Carroll Community College

On Oct. 3, the evening of the first presidential debate, Carroll Community College will host a panel discussion preceding the event to introduce students and community members to the major issues, and open a dialogue leading up to the election. The debate will be televised to the gathering after the discussion, and the entire event will be held from 8 to 10:30 p.m. in room K-100, on campus, 1601 Washington Road, Westminster. The event is sponsored by the Great Ideas Academic Community at the college.

An hour before Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama squared off on national television on Oct. 3, the pre-presidential-debate debate got under way at Carroll Community College, with one student speculating out loud, "I wonder when the shoe-throwing is going to start?" Not to worry — no shoes, rotten tomatoes, spitballs, mean-spirited invectives or anything else went airborne. In fact, the hour-long debate, which featured a seven-member panel representing the county Republican and Democratic central committees, the Carroll County League of Women Voters, the Libertarian Party and We, The People — a local offshoot of the Tea Party movement — was cordial.

Carroll County deserves its own community college. It should not be content having an appendage of the Baltimore County system. For a rapidly growing metropolitan county, such as Carroll, and for a college with a rapidly expanding enrollment, such as the county's two-year community college, that much should be clear.Independence from Catonsville Community College, of which Carroll Community College is now a branch, would give the Carroll education center more state aid and also would give Carroll citizens more control over the institution's curriculum and budget.

On Oct. 3, the evening of the first presidential debate, Carroll Community College will host a panel discussion preceding the event to introduce students and community members to the major issues, and open a dialogue leading up to the election. The debate will be televised to the gathering after the discussion, and the entire event will be held from 8 to 10:30 p.m. in room K-100, on campus, 1601 Washington Road, Westminster. The event is sponsored by the Great Ideas Academic Community at the college.

Carroll Community College will begin offering "Open Entry, Open Exit" Visual Basic programming courses online next month. Students will be able to study Visual Basic programming anytime via the World Wide Web at their convenience. Also next term, Carroll Community College students also will be able to take the online course "Visual Basic Dot Net." Students may finish one or more classes in a semester, or take more time to complete a selected course when necessary. Students registering for the class will be given a free copy of Visual Studio Dot Net for installation and use on their home computers.

Amid non-alcoholic champagne toasts, fresh fruit and the congratulations of faculty, staff and advisory board members, officials of Carroll Community College equated yesterday the college's new autonomy with several historical fights for liberation."

Carroll Community College has received initial approval from the Maryland Board of Nursing to offer a licensed practical nursing program beginning this fall. The nursing board's approval is a step toward a registered nursing program at the Westminster campus. The Maryland Higher Education Commission approved the licensed practical nurse program last month. "Approval by the nursing board is a huge step toward getting the registered nurse program started," said Nancy Perry, recently hired as the college's practical nursing program coordinator.

Carroll Community College is reaching out to older members of the community with several courses for seniors beginning in January. In addition to these courses designed for seniors, the college offers reduced costs for people 60 or older for many of its other courses.The noncredit course "Drawing and Painting" will be offered from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Fridays from Jan. 7 through March 18 at the college campus on Washington Road in Westminster. It will be taught by Shirley Lippy, 58, a local artist and paper maker.

Gov. William Donald Schaefer has appointed seven members to the board of trustees for the newly independent Carroll Community College.Four of the trustees are new appointees and three were reappointed. The board will guide policy-making efforts, approve academic programs and act as liaison between the college and the county, state and community.The college, formerly an affiliate of Catonsville Community College, became Maryland's 18th community college in April.The new appointees are R. Delaine Hobbs Jr., Neal W. Powell, William J. Collins Jr. and Betty S. Dotson.

Twelve students from Carroll Community College have been selected for inclusion in the 1999 edition of "Who's Who Among Students in American Junior Colleges."Students are chosen based on their academic achievement, service to the community, leadership in extracurricular activities and potential for continued success.The students are: Diane Christine Flint, Kathryn Ann Hogan, Donna Jo Holt, Jamie Leigh Jackson, Tina Eva Joyce, Sara Joan Levin, Adria Christine Mason, Minta Ninette Mason, Marisa Freitas Myers, Shelby William Sawyers, Sara Beth Sykes and Ralph Elwood Vaughn.

A movie, workshops and visits by several national Random House authors will all be part of the annual Random House Book Fair, to be held Friday and Saturday, March 2-3, at Carroll Community College, 1601 Washington Road, Westminster.. The book fair draws visitors of all ages to hear author presentations and obtain signings, buy discounted books, and participate in a silent auction and children's activities. A kick-off to the fair will be held Friday, March 2, from 1 to 5 p.m., when seniors are invited to take part in discounted book sales, workshops and exhibitors.

There was barely a whisper about God during a Carroll County-sponsored seminar Friday on the state constitution. The speaker was introduced as Pastor David Whitney to an audience of about 50 county employees in a lecture hall at Carroll Community College, but he made no attempt to proselytize. "I am honored to be with people who care about their country," said Whitney, the pastor of a Pasadena church who frequently lectures for the Institute on the Constitution. "I commend the county commissioners for having the foresight to offer you an opportunity to study the supreme law of the state.

Artwork by Carroll County Public Schools students will be featured at two exhibits in celebration of Youth Art Month in March. An exhibit of art by elementary and middle school students will be held from Feb. 23 to March 14, at the Carroll County Arts Center, 91 W. Main St., Westminster. Receptions will be held Thursday, March 1, and Thursday, March 8, from 5 to 7 p.m. The exhibit will be open to the public during the center's normal operating hours. Then, high school artwork will be on display from Feb. 27 through March 27, at the Langdon Gallery at Carroll Community College, 1601 Washington Road, Westminster.

WESTMINSTER — The Board of County Commissioners announced this week that they'll reorganize the county's Department of Economic Development — and won't hire a replacement for former director Larry Twele, who resigned in July 2011. WESTMINSTER — The Board of County Commissioners announced on Feb. 9 that it will reorganize the county's Department of Economic Development — and won't hire a replacement for former director Larry Twele, who resigned in July 2011. On Feb. 9, the commissioners announced that instead of replacing Twele, who left to take a similar post in Howard County, the county will leave the directorship vacant and hire two administrators for the department — one to oversee day-to-day operations and be the coordinator of the new Carroll Business Path project; and other to be responsible for business retention and outreach.

As a member of Encore Community Music Association since its beginnings in 1995, Andrew Spang has played various instruments - and has even conducted the community band. This year, he's playing the French horn for the first time, and has the pleasure of sitting next to his son. "This is our first year doing it (together)," said Spang, of his 11-year-old, French horn playing son, Benjamin. "My daughter is in the string orchestra. This is her first year, too. It's really neat.

When Luke Fisher of Westminster graduated from high school five years ago, he had doubts that he could excel at a four-year school. He turned down an offer to attend Towson University and opted instead for Carroll Community College. Fisher would become editor of the campus newspaper and a peer mentor for first-year college students. He is set to graduate this spring with an associate's degree, and plans now to pursue his bachelor's degree. He's found a couple of area schools - including the University of Maryland and Hood College - that appear particularly eager to have him. "Their transfer advisers went above and beyond trying to get me to visit their campuses," said Fisher.

Carroll Community College has proposed an operating budget of $18.5 million for the next fiscal year that calls for a 4.5 percent tuition increase, college officials said yesterday. The proposed budget - a $1.2 million increase over this year's - was presented this week to the college's board of trustees. If approved, it would be the 11th straight year of tuition increases at the college. The tuition increase would become effective in June. "We think the tuition increase, while it's something we don't like to do, is a reasonable increase given the education that our students get here," said Alan Schuman, the college's executive vice president of administration.

Evidence of Carroll Community College's growth is unmistakable. Consider that recently, the county commissioners approved nearly $2 million for design plans on a 77,000-square-foot academic building that school officials hope to open in the fall of 2009. The perpetually crowded 1,200-space parking lot has prompted plans for an additional 270-space lot. And the Westminster college's continuing education department recently reported record revenue of nearly $1.2 million -- a 13 percent increase over the 2004-2005 school year.

WESTMINSTER - The Board of County Commissioners this week requested more time to review and comment on the Plan Maryland program being considered by state officials. Plan Maryland is a proposal through with the state would consider transportation, job creation areas and natural resources, among other factors, in developing a comprehensive statewide plan for growth and development. Gov.Martin O'Malley discussed Plan Maryland at the recent Maryland Association of Counties conference inOcean City.

Although her four daughters and seven grandchildren didn't have a clue what she was up to, Phyllis Hare was busy on a recent Saturday morning in Westminster checking off another item on her "bucket list" - challenges she's determined to try during her lifetime. She was taking motorcycle lessons - in a class for women only - at Carroll Community College. In the parking lot of the Washington Road campus, with a fleet of motorcycles and bright orange cones laid out across the course, Hare, 63, said she was setting an example for her daughters and grandkids.