Community news

Baltimore Ravens players Edgar Jones, David Pittman, and Ronnie Prude visited students of The Maryland School for the Blind for an interactive lesson in football, Tuesday. The players brought football equipment and paraphernalia for the students to touch and feel as part of the programs used to educate. Above, Prude gives Lily Tanenholz a chance to feel a Raven helmet. Photo by Thom Perry

Youth honored with football game
More than 100 youngsters

The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Baltimore County Board of Education will be held Tuesday, Nov. 20 at the ESS Building, Room 114, Greenwood Campus, 6901 Charles St. in Towson. The Building and Contracts Committee of the Board will meet at approximately 4:45 p.m. The full board will meet in open session at 5 p.m. to discuss upcoming school board association events, school system and community meetings, and items of interest to board members. The board will then move

Tree lighting and Santa sighting
The Perry Hall Improvement Association (PHIA) and the Perry Hall Elementary School (PHES) announce that the annual community Christmas Tree ceremony will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 4 at 6:30 pm. As in years past, residents of the community and children and families associated with the school are encouraged to visit PHES for this special evening event.

Highlights will include traditional wintertime songs performed by the PHES 2nd Grade Vocal Music Group, and

Hampton renovations complete after three years

by Celeste H. Breitenbach
news@timesheraldnews.com

Historic Hampton Mansion reopens the weekend of Nov. 30-Dec. 2 after being closed for three years of renovations. Following an 11 a.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, special activities and tours will be held all weekend.

When completed in 1790, Hampton Mansion was renowned as the largest home in the U.S. It remains one of the finest and largest examples of late Georgian architecture although most of the once

Parkville library regular Ugonnaya Obineme, 14, was the Grand Prize winning participant in Baltimore County Public Library’s Teen Read Week (Oct. 14-20) drawing for ages 11-18. To be eligible, participants needed to give the name of their favorite book or CD. Ugonnaya’s favorite book was “The Book Thief.” Parkville librarian Shelley Gilchrist presented her the prize of a 4 GB iPod Nano.

The county library also recently awarded David Otto of Parkville and Jane Vanicky of Nottingham with its annual staff merit award, which recognizes employees’ outstanding contributions to the library and the community.

Overlea-Fullerton Senior Center
4314 Fullerton Ave.
Details: 410-887-5220

Blood pressure screening – With Karen Kanzler, RN from Good Samaritan, Nov. 20 from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

Parkville Senior Center
8601 Harford Rd.
Details: 410-887-5227
(The fitness center is open Mon., Tues, Wed. & Fri. from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Applications are available in the staff office.)

Sign up for classes – It’s once again time to register for classes offered by the Community

Lutherville resident Jessica Shawn Kilmartin, 31, was arrested Nov. 6 after breaking into the basement of a house on Willow Avenue, soon after a fire destroyed an apartment building nearby.

According to county police, Kilmartin was in one of the apartments and under the influence of drugs when she started the fire at 16 E. Overlea Ave. Calls reporting the fire came in just before 9 p.m.

Everyone was evacuated safely, but Kilmartin was missing from the scene. She

by Celeste H. Breitenbach
news@timesheraldnews.com

Thanks to local comic book store owner Michael Guthridge, some U.S. troops in Iraq will be receiving a gift of roughly 1,000 of the latest comic books and 100 pop culture magazines every month.

“I remember when I was over there, anything from home put a smile on my face – whether an old newspaper, magazine, comic books. It was just an escape. If you sat down and

by Cheryl Keffer
ckeffer@timesheraldnews.com

They were allowed some creative liberties and Emily Middleton chose to decorate her artwork with hearts.

That’s because the soldier whose portrait she created was awarded the Purple Heart, the Perry Hall Christian School sixth grader said last week.

Art students at Perry Hall Christian have worked since the start of school to create portraits of Maryland soldiers who have died in Iraq. (Art teacher Teddy Richardson gave some free

by Cheryl Keffer
ckeffer@timesheraldnews.com

The USS Bowfin sits in Pearl Harbor as a memorial to World War II, but for Perry Hall resident Earl Jackson, the submarine was his home for three patrols.

With permission from his parents (and at the suggestion of a high school guidance counselor), the 16-year-old Jackson signed up – the badly forged birth certificate was ignored, he said, since “they were so hard up for people” to join the

Ceremony planned
The Carney Improvement Association along with the Sons of the American Legion will honor all veterans at a special ceremony Sunday, Nov. 11 at 2 p.m. at the Carney War Memorial located on the front lawn of the Carney Elementary School.
“We invite you to come and pay tribute to those in the community who have served in the military in wars and in peace to allow us to live in freedom with a standard of

by Mary Helen Sprecher
newsroom@baltimoreguide.com

First, the good news: Parents of special needs children will have the chance to take an afternoon off, thanks to a pilot program being offered by volunteers.

Now for the better news: The program is free, and if it’s successful, it might be offered monthly.

The first Parent’s Day Off will be offered on Saturday, Nov. 17, 2 p.m.-5 p.m. at Streetlite Christian Fellowship, 1121 Riverside Avenue. It is the brainchild of Jessica Grubbs,

by Cheryl Keffer
ckeffer@timesheraldnews.com

County officials broke ground this week on an addition that will ease growing pains at the county’s largest senior center – Seven Oaks.

The facility, located on Seven Courts Drive, was too small when it opened in 1991, according to Preston Wollett, the center’s council president.

It currently has 850 members – twice the amount as other county centers of a similar size. Last year the center added 150 new

Baltimore County Police honored “Everyday Heroes” Monday, recognizing 43 members of the department for their “outstanding commitment to the communities they serve. Cpl. David Garner, a K-9 officer who was wounded late last year during the search for a robbery suspect, received a Silver Star and a Purple Heart. He is shown above with his partner Nikko and Baltimore County Chief of Police Jim Johnson. Photo by Thom Perry

by Michele Wojciechowski

Sandy Acaso loves children.

For seven years the White Marsh-area resident taught middle and high school students. Then for 13 years, she ran a daycare in her home while she raised her two daughters. When they went to school, she decided to return to school and get a Master’s degree in counseling.

Just this year, Acaso has put all of her skills to use to become – a supernanny.

Emergency personnel responded tonight to a two-alarm apartment fire in the unit block of E. Overlea Avenue (between Belair Road and Linden Avenue) at about 9 p.m. There were reports that one resident had been seen re-entering the burning structure, but one officer on the scene said that neighbors saw the woman leave again, and fire fighters had made multiple searches of the house and found no one inside. – Cheryl Keffer

by Cheryl Keffer
ckeffer@timesheraldnews.com

The photograph of Joseph Curreri released by the U.S. Army after his death last week shows “Joey” as his family and friends knew him best – with that fierce look of determination, the look that he would get once he decided on a goal and was working toward it.

“He meant business – he knew what he was doing,” Curreri’s Loyola Blakefield swimming coach, Keith Schertle, said Wednesday.

The 27-year-old

Fall Back: Don’t forget to move the clocks back one hour on Saturday night before going to bed, because Daylight Saving Time ends at 2 a.m. on Sunday. Take some time to change batteries in smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors around the house, too.

Agenda
Legislative Day No. 20, Nov. 5

Bills to be introduced
• Bill 81-07 – Moxley (By Req.) - CEB - Fitness Centers Program
• Bill 82-07 – Moxley (By Req.) - CEB - Senior Center Operating Funds

Up for final vote
• Bill 71-07 -– Moxley (By Req.) - CEB - MH - Youth Strategies Multisystemic Therapy (MST) Project
• Bill 72-07 – Moxley (By Req.) - CEB - Substance Abuse Adolescent Treatment

Helping others is sweet.

And the organizers of Perry Hall Relay for Life to benefit the American Cancer Society wants to entice people with sweets and treats Nov. 5 during a rally at the Hilton Garden Inn in White Marsh.

The event is a mix and mingle with a little bit of education thrown in, said volunteer organizer Jennifer McGarvey.

Dundalk resident and cancer survivor Carl Bethea will say some words about his experience and the importance of the