| We appreciate the many inquiries regarding the absence of new material under PHOTOS
OF THE DAY and MOMENTS IN TIME.
Norma Knotts Shaffer, who has spent more time that you can imagine, collecting,
organizing and publishing old Calhoun photographs and historical accounts, has taken time
away from The Herald because of the illness of her mother, 90-year-old Hazel Knotts.
After Hazel moved from her Steer Creek farm to be with Norma in Grantsville, she broke
her hip. After surgery and being on the mend, the bone in her leg broke and she recently
had to return to the hospital.
Shortly before Hazel broke her leg, she managed to rise from her recliner on her broken hip
and stumble a few feet across Norma's living room, landing on top of Norma, who was
reclining in her chair talking on the phone.
While Hazel is not a large woman, Norma, a former nurse, considered the predicament
knowing she could not push her off in fear of injuring her again. Unable to move, she called
911, explaining to the dispatcher "My mother is on top of me and I can't move," a slight
variance of "I've fallen and can't get up."
Dispatcher Burl Postalwait called the Grantsville VFD and a couple firemen came to the
house and removed Hazel, returning her to the recliner.
Norma's sister-in-law, the wife of Jim Knotts, has also been seriously ill in Camden-Clark
Hospital in Parkersburg, having lapsed into a coma from a brain tumor.
It has been a trying time.
So, Norma, who is one of the creators of The Herald, has been "on leave" tending to her
mom and sister-in-law. Our thoughts and prayers are with Norma and her family, we too are looking forward to her return.
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