Community News

Debra Dick and Steve Dick, Berkeley Springs, announce the engagement of their daughter Margo Dick to James Struble, son of Mike and Cindy Pentoney of Berkeley Springs.

She is a 2001 graduate of Berkeley Springs High School. She is employed at Washington County Hospital as an operating room assistant. She is also a member of the Berkeley Springs Volunteer Fire Company.

Rev. Frank Menhart of "Refiner's Five Ministries, Inc." of Claysville, Pa., will be holding revival services at the Love Assembly of God Church April 1–April 6. Sunday 10:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. and Monday– Thursday at 7 p.m. and Friday at 6 p.m.

Rev. Menhart is a well known preacher and singer in the area.

"FROM THE POTOMAC TO THE OHIO"

PART TWO

St. Charles Catholic Church in Paw Paw was sold last October to Paw Paw Mayor Julie Kidwell. Kidwell wanted to preserve the historic landmark. She plans to turn the church building into a small wedding chapel and a photo and crafts gallery.

The church has stood vacant since its last service on Father's Day in June, 1995. According to the book "Morgan County and Its People," St. Charles Catholic Church was dedicated in August, 1877 by Reverend Charles VanQuckelberge, said Kidwell. Reverend Joseph Frieli attended the church in 1876 before its dedication, she said.

Colton Shambaugh, a Berkeley Springs High School sophomore, continued a long standing family tradition on January 26 by joining the Junior Order of United American Mechanics. His dad, Morgan County Chief Deputy Sheriff Vince Shambaugh and grandfather, Roland Shambaugh, Sr. witnessed the ceremony. Vince Shambaugh has been a member for 22 years and Roland Shambaugh Sr. for 39 years, Colton Shambaugh's uncle, Roland Shambaugh, Jr. joined in 1987.

In the Shambaugh tradition, currently active in the Berkeley Springs Council #117 are his great aunt, B.J. Ruppenthal and great uncle, Vincent E. Shambaugh. Roland Shambaugh, Sr. also thinks that their father, Vernon William Shambaugh, was active in the Great Cacapon Tonoloway Council #102.

Diane Marie Puffinberger and David Wayne Moore, both of Whitacre, Va., were united in marriage on February 14, 2007 at the Valley Wedding Chapel in Winchester, Va. Pastor Gary Patterson performed the double wedding ring ceremony.

The bride is the daughter of Roger L. and Janet M. Puffinberger of Whitacre. The groom is the son of George W. Moore of Marshall, Va., and the late Jessie L. Moore.

GINA WOOD with Home Team Realty has been awarded the Accredited Buyer Representation (ABR) designation by the Real Estate Buyer's Agent Council, Inc. (REBAC) of the National Association of Realtors. REBAC, founded in 1988, is the world's largest association of real estate professionals focusing specifically on representing the real estate buyer.

Wood joins more than 32,000 real estate professionals in North America who have earned the ABR designation. All were required to successfully complete a comprehensive course in buyer representation and an elective course focusing on a buyer representation specialty, both in addition to submitting documentation verifying professional experience.

Nearly 135 years ago, a magazine writer rode the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad from Baltimore through Maryland and West Virginia, all the way to Cincinnati. He wrote about his excursion in an article called "From The Potomac To The Ohio," which was published in the October 1873 issue of Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature & Science. The author did not identify himself, but may have been John Foster Kirk, the magazine's editor and a prolific writer.

In the wordy prose of the time, the lengthy article detailed what railroad travel was like and described interesting places. Among the more vivid incidents was a stop at Sir Johns Run, with memories of James Rumsey, followed by a trip over the mountain to Berkeley Springs.

Local photographer James Worley joins the artists exhibiting two- dimensional work beginning Thursday, March 8 at Berkmore Place ArtSpace located off Route 522, across from Widmyer Elementary and south of Berkeley Springs.

A home-schooled high school freshman, Worley developed an interest in photography at age 13 and continues to hone his abilities by photographing a variety of subjects from nature, particularly flowers. His innate creative sense is evident in the strikingly artful color and black and white compositions that often feature close-ups of orchids, lilies, roses and other flowers.

Living in a rural area has many advantages and some disadvantages, compared to living in a metropolitan area. We all know and love the clean air, beautiful scenery, light traffic and low crime rate in Morgan County.

Disadvantages are that some services, which are second nature in urban areas, are not available. One service so far denied to many Morgan County residents is affordable High Speed Internet.