Traffic had to be routed around town as the downtown square and surrounding blocks were filled with fire trucks, emergency vehicles, hoses, charred yellow brick and debris, then rounds of heavy equipment.

Courthouse employees, elected officials, local residents and downtown workers were shocked by what August 8, 2006 brought, upending their daily routines and duties, leaving a blackened shell in the center of Berkeley Springs.

County officials moved quickly to pave an area behind the old courthouse and set up temporary trailers in which county offices could continue to serve the public.

What followed in the months and years ahead was a lengthy process of removing the old courthouse structure, finding funding for architects and contractors, and agreeing on where a new courthouse would be built to house Morgan County government offices and courts. A design was chosen, funding secured and the empty corner would be empty no longer.

Residents and visitors alike watched the slow process of a new county courthouse taking shape in the footprint of the old structure. Its design drew attention – larger and boxier, taller and with a clock tower that was a tribute to the old building. In September of 2010, today’s courthouse was dedicated to the people of Morgan County.

Inside, a few pieces of the old courthouse are preserved today – a tower bell, an old clerk’s desk, items that were saved from the 2006 fire and serve as a reminder of a different courthouse square in the heart of Berkeley Springs.

What do you remember about the day the county courthouse burned?

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The Chesapeake Bay Trust has awarded the Warm Springs Watershed Association a $75,000 Storm Smart Chesapeake Grant to restore native trees and shrubs along the Berkeley Springs Bypass corridor.

According to the group, the new grant will pay for restoration of selected areas within the bypass right-of-way using native trees and shrubs. Selected plant varieties will be chosen for their value to pollinators and birds, for their drought tolerance, deer resistance, and ability to be low-maintenance.

“This project has been a priority for our organization since before construction of the bypass began,” said Kate Lehman, president of watershed group. “Reestablishing tree canopy is an important investment in the long-term health of the watershed, which also controls stormwater flooding.”

With support from the Chesapeake Bay Trust, Warm Springs Watershed led a collaborative sharing and education session that brought together federal and state agencies, local partners, and technical experts to create consensus about how to restore and care for nearly 10% of the watershed that was cleared and reshaped upstream of the Town of Bath.

The West Virginia Division of Highways provided guidelines and mapping for areas that could be safely replanted. West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Potomac Basin staff backed the natural restoration approach that the watershed organization outlined for funding

Warm Springs Run Watershed organizers and volunteers will use natural restoration techniques that improve soil conditions while accelerating forest recovery, they said of the upcoming project.

Decomposing woody material will be incorporated around newly planted trees to improve root development, increase soil organic matter, and retain moisture in the rocky shale soils characteristic of the site.

“Native trees have a difficult time becoming established once invasive plants dominate these disturbed areas,” said Rebecca MacLeod, WSWA project leader. “By improving soil conditions through adding decomposing woody material and selecting hardy West Virginia native species, we can speed up natural succession and create a landscape that benefits birds and pollinators, water quality, and the scenic beauty of the road. Depending on site conditions, these areas should develop into self-sustaining native habitats within three to five years.”

The Chesapeake Bay Trust’s Storm Smart Chesapeake program supports projects that reduce stormwater runoff, improve water quality, and strengthen community resilience throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Because the Warm Springs Run empties into the Potomac River, it is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay.

Watershed members said additional support for the restoration effort is being provided by the West Virginia Stream Partners Program and the Morgan County Commission as work begins over the coming year.

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Local retail shop Inspired Chaos has earned the Town of Bath’s first Bath in Bloom award for their stellar garden.

“The Bath in Bloom award celebrates more than exceptional landscaping. It celebrates the people behind the gardens. It recognizes those whose dedication helps preserve the unique character of America’s First Spa Town and inspires all of us to take pride in the place we call home,” Mayor Greg Schene said in a press release.

Anyone interested in nominating a business or residential garden in town for a Bath in Bloom award can stop by Bath Town Hall to fill out a form or go to townofbathwv.gov.

Inspired Chaos owners have long cultivated an impressive garden at their Wilkes Street location, drawing the attention of visitors and customers alike.

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Potomac Edison was able to restore power sooner than expected, getting lights and air conditioning back on by…

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Six individuals and organizations have been selected for their outstanding contributions to Morgan County, with one final honor still to come.

The highly anticipated Morganite Award will be revealed live during the Chamber Awards Banquet on Thursday, September 17.  All seven honorees will also serve as Grand Marshals of the 51st Annual Apple Butter Festival Parade on Saturday, October 10.

Nominations were open throughout July, giving community members the opportunity to recognize the people and organizations whose hard work, generosity, service, and dedication make a difference in Morgan County.

After nominations closed, an anonymous committee carefully reviewed every submission and selected this year’s honorees.

“One of the best things about Morgan County is the number of people who genuinely care about this community and are willing to put that caring into action,” said Happy Rone, Executive Director of the Berkeley Springs-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce.  “The Morganite Awards are a chance to recognize some of those remarkable people, to celebrate what they’ve accomplished, and, maybe most importantly, to make sure they know that their efforts are seen and appreciated.”

Business of the Year – Roy’s Service Center

More than a business, Roy’s Service Center has become a Morgan County institution, built on the hard work and commitment to community of the late Roy Hovermale and his family.  Today, Betty “Nan” Hovermale, Cindy Hovermale, Jimmy Farris, Buffy Farris, and the entire Roy’s crew continue that tradition, earning a reputation for taking care of their neighbors just as well as they take care of their cars.  They pump gas through the hottest summer days and coldest winter weather, support local nonprofits, schools, youth organizations, first responders, fundraisers, and community events, and have even been known to waive the fee for a notarization and suggest the customer give the money to an organization in need instead.  And when Morgan County has someone worth celebrating, there’s a good chance you’ll find them getting a ride through town on a Roy’s rollback.  As one nominator summed it up, “This business is a blessing to our community.”

Apple Butter Festival Volunteer of the Year – Rob Ford

For years, Rob Ford has been one of the people quietly working behind the scenes to make the Apple Butter Festival look effortless.  As the driving force behind the busy Food Court behind Truist Bank, Rob spends countless hours planning vendor placement, coordinating utilities and logistics, helping vendors through setup, troubleshooting problems throughout the weekend, and staying long after the crowds have gone home to make sure everything is safely broken down.  Remarkably, he does all of this while also operating Bob’s Big Beef, his family’s longtime business, which has been serving up its slow-smoked barbecue since 1985.  Rob and the entire Ford family have given countless hours to the festival over the years, creating a tradition of service every bit as meaningful as the food they serve.

As Chamber Executive Director Happy Rone put it, “Rob is the first person I call when I need help, and somehow, no matter how busy he already is, his answer is always yes.  Simply put, I could not do this festival without him, and I wouldn’t want to.”

Employee of the Year – Mark Winiarski, Morgan Arts Council

“Facilities Coordinator” may be Mark Winiarski’s title at the Morgan Arts Council, but his nominators agree it hardly begins to describe everything he does.  Mark knows virtually every inch of the 40,000-square-foot Ice House, from its temperamental elevator and finicky HVAC systems to the sound and lighting equipment that helps bring its many performances and events to life.  He is constantly on the move, setting up tables and chairs, building risers, preparing galleries and performance spaces, fixing equipment, running sound, and somehow anticipating what people need before they know they need it.

Whether supporting an exhibition, workshop, theater production, concert, or community event, Mark brings what one nominator described as “MacGyver-level inventiveness” along with an unflappable personality and tireless work ethic.  As another put it, “The only thing Mark isn’t so great at is saying, ‘Sorry, can’t help, too busy, not my problem.’”

Community Hero – Dave Fink, Morgan County Deputy Reserves

The Community Hero Award recognizes those in law enforcement, fire and rescue, and other service roles who demonstrate dedication, courage, and a commitment to protecting our community.  Dave Fink has demonstrated each of those qualities through thousands of hours of service to Morgan County.  A veteran of the United States Navy, Dave has continued his commitment to serving others as a member of the Morgan County Deputy Reserves since 2019.  He leads the Reserves in volunteer hours, giving up countless nights and weekends to be there when his community needs him and asking nothing in return.  His nominator described Dave as the embodiment of a true Community Hero, citing his “selflessness, resilience, and steadfast commitment to making Morgan County a better place for all.”  Whether serving his country or his neighbors here at home, Dave has demonstrated a remarkable sense of duty and a willingness to put others first.

Community Service Award – Matt Pennington

Awarded to a person who strives to make Morgan County a better place through volunteer service to the community, the Community Service Award seems especially fitting for someone whose nominators repeatedly said, “Matt is everywhere!”  As manager of the Morgan County Wellness Center, Matt Pennington has helped transform The Well into a growing hub for health, recreation, and community, but his commitment to Morgan County extends far beyond his day job.

He gives his time to Morgan Arts Council concerts, local sports and recreation, environmental and watershed projects, Berkeley Springs Pride events, and seemingly anywhere else an extra set of hands is needed.  His nominators described someone who works without ego, listens to what the community needs, and isn’t afraid to roll up his sleeves and do the heavy lifting to turn good ideas into action.  Perhaps one nominator summed up Matt best with the question he asks time and again: “How can I help?”

Nonprofit of the Year – Eastern Panhandle Empowerment Center (EPEC)

New this year, the Nonprofit of the Year Award recognizes an organization that works tirelessly behind the scenes, and often out front, too, to serve our community.  The Eastern Panhandle Empowerment Center is a truly fitting inaugural recipient.  For more than three decades, EPEC has been a steadfast source of support, advocacy, and hope for survivors throughout the Eastern Panhandle, including here in Morgan County, providing critical services to those experiencing domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and other forms of victimization.

In Morgan County, their impact reaches well beyond the individuals and families they directly serve, with EPEC’s expertise and advocacy supporting law enforcement, healthcare providers, schools, social service agencies, and the court system throughout our community.  Their advocates bring knowledge, professionalism, and compassion to people during some of the most difficult moments of their lives, helping survivors find safety, support, and a path forward.  As one nominator put it, “They are all dedicated heart and soul and give endlessly of their time and effort.”

The Community Awards Banquet will be held at The Country Inn of Berkeley Springs, and tickets are available through the Chamber office and website: www.BerkeleySpringsChamber.com. The event will feature dinner, recognition of the winners, and the presentation of the Morganite Award.

For more information about the Community Awards Banquet or the Apple Butter Festival, call the Berkeley Springs-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce at 304-258-3738 or find them on Facebook.

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According to the Maryland State Fire Marshal, Joseph Brian Potter, 40, has been arrested on charges of first-degree arson, arson threat, first-degree malicious burning and malicious destruction of property over $1,000.

Hancock Volunteer Fire Company and nearby fire companies responded on July 29 to a house fire in…

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Cheryl Ann Fox

1950-2026

Cheryl Ann Fox, age 75, of Berkeley Springs, W.Va., died on Tuesday, July 28, 2026 at Harmony Nursing Home in Martinsburg, W.Va.

Born September 19, 1950 in Baltimore, Md., she was the daughter of Samuel Joseph, Sr. and Agnes Ilean Sheridan Scalzi.

She was a member of St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Berkeley Springs, W.Va.

Cheryl graduated from the University of Maryland with a Bachelor’s Degree and from West Virginia University with a Master’s Degree in Elementary Education. She retired after 34 years as an elementary school teacher. She loved all of her students, baking and listening to Jack Jones and George Strait.

Cheryl is survived by her husband, George William Fox, Jr., at home; one son, Geoffrey William Fox and her fur baby, Caesar.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by two brothers, Francis Scalzi and Samuel J. Scalzi, Jr.

A Mass of Christian Burial was conducted on Tuesday, August 4, 2026 at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, 67 Liberty Street, Berkeley Springs, W.Va., with Rev. Fr. Jack Lombardi officiating. Burial was in Spohrs Crossroads Cemetery following the Mass.

Arrangements were handled by Helsley-Johnson Funeral Home & Cremation Center, 95 Union Street, Berkeley Springs, W.Va.

Online condolences may be expressed at www.helsleyjohnsonfh.com.

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A crowd of locals and representatives from various community service organizations gathered at Berkeley Springs State Park on Friday, July 24 to celebrate America’s 250^th birthday with music, speeches and cupcakes.

Tri-state Honor Guard from Alderton-Dawson American Legion Post 60 presented the colors as part of the patriotic gathering on Friday evening.

Pastor Matt Swope offered a blessing, and Morgan County Commissioner Joel Tuttle delivered a welcoming address. Other speakers added…

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There aren’t too many women who can say they have followed in the footsteps of George Washington.

While the first president is remembered by history as a great general and father of America, here in Morgan County he is also known as the young surveyor who marked the early path from Bath westward over Cacapon Mountain.

Cindy Born thinks about that earliest connection between this place and George Washington, and how her own career as a surveyor has taken her along the same trails, roads and paths centuries later.

Born has been working as a land surveyor for 38 years – most of it in Morgan County.

“I fell into it because I didn’t want to work in an office,” Born said during a recent interview. She had been managing a greenhouse in Berryville, Va. for 10 years when the opportunity to work for Berkeley Land Survey appeared.

“My good friend Tari Hampe knew Mike Crawford needed someone,” Born said.

Hampe and Born knew each other from the local live music scene, where both played and sang regularly.

Crawford owned the survey company and operated it with the help of Chuck Dawson, but they were getting busier and needed more hands.

“I had the brains to learn the learn the math and all the techniques,” Born said.

“It’s all mathematical, all angles and distance,” she said.

Land surveyors have an important role in keeping the integrity of land records, establishing property boundaries that are the basis of sales, taxes, appraisals and development plans.

When she began in the profession, her primary tools were not too different from what young Washington would have used.

“A compass and steel chain is what I started with,” Born said. “But it was a good way to learn the foundations of surveying.”

Measuring land in a mountainous region like Morgan County is rarely flat. Born said measuring on a slope requires knowing how to measure angles as well.

“We were drafting on paper with pencil and pens and a drafting arm to mark plats,” Born recalled about the early years of her career.

Today, she uses surveying technology that makes the job take far less time – computer programs to enter GPS coordinates and create a rendering of a land parcel, plus technology to help prepare surveying descriptions for deeds that are recorded in the courthouse and used for legal transactions.

Surveying is “all about angles and distance,” Born said. A surveyor starts at a known point and works their way outward with whatever information they have – old deed descriptions, historic measurements, objects in the landscape.

“Sometimes you don’t have a description – just something like the phrase ‘Bounded by Smith on the East’,” said Born.

“Our job is to follow in the footsteps of the original surveyor,” she said.

In the profession, there are hierarchies of references for surveyors to follow. Geological features – fixed land features – are the “gold standard” to follow, Born said. Then there are things like stakes in the ground, planted stones, rock ledges, certain trees.

“You’re kind of a detective. That’s part of what’s fun about being a surveyor. It’s like a treasure hunt,” Born said.

Some of the clues that historical surveyors used don’t exist any longer, making the task trickier.

“If a deed calls for a chestnut tree, you’re not going to find it,” she said.

While the work is mathematical, technical and legal in nature, Born said sometimes it boils down to a phrase Mike Crawford repeated often – “You have to have a place to start and a direction to go.”

Surveying is a very physical profession, and was even more so when she began in 1988.

“It’s a lot of hauling equipment up and down hills, through greenbriers, across uneven ground. There’s like six weeks in spring that’s pleasant and six weeks in fall that’s pleasant and the rest of the time you just get through it,” Born said of the challenges of outdoor work.

The payoff, at times, was seeing places in Morgan County and taking in views that other people rarely get to experience.

“You’d be at the top of a mountain and think, ‘I never would have seen this if I didn’t do this work’,” she said.

“There aren’t very many unsurveyed parcels left in Morgan County,” Born said.

As Born trained and worked in surveying, she couldn’t escape the reality that it’s a very male-dominated profession. That’s still the case.

“Every workshop I go to, there are 300 men and three women. But once we start talking about surveying, it doesn’t matter,” she said.

During the housing crash of 2008, Born found work out of the area, surveying in Indianapolis and later Pittsburgh. She returned to Berkeley Springs with new technology tools in hand, including GPS equipment.

Born bought Berkeley Land Surveys from Mike Crawford in 2016 and ran the business with part-time office help and field crews to assist her. About that time, she also stopped doing field work after receiving several injuries.

This month her business became a subsidiary of Frederick, Seibert & Associates Inc. of Hagerstown under the management of Shannon Stotler.

Born continues to work as a surveyor and consultant part-time.

She noted that West Virginia’s requirements to become a license professional surveyor have changed – now requiring a college degree. When she came up in the profession, licensing could be achieved with 10 years of experience and a professional test.

“Land surveyors are getting older and dying out,” she said.

Born knows how important her work has been. Sometimes her surveys have settled boundary disputes between neighbors, or let someone give a family member a plot of land, clarified a property description or created a deed for land that had not been surveyed before.

“Surveying is such a link between all of the things that make the economy go. I appreciate being part of it,” she said.

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