Painting

My first piece of big-boy art was a homespun print I put up in my room depicting a truly American scene: A massive chestnut tree spreading over the village blacksmith shop. The smithy is hammering away on his anvil as a team of horses stands to the side. A boy in a straw hat and his dog watch the pastoral scene with interest. It's rural American commerce at its best. I hadn't thought of this print in years, but it suddenly snapped into mind last week when I saw a front-page photo of an alleged Clear Spring meth lab. I normally don't give meth labs a whole lot of thought.

The bleak picture that the Jefferson County Board of Education painted last month about the possible elimination of 33 teaching and 12 service personnel positions was looking a little better at a special board meeting Monday night. “It's an ongoing process,” Schools Superintendent Susan Wall said in a recap of the night's discussion. Wall, administrators and board members began looking at the 2012-13 fiscal year's budget in late November. At the time, they were facing a $5.3 million budget shortfall that was created over the last four years.

Mark Twain Noe, 73, of Harrisonville, Pa., passed away Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012, at his residence. Mark was born in Yellville, Ark., Jan. 4, 1939, the son of the late Mark Twain Noe Sr. and Lena (James) Noe. Mark Twain Noe learned early in his childhood of the endless wonders of nature. These natural wonders surrounded his place of birth and became an inspiration for many of his later works. Born near the scenic Buffalo River in Arkansas, he was tutored by his grandfather, who shared his love and respect for the woodlands and wildlife they nurtured.

Kevin Watson was 4 years old when Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated - too young to understand the late civil rights leader's commitment to social justice, his belief in equal opportunity and, above all, his hope that one day people would be judged by their character, not by the color of their skin. He wasn't even born when King delivered the "I Have a Dream" speech that galvanized the nation and he doesn't remember the venture called "The Poor People's Campaign. " But for the past four decades, Watson's life has been affected by King's legacy.

Special to The Herald-Mail On view in the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts' Schreiber Gallery is a painting by Italian painter, Battista Zelotti (circa 1526 to 1578) titled "The Finding of Moses" (circa 1565).  The painting was given to the museum in 1960 by museum founder Anna Brugh Singer. The artist, Zelotti, trained with the great Venetian artist, Paolo Veronese (1528 to 1578) in the workshop of Antonio Badile (1518 to 1560) and assisted with numerous major artistic projects of Veronese.

Lucille "Lucy" Ecker loved sketching and drawing as a child. "I always wanted to take art classes, but when I was raising family and working full time, there was no time," Ecker said. Ecker, 74, graduated from Frederick High School in 1955, then went to Frederick Memorial Hospital for their nursing program. Lucy and her husband moved to Washington County in 1960. They later divorced and he has since passed away. Lucy started working at Washington County Hospital in July 1962.

Heritage Academy was the winner of the Larry & Sons window-painting contest, according to a news release. In addition to Heritage Academy, fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders from Broadfording Christian Academy and Shalom Christian Academy participated in the contest. Larry & Sons provided the art supplies for the fall-themed contest. The students' finished works were posted at www.larryandsons.com and an online vote was held. The public is invited to view the works in the business' office window at 301 W. Franklin St. in Hagerstown.

It isn't uncommon to be searching for value these days. In these economic times, many look for small numbers to make the dollar worth more. In sports, it's a different story. In most events, the bigger the numbers are, the better - well, at least in nearly every sport but golf. If that was the case, I'd have a Masters title and a humanitarian award for the digging the furrows to plant crops and feed the nation. Numbers are important to sports. Figures and fractions are like chips and chili at a tailgate party.

The problem: Wolfsville Road resident Sam Bricker wrote in Nov. 13 about the condition of Wolfsville Road in Washington County. “Not only is there still storm debris in the traveled portion of the highway, but last week the lines were repainted and they painted right over the debris,” Bricker wrote. “No attempt was made to remove it before or during the painting operation. “In addition, Wolfsville Road was in horrible condition after the snowstorm,” he said.

Artist David Heatwole hopes to install another large mural along another major thoroughfare in downtown Martinsburg. Heatwole said this week that he would like to install a multipanel mural painted on marine-grade plywood on the north side of a historic brick building at 301 N. Queen St. "It's a very eye-catching spot," Heatwole said. The city Historic Preservation Review Commission is expected to consider Heatwole's request  for a certificate of appropriateness for the project at their regular monthly meeting on Monday at 7 p.m. Heatwole's latest public art proposal for the former location of the First Look Photo camera store comes about two years after his "Put a Lid on It" mural project was installed at 404 W. King St. downtown.