Sandy Hook

Todd Kirkwood, of Greencastle, Pa., plays taps Wednesday at the flag pole in front of Greencastle-Antrim Elementary School. The  playing of taps was a tribute to the lives lost in the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. Taps is being played each day this week at 5 p.m. at Greencastle-Antrim Elementary School. Kirkwood is a member of Buglers Across America.

The Washington County Commissioners on Tuesday put off for two weeks a decision on a proposed rezoning of 23.93 acres in the Sandy Hook area, but most said they would vote against the proposal. William and Sylvia Martin have asked that their land, near Keep Tryst Road and U.S. 340, be rezoned from business general to rural residential. The rezoning would allow for 34 single-family homes on the property. County Commissioners Vice President William J. Wivell, and Commissioners James F. Kercheval, John C. Munson and Doris J. Nipps said they opposed the rezoning proposal.

Found - Gray cat Where - The cat was found in the Sandy Hook area in southern Washington County. When - The cat was found Monday evening. Description - The young cat is mostly gray, but has some white on its stomach area. It is described as very friendly. It was not wearing a collar. Phone number - If this is your cat, call 301-432-4017.

SANDY HOOK heatherk@herald-mail.com Editor's note: The is the last of a series of stories on the histories of local communities in Washington County. Residents of Sandy Hook might not know much about how their little town sprang up centuries ago at the base of Elk Ridge at the southern tip of Washington County, but the houses seem to know. Lined up like sentinels on one side of the narrow, gravelly Sandyhook Road, the houses, many more than 100 years old, all face the same direction, their windows gazing out over layers of American history: the road, the railroad, the C&O Canal and the Potomac River.

A locomotive passes a wall of icicles Thursday near Sandy Hook in southern Washington County.

Tom Nuice walks the C&O Canal Tuesday near Sandy Hook, as mild weather continues in the region.

Rescue officials respond in W.Va. SANDY HOOK, W.Va. - Rescue officials were called to the Potomac River Monday afternoon for a possible river rescue. A short time after they arrived, rescue officials learned that the two men and a woman - who were reportedly having trouble in the water - got out of the river safely on the West Virginia side, said Arnold Martin, deputy chief of the Potomac Valley Volunteer Fire Co. Martin said the group had a 20-foot wooden boat.

Jerry William Ault, 71, of Sandy Hook, died Monday, Dec. 5, 2011, at his home. Visitation will be today from 7 to 9 p.m. at Eackles-Spencer and Norton Funeral Home, Harpers Ferry, W.Va. The service will be Thursday at 2 p.m. at the funeral home. Burial will be in Brownsville Heights Cemetery, Brownsville.

Penny I. Nuice, 63 AUG. 17, 1945-NOV. 26, 2008 SANDY HOOK - Penny I. Nuice, 63, of Sandy Hook, Md., passed away on Nov. 26, 2008, at Washington Hospital Center. She was born on Aug. 17, 1945, in Luray, Va., and was the daughter of the late Mervin Isaac Bartlett and Gaynelle Kibler Carroll Bartlett. She was a member of the Sandy Hook United Methodist Church. She is survived by one daughter, Wanda Sue Hoffmaster and husband, David, of Sharpsburg, Md.; two sons, Mervin "Frank" Nuice and wife, Myra, of Boonsboro, Md., and Wesley Thomas Nuice and wife, Faith, of Gaithersburg, Md.; two sisters, Yvonne Mentzer of Knoxville, Md., and Tyrina "Silky" Kenney of Harpers Ferry, W.Va.

Catherine Marie Hackley, 89, of Sandy Hook, Md., died March 23, 2011, at City Hospital in Martinsburg, W.Va. Visitation will be Friday from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. at Eackles-Spencer & Norton Funeral Home,  Harpers Ferry, W.Va. The service will be Saturday at 2 p.m. at the funeral home, with the Rev. Douglas Fraim officiating. Burial will be in Ebenezer Cemetery, Loudoun Heights, Va. 

Todd Kirkwood, of Greencastle, Pa., plays taps Wednesday at the flag pole in front of Greencastle-Antrim Elementary School. The  playing of taps was a tribute to the lives lost in the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. Taps is being played each day this week at 5 p.m. at Greencastle-Antrim Elementary School. Kirkwood is a member of Buglers Across America.

The bell in the historic Berkeley County Courthouse in Martinsburg will be rung 26 times Friday morning to honor the memory of those who died in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Berkeley County Council President William L. “Bill” Stubblefield announced. The ceremony will be at 9:30 a.m. at the courthouse at 100 W. King St. in coordination with Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin's request that all state residents observe a moment of silence beginning at that time. Churches and government buildings, with the capability, have been asked by the governor to ring their bells 26 times in memory of each victim.

Found - Gray cat Where - The cat was found in the Sandy Hook area in southern Washington County. When - The cat was found Monday evening. Description - The young cat is mostly gray, but has some white on its stomach area. It is described as very friendly. It was not wearing a collar. Phone number - If this is your cat, call 301-432-4017.

Jerry William Ault, 71, of Sandy Hook, died Monday, Dec. 5, 2011, at his home. Visitation will be today from 7 to 9 p.m. at Eackles-Spencer and Norton Funeral Home, Harpers Ferry, W.Va. The service will be Thursday at 2 p.m. at the funeral home. Burial will be in Brownsville Heights Cemetery, Brownsville.

Catherine Marie Hackley, 89, of Sandy Hook, Md., died March 23, 2011, at City Hospital in Martinsburg, W.Va. Visitation will be Friday from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. at Eackles-Spencer & Norton Funeral Home,  Harpers Ferry, W.Va. The service will be Saturday at 2 p.m. at the funeral home, with the Rev. Douglas Fraim officiating. Burial will be in Ebenezer Cemetery, Loudoun Heights, Va. 

MARCH 6, 1955-FEB. 19, 2011 MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — Marvin O. Baer Jr., 55, of Martinsburg, died Saturday, Feb. 19, 2011, at his home. He was born March 6, 1955, in Sandy Hook, Md., to the late Marvin Owens Sr. and Stella Kopec Baer. He was employed at Save A Lot, Williamsport, Md. He loved riding his Harley and spending time on his boat. Survivors include his wife, Paula A. Baer, married 13 years, of Martinsburg; mother and father-in-law, Paul D. and Pearl J. Staubs of Falling Waters, W.Va.

JULY 21, 1921-MARCH 20, 2009 MAUGANSVILLE - Ida M. Schelle, 87, of 14052 Village Mill Drive, died Friday, March 20, 2009, at Washington County Hospital. Born July 21, 1921, in Washington County, Md., she was the daughter of the late Abram M. and Amanda Showalter Baer. Her husband, Alfred O. Schelle, died June 23, 2005. They were married Dec. 2, 1943. She worked at Martin's Food Market in Hagerstown. She was a member of Cedar Grove Mennonite Church near Greencastle, Pa., where she was an active member of the Women's Missions Sewing Circle.

Penny I. Nuice, 63 AUG. 17, 1945-NOV. 26, 2008 SANDY HOOK - Penny I. Nuice, 63, of Sandy Hook, Md., passed away on Nov. 26, 2008, at Washington Hospital Center. She was born on Aug. 17, 1945, in Luray, Va., and was the daughter of the late Mervin Isaac Bartlett and Gaynelle Kibler Carroll Bartlett. She was a member of the Sandy Hook United Methodist Church. She is survived by one daughter, Wanda Sue Hoffmaster and husband, David, of Sharpsburg, Md.; two sons, Mervin "Frank" Nuice and wife, Myra, of Boonsboro, Md., and Wesley Thomas Nuice and wife, Faith, of Gaithersburg, Md.; two sisters, Yvonne Mentzer of Knoxville, Md., and Tyrina "Silky" Kenney of Harpers Ferry, W.Va.

SANDY HOOK -- Building a 190-foot microwave radio tower near the intersection of Keep Tryst and Sandy Hook roads in South County is the only viable option to bring the county's emergency communications up to standard, county officials said at an informational meeting Wednesday night. About 60 people attended the meeting at Pleasant Valley Elementary School, some of whom said they left with unanswered questions about whether the county had explored all of the alternatives. The free-standing, lattice tower will be the southernmost of a series of 10 strategically placed radio towers that officials say are necessary to improve radio communications for law enforcement, fire and emergency services personnel.

Tom Nuice walks the C&O Canal Tuesday near Sandy Hook, as mild weather continues in the region.