Organizer

Four organizations will benefit from funds raised during a Presbyterian Church of Waynesboro fair scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 11. “Mostly it's going to be a good time to come out, donate to a worthy cause,” church pastor Christine Callaway said. From 4 to 10 p.m., the church at 105 E. Main St. will offer food for sale, carnival-style games for children, face painting, sand art, spin art and a dime toss. “Down in the lower section of our church, we're going to be doing a used book, VHS and DVD sale,” Callaway said.

Approximately 100 people participated in a fundraiser for the Wounded Warrior Project on Sunday that centered around a 75-mile ride to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C., organizer Chad Craig said. Forty motorcycles and a couple cars took part in the Ride for Recovery, which was sponsored byHarley-Davidsonof Williamsport, Cancun Cantina and 101.5 Bob Rocks, said Craig, who organized the event with his wife, Lisa. The ride began at theHarley-Davidsonshop, and participants were invited to Cancun Cantina for a party afterward, he said.

An “organized line” of thunderstorms moved through Washington County Sunday night, packing estimated winds up to 65 mph and causing a large tree to fall across a house along Woodside Drive off Sharpsburg Pike, according to weather and rescue officials. The tree, about three to four feet in diameter, fell on a corner of the house and stretched across about three- quarters of the house, said Leonard Heller Jr., chief of Fairplay Volunteer Fire Co. “There's a good bit of damage inside,” said Heller, who was waiting at the scene at about 9 p.m. for a building inspector to arrive to determine if the house was safe to enter.

More than 30 vendors filled Hager Hall in Hagerstown Thursday for the 2012 Senior and Caregiver Expo put on by Washington County CARES. The expo provided information for seniors and caregivers about the multiple organizations that can assist them. “I wanted to see what all is out here,” said Hagerstown resident Grady Grimm, 91. “I'm always looking for things I can do to keep my motor going.” Grimm, a World War II veteran, is part of Ravenwood Independent Living and drove to the expo on his own. He said he wanted to get his blood pressure checked and meet people he knows at the event.

Beth says that all animals are Republicans because they hate change. They are wonderful, charming and warm until you try to alter the way things have always been done, at which point they become frightened, snarling monsters who likely as not will get right in your face and threaten to stampede you if you so much as suggest a single-payer health system. But our cattle and donkeys were in for a major change Tuesday when they had to be moved to a new home - forget that they are going from a rather rocky hillside to a broad, lush river bottom surrounded by green, West Virginia mountains.

Perry J. Keller is criss-crossing the state this month to gather opinions on bicycle paths. Keller, a planner with the West Virginia Department of Transportation, held the first of eight informational meetings Thursday afternoon in the Ranson City Hall. About 25 people attended. They were asked to add their opinions on improving cycling in the Eastern Panhandle on a color-coded map. The transportation department needs the information for a study to identify proposed designated and signed bicycle routes along the state highway systems like the 11-mile paved biking/hiking path beside the newly opened W.Va.

The old TV went kaput. Sports equipment is littering your garage. The trumpet your now college-aged son begged for you to purchase hasn't played a note since he was 10. And for months, you've been meaning to get rid of old clothes in your closet. Instead of packing them in trash bags and hauling them off to the landfill, you might want to bring them with you to the Boonsboro Green Fest. After all, it's all for a greener cause. The Boonsboro Green Fest will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 12, at Shafer Park in Boonsboro.

Washington County Public Schools is working with churches and other community organizations to establish the Micah's Backpack program in each elementary school.  The program model was established in Blacksburg, Va., as one solution to the issue of hungry students in the community. The mission is to build partnerships among elementary schools, churches and other organizations that result in donations of food supplies to families in which hunger is an issue, especially on weekends when school is not in session.

The Berkeley County Deputy Sheriffs Association in partnership with James Rumsey Technical Institute is hosting a first-ever Ole-Fashion Pancake Feed Saturday at the school near Hedgesville, W.Va. The charitable event at 3274 Hedgesville Road will be held from 7 a.m. to noon and will help raise money for Deputy Sheriffs Association-supported organizations such as Shenandoah Women's Shelter for battered women, Shop with a Cop,  Little League and individuals displaced from their homes due to fire, according to a news release from the group.

Fire claimed the life of 3-year-old Hope Goins of Hagerstown, but in her death she helped two others live, according to her uncle. “It's really been the one bright spot out of this entire tragedy - that this little girl, her name is Hope, and she lived up to her name,” said the Rev. Tim Fisher, the half brother of Hope's father, Kenneth Goins, 50, who was injured in the Summit Avenue apartment fire that also claimed the life of his 43-year-old...