Grantsville

GRANTSVILLE -- Imagine a world with stone skies smooth as silk, pleated and whorled like the folds of a collapsing circus tent, soaring up into darkness, sagging within inches of the ground. Imagine chill, dank air with no hint of a breeze and darkness so absolute that no sun-loving plant, not even single-celled algae, can survive.There are 161 such worlds in Maryland, and scientist-spelunker Daniel Feller has explored most of them. He knows what the rest of us can barely imagine: that the state's limestone caves are lightless arks full of bizarre, stubborn life.

GRANTSVILLE -- You never know what you'll find when you go turning over rocks.Last week, in the cold, clear Casselman River near here, Ed Thompson and Dan Feller pried a sandstone slab off the bottom and spotted what they were looking for: a hellbender."

GRANTSVILLE -- The woods near here are dark and deep, especially at 3: 30 in the morning. Then flashlights stab the night, like air-raid beacons. Their beams reveal a pack of hounds howling skyward, pawing the bark of a towering red oak.High in the tree, a dark patch barely visible in the green tangle of leaves seems to shift and glisten. It's a black bear, or so it's said."You think he's scared, or not?" Calvin Schrock hollers over the din.This is bear hunting, Maryland-style. Schrock, an Amish dairy farmer by day, roams the forests and farm fields of Garrett County at night with family and friends, tracking bears that have ruined crops or killed livestock.

GRANTSVILLE -- A state plan to build a shooting range in Savage River State Forest has fired up neighbors who fear the roar of rifles will disrupt their mountain tranquillity.Maryland officials are looking to build a 150-by-400-foot shooting range just northeast of New Germany State Park headquarters to accommodate throngs of hunters who want somewhere to practice before traipsing into the woods after deer, squirrels, turkeys and other game."Hunters come here for deer season, want to get their guns sighted and have nowhere to shoot," said Patty Manown, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Natural Resources.

Shane A. SavageFuneral directorShane A. Savage, a former funeral director and flower arranger, died Tuesday of acquired immune deficiency syndrome at his White Marsh home. He was 34.He had been employed by Ruck Funeral Homes, Lee Funeral Home in Washington, D.C., and, until retiring for medical reasons two years ago, was associated with McCully Funeral Homes.was a member of the Roman Catholic Basilica of the Assumption, where he served on the parish council and was known for his Christmas and Easter floral arrangements.

GRANTSVILLE -- A group representing most of Western Maryland's coal companies is proposing that two power plants be built in Garrett County to generate electricity for other Marylanders.The plants would burn locally produced coal, possibly saving Maryland's traditional coal-mining industry. The plants' advocates portray the industry as jeopardized largely because of federal clean-air regulations.Together, the two plants would cost an estimated $650 million.In addition to creating electricity for more densely populated sections of the state, coal officials said the plants would create jobs and spur economic development, as well as assist an environmental cleanup along the Potomac River's north branch and the Casselman River.

Boy, 6, is killed after getting off busHILLTOP -- A 6-year-old boy was killed yesterday when he was struck by a dump truck after he got off a school bus, state police said.The bus driver, Thomas Bender, 66, of Grantsville, had pulled the bus to the side of U.S. 219 about 3:35 p.m. but failed to put on the emergency flashers, said Charles Goldstrom, a trooper at the McHenry state police detachment.The southbound dump truck struck Thomas F. Maust, swerved and collided with a car. The driver of the truck, Thomas Humberson, 31, of Grantsville, was not injured.

GRANTSVILLE -- Every deer season they come. From places like Baltimore and Harford County, they shed down-filled and fluorescent orange coats, nurse $1.25 cans of beer, shoot pool and tell tales of the day's kills or near misses in the Western Maryland woods.They come to a log cabin nestled in a quiet grove of bare trees and green hemlocks on the banks of the meandering Casselman River. They come to a cozy, almost-forgotten place on River Road called the Meshach Browning Club, named for the man some say was Maryland's greatest hunter.

GRANTSVILLE -- If Alta Schrock were standing in a field and a voice said, "Build it and they will come," you could count on two things.She wouldn't dither about, wondering what "it" was, or which "they" would come. She would instantly know the specifics of the mission at hand. Then she'd do it.Since 1957, when she returned to her beloved Alleghenies after an academic career in the Midwest, this 81-year-old Mennonite has set up 15 non-profit organizations to celebrate the area's folkways and help its needy.

GRANTSVILLE -- Many thousands of gallons are being lost daily through leaks in this drought-stricken community's water system, and a team of specialists disbanded by the state because of budget cuts has been reassembled to help find the leaks.The leaks forced the town of about 500 residents to close Grantsville Elementary School and a local launderette for one day last week, Mayor Fred Holliday said.Like the water supplies in numerous other communities in Garrett County, Grantsville's dried up this fall as a result of the worst drought in recent memory.

GRANTSVILLE - As she quietly begins another re-election run, Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski has a $1.2 million campaign account and no challenger anywhere in sight. "How 'bout that?" she exclaims. Election Day is still a year and a half off, but the biggest event in the campaign might have taken place already: Mikulski's decision to seek a history-making fifth term. Her move, yet to be formally announced, disappointed would-be successors in both parties who spent the past few years fanning rumors that she would retire.

ROBERT FRANK EMALA, 71, of Baltimore, MD died Wednesday, September 6, 2006. He was the loving husband of Mary Emala, beloved father of Debra Corvin, Robert Emala, David Emala, Frank Emala and Rita Mudd, loving grandfather of many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was an active member of Victory Villa Baptist Church, and served eight years in the National Guard. Viewing services to be held at Bruzdzinski Funeral Home, 1407 Old Eastern Ave., Essex, MD on Sunday, September 10, 2006 from 3-5 and 7-9 p.m. Memorial service at funeral home on Sunday, September 10, 2006 at 8 p.m. Burial Service held at Grantsville Cemetery, Grantsville, MD on Monday, September 11, 2006 at 11 a.m.

On February 27, 2005, REXFORD OWEN, JR., of Hanover; beloved husband of Judith E. (nee Hone); devoted father of Timothy Owen Bittinger, Kimberly Marie Wroten and Michael Thomas Bittinger; cherished brother of Mary Mildred Hengelsberg of Allison Park, PA, John Regis Bittinger of Cumberland, MD and Patrick Bittinger of Lanham, MD; loving grandfather of Ashley Katherine Bittinger, Justin E. James, Rachael Marie Grimes, Julie James, Aaron C. James, Courtney Anne...

GRANTSVILLE - The small-town librarian has to be a combination historian, genealogist, literary mentor, baby sitter, town guide, shopping aide, chief checkout clerk - even a puzzle master when a patron hands you a note asking for the book Catch Her in the Rye. Maxine Beachy Broadwater performed all those functions with admirable gusto for about 31 years at the Grantsville branch of Garrett County's Ruth Enlow Library. Now she's taking on another one: fund-raiser for a new library building.

William A. Smith, a retired Associated Press photographer whose career with the news service spanned 48 years, died Monday at his home in Daytona, Fla., of pneumonia after a long illness. He was 73 and formerly lived in Bowie. "Smitty," as he was known to co-workers and friends, was considered an ebullient and likable personality who pursued his craft aggressively, and in doing so was an eyewitness to some of the most important events and personalities of the 20th century. Mr. Smith covered Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard M. Nixon and Vice President Spiro T. Agnew, who later became a close personal friend.

Idyllic Columbia has fallen prey to time and change In his Dec. 3 column on Jim Rouse, "What would the Founder have done?", C. Fraser Smith starts out with the idea that something is wrong in paradise. Unfortunately things don't remain the same, especially when it comes to recessions, and remodeling and maintenance costs. Retirees, in particular, face a doubled-edged sword. They cannot afford many house and car repairs, especially with food prices being out of sight compared to incomes.

GRANTSVILLE -- Imagine a world with stone skies smooth as silk, pleated and whorled like the folds of a collapsing circus tent, soaring up into darkness, sagging within inches of the ground. Imagine chill, dank air with no hint of a breeze and darkness so absolute that no sun-loving plant, not even single-celled algae, can survive.There are 161 such worlds in Maryland, and scientist-spelunker Daniel Feller has explored most of them. He knows what the rest of us can barely imagine: that the state's limestone caves are lightless arks full of bizarre, stubborn life.

GRANTSVILLE -- The woods near here are dark and deep, especially at 3: 30 in the morning. Then flashlights stab the night, like air-raid beacons. Their beams reveal a pack of hounds howling skyward, pawing the bark of a towering red oak.High in the tree, a dark patch barely visible in the green tangle of leaves seems to shift and glisten. It's a black bear, or so it's said."You think he's scared, or not?" Calvin Schrock hollers over the din.This is bear hunting, Maryland-style. Schrock, an Amish dairy farmer by day, roams the forests and farm fields of Garrett County at night with family and friends, tracking bears that have ruined crops or killed livestock.

GRANTSVILLE -- You never know what you'll find when you go turning over rocks.Last week, in the cold, clear Casselman River near here, Ed Thompson and Dan Feller pried a sandstone slab off the bottom and spotted what they were looking for: a hellbender."

GRANTSVILLE -- A state plan to build a shooting range in Savage River State Forest has fired up neighbors who fear the roar of rifles will disrupt their mountain tranquillity.Maryland officials are looking to build a 150-by-400-foot shooting range just northeast of New Germany State Park headquarters to accommodate throngs of hunters who want somewhere to practice before traipsing into the woods after deer, squirrels, turkeys and other game."Hunters come here for deer season, want to get their guns sighted and have nowhere to shoot," said Patty Manown, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Natural Resources.