Shenandoah

charlestown@herald-mail.com Despite attempts by three friends to rescue him, a 15-year-old boy drowned while swimming in the Shenandoah River Tuesday afternoon, rescue officials said. Officials declined to release the boy's name Tuesday night because not all family members had been notified. The teenager and his friends were swimming in water about 5 feet deep, said Steve Anderson, one of three divers who searched for the boy. It appears the youth was walking in the river when he fell into a section of water that was about 10-feet deep, Anderson said.

Shenandoah's Pride Dairy will close its Winchester, Va., distribution center at the end of the month, relocating much of its work to its Hagerstown operation, a company official said. Approximately 13 of the 22 employees at the Winchester center are expected to relocate to the Hagerstown operation on Oakmont Drive, Branch Operations Manager Greg Harper said. Company officials couldn't justify the cost of upgrading the Winchester center when its sales territory could be covered by other regional centers, such as those in Hagerstown and Mount Crawford, Va., Harper said.

- COLLEGE BASEBALL MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. - Mount Olive snapped Shepherd's five-game unbeaten steak with a 3-0, 3-2 sweep on Monday. Jason Walck gave the Rams (4-2-1) an 2-0 lead in the second game with RBI singles in the third and fifth innings. But, Shepherd committed three errors allowing Mount Olive (15-8) to rally. Game 1 Shepherd0000000-042 Mount Olive100110x-350 WP-Fricks, 2-0; LP-Renner, 0-1. Game 2 Shepherd0010100-283 Mount Olive000021x-340 WP-McClellan, 2-0; LP-Miller, 0-1. Rams sweep weekly awards PRINCETON, W.Va.

Shenandoah Hotel renovations progressing By BOB PARTLOW / Staff Writer, Martinsburg Photo: KEVIN G. GILBERT / staff photographer The Shenandoah Hotel will rise again. The old hotel in the heart of Martinsburg will be restored to its old name as it is being restored to some of its former grandeur. Those were the plans outlined by contractor Jim Palm of Plateau Builders, who is working with owner Ben Fogle to fix up the building, find tenants for it and turn it into the bustling business it once was. The building originally was built with private donations in the 1920s and named the Shenandoah Hotel.

Potomac advisory Boating and other recreational activities on the upper Potomac River should be avoided through Monday because of hazardous water levels, the Maryland Natural Resources Police said. Water levels are hazardous for recreational use along the main stem of the Potomac from Cumberland and at Paw Paw, Springfield and Harpers Ferry, and the Shenandoah at Millville, because of recent rain, according to a natural resources police news release issued Friday. This warning doesn't apply to professionally guided river trips or teams of experienced white water paddlers.

Dead raccoon found in Shenandoah Junction rabid By DAVE McMILLION / Staff Writer, Charles Town CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - A raccoon that was killed about two weeks ago in the Shenandoah Junction area has tested positive for rabies, prompting health officials to renew their warning about the fatal disease. The raccoon was killed by a homeowner after the animal entered the man's property, said James Hecker, chairman of the Jefferson County Board of Health. The head of the animal was given to the health department for testing, Hecker said.

Williams crowned Miss Shenandoah By KEVIN CLAPP / Staff Writer CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - Allison Renee Williams was crowned Miss Shenandoah 2001 Saturday night at Wright Denny Intermediate School. Williams, of Charles Town, is a 19-year-old student at West Virginia University. She performed a medley of "Paper Moon" and "Orange-Colored Sky. " She is the daughter of Ronnie and Evon Williams of Charles Town. "I am truly shocked right now," she said immediately after the crowning.

Ribbon cut on U.S. 340 bridge over Shenandoah By DAVE McMILLION / Staff Writer, Charles Town HARPERS FERRY, W.Va. - Emphasizing that the event had nothing to do with politics, a state Division of Highways engineer cut a ribbon on a new bridge over the Shenandoah River Friday morning athough it may be a month before work on the span is completed. The ribbon was cut while traffic continued to stream by on the 51-year-old bridge beside it. An engineer for the project said westbound traffic could be diverted to the new bridge next week.

AUTO RACING Charlie Schaffer, Marvin Winters, Jeff Bennett and Marcus Van Meter all posted wins in the second week of racing at Hagerstown Speedway on Sunday. Schaffer won the 25-lap Late Model race, taking home $1,250. Roy Deese Jr. was second. Winters won the 20-lap Late Model Sportsman with Mike Yeakle coming in second place. Bennett won the 15-lap V-8 Pure Stock with Eugene Conlee finishing second. Van Meter won the 10-lap 4-cylinder with Ronnie Buck taking second.

Two things stick in my mind from a white water rafting trip I took a couple of years ago in Costa Rica. First is the guide, some maniac from Holland who obviously wanted our blood. Second is the kayakers who flanked our boat - presumably with the chore of fishing our corpses from the river should this Dutch nutcase succeed. They actually had to rescue us once with ropes when old Hans Brinker got our raft hopelessly locked in a bionic, canyon-lined whirlpool that sent our boat spinning in unbelievable, cartoon-speed circles.