Paul Miller

A yard sale held by two young Washington County residents on Aug. 18 was a resounding success. Skyler Casto and Natalie Reeder, both of Sharpsburg, raised $250 in one afternoon for the Humane Society of Washington County. On a clear, crisp morning, a Corgi named Daisy greeted shoppers who stopped by to see the wide variety of items for sale. The girls spent weeks planning the yard sale, collecting items of their own and from family members. Deana Casto, Skyler's mother, helped by donating antique postcards for the girls to sell.

Northern Middle School students recently held a successful "Penny Wars" competition and donated the proceeds to the Humane Society of Washington County. Students also collected a variety of items listed on the animal shelter's wish list and donated those items to the shelter. The Penny Wars involved students at various grade levels placing pennies into grade specific containers. They earned points for all the pennies they collected but suffered a reduction in points for any silver coins found in the containers.

The St. James Saints keyed on the two standout players for Potomac School on Thursday night. In response, the Panthers turned to their role players to pick up the scoring slack, and they executed to defeat St. James 71-61 in a Mid-Atlantic Conference boys basketball game. "I am extremely proud of my guys' efforts," St. James coach Mike Brooks said. "Potomac School is an extremely talented team. They have two guys, Paul Miller and Brian Freeman, that have already signed letters-of-intent to play with Division I schools.

Several positions at the Humane Society of Washington County will remain unfilled until the organization and the county work out funding issues. Humane Society Executive Director Paul Miller said Friday that the nonprofit group has put into place a hiring freeze, which means four open positions will remain vacant for now. The vacant positions are in bookkeeping, maintenance, front office management and a post that involves working with animals as they're brought to the Humane Society.

The executive director of the Washington County Humane Society said Wednesday there were no new leads in the investigation surrounding the deaths of three mute swans in City Park on June 26 and 27. Three of the park's five mute swans were found dead by park officials and sent to the Animal Health Lab in Frederick, Md., Paul Miller said Lab officials said they tested the bodies for West Nile virus, found nothing and then sent the bodies for...

HAGERSTOWN - The Humane Society of Washington County plans to reopen its dog adoption kennels today after closing them Aug. 31 in response to an outbreak of canine Parvovirus, Humane Society spokeswoman Katherine Cooker said. The shelter has not had a case of the potentially-deadly disease since Sept. 5, and staff feel it will be safe to reopen, Cooker said. The dogs had been confined to their kennels to prevent the spread of the disease, which is transmitted through dogs' fecal matter, she said.

The Humane Society of Washington County has received three animal oxygen administration kits, donated to them by the Blue Ridge K-9 Training Center Club in Blue Ridge Summit, Pa. Members of the Training Center Club held fundraising activities to raise money for the kits, which are being distributed free of charge to local organizations that could potentially deal with animals in need of oxygen therapy. The kits contain three sizes of masks and appropriate tubing for providing oxygen to animals in need.

The Humane Society of Washington County plans to reopen its dog adoption kennels on Thursday after closing them Aug. 31 in response to an outbreak of canine parvovirus, Humane Society spokeswoman Katherine Cooker said. The shelter has not had a case of the potentially-deadly disease since Sept. 5 and staff feel it will be safe to reopen, Cooker said. The dogs had been confined to their kennels to prevent the spread of the disease, which is transmitted through dogs' fecal matter, she said.

Two kittens accompanied Humane Society officials to the Washington County Commissioners meeting Tuesday as part of a promotion to encourage county residents to adopt shelter pets. The black and gray cats climbed on Humane Society of Washington County Executive Director Paul Miller and batted at his tie while Commissioners President John F. Barr read a proclamation declaring December 2008 "Home for the Holidays Month" in support of the adoption campaign. The Humane Society of Washington County is focusing its adoption campaign on finding homes for cats, which are harder to place in homes than dogs, Miller said.

The Washington County Chapter of the American Red Cross is offering first aid classes for family dogs and cats at its offices at 1131 Conrad Court in Hagerstown. The class will be Monday March 17, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Registration is required. Registration costs $75 per person, which reserves a spot for the participant and includes a pet first aid kit and a dog or cat first aid booklet with a CD-ROM. "We are very pleased to be able to offer this training to local pet owners," said Rachael Rohrer, health and safety program coordinator for the Red Cross.