Soap

FALLING WATERS, W.Va. -- It was a natural progression for Tanya Ortiz to go from putting all-natural foods into her body to putting all-natural soap on her body.  Ortiz, 36, makes and sells all-natural soap from her new Web site, www.allnaturalsoapstore.com. The liquid Castile soap she makes has no sodium laureth sulfate, which is in many soap products, and Ortiz uses hers for bathing, brushing her teeth, washing dishes, cleaning counters and bathing her dogs.  "It's very versatile," she said.

Frequent hand-washing to fight the spread of influenza is elementary, but it's a challenge at many schools, where soap dispensers have been removed from student bathrooms to curb vandalism. Public schools aren't required to provide soap, according to the Maryland State Department of Education. Local administrators must find their own solutions to such problems, said Vicki Taliaferro, a state school health services specialist, said. "It becomes more of an administrative issue than a health issue," she said.

The fragrance of homemade soap conjures up images of bathing amid rich, steaming lather infused with delicious aromas of lavender, patchouli, white pine or jasmine. According to World Book encyclopedia, soap making has been made for thousands of years, since at least the time of the ancient Romans. Early techniques typically involved combining plant or animal oils with ashes from fires. Synthetic detergents, developed in the early 20th century, changed soap making and the soap industry.

Pet tip You can help keep your dog clean and reduce shedding with frequent brushing. Check for fleas and ticks daily during warm weather. Most dogs don't need to be bathed more than a few times a year. Before bathing, comb or cut out mats from the coat. Carefully rinse all soap out of the coat, or the dirt will stick to soap residue. For more information, visit the Humane Society of Washington County Tuesday through Saturday at 13011 Maugansville Road in Hagerstown.

Week of May 14, 1950 A half dozen downtown street blocks will be given a soap and water bath by members of the Junior Chamber of Commerce Sunday morning. A soap company is furnishing a large quantity of soap powder and fire department hoses will be used to rinse the streets. Two old letters, one written in 1841, the other in 1850, were found this week by Lewis Ripple of South Prospect Street, grandson of the author, Elizabeth Ann Newcomer. The letters were sent before stamps were used.

The old yellow pages ad keeps echoing through my head: "I need more choices. " More choices? Speak for yourself, Buster. I've touched on lettuce before - it used to be there were two types, green and brown. Most people took green. Now you walk into the supermarket and it looks like the Mekong Delta. I never know whether to reach for a cart or a machete. On Sunday they were selling, I swear, banana leaves. Who do I look like, Cheetah? How does one cook a banana leaf - make it into a football-sized cabbage roll?

GREENCASTLE, PA. - Give a person a bar of soap and a jar of apple butter and they might stay clean and full for a week. Teach a person to make soap and apple butter and they could be clean and full for a lifetime. Soap-making and brewing apple butter were two of the demonstrations put on Saturday during the first Fall Family Farm Day at Allison-Antrim Museum. The event showcased 19th-century chores and featured candle dipping and creating a natural stain from boiled walnuts.

GREENCASTLE, Pa. -- Give a person a bar of soap and a jar of apple butter and they might stay clean and full for a week. Teach a person to make soap and apple butter and they could be clean and full for a lifetime. Soap-making and brewing apple butter were two of the demonstrations put on Saturday during the first Fall Family Farm Day at Allison-Antrim Museum. The event showcased 19th-century chores and featured candle dipping and creating a natural stain from boiled walnuts.

GREENCASTLE, Pa. -- Allison-Antrim Museum, 365 S. Ridge Ave., will hold its second annual Fall Family Farm Day from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3. People in period dress will demonstrate chores which were once performed in the fall by farm families in preparation for the winter months ahead. Shari Walker will demonstrate soap making. Other members of the Walker family, Keven and Amber, will aid in the demonstration of apple butter making, candle dipping, and boiling butternuts to make a natural stain for textiles.

This Valentine's Day think outside the box of chocolates. Share your feelings with a heartfelt, homemade gift. Here are half-a-dozen ways to say "I love you!" that are less expensive and more personal than a dozen roses. Key to my heart Forget about wearing your heart on your sleeve let your special person wear it on an ankle. Materials: faux pearls, 3/4-inch padlock and key set, elastic thread, needle. Directions: Step 1: Thread a needle with 15 inches of elastic thread and knot one end. Thread enough of the pearls onto the elastic so the strand will fit around the recipient's ankle.

Murder. Affairs. Baby switching. Long lost relatives. Lovers torn apart. Lovers reunited. Back stabbing. Sex scenes. Flashbacks. These are the "Days of Our Lives. " Or least they're all in a day's work for "Days of Our Lives" scriptwriter Jeanne Marie Ford, 41, of New Market, Md. Ford hadn't planned for her work life to be a soap opera, but she has had a career spanning more than 20 years in daytime dramas. Her job writing about the lives of the Bradys, Hortons and others in the town of Salem (we never really know what state Salem is in)

Soap Box Derby season opens in Hancock this weekend. High Street will be buzzing with competitors, fans and families on Saturday and Sunday. The event begins at 7 a.m. and continues until all have had their time on the hill. Hancock sent local youngsters to the higher levels of competition last year, and is taking its place as a premier street setting for soap box competition.   Free dental sealants available to children Dental sealants are available free to Washington County children at Tri-State Community Health Center, Hancock, on Saturday.

Emily Fox was adamant. She wanted nothing to do with Soap Box Derby racing. Her parents were equally as determined to change her mind. “My mom bribed me with doughnuts to get in a car, so I got in one,” Emily said. Emily began to take to the sport despite herself. She started doing toe touches to improve her flexibility, so she could fit more aerodynamically in the car she was using. The 14-year-old Hancock girl was further hooked when she learned she could get a super stock car of her own and paint it as she chose.

“You know, this Romney running for president on the Republican side, he brags about how many jobs he's saved, his Bain Capital, but he doesn't tell you how many jobs he got rid of and fired, and pulled the money out from these factories for his ... buddies, and laid the people off and bankrupted the company. He didn't tell you that. ... But he lost more than he won.” - Hagerstown “What a wonderful column in this morning's paper by Tom Firey, talking about the stadium.

The 2012 Soap Box Derby season is coming to Hancock, and all interested local citizens can attend an orientation meeting Thursday at 7 p.m. at Town Hall.  Those ages 7 to 17 who weigh less than 150 pounds are eligible to participate. For more information, call Scott Fox at 301-678-6613.   Friendship banquet The annual friendship banquet and auction will be Saturday, starting at 5 p.m. at St. Thomas' Episcopal Church, Church and High streets in Hancock.  Organizers Cathy Hoopengardner, Debbie Cohill and Ralph Salvagno said the festivities include a light meal, both a silent and live auction and several “Casino Night” games of chance.  A donation of $15 per person is asked, with all proceeds benefiting the church's several outreach ministries.

The criminal mind is a fascinating thing, not so much for its ingenuity, but for the fact that if it were employed in honest pursuits, there is no end to the number of world problems it could solve. Like if the guys involved in “Oceans 11” had put that much thought into cancer research, melanoma would be a thing of the past. But I would give an extra gold star to the fellow who figured out that laundry detergent could be a high-profit target for organized crime sprees.

Norwalk Soap Box Derby is accepting applications the Saturday, June 9, race in Martinsburg, W.Va. Applications can be picked up at Maxlock Locksmith Service 45 Meadow Lane or Martinsburg Parks and Rec. Registration deadline is Saturday, March 31. For more information, contact Dina Edwards at 304-261-5396, wvdeedoo@aol .com or through the derby's Facebook page.

Soap box derby set for weekend Hancock In Motion will host the All-American Soap Box Derby Rally Saturday and Sunday. This popular, new activity for Hancock has already resulted in a local champion. High Street is the perfect place for these races, providing just the right size hill and a good stopping point as the street rises after crossing Pennsylvania Avenue. Registration begins at 7 a.m., and racing starts at 9 a.m. both days. For more information, call Scott Fox at 301-678-6613.

Emily Fox sped her way to victory lane in her “pickle” Saturday in the All-American Soap Box Derby World Championship in Akron, Ohio. On Sunday, her hometown showed how quickly it could put together a champion's welcome. As the Fox family arrived in Washington County from their week in Ohio, they received an escort from Hancock Police Chief T.J. Buskirk into Hancock and a parade through town to Widmeyer Park as the champ rode with her trophy in an antique fire pumper driven by the mayor.

Emily Butts and Tory Ann Stolipher, both of Martinsburg, placed first in three race categories of Saturday’s 2011 ROCS Soap Box Derby, according to a news release. The Berkeley County event was sponsored by ROCS Convenience Stores and was run by the Norwalk Antique Car Club, the release said. Winners of each division in local contests move on to the national competition in Akron, Ohio, in July, the release said. Butts, 10, took first place in the Stock Division. Because she previously had the opportunity to race in that division in national competition, she relinquished her spot at the nationals to local second-place winner Damion Knepper, 11, who has never raced in Akron, according to the release.