Community News

The Morgan County Health Department recently had a poster contest in honor of Public Health Awareness Week. The poster had to reflect threat preparedness/disaster preparedness. The children who participated were in grades Kindergarten through second grade and this contest was open for all Morgan County children. The children captured floods, fires, tornadoes and hurricanes in their posters.

Kindergarten- first place, CJ Feather, second, Daniel Hardin, third, Hunter Bobo, all of Greenwood School.

Nearly two years in the making, a comprehensive road map of Morgan County is now available for sale at the Chamber of Commerce office, announced Beth Curtin, Chamber executive director. All publicly maintained roads are shown on the map although all named roads, both publicly and privately maintained are listed in the index. Every named subdivision is marked on the map, and there are separate maps of Berkeley Springs, Paw Paw and Great Cacapon.

"After the road naming project, the old maps were out of date," said Curtin. "We expect there to be a big demand for these maps. Scarcely a day goes by that someone is not in the Chamber office looking for a road map," she said. Ten thousand maps were printed by International Mapping of Ellicott City, Md.

More than 275 shareholders attend CNB Financial Services, Inc. annual shareholder luncheon meeting at the American Legion in Berkeley Springs on Wednesday, April 4.

They were informed by bank officers that the year 2006 was a year of change and challenge at CNB. It was also a year in which CNB remained financially strong, increased return on shareholders investments and remained well positioned to take advantage of future opportunities. The bank assets grew by 17.1 million, while loans grew $24.1 million in 2006. Assets totaled $276.1 million, an increase of seven percent from the prior year. Net income also showed an increase over 2005 and totaled $2.5 million. The bank is currently the 16th largest bank in the state is WV. The Banks Investment/Trust department continues to show growth with $40 million in assets under management.

As part of the week long events for Cover The Uninsured Week, The Eastern Panhandle Free Clinic volunteers checked blood pressures and blood sugars on the people who visited the Soup Kitchen at Starting Points on Tuesday, April 24. Volunteers working the soup kitchen also had their blood pressure and blood glucose checked.

Irene Overholtz had her blood pressure and blood glucose checked, and stated: "We sometimes serve as many as 80 meals in an evening. I really enjoy it here. We come the last Tuesday of each month from Greenwood Methodist Church. I help serve the food."

The ribbon was cut for the new office of Home Team Realty at a ceremony two weeks ago.

Mayor Susan Webster did the honors with the company's owner and staff standing by. Morgan County Commission president Glen Stotler, Delegate Daryl Cowles and Attorney Charles Trump were on hand for the ceremony.

The American Legion Auxiliary members of Unit 60, Berkeley Springs met at the Legion Post Home on April 12. Debbie Fox, unit president, introduced the guest speaker, Lauren McKee, a fourth grade student at Warm Springs intermediate school, Berkeley Springs.

McKee presented her project entitled "respecting our flag" which she has entered in the school fair. As she told "when I first started my project I didn't know the impact it would have." Her home room classmates noticed that the school flag was in poor condition and wanted to replace it.

Stitching together local writers, actors and quilters, the Morgan Arts Council presents staged readings of three one-act plays with matching quilts at the Ice House. A ticket to the productions on Saturday, May 5 at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, May 6 at 3 p.m., brings playgoers not only the pleasure of the productions but a chance to win one of the small quilts created to match each play. The Ice House Gallery and additional rooms are currently hung with more than 100 quilts and wall hangings as part of the annual Delectable Mountains Quilt Show.

"It is hard to recall who came up with the notion first, the writers or the quilters or the theater folks," said Abbie Brown who is directing all three of the staged readings. "Not that it matters," she added. "Everyone was really enthusiastic about working together."

An art exhibit called Paint Morgan County is scheduled for June 2008 at the Ice House Gallery in Berkeley Springs. The exhibit will gather artwork showcasing Morgan County painted in the year leading up to the show. Of particular interest will be pieces capturing identifiable Morgan County sites and characteristics. Mary Klotz, exhibit curator, welcomes artists to register and interested Morgan County businesses, organizations, and private citizens to contact her so that artists and paintings can be coordinated. She will be scheduling a number of paint-ins during the coming year.

The U.S. Silica Company has received a mine safety award from the Industrial Minerals Association – North America and the U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration.

The Safety Achievement Award recognizes the best reportable injury rate for an individual member company by size category for 2006. The award criteria evaluate a company's safety performance at all of its U.S. facilities and non-U.S. mining sites in North America.