Carrolltowne

READING IS fundamental to education, and pupils at Carrolltowne Elementary School are striving to make reading a daily habit.The PTA's Literacy Committee kicked off its newest reading program Thursday afternoon with a school assembly and guests.Many pupils and faculty were dressed in black and orange as they welcomed former Baltimore Orioles pitcher Dave Johnson and the Oriole Bird mascot.Literacy committee Chairwoman JoAnna King and members Tricia Boyd, Kathy Groose, Jackie Hill, Jeanne McHale, Rochelle Schneiderman and Audrey Sutherland encouraged the pupils' excitement as they chanted, cheered and led in singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame."

A half-empty former shopping mall in Eldersburg will be remade as a Walmart-anchored plaza under plans announced Monday by owner Black Oak Associates. In a move long awaited by many in the community, the Owings Mills-based developer will spend $50 million to renovate Carrolltown Center into Eldersburg Commons, with new restaurants and home, fashion and beauty retailers. For a decade, Carrolltown Center has been a community sore spot. The interior of the small community mall was closed in 2005, and the property languished with a diminishing roster of tenants and an abandoned movie theater.

MARC'S GROOVY Science visited Carrolltowne Elementary School last week and amazed pupils with the power of energy. Marc Clayton, an engineer at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab, demonstrated the uses and properties of energy as he performed fast-paced experiments. "It's extremely important that you recognize the level of energy in the world around you," Clayton told the pupils as he prepared his experiments. Balloons adhering to the surprised face of fifth-grader Conner Hartline showed the momentum of energy.

Redevelopment plans for Carrolltown Center will be unveiled at the next Town Hall meeting, hosted by Carroll County Commissioner Doug Howard. Dixon Harvey, of Black Oak Associates, will discuss plans and a timetable for the project at the meeting on Monday, April 22. "At long last, our community will see plans for the redevelopment of Carrolltowne Mall," Howard said in a press release. "This is an important milestone in our community and should be an exciting meeting. " The troubled shopping center at Liberty and Ridge roads has seen K-Mart and Sears anchor stores shuttered.

THERE WERE OODLES of "American Girls" at Carrolltowne Elementary School on Friday. Sherlock Holmes, Pippi Longstocking, Pocahontas and Indiana Jones dropped in, too.The Cat in the Hat, with his distinctive striped hat, could be found in several classrooms. For the third consecutive year, students at Carrolltowne held a "Book Buddy Day.""We decided it would be a wonderful way of celebrating Maryland Reading Month," said Susan Abramson, the school's language arts specialist. "It's all about good literature.

Unruly teens, loitering, drinking and night-time carousing on the parking lot of Carrolltowne Mall are disturbing the peace of an Eldersburg neighborhood.After petitioning the mall management, Maryland State Police and county officials, residents are considering boycotting the financially troubled mall."We hate to penalize the businesses, but we are running out of options," said Kathleen Horneman, whose home on Gemini Drive faces the rear of the mall. "We have enough anger and energy in the community to do this."

CARROLLTOWNE Elementary pupils, parents and staff opened the school Friday evening for a celebration of its 25th anniversary and invited the community, alumni, and school board members to join. Principal Martin Tierney greeted guests as they entered the lobby, which was decorated with balloons and flowers. The color red dominated the scene, in recognition of the school's mascot - the cardinal. Many of those attending were members of the original staff who helped open the school in 1976, such as art teacher Linda Nordling, who now teaches art at Linton Springs Elementary; Larry Thompson, the first assistant principal, retired; and former teachers Nick and Shelley Urich.

South Carroll residents used public documents to defeat a 254-unit rental housing development proposed for Ridge Road and Kali Drive.For nearly two hours Thursday, the county Planning Commission heard the residents' arguments about crowded schools, congested roads and overburdened emergency services.The commission denied the final phase of Carrolltowne, a 20-year-old development in Eldersburg, citing inadequate facilities and a technicality in the original building plans.In his motion that the proposal be rejected, Robert H. Lennon said Security Development Corp.

Carrolltowne Mall, a large retail center in Eldersburg that is anchored by a Super Fresh food store, a Peebles department store, a K mart and a six-screen movie complex, will go on the auction block Oct. 30 in a foreclosure sale on behalf of Maryland National Bank.Alex Cooper Auctioneers is handling the sale, which will be held at 2:30 p.m. on the steps of the Carroll County Courthouse. The 298,383-square-foot Carrolltowne Mall is one of the largest retail centers to go up for auction in Maryland in this recession.

BRIGHTLY COLORED CREATURES are watching students at Carrolltowne Elementary School.Several monkeys, birds and a leopard grace one wall of the cafeteria at the school, thanks to a muralist, the efforts of more than two dozen students, donations and a $2,400 grant from the Maryland State Arts Council.The grant, secured by art teacher Linda Nordling, and donations from the school and the Carroll County Arts Council, enabled Carrolltowne to tap muralist Monique Goss, who is part of the state's Artist in Education Program.

The scenario: Four preteens are on an island when a volcano erupts. They have five minutes to get to a nearby island using nothing but a boat, a life raft, a rope, an inflatable ring and their ability to think quickly. The reality: Four fifth-graders are in the Carrolltowne Elementary School gymnasium in Sykesville. Their boat is a scooter board, their life raft a carpet square. The rope is a jump rope and the inflatable ring is a deck tennis ring. The activity was one of many the fifth-graders participated in that day that went beyond their usual studies.

Ask the children in Antonina "Toni" Wallace's early childhood special needs class at Carrolltowne Elementary, and they'll tell you, with thumbs up, they are the best. Now Wallace's students, who attend what is sometimes dubbed "Toni's School," can officially give her a thumbs up: The special education instructor was named Carroll County's 2007 Teacher of the Year. Wallace, who has taught at Carrolltowne since 2001 and at the Carroll Springs School before that, was one of eight finalists selected by the county Chamber of Commerce for its Outstanding Teacher Awards, said Barry Gelsinger, coordinator of the Carroll County Teacher of the Year program.

Don't just talk; report prejudice If I understand this correctly, Carroll County Public Schools' administrators are seeking information from ethnic minority parents regarding insensitivity directed toward their children by teachers. This means that CCPS must realize there is a problem of some magnitude to sponsor so many forums. Yet parents are cautioned not to name teachers or schools involved in the incidents. Why are teachers who have discriminated against a student immune to being reprimanded?

Eldersburg parents have revived an 18-year-old effort to enclose Carrolltowne Elementary School's open-space classrooms -- a 1970s-era architectural fad that critics say disrupts student learning and poses a security risk. South Carroll Del. Susan W. Krebs first pushed for constructing walls to hem in Carrolltowne's open pods when her now 22-year-old daughter started kindergarten there. But the need for renovations to accommodate all-day kindergarten has put the project on the back burner in recent years.

After more than a decade-long battle that included years of legal wrangling, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals has ruled against Carroll County, ordering that a 254-unit townhouse development in Eldersburg move forward. The court's decision this week deals a blow to county officials and South Carroll residents who have argued that the high-density development would further burden overcrowded schools, roads and water resources. "This project clearly has a long and storied past," Steven C. Horn, the county's planning director, said yesterday.

Kari Martiniano (from left), Kathleen Martin, Megan Raines and Caroline England view photos at the Carrolltowne Elementary's Media Festival. [ARTICLE, PAGE 3G]

GOOD HEALTH is something that cannot be bought but is valued by all. Students at Carrolltowne Elementary are learning about good health in an innovative and entertaining way through a weeklong health fair at the school.Children will be able to visit the six stations of the fair during their gym classes this week. Each station concentrates on an aspect of maintaining good health.People costumed as apples, carrots, watermelon and broccoli will mingle with the students to discuss healthy foods.

Eldersburg parents have revived an 18-year-old effort to enclose Carrolltowne Elementary School's open-space classrooms -- a 1970s-era architectural fad that critics say disrupts student learning and poses a security risk. South Carroll Del. Susan W. Krebs first pushed for constructing walls to hem in Carrolltowne's open pods when her now 22-year-old daughter started kindergarten there. But the need for renovations to accommodate all-day kindergarten has put the project on the back burner in recent years.

On a snowy morning last month, 9-year-old Courtney Cole waited in her yard with her mother's camera. Finally, two small birds landed among the snow-covered branches and she snapped the photograph that won her a blue ribbon in Carrolltowne Elementary's annual Media Festival. "I shot in color so you can see the birds better," said Courtney, who will be vying for countywide honors with her entry. An exhibit at the Eldersburg school gave the young photographers a chance to tell the stories accompanying pictures of siblings, pets, waterfalls and wildlife.

A 10-year-old Carroll County boy was flown to a hospital yesterday after being rescued from a 6-foot- deep hole in the backyard of a house, authorities said. The boy, whose name was not disclosed, fell into the hole in the rear of a house in the 6500 block of Macbeth Way in Eldersburg about 2:45 p.m. and was unable to free himself when his legs became twisted, making it impossible for anyone to pull him out, said Bill Rehkopf, a member of the Freedom District Fire Department in Eldersburg.