Law Enforcement

martinsburg@herald-mail.com Control over a Harpers Ferry facility that is to train Border Patrol officers should not be switched to a different federal agency, Sen. Robert C. Byrd said Friday. President Bush has proposed handing control of the facility over to the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. Doing so could undermine the trust established between local residents and U.S. Customs, said Tom Gavin, Byrd's press secretary. If control of the facility changes hands, more officers could be trained there, meaning the training might not be as specialized, Gavin said.

A 25-year-old Martinsburg, W.Va., man was charged Thursday with two counts of murder in the killings of a father and son that Berkeley County Sheriff Randy Smith described as two of the most gruesome deaths he's seen in his 19 years in law enforcement. Read the full story in Friday's Herald-Mail newspapers.

Local law enforcement officials regularly visit Kaplan University-Hagerstown to work with the Fire Arms Training Simulator. They recently were on campus to remember one of their own as representatives from law enforcement helped dedicate the FATS Lab in memory of Smithsburg Police Officer Christopher Nicholson, who died in the line of duty. Color Guard members from the Hagerstown Police Department and Washington County Sheriff's Department opened the ceremony, attended by members of Nicholson's family, state Sen. Donald F. Munson, officers from several Washington County departments and faculty and staff of Kaplan University-Hagerstown.

The Washington County and Frederick County Sheriff's Departments each received $4,000 grants from the U.S. Justice Department to buy bulletproof vests. In all, Maryland law enforcement agencies received $78,000 under the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act. Under the grant program, counties must match at least 50 percent of the cost of each vest. The law was signed by President Clinton June 16, 1998. Washington County Sheriff Charles Mades could not be reached for comment Friday.

Courthouse loan in the works BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. - A courthouse funding loan from the West Virginia Office of Economic Development is in the works, Morgan County Commission President Glen R. Stotler said Friday. Stotler said he does not know the terms or the amount of the loan, but that information is expected to be received next week. Stotler said the loan is a cooperative effort between the West Virginia Department of Commerce and Gov. Joe Manchin's office.

The Community Foundation of Washington County has announced that Brandon Bachtell has received the second annual Officer Christopher Nicholson Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship benefits graduating seniors at Williamsport High School who plan a career in law enforcement. Representing the Nicholson family at the ceremony was Christopher's stepfather, Paul Highbarger, who urged the WHS class of 2009 to avoid violence as a means to anything. "Three families were destroyed by one violent act in which there was no positive outcome for anyone," he said.

Children's Village of Washington County Inc. received a check for $2,000 from the third annual law enforcement ride organized by the Blue Knights of Maryland II.   The ride is held in memory of Smithsburg Police Officer Christopher Nicholson, who was killed in the line of duty three years ago. Nicholson was a volunteer police instructor at Children's Village at the time of his death. The Nicholson family remains supportive of the Children's Village mission of providing free life-safety education and skills training to all second-grade students in Washington County.

More than four years after Smithsburg police Officer Christopher S. Nicholson was shot and killed while on duty, his father is trying to get the fallen officer's service weapon. Larry Nicholson said he wants the handgun as part of a memorial for his son. Maryland law allows police officers' guns to be sold or transferred in a variety of ways, but doesn't permit what Larry Nicholson wants to do. Del. Andrew A. Serafini, R-Washington, and Sen. Christopher B. Shank, R-Washington, have filed House and Senate versions of a bill to help Larry Nicholson with his quest.

A firearms business that primarily serves law-enforcement personnel plans to open in the 4 E. Baltimore St. building that once served as the Funkstown post office, the property owner said Monday night. Parker Bandy Firearms has been operating in a residential basement in Smithsburg, but was looking for a storefront, property owner Doug Arnall told the mayor and Funkstown Town Council on Monday night. The company does not keep a large inventory of firearms and ammunition, doing much of its business online and helping customers with orders, Arnall said.

FRANKLIN COUNTY, Pa. -- A stack of paper and the familiar smell of carbon greets Washington Township Constable Ron Larsen at his desk in the morning. Warrants of arrest, orders of executions and notices of hearings lay in neat stacks. There is enough there to keep him busy for days. Even though he is a retired police officer, this is his full-time job. Not every Franklin County constable has an office, a desk and a mound of work. Larsen is an exception to the rule.