Burnie Park

THE MORE MY kids tell me how different life is now from when I was a kid, the more I'm convinced they are wrong. The transition between summer and school is one example.Little variation exists with school supplies. My daughters' lists include the same No. 2 pencils, folders and loose-leaf paper that mine did.And the anxieties are the same. What teacher will I have? Who will be in my class? What kind of clothes will everybody else be wearing?And speaking of clothes, even they aren't all that different.

With help from a $490,000 state grant approved yesterday, Anne Arundel County will purchase one of the largest undeveloped tracts in Glen Burnie, the first step toward building a swimming pool in the northern part of the county.The grant, from Program Open Space, a 30-year-old state Department of Natural Resources land-protection effort, was approved by the Board of Public Works.In announcing the action, Gov. Parris N. Glendening hailed the purchase as "a perfect example of how we are using our Smart Growth initiative to strengthen our older communities while discouraging suburban sprawl in undeveloped areas."

I HEARD the good news. Your son was honored in the yearbook. A senior standout," my friend said as she popped in for a visit.Offering a wan smile of thanks, I busied myself placing our assortment of TV guides in chronological order."So what was the award, 'Best Dressed'? I've seen the balance on your Visa bill. Your kids' purchases at Marley Station Mall are singlehandedly responsible for restoring financial stability to the stock market," she observed.I continued to ignore her." 'Most Likely to Succeed'?

HARUNDALE PRESBYTERIAN Church will play host to a mother-daughter banquet at 6 tonight in the fellowship hall, 1020 Eastway.The dinner is free to members of the church and their guests and will include a fashion show of wedding dresses "through the years," said coordinator Becky Valenta."

ONE WOULD THINK the freedom to call our sons on the phone was the primary goal of the women's movement," mused my friend after yet another phone call for my son interrupted our visit.I nodded in agreement."And the way they dress!" she continued. "My son went out with a girl who, I swear, was wearing only an Ace bandage."We continued to swap stories of the moral decline of young women until my son suddenly popped his head out of the refrigerator."You sound like Grandmom," he announced.Grandmom?

The Glen Burnie Park Scouting community is planning a "Scouts in the Park Day" Saturday at the Glen Burnie Park Recreation area off Marlboro Road.Activities, sponsored by Cub Pack 873, Boy Scout Troop 873 and the Girl Scouts of Glen Burnie Park, will include a parade, skills demonstrations and contests and an overnight camp-out.Organizers of this outing said they hope to share the positive contributions Scouting makes to a community."We are trying to show the children of Glen Burnie Park that they do have other things they can get involved with.

Children ages 2 to 12 are invited to bring a basket and join in the fun at the third annual Easter Egg Hunt at 1 p.m. Saturday at Glen Burnie Park Elementary School, 500 Marlboro Road.Other scheduled activities include an egg roll, children's craft tables, and a jelly bean guessing contest. The event is sponsored by the Glen Burnie Park Civic Association. It is free for children of current members, 50 cents for children of nonmembers.The rain date is Sunday.Pre-registration is required. Please call 766-7676 or 768-2937.

Pizza shop employee foils, holds armed robberA pizza shop employee thwarted an armed robber's attempt to rob him early Saturday and held onto the man until a passing police officer arrested the suspect, county police said yesterday.Police said Zulfiqar Ahmed Ali, 39, had just closed Pizza Boli's in the 300 block of N. Crain Highway in Glen Burnie about 2:30 a.m. when a man with a handgun approached and demanded money.The two struggled and the man hit Mr. Ali in the forehead with his gun. But a passing officer noticed the fracas and intervened.

Shipley's Choice came within a whisker of bringing down the Central Maryland Swim League giant.In its final dual meet over the weekend, Shipley's Choice (4-1) lost by six points to Padonia (5-0) to finish second in Division I for the second straight year. In winning its fifth straight division title and 11th in 14 years, Padonia had its closest call since losing to Crofton in 1989.Trailing Padonia and Shipley's Choice were Hammond Park (2-2-1), Five Oaks (2-3), West Howard (1-4) and Crofton (0-4-1)

Motorist is attacked outside liquor storeA 23-year-old man told county police he was attacked by a man with a baseball bat Sunday outside a liquor store on Greenway Road in Glen Burnie.According to the police report, officers were called to North Arundel Hospital at 10 p.m. Sunday. A man there said he was trying to pull out of a parking space in the lot of Sunset Liquors when a small gray car with four men in it blocked his car.When the victim got out and asked the driver of the gray car to move, four men got out of the car and one of them hit him in the back with a baseball bat.The victim could not give police a description of his assailant.

The fourth graders at Glen Burnie Park Elementary School had strong reactions the first time many of them heard the Maryland state song, a rousing Civil War era tune. An Thai, a 10-year-old, said the song struck her as "too long and unpleasant." Kewannie Edwards said he was confused. The song had harsh words for Abraham Lincoln, celebrated as one of the country's great presidents. "It called Abraham Lincoln a despot," said Edwards, 9. "It was mean." So the students wrote to their local legislators, including Del. Pamela G. Beidle, who ultimately agreed with her young constituents and crafted legislation to get rid of the 70-year-old state song, "Maryland, My Maryland," and replace it with a shorter and tamer song.

The Anne Arundel County school board voted yesterday to move forward with a proposal to create a regional "early childhood center" for 4-year-olds and 5-year-olds on the site of dilapidated Ferndale Elementary School, opening the issue to a public hearing in coming weeks. The board declined requests for public hearing from three communities seeking to redistrict their children to other schools. Board member Paul Rudolph introduced motions on behalf of two of the groups, but they failed because of a lack of support from the board.

With help from a $490,000 state grant approved yesterday, Anne Arundel County will purchase one of the largest undeveloped tracts in Glen Burnie, the first step toward building a swimming pool in the northern part of the county.The grant, from Program Open Space, a 30-year-old state Department of Natural Resources land-protection effort, was approved by the Board of Public Works.In announcing the action, Gov. Parris N. Glendening hailed the purchase as "a perfect example of how we are using our Smart Growth initiative to strengthen our older communities while discouraging suburban sprawl in undeveloped areas."

THE MORE MY kids tell me how different life is now from when I was a kid, the more I'm convinced they are wrong. The transition between summer and school is one example.Little variation exists with school supplies. My daughters' lists include the same No. 2 pencils, folders and loose-leaf paper that mine did.And the anxieties are the same. What teacher will I have? Who will be in my class? What kind of clothes will everybody else be wearing?And speaking of clothes, even they aren't all that different.

I HEARD the good news. Your son was honored in the yearbook. A senior standout," my friend said as she popped in for a visit.Offering a wan smile of thanks, I busied myself placing our assortment of TV guides in chronological order."So what was the award, 'Best Dressed'? I've seen the balance on your Visa bill. Your kids' purchases at Marley Station Mall are singlehandedly responsible for restoring financial stability to the stock market," she observed.I continued to ignore her." 'Most Likely to Succeed'?

HARUNDALE PRESBYTERIAN Church will play host to a mother-daughter banquet at 6 tonight in the fellowship hall, 1020 Eastway.The dinner is free to members of the church and their guests and will include a fashion show of wedding dresses "through the years," said coordinator Becky Valenta."

ONE WOULD THINK the freedom to call our sons on the phone was the primary goal of the women's movement," mused my friend after yet another phone call for my son interrupted our visit.I nodded in agreement."And the way they dress!" she continued. "My son went out with a girl who, I swear, was wearing only an Ace bandage."We continued to swap stories of the moral decline of young women until my son suddenly popped his head out of the refrigerator."You sound like Grandmom," he announced.Grandmom?

Pizza shop employee foils, holds armed robberA pizza shop employee thwarted an armed robber's attempt to rob him early Saturday and held onto the man until a passing police officer arrested the suspect, county police said yesterday.Police said Zulfiqar Ahmed Ali, 39, had just closed Pizza Boli's in the 300 block of N. Crain Highway in Glen Burnie about 2:30 a.m. when a man with a handgun approached and demanded money.The two struggled and the man hit Mr. Ali in the forehead with his gun. But a passing officer noticed the fracas and intervened.

The Glen Burnie Park Scouting community is planning a "Scouts in the Park Day" Saturday at the Glen Burnie Park Recreation area off Marlboro Road.Activities, sponsored by Cub Pack 873, Boy Scout Troop 873 and the Girl Scouts of Glen Burnie Park, will include a parade, skills demonstrations and contests and an overnight camp-out.Organizers of this outing said they hope to share the positive contributions Scouting makes to a community."We are trying to show the children of Glen Burnie Park that they do have other things they can get involved with.

Children ages 2 to 12 are invited to bring a basket and join in the fun at the third annual Easter Egg Hunt at 1 p.m. Saturday at Glen Burnie Park Elementary School, 500 Marlboro Road.Other scheduled activities include an egg roll, children's craft tables, and a jelly bean guessing contest. The event is sponsored by the Glen Burnie Park Civic Association. It is free for children of current members, 50 cents for children of nonmembers.The rain date is Sunday.Pre-registration is required. Please call 766-7676 or 768-2937.