Sled

katec@herald-mail.com Winter doesn't officially begin until Monday, Dec. 22, but the season's first snow already has come and gone. So has the season's second snow. If you believe J. Gruber's Hagers-Town Town and Country Almanack, the second-oldest continuously published almanac in the United States, we're in for more. The publication is warning that we'll get nearly as much snow as we had last year. Have some fun. Go sledding. You can sled almost anywhere there's snow and an incline.

scottb@herald-mail.com Get your snow shovels ready because there is more snow on the way today, perhaps more than a foot, forecasters say. As of Saturday night, the first part of a two-part snowstorm had dumped more than 2 inches of snow in Hagerstown, according to weather observer Greg Keefer's Internet site. When the second part of the storm hits the area today, it is expected to bring another 4 to 8 inches of snow during the day, National Weather Service meteorologist John Newkirk said.

Editor's note - Please be as brief as possible when calling Mail Call, The Daily Mail's reader call-in line. Mail Call is not staffed on weekends or holidays so it is best to call Mail Call during the week. The Mail Call number is 301-791-6236. You are welcome to leave a recorded message on any subject, but some calls will be screened out. Here are some of the calls we have received lately: "One would think that churches would treat their employees properly, but I found that not to be the case for all the churches in Hagers-town, at least one in particular.

kevinc@herald-mail.com Like sprinters perched precariously on starting blocks, the snow tuber teeters atop an 850-foot slope, awaiting the report of the starters' pistol. Only here - with a wind whipping that ratchets down mid-40s temperatures a few degrees - the go signal is a verbal shout and shove from a spotter. And then, a half-minute adrenaline rush/lesson in gravity. A stiff breeze slaps across body and brightly-colored tube, spinning down a solid track of snow and ice. Bouncing from one side of the track to another - picture a slick, steep half-pipe - tiny bumps send tube and rider airborne for half-seconds at a time.

12-year-old dies in sledding accident By STACEY DANZUSO / Staff Writer, Chambersburg MERCERSBURG, Pa. - A Warren Township, Pa., youngster was pronounced dead Tuesday morning following a sledding accident Monday afternoon, according to Pennsylvania State Police. Marvin Michael Busby, 12, was sledding down a hill near his home with his brother at around 3:55 p.m. Monday when he entered the path of a pickup truck on Little Cove Road, Trooper Terry Pennington said. The youngster was taken to York County (Pa.)

Sledding safety tips offered By BOB PARTLOW / Staff Writer, Martinsburg MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Parents and their children can take a number of steps to increase safety when kids are sledding during snowy winter weather, a Berkeley County official said Wednesday. "Not in the street - that's the biggest thing by far," said Steve Allen, director of the Berkeley County Office of Emergency Services. "There are lots of places with hills away from road surfaces or that don't discharge onto a road.

Sledding death touches many By BOB PARTLOW / Staff Writer, Martinsburg MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - The families and emergency workers who had to face the death of a 5-year-old boy in a sledding accident on Needmore Loop Tuesday afternoon were dealing with the emotional aftermath of the incident Wednesday. continued Police and medical personnel who responded to the accident will have a chance to talk about their feelings in a private meeting tonight. The family of Timothy Lee Moffit of Needmore Loop has decided to have no services or visitation.

By GREG SIMMONS / Staff Writer photo: MARLA BROSE / staff photographer Mark Rohrer's John Deere 4955 rumbled at the starting line. Black smoke spewed from its smoke stack, and the engine roared. The whine of the turbo was ear-piercing. Then the green tractor bolted down the dirt track, dragging a 30,000-pound sled for 250 feet, the smell of burnt diesel fuel hanging in the air. The Washington County Tractor Pullers Club sponsored a tractor pull Wednesday night at the Washington County Ag Expo.

By SAMANTHA KRULEWITZ Staff Writer Karen Beckley's done her share of driving a tractor in the fields, but last week she beat out nine men for first place in a tractor-pulling contest at Washington County Ag Expo. "It feels pretty good to beat them," said Beckley, who drove her John Deere 4440 to victory in the 18,500-pound class. "I know someone who got harassed by his wife when they got home. She said, 'How could you let a woman beat you?'" said Beckley. Beckley, who's family farm is on Hopewell Road, started participating in tractor-pulling contests last year.