National Park Service

This month the C&O Canal Trust, in partnership with the National Park Service, is beginning a monthlong volunteer service project - C&O Canal Pride Days. Between Saturday, April 19, and Saturday, May 10, the goal is to sign up 1,000 volunteers for more than 100 projects during C&O Canal Pride Days. Help is needed Saturday at the C&O Canal Pride Days Kickoff at Great Falls Tavern in the C&O Canal National Historical Park. Volunteers will tackle numerous revitalization projects in that area, such as raking leaves, spreading mulch, painting historic structures, and clearing overgrown vegetation.

HARPERS FERRY, W.Va. -- Harpers Ferry National Historical Park was identified as one of 55 national parks across the country Tuesday with private land for sale within their borders that needs to be acquired to protect wildlife, natural and cultural resources. The report by the National Parks Conservation Association is the first comprehensive look in many years at land for sale inside parks, according to a news release from the organization. The 28-page report, "America's Heritage: For Sale," said a "significant and growing number" of the country's 391 National Park Service units face threats on their resources because of development on private land inside their borders.

The Hagerstown Civil War Roundtable will meet Thursday, March 27, at the Four Points Sheraton on Dual Highway in Hagerstown. Edwin Bearss, historian emeritus, U.S National Park Service will speak on "Five Forks to Appomattox - The Last Days of the Confederacy. " Reservations are required. Dinner is at 6:45 p.m. Tickets cost $19 and can be paid at the door or attend only the talk at no charge. The talk begins at 7:45 p.m. For reservations or questions, call Justin Mayhue at 301-331-2449.

Upcoming blood drives include: Today - Shepherdstown Fire Hall, W.Va. 45, Shepherdstown, W.Va. 2 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 28 - Martinsburg Mall, Community Room, 800 Foxcroft Ave., Martinsburg, W.Va., 1 to 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 29, - City Hospital, 1418 Dry Run Road, Martinsburg, W.Va. 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, March 3 - Lions Center, Jefferson County, W.Va. 2 to 7 p.m. Monday, March 3 - Valley View Elementary, Berkeley County, W.Va. 3 to 7 p.m. Friday, March 7 - National Park Service, Jefferson County, W.Va.

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - A planned museum in Harpers Ferry, W.Va., that would have been home to artifacts from across the country is off the drawing board - at least temporarily - according to a local National Park Service official and the head of the agency. There were concerns about the size of the project and lack of National Park Service funds to run it. Bradley Gray, a spokesman for a group of developers working to purchase the former Old Standard Quarry property where the museum would have been built, emphasized Wednesday that the museum idea is out of consideration only for this year.

WILLIAMSPORT - John Shaffer of Falling Waters, W.Va., raised the flag for the first time Feb. 9 on the newly installed flagpole at the Williamsport Visitor Center of the C&O Canal National Historical Park. John coordinated the flagpole project to earn the rank of Eagle Scout, putting in more than 200 hours of project time to develop and implement the flagpole installation. A student at Hedgesville (W.Va.) High School, John is a member of Troop 16 of Marlowe, W.Va., which is led by Todd Shaffer.

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - Two people working on details of a planned $250 million National Park Service museum near Harpers Ferry, W.Va., appeared before the Jefferson County Commission Thursday to emphasize that the project is still on track. A development team known as Stonewall Heights, LLC is proposing a museum that would be built on top of a mountain at a site that includes the former Old Standard Quarry off Millville Road. The proposal involves scraping off the top of the mountain, building the facility, and placing fill over the structure, helping it to blend with the natural surroundings.

WILLIAMSPORT - With almost half of the C&O Canal running through Washington County, area officials said the community has an interest in maintaining its heritage and making some improvements. The C&O Canal Trust formed in February, and on Thursday it was introduced to the community as a fundraising body for the C&O Canal National Historical Park. The nonprofit organization also will work to protect, restore and promote the park, which spans 184.5 miles from Cumberland, Md., to Washington, D.C. The organization was introduced during a two-hour event at Cushwa Basin in Williamsport.

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - The plan to build a museum to store historical artifacts next to Harpers Ferry National Historical Park is "a very bold proposal," the head of the park said Wednesday. There are artifacts belonging to the National Park Service that the public has not seen, and the park service is very interested in working with a group of developers to build a place for them next to Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, park Superintendent Donald Campbell said. Campbell said he has not talked at length about the museum plan proposed by Stonewall Heights LLC but is familiar with the project because he attended a meeting last week in which officials in U.S. Sen. Byrd's office were briefed on the proposal.

CHARLES TOWN, W.VA. - U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd said Wednesday that he has introduced legislation asking the National Park Service to study the site of the Battle of Shepherdstown to determine the national significance of the property. The work will help determine if the Civil War battlefield should be declared a National Civil War Battlefield and whether it should be made part of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park or Antietam National Battlefield, according to a news release from Byrd's office.