Catoctin High School Class of 2017 Safe and Sane recently held their first Dining for Dollars fundraiser at Roy Rogers in Thurmont. Their next Dining for Dollars fundraiser will be held on August 15, 2016, from 5:00-8:00 p.m., at the Chipotle Mexican Grill, located at 7820 Wormans Mill Road in Frederick, and then again at…

Nicholas DiGregory Many residents of the historic Fort Ritchie and the surrounding town of Cascade, Maryland, are concerned regarding the manner in which Washington County government’s redevelopment plan for the retired military base was communicated to current residents. The redevelopment plan requires existing buildings at Fort Ritchie to be torn down to make room for…

James Rada, Jr. Early Tuesday morning, July 12, 2016, a line of tour buses pulled into Thurmont’s Community Park. About 250 rock musicians and roadies spilled out of the buses, stretched, and got ready to work. They separated into groups and spread out throughout the community, not to sing and play instruments, but to help…

Deb Spalding Some of us buy our meat by shopping sales at grocery stores and buying what is available at the lowest price. While there’s nothing wrong with that, it does open the door for fatty meats, unhealthy additives, and assembly-line beef that has traveled from far-off lands. The bottom line is this: To protect…

Nicholas DiGregory Do you think that the game development executives who created the Pocket Monsters in 1996 envisioned the craze that they’d create in the future with Pokémon Go? At the time, three Japanese companies—Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures Inc.—united to pursue an idea for a revolutionary video game where players could travel through a…

James Rada, Jr. Thurmont has been a Maryland Main Street Community since 2005—one of twenty-eight in Maryland, five of which are in Frederick County. What is not as well known is that Thurmont has also been a nationally recognized Main Street. According to Main Street Manager Vickie Grinder, the Maryland Main Street program works in…

Joan Fry On June 18, 2016, the Sons of the American Legion (SAL) Post 239 in Cascade held their spring Gun and Cash Bash on the grounds of Fort Ritchie. Of the 2,500 tickets sold, there were more than 1,050 people in attendance. The weather was perfect and attendees enjoyed visiting with friends, playing the…

M&T Bank contributed $6,000 to the Fort Ritchie Community Center in Cascade. The funds helped sponsor the 2016 Mountaintop Heritage Days event that celebrated the 90th anniversary of Camp Ritchie. “M&T Bank’s investment in the community goes beyond sponsoring Mountaintop Heritage Days,” said Buck Browning, executive director of the Community Center. “All of our programs…

Girl Scout Troop 81178 heard about all the bad things happening to police officers, and they wanted to give them something that showed them how much they supported them. The troop decided to make the police officers bags of encouragement to let them know how much they are appreciated for all that they do. The…

On July 6, 2016, Maryland Congressmen Chris Van Hollen announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), under the Department of Homeland Security, has awarded a $123,810 grant to the Vigilant Hose Company in Emmitsburg. The grant will be used for operations and safety. “First responders are on the front lines of emergencies every day,…

The Hershey Children’s Hospital and Hershey Rehab, Wyatt Black, of Thurmont, who battled Bacterial Meningitis, was finally able to come home on June 3, 2016. Wyatt is getting better each and every day. His progress is slow and steady, but he is winning the race against this virus. His parents, Chris and Kiona Black, can…

On Saturday, June 4, 2016, members of the Frederick County 4-H Firepower Club participated in the Maryland AIM Championship at the Harvey’s Cedar Gun Club in Harford County, Maryland. The American Trap Association AIM program stands for Academics, Integrity, and Marksmanship and is held in each of the states in the United States. Each member…

The 60th annual Thurmont & Emmitsburg Community Show will be held at Catoctin High School on September 9, 10, and 11, 2016. Entry of exhibits will take place on Thursday evening, September 8, from 6:00-9:00 p.m., as well as on Friday, September 9, from 8:30-11:30 a.m., in the new gymnasium and in the agriculture department…

On Thursday, May 12, 2016, Mother Seton School (MSS) conferred the Seton Values Award to the Jack and Shirley Little Family and Sonya Hand, formerly of By Hand Designs, at their annual Donor Appreciation dinner. The dinner is held each year to show appreciation for the support given to MSS throughout the year. “We are…

Crystal Naff Named 2016 FCPS School Secretary of the Year Congratulations to Catoctin High School secretary, Crystal Naff. During the June 8 Board of Education meeting, she was recognized as an outstanding member of the Frederick County Public Schools (FCPS) support staff. Naff has worked at Catoctin High since 2002. As the secretary to the…

Buck Reed, The Supermarket Gourmet “Season to taste.” In the world of culinary arts, this might seem like a small sentence, but in the kitchen this can be a big concept. Say “season to taste” to the wrong student and the fear in his or her eyes grows faster than the line at a Vegas…

Deb Spalding Twelve-year-old twins, Rianna and Sheridan Chaney, formerly of Thurmont, now call a 3,500-acre ranch in Gosper County, Nebraska, home. They’ll be appearing at the Thurmont Regional Library on Tuesday, August 9, 2016, at 6:30 p.m., during Starlight Story Time to share their experiences about ranch life, agriculture, and publishing children’s books. They, along…

Squash, Anyone? by Valerie Nusbaum Earlier this year, I mentioned that Randy and I had begun a gardening project. I said that I’d report back later in the summer and let you know how our garden was growing; I will do that shortly, but I need to explain some things first. Randy and I both…

by Jim Houck, Jr. Warren Deardorf Grove Jr. 3rd Class Petty Officer U.S. Navy Warren (Buddy) Grove Jr. was born in Emmitsburg on August 17, 1926, on Crystal Fountain Road. When he was two years old, he and his family moved to Eyler’s Valley on the Seiss farm. Warren had two sisters by the time…

Christine Schoene Maccabee Wildflowers Along the Railraod Track Anyone who has driven or walked or jogged or biked along Woodside Drive in Thurmont this spring will have noticed the colorful flowers along the railroad track. Many of these flowers are various poppies, mallows, and cornflowers from a mix of flower seeds spread over a few…