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Trojan boys win a pair at home Sports, Page 1C
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Wednesday, Februar y 2, 2011
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Page 8A
‘It does take your breath away’ DON KESNER Review Staff
Submitted by CATHY PARDEE
Hampshire polar bears Tyler Chase, Monte Fields, Mike Menear, Jerry Dean and C.J. Shanholtz take the plunge.
Timely catch
When old friends get together, it takes no time to break the ice, except in the case of five local men. Jerry Dean, Tyler Chase, Mike Menear, C.J. Shanholtz and Monte Fields spent nearly two hours breaking the ice on the South Branch of the Potomac River last Saturday in order to pull off a Polar Bear Plunge. Once the ice was broken, the five guys stripped down to a modest point and it was splish, splash into the icy waters of the Potomac. For what? Because they wanted to, and
Intrepid Hampshire buddies take a polar plunge simply because they could. The icy plunge took place Saturday across the river from Riverside Collision, located less than two miles south on River Road near Romney. In 2010 the same group of guys decided to try their hand at ascending to the heights and jumping out of an airplane. They all survived. “Since we went skydiving last year, we figured maybe we’d try taking a plunge
into icy water this year,” said Dean. Dean said he actually went out the night before and broke up the ice in the river, but by morning it was frozen solid again. Saturday morning the temperatures were somewhere in the high 20s to low 30s and without hesitation the group met around a campfire and waited for the right moment. “I actually thought that it would be more of a shock than it was jumping into ice cold water,” said Dean. “But it does take your breath away.” See BREATH page 5A ■
Steel
Slip-slidin’ away
City snackDown
Review article led family to find radon gas in home
Good team, good treats Living, Page 1B
MARLA PISCIOTTA Review Staff
MILL CREEK — William and Patricia Clark moved to Hampshire County in June 2009. Their 4,250 square-foot home is located near the top of the mountain on Mill Ridge Road just west of Romney. For months after moving into the home, William Clark began to notice he was getting constant headaches. “We use wood for heat and thought maybe that was the cause of my headaches,” said Clark. Clark also noticed his dog was getting ill. “My dog was healthy as a horse before we moved here. Now he has lung cancer,” said William Clark. “And he has a big tumor under his leg that the vet said couldn’t be operated on.” In October 2010, the Clarks read an article in the Hampshire Review regarding radon gas. “We read about the radon gas in the Review and went online and ordered a radon testing kit, which cost $160,” said William Clark. Clark said before purchasing the kit he called around the county to the fire companies and different officials to see if test kits were available. See CATCH page 5A ■
William and Patricia Clark CHECK IT YOURSELF Free radon testing kits are available free from the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources. For more information call 304-558-6998 or go online to wvdhhr.org/RTIA/Rado n.asp
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Fire destroys animal control officer’s barn DON KESNER Review Staff
Submitted by SUE LUCAS
Jesse Lucas of High View and his son, Donny, toboggan down a hill near their home after last week’s snow storm.
Treacherous driving a big part of winter commuting DON KESNER Review Staff
ROMNEY — When Greg Staub left his office in Winchester last Wednesday afternoon, Jan. 26, he knew it would take a little longer to get home. The snow was coming down at a steady pace and the roadways were already covered and slippery.
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SLIDE SHOW
“I left work early, at about 3:30, and it took me an hour to get to Capon Bridge,” Staub said. “The conditions rapidly deteriorated and it took me over two hours to get home.” According to Staub, his nor-
SLANESVILLE — It was a blaze that kept firefighters busy for over six hours Saturday afternoon. Firefighters from all around the county, as well as from Frederick County, Va., responded to the farm of Hampshire County Animal Control Officer Col. David Gee, located off Critton Owl Hollow Road near Slanesville. The call came in shortly before 1 p.m. with fire companies quickly answering the call, but road condition into the farm were narrow and slick, making it nearly impossible for personnel to get the trucks
mal drive home is right around one hour. “Driving conditions were as bad as I’ve ever driven in,” he said. “There were at least three vehicles stuck off to the side of the road, and at the foot of every hill, there were vehicles See DRIVING page 5A ■
See FIRE page 5A ■
Submitted by HAMPSHIRE COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPT.
The 150-year-old barn off Critton Owl Hollow Road was destroyed in less than 90 minutes.
Miller finds a peal in bell ringing ‘English Change’ has carried Hampshire native to three continents DON KESNER Review Staff
KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Margaret Miller is a former Hampshire County resident who, over the years has found a unique talent. Miller is a bell ringer. Yes, a bell ringer. “Actually, I’m involved with English Change ringing,” said Miller during a recent phone interview. According to Wikipedia, Change ringing is “the art of ringing a set of tuned bells in a series of mathematical patterns called changes.” Miller learned to be a bell ringer when she was an undergraduate student at Smith College in North Hampton, Massachusetts in the 1970s.
into the area where the barn was located. “Fire companies had to run extensive hose lines from Critton Owl Hollow Road to the barn,” Sheriff Sions said. Col. Gee said Monday morning during a phone interview from his home, that the 150-year-old-plus barn was gone within a matter of approximately 30 minutes. “I lost a lot of equipment that we couldn’t get out,” said Col. Gee. “Plus we had about $4,000 worth of hay in the barn.” It was hay that was used to
Rate hike customers have time to have say MICHAEL O’BRIEN Review Correspondent
According to Miller, one first has to learn how to handle a bell, which takes three to four months of one-on-one instruction with another bell ringer.
Ringing tower bells takes six to eight people, each ringing their individual bell in a sequential pattern. See BELL page 5A ■
Margaret Miller has been ringing tower bells for more than 30 years.
ROMNEY — Romney water and sewer customers may want to mark this coming Monday, Feb. 7, on their calendars — a 5 p.m. public hearing is being held to take public comment regarding proposed increases to the water and sewer rates. The proposed rate hikes would increase the cost of water for residential customers from the present $6.02-per-1,000 gallons to $8.45per-1,000 gallons, a $2.43 increase in the per-1,000-gallon rate. See RATE page 5A ■