20 Years Ago
Week of December 9, 2004
Advice Given
For Winterizing Vehicles
As colder weather approaches motorists should start thinking about taking their vehicle into their dealer or repair shop for a check-up and preventative maintenance. Here’s advice on how to get ready for winter:
- Read your owner’s manual and follow the manufacturer’s service instructions.
- Replace worn wiper blades; keep extra washer fluid on hand.
- Check all lights and bulbs, turn signals, back-up lights, etc.
- If one is not a qualified do-it-yourselfer, find a repair shop with a courteous staff, ASE-certified repair technicians and modern equipment in the service areas.
- Replace worn tires with all-season radials or snow tires, as local conditions warrant. Make sure the spare tire has air and the jack functions. It’s also a good time to have alignment problems corrected.
- Engine performance problems (rough idling, poor acceleration or hard starts) should be corrected before cold weather sets in.
- A qualified auto technician should check the condition of your battery and cables, radiator, and all hoses and belts.
- Make certain the heater and defroster are in good working condition; have the exhaust system examined for leaks, a potentially deadly condition in closed vehicles.
- Carry emergency gear, flares, boots, gloves, ice scraper, high-energy snacks, a blanket, shovel, flashlight, tire chains, a few tools, a cell phone and a first-aid kit.
County Native Receives Bronze Star Medal
Chief Master Sgt. Rick Waggy, an Air Force Reservist at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH, was recently awarded the Bronze Star Medal while assigned at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan from December, 2002, to March, 2003.
Chief Waggy, the Command Chief Master Sgt. at the 445th Airlift Wing, distinguished himself by meritorious achievement while engaged in ground operations against an opposing armed force at Bagram Air Base.
He is a 1971 graduate of Franklin High School, Franklin. He earned a bachelor’s degree in management and logistics at Park College, Parkville, MO, in 1995.
30 Years Ago
Week of December 1, 1994
Pendleton County
First Week Deer Kill
Rebounds to 1,754
Deer hunters in Pendleton County last week checked in a surprisingly large number of 1,754 bucks during the first week of the annual bucks-only firearms deer season. The kill last week was a significant rebound from last year’s harvest when the kill dropped to only 1,476 bucks, the smallest first week kill recorded in many years.
Although last week’s kill was below first week harvests recorded during the preceding five years, except for last year, it was larger than was expected because many outdoorsmen and hunting enthusiasts reported seeing few deer in the fields and woods of Pendleton County this fall and were of the opinion that the deer population was significantly lower than it had been in recent years.
Week of December 8, 1994
Grant to Assist
Laid-Off Workers
At Howes Leather
Washington, DC—U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd, D-WV, announced Thursday that a $400,000 federal grant has been approved to assist dislocated workers in Pocahontas, Pendleton and Randolph counties.
Byrd said the grant, through the federal Department of Labor’s Job Training Partnership Act, is targeted to help approximately 75 workers who had been employed by Howes Leather Company. The company, located in Frank, Pocahontas County, recently closed.
Labor department officials told Byrd the funding will be used for counseling, orientation, job development and placement, classroom and on-the-job training, and supportive services for the laid-off workers.
Protection Needed
This Winter from
Frigid Temperatures
People who work outside in the winter should prepare themselves for protection from frigid temperatures.
Farmers and rural residents usually are at higher risk of a cold-weather injury, such as hypothermia and frostbite. That is why knowing how to prevent such injuries is important.
Hypothermia may occur when the body temperature decreases to less than 95 degrees F as a result of over-exposure to cold weather. These incidents usually occur in bad weather, particularly when freezing temperatures combine with wind and rain or snow.
Adverse exposure occurs because of inadequate or wet clothing, physical exhaustion, isolation from civilization, inexperience or lack of training, or as a result of an accident. Alcohol can worsen the effects of hypothermia.
To prevent hypothermia, dress for changing weather conditions. Wear several layers of clothing that can be added to or removed as needed. Carry an extra pair of wool socks, and wear a hat that covers the head and ears. It also is a good idea to carry liquid snacks as the food will provide the body with a heat source.
Frostbite also may occur during cold weather. Frostbite usually causes injury to the body extremities and exposed areas, such as the hands, feet, ears and nose. You can prevent frostbite by protecting the hands, feet and exposed areas of the face. Always carry an extra pair of gloves or mittens and socks in case the ones you are wearing get wet. Mittens will keep the hands warmer than gloves.
The first warning signs of hypothermia include shivering, slow or slurred speech and poor muscular condition. Symptoms of frostbite include red areas of skin that will eventually turn gray or mottled white and, finally, a waxy white.
For early cases of hypothermia, a victim can be treated by moving him or her to a warm location and providing warm liquids to drink. If the victim is unconscious or semi-conscious, seek emergency medical attention.
For a frostbite injury, move the victim to a warm place. Warm the injured body part by placing it against the body or in warm water. Seek medical attention.
Thorn Spring Park
Cottage Razed
A cottage at Thorn Spring Park which has brought fun and relaxation to campers and vacationers for the past 60 years is being torn down to make room for a new cottage which will be more functional and serviceable.
John Hammer, former Pendleton County extension agent and a park trustee, said the old cottage no longer was safe for use. He said a sill under the floor has rotted out and the second floor has not been used for several years because there is no outside access.
At the present time, there are eight other small cottages on the grounds, as well as a large dining facility, caretaker’s cottage, bath house, storage building and a pavilion. Much work including the construction of several cottages and other buildings, has been done on the park since the 1985 flood when it sustained extensive damage.
In recent years the park has been used for Pendleton County 4-H county camps, family reunions and get-togethers and cottages are rented to groups and individuals by the day and week.
60 Years Ago
Week of December 10, 1964
100 YEARS AGO
By LON K. SAVAGE
Editor’s Note—The following is one of a series of articles on the Civil War. Each weekly installment covers events which occurred exactly 100 years ago.
Hood’s Rebels Face
Thomas At Nashville
The armies of Federal Gen. George H. Thomas, the “Rock of Chickamauga,” and Confederate Gen. John B. Hood came face to face at Nashville 100 years ago this week.
And as a result, the long-expected showdown was imminent in Tennessee, to make or break Hood’s bold invasions of the state at a time when Confederate forces elsewhere were fighting a defensive, losing war.
The showdown had long been developing. All during late November, as Hood came marching northward into Tennessee from Alabama with an army of 40,000, old “Pap” Thomas had worked feverishly at Nashville to gather an army to repel the foe.
Federal troops had converged on the city from all directions, and as they arrived, Thomas organized them into an effective fighting organization. But this required time.
Thomas had sent Gen. John M. Schofield into southern Tennessee to delay Hood, and he watched gratefully as Schofield maneuvered and fought against Hood at Pulaski, Columbia and Franklin. By early December, Thomas had an army bigger than Hood’s.
And right on cue, Hood’s army, battered from the fighting at Franklin, pulled up at Nashville in early December, ready for the showdown.
The fight didn’t occur immediately, however. Hood’s army was nearly spent, and he dug his men in to wait developments.
Thomas, meanwhile, still did not consider his army quite ready for an attack. Each day, he received orders from General Ulysses S. Grant in Virginia to attack Hood, but Thomas waited.
Grant, showing a rare streak of nervousness, insisted that Thomas attack, ad still Thomas delayed. Grant wrote out an order relieving Thomas of command, then rescinded it, but even Thomas refused to attack before he felt he was ready, “If General Grant should order me to be relieved,” he wrote to Washington, “I will submit without a murmur.”
Finally, on December 11, Thomas considered his army ready to attack. But as he was preparing the assault, a great hail and sleet storm covered the area with ice, and he waited again. Grant, at the end of his patience, dispatched Gen. John Logan from Washington to Nashville with orders relieving Thomas and putting Logan in command.
But Logan’s orders were never delivered. On December 14, the weather broke, warm air came in, and Thomas sent off a telegram to Washington: “The ice having melted away today, the enemy will be attacked tomorrow morning.”
He went to bed in a Nashville hotel, leaving word at the desk to call him at 5 a.m. The showdown time had come.
Next week: Hood is crushed.
70 Years Ago
Week of December 9, 1954
EDITORIALS
A New Industry? – – –
Appearing on the front page of the ‘Times’ this week is a story concerning the development of a new industry in the hardwood producing regions of West Virginia, Virginia and Maryland. The new industry is the production of hardwood charcoal which would be made from sawmill waste such as slabwood and trimmings not suitable for lumber. The article points out that there is now no charcoal production in this area.
For many years one of the principal industries of Pendleton County has been the manufacture of hardwood lumber. And one of the things that has always caused us to pause in dissatisfaction has been the huge piles of sawdust and slabwood that are often left to rot and decay marking the place where once stood a thriving mill.
Sawmills have been so numerous in Pendleton County, and the waste from them has been so great that the thought must have occurred to many a passer-by that there should be some practical use that could be made of it. And now comes the idea of hardwood charcoal. Is it possible that the waste from the many mills in Pendleton County could be utilized in the production of charcoal? If so, such an industry could be a real stimulus to the economy of the county. At least it’s worth investigating.
Economic Disorganization – – –
Whether it would be economically feasible to manufacture charcoal in Pendleton is a question which may well be worth investigating by some organization interested in the economic well-being of the county. Also, at this of the year when there is a considerable amount of Christmas buying, some form of promotion such as a Christmas Parade, etc., like they have in most towns would likely result in increased business for local merchants.
These needs point up the fact that Pendleton County has no organization whose primary purpose is to look out for its economic interests…no organization to encourage the establishment of new industries and businesses and the creation of new payrolls…no organization to work for greater tourist trade…no organized effort to encourage local shopping…no organization to sell Pendleton County.
The well being of the people of a county is so dependent upon good local economic conditions that they can ill afford an attitude of indifference in this respect. Perhaps it is time that we step back and take a look at the possibilities for improvement in Pendleton County, and then determine to do something about it.
