Sunday Gazette-Mail back issues from December 2008:
SHOPPING OUTSIDE THE BOX: ; Look beyond traditional sources for unique gifts this holiday
Dec 07, 2008; ... When shopping for the "someone who has everything," and we allhave one such person on our lists, consider unconventional sourcesfor inspiration. You might find something special at art, antiqueand consignment stores. Or, consider tickets or gift certificatesfor local performances ....
SHOPPING OUTSIDE THE BOX: ; For something different, give art
Dec 07, 2008; ... Joe Ann Crawford of Gallery Eleven is one of the co-op's bestcustomers. She often gives gifts of art, and she hopes to dispel themyth that art is out of reach for gift-givers this holiday season. "People are kind of afraid to consider art as a gift because theythink it's going to ...
ON THE RADIO: ; 25 years to life with Mountain Stage
Dec 07, 2008; ... Nobody lives forever, though Mountain Stage is giving it a goodtry. The radio show heard locally on West Virginia PublicBroadcasting celebrates its 25th year broadcasting tonight at theCultural Center Theater. It's a significant milestone for the show,but one of many. Sitting ...
THE PROS AND CONS OF ARTIFICIAL CHRISTMAS TREES: ; Death to fake trees
Dec 07, 2008; ... I hate plastic Christmas trees. I hate them in the same way Ihate "Dancing with the Stars," the new premium coffee at McDonald'sand people who try to re-gift greeting cards. It is a deep andabiding hatred. I love real Christmas trees. With my family, getting the tree isone of ...
THE PROS AND CONS OF ARTIFICIAL CHRISTMAS TREES: ; Faux fir has many advantages
Dec 07, 2008; ... I remember the moment I converted. It was a cold, rainy day in early December. I stood in thehallway of my house with my arms wrapped around a 7-foot-tall pinetree whose water-soaked branches made it unbearably heavy. As I wrestled with that tree, getting wet and stuck by ...
SMELL THE COFFEE: ; The shame about Christmas
Dec 07, 2008; ... "If you promise you'll take us, we swear we'll get up," Celestesaid. "Please?" asked her friend Madi. "I've never done it before." Going shopping at 4 a.m. might've sounded like fun to 11-year-olds, but to this 44-year-old - not so much. Still, I'd witnessedwhat slugs the two ...
Memories are made of this
Dec 07, 2008; ... When asked about some of their favorite moments or musicianswho've appeared on Mountain Stage over the past 25 years, LarryGroce, Andy Ridenour and Larry Fisher shake their heads. It's justtoo broad a topic. There are too many tales to tell. "I might write a book one of these ...
ART NOTES
Dec 07, 2008 ... The Art Store presents 'Small Works' One hundred small works of art by more than 35 artists arefeatured in the current Small Works Holiday exhibition at The ArtStore, 1013 Bridge Road. The show offers a variety of mediaincluding paintings, works on paper, sculpture, pottery ...
The professional life beyond Barney Fife
Dec 07, 2008; ... When a Gazette editor asked me to review a Don Knotts book, itdidn't take long to say yes. Everyone knows I love "The AndyGriffith Show" and the sheer comedic artistry the Morgantown nativeand WVU grad brought to it. "This is a coffee table book," she said. I could keep it ...
W.Va.-educated artists featured in new AEI book
Dec 07, 2008; ... The Appalachian Education Initiative's "Art & Soul: WestVirginians in the Arts" shines a spotlight on 50 artists who have atsome time called West Virginia home. There's something for everyone in this book: writers, actors,painters, musicians, singers. The book features literary, ...
CINDY SAYS: ; Drinking water is healthy, but the bottle may not be
Dec 07, 2008; ... Dear Cindy, Lately I have been reading that drinking from plastic waterbottles can be bad for our health. Is there any truth to this or isthis just a marketing ploy to sell expensive re-usable waterbottles? Pat Dear Pat, You read right - we've been swept up by a tidal ...
Estate puts on its best for the holidays
Dec 07, 2008; ... ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Hundreds of luminarias light the driveway andterrace. The home, in the style of a French chateau, is filled withnearly 100 beautifully decorated trees, more than 1,000 wreaths andbows, 1,500 poinsettias, 25,000 lights, 9,000 feet of fresh garlandand thousands of ...
Biltmore and beyond: ; Asheville, N.C., serves eclectic dish of art, music and food
Dec 07, 2008; ... ASHEVILLE, N.C. - This mountain city of 70,000 proudly callsitself the Paris of the South. According to some, that's because Asheville, in western NorthCarolina, considers itself the cultural capital of SouthernAppalachia. French artisans came to Asheville in the late 1800s ...
TRAVEL Briefs
Dec 07, 2008 ... Canaan Valley Resort offers free skiing Dec. 11 Canaan Valley Resort in Davis will celebrates 37 years of skiingwith free opening day skiing from noon to 4:30 p.m. Thursday. Theski area will formally open for the season with normal operatinghours at 8:30 a.m. Friday. "With ...
Collecting mountains of memories: ; Boone County man finds mountaineers are always freest at 18,850 feet
Dec 07, 2008; ... When you think of a 59-year-old man and his activities, whatcomes to mind? Perhaps he plays golf on weekends, or maybe goes fishing. Hemight journey to Morgantown to watch the beloved Mountaineers playball. Well, for me it does involve mountaineers but the kind who ...
DO IT YOURSELF: ; Electrical outlets are not difficult to replace
Dec 07, 2008; ... Q. The electrical outlets in my 1949 home are so worn that plugswon't stay in them. I tried bending the prongs of the plugs slightlyoutward, but it didn't help. Is there anything I can do besidestearing out a lot of plaster to install new outlets? - R.E. A. You shouldn't have to ...
HELP OUT
Dec 07, 2008 ... Toy collection The town of Belle, Belle Lions Club and the Belle Fire Departmentwill be collecting for the Marine Corps Toys for Tots program.Donations of new, unwrapped toys for infants through teenagers willbe accepted at the following locations: Belle Community Center: ...
Easy, inexpensive holiday cheer: ; Cranberries, Christmas balls make great decor
Dec 07, 2008; ... Sure, the stores are filled with beautiful pre-made decorationsthis time of year. But do you really want your home to look likeeveryone else's? We asked some HGTV designers what they could easily create out oftwo cheap, easy-to-find Christmas decorations: glass balls ...
INTO THE GARDEN: ; Poinsettias are aplenty from this Putnam company
Dec 07, 2008; ... Gritt's Greenhouse has been busy spreading holiday cheer thismonth. Penny Goff, partner and general manager, said they havedistributed 40,000 poinsettia plants this season. "We did the Greenbrier this year, too," Penny said. "I'm not sureof the number, but it's around 4,000 to ...
Aluminum tree deserves its own category
Dec 07, 2008; ... I have a live Christmas tree, decorated with all-glass ornaments.Some are antiques, some very expensive Christopher Radkocollectibles. But my favorite tree, the tree most suited to mypersonality, is technically an artificial one. I think it deservesits own category. It's an ...
WRITE YOUR OWN COLUMN: ; Remembering the day the world changed
Dec 07, 2008; ... I was awakened by the sun's rays streaming through the windowsand across my face, flooding the entire room with gold. It was fall,and the weather had been unusually warm and lovely. There were six of us in my family. Mom, Dad, myself and threebrothers: Gary, 10; Dickie, 17; and ...
Horoscope
Dec 07, 2008; ... Sunday, Dec. 7, 2008 YOURBIRTHDAYTODAY: This will be a fun and very active year.You'll get lots of exercise. Your athletic friends will run youragged if you let them. You'll end up in great shape if you goalong. To get the advantage, check the day's rating: 10 is the ...
On the town
Dec 07, 2008 ... Annual meeting The Mental Health Association in the GreaterKanawha Valley Inc. held its 2008 annual meeting Oct. 21 at theCharleston Civic Center with Dr. Hussein El-Khatib as featuredspeaker. Debra Hart is the new executive director, replacing EllenWard who retired. 1. Hart, ...
EAT FOR LIFE: ; Cranberry Oatmeal Chews provide healthy nosh for calorie conscious
Dec 07, 2008; ... Everyone needs a nosh now and then. Unfortunately, many commercially baked cookies, crackers, cakes,muffins and pastries contain trans fat. Trans fats are created whenvegetable oils are hydrogenated, a process that gives margarines andshortenings a fluffier consistency ....
Recipes for real people: ; Huntington cooking store owner teaches everyday cooking classes
Dec 07, 2008; ... There always seems to be something cooking at Le Cook Store inHuntington. Nearly 20 out of 30 evenings per month, owner ShawnBresnahan teaches cooking classes at his spacious kitchen andcooking store across from Pullman Square in Huntington. The older building with its high ...
WEATHER: ; One person dies; 100 accidents reported on roads
Dec 07, 2008 ... Snow and falling temperatures Saturday caused treacherous roads,numerous accidents and one fatality in the Charleston area. Otherareas of the state reported many accidents, too, but no seriousinjuries. Kanawha County Metro 911 told motorists if they had to travel, touse extreme ...
PEARL HARBOR SURVIVOR: ; Veteran recalls chaos on Day of Infamy
Dec 07, 2008; ... "If you're looking for a hero," he said, "I'm not it. Thereweren't any heroes at Hickam Field that day. You were just scurryingaround trying to save yourself." At 92, after 66 years, Joseph Lloyd of Tornado recalls thechaotic events on that Day of Infamy with utter ...
Prosecutor looks back on Williams case: ; 'It was just jaw-dropping'
Dec 07, 2008; ... Megan Williams never told a jury what seven people in LoganCounty did to her. Yet all seven were convicted for their part in abusing Williams,admitting in plea deals to crimes ranging from kidnapping and first-degree sexual assault to battery and committing a hate ...
SIT-IN: ; Workers occupy Chicago factory to protest closure
Dec 07, 2008; ... CHICAGO - Workers who got three days' notice that their factorywas shutting its doors have occupied the building and say they won'tgo home without assurances they'll get severance and vacation pay. About 250 union workers occupied the Republic Windows and Doorsplant in shifts ...
RADIO ADDRESS: ; Obama maps recovery plan; Public works program to help jobs, roads, schools
Dec 07, 2008; ... ONLINE Obama transition: www.change.gov Interstate HighwaySystem: www.fhwa.dot.gov/interstate/ history.htm CHICAGO - President-elect Barack Obama said Saturday he wants torevive the economy through a job-creating public works plan on ascale unseen since the building program of the ...
INSIDE
Dec 07, 2008 ... Cut grocery costs Save more than $30 ...
IN LIFE & STYLE
Dec 07, 2008 ... Shop outside the box Think ...
IN SPORTS
Dec 07, 2008 ... WVU football Mountaineers snap a ...
TODAY'S News
Dec 07, 2008 ... AP photo Christmas ball HAMBURG, Germany Members of the soccerteams Angels and Santa Claus vie for the ball during their Christmasmatch Saturday. The charity match, between a youth girls team and a5th division Hamburg mens team, ended in a 10-10 draw. Obama teammoving swiftly on health ...
FEMA trailer stockpile costs $28 million yearly
Dec 07, 2008; ... BILOXI, Miss. - FEMA is spending $28 million a year to storetravel trailers and mobile homes at five Mississippi sites while theagency determines whether they'll be reused or sold as scrap. The work is not very far along and could run through 2011, basedon renewal options for ...
Aging Boomers not going quietly into that good night
Dec 07, 2008; ... LAS VEGAS - It's one of those photos that make you do a double-take. Dr. Jeffry Life stands in jeans, his shirt off. His face is thatof a distinguished-looking grandpa; his head is balding, and whathair there is is white. But his 69-year-old body looks like it belongs to a ...
High-dollar tutoring centers for college athletes draw attention
Dec 07, 2008; ... CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Irwin Academic Services Center at theUniversity of Illinois is outfitted with computer labs andclassrooms; staffed with tutors, counselors and learningspecialists; furnished with oversized leather chairs and Orientalrugs - and off-limits to 99 percent of the student ...
Lagging crops, hurricanes starving Haitian village
Dec 07, 2008; ... BAIE D'ORANGE, Haiti - The slow road to death runs high above thescenic coastline, past the crumbled bridges and buried rivers. Ittraverses a jagged trail passing green slopes and red fertile dirtbefore arriving here: an isolated mountain village where littleHaitian girls dream of eating ...
Birds of a feather Twitter together
Dec 07, 2008; ... If you've heard of Twitter but don't exactly know what it is orhow it works, you're in good company. In the past two months a bunchof my friends, ranging in age from early 20s to late 30s, have askedme about Twitter - or Tweeter, as one person accidentally called it. To clear ...
North Koreans to ignore Japan at nuke talks
Dec 07, 2008 ... SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea said Saturday it will ignoreJapan at upcoming six- nation talks on its nuclear program, citingTokyo's refusal to send aid to the impoverished country as part of adisarmament agreement. The warning comes as negotiators from six nations - the ...
Sunny von Bulow dies after 28 years in coma
Dec 07, 2008; ... NEW YORK - Martha "Sunny" von Bulow, the heiress who spent thelast 28 years of her life in oblivion after what prosecutors allegedin a pair of sensational trials were two murder attempts by herhusband, died Saturday at age 76. She died at a nursing home in New York, her children ...
Simpson lawyer cites issues for appeal
Dec 07, 2008 ... LAS VEGAS - In the harsh light of the morning after hissentencing, O.J. Simpson's future was clear Saturday. His new homewill be a prison cell in the Nevada desert with his door to freedomhinging on an appeal of a trial that his lawyers say was filled witherrors. "This is not a ...
STATEWIDE OFFICES: ; Candidates spent $6.6 million on election
Dec 07, 2008; ... This year's batch of candidates for statewide office spent acombined $6.6 million to win over West Virginia voters, theircampaign finance reports show. The battle for two seats on the state Supreme Court accounts fornearly half that amount, while the race for governor reflects ...
On a S.C. plantation, clues to Michelle Obamas past: ; Historical trail traces family's rise from slavery to success
Dec 07, 2008; ... GEORGETOWN, S.C. - Tiny wooden cabins line the dirt road onceknown as Slave Street as it winds its way through FriendfieldPlantation. More than 200 slaves lived in the white-washed shacks in theearly 1800s, and some of their descendants remained here for morethan a century after ...
Global zero: ; World leaders to try for nuclear weapons ban
Dec 07, 2008; ... WASHINGTON - A new international group committed to eliminatingnuclear weapons over the next 25 years has enlisted scores of worldleaders as its campaign gets underway at a conference in Paris onTuesday. "The aim is to get to zero," said Richard Burt, chief strategicweapons ...
States' highway projects waiting for $64.3 billion
Dec 07, 2008; ... WASHINGTON - More than 5,000 highway projects are ready to go,state transportation officials say, if Congress will only pony up$64.3 billion as part of an economic aid plan. The American Association of State Highway and TransportationOfficials, which compiled the list, said the ...
Aging USAF planes unsafe, some mechanics say
Dec 07, 2008; ... OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. - Poor maintenance might becompromising the flight safety of reconnaissance aircraft carryingsome of America's most advanced electronic equipment, according tocurrent and former aircraft mechanics. The RC-135 aircraft are maintained at Offutt Air Force ...
Todays forecast around the country and Saturdays temperatures to 8 p.m.
Dec 07, 2008 ... Anchorage 35 27 Snow Atlanta 49 30 Clr Boston 41 32 Snow Charlotte,N.C. 50 29 Clr Chicago 35 7 PCldy Cincinnati 34 19 PCldy Cleveland 31 20 Snow Dallas-Ft Worth 62 37 PCldy Denver 49 29 PCldy Detroit 29 18 ...
Solar and lunar stats
Dec 07, 2008 ... Today's sun RISE: ...
Today through Monday around the state
Dec 07, 2008 ... W.Va. Today - Monday Today, mostly cloudy with a 50 percentchance of snow. Highs in the upper 20s. Tonight, partly cloudy. Lowsaround 16. Monday, partly sunny. Highs around 40. Boone, Cabell, Kanawha, Mason, Putnam, Wayne: Today, mostlycloudy with a 50 percent chance of snow ....
Saturday's weather in Charleston
Dec 07, 2008 ... Temperatures: High: 32 Low: 15 Record high: 75 set in 1998 Record low: 10 set in 1977 Precipitation: Midnight to 5 p.m.: ...
Around the world
Dec 07, 2008 ... Amsterdam 44 37 Rain Athens 68 55 PCldy Baghdad 67 46 PCldy Berlin 42 33 Rain Bermuda 69 63 Cldy Cairo 85 60 Clr Calgary 44 11 Snow Dublin 44 33 Rain Hong Kong 70 61 PCldy Jerusalem 82 60 Clr London 46 35 ...
Church takes new tack
Dec 07, 2008; ... Is it written somewhere in the Bible that people must get gussiedup for church? No, it is not. So Jim Butcher preaches in blue jeans. "The Bible never indicated the need to dress up to go to church.What God says he wants isn't what you wear. It's what's in ...
Wyoming County mine to lay off about 100 workers
Dec 07, 2008; ... Approximately 100 mine employees in Wyoming County will be out ofa job as of Monday. Officials with Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. announced Saturdaythat their wholly owned subsidiary, Pinnacle Mining Company, LLC,will reduce operating levels at its Pinnacle Complex. Mine ...
Injury led to kidney diagnosis
Dec 07, 2008; ... If it weren't for an accident in gym class, Shavona Hooper mightnot have found out about her failing kidneys in time to get help. But because of the lucky injury and the support of her family,the Capital High School student could greet the New Year with a newkidney. Hooper ...
It's hard to be humble
Dec 07, 2008; ... WHEN it comes to approaching Congress for a handout, image isapparently everything. After being verbally flogged last month for arriving inWashington on three separate corporate jets to make their pitch for$25 billion in bailout money, executives of the Big Three automakerswere ...
Mattea cancels 'Mountain Stage' appearance
Dec 07, 2008 ... Cross Lanes singer/songwriter Kathy Mattea will not be able toplay at the "Mountain Stage" 25th anniversary show today because ofan illness in her family. "Mountain Stage" ...
Massey pays Wheeling-Pitt damages
Dec 07, 2008; ... Massey Energy paid $267 million in damages to the former Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp. on Thursday in Brooke County Circuit Court. Dave Fawcett, a Pittsburgh lawyer who represented Wheeling-Pittsburgh, said on Friday, "The payment was made yesterday. It waswired in full ....
Incision-free surgery done through existing orifices
Dec 07, 2008; ... MINNEAPOLIS - Dr. Christopher Gostout remembers the first time heheard anyone suggest such a thing. He was in a roomful of doctors at a seaside resort, brainstormingabout the future. Perform surgery without piercing the skin? Take out someone's appendix through the ...
Lack of control spawns superstition
Dec 07, 2008; ... CHICAGO - Baseball might be the most superstition-filled sport,with bizarre traditions that range from players who insist onchewing the same gum each day during a hitting streak to the ChicagoCubs' yearly reminder of the infamous billy goat curse. Now a new study by Northwestern ...
Sarkozy meets with Dalai Lama
Dec 07, 2008 ... GDANSK, Poland - French President Nicolas Sarkozy held his long-awaited meeting with the Dalai Lama on Saturday, despite warningsfrom China that it could have a negative impact on ties between thetwo countries. The French president and the Tibetan spiritual leader sat downfor a ...
Fashion boutique: soup, designer pants
Dec 07, 2008 ... NEW YORK - You know the economy is ailing when a Manhattanfashion boutique starts offering free soup. The temporary fashion boutique calling itself The 1929 is sellingchic clothes and giving away soup and coffee. The store is locatedin one of the trendiest shopping districts in ...
THE WILD SIDE: ; Government agencies offer gifts from outdoor stores
Dec 07, 2008; ... If you're trying to save money this holiday shopping season,consider buying products from governmental conservation agencies. Some have extensive "outdoor stores" and many offer state-basedmagazines and calendars at reasonable prices. I suspect that allthese products are at least ...
THINGS TO DO Today
Dec 07, 2008 ... Music * CHARLESTON CIVIC CHORUS: 2:30 p.m. Free. The Winter Concert bythe community chorus features sacred and secular music with guestviolist Mary Odin and guest flutist Marilyn Wrenn. Baptist Temple,209 Morris St. Call 744-3734. * CHORAL CONCERT: 4 p.m. Free. University of ...
THE WAY IT WAS: ; Hard times, 1900; By Richard Andre
Dec 07, 2008; ... When I look at this picture, it sends chills down my spine tothink what misery our ancestors had to bear. This is a very old photo - perhaps 1900 as the cap lights aresmoky oil burners instead of the later well-known carbide lamps. Those boys probably could not read or write - ...