January 05, 1992
Granting aid: The state Board of Public Works approvesa $100,000 grant for Carroll Haven Inc., allowing the directors of the program for the developmentally disabled to construct a new facility without facing mortgage payments. The grant matches a $100,000 grant from the Mount Airy-based Ryan Family Foundation, which offered the money about a year ago contingent on an equal state contribution; the Ryland Group, a homebuilding company, also agreed to contribute $50,000 based on the state grant. Carroll Haven offers day programs, including speech and muscle therapy, life-skills training and adult daycare.
WMC seeks money: Western Maryland College President Robert H. Chambers asks a legislative committee for a $1.9 million grant, saying the college "simply can't continue to function as a first-rate academic institution" without improvements to its 77-year-old science building. Delegate Richard N. Dixon, an Appropriations Committee member, is sponsoring the bill. The college would match the contribution and use the money to construct and equip a new wing to Lewis Hall of Science.
Celebrating too much: State police arrest 19 drivers in Carroll for drunken driving during the St. Patrick's Day weekend. A typical weekend sees six to eight people arrested, state police said. St. Patrick's Day this year surpassed New Year's Eve for drunken driving arrests, police say.
Trick or treat: School board Vice President Cheryl A. McFalls asks educators to review any materials with references to Halloween -- such as Maurice Sendak's "Chicken Soup with Rice" -- to make sure they are age-appropriate. McFalls says that since November, she has received a steady stream of letters from parents, some of whom petitioned the school board to replace Halloween celebrations with harvest celebrations. Opposition to Halloween celebrations has become a fall ritual of born-again Christians, says August Steinhilber, general counsel with the national School Boards Association inAlexandria, Va.
Man drowns in reservoir: State police divers recover the body of David Leppo, 53, of the 6600 block of Carroll Highlands Road in Sykesville, two days after his canoe capsizes. Leppo and his son, who were not wearing life preservers, were fishing on March 24 when their canoe was caught by a strong gust of wind. It flipped, plunging the two men into bitterly cold water. Two nearby fishermen were able to rescue 23-year-old Andy Leppo but were not able to see where his father went under the surface, state police said. Leppo's bodywas recovered about 70 feet below the surface.
Byron detained in Mid-East: Representative Beverly B. Byron, D-6th, is detained for several hours as she tours a Saudi Arabian marketplace because Saudi cultural police say her pants are too tight. The congresswoman is stopped while on a midnight candlelight tour of Riyadh's ancient souk, an open-air marketplace. Byron, who was asked to leave the bazaar immediately, said she thought she was respecting the Muslim culture by wearing long-sleeved shirts and pants. Saudi laws allow women to wear trousers, but not if they show the "silhouette" of the woman's leg.
Going for the gold: Carroll students win 16 gold, six silver and three bronze medals at the 1991 Maryland State Vocational Industrial Clubs of America Skill Olympics, the largest number of gold medals in the county's history.
April
Just say no: Carroll's six state legislators all vote against raising taxes intended to generate about $90.1 million to balance next year's budget and restore cuts in state aid for education. They said they voted against the tax increase to honor campaign pledges and because it seems to them that constituents oppose any new taxes.
No rezoning: The county commissioners reject a rezoning request that would have paved the way for 108 luxury homes andan 18-hole golf course on a 360-acre South Carroll farm. The Montgomery County-based Woodfield Partnership has an option to buy the Eldersburg-area farm, which has been owned by the Rashes, a prominent farming family, since 1928. The rezoning petition, the largest ever in the county, is opposed by planners, who fear any alteration to the county's Master Plan could end up eroding Carroll's agricultural community.
Milk prices fall: Milk prices turn sour for farmers, who are receiving about $3 less for each 100 pounds (about 11.6 gallons) of milk they sell. Malcolm D. Hoff, a dairy farmer in Uniontown, says he earned a total of $20,000 less in December, January and February than in the same months a year ago. Milk prices paid to area farmers are the lowest since 1979.
