Log House

St. Paul's United Methodist Church in Big Pool will hold a homemade ice cream festival   Saturday, July 14, at 6 p.m. Tickets cost $5 per person.  In addition to ice cream, hot dogs, steamers and a cake walk will be available.  Teacher to lead library program Dream big at the Leonard P. Snyder Memorial Library in Clear Spring.  Science teacher Jeff Byard will lead science experiments at the library from July 10...

No injuries were reported from a fire Sunday morning that left a house in the southern end of the county uninhabitable, Boonsboro Fire Chief Oley Griffith said. The state fire marshal's office was investigating the cause of the fire at 2625 Kaetzel Road, Griffith said. Firefighters were dispatched to the fire at 8:46 a.m. Sunday, a 911 supervisor said. A fire in a finished basement in a remodeled log house spread upstairs, Griffith said. There was fire damage to the basement and first floor, and smoke damage to the second floor, he said.

MERCERSBURG, Pa. - On May 17, Boy Scout Troop 28's newest Eagle Scouts, Derek Todd and Dakota Bricker, were presented with the Eagle Medal, at a special Eagle Court of Honor. Derek is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Timothy Todd. Dakota is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Calvin Bricker Jr. Both boys attend James Buchanan High School, where Derek is a senior and Dakota is a junior. They have been involved in Scouting since first grade, as members of Cub Scout Pack 28, earning the Arrow of Light.

Fire at scene of earlier incident By JULIE E. GREENE / Staff Writer The owner of a Funkstown house that was destroyed by arson late Friday night had threatened to blow up the house almost three weeks ago, fire officials said Saturday. Dennis Eugene Shank Sr., 51, who owns the house at 109 E. Maple St., was injured when the house burned Friday night. He was in critical condition Saturday at University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center after suffering smoke inhalation, fire officials and a hospital spokeswoman said.

'Guys and Dolls' The Clear Spring High School Drama Club will present "Guys and Dolls" Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The show will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets cost $8 for adults and $6 for students. "Guys and Dolls" is based on the story and characters of Damon Runyon and featuring the music of Frank Loesser. Book discussion The Leonard P. Snyder Memorial Branch Library will hold a book discussion Wednesday at 11:15 a.m. April's book selection is "Funny in Farsi: a Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America" by Firoozeh Dumas.

Clear Spring Library will host “Barnyard Buddies” Wednesday, July 20, at 3:30 p.m. Drop by the library to meet and pet miniature barnyard animals. For more information, call 301-842-2730. Also, teens won’t want to miss “Teens in Japan” at the library Tuesday, July 26, at 3 p.m. The event will explore Japanese culture and participants will make sweet sushi. Participants must be enrolled in the teen summer reading club or be 13 to 18 years old. Registration is required.

by Kevin G. Gilbert / staff photographer see the enlargement see more photos HARPERS FERRY, W.Va. - Gary Hall took one look at the crowd of people waiting to get a glimpse of President Clinton and Vice President Gore and figured he didn't stand a chance of getting close. Little did he know, as he walked back to his job as a stonemason at the Hilltop House Hotel, that in less than two hours he would be serving lunch to the nation's top executives.

C&O Canal National Historic Park officials are offering a $500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for setting a Dec. 5 fire that destroyed a historic two-story log house at Two Locks. The fire was reported shortly after 8 p.m. and was fought by Clear Spring and Williamsport fire companies, according to Mark Spier a spokesman with the National Park Service. The fire is under investigation by the Maryland Office of the State Fire Marshal and the National Park Service.

By LISA GRAYBEAL Staff Writer, Waynesboro WELSH RUN, Pa. - Since its formation just under three years ago, the Conococheague Institute for the Study of Cultural Heritage is beginning to take shape as members preserve the past in an effort to build a historical center for future generations. What started out in June 1994 as a vision to preserve the area's natural and cultural history is becoming reality with every new wooden beam, roof shingle, and window pane added to the institute's most recent projects.

charlestown@herald-mail.com GERRARDSTOWN, W.VA. - Fire destroyed a two-story log house Sunday morning along Reunion Corner Road, where 35 firefighters worked for about four hours to extinguish the blaze, a fire official said. Firefighters searched the burning structure, thinking someone might have been inside, said Rick Petry, chief of the South Berkeley Volunteer Fire Co. No one was in the house, Petry said. It was determined that the owner of the house, Becky Palmer, was at a nursing home in Martinsburg.