A Carroll County cannon restorer is working on two weapons familiar to New Windsor residents - a pair of Japanese-made howitzers captured during World War II that have sat next to the town's municipal offices for years. "These were captured pieces during the war, and they were brought to America to raise bonds, raise money," Forrest Taylor said, adding, "they were commonly taken on the road by various patriotic organizations that would show them, and often they would be given to small towns." He said the howitzers, which are normally displayed at War Memorial Park, were small and light enough to be easily taken apart and carried by Japanese soldiers. Town Manager Wally Brown said the town decided to use $28,800 from a Program Open Space grant to spruce up the park, including refurbishing the cannons, creating two new memorial plaques to honor veterans who served after Vietnam, and doing some landscaping at the park. The total cost of the project is expected to be $35,400, and the cannon refurbishment is expected to cost $11,000, Brown said. Town officials were excited to find a cannon restorer nearby who is so well regarded.

- Associated Press