Centennial Park

WHERE IN Howard County can you play horseshoes, volleyball, tennis or softball, row, canoe, hike, picnic, fish, in-line skate, cycle, play and listen to live music?On the tract that Clara Gouin, senior park planner for the Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks, describes as the "gem of the Howard County Park System" -- Centennial Park.More than a million people visit the park each year.On Wednesday evening, this reporter and her son went fishing close to the boat ramp on the 50-acre lake that is the park's centerpiece.

Howard County's top parks official is proposing a $4 parking fee for its largest and most popular parks, a move that would continue the county's trend toward charging fees for recreation services.Recreation and Parks Director Jeffrey Bourne is proposing the fee to help pay for the maintenance of Howard's five regional parks, including Ellicott City's hugely popular Centennial Park, which gets more than 700,000 visitors a year.Bourne, pointing out that surrounding counties already have fees for their largest parks, said Howard could get much-needed revenue for parks maintenance by charging users who drive to Centennial, Rockburn Branch, Schooley Mill, Savage and Cedar Lane parks.

Twenty-one flowering cherry trees decorating a walk in Centennial Park in Ellicott City will be dedicated Saturday in memory of visionary developer and Columbia founder James W. Rouse."

Howard County's top parks official is proposing a $4 parking fee for its largest and most popular parks, a move that would continue the county's trend toward charging fees for recreation services.Recreation and Parks Director Jeffrey Bourne is proposing the fee to help pay for the maintenance of Howard's five regional parks, including Ellicott City's hugely popular Centennial Park, which gets more than 700,000 visitors a year.Bourne, pointing out that surrounding counties already have fees for their largest parks, said Howard could get much-needed revenue for parks maintenance by charging users who drive to Centennial, Rockburn Branch, Schooley Mill, Savage and Cedar Lane parks.

7 parked cars vandalized near Centennial ParkSeven cars parked next to Centennial Park in Ellicott City were broken into and items were stolen from them Sunday, Howard County police said.Five cars parked on Centennial Lane and two parked alongside Clarksville Pike (Route 108) had visible items such as cellular car phones, purses and wallets stolen from them, said Sgt. Steven Keller. All of cars were locked at the time of the thefts and all had windows broken, he said.Cars are vandalized at the park sporadically, usually on weekends, Keller said.

ATLANTA -- They're lucky it wasn't worse, lucky it didn't happen in the middle of the day, lucky it was only a homemade bomb.One is dead and 111 are injured. But at the most disorganized Olympics in recent memory, a far greater number of people is at risk.Too many people, too little space, too crazy a world. Even if the Games were running as smoothly as possible, they'd still be unmanageable.When $301 million worth of security is still not enough to ensure safety, are the Olympics really worth the trouble?

CABLE EIGHT, Howard Community College's cable channel, has announced that the May "On Location" program showcases Patapsco Female Institute, Ellicott City's new historical park.The program includes the school's history by local women's historian Helen Mitchell; an interview with Ellicott City resident Charles Clark, whose family lived in the school when it was a residence; a talk by Recreation and Parks Department employee Claire Gouin on the county's involvement; and appearances by park director Meryl Carmel and local teacher-archaeologist Lee Preston.

A 19-year-old Oakland Mills man -- jailed for hitting a football player over the head with a beer bottle -- was sentenced yesterday to 18 months in jail for head-butting another man in Centennial Park last year.Columbia resident Bradley Matulevich was given a five-year sentence with all but 18 months suspended for his July conviction on battery charges.Matulevich, who played football for Oakland Mills High, is serving a 12-month sentence in the first case, in which he was convicted of assault with intent to maim for smashing a beer bottle over the head of Elkridge resident Shawn A. Sherman, who played for rival Howard High.

ATLANTA -- A woman stuck her head into a souvenir stand on International Boulevard and asked, "Got any Day 9 pins?"Vendor Mark Fahy shook his head no."It's gone from the country," he said, in only mild overstatement.Day 9 was the day of the Centennial Park bombing. And of the daily commemorative pins sold and traded at the Olympics, Day 9 was perhaps the most in demand as the Games came to an end.Vendors sold them for $25 to $40. Fahy said yesterday that collectors on the street were getting as much as $90. Another vendor said he heard a price of $100.

Dance theater to open branch for classesKinetics Dance Theatre in Ellicott City will open a branch at 1301 S. Charles St. in Baltimore for a two-week dance intensive June 19-23 and June 26-30.The camp is offered to children ages 7 to 18, who will be grouped by age and ability.The scheduled classes are ballet, modern, musical theater, composition and repertory.Students will participate in a concluding performance the evening of June 30.The program costs $250.Half-scholarships are available.

This is Dan Lesko. Who are you?" That's the voice mail message on the Wilde Lake High School senior's cell phone. However, very few area skateboarders would have to pose that question back to Lesko, because they already know who he is. "He's the guy who made the whole skate park possible," said Howard High senior Dave Eassa, referring to the Skate Spot, a skateboarding area set to be unveiled April 25 at Centennial Park North. It will be the first of its kind in a county park. "He was really instrumental in the process," said Raul Delerme, chief of the capital projects and park planning division of the county Recreation And Parks Department.

A small skateboard facility proposed for the northern portion of Centennial Park is stirring last-minute opposition to the location among neighbors of the site. Residents of Century Drive and Old Willow Way, whose homes back to the portion of the park off Old Annapolis Road, complain that they did not learn of the county's plans until last month. They fear that the small park, with two baseball fields, tennis and racquetball courts, a small playground and a basketball court will become ground zero for every skateboarder from Laurel to Mount Airy.

Skateboard enthusiasts are pushing Howard County to build a place where they can showcase their skills, and county officials hope to accommodate them. Two Wilde Lake High School juniors - Evan Sokolosky and Daniel Lesko - are part of the movement to get a skateboard park built at Centennial Park. The pair worked with Gary Arthur, direction of the county Department of Recreation and Parks, on a layout that would appeal to users of the park and to those funding it. The proposed facility would replace an aging basketball court behind the park's north entrance, off Old Annapolis Road.

Dressed in a baseball cap, army pants, long-sleeve T-shirt and gloves, 7-year-old Zachary Deming was hard at work raking leaves at Centennial Park in Ellicott City. A member of Cub Scout Pack 361, the first-grader at Centennial Lane Elementary School enjoyed the time he spent Saturday at the park, despite the cool temperatures. "I participated this morning because it's fun," Zachary said. "I really like helping out the park." His mother, Sandy, agreed. "A park cleanup really brings the community together," said the Ellicott City resident.

They are not part of any Howard County housing program, but three county-owned homes on large lots backing to Centennial Park are available to rent. The county's Department of Recreation and Parks spent from $450,000 to $954,500 to buy each of the spacious houses that line Route 108 near the park entrance on a combined 4.5 acres, and is looking for qualified renters. A fourth county-owned home in the row has been rented for years. Plans are to widen the road and eventually demolish the houses to build a new picnic area and more parking for the park, but they likely will stand for years, said Gary J. Arthur, county recreation and parks director.

It was 1944 when Alfred Shehab first arrived at Fort Meade. He came from Georgia to get outfitted with gear and shipped off to Europe, where he fought in the Battle of the Bulge. The Army post was also the last station of his military career; he retired as a lieutenant colonel. Convinced that Fort Meade should have a memorial park to honor fallen soldiers, the Odenton man later led a decade of discussions and planning that culminated yesterday with the groundbreaking of Centennial Park.

Triathlon -- The 26th Columbia Triathlon, sponsored by Columbia Triathlon Association Inc. in cooperation with Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks, will be held at 6:45 a.m. Sunday at Centennial Park. The swim-bike-run event starts at Centennial Lake with a 1.5K swim. Competitors start in waves - professionals first, then elite amateurs and then in groups ranked by gender and age (ages 15 to 70). The 41K bike route runs from the park to western Howard County and back and ends with a 10K run that circles the park and ends near the boat dock.

Noisy hobby disturbs peace It is a beautiful October weekend at Centennial Park - blue skies, the fall foliage reflected in the park's lake, geese flying overhead, walkers filling the pathways - an oasis in busy suburban Howard County. But not last Friday and Saturday. The calm of Centennial Lake is shattered by the high-pitched whine of remote-controlled racing speedboats. Once again Howard County's Department of Recreation and Parks has opened the lake to the noise and pollution of nonstop model speedboat racing.

Concert David Bach Consort performs at sunset The David Bach Consort, fea turing Baltimore/D.C.-based keyboardist David Bach, per forms tonight at Centennial Park's free Sunset Serenades concert series starting at 7. A donation of $3 for parking is re quested. The park is at 10000 Route 108 in Howard County. Call 410-313-7275.

It's 7:45 p.m. Cool breezes chase away the warmth of a late spring day and the sky is shading to lavender, with orange clouds that look lit from within. Hundreds of people have chosen to spend this magical time of day in one of Howard County's most beautiful and inviting places: Centennial Park. And that's not surprising. Since it opened in 1986, the 325-acre park has been wildly popular, attracting about 1.8 million visitors a year, according to Gary Arthur, director of Howard County's Department of Recreation and Parks.