Shepherd College

Frederick Franklin Otto, 87, of Hagerstown, Md., passed away Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011, at Meritus Medical Center in Hagerstown. Fred was born Dec. 4, 1924, in Big Pool, Md. He was the son of the late Joseph Ronald Otto and Viola Ruth Otto. He was the great-great-great-grandson of John (Johann) David Otto who immigrated from Hanover, Germany Sept. 17, 1793, landing in Philadelphia aboard the ship Columbia. In 1825, Fred's great-great-grandfather married Dorcus Miller and moved to a small farm near Burnside Bridge.

SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. - The NBA's Washington Wizards are on the verge of giving up Shepherd College as their preseason training camp in favor of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. The Wizards have not made an official announcement. However, Joe Browning, the sports information director at UNC Wilmington, said the team and the school have a verbal agreement for the Wizards to practice there the first two weeks of October. The regular season begins a few weeks later.

marlob@herald-mail.com SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. - Little Ethan McDade came all the way from Gaithersburg, Md., Saturday to go inside The Little House located on the campus of Shepherd College. But when the 3-year-old pressed his cold nose to the front window and peered inside, he and his grandmother Susan Guay discovered The Little House wasn't open. "We heard it was going to be open and it isn't," said Guay who lives in nearby Charles Town, W.Va. "I'm so disappointed for Ethan.

bobp@herald-mail.com SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. - When Keith Davis got his 2003 calendar, he quickly circled two dates. One red circle went around Jan. 4 and the other was Feb. 15. Those were the days Shepherd College faced Davis & Elkins. They symbolized Davis' red-letter days. "I've never scored less than double figures any time we've played D&E," Davis said. "Everyone has his day. I guess today was mine. " Maybe it doesn't hurt to be the namesake of the college you're facing.

William Weber Grove, 86, of Berkeley Springs, W.Va., died Friday, March, 29, 2013, at the Extended Care Unit of War Memorial Hospital in Berkeley Springs. Born Oct. 6, 1926, in Berkeley Springs, he was the son of the late Herbert William and Tursea Alegra Weber Grove. William was a member of Mount Zion United Methodist Church. He was a graduate of Shepherd College and held a master's degree from West Virginia University. He served in the U.S. Army CIC for two years during the Korean War. He retired from Morgan County Schools after 25 years as a teacher and administrator.

More than 100 people joined Blue Ridge Community and Technical College leaders Friday to celebrate the completion of an $18.2 million campus project with ribbon-cutting and flag-raising ceremonies. Staged in front of the college's new 55,000-square-foot academic/administrative building on the 46-acre campus, the celebration highlighted a milestone in the growth of the school, which expects about 4,400 students to enroll for the fall semester. “This has been a long time in the making,” Blue Ridge CTC President Peter G. Checkovich said.

Local roundup - Hilltoppers topple Shepherd men in OT MEN'S BASKETBALL WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. (AP) - Michael Jebbia scored 25 points as West Liberty beat Shepherd 83-79 in overtime Monday night. Jebbia, the West Virginia Conference's leading scorer, made 9 of 16 shots from the floor, including 3 of 4 3-pointers. Jebbia outdueled Demond Tapscott, who had 27 points and five steals for Shepherd (4-5, 2-1). Tapscott hit 9 of 21 shots, including 5 of 13 3-pointers.

Over the centuries, the 18th-century log house being renovated on the Shepherd University campus has been a private home, a sorority house, a day-care center, a home-economics classroom, and, until last month, a storage unit. The university has spent about $68,000 on renovations so far. The one-and-a-half story frame house is believed to have been built between 1772 and 1793 by Femetghe and Clarkson Freeman. It's on East High Street between Snyder and Knutti halls. It's easily recognized by its peeling yellow paint.

Alfonso Ruiz isn't sure how his mother did it. As a single mother, she would see her three boys off to school, work as many as three jobs, have dinner on the table, oversee homework and see them off to bed. Then, as they drifted off to sleep, she would hit the books. “She was the little engine that could. She just managed to keep on going,” Ruiz said. Susan Ruiz, 55, of Hagerstown, stayed home with her four children when they were young. But when she divorced in 2000, she needed to find a way to support her family.