Carroll County

The Rev. Marion C. Bascom, a leading Baltimore civil rights activist remembered for his lifetime quest for social justice, died of a heart attack Thursday at the University of Maryland Medical Center. He was 87 and lived in Reservoir Hill. "A giant has fallen," said former Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke, a close friend and a member of Douglas Memorial Community Church, where Mr. Bascom was pastor for 46 years. "He affected thousands of lives in our community and was a positive life force.

Century High School in Sykesville was one of 23 Maryland high schools - and the only school in Carroll County - to earn a spot on Newsweek magazine's annual ranking of "America's Best High Schools" The listing, released this week, placed Century High as the No. 20 high school in Maryland, and ranked No. 854 in the country. The Newsweek survey ranked what it considers the "best" 1,000 public high schools in the nation. The list was based on six components provided by school administrators - graduation rate (25 percent)

When the phone rang on a Sunday afternoon at his home, the week's anxiety would begin for John Seaman.As an assistant principal at Westminster High School, he was in charge of finding substitute teachers."

now playing "Battleship" (PG-13). This sci-fi action movie pits a fleet of naval ships against an alien force that's attacking Earth. Taylor Kitsch, Alexander Skarsgard, Liam Neeson, Rihanna, Brooklyn Decker and Tadanobu Asano. TownMall Cinemas (12:50, 1:20, 3:30, 4:20, 6:45, 7:30 p.m.) "Dark Shadows" (PG-13). In this comic takeoff from the 1970s daytime drama, vampire Barnabas Collins emerges from a long slumber to 1972 Maine. With Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer and Helena Bonham Carter.

Arc seeks nominations for Carroll County awards WESTMINSTER — The Arc of Carroll County is accepting nominations for its 2012 Community Awards. Each year The Arc recognizes individuals and organizations who have made a difference in the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The awards will be presented at the Annual Dinner and Community Awards to be held on May 8 at Martin's Westminster. The awards include: Timothy J. Atkinson Award — Presented to a direct care employee of The Arc of Carroll County.

When Debbie Buenger, a former elementary school physical education teacher now at East Middle School in Westminster, introduced the game of cricket to her class one rainy afternoon last year, the excitement blew her away. "The kids absolutely loved it," Buenger said. Within the first hour, the class started to grasp the basics and was off playing its first competitive game. There were a few hitches, like remembering to hold onto the bat, but overall Buenger couldn't have been more surprised.

Carroll County was named as the fifth healthiest place to live in Maryland by a national research group analysis. The report, released April 3, comes from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. The annual study ranks counties in each state by health factors and socio-economic factors such as employment rates, poverty and crime. Carroll ranked particularly high - No. 3 in the state - in socio-economic factors, which included factors such as violent crime, percentage of single-parent children and high school graduation rates.

A Carroll County man died Sunday when he wrecked his motorcycle on Route 30 in Hampstead, police said. Leonard Thomas Fazio, 48, was driving a 1989 Harley Davidson motorcycle southbound on Route 30 south of Trenton Mill Road around 4 p.m. when he crossed over the double-yellow line and struck a curb on the northbound shoulder, according to Maryland State Police. He was ejected from the motorcycle. Fazio, of the 3700 block of Millers Station Road, was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

A two-vehicle accident in Carroll County left 11 people injured Friday evening. The 5:42 p.m. crash involving a van and another vehicle occurred in the 2900 block of Hampstead-Mexico Road, Route 482. Two adults were transported to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center and a child was flown to Johns Hopkins Hospital. Others were treated at the Carroll Hospital Center for injuries considered not life-threatening. - Jacques Kelly

A simple game of rolling marbles into the correct "stall" - also known as a slot in a cardboard box - had participants giggling on the morning of Feb. 18. The youth, ranging in age from 3 to 6 years, were enjoying learning about games of yesteryear as part of the ongoing series, "Past Times for Children," at the Historical Society of Carroll County. This is the first year for the program, which was created by volunteer Wendy Raith as a way to attract more people - particularly youngsters and parents - to the museum.

Friday and Saturday, May 18-19, are loaded with action for Carroll County team chasing state championships. The following is the schedule as of Friday morning, May 18: Boys' Lacrosse - State Semifinals: • Class 4A/3A - Westminster vs. Churchill (Saturday, 2 p.m. at Franklin High School) • Class 3A/2A - Winters Mill vs. Hereford (Saturday, 2 p.m. at Annapolis High School) • Class 2A/1A - South Carroll vs. Patterson Mill (Friday, 8 p.m. at Bel Air High School)

The Taneytown History Museum is featuring two small, but vivid, exhibits that focus on very different aspects of north Carroll County history: Its brush with the Civil War, and its 200-year heritage of dairy farming. The exhibit "Got Milk: A Brief History of Carroll County Dairy Farming, 1800-1930" takes up only one room in the museum on East Baltimore Street, yet offers a glimpse into dairy farming's economic and cultural importance in Carroll during earlier times. The displays are comprised of an eclectic assortment of photographs, paintings and articles describing several diary industry tools that were invented in Carroll County and marketed nationally.

Approximately 50 firefighters spent about two hours battling a fire Saturday at the abandoned Henryton State Hospital in the Marriottsville area of Carroll County, officials said Sunday. Brett Pearce, deputy chief of the Sykesville Fire Department, said Sunday the site - which once served tuberculosis patients and, later, mental health patients before it closed in the mid-1980s - has been a hot spot for crime. At least 12 suspicious fires have been set in the last 10 years, Pearce said.

Denise Courbron raised her children, and also adopted two infants from Latin America. Now, she'll be taking care of another child. Last week, in a ceremony in Westminster, Courbron and three other Carroll County residents were sworn in as Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteers. Court Hearing Master Kathryn Brewer-Pool gave the oath, and congratulated Courbron - as well as Westminster residents Tyler McAuliffe and Katie DuLaney and Joseph Meisner, of Sykesville - on joining the program that provides special services to foster children.

Carroll County was named as the fifth healthiest place to live in Maryland by a national research group analysis. The report, released April 3, comes from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. The annual study ranks counties in each state by health factors and socio-economic factors such as employment rates, poverty and crime. Carroll ranked particularly high - No. 3 in the state - in socio-economic factors, which included factors such as violent crime, percentage of single-parent children and high school graduation rates.

Guard your plants again: Carroll County is under a freeze warning Monday night, and it could spread to other parts of the region, as well. Howard, Baltimore and Harford Counties and Baltimore City are under a "frost advisory". The freeze warning is in effect from 2 a.m. to 9 a.m. Tuesday, for Carroll and Frederick counties and western Maryland. Lows of 28 to 32 degrees are expected, according to the National Weather Service. In the suburbs and closer to the city, lows are expected to reach 33 to 36 degrees.

A Baltimore man has pleaded guilty to first-degree felony murder in a stabbing death in October. Twenty-seven-year-old Michael Brooks entered the plea Tuesday in the death of 40-year-old Steven Hobson on Oct. 2. Sentencing has not been scheduled, but prosecutors plan to ask for 30 years in prison for Brooks. The Carroll County Times reports prosecutors as saying that Hobson and an acquaintance were watching television in Hobson's apartment when Brooks and Tuson Reese burst into the apartment.

I find the statement by Carroll County commissioner Richard Rothschild that "We don't want subways or metro buses" because "they are conduits for crime" ("Carroll commissioners break with past on growth, housing, transit" June 23) to be very short sighted and narrow. Though I am a citizen of Baltimore County, I ride four days a week on the Metro with many Carroll countians. I've been riding the Metro to work since the Owings Mills station opened. Ridership includes many hard working citizens, students, the elderly and handicapped and the occasional homeless person looking for cheap rent for the day. Are there criminals among us?

The Carroll County Chamber of Commerce recognized 192 teachers at its annual Outstanding Teacher program, held Wednesday, March 28, at Winters Mill High School, and also named eight educators as its Outstanding Teacher Awards: • Anthony Cimino, drama teacher, Liberty High School • Janel Fosnot, mathematics teacher, Shiloh Middle School • Patricia DiLeonardi, social studies teacher, Liberty High School • Deanne McGrath, mathematics...

Carroll County public schools should strengthen financial controls and network security, seek all valid Medicaid-related reimbursements, review some of their contractor arrangements and re-evaluate their food service operations, according to a report released by the state Office of Legislative Audits. Those measures could save the county as much as $4 million a year, said the report released last week. "These are recommendations," said Bruce A. Myers, legislative auditor. "We have no enforcement power, but we can advise.