Jefferson County

A Jefferson County, W.Va., man died when he was struck by a train Thursday evening at the train station in Harpers Ferry, the Harpers Ferry Police Department said. Paul R. Cavalier, 78, of the Summit Point area, was pronounced dead at the scene by the medical examiner, according to a police department news release. Police said they were dispatched at 7:20 p.m. to the train station at 112 Potomac St. for a report of a man who had been struck by a train. An investigation determined that Cavalier failed to notice warning devices and stepped in front of an oncoming northbound train, according to the release.

West Virginia State Police have arrested more than 170 sex offenders since the first of the year for providing false information to the state sex offender registry. State Police 1st Sgt. Michael Baylous said the agency and the U.S. Marshal Service has verified the information for more than 1,000 offenders on the registry during that time, after a weekend sweep by state police. Baylous said additional arrests are expected as individuals are located and investigations are completed.

A new 2013 budget, up just slightly from this year, is expected to be adopted Tuesday by the Jefferson County Commission following a sparsely attended public hearing Thursday night. The difference between this year's budget and next year's is about $2.7 million, said Paul Shroyer, the county's chief financial officer. The fiscal 2012 budget is $22.9 million compared to $25.6 million that goes in effect on July 1. In April, once the state approves the new appropriation, the commission will set a new levy rate of $13.09 per $100 of assessed property value, up from $12.04 per $100 in the current year.

The following are up-to-date results from contested races in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia with early voting totals and 32 of 32 precincts in Jefferson County reporting: Jefferson County Commission Frances Morgan, D - 8,905 Jane Tabb, R (i) - 12,178 Candidate with (i) next to her name is the incumbent. Jefferson County sheriff Robert E. Shirley, D (i) - 10,620 Earl Ballenger, R - 10,216 Candidate with (i) next to his name is the incumbent.

VIVO Hair Salon & Day Spa celebrated its grand opening and ribbon cutting on Nov. 11 at 1315 Washington St. in Harpers Ferry, W.Va. Keller Williams Rice Realty recently celebrated its grand opening and ribbon cutting at 217 Oak Lee Drive, Suite No. 4, in Ranson, W.Va.

Debbie Keyser, hired a month ago as Jefferson County's first human resource manager, was appointed interim county administrator by the Jefferson County Commission on Friday. Her duties will include both positions until a permeant administrator is hired. Her temporary salary will be in the $95,000-a-year range, said Commissioners President Patsy Noland. “We'll discuss that on Thursday,” Noland said, referring to Thursday's county commission meeting. Keyser replaces Sandy Slusher McDonald, who has held the interim position since Jan. 13, when Tim Boyde resigned as county administrator.

Jefferson County Homeland Security and Emergency Management will hold two business continuity planning workshops Tuesday, Feb. 26, at the Hampton Inn, 157 Pamlico Drive in Charles Town. The first session will run from 1 to 4 p.m. and the second will be from 6 to 9 p.m. The workshops will be taught by David Skeen, the West Virginia state continuity planner; Barbara Miller, director of Jefferson County Homeland Security and Emergency Management;  and Neal Nilsen from AskNeal.com.

A brochure promoting author John C. Allen Jr.'s new book, “Uncommon Vernacular,” says Jefferson County's landscape is riddled with history of Civil War battles, political rebellion and “an unusual collection of historic homes.” Allen's 350-page book, which comes out this week, focuses on 250 homes built between 1735 and 1835, before the C&O Canal and the B&O Railroad arrived in Jefferson County. An example of Allen's work in the book is the Dr. Nicholas Schell house on North High Street in Shepherdstown.

Editor's note: As part of its ongoing coverage for next Tuesday's general election, The Herald-Mail asked the five candidates seeking three open Jefferson County magistrate positions the following questions: Question 1: What is your legal experience and/or other qualifications for the position? Question 2: Why are you the right choice for magistrate in your county? Question 3: What are the key qualities and components of a good magistrate? Candidates were limited to 50 words for the responses to questions two and three.

A noontime fire left a family of five homeless Thursday in a blaze the owner believed was started in a clothes dryer panel box.   Heather Turner said was home with her three children, ages 6, 8 and 10, when the fire broke out in the green vinyl-sided rancher at 89 Boxwood Road off Flowing Springs Road several miles north of Charles Town.   There were no injuries.   There was no immediate damage estimate, but Ed Hannon, chief of Independent Fire Company, said flames were seen in the attic area when the first units arrived.

A Jefferson County, W.Va., man died when he was struck by a train Thursday evening at the train station in Harpers Ferry, the Harpers Ferry Police Department said. Paul R. Cavalier, 78, of the Summit Point area, was pronounced dead at the scene by the medical examiner, according to a police department news release. Police said they were dispatched at 7:20 p.m. to the train station at 112 Potomac St. for a report of a man who had been struck by a train. An investigation determined that Cavalier failed to notice warning devices and stepped in front of an oncoming northbound train, according to the release.

Jefferson County residents and businesses will get their first look at proposed fire service fees next week after a 4-1 vote Thursday by the County Commissioners. A public hearing on the fees is schedule for 7 p.m. Thursday in the commissioners meeting room below the Charles Town Library at 200 E. Washington St. Discussion about whether the meeting should be postponed lasted several hours Thursday among commission members and officials of the Jefferson County Emergency Services Agency (JCESA)

Between the two of them, Jefferson County Sheriff's Department Corporals Dustin Tabler and Vincent Tiong made 79 of the 123 DUI arrests the department racked up in 2012. Sheriff Pete Dougherty recognized Tabler's 47 arrests and the 32 DUI arrests by Tiong on Wednesday during a National Police Week event at the department's headquarters in Bardane, W.Va. According to Tabler and Tiong, an arresting officer normally needs up to 3 1/2 hours to process a DUI arrest. “That's true for the newer people, but we've got it down to a science,” Tabler said.

Between the two of them, Jefferson County Sheriff's Department Corporals Dustin Tabler and Vincent Tiong made 79 of the 123 DUI arrests the department racked up in 2012. Sheriff Pete Dougherty recognized Tabler's 47 arrests and the 32 DUI arrests by Tiong on Wednesday during a National Police Week event at the department's headquarters in Kearneysville, W.Va. According to Tabler and Tiong, an arresting officer normally needs up to 3 1/2 hours to process a DUI arrest. “That's true for the newer people, but we've got it down to a science,” Tabler said.

What were, until Monday, City Hospital in Martinsburg and Jefferson Memorial Hospital in Charles Town, W.Va., are now Berkeley Medical Center and Jefferson Medical Center, both under the umbrella of University Healthcare. The new names were announced at a brief press conference Monday at the Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center in Martinsburg. The reason for the change is to better promote both hospitals in the communities they serve, said Robert F. Baronner Jr., chairman of West Virginia University Hospitals-East, which owns both local hospitals.

Howard Kenneth Daniels, 97, went to be with the Lord on Friday, May 10, 2013. Born May 4, 1916, in Shenandoah Junction, W.Va., he was the son of the late John Hendricks Daniels and Lula Mae McKee Daniels. Ken was a graduate of Shepherdstown High School, and attended Strayer College, Benjamin Franklin Business College and George Washington University. He served in the U.S. Army in World War II in Okinawa and the Philippines. He retired from the Department of Defense in 1973.

Hite Road in Jefferson County will be closed for about two weeks beginning May 8 due to a widening project, the state Division of Highways announced Friday. The road will be closed 24 hours a day starting at Jefferson Orchard Road for approximately 2,000 feet east, the DOH said in a news release. Signs will be in place to alert motorists.

Groupon Grassroots selected Vested Interest in K-9s Inc. as its charity partner for the event, which raised more than $155,000 in eight days, according to the news release. Through an online $10 donation, people could purchase a groupon, which is a tax-deductible donation, through a secure website, according to the news release. All funds were allocated to purchase ballistic vests for police department K-9s. Vested Interest in K-9s, a nonprofit organization, will be able to provide bulletproof vests to more than 150 K-9s across the nation as a result of the funds raised, according to the release.

Tara Viands joined a parade of nearly 300 people who walked a three-mile loop around War Memorial Park on Saturday morning to raise money for the March of Dimes' March for Babies. “I walked because my daughters can't walk,” said Viands, a mother of two from Hedgesville, W.Va. On July 25, 2006, her twin daughters, Macy and Carly, were born six weeks prematurely at Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, W.Va. Macy weighed 3 pounds, 6 ounces. Carly was born two minutes later weighing 3 pounds, 3 ounces.

A Jefferson County grand jury this week indicted a Shepherd University employee on multiple charges of fraudulent use of the college's purchase cards in a case involving nearly $86,000 from October 2010 to August 2012, according to court records. Elizabeth A. “Libby” Shanton, 48, of 328 N. Centre St. in Martinsburg, W.Va., was indicted on 53 counts of fraudulent or unauthorized use of a purchasing card and one count of fraudulent schemes. According to a memorandum to Shepherd employees this week from university President Suzanne Shipley, school officials became aware “of the appearance of improper expenditures by an employee,” and contacted the state auditor's office.