Thousands

Thousands of Allegheny Power customers across the Tri-State are without power late Saturday morning as a heavy, wet snow continues to fall, turning roadways to slush. In Washington County, the largest power outages were affecting customers in Knoxville, Md. and Williamsport, Md., according to Allegheny Power's Outage Management System. Both were caused by trouble on the main line. Other major outages were affecting customers in Greencastle, Pa., Martinsburg, W.Va. More than half an inch of accumulated snow had fallen in Hagerstown by 11:45 a.m., according to Greg Keefer's weather station website, www.i4weather.net .

Local representatives of the Disabled American Veterans participated in a ceremony celebrating National Salute to Hospitalized Veterans, Maryland Day, on Feb. 15 at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Martinsburg. Jerry Barnhart, commander of Disabled American Veterans Chapter 14, presented a $6,000 donation to Ann Brown, director of the Martinsburg center, to complete the Women Veterans Domiciliary Program. Three donations of $1,000 each were made to The Haircut Fund, which provides free haircuts and shaves to extended-care and indigent patients; for items and equipment for visually impaired veterans; and for the purchase of materials for smoking-cessation groups.

In September 1862, a majority of Sharpsburg residents fled their homes as Union and Confederate soldiers converged on the town to wage war. Now, almost 150 years later, Antietam National Battlefield officials are bracing for an influx of another sort. Susan Trail, a National Park Service ranger and superintendent at the battlefield, said Wednesday during a Hagerstown-Washington County Chamber of Commerce breakfast that thousands of tourists are expected to attend the sesquicentennial celebration of the battle from Sept.

Several thousand residents in the city of Hagerstown lost power during an outage shortly after 8 p.m. Wednesday, according to Director of Utilities Mike Spiker. The outage, south of Washington Street and west of Potomac Street, lasted for about an hour. Read the full story in Thursday's Herald-Mail newspapers.

Two fire companies responded Sunday morning to a chimney fire on French Lane, according to Washington County Emergency Services. Firefighters were dispatched between 10 and 10:30 a.m. Sunday to the chimney fire, which was in the 11500 block of French Lane, a 911 supervisor said. The chimney on the house was a mortar type and it appears the fire might have extended through a gap in the mortar into a bedroom, said Brian Lowman, deputy chief of Williamsport Volunteer Fire & Emergency Medical Services.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. - Bob Stambaugh spent last week soliciting businesses for donations and handing out 137 letters telling people about the CROP Hunger Walk. He explained how money raised would go to feed the hungry locally, nationally and globally. He talked about projects to dig wells and plant gardens so people in Third World countries can find self-sufficiency. "It's also used in emergencies like (Hurricane) Katrina," Stambaugh said. Stambaugh, 83, participated in his 28th CROP Hunger Walk on Sunday.

Thousands celebrate freedom at Salute to Independence

Rilie Kint, 2, of Waynesboro, Pa., checks out her stash during the town's trick-or-treat night Thursday. Thousands of pirates, witches, Spider-men and SpongeBobs hit the streets.

The Community Foundation of Washington County Md., Inc. introduces an one-day web-based, social media-driven fundraiser called washing toncountygives.org. The event takes place Thursday, May 2. The goal is to get thousands of local residents to support their favorite Washington County charity by raising hundreds of thousands of dollars in just 24 hours. Every donation made gives the recipient the chance to win matching grants and prizes. For more information, contact Brad Sell at 301-745-5210 or brads@cfwcmd.org .

The Washington County Commissioners on Tuesday unanimously endorsed mailing rebate checks, possibly worth at least $100, to thousands of taxpayers who own homes or other residential buildings in the county if the county's finances remain stable for the current fiscal year. Read the full story in Wednesday's Herald-Mail newspapers.

The Community Foundation of Washington County Md., Inc. introduces an one-day web-based, social media-driven fundraiser called washing toncountygives.org. The event takes place Thursday, May 2. The goal is to get thousands of local residents to support their favorite Washington County charity by raising hundreds of thousands of dollars in just 24 hours. Every donation made gives the recipient the chance to win matching grants and prizes. For more information, contact Brad Sell at 301-745-5210 or brads@cfwcmd.org .

A Martinsburg man is accused of stealing thousands of dollars from his disabled brother in the last five years, according to Berkeley County Magistrate Court records. Kenneth Leroy Bivens, 55, of 6 Midnoon Drive, was arraigned Thursday by Magistrate JoAnn Overington on one felony count of embezzlement, according to court documents. West Virginia State Police Cpl. J.M. Walker said he identified $126,044 in funds that were missing and/or converted by Bivens for his personal use, according to a criminal complaint filed against Bivens.

Two fire companies responded Sunday morning to a chimney fire on French Lane, according to Washington County Emergency Services. Firefighters were dispatched between 10 and 10:30 a.m. Sunday to the chimney fire, which was in the 11500 block of French Lane, a 911 supervisor said. The chimney on the house was a mortar type and it appears the fire might have extended through a gap in the mortar into a bedroom, said Brian Lowman, deputy chief of Williamsport Volunteer Fire & Emergency Medical Services.

Friends since their youth and diehard Baltimore Ravens fans, Donnie Stotelmyer and Mark Crilly were elated to get tickets to Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans. Crilly was selected in the Ravens lottery for the right to buy Super Bowl tickets - at a face value of $850 each. “Our families encouraged us” to go, said Stotelmyer, who along with Crilly graduated from South Hagerstown High School in 1975 and is a member of Ravens Roost No. 7. The AFC champion Ravens play the San Francisco 49ers, champions of the NFC, Sunday in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

Chances are that those presents under your Christmas tree traveled a long way to get there. And chances are, whether they came from a local retailer or were bought online, they passed through a “hub” and a distribution center at a shipping company such as FedEx or UPS or a sorting center at a local post office. The warehouses where these shippers operate tend to be busy places this time of the year with thousands of packages swiftly passing through the buildings en route to their destinations.

Thousands of Washington County residents were without electricity, dozens of roads were flooded and a threat of more rain and flooding remained at midday Tuesday after the remnants of Hurricane Sandy swept thorugh the county overnight. A flood warning remained in effect for Antietam Creek near Sharpsburg through Thursday morning, according to the National Weather Service. At 9 a.m. Tuesday, the creek had reached 9.3 feet, about a foot over flood stage. The creek is expected to crest at about 11.5 feet by 8 p.m. Tuesday, the weather service said.

Thousands of people took up positions next to the rolling farm fields of Legacy Manor Farm off Bakersville Road on Saturday, waiting for history to come alive in the form of two crucial engagements to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Antietam, still known as the single bloodiest day of battle on American soil. Grandstands were packed and people set up chairs or sat on the ground to see the re-creation of major skirmishes at Dunker Church and Sunken Road, which took place during the 12-hour battle - also called the Battle of Sharpsburg in the south - on Sept.

Labor Day Breakfast in the Park, a 65-year-old Martinsburg tradition, continued Monday with more than 500 diners sitting down to breakfast under the park's main pavilion. “It's our single War Memorial Park fundraiser of the year,” said Bonn “Buzz” Poland, who for the umpteenth time organized the effort to get tickets out to the public. This year's breakfast, featuring steak or ham, cost $30. Proceeds will be used to replace the McKee Pavilion with a larger structure and pay for renovations to the bathhouse.

In September 1862, a majority of Sharpsburg residents fled their homes as Union and Confederate soldiers converged on the town to wage war. Now, almost 150 years later, Antietam National Battlefield officials are bracing for an influx of another sort. Susan Trail, a National Park Service ranger and superintendent at the battlefield, said Wednesday during a Hagerstown-Washington County Chamber of Commerce breakfast that thousands of tourists are expected to attend the sesquicentennial celebration of the battle from Sept.

George Thorogood and the Destroyers' hit “Bad to the Bone” blared from speakers as the hulking machine roared past the crowd. It spun around in the dirt track in a deafening roar, all to the joy of throngs of spectators yelling from the stands. The monster truck Grave Digger - a longtime favorite of monster truck fans - was one of seven of the massive rigs that competed at the Hagerstown Speedway on Sunday. The Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam was also held at the speedway Saturday night and attracted about 6,000 people, said Ashley Johnson, marketing manager for Feld Motor Sports, which owns Monster Jam. A Friday show was scheduled at the speedway but was canceled because of the wet weather.