Back To School Night

Ellicott City has a new school of dance, the Blizzard Dance Studio, offering classes in ballet, tap, modern and jazz dance styles for children, teens and adults.For more information, call Bruce Taylor at (410) 997-4803.*On Sept. 27, Cub Scout Pack 361 will hold its first pack meeting of the year outside at its regular meeting place, the First Presbyterian Church on Route 108 in Ellicott City.The theme of the month will be "Explore Your Neighborhood."Also that evening, the Cubs will be given instructions on the pack's annual fund-raiser, its candy sale.

COOL FALL temperatures, hot spicy crabs. The Roland Terrace Democratic Club will sponsor a crab feast from 8 p.m. to midnight on Friday at its meeting hall.The $25-a-person cost includes steamed crabs, crab soup, green table and more.The club is at 619 Matthews Ave. Reserve tickets by calling Virginia Uzialko, 789-2013, or the club, 636-1504, after 7 p.m.Community yard saleResidents of the Olde Brooklyn Park are invited to participate in the annual community yard sale Oct. 5.Yard sales will take place at the individual houses.

It's time for the third annual library speech! I have the ultimate pleasure of occasionally working at the Savage branch library. There I am, surrounded by books and people who care about them. It's life at its finest. (If only they allowed chocolate bars in the stacks, it would be indistinguishable from heaven).But even paradise had a snake in the grass. Here's the problem: The library owns a gazillion books, and the Howard county public schools enroll 36,000 students. Unfortunately, many students each month get assignments that involve the same books.

Have you noticed the new addition rising from Union Chapel?Altering a building as old as this brings unique challenges. Trustees of Union Chapel wanted to guard the integrity of this place of worship while making the building more useful.The addition includes a vestibule, storage rooms, a meeting room, an office and bathrooms. Windows will provide an open view and lots of sun to the new spaces. Workers will install a heating and cooling system to serve the new structure and the old one.Members of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, who worship at Union Chapel, are excited about the addition.

Mark Ensor, a sixth-grade math teacher at Bonnie Branch Middle School in Ellicott City, recently lost his home and all of his belongings in a fire, said Pam Keohane, whose daughter attends the school. "The only thing he has left is his car and his dog," Keohane said. "His dog was passed out in the basement from all the smoke, but the firefighters were able to get him out and revive him by mouth-to-mouth through his nose." School staff and community members are contributing to a fund for Ensor to rebuild the house and help replace some of his possessions.

IT'S THAT WONDERFUL TIME of the year when all good scholars trudge unwittingly to school and the rest of us get a respite from the summer's whine. No more do we hear "I'm bored." Now all we hear is how awful the teachers are and how mean the principals can be. The fall whine is, "I have too much homework."The new school year brings many changes. Last year's classmates have grown taller, better-looking and wiser. Teachers retire, move on or change classrooms. New teachers arrive.Arriving at Hammond Elementary are Suzan Ulgar and Nancy Regotti in first grade, Colleen DeJordy in second, Edwin Saunders in fourth, Amy Rappaport in fifth, Doug Lea in instrumental music and Cynthia Jennings in speech andlanguage.

SCHOOL HAS reopened for another year and that means the Mountain Road traffic jams have returned.After living off Mountain Road for 20 years, I have learned to check the calendar and the clock before leaving.My theories are basic. Fewer traffic jams occur between mid-June, when schools close for summer, and late August, when classes start again. That's barring any bad accidents or outdoor community events, of course.Then I consult my watch. Northbound traffic is heavy between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m., no matter what the season.

PARENTS OF Glen Burnie High School students are invited to the annual Back-To-School Night at 7 p.m. tonight in the auditorium.Activities will begin with a welcome statement from Principal David Hill and the introduction of school administrators, counselors and PTSO officers. After an abbreviated version of their child's schedule, parents will meet teachers, who will provide overviews of the semester's course and answer general questions. Specific concerns about individual performance can be addressed by scheduling a conference.

A poem in the fall publication of the Maryland Clubwoman makes for good reading on these hot and humid days. "Snowfall," composed by one of our neighbors, Celeste Riddle, won first place in a poetry contest sponsored by the Maryland Federation of Women's Clubs Inc.Mrs. Riddle, who says she writes "when the spirit moves me," began expressing herself through poetry about 20 years ago when her son John was a baby. She had always enjoyed reading poetry and found that writing it was a way of expressing herself.

ROLAND TERRACE Democratic Club, 619 Matthews Ave., will sponsor a Platter Party from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sept. 15 at the hall. Music will be provided by the Coachmen.Included in the admission price -- $6 in advance and $8 at the door -- is a platter of food, beer, soda and setups. Everyone is invited to attend.The club also will hold a crab feast, a major fund-raiser, from 8 p.m. to midnight Sept. 27 at the hall.Hot steamed crabs, crab soup, a greens table and more will be on the menu. Tickets are $25.Tickets for both events may be obtained by calling Virginia Uzialko at 789-2013 or the club at 636-1504 after 7 p.m.Rally Day at churchEveryone is invited to celebrate Sunday school Rally Day at St. John Lutheran Church, 226 Washburn Ave., at 9: 45 a.m. Sept.