Bull Roast

Just like mail carriers, football fans usually don't let snow or sleet stand in the way of their appointed rounds. At the annual Ravens Roost No. 18 bull roast, 1,024 Ravens boosters weren't about to let a sprinkling of snow and sleet block the route to Michael's Eighth Avenue in Glen Burnie.Besides sports memorabilia offered at the silent auction, there was real-life memorabilia in attendance as well -- as in former Baltimore Colts players Jim Mutscheller, Buzz Nutter, Bruce Laird and Doug Eggers, and fellow ex-NFLer Adrian Mehrling.

IT WAS GOOD to see Brooklyn Park well represented at the Baltimore Book Festival last weekend. The Ebony Eyes Book Club set a friendly mood at the Sibanye Stage, welcoming visitors and introducing both established and up-and-coming African-American authors to readers.I saw neighbors and Brooklyn Park High School alumni inspecting displays and taking in the magnificence of the Peabody Library. Seems there is an appreciation of the literary arts in Brooklyn Park after all.Perhaps with all of the retail redevelopment in the community, a bookstore will take up residence to help nourish this quest for reading.

Harford County Executive Eileen M. Rehrmann ventures forth in her quest to be governor of Maryland with a problem worse than being relatively anonymous.Some voters can't even locate her county."Northwest of Baltimore, isn't it?" asked a man from Prince George's County as he watched her campaign at a picnic near the Civil War battlefield of Antietam.Other public officials from Harford find such moments somewhat vexing, but the 52-year-old Rehrmann smiled as if to say, "They'll know me soon enough."

ST. CHRISTOPHER'S Episcopal Church invites "crustacean connoisseurs" to its second catered crab feast/bull roast at 5: 30 p.m. Saturday at 118 Marydel Road.The word is this year's feast will be even better than last year's. It will have raffles, a silent auction and door prizes.Ticket for adults (14 and older) are $22; for children ages 10 to 13, $16; and for children 9 and younger, $9. Bring your own beer.Tickets: Rob Berry, 410-519-1076; or Phil Bailey, 410-437-9080.Openings in preschoolChild development classes at North County High School have a few spots remaining in a preschool program for 4-year-olds.

After 30 years as the only swimming and diving coach in the history of Towson University, Ray Riordan will be honored today on the school's campus with a full day of festivities.Members of the Towson swimming and diving alumni will conclude the day with a 6 p.m. social hour and 7 p.m. bull roast in the Potomac Lounge.Team captains from past years and this season will be recognized at the bull roast.Activities begin at 2 p.m. with a family swim at Burdick Pool, followed by a swim meet pitting the alumni against the 1997-98 Towson varsity at 4 p.m.Salisbury reaches No. 1With 10 straight wins and a 14-2 record overall, Salisbury State has climbed into the No. 1 spot this week in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division III poll.

About 600 people turned out yesterday for the Rosedale Volunteer Fire Company's annual Mother's Day dinner.The all-you-can-eat chicken dinner drew families from throughout the community for an inexpensive meal and the chance to catch up with neighbors. Jack Mazza, president of the fire company, said the event is a 20-year-old tradition in Rosedale."Some people like to come here instead of going out to eat because this is more of a home-style, old-time family thing," Mazza said. "Kids can run around, and it's not as stuffy as a restaurant."

WHEN Glen Burnie High School sophomore Brok McFerron suggested a 5-kilometer race for a community service project, his teacher John Himmelheber had reservations that a student could organize such a large-scale event.His concerns will be put to rest Sunday, when runners take their mark at 9 a.m. at Brok's "Kiss A Pig 5K" at the Avalon area of Patapsco State Park in Elkridge.The cost is $10 for running club members and $20 for other participants.County graduation standards require students to have community service hours.

A blue-jeaned guy walks into a Calvert Street bar. "Can I smoke in here?" he asks. "Sure," says the bartender. The customer sighs, lights up and says: "Next thing you know, they'll line us all up against the wall and shoot us. . . . Then they'll probably tell us Budweiser is bad for us, too."Get a lifeI actually read in the paper the other day that both sides in the baseball strike were "emotionally and financially drained by the work stoppage." Yeah, right, and Donald Fehr is Lech Walesa.

The city's liquor board will hear testimony today from state undercover agents who watched illegal gambling and naked women performing lewd acts during a $30-a-ticket bull roast last month at the Platinum Club, a Curtis Bay show bar, according to liquor board charges.Aaron L. Stansbury, the board's executive secretary, said that in the 27 years he has worked for the liquor board he has never before seen charges "quite this explicit" against a bar for violating liquor regulations that ban obscene acts and prostitution.

The Anne Arundel Alarmers Association performs a valuable service to the community by helping fire units and police departments in the county. Now you can show your appreciation and enjoy an afternoon of good food, music and dancing.The association is sponsoring an oyster and bull roast fund-raiser from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday at the Earleigh Heights Fire Hall, southeast corner of Ritchie Highway and Earleigh Heights Road.The meal, which will be served from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., will include oysters and beef prepared in various ways as well as an extensive buffet.

In all but formalities, the 2010 race for Baltimore County executive is on. County Councilman Joseph Bartenfelder said he's in, Councilman Kevin Kamenetz is doing most everything but saying so, and both Democrats continue raising money in advance of a campaign that is expected to cost more than $1 million. At least one Republican, state Del. Patrick L. McDonough, said he's thinking about running, but he also has an eye on the gubernatorial race. Candidates can wait until July 6 to officially declare themselves, and the primary in this heavily Democratic county is not until Sept.

The Western Tech football coaches will host a bull roast Saturday night to raise money for the family of Chris Mason-Hale, the Wolverines player who suffered a paralyzing spinal cord injury in August. "We've been planning to do something for quite some time," said Wolverines defensive coordinator Matt Quayle. "I've been around football for a while and you just know this is one of the most severe injuries anyone can ever have. We just can't sit by. We want to do as much as possible for him."

Ryan Major was lying in a hospital bed, connected to monitors and a feeding tube, his arms broken and his legs amputated. But the 22-year-old soldier, who was critically injured in Iraq, still wanted to buy his friends Christmas presents. "That's just how he is," says Jen Feeney, one of Major's friends. When Feeney and other friends decided to raise money for some of Major's additional medical expenses, they said they knew how the 2003 Towson High School graduate would want to spend the proceeds -- on someone else.

CENTRAL Pancake supper set for Tuesday The youth of Trinity Lutheran Church will hold a community Shrove Tuesday pancake supper from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday at the church, 833 Deer Park Road, Smallwood. A free-will offering is requested for local and world relief ministries. Information: 410-848-8923. Maple Sugarin' Festival is March 5 The 20th annual Maple Sugarin' Festival will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 5 at Hashawha Environmental Center, 300 John Owings Road. Maple syrup and pancake platters will be served for $3 all day. Syrup-making demonstrations, food made with maple syrup, a children's activity area, birds of prey and craft vendors will be featured.

The United Methodist Men of Hopkins United Methodist Church in Highland will sponsor a Winter Oyster and Chicken Dinner & Bake Sale from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday at the church. Oyster dinners cost $12; chicken dinners, $10. Potato salad, green beans and cabbage are included. Home-baked cakes, pies and other treats -- as well as individual portions of desserts -- will be for sale. Those who attend can eat in or carry out, but delivery will not be available. The church is at 13250 Highland Road.

Here it is, Saturday night in a packed rental hall in Rosedale, and Mike O'Connor is slinging his cutlery with the precision of a surgeon and working up a sweat. It's only 9 o'clock. He and his knives must endure until midnight. So must the beef he is cutting for 150 hungry customers. O'Connor is a guy who puts the bull in the bull roast, a Maryland tradition dating back more than a century. On this night, he is working a noisy affair hosted in the Lantern Gardens off Philadelphia Road by the Mason-Dixon Rescue Dogs, a group that helps locate lost children and Alzheimer's patients.

As Loyola High junior defensive back/running back Van Brooks remained in serious condition at the Maryland Shock Trauma Center, the school and its community of parents and boosters announced yesterday a series of fund-raisers to help defray the cost of Brooks' medical bills. Loyola has established the Van Brooks Recovery Fund, which was conceived by a group of parents. Contributions can be sent by mail to the Van Brooks Recovery Fund, c/o Provident Bank of Maryland, 1954 Greenspring Drive, Suite 400, Timonium, MD 21093.

Joe Stinchcomb, a 2000 graduate of Long Reach High School, has been selected to be one of about 20 chefs for the White House. He expects to work there at least three years. Stinchcomb, 22, was a Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Technology student in the magnet program at Long Reach, where he learned restaurant management, culinary arts and "hotel front" skills, said his former teacher, Elaine Heilman. "He approached everything with an eager desire to learn and to better himself," she said.

"THE TEN WORDS that Will Change a Nation" will be the subject of a presentation by the Rev. Rob Schenck at 6 p.m. April 8 and 9 at St. Stephen's Reformed Episcopal Church. Schenck is a missionary to Washington, D.C., where he directs Operation Save Our Nation, an effort to bring Christian Scriptures to bear on the minds and hearts of those making public policy in our country. He also volunteers as general secretary to the National Clergy Council, a network of pastors and denominational leaders who strive to affect debate on national policy.

IT WAS GOOD to see Brooklyn Park well represented at the Baltimore Book Festival last weekend. The Ebony Eyes Book Club set a friendly mood at the Sibanye Stage, welcoming visitors and introducing both established and up-and-coming African-American authors to readers.I saw neighbors and Brooklyn Park High School alumni inspecting displays and taking in the magnificence of the Peabody Library. Seems there is an appreciation of the literary arts in Brooklyn Park after all.Perhaps with all of the retail redevelopment in the community, a bookstore will take up residence to help nourish this quest for reading.