Paul Taylor

BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. - The former municipal clerk for the Town of Bath has filed a lawsuit claiming she was unfairly fired for blowing the whistle on wrongdoing by town officials. In a complaint filed Tuesday in Morgan County Circuit Court, Dorthy Silvers asks for her job back, full payment of back wages and reinstatement of benefits, attorney fees and $100,000 for damages and emotional distress. She also asks that the mayor and members of the Town Council each be fined $500 for violating the "Whistle-Blower Law," a state law meant to protect people who report waste or wrongdoing by public agencies or officials, said Paul Taylor, her Martinsburg, W.Va.

o Read more Jamie Shekels columns at washingtoncountyliving.com Jaycees take children on shopping spree The Hagerstown Jaycees conducted its annual children's shopping spree Dec. 12. This year, thanks to donations from individuals and funds provided by the Jaycees, members took 10 children Christmas shopping at Target. After shopping, the group was taken to Cici's Pizza on Wesel Boulevard for lunch. The Jaycees would like to thank Target and Cici's Pizza for the support.

CHARLES TOWN, W.VA. ? The jury seated in Raymond E. Hoak's murder trial on Friday could not reach a verdict after about 6 1/2 hours of deliberations in Jefferson County Courthouse, and decided to break for the weekend. Deliberations will resume Tuesday. Hoak is accused of shooting Larry G. Hose, 29, of Kearneysville, W.Va., in the parking lot of Images nightclub along W.Va. 51 near Middleway, W.Va., in February 2003. Indicted on a first-degree murder charge, Hoak first was tried in 2005.

chambersburg@herald-mail.com CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - Depending on which of three sets of numbers one accepts, the student population of the Chambersburg Area School District will rise from its current 8,070 to around 8,500 or 9,225 by 2010. The lower end of the projections, based on either an analysis of new housing starts or U.S. Census Bureau data, are almost identical, while the high end is the estimate of the Pennsylvania Department of Education, according to figures supplied by Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Associates, the Mechanicsburg, Pa., architectural firm working with the district's facilities advisory task force.

W.Va. high court to hear Feliciano case By BOB PARTLOW / Staff Writer, Martinsburg When Antonio Feliciano wrestled with a would-be armed robber at a 7-Eleven store in Baker Heights, W.Va., on W.Va. 9 last summer, company officials said he violated company police and fired him. The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals will now decide whether his claim that he was acting in self-defense can be used as a shield against his firing. Feliciano was an "at-will" employee - meaning the company could fire him for virtually any reason, said his attorney Paul Taylor.

CHARLES TOWN, W.VA. ? A Martinsburg, W.Va., attorney said Wednesday he might subpoena jurors from Raymond Hoak's voluntary manslaughter trial to find out more information about questionable juror notes that were found after the trial. Paul Taylor has filed papers in Jefferson County Circuit Court asking that a mistrial, acquittal or new trial be ordered for Hoak. Hoak, of Kearneysville, W.Va., was convicted Nov. 20 of voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of Larry Hose, 29, of Kearneysville, outside Images nightclub along W.Va.

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - A Martinsburg, W.Va., attorney said Wednesday he might subpoena jurors from Raymond Hoak's voluntary manslaughter trial to find out more information about questionable juror notes that were found after the trial. Paul Taylor has filed papers in Jefferson County Circuit Court asking that a mistrial, acquittal or new trial be ordered for Hoak. Hoak, of Kearneysville, W.Va., was convicted Nov. 20 of voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of Larry Hose, 29, of Kearneysville, outside Images nightclub along W.Va.

Eight Ranson, W.Va., property owners have filed a lawsuit against 7-Eleven Inc., alleging they suffered damage to their properties when gasoline leaked from a 7-Eleven store in Ranson and onto their land. The suit, filed Feb. 21 in Jefferson County Circuit Court, alleges that 7-Eleven officials knew that the leak occurred as early as January 2000 at the store at 110 S. Mildred St. Despite knowing about the leak, 7-Eleven officials hid the leak from the eight nearby property owners and government agencies, the suit alleges.

Lea Bikle's fourth-grade class at Winter Street Elementary School won the Principal's Attendance Challenge in December with perfect attendance 10 of the 16 days of school for the month. The following students had perfect attendance for the month of December: Ms. Moats (prekindergarten): Ananda Bowden, D'Asiah Chambers-Boyd, Meagan Fuller, Tiheen Matthews Jr., Claude Paul and Ashley Simpkins Mrs. Sturtz (prekindergarten): Oluseyi Adesomo, Kaden Billman, Andrew Ehmer, Geneva Miles, Liberty Shackelford and Zachary Startzman Mrs. McCarter (kindergarten)