Town Square

By JULIE E. GREENE Staff Writer SHARPSBURG - Pansy and Roy Ebersole have been giving gifts to their community for years. They gave corn to neighbors, candy to bank tellers and pharmacy clerks, clothes to residents of nearby nursing homes and medical equipment to the Lions Club. The family's tradition of giving will continue into the new year despite the death on Oct. 6 of Pansy Ebersole, 79, at the Fahrney-Keedy Home and Village in Boonsboro. In his wife's memory, Roy Ebersole has given the town $15,000 to buy a clock for Town Square, said Mayor George Kesler.

A Sharpsburg tradition for 140 years, the Memorial Day Parade draws people from near and far to line porches and lawns along Main Street. Held the Saturday before Memorial Day, the parade is preceded by a wreath-laying ceremony at Town Square, a ceremony at Antietam National Cemetery and the Rohrersville Band playing in Town Square. The next parade will be held May 26, 2007.

Williamsport's Town Square has been reopened to traffic after it was closed by firefighters Monday morning during a five-alarm fire at 1 W. Potomac St., according to Washington County Emergency Services. Officials said fire operations in that area have been terminated. All streets closed during fire operations have been reopened.

Sharpsburg set for holiday decorations SHARPSBURG - Sharpsburg's Town Square will be decorated with pine roping, cedar trees and wreaths on the Town Clock this holiday season, said Town Councilwoman Denise Troxell. The town also will ask third- or fourth-graders at Sharpsburg Elementary to make ornaments for the trees around the square, Troxell said. The town is going to buy some new American flags for next year's Memorial Day parade, said Councilwoman Patti Hammond.

1. Birthday and bunny Wonderment Puppet Theater will present "Peter Rabbit" in special shows to celebrate the theater's birthday, Saturday, March 30, and Sunday, March 31. Regular showtimes noon and 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through Sunday, June 2. Wonderment Puppet Theater, 412 W. King St., Martinsburg, W.Va. $4.50 ages 2 and older. Birthday party shows, $5. Reservation required for birthday shows. Call 304-258-4074. 2. On display Artwork by Donna Mason is on display and for sale through the gift shop.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- Gov. Joe Manchin on Friday presented Martinsburg city officials with a $300,000 grant to help pay for the revitalization of Town Square Plaza. Manchin not only was in town to present the grant, but to attend the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner at the Holiday Inn to raise money for the Democratic Executive Committees in Jefferson, Berkeley and Morgan counties. Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley and Anne Barth, who is running against U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-2nd, also attended the event.

SHARPSBURG - TheSharpsburg Historical Society will hold its first program Wednesday, May 22, at Sharpsburg Town Hall, above the library in the town square. A reception will begin at 6:30 p.m., followed by the program at 7 p.m. Keynote speaker will be Katharine L. Brown, who will speak on "Strategies for Building a Historical Society: Success Stories From Around the Region. " A brief business meeting will follow. For information, call Patricia Toffling at 301-432-5085.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Gov. Joe Manchin on Friday presented Martinsburg city officials with a $300,000 grant to help pay for the revitalization of Town Square Plaza. Manchin not only was in town to present the grant, but to attend the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner at the Holiday Inn to raise money for the Democratic Executive Committees in Jefferson, Berkeley and Morgan counties. Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley and Anne Barth, who is running against U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-2nd, also attended the event.

Town to seek bids for storm windows SHARPSBURG - With the storm windows in Town Hall too expensive to fix, Mayor Hal Spielman said he will put out a bid request for replacement windows to figure out how much they will cost. Mayor to get cost estimates for paving SHARPSBURG - Mayor Hal Spielman plans to meet today with two men from Craig Paving Inc. to discuss the roads that town officials want repaved and patched so a cost estimate can be determined.

SHARPSBURG - The Town of Sharpsburg had to shell out $9,125 for snow removal following the President's Day weekend snowstorm, Mayor Hal Spielman said. The town normally hires a contractor only to clear alleys, if anything, but the storm was so big that the town required help clearing main intersections and hauling away snow, Spielman said. State Highway Administration plows clear Sharpsburg Pike (Md. 65) and Shepherdstown Pike (Md. 34), Spielman said. Washington County Highway Department plows usually clear the side streets but due to equipment breakdown and a busy schedule, the town required extra help, he said.