Pond

Luminarias reflect in the pond at Rest Haven Cemetery Saturday night. Rest Haven's annual luminaria lighting brings people from hundreds of miles away. Approximately 15,000 people are buried on the property, and grounds. Staff begin making the luminarias in November.

More than 15 firefighters responded to 10389 Newburg Road in Lurgan Township, Pa., on Sunday morning after receiving a report of a horse slipping through ice on a pond. When crews arrived shortly after 11 a.m., they found five or six horses standing on ice covering a large pond, according to Kevin Singer, a captain with the Newburg-Hopewell Volunteer Fire Department. One of the draft horses had fallen through the ice, Singer said. Singer said firefighters, who remained on land, used feed to lure the horses off the ice. They used rope to pull the remaining horse out of the pond.

An earthen dam has eroded to the point that it might collapse, DNR wrote in a news release. By Tuesday, DNR had removed most of the water from the pond, which is about 0.8 acres, said Don Cosden, the director of DNR's Inland Fisheries Division. Cosden did not know when the dam will be fixed and the pond refilled. That depends on an engineering estimate of the work and how long it would take to secure funding, he said. The pond, which is off Md. 67, is considered a “fisheries management area.” The state mostly maintains it, Cosden said, but the community uses it to fish for catfish, bass, bluegill and black crappies.

LEWISTOWN, Md. - A 2-year-old Emmitsburg boy drowned Christmas day in a pond at a family member's home, the Frederick County Sheriff's Office reported. "Apparently he walked off while they were out in the yard playing," Sgt. Scot Hopkins said Thursday night. He said the toddler's death was being investigated as an accidental drowning. Hopkins said the boy's name was not being released until all members of the family were contacted. The call came in at 11:50 a.m., according to Frederick County Emergency Services.

photo: RIC DUGAN / staff photographer Workers installing a new eight-acre stormwater management pond at Hagerstown Community College are almost finished, according to spokeswoman Patti Churchey. The holding pond will include a soccer field at its center for use on dry days. Since the Athletic Recreation and Community Center was built, there have been drainage problems nearby at residences along Harp Road and at Yingling's Golf Center. "This should resolve all of that," said Churchey.

More than five dozen fish in one of Western Maryland Hospital Center's ponds got an unexpected dose of detergent Wednesday morning, sending workers into a daylong flurry to save the creatures from the poisonous foam. Hagerstown Fire Department Deputy Chief Ron Horn filled the hospital's entrance pond - from which the fish had been removed - with water Wednesday afternoon. The pond was drained after workers discovered the foamy mess Wednesday morning, Hospital Communications Director N. Linn Hendershot said.

MERCERSBURG, Pa. -Sure, Katrina Gayman has seen stunts as marketing director for Whitetail Resort, but one sticks in her memory: seeing a guy in a Superman costume zip down a snowy hill on skis in an attempt to skim across 30 feet of water in the winter. At noon Sunday that won't even be an unusual sight for anyone watching Whitetail's pond-skimming contest. Skiers, snowboarders and tubers - in costume - hope to shoot down a hill and zip across the pond without falling in. The last dry person standing is the winner, though prizes also will go to the best costume and the best crash.

waynesboro@herald-mail.com A small pond that was built in 1896 by students at the then-new Scotland School for Veterans Children and has served the school and neighboring village of Scotland as a popular swimming, ice skating and fishing spot has become unusable due to neglect and a buildup of silt. Scott M. Henne, assistant superintendent at the school, said Friday the school has secured a $100,000 state grant to dredge the pond and pay for an engineering study of the dam pending its replacement.

Emmitsburg boy, 2, drowns in pond LEWISTOWN, Md. - A 2-year-old Emmitsburg boy drowned Christmas Day in a pond at a family member's Putman Road home, the Frederick County Sheriff's Office reported Thursday. "Apparently he walked off while they were out in the yard playing," Sgt. Scot Hopkins said Thursday night. The death of Hunter McManus was being investigated as an accidental drowning, police said. The pond was in the 100 block of Putman Road, police said. The call came in at 11:50 a.m., according to Frederick County Emergency Services.

BUNKER HILL, W.Va. - Two Virginia brothers died early Wednesday after their pickup truck went off Old Mill Road into a pond, according to West Virginia State Police. Berkeley County Coroner David Brining said it appears that driver Michael E. Wright Sr., 43, of Edinburg, Va., and his brother, Daniel L. Wright, 47, of Salem, Va., drowned, but no autopsy will be performed. The men had other injuries, including head trauma, according to Brining and police. Brining said it looked like the two didn't try to escape the pickup cab. Neither was wearing a seat belt.

More than 15 firefighters responded to 10389 Newburg Road in Lurgan Township, Pa., on Sunday morning after receiving a report of a horse slipping through ice on a pond. When crews arrived shortly after 11 a.m., they found five or six horses standing on ice covering a large pond, according to Kevin Singer, a captain with the Newburg-Hopewell Volunteer Fire Department. One of the draft horses had fallen through the ice, Singer said. Singer said firefighters, who remained on land, used feed to lure the horses off the ice. They used rope to pull the remaining horse out of the pond.

An earthen dam has eroded to the point that it might collapse, DNR wrote in a news release. By Tuesday, DNR had removed most of the water from the pond, which is about 0.8 acres, said Don Cosden, the director of DNR's Inland Fisheries Division. Cosden did not know when the dam will be fixed and the pond refilled. That depends on an engineering estimate of the work and how long it would take to secure funding, he said. The pond, which is off Md. 67, is considered a “fisheries management area.” The state mostly maintains it, Cosden said, but the community uses it to fish for catfish, bass, bluegill and black crappies.

“I'm calling to thank the Wilson Ruritan for the wonderful picnic they provided for the Special Olympics participants. It was very nice to see an organization reach out and do something kind for our athletes. Thanks again for a very enjoyable evening.” - Williamsport “I am not referring to most of our good teachers here in Washington County when I say this, but remember 'Goofus and Gallant'? The former was a jerk, who made a mess of everything, while the latter always showed him up, by improving his little corner of the world.

Berkeley County has no public access to the Potomac River, so preserving the ecosystem of the fishing pond at Poor House Farm Park is important, says Martinsburg-Berkeley County Parks & Recreation Board Executive Director Steve Catlett. The parks and recreation board on Tuesday authorized Catlett to rent equipment to dredge the 5-acre pond without draining it. "It shouldn't affect the fishing much at all," Catlett said Tuesday evening. The decision to scrape silt from the bottom of the fishing site in the 137-acre park comes about two months after an estimated 200 to 250 catfish died in the pond.

BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. -- To prevent possible flooding in the skate park area, the Morgan County Commission on Thursday unanimously approved the installation of a rain garden basin in the Berkeley Springs Bike and Skate Park on Ewing Street. The rain garden will be provided through a $5,000 grant from the Potomac Headwaters Resource Conservation and Development Council as a demonstration project, said Gordon MacLeod, a Morgan County Parks and Recreation board member. "We have to get started as soon as soon as possible" to be eligible for the grant, MacLeod said.

Residents asked to lobby against permanent highway funding cuts A proposal to make permanent cuts in state highway-user revenue to municipalities sparked feelings of desperation during a Boonsboro Town Council meeting Monday night. Cuts in state highway-user revenue have already hit local towns but Boonsboro Mayor Charles F. "Skip" Kauffman Jr. said Monday night that the state Senate has passed a proposal to make the cuts permanent. The proposal is currently pending in the House of Delegates and Kauffman pleaded for anyone to lobby against the proposal.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. -- A Chambersburg High FFA team took first place at the Pennsylvania State FFA contest June 9 and 10. The Agriculture Salesmanship Career Development team placed first in the state. Members of the team were Branton Moore, who placed second; Cassi Foster, who placed third; Josh Funk, who placed fifth; Heather Hartman, who placed eighth; and Mikayla Moore, who placed 12th. The team will travel to Indianapolis for the National FFA Conference. The contest consisted of a 25-question multiple-choice test on agricultural sales, an interactive sales presentation on a student-selected product to sell, a sales practicum situation of customer relations and a team presentation on marketing.

ROUZERVILLE, Pa. -- Ralph Wetzel enjoys a day of fishing the pond at Red Run Park on Thursday. He leaves his Blue Ridge Summit, Pa., home several times each week to fish.

Q: We have a koi and goldfish pond with a few plants in it. We have heard that we should add salt to the pond, but we are unclear about how much is OK, how much is too much, what it does and whether it will hurt the plants. A: Let's cover the reason why first. The fish's body is saltier than the water in the pond. So, water wants to even out the two different salt levels to one average level. The fish have to expend calories to keep salt in and water out of their body. They have a slime coat, scales, gills, kidneys and skin all trying to keep the water out, but they are constantly breathing and swallowing water in. This energy could be used for growth, immune system work, etc., if the water were saltier.

Allen Robinson and his 6-year-old son James share a morning fishing the pond at Sharpsburg Park on Monday. James held the rod while Allen baited the hook. They caught sunfish.