White Christmas

The Hagers-Town Town and Country Almanack predicts a white Christmas. Statistically speaking, there is a 10 percent chance. cont. from front page But Santa Claus probably will need wheels on the bottom of his sleigh this year, according to some forecasters. Andy Woodcock, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said the most snow the area could get is less than an inch within the next 24 hours. Forecasts call for partly sunny weather both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. "I would say the odds are not grand, but it will feel a little more like Christmas with the temperature," he said.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - Dream of a "White Christmas" with the showing of the 1954 film starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen. Shows are at 1:30 and 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at The Capitol Theatre, 159 S. Main St., Chambersburg. For tickets, call 717-263-0202 or go to www.thecapitoltheatre.org .

scottb@herald-mail.com WASHINGTON COUNTY - Hagerstown Mayor William M. Breichner says he is not a "grinch," but he doesn't want this year's holiday to be the area's first white Christmas in almost 10 years. Louis Rosa, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service, said there is a 30 percent chance of snow Wednesday. The chance of precipitation is 60 percent Tuesday night and Wednesday, but that is more likely to fall as rain or rain mixed with snow than as snow, Rosa said.

Friday may not fully qualify as a white Christmas, but it will likely be a slippery Christmas. [cont. from front page ] The National Weather Service forecasted snow, sleet and freezing rain for Wednesday night and this morning, with accumulations between 1 and 3 inches throughout the Tri-State area. The specific forecasts vary slightly from county to county. Christmas Day will be cloudy with a few flurries, said metrologist Dewey Walston. If snow accumulates and it stays cold, there could be snow on the ground on Christmas Day for the first time since 1995 when there was an inch of old snow.

A humble birth What if it didn't happen in a manger? Zion United Church of Christ presents "Truck Stop Christmas," a modern retelling of the birth of Jesus, at 11 a.m. Sunday. Check mate Get your head in the game. Karl Musser will talk about favorite board games and play some from 2 to 7 p.m. Saturday at Beans in the Belfry in Brunswick, Md. Holly jolly Christmas The Town of Williamsport celebrates the holiday season from 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday with a variety of old-fashioned, family-friendly holiday events.

Tuesday, Aug. 5 6:45 p.m. on TCM "The Fred Astaire Songbook" A look at Astaire's musical side interrupts the 12-movie marathon for his day in the "Summer Under the Stars" festival. Followed at 8 p.m. by "Holiday Inn," the 1942 film that includes Bing Crosby's first rendition of "White Christmas. " 8 p.m. on NBC "The Last Comic Standing" Tonight, the title is fulfilled and the winner is declared. Since the prizes include a contract with NBC, it seems safe to say that we'll be seeing more of the winner before too long.

The top five things to do this week 'Nutcracker' The Potomac Classical Youth Ballet presents its Nutcracker production on Saturday and Sunday at The Maryland Theatre in downtown Hagerstown. 'Capitol Christmas' It's a "Capitol Christmas" at The Capitol Theatre in Chambersburg, Pa., on Friday. The Hagerstown Municipal Band performs. Hub City The Hagerstown Roundhouse Museum's "Trains of Christmas" exhibit is up and running. The museum is open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Go shopping or turn on the radio and you're bound to hear holiday tunes from the likes of Andy Williams, Bing Crosby and Elvis. You can hear some of these same tunes sung by friends, neighbors and other local residents in concerts by St. Patrick's Chorale and Hagerstown Choral Arts. Both choruses will perform this weekend. Hagerstown Choral Arts, with about 80 members from the Tri-State area, will hold its Christmas concert Saturday afternoon at Trinity Lutheran Church.

Great white hope fades By ANDREW SCHOTZ / Staff Writer Christmas in the Tri-State region will be cold, but not white. The National Weather Service is predicting mostly sunny skies on Monday. "It looks like it's going to be dry," meteorologist Dewey Walston said. The high temperature will be between 30 and 35 and the low will be between 15 and 20, he said. The forecast applies to Hagerstown and Martinsburg, W.Va. Walston said conditions will be similar in Chambersburg, Pa., but it may get a little colder there than the other two places.

Pancake breakfast set for Dec. 13 Wilson Ruritan will hold a country butchering and pancake breakfast Saturday, Dec. 13, beginning at 6:30 a.m. at the club. The all-you-can-eat pancakes with one serving of puddin' or sausage, coffee and orange juice breakfast costs $4. The meat goes on sale at 7 a.m. Holiday event The Gudgeon Family (Mom, Dad and six children) from Chambersburg, Pa., will celebrate CHRISTmas with song, instrumentals, hand bells, ventriloquism and puppetry at Mount Carmel UMC, 11379 Big Pool Road, Big Pool, Sunday at 10 a.m. The public is invited.

There could be snow and sleet this Christmas Eve as the National Weather Service in Sterling, Va., has issued a winter weather advisory for Washington County and Western Maryland that will be in effect until midnight. The forecast called for a chance of freezing rain Monday afternoon, the weather service said. Snow and sleet could accumulate up to an inch with “a trace” of ice accumulation. The chance of precipitation is near 100 percent, the weather service said. Conditions are expected to be substantially the same for Allegany County, the weather service said.

Candidate thanks those who supported him To the editor: I learned more than I could have ever imagined this past election, from meeting the diverse people of Hagerstown to navigating our political process. I would like to thank the nearly 4,000 people who came out and voted for me, all of the people who put up signs, who endorsed me and who donated to my campaign. But I especially want to thank everyone for the encouragement that I received during and after the campaign, which helped to keep me motivated throughout the election.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - Dream of a "White Christmas" with the showing of the 1954 film starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen. Shows are at 1:30 and 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at The Capitol Theatre, 159 S. Main St., Chambersburg. For tickets, call 717-263-0202 or go to www.thecapitoltheatre.org .

'That Holiday Feeling' Washington County Playhouse presents "That Holiday Feeling. " Shows are 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday; plus 1 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 20; 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 31, New Year's Eve cabaret show. Washington County Playhouse, Hagerstown. Call 301-739-7469. 'Holmes & Watson' SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. -How would you feel if your best friend and personal hero faked his own death? And his return brings with it a threat from an assassin. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 20. Full Circle Theatre Company, 113 S. Princess St. $17, adults; $8, students.

The top five things to do this week 'Nutcracker' The Potomac Classical Youth Ballet presents its Nutcracker production on Saturday and Sunday at The Maryland Theatre in downtown Hagerstown. 'Capitol Christmas' It's a "Capitol Christmas" at The Capitol Theatre in Chambersburg, Pa., on Friday. The Hagerstown Municipal Band performs. Hub City The Hagerstown Roundhouse Museum's "Trains of Christmas" exhibit is up and running. The museum is open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- In these dog days of summer, Eric and Gloria Sundback are already thinking Christmas -- one of their carefully bred Fraser firs will be displayed inside the White House this holiday season. They were selected this month as grand champions of the National Christmas Tree contest at the National Christmas Tree Association's annual convention and trade show in Chattanooga, Tenn. For the Sundbacks, it's their record fourth win. Their trees were displayed twice during the Ronald Reagan years and once under Jimmy Carter.

As Christmas rapidly approaches, your mind often drifts back in time thanks in no small part to movies like "White Christmas," "Holiday Inn," "The Bells of St. Mary's" and "A Christmas Carol. " We all long for a simpler time when the holiday season didn't seem so hurried. If you, like me, are a fan of such movies, you long for a sleigh ride, a hearth-cooked meal or a Christmas goose. What you forget is all the work involved in such endeavors. Let's take the sleigh ride, for example.

A humble birth What if it didn't happen in a manger? Zion United Church of Christ presents "Truck Stop Christmas," a modern retelling of the birth of Jesus, at 11 a.m. Sunday. Check mate Get your head in the game. Karl Musser will talk about favorite board games and play some from 2 to 7 p.m. Saturday at Beans in the Belfry in Brunswick, Md. Holly jolly Christmas The Town of Williamsport celebrates the holiday season from 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday with a variety of old-fashioned, family-friendly holiday events.

Pancake breakfast set for Dec. 13 Wilson Ruritan will hold a country butchering and pancake breakfast Saturday, Dec. 13, beginning at 6:30 a.m. at the club. The all-you-can-eat pancakes with one serving of puddin' or sausage, coffee and orange juice breakfast costs $4. The meat goes on sale at 7 a.m. Holiday event The Gudgeon Family (Mom, Dad and six children) from Chambersburg, Pa., will celebrate CHRISTmas with song, instrumentals, hand bells, ventriloquism and puppetry at Mount Carmel UMC, 11379 Big Pool Road, Big Pool, Sunday at 10 a.m. The public is invited.

BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. - Bernie Stotler taught his children that Christmas is about giving, and he considered decorating for the holiday a way of giving to kids of all ages. After nearly half a century of lighting up the December nights, Bernie passed away in August. Now his daughters ? Kim Pittman, Bea Shaw and Karen Barker ? are carrying on the tradition, creating Bernie's Winter Wonderland in his honor. "Christmas was his favorite day of the year," said Pittman. "He would have hated it if we didn't do it. " And so, in October, as their father did for so many years, they began putting up the Christmas decorations.