Rec-parks bureau holding budget hearing tomorrow
The Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks and the Recreation and Parks Advisory Board will hold a public hearing on the department's capital budget and capital improvement programs at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow at department headquarters, 7120 Oakland Mills Road, Columbia.
On the agenda are the Capital Budget Request for the 2002 fiscal year, which runs July 1, 2001, to June 30, 2002, and the 10-year Capital Improvement Program, which runs from fiscal year 2003 to fiscal year 2011, for the acquisition and development of park and recreation lands.
Information: 410-313-2022.
Government offices will be shut Dec. 25 and Jan. 1.
Howard County government offices, courts and libraries will be closed on Christmas Day and New Year's Day. No trash or recycling service will be available; the landfill also will be closed.
Test wells for radium, Health Department advises
Letters and fact sheets about radium have been sent to owners of about 130 eastern Howard County properties that use well water, according to the Howard County Health Department. Soil and geological conditions in the eastern part of the county may be similar to those found in Anne Arundel County, where elevated levels of naturally occurring radium have been detected in well water.
If elevated levels of radium are detected, a second test for radium should be performed. The naturally occurring element, which is associated with an increased risk of cancer, can be reduced by water treatment, according to the department.
Residents who have received the letters can contact the department to have their water tested. A list of laboratories is available for western county residents who want their water tested.
Water from the public supply has been monitored and does not contain elevated levels of radium, according to the Health Department.
Information or to arrange for testing: 410-313-1773 or on the Web at www.mde.state.md.us.
