Rainy memories

As I sit here looking out the office window at the rain, I can’t help but remember another day 25 years ago.

School had been cancelled the night before due to “some” flooding. We had been listening to the radio – we didn’t have the internet then. The phone rang around 6 a.m. that morning. It was my brother-in-law calling to say they were going to have to evacuate their home. Evacuate? I couldn’t quite understand why – they lived right along Rt. 28. I invited them to come to our house here in town, but they told us they couldn’t get to our house.

Let me explain. Prior to this date, a flood consisted of the river rising above the banks covering part of the fields near the Romney bridge. I also remember a few times the water covering Rt. 50 in the Gap.

Charlie drove down to look at the river and returned to tell me that things were really bad. My mother always felt that in order to be prepared for any disaster one needed toilet paper and milk. So, I jumped into the car and ran to the A&P Store, which was located where Rite Aid now stands, to get my toilet paper and milk. After I gathered the items needed to survive, I drove to the elementary school parking lot and walked out into the cemetery.

NOTHING, nothing could have prepared me for what I saw. Water – brown, muddy water – from mountain to mountain. Incredible!

The only inconvenience my family endured  during the week that followed was having to take empty containers to a station in front of the Library where National Guardsmen and town employees filled them with water.

But, the devastation others suffered was unbelievable. The feature in this week’s Hampshire Review tells the stories of many of these people as well as some photos from those days.

Hope you joined us on election night for our live coverage of the election results. In Hampshire County, 6506 voters went to the polls. That represents 45 percent of Hampshire County’s 14,191 registered voters participating in the general election. And, 1,282 of you folks joined us live. Thanks. It was an exciting evening.

Take care.

Election 2010

Whew! It’s been a long time since I sat down to blog. I ran into a good friend about a week ago at the Hampshire/Hedgesville football game and she asked why I hadn’t written. Well, Susan, here goes.

We’ve been sooooo busy! It’s incredible how time just slips away. Well, I’m really going to make a conscious effort to blog on a regular basis.

Our son, Scott, and Ashley Abe were married on Oct. 2. It was a gorgeous day spent with family and wonderful friends, a beautiful wedding, and a lovely bride. We are happy to welcome Ashley to our family that continues to grow.

On Friday, Oct. 22, the Hampshire Review and WVU sponsored a photography workshop for the residents of Hampshire County. Mary Kay McFarland, project coordinator for WVUncovered, presented the four-hour workshop. She assisted the Review in adding Posterous – a simple way to submit photos to our website for everyone to enjoy. Log on to our website and look for a P next to the Facebook and Twitter icons. Check it out. We had over 44 people in attendance. A success to say the least.

The Review presented its first-ever live Candidate Forum last Wednesday evening. (In case you missed it, you can view it on our home page) We got off to a bumpy start – some technical difficulties with the sound board and the lapel mics. But, several minutes into the discussions, we discovered that the candidate mics were muted on the sound board. Oops! We quickly corrected the problem and things went on smoothly from there. Candidates for the offices of County Commission, Judge for the 22nd District, County Clerk, Circuit Clerk, and House of Delegates from the 50th and 51st District spoke. Approximately 80 people attended in additon to those who watched at home.

This Tuesday night, Nov. 2, we will be going live again from the Hampshire County Courthouse at 8 p.m. with Mayhew Chevrolet Election Central. Be sure to tune in to our website for up-to-the-minute election results, interviews with candidates and others at the Courthouse as well as the results on the Library Levy and the Hospital Issue. Our host for the evening is Matt See. We’ll also have election results on our website and also in Wednesday’s paper.

It’s really hard to believe it’s the first of November.

Take care and be sure to join us Tuesday evening.

Congratulations

Congratulations, Hampshire County. What a great weekend!

First, kudos to Bruce Nicholson, Trina Cox, Dot Calvert, and all the other volunteers who helped with the second annual South Branch Valley Bluegrass Festival and Fireworks Show. It was fantastic! The weather was great (well, a little hot maybe), the food was good, the music was wonderful, and the fireworks were amazing! Charlie and I really enjoyed the evening. Greg Larry was there and will have video on our website later in the week. Also, you’ll want to check out Don Kesner’s photos as well.

Earlier on Saturday, Charlie and I played in the HHS Athletics Golf Tournament at Valley View Golf Course in Moorefield. We teed-off at 9 a.m. and our eightsome finished at 4 p.m. in near 100 degree heat. It may have been hot, and we may have  been slightly sunburned, but, we had a great time. The tournament appeared to be a great success for the athletic department. Thanks to Kathy Sanders, the Leones, Megan Fuller, and all the volunteers who made this a great event.

Congratulations to Brenna Young of Romney. She was chosen Saturday as the first runner-up in the Miss West Virginia Outstanding Teen Competition. I believe that’s a first for Hampshire County.

Lots of other great activities and events are planned for the upcoming July 4th weekend in Hampshire. Check out this week’s issue of the Review for details.

Have a safe and happy 4th of July.

Take care.

A busy week ahead

We here at the Review are happy to introduce our newest blogger this week. Melissa Saville Murray has graciously agreed to this endeavor. She is a very busy mother with great ideas and fantastic recipes to share and, if that isn’t enough, she’s working on a master’s degree in criminal justice, too. I’ve known Melissa since she was a little girl. She’s a graduate of Hampshire – I taught her in 4th grade, her brother and sisters also. I think you will find Melissa a delightful addition to our website. Be sure to read her blog.

We have great photos for the paper this week from Hampshire County’s Relay for Life as well as some video. Once again, the generous people of Hampshire County have opened their hearts and their wallets to help raise money for this worthy cause. Congratulations to the organizers and all of the participants for another tremendously successful Relay!

The countdown is on — only 5 more days — for the South Branch Valley Bluegrass Festival and Fireworks Show scheduled for this Saturday, June 26, at Wapocoma Campground. Entertainment for the event includes Marty Raybon, formerly of the country group Shenandoah; Carrie Hassler & Hard Rain, Mark Newton & Stringtones, and Hampshire County’s own Lonesome Highway. In addition to the entertainment, there will be great food, crafts, a kids corner, AND, according to Parks and Rec Director Bruce Nicholson, a spectacular fireworks display. All of this is FREE! (There is a $5 parking fee.) This is truly an event you won’t want to miss.

Hampshire High athletics is sponsoring a golf tournament this Saturday, June 26, at Valley View Golf Course in Moorefield. The tournament begins at 9 a.m. Contact Kathy Sanders at HHS (304-822-5016) if you want to enter a team. You don’t have to be a great golfer to enter. Come on out and support Hampshire athletics.

The West Virginia Rails Festival celebrating 100 years of railroading is this weekend (June 25, 26, 27) in Petersburg. Trains will be leaving from the Romney station on Friday and Sunday mornings at 9 a.m. for the event. Here’s your chance to see 3 operating steam locomotives and a half-dozen diesel locomotives on top of the many displays and exhibits. Visitors will have the opportunity to run a steam locomotive, visit the cab and chat with the crews. You’ll find all the details on this exciting event in the Eagle Extra, a special section of this week’s Hampshire Review.

Lots to do this week. Enjoy!

Take care.

Graduation

This is an exciting week for the 232 Hampshire High School students graduating this Friday evening.

The Bank of Romney, FNB and the Hampshire Review are happy to publish the annual Senior section that will be in this Wednesday’s paper. Don’t miss it. I always love looking for the students that I taught in fourth grade – it’s amazing just how much they change.

Senior Awards Night is Wednesday night, followed by Graduation practice on Thursday morning and finally Graduation on Friday evening at 7 p.m. on Rannells Field.

And, the Hampshire Review will be there to help preserve all the memories. Greg Larry will be posting spot videos of the events of the week on the website. He is  doing the official Graduation video Friday evening. Greg will also be including highlights from all of the senior activities at the end of the video. All of this for just $19.95! Now how do I get a copy of the video, you ask? Log on to our website, click on the e-shop tab at the top of the page and follow the 2010 Graduation buttons. Or, you can just call the office at 304-822-3871 and Ardie will fix you right up.

In addition, Don Kesner will be at Graduation with his camera to capture all those special moments. Look for his photos in the June 9th paper as well as on the website.

This week’s feature in the Review will be looking at the upcoming Romney High School reunion. We have an interview with Mrs. Gladys Spring – class of ’38.

To our graduates, congratulations. Dream big, work hard, and be the best you can be.

Take care.

Busy, busy

Why is it that May is such a busy month?

In just the last week, we have covered the opening of the Farmer’s Market at The Bottling Works, the prom at Hampshire High School, Madeline Blue’s estate auction and Special Olympics. All of these are great events that we wouldn’t miss, but they sure do keep our staff hopping. It’s also these kinds of events that make our paper and our website interesting.

Now, we are preparing for our election coverage for Tuesday. For the first time, we will be broadcasting live from the courthouse via Ustream on HampshireReview.com. Our son, Matt, will be interviewing candidates  all evening, as well as giving results as they are coming in. We will also have a live blog running on the website so our viewers will be able to pose questions for candidates and officials. Pretty cool stuff for Hampshire County. So be sure to take a minute to log on to our site on Tuesday evening. All of our election coverage is being sponsored by Mayhew Chevrolet of Romney.

Greg Larry has posted new videos this week. The Madeline Blue auction and the prom are both great videos. We also put Greg in a plane with an aerial photographer and flew him over Capon Bridge, Augusta and Romney. So be on the watch for that video — it’s coming soon.

This weekend is Mother’s Day. My sons and their families are taking me to dinner over the weekend and I’m really looking forward to it. My boys have grown into fine young men and I’m very proud to be their mom. Love you guys.

It looks like another beautiful weekend. We plan to attend the grandson’s Little League game,  play a little golf and visit with the family. Sounds like a great weekend to me. I hope yours is too.

Happy Mother’s Day to our Hampshire County moms.

Take care.

It’s a great day

It’s still a great day to be a Mountaineer!

The WVU basketball team has certainly given her fans a fantastic ride all the way to the Final Four. And, what an exciting trip it’s been!

Our son, Matt, is still in Indianapolis and plans to stay for tonight’s game. I’m happy that he has had this opportunity – one that is probably a once in a lifetime trip. However, I’m babysitting his pup. A 15-week-old chocolate lab that has ADHD. Leave it to Matt to pick out a dog that acts just like him! He’s cute, I’ll give him that – but, he never stops moving. My 13-year-old lab is not exactly thrilled with the pup either. So we’ll be anxiously waiting for Matt’s arrival home tomorrow evening. Seriously, check out Matt’s blog on our web site. He has posted some great pictures from the tournament. He also has some tales to tell.

Greg Larry was in Capon Bridge last Saturday for the Easter Parade and Egg Hunt. He’ll be posting two videos on the web site later this week. I heard rave reviews about the event. Kudos to the Capon Bridge Ruritan club for sponsoring the annual event.

We now have our Election Central page posted on our web site. So, if you are interested in who’s running locally for office or for the Board of Education, click on the Election Central button on our home page. We’ll be adding information and advertisements to the page as it gets closer to the election.

We are experiencing some of the prettiest spring weather that I can remember. (Perhaps, Mother Nature is feeling quilty about all that snow!) I hope you’ve had time to get outside and enjoy the sunshine.

Take care.

Welcome Spring

Wow, this Spring weather we’re enjoying is simply fabulous! I know Charlie and I had fun playing a little golf over the weekend.

Greg Larry has been talking to Hampshire County residents that are out soaking up the sun. His video will be on our site later today and on our Facebook page as well. Be sure to take a moment and watch.

Jim King, our sports editor, did a great job with this year’s Spring Sports Preview. If you haven’t looked at your copy yet, take a few minutes to check it out. It has all the faces, names, and schedules for HHS, CBMS, and RMS. And, if you forgot to pick up a copy, you can still do so at our office or any of the stores around the county. Good luck to all our spring sports athletes. We’ll be watching.

Mile-a-Minute Matt is beyond being excited about the Mountaineers and Sweet 16. Ski season is over, so he’s back and blogging on a regular basis. Check it out. We’ve also added other new bloggers, so take a minute and see what they have to say.

Take care.

Thank you

On February 5, the first of two big snowstorms hit  Hampshire County. Our web site launched a Review Watch on our home page to help residents cope with the storm. We included road conditions, school closings, cancellations emailed from our readers, and even plowing services available. Thanks to Marla Pisciotta and Don Kesner we had updated stories from the Department of Highways and the Office of Emergency Management. We had current weather conditions and alerts from NOAA.

We asked our faithful readers to send us their snow photos. And, they did – about 200 of them – that we used in the paper and included in two different slide shows.

Our web department has the ability to track the number of visitors to our site. For the week of Feb. 5 – 12, the Review Watch received over 16,000 hits. Is that amazing or what?

To our readers who sent information or photos, thanks for helping us get the word out to the residents of Hampshire County. Without you help, we would not have been able to give the comprehensive coverage that we did. To those of you who visited our Review Watch, we appreciate your interest in the Hampshire Review web site. We hope you visit often as we add new headlines daily as well as breaking news as it happens. Become a fan on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

We have two new bloggers coming on board. I’ll introduce them later in the week.

Take care.

More snow

Are we in a panic yet??? I guess we should be with the weather forecast — heavy snow with near-blizzard like conditions beginning Friday morning.

Well, there goes the weekend. Scratch the plans we’d made. Well, maybe we can dig out in time for the little Super Bowl party we planned. Now, I guess I can run to the grocery store like everyone else in Hampshire County to get my loaf of bread and gallon of milk.

Where was all of this snow when I was still teaching???

We’ll be putting closings and event cancellations up on the internet as we get them. If you have one, e-mail the information to mandy@hampshirereview.com.

Also, send us some of your snow photos. Please include the photographer’s name and the location of the photo. E-mail them to news@hampshirereview.com. We’ll use them in the paper or in a slideshow on the internet.

So, get out there today and get your bread, milk, and toilet paper. Use caution, if you must be on the roads. Otherwise, stay home and relax.

Take care and stay safe.