Ice

Icicles hang from road signs Monday on U.S. 40 atop Sideling Hill. Lower temperatures in the high elevation and freezing rain caused ice to form.

More than 15 firefighters responded to 10389 Newburg Road in Lurgan Township, Pa., on Sunday morning after receiving a report of a horse slipping through ice on a pond. When crews arrived shortly after 11 a.m., they found five or six horses standing on ice covering a large pond, according to Kevin Singer, a captain with the Newburg-Hopewell Volunteer Fire Department. One of the draft horses had fallen through the ice, Singer said. Singer said firefighters, who remained on land, used feed to lure the horses off the ice. They used rope to pull the remaining horse out of the pond.

HAGERSTOWN - The Hagerstown Ice & Sports Complex will remain open until at least mid-June. The Hagerstown City Council agreed Tuesday to let the Hagerstown Youth Hockey Association operate the facility from Oct. 1 to June 15, 2008. "Now, it will become a full-schedule ice rink like it was before," City Recreation Facilities Coordinator Lewie Thomas said after the council voted. In August, the city terminated its contract with the ice complex's former operator of 10 years, the Washington County Sports Foundation, which hosted hockey leagues and several skating programs.

Ice rink's lawsuit settled A lawsuit filed by a former executive director of the Hagerstown ice rink against the group running the rink has been settled out of court. Terms of the settlement were not released. In July 1998, Walter E. Dill Sr. sued the Washington County Sports Foundation, which oversees operations at the city-owned rink, alleging breach of contract, defamation, slander of credit and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Dill originally sought $2.3 million in compensatory and punitive damages from the foundation, according to the suit filed in Washington County Circuit Court.

WASHINGTON - Alexander Ovechkin picked up an assist in his return to the Washington lineup, Chris Clark and Ben Clymer each had a goal and an assist and the Capitals beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1 Friday night. Ovechkin, the NHL's offensive player of the month for January, missed Washington's last game with a groin injury. The Capitals lost 5-3 to the New York Islanders without their start rookie. He took a pounding most of the night, but with an assist on Mike Green's first career goal in the first period, Ovechkin moved within one point of Washington's rookie scoring record.

By BRENDAN KIRBY / Staff Writer photo: RIC DUGAN / staff photographer Maretta Brown's car had already been stuck in the ice earlier Monday morning, and here she was spinning her wheels on the ice again at about 10:30 a.m. "It's really bad. But it's winter," she said with a shrug as she struggled to free her Crown Victoria from the ice outside her North Jonathan Street home. [cont. from front page ] Earlier, Brown said, her car had gotten stuck when was giving her daughter a ride to work.

We all know that it is important to remove ice and snow from walkways to prevent injury. However, we often forget the damage that some materials we use to melt ice can do to plants and the environment. For years, we used rock salt to melt ice on roadways and sidewalks. We have all seen the rusty bridges, guardrails and brown evergreen trees caused by using rock salt. While the salt might be OK for roads, we need to be careful what we use around plants. Rock salt is sodium chloride.

tammyb@herald-mail.com Saturday's low temperature was a balmy 8 degrees, with the wind chill making it seem colder. Out at Greenbrier State Park east of Hagerstown, there were 8 to 10 inches of ice atop the lake. Obviously, it was a perfect day for a swim. That was the theory, at least, for three local men aiming for ice diving certification who went with their instructor for a bracing dip in the lake. "I was looking forward to it until I got up this morning and turned on the weather and saw that it was 9 degrees.

A couple of weeks ago, we had about three inches of snow. Then, the ground-surface plummeted to 20 degrees, while up in the stratosphere, the air warmed into the mid-30s. Along comes a major storm system, in which precipitation from way up high fell as rain, but froze upon hitting the earth's surface, creating a quarter-inch crust of solid ice on top of the existing snow. As any weatherman can tell you, these are the perfect meteorological conditions to own a dog. Not a reserved or careful dog, but one of those energetic, edgy, hyperactive, Joan Rivers dogs.

Each day after lunch, I have come to anticipate the same question: "Are we going to do an experiment in science today, Mrs. Prejean?" Most days we do something that requires prediction, movement, observation, classification or measurement. My third-graders are convinced that they are ready to dissect something, but I say there are many things we need to learn first. Lately we have been learning how to classify animals, and it has been a fun unit. Fun, that is, until we reached the last experiment.

A Chambersburg fundraiser for the community's less fortunate came back for seconds Sunday. Chambersburg Area Senior High School's art department hosted its second annual “Soup for Soul” fundraiser and earmarked this year's revenue for the Boys & Girls Club of Chambersburg and Reins of Rhythm. About 85 people bought tickets to fill a handcrafted bowl of their choosing with one of six varieties of soup. Donated Goose Bros. ice cream and Starbucks beverages also were served at the event at Central Presbyterian Church.

The Washington County Northstars played Noah's Ark hockey on Thursday. They unleashed a storm of offense and scored goals two by two. Sean Kreps scored a hat trick and added an assist as the Northstars scored all their goals in their first 22 shots in an 8-1 victory over Montgomery Blair in the quarterfinals of the Maryland Student Hockey League Class 1A playoffs. Six of Washington County's eight goals were scored in sets of two, seconds apart. The Northstars did all their scoring in a 25-minute span and led 8-0 after two periods.

More than 15 firefighters responded to 10389 Newburg Road in Lurgan Township, Pa., on Sunday morning after receiving a report of a horse slipping through ice on a pond. When crews arrived shortly after 11 a.m., they found five or six horses standing on ice covering a large pond, according to Kevin Singer, a captain with the Newburg-Hopewell Volunteer Fire Department. One of the draft horses had fallen through the ice, Singer said. Singer said firefighters, who remained on land, used feed to lure the horses off the ice. They used rope to pull the remaining horse out of the pond.

The 11th annual IceFest ended late Sunday afternoon, but visitors to the town in the next couple days may glimpse the 70 ice sculptures that are the weekend event's backbone. The ice sculptures, except for the slide, will remain as long as weather conditions leave them intact, then borough crews will remove the pieces, according to Penny Shaul, chairwoman of the festival's organizing committee. The sculptures were well photographed as thousands of people descended on the downtown starting Thursday evening.

The sidewalks of downtown Chambersburg were so crowded at Saturday's 11th annual IceFest that people had to wait their turn to pass on the sidewalk. Carrie Hartman of Chambersburg waited patiently in line to take a photograph of her sons sitting on the giant “Ice Throne,” one of 70 ice sculptures on Main Street. “They love coming to IceFest,” Hartman said of her sons, Chase Kuykendall and Carter. Hartman's parents, Daryl and Doris Hartman, came along on the chilly adventure.

Families visiting IceFest in Chambersburg this week can take steps through a tale in the festival's accompanying StoryWalk. In StoryWalk, adults and children can stop at 17 storefronts along Main Street to read pages of a book. The route starts at Coyle Free Library at 102 N. Main St., where brochures will be available. Guided walks are scheduled for 1 and 2:30 p.m. Sunday through the Chambersburg Evening Lions Club, which is sponsoring StoryWalk. “We have managed to involve most of our members in this program,” said Merrilynn Kessler, who spearheaded the effort.

Bone-chilling cold returned to the area just in time for the first day of IceFest in downtown Chambersburg on Thursday night. Following a brief ribbon cutting ceremony on the square, IceFest kicked off its four-day winter festival with live ice sculpture carving. “This is just a wonderful event. It is a real jewel in the crown of the county as far as tourism ... it's really gratifying that it's become one of the main events of the year and that it brings so many folks to the county and offers so much to the residents of the county,” David S. Keller, chairman of the Franklin County Commissioners said following the ribbon cutting ceremony.

They are beautiful works of art. But you won't find them in a museum. And forget about displaying them in your house. As soon as the temperature begins to rise, they'll disappear. But attend any outdoor winter festival and you're bound to see a chunk of frozen water being transformed into glistening masterpieces - some with amazing dimension and detail. When the 11th annual IceFest is held tonight through Sunday, Feb. 3, in Chambersburg, ice sculptures will be front and center, lining downtown streets.

A large sheet of ice covered part of Lake Royer on Tuesday, but that did not stop a group of daring souls to try to swim out and touch it at the second annual Polar Plunge Party at Fort Ritchie Community Center (FRCC) in Cascade. “I can't feel anything from the waist down,” Emily Grimes, 13, said after taking the plunge. “I did it last year and had a great time, but it was definitely colder this year. There wasn't ice last year.” Grimes, who is from Frederick, Md., did the plunge with her friend Megan Gutierrez, 14, last year.

As of 6:46 p.m., the Washington County 911 center had handled a little more than 180 calls throughout the day and evening for crashes and disabled vehicles, a 911 supervisor said. The snow and ice that fell throughout the day turned Interstate 68 into a parking lot Wednesday afternoon when authorities had to close the road. The supervisor said I-68 westbound from Hancock to the Allegany County line was closed starting from about 2 p.m. until 7 p.m. because there were so many disabled tractor-trailers and vehicles on the interstate, which made it difficult for snow plows to work on the road, the supervisor said.