Ball Fields

A committee helping to plan a park out of 300 acres of forests and meadows in the most populated part of Howard County is taking its newly crafted proposal into the community for a reality check. The 23-member group wants to see what people have to say - the many neighbors surrounding the Blandair property in Columbia, the sports players eager for more fields, the hikers searching for green vistas and anyone else with an opinion about a park being added after the fact to one of the most intricately planned communities in the nation.

Hampstead council members have begun shaping their vision for a downtown park and hope to develop a plan that will allow land grading and turf seeding to begin this summer. Town Manager Kenneth C. Decker said that although Hampstead leaders have much to consider about specific layouts, the basic plan for the park seems to have solidified, with walking trails and three or four baseball fields likely to be the main features. The town, anticipating demand for more ball fields, bought the 17-acre Brown property between North Carroll Street and Christopher Way in June with plans to build a park.

Hampstead council members have begun shaping their vision for a downtown park and hope to develop a plan that will allow land grading and turf seeding to begin this summer. Town Manager Kenneth C. Decker said that although Hampstead leaders have much to consider about specific layouts, the basic plan for the park seems to have solidified, with walking trails and three or four baseball fields likely to be the main features. The town, anticipating demand for more ball fields, bought the 17-acre Brown property between North Carroll Street and Christopher Way in June with plans to build a park.

A long-awaited community park in North Laurel is moving closer to fruition, thanks to an unusual land swap due for introduction before the Howard County Council tomorrow night. A private builder is willing to trade 11 small lots subdivided more than a century ago to the county for inclusion in the park in exchange for 12 lots nearby on which he can build homes. If the swap is approved, county officials say they will need only a handful more of the small, heavily wooded lots to make the 25-acre community park a reality.

Dismissing complaints that she is reneging on a promise to use a farm on the Broadneck peninsula exclusively as an equestrian center, Anne Arundel County Executive Janet S. Owens said yesterday that she won't back away from plans for athletic fields at the site. Owens said she visited the 12-acre Smith farm last week, but saw nothing to make her drop plans for a multipurpose athletic field, practice field, road and parking lots there. "After seeing the site firsthand, I believe that both athletic fields and an equestrian center can coexist," she said in a statement yesterday.

The Carroll commissioners cleared the way yesterday for New Windsor to build a firehouse when they gave the town's volunteer Fire Department 7 county-owned acres off Route 75. The land, now a ball field, will give the department space to build the two-story headquarters it wants. It has become increasingly difficult to cram new equipment into the firehouse on High Street, said Leon Fleming, liaison between Carroll County Volunteer Firemen's Association and the commissioners. "They've just outgrown it."

Hampstead got its wish yesterday when the Carroll County commissioners agreed to let the town proceed with a plan that would see Old Hampstead Elementary School redeveloped into housing for low-income seniors. The decision brings a tentative end to the five-year debate between town and county over the fate of the vacant school, which is maintained by the county school board. "I was confident because this plan is what's best for everyone involved," said Hampstead Mayor Christopher M. Nevin, who has described the school as a potential pillar in the town's Main Street revitalization plans.

Hampstead completed a $320,000 purchase of 17 undeveloped acres yesterday for a community park. Town Manager Kenneth C. Decker said officials have not determined what amenities will be developed at the park west of the CSX rail line and bisected by old Rinaman Avenue. Town officials envision a mix of recreational uses, including ball fields. "It's something that we're still thinking about," Decker said. "We're probably going to spend the rest of this year deciding. We want input from residents.

Lehigh Portland Cement Co. wants to trade land it owns north of New Windsor for 12 acres south of town that contains the town's ball fields and one of its major wells. New Windsor is willing to make the trade, but wants about $1 million, too. Lehigh needs the land to construct a railroad spur to a little-used quarry within a quarter mile of the property along Old New Windsor Pike and Meadow Lane. New Windsor Mayor Jack A. Gullo Jr. declined to set a specific price for the land, but compared the parcel to a similar property on Shepherd's Mill Road in Union Bridge that cost Carroll County $850,000.

AUGUSTA, Ga. - You knew this was coming. Given how golfers using a radical new ball have obliterated scoring records this year, you knew Augusta National would get pummeled at the Masters as long as a blizzard or some other, troubling conditions didn't arise. Even the more aggressive predictions have been surpassed in the first two rounds, however, as 560 birdies have fallen and more than a third of the field has played under par. What is this, the Tucson Open? No, just another week with the new, two-piece ball, which has altered golf unlike any technological advancement since steel-shafted woods.