Calvary United Methodist

With the help of her new classmates, Sladjana Savic, 8, is not only surviving but enjoying life in a country where nothing is familiar and no one speaks the language of her war-torn homeland.Last month, a local church group helped Sladjana and her family escape the gunfire and bloodshed in Bosnia for life in Annapolis. The group found them housing, jobs and a car. But all worried how Sladjana would fit into third grade. She could barely speak a word of English.Then Sladjana met her classmates.

MIKE STAVISH OF Mount Airy and Bill Bledsoe of Westminster were recently presented with Citizen Safety Awards from the Carroll County Fire Prevention Committee.On March 28, Stavish noticed that his neighbor's home on Jackson Drive was on fire. He immediately called 911 and ran to the home, where he pulled burning debris from the basement with a rake.Bledsoe, an employee of Gartland Plumbing in Sykesville, was working in the area when he also noticed the fire. Bledsoe ran to the home, grabbed a garden hose and began to extinguish flames.

It's Mount Airy's centennial year, and preparations for the town's March celebration of the event are shifting into high gear.Sure to be one of the highlights of the March 26 kickoff banquet is the unveiling of the town's centennial quilt.In the making for more than a year, the quilt shows off the handiwork of Mount Airy's quilters and seamstresses.The 8 1/2 -by-6-foot quilt features scenes of 26 town landmarks, including the old railroad station, Calvary United Methodist Church and famous local houses.

Russell Elzie Lowman, an award-winning land surveyor who taught many in his profession, died of brain cancer Friday at Chesapeake Hospice House in Linthicum. He was 72 and had lived for 30 years in Annapolis. Born near the Baltimore-Anne Arundel County line, he attended Southern High School before enlisting and serving in the Navy for two years at the close of World War II. He returned to Baltimore and earned his high school diploma at Southern in 1949. He later took courses at the Johns Hopkins University.

CALVARY UNITED Methodist Church in Mount Airy is planning an "Older Adult Sunday" at the 11 a.m. worship hour Nov. 7.During this service, Calvary's older members will be honored, and the church invites the older adults who attend the 8: 15 a.m. and 9: 20 a.m. services to join the 11 a.m. service.A reception will be held in the narthex after worship.The service is planned by an Older Adult Ministry Committee for all ages of Calvary with an emphasis on seniors.A gold ribbon will be pinned on each senior member (age 60 and older)

Nourishment for body and spirit will be featured at Mount Airy's 1993 series of Lenten Lunches, which begin on Ash Wednesday at Calvary United Methodist Church, 403 S. Main St.Churches in the Mount Airy area are sponsoring the luncheons which will begin at noon every Wednesday in Calvary's fellowship hall through April 7.Volunteers from the day's host church will prepare the soup-and-sandwich meal, with devotions after the meal from approximately 12:30 p.m....

Wayne E. BragerJHU employeeWayne E. Brager, Johns Hopkins University's engineering services director, died Tuesday at the Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury after an apparent heart attack while preparing to hunt deer near Hebron.Mr. Brager, 52, of Rosedale, had overseen heating, cooling and other systems at the Homewood campus and at the Medical Institutions in East Baltimore since 1986.From 1957 until 1986, he was an account executive for Johnson Controls.Born in Baltimore, he graduated from the Polytechnic Institute and studied engineering in night courses at Hopkins, in courses of the International Correspondence Schools and at Essex and Dundalk community colleges.

RAINBOWS, an international organization dedicated to helping children who have been the victims of tragedies, now includes Mount Airy among its 5,000 program sites.Children, in kindergarten through grade 12, who have experienced the trauma of death, divorce, separation or abandonment are invited to register for the program, which begins Nov. 6 at Calvary United Methodist Church in Mount Airy. The ecumenical program is open to children of all faiths.The Rainbows' structured, 12-session program helps children "to heal their emotional hurts" by sharing their feelings and fears with peers, said site coordinator Eileen Starkey.

MOST OF US don't think twice when we crawl under our nice warm blankets each night. Many aren't so lucky, including lots of people in our own communities who don't have the luxury of owning even one blanket, a comfort we take for granted.Mount Airy resident Mary Brown is very aware of this worldwide need. She is the volunteer area chairwoman for Blanket Sunday, which will be held this Sunday across southwest Carroll County.For about 40 years, local churches and community organizations have been collecting money and old blankets.

Church of God plans yard sale next weekend The women of the Church of God will be holding an indoor yard sale from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 28. There will also be a bake sale and lunch. The Community Church of God is located at 305 5th Ave. SE, in Glen Burnie. Information: 410-766-5732. Calvary United Methodist sets Vacation Bible School Calvary United Methodist Church will hold a Vacation Bible School for children from Sunday through Thursday at the church, 301 Rowe Blvd. in Annapolis.