David Hartley, association executive director, said this year's 17th annual show drew more than 235 vendors, compared with the 2011 show that had slightly more than 200 vendors....

HAGERSTOWN -- Her house burned last Valentine's Day. Since then, Eunice McCaw has been staying with her daughter and working out the details of repairs with her insurance company. She hopes to move back into her home of more than 45 years before Christmas. Meanwhile, she is doing what she can to prepare for the move, purchasing replacement items as she is able. "I lost a lot of stuff," said McCaw, 78. Just down the street from her boarded-up home is a new home improvement store that could make replacing that stuff a lot more affordable.

HAGERSTOWN -- Habitat for Humanity of Washington County will open a discount home-improvement store early next year at the former Coca-Cola plant on Charles Street in Hagerstown. The store, which is called a ReStore by Habitat for Humanity, will sell donated items ranging from appliances to kitchen cabinets, said Kathy Powderly, Habitat's director of development. Profits will be used to help pay Habitat for Humanity's operating costs "We've been collecting quite a bit (of merchandise)

It's too cold to paint the outside of your house, but the icy cold weather can't put a stop to interior painting. Nor can snow, ice nor sleet stop a lot of other indoor home improvement projects. Here are several projects experts say average homeowners could accomplish on their own: Paint your walls Paint is an inexpensive way to spruce up your house, said Ed Salmon, owner of Handyman Matters in Frederick, Md. Water-based latex paints can be applied this time of year without cracking a window for ventilation, experts said.

Flowers everywhere Happy Wednesday to all! Wow, have you taken a stroll around town lately? There is an abundance of flowers and growth. Everything is looking lush again after the rain earlier this week. Summer is most certainly my favorite of all seasons. There is a drawback or two, though. The major drawback that comes to mind as I sit here trying to fill my space is the lack of material to write about. With school on summer hiatus, that pretty much limits things. Let's see what I have dug up for you ... Report cards on the fridge Tying the school year in a neat and tidy bow, report cards were mailed home last week.

Author and home-improvement expert Allegra Bennett will demonstrate "How to Fix a Hole in a Wall" and share other home-repair hints Sunday, July 9, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Washington County Free Library, 100 S. Potomac St. in Hagerstown. A book signing will follow the program. Books will be available for purchase or attendees may bring their own. Bennett, publisher of Renovating Woman, is a home-repair expert on "Home Made Easy," a home-care show on DIY cable network, and the author of three home-improvement books.

HANCOCK - A donated Volvo is parked near the entrance of the Tri-State RE-use Center, but it's no ordinary car. Rather, it serves as a kind of living testament to the reality of turning trash into treasure. "We had a group of school kids working on that car," said Hope Cucina Hargett, who founded the center in 1998. The car, which is fully operational, is covered from hood to bumper with used tiles of every color in the rainbow in a mozaic motif. That effort was part of the 2002 "It Pays to Re-use" contest.