Ink

There are two kinds of people. Those with tattoos, and those without. If you ask Michael "Crazy Mike" Whittington, a tattoo artist from Winchester, Va., those with ink get it. Those without it, well, they weren't sitting in a cushy chair Friday during Hagerstown Bike Week, allowing "Crazy Mike" to mark them for life. Whittington paused to blacken another line on Laila McNett's arm. With a moistened paper towel, he wiped the excess ink to reveal the petal of a rose. As he spoke, his words rang with the wisdom of a tattoo philosopher, a wizened sage whose years and inches of personally inked epidermis gave him an unparalleled view into the tattoo culture.

Name of business: Little House of Ink Owners: Kenny and Jason Stevens Address: 32 Bowling Lane, Martinsburg, W.Va. Opening date: Oct. 1, 2012 Products and services: Full line of tattooing and body-piercing services Target market: All ages and people from all areas of life interested in body modifications How did you get into your business, and what motivated you to start it? Our love of tattoos and the tattoo culture Previous business experience: The owners have many previous successful businesses to their credit and the artist and piercer have more than 25 years of experience in the industry.

Since moving to Hagerstown 18 years ago, I have observed that Allan Powell gets more ink in The Herald-Mail than any other individual contributor. His most recent column, "Fundamentalism: A return to Dark Ages," Jan 23) is no exception. Also true to form are several features that characterize his writing. · Condescension. "It has long been known that people are, for the most part, unable to cope without the hope of a more powerful 'other,'" is a typical example. In my experience, those who cite the omniscient "it" are merely trying to inflate the authority of their own opinion.

Etchings and summer memory jars were some of the works of art submitted for Pulse's 2007 student art contest. Images of the winning art were published Tuesday, Nov. 13, in Pulse, The Herald-Mail's weekly teen section. Here are some more of the 31 entries. All of these were created by students of art teacher Shelly Rohrbaugh at Heritage Academy west of Hagerstown. Three of the images, the vases of flowers, are etchings. The students drew the vases and flowers and outlined them with thick black marker, Rohrbaugh said.

Jordan Richardson, the son of Heidi Richardson of Smithsburg, was the winner of a giant bear in a coloring contest sponsored by the Smithsburg Historical Society during its Home Town Christmas event Dec. 13. The coloring was done on No. 60 grade sandpaper and will be heat set to create quilt squares for Linus Project quilts. The finished quilts will be on display at the Smithsburg Library when completed. The children's names will be written on the quilts in permanent ink. This is a project of the Knotty Ladies of Smithsburg.

Falling Waters, W.Va., resident Jason Kline's poetry is more than aesthetic. His newly published book, "Bleeding Through Ink," reflects the 26-year-old author's transition to becoming a better man, he said. "It's like therapy," said Kline. "You're bleeding out your emotion, your soul. (You're) pouring yourself onto a piece of paper through ink. " Published through PublishAmerica earlier this year, "Bleeding Through Ink," is a compilation of poems Kline said he shaped from journal entries and unused music lyrics from his rock-band days.

Name of business: Wy's West Side Deli & Grill Owner: Chris Wyman Address: 73 West Side Ave., Hagerstown Opening date: Jan. 28, 2008 Products and services: Sandwiches, subs, wings, fresh-cut french fries, soups, pepperoni rolls, sausage gravy, chipped beef, omelets, home fries and cookies. Breakfast is served all day. Market area: Downtown, West Side How did you get into your business, or what motivated you to start it?: "I always loved to cook, so I thought I would give it a shot.

View the slideshow Betty Lou Magoun's life's work includes paintings and pen and ink works of geometrics, funky florals and women - lots of women. She says there's no political or feminist agenda behind her images of women. "I think women are so much more interesting than men," said Magoun, who lives in Akron, Ohio. "When it comes to drawing them, I just do them better. " More than 50 pieces of Magoun's art will be on display at Benjamin Art Gallery in Hagerstown from Friday, April 11, through Tuesday, April 29, said Magoun's niece, Karen Sornson of Hancock.

charlestown@herald-mail.com MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - The investigation started much like the others initiated by West Virginia State Police Trooper Nathan Harmon. A typical case maybe, but not one that would get any soft-handed treatment from the Berkeley County trooper. On Nov. 24 last year, Harmon, who was recently named Trooper of the Year in West Virginia, went to a local Economy Inn in an attempt to find a wanted person. Harmon entered the room where the man was staying and caught him with crack cocaine.

"I am a very large man and this thing about wearing seat belts is ridiculous. My seat belt won't even go around me. I know it's my fault that I am this big, but what are you supposed to do when you are this big?" "I think Trent Lott should resign from the United States Senate and go back to Mississippi and pick cotton. " "I wanted to call in and thank Pat Bartlett for the recipe for the alternate chocolate chip cookies that was in Sunday's paper. It was the top 10 cookies.

Hagerstown officials plan to sign a nonbinding agreement Friday morning to allow a real estate investment group to act as the “agent” of the city and get its master downtown redevelopment plan in motion. “I think it's the first time in probably over 20 years that we've had such a meeting, and I think that speaks of the importance of the issue and the belief that this needs to be done promptly,” City Councilman Lewis C. Metzner said Tuesday, adding that they preferred to meet Wednesday but forecasted inclement weather forced them to select Friday at 7:30 a.m. Once the one-page letter is signed, it authorizes the development group to talk with businesses and community stakeholders on the city's behalf to develop a proposal of “catalyst” projects as a starting point for redevelopment at no expense to the city, Dane Bauer of the engineering firm Daft McCune Walker told Mayor David S. Gysberts and the Hagerstown City Council at City Hall on Tuesday night.

Name of business: Little House of Ink Owners: Kenny and Jason Stevens Address: 32 Bowling Lane, Martinsburg, W.Va. Opening date: Oct. 1, 2012 Products and services: Full line of tattooing and body-piercing services Target market: All ages and people from all areas of life interested in body modifications How did you get into your business, and what motivated you to start it? Our love of tattoos and the tattoo culture Previous business experience: The owners have many previous successful businesses to their credit and the artist and piercer have more than 25 years of experience in the industry.

Tattoo artist Crystal Trovinger of Eric Von Dar Elite Tattoo found a way to give back to the community in a unique way over the weekend in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. On Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Trovinger and Von Dar inked 18 ribbon tattoos, with all the proceeds going to the Cumberland Valley Breast Care Alliance in Chambersburg. Von Dar said until the end of the month, customers can choose from 15 ribbon designs with the $40 fee going directly to CVBCA.

Hagerstown's front anchor tenant for its business incubator on West Washington Street opened for business Wednesday. Think reInk, a Chambersburg, Pa.-based ink-cartridge refilling company, opened in the former CVS building at 60 W. Washington St. Wednesday, about 60 days after the company announced that it was coming to Hagerstown. "It's pretty impressive to come together in that time frame," said Nathan Rotz, the company's president and chief executive officer. The company had targeted expansion in the Hagerstown area for this summer, in time for back-to-school season, he said.

There are two kinds of people. Those with tattoos, and those without. If you ask Michael "Crazy Mike" Whittington, a tattoo artist from Winchester, Va., those with ink get it. Those without it, well, they weren't sitting in a cushy chair Friday during Hagerstown Bike Week, allowing "Crazy Mike" to mark them for life. Whittington paused to blacken another line on Laila McNett's arm. With a moistened paper towel, he wiped the excess ink to reveal the petal of a rose. As he spoke, his words rang with the wisdom of a tattoo philosopher, a wizened sage whose years and inches of personally inked epidermis gave him an unparalleled view into the tattoo culture.

St. Francis of Assisi introduced Christmas music to the church in the 13th century in the form of nativity plays. Though monks intoned chants relating to the nativity as early as the 6th century, some experts credit St. Francis with leading the first songs about the birth of Christ. Christmas carols and songs have not always been popular. In the late 14th century, Chaucer's clerk in "The Canterbury Tales" sings a Christmas carol. The 14th century was also the time when Christmas carols gained popularity in Western Europe.

With the holidays approaching and the Christmas shopping season looming before us, I was moved to read once again the Christmas memory Laura Ingalls Wilder recorded in her book "Little House on the Prairie. " Laura and her sister, Mary, are thrilled over each receiving a tin cup, a peppermint stick, a home-baked cupcake and a penny from Santa. When their family friend, Mr. Edwards, produces sweet potatoes out of his pockets to add to the Christmas feast, Mr. Ingalls says, "Great fishhooks, man!

The Humane Society of Washington County recently received a generous donation from employees of the Food and Drug Administration that consisted of a much-used office item. Patty Littleton of Boonsboro arrived at the shelter Aug. 13 with a supply of empty ink cartridges for recycling that nearly reached the shelter's ceiling. Staffers watched in amazement as they were wheeled through the shelter. Patty, a management officer at the Food and Drug Administration in Rockville, Md., had been overseeing the collection of ink cartridges for about a year.

Falling Waters, W.Va., resident Jason Kline's poetry is more than aesthetic. His newly published book, "Bleeding Through Ink," reflects the 26-year-old author's transition to becoming a better man, he said. "It's like therapy," said Kline. "You're bleeding out your emotion, your soul. (You're) pouring yourself onto a piece of paper through ink. " Published through PublishAmerica earlier this year, "Bleeding Through Ink," is a compilation of poems Kline said he shaped from journal entries and unused music lyrics from his rock-band days.

Jordan Richardson, the son of Heidi Richardson of Smithsburg, was the winner of a giant bear in a coloring contest sponsored by the Smithsburg Historical Society during its Home Town Christmas event Dec. 13. The coloring was done on No. 60 grade sandpaper and will be heat set to create quilt squares for Linus Project quilts. The finished quilts will be on display at the Smithsburg Library when completed. The children's names will be written on the quilts in permanent ink. This is a project of the Knotty Ladies of Smithsburg.