Pond

GREENCASTLE, Pa. - Rain and melting snow have raised the water levels in the wells and springs that supply Greencastle's public water system, but residents still must boil their water and conserve its use. In Waynesboro, officials said the recent rains and snow melt raised the level of the 150-million-gallon impoundment pond on South Mountain that feeds their public water system, but not enough for the water to reach the top of the overflow dam....

Town to accept ownership of pond SMITHSBURG - The Smithsburg Town Council voted unanimously, 5-0, to accept ownership of a stormwater management pond in an area housing development at its meeting Tuesday. The council has agreed to accept a pond inside the Whispering Hills housing development as town property. The town will manage that area, though other portions of the property are still to be maintained by the development's owner. The pond stretches behind four existing homes in the development, Mayor Mildred "Mickey" Myers said.

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.

martinsburg@herald-mail.com MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - She called them her boys. Tamara Roush still was crying hours after learning Friday that 28 ducks and geese that lived at Poor House Farm Park were killed. Roush, 40, of Martinsburg, was one of the many people who had forged an emotional connection with the waterfowl. "They were friends of mine," said Roush, who fed the birds and picked up trash at the park that was, for her, a place to meditate and connect with nature.

No attention paid to this dangerous stretch of road To the editor: I am seeking help with a major and potentially dangerous situation within the Northridge housing development along Little Georgetown Road (Secondary Route 2) and W.Va. 901. Within inches of Little Georgetown Road is a very deep retention pond for this development. This road is barely wide enough for two cars to go past each other. Add school buses and dump trucks trying to get by, plus a deep retention pond right beside the highway, and the potential for a deadly accident presents itself every day. One day someone is going to go into that pond and become gravely injured or killed because of the close proximity of this pond to the highway.

By DON AINES Staff Writer, Martinsburg MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - "We killed several people yesterday," said Dr. Bill Ramsey, describing a hot air balloon crash Saturday at a farm pond near Marlowe. Ramsey, the West Virginia state EMS Director, was speaking figuratively about the mock casualties in the staged exercise. The crash scenario sent the balloon through some trees into the pond, leaving the gondola sitting on a dock, its propane tank leaking and an unconscious man inside.

SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. -- Check out this science classroom. Students from Harpers Ferry (W.Va.) Middle School were at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife's National Conservation Training Center (NCTC) Wednesday for a close-up examination of the environment, including how birds are attracted to ponds to feed on insects. As students leaned over a table near the edge of a pond at the center, swallows swooped over the students in their search for food. "It doesn't get any better than that," instructor Sandy Burk said.

marlob@herald-mail.com MARTINSBURG, W.VA. - A cold wind blew the homemade wreath across the water of the pond at Poor House Farm Park as a dozen or so mourners gathered at a Saturday afternoon vigil for the 28 ducks and geese that were found dead there Nov. 3. The somber ceremony was marked with poetry readings, a prayer and a moment of silence followed by the launching of the wreath, which bore feathers that vigil organizer Tamara Roush...

tarar@herald-mail.com Twelve-year-old Nick Dawson thinks of his school's courtyard as a community for ducks. For the past three or four springs, a female duck and her male mate have flown to the courtyard of E. Russell Hicks Middle School to hatch and raise their ducklings. Last week, the female hatched eight ducklings, catching the attention of students and staff who often catch a glimpse of the feathered animals from the hallways. "The kids can all see them together," Nick said.