Ranson

FREDERICK, Md. -- A Ranson, W.Va., man was killed Monday afternoon at Gladhill Tractor on Mt. Zion Road in Frederick when a large piece of equipment on which he was working fell on him, according to a Maryland State Police news release. Thomas L. Creamer, 46, was killed when a John Deere 332 Skid Steer fell on him, according to the release. The death is being investigated as a work-related accident and no signs of foul play were observed at the scene, the release said. Creamer was transported to a medical examiner's office in Baltimore for an autopsy and an investigation is continuing, the release said.

RANSON, W.Va. - The sprawling Potomac Marketplace shopping center being built along the Charles Town Bypass in Ranson is taking shape, with some stores, including a Home Depot and a Weis supermarket, expected to open soon, a spokesman for the project said Tuesday. The Weis supermarket, which will be about 65,000 square feet, and The Home Depot store, which will be about 104,000 square feet, are expected to open later this month, said Roger Gerst, director of leasing for Carl M. Freeman Retail.

charlestown@herald-mail.com CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - Concerned that uncontrolled development can strip the area of its identity and lead to higher costs of living for residents, representatives from Charles Town and Ranson sat down Monday night to start a dialogue about how to develop a growth pattern for the area. Planning commission members from the two municipalities considered entering into an agreement that would set up specific areas for residential and commercial growth.

Jury acquits former Ranson police officer By DAVE McMILLION / Staff Writer CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - A former Ranson police officer was acquitted Friday of charges he assaulted a Maryland man "for no apparent reason" during a robbery investigation four years ago. After hearing three days of testimony, a six-member jury acquitted Steve Harris of the charges, said Shayna Funkhouser, a clerk in the Jefferson County Circuit Clerk's...

RANSON, W.Va. - The Baha'i Center at 308 S. Buchannan St., Ranson, will open its doors to friends and neighbors on Sunday at 3 p.m. The highlight of the afternoon will be a performance at 3:30 p.m. by the Metropolitan Washington Baha'i Chorale, according to a news release from the church. For more information, call 304-535-2351.

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - The town of Ranson grew by about 430 acres Thursday when the Jefferson County Commission approved five annexations to the town. The town has already more than tripled in size over the past year as a result of previous annexations that took in at least 1,823 acres. The five annexations accepted by the commissioners Thursday are around the north end of the Charles Town Bypass, said Town Manager David Mills. The annexations fill in areas that were surrounded by other properties that were recently annexed to Ranson, Mills said.

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - A 29-year-old man was in Eastern Regional Jail on Friday evening after police said he sold $300 in crack cocaine to an informant in Ranson, W.Va., the night before, according to Jefferson County Magistrate Court records. Jorfory Nevin Twyman, of 167 Cider Lane in Ranson, was arraigned on one count of distribution of a controlled substance by Magistrate William E. Senseney, who set a $500,000 bond, according to court records. Twyman was arrested Thursday evening by West Virginia State Police officers at a nightclub in Ranson after authorities said he sold the crack cocaine to an informant affiliated with the Eastern Panhandle Drug and Violent Crime Task Force at his home, according to court records.

LEESBURG, Va. (AP) -- The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office says one man was killed and another was seriously injured Monday in a two-vehicle crash on Va. 9. It happened shortly after 7 a.m. Monday about a half mile east of Va. 704. Deputies say 33-year-old Michael Johnson of Ranson, W.Va., was traveling east on Va. 9 when his car crossed the double yellow line and crashed head-on with a vehicle driven by 37-year-old George Hoover of Harpers Ferry, W.Va. Johnson died in the crash.

FREDERICK, Md. - A Ranson, W.Va., man was flown by medevac helicopter Saturday afternoon to Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, Md., after an accident on Interstate 270, according to a Maryland State Police press release. Leroy Holman, 50, was northbound on I-270 in a 1998 Ford Mustang just before 3 p.m. when it rolled over near Baker Valley Road, according to the release. Holman was freed from the vehicle by rescuers and was flown to the hospital with nonlife-threatening injuries, according to the release.

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - Former Ranson Police Chief Everett "Ed" Boober announced Friday he will run for Jefferson County sheriff next year when Sheriff William Senseney's term ends. Boober, who ran unsuccessfully for sheriff in 1991, said he decided to announce his candidacy nine months before next year's primary election so voters will have a chance to find out "who I am and what I'm about. " Boober, a Democrat who worked for 21 years in the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department before becoming Ranson police chief in 1988, said he wants to take a community-oriented approach to law enforcement.