NO. 28 CHARLES TOWN (Jefferson County), WEST VIRGINIA 25414 THURSDAY, JULY 14, 1988 28 PAGES PER COPY 25 €
ys
Barn
busy
spell, and this
caused by a
a rain storm
the Leetown area
€ destroy-
from the
:jured.
and working
flames from
dry fields, were
Indepen-
and
424 East 1st
set fire to the
siding on the
t and
fire corn-
blaze.
Loudoun
break out
Ridge Mountain
the alarm
units in ex-
ash
=
Harpers Ferry
Monday
recorder Clifton
that increased
building per-
for the in-
must be set
The corm-
street and
to possible
add ad-:
! an ordinance
town to order
extended, for
the registration
time ago
of wild
have been
will also be
for
by the Jeffer-
Society.
Post
Sons of the
in its 98th
yson's
named Jeffer-
Prin-
for
by the
SAlt,. and
president
state of West
Rains Bring Respite from Heat
Showers invaded the Eastern Panhandle earlier this
week bringing some welcome relief from the unrelenting
heat wave. Above, Shane Rives, 6, of Ranson, was in
high appreciation of showers as he plays with his
Prin-
Charles F. Printz
Pleased and ex-
post, American Legion, and a past Chef
he said, by De Gate of Voiture 1356, 40 and 8.
by His activities in the SAR includeat-
tendance at annual congresses from
Printz is a 1978 through the present year; terms
of the as secretary general in 1987-88 and as
was treasurer general in 1965-87. He has
Virginian chaired a number of national corn-
John D. mittees; is a past president of the
member of the West Virginia Society, a national
of Regents, is a trustee for West Virginia, a member
member of'the of the Florida, Pennsylvania and
the War of 1812 Texas societies and currently
Sons of Con- president of the General Adam
Stephen Chapter.
He and his wife Beth reside at
and chairman Aspen Pool Farm near Shepher-
business at dstown. His wife, together with
served in the daughter Mary Beth, are both active
lI, retiring DAR members, while a son, Charles,
is a past com- Jr., is chancellor of the West Virginia
Post 71, Society, SAH.
Lnza Days!
years, Charles Town's downtown mts
I bargain bonanza as once again prices are slashed
this 'l'nursday, Friday and Saturday.
es of the Charles Town Downtown Mer-
a majority of retail outlets will participate in this
t'ou . most part, will be observed during regular
gh Saturday.
g stores (you can tell them by the red
values on items of aft kinds,
' individual store prizes.
y sign up for $500 in prizes to be awar-
Sales patrons at the close of business Saturday, July
sailboat and tugger in an off-street puddle. Below, a
fallen tree blocks North Fairfax Boulevard due to high
winds which accompanied some of the rainstorms.
(Photos by Chris Biauvelt)
Zoning Passed;
First In State
The Jefferson County Commission
last Thursday adopted a zoning and
development review ordinance, effec-
tive ninety days after adoption. The
action was unanimous, all five com-
missioners approving the measure.
The action came after Paul Raco,
planning director, presented the revis-
ed ordinance which contained changes
recommended by the County Commis-
sion following public hearings.
According to Raco, the measure will
provide an excellent foundation on
which to address present and futwe
growth problems, outlining a pattern
of growth for the next fifteen years.
The document is described by pro-
penents as flexible, with avenues of
change written in to accomodate
future developments.
,When the measure, which has been
more than three years in the making
utilizing the talents o]r the Jefferson
County Planning Commission aided by
a cross-section of diverse interests on
a special Citizens Advisory Commit-
tee, was adopted it also made a bit of
history in the state of West Virginia.
With the signing, Jefferson County
became the first county in the Moun-
Temps Fail To
Set New Marks
tain State to adopt any kind of zoning.
Many municipalities have zoning, but
no other county has moved in that
direction.
Since the Commission approved the
ordinance, it is understood that peti-
tions have been circulated asking that
the ordinance be subjected to public
referendum. Fifteen percent of those
voting in the last gubernatorial elec-
tion must sign valid petitions in order
to send the measure to referendum.
In the early 1970's, the county re-
jected a zoning ordinance, with opposi-
tion claiming the measure was "too
restrictive." Many of those now ad-
vocating a referendum take a com-
pletely opposite view of the present
measure, calling it "not restrictive
enough."
On another subject last week, the
Commission again lashed out against
the solid waste authority measure
adopted by_ the West Virginia
Legislature, calling it a "catch-all
measure which will only exacerbate
the problem of littering and illegal
dumping throughout the state."
The measure can only be expected
to increase costs of disposing of gar-
bage, because of fees totaling $1.75 for.
each load dumped at the landfill, and
the necessity of maintaining many ad-
ditional landfdl records which will also
increase the cost of disposal.
In personnel actions, Julia Main was
hired as an executive secretary for the
planning commission, and John D.
The past week has been one of
extremes.
Temperatures topped the 100 degree
level last week, but did not match
previous highs.
Drought conditions began to settle
in, causing some concern on the part
of area gardeners and farmers.
Howevm, the rains finally came, and
over the weekend and into Tuesday,
more than ,35 of an inch of rain/fell, the
first in 25 days. This left precipitation
amounts for the tmrrent year lya
quarter of an inch below average,
thanks toheavy amounts which fell in
May.
The weekend rain, most of it com-
:ing Monday, was accompanied by a bit
of wind and lightning. Some trees, in-
cluding one on Fairfax Boulevard,
were uprooted or splintered by the
winds; lightning struck at a number of
spots in the county, including one
which struck the barn of John
Schroder near Charles Town; and
several power lines and transformers
were downed by bolts from the storm.
In the meantime, it has bee.n hot.
Jefferson County Weather Observer
Laurence Lloyd, Sr., reports that
temperatures exceeded the 100 degree
level on several ocasions. But, he
says, that was nofhing compared to
190, the year of the great drought.
It was then that temperatures
soared to over 100 degrees on 17 days,
breaking all previous heat records. A
record high of 108 degrees was
registered in Charlt T 'iigust
5, 1930. But in Martinsb 0'
same day,'a high 112
logged. That
all-time record for West V'wglifia;
There's been a dry spell lcally, !,
ticularly during the month of June, IlL
during the 19 growing season,,,Mf
I through August 31, only 5.48
were registe for the four-mon:
period.
In that year, the period between
May and Septemberbronght less than
two inches of rainfall.
Brown was approved as parttime cor-
rectional officer at the county jail.
George Vickers was reappointed as
the county's lay representative to the
Region 9 Planning and Development
Council, and an intergovernmental
review for .the West Virginia Small
Business Development Center was
approved.
Mayor's
...... Master
His actions certainly befit his name.
He's a "master" at becoming the
center of attention, -utilizing
sometimes outrageous "masms,"
other times bringing into play shock"
tactics to arouse his audience.
He's the longtime mayor of Charles
Town, D.C. Master, veterinarian
first, politician second and originator
of nnusual ideas which attract national
attention, third.
Shepherdstown Plannin
The Town of Shepherdstown may
call upon qualified engineers to deter-
mine whether or not problems exist
within the town's sewer collection
system.
Members of the town council and the
sewer board, together with city sewer
department employees, recently con-
His latest national exposure came
last Thursday and Friday on the syn-
ducted a survey of the system and
came up with four possible trouble
spots.
However, the general consensus was
that qualified engineers should check
the collection system before any final
determination on its operation is
made.
The Shepherdstown council,
meeting Tuesday evening, was told
that the new flow meter installed at the
sewage treatment plant indicated that
between 104,000 and 106,000 gallons of
sewage is being generated daily.
However, it was noted that this
figure may be somewhat low in-
asmuch as the summer hiatus is in ef-
fect at Shepherd College, and an in-
crease in flow might be noted in
September when school resumes. The
treatment plant is geared to handle up
to 400,000 gallons of sewage daily.
There was good news for all
Shepberdstown employees. The coun-
cil approved a five percent pay in-
crease, effective immediately.
In a personnel action, Kenneth Ruff-
ner, a former police officer, was
rehired. He will be on a 90 day trial
period, at $5 per hour, and when he has
received his training from the State
Police Academy his salary will be
$12,500 yearly.
Council also approved the appoint-
Scholarship Winner Visits Bank
g Study
dicated Phil Donahue Show, where he
and four other guests, including Mayor
Kurt Schmoke, of Baltimore, offered
the legalization of drugs as the possi-
ble answer to the nation's drug
problem.
After remaining in mainstream
discussion during most of the pro-
gram, the mayor grabbed the spotlight
at the show's end when he pulled a
small plastic bag containing a white
powder from his pocket and describ-
ed it as a "bag of cocaine, costing a
dealer $200, but worth $900,000 on the
street."
In reality, it was a small bag of :
powdered aspirin, but Mayor Master
had pulled the "shock treatment" and
centered the spotlight on his
arguments in a spectacular final
gesture.
Mayor Master's argument that
legalization of drugs might well be the
answer to the drug problem began
earlier this year and aroused some
local criticism and opposition prior to
Charles Town's bi-ennial election. The
controversy didn't affect the election
outcome, the good doctor won in a
walk.
But television and radio ap-
pearances are not new to Master.
Several years ago he was credited
with stating that welfare mothers who
keep producing children ought to sub-
mit to "spaying."
This evoked both a storm of
criticism and some praise and resulted
in television appearances in
Baltimore, New York and Chicago. It
didn't bring about "spaying" as such,
but it did create an awareness of the
• problems involved.
The same thing is true of drug
'legalization. It is doubtful that Dr.
Master's support of the idea will cause
it to be utilized. But it does bring about
a continuing realization that the natl,_
faces a drug crisis and that some sort
of solution is most necessary.
ment of David Johnston as town
magistrate for a one year period.
The council also abolished the town
tree committee, noting that it believ-
ed the committee's work, which it
commended highly, had been
completed.
The accounting firm of Cox
Allemong was hired to audit the
finances of the water-sewer depart-
ment, as required by law, at a cost of
$4,000 to $4,500. It was also decided to
negotiate for a three-year contract
with the firm, which furnishes audit
reports to the West Virginia Public
Service Commission.
Mayor Audrey Egie also issued a
reminder that a second public hearing
will be held July 26, at 7 o'clock, at
town hall, to receive input on an ap-
plication for a Small Cities Block
Grant.
Dawn Cook, a recent graduate of Jefferson High
School and the recipient of a |1,400 ghOinrsJp from the
People's Bank of Charles Town, is hosted at a tour of the
baalda "''"" '" "
institation by ank resident Benard F.
¢o
Murray, left, and James M. Davis, Chah-man of the
Board. The scholarship is for hu'thering MI Cook's
educattou at Shepherd College.
Weather
The extended ferecast fer the peri
Thursday threegh Saturday. Warm
and h,,.mM llh the period with a
chance b/mxlr'tm-m each day,
mghs near J0. NIOtame Jew, betweea
10ud 7S.
