Choice Village

Because of an editing error, a headline in yesterday's Howard County edition of The Sun misidentified the Columbia village center in which the Rouse Co. is seeking a new grocery store to replace a former Valu Food store. The correct site is the Harper's Choice Village Center.The Sun regrets the error.Seeking to resuscitate the deteriorating Harper's Choice Village Center, the Rouse Co. is considering plans to tear down the site of the center's former anchor supermarket, Valu Food, and build a much larger grocery store.

The Harper's Choice Community Association will sponsor a Safety Awareness and Crime Prevention Town Meeting at 7 p.m. Oct. 14 at Kahler Hall, 5440 Old Tucker Road in Harper's Choice Village Center. The Harper's Choice Village Board, County Councilwoman Mary Kay Sigaty, and senior members of the Howard County Police Department will participate in a discussion about safety. Information: 410-730-0770. Health programs The Howard County Library, 10375 Little Patuxent Parkway, will offer "Sugar: How Much is Too Much?

The Harper's Choice Community Association will sponsor a Safety Awareness and Crime Prevention Town Meeting at 7 p.m. Oct. 14 at Kahler Hall, 5440 Old Tucker Road in Harper's Choice Village Center. The Harper's Choice Village Board, County Councilwoman Mary Kay Sigaty, and senior members of the Howard County Police Department will participate in a discussion about safety. Information: 410-730-0770. Health programs The Howard County Library, 10375 Little Patuxent Parkway, will offer "Sugar: How Much is Too Much?

The problem at Harper's Choice Village Center stretches back to the 1970s, when troublesome people were referred to as "the willies." These days, village leaders call them different names - "hobos" or "undesirables" - but the problem is the same: what to do about people who sleep on benches at night and cause trouble during the day. This year, Harper's Choice officials decided to ban from the village center two homeless men who loitered there and harassed...

Howard County Police Chief James N. Robey has assured residents of Harper's Choice village that crime is not increasing, despite what many residents believe.At a meeting Wednesday night of 70 residents at Kahler House in the Harper's Choice Village Center, Robey reported 41 arrests in the past two months since launching a robbery-suppression program in that community and in Wilde Lake Village Center.The program, Robey said, will move to other areas of the county in the near future.He urged residents to call police when they see something suspicious.

When about 40 residents, business executives, clergy and other local leaders gather tonight to begin a two-day forum on ridding Columbia's Harper's Choice village of crime, one of the first orders of business will be separating perceptions and fears from realities.Organizers of the forum say the two are rarely the same.The impact of a robbery, for example, may be felt by the person victimized, but "a group of teen-agers drinking on a tot lot affects a whole community," says Sgt. Karen Shinham, who heads the county police Community Services Bureau.

Howard County police arrested a 22-year-old Columbia man yesterday, charging him in the shooting of a teen-ager in Harper's Choice village last week. Sedrick "Rico" Legaspi, 22, of the 5900 block of Grand Banks Road has been charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of assault and weapons violations, police said. The arrest came one day after police discovered weapons hidden near the scene of the shooting, which took place shortly after 10 p.m. Tuesday in the 6100 block of Turnabout Lane near the Harpers Forest Apartments.

A Columbia resident abruptly left last night's Columbia Council meeting in tears after the council rejected her request, without a vote and with barely any discussion, for approval to establish a memorial to her friend John M. Hansen, former chairman of the council."

Latin and Caribbean bands and Irish and East Indian dancers will shake up Columbia's lakefront tomorrow as party-goers from all over celebrate the first Columbia International Day.The free event, highlighting the town's diversity, also will feature ethnic foods, arts and crafts and international displays. In addition, five multicultural films will be shown at the Harper's Choice Village Center -- with discussions afterwards."The Columbia Council decided this would be a great year to celebrate our diversity and the fact we are an international city," said Maggie J. Brown, vice president of community services for the Columbia Association, which is co-sponsoring the event.

Howard County police said yesterday that the two people who were shot Tuesday night in Columbia's Harper's Choice village may have been involved in a continuing dispute with each other. Sherry Llewellyn, a police spokeswoman, said the department would release only the ages of the men involved -- a 17-year-old and 22-year-old. Details about the dispute, the weapons involved and who instigated the shooting could not be disclosed because the incident is under investigation, according to Llewellyn.

Howard County police arrested a 22-year-old Columbia man yesterday, charging him in the shooting of a teen-ager in Harper's Choice village last week. Sedrick "Rico" Legaspi, 22, of the 5900 block of Grand Banks Road has been charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of assault and weapons violations, police said. The arrest came one day after police discovered weapons hidden near the scene of the shooting, which took place shortly after 10 p.m. Tuesday in the 6100 block of Turnabout Lane near the Harpers Forest Apartments.

Howard County police said yesterday that the two people who were shot Tuesday night in Columbia's Harper's Choice village may have been involved in a continuing dispute with each other. Sherry Llewellyn, a police spokeswoman, said the department would release only the ages of the men involved -- a 17-year-old and 22-year-old. Details about the dispute, the weapons involved and who instigated the shooting could not be disclosed because the incident is under investigation, according to Llewellyn.

Howard County is strongly committed to continuing its HotSpot police programs in Harper's Choice and Long Reach villages - with or without state funding, said Police Chief Wayne Livesay and County Executive James N. Robey. "It's doing a lot of good," Livesay said. "I believe it's working." He added that he likes the concept so much that the county used funds from the Horizon Foundation to begin a similar project in North Laurel and would like to put an office in the Oakland Mills Village Center.

Howard County is strongly committed to continuing its HotSpot police programs in Harper's Choice and Long Reach villages - with or without state funding, said Police Chief Wayne Livesay and County Executive James N. Robey. "It's doing a lot of good," Livesay said. "I believe it's working." He added that he likes the concept so much that the county used funds from the Horizon Foundation to begin a similar project in North Laurel and would like to put an office in the Oakland Mills Village Center.

Even when she's not in her Howard County police uniform, Cpl. Donna Rowlette is a commanding - but loving - presence in the halls of Harper's Choice Middle School. From casually talking to pupils in the middle school's after-school program to running her own youth group, the Harper's Choice HotSpot coordinator has made it her business to be there for the community's children. Her success at building relationships and trust with the Columbia pupils offers an interesting perspective on the political debate about the value of the state-funded HotSpots program.

Seafood lovers can stop searching the seven seas for fresh fare, skillfully prepared. Atlantis Seafood & Grill opened Jan. 31 in Harper's Choice Village Center in Columbia. Owner Bobbi Aliapanah has transformed the space, formerly occupied by the Gringada Mexican restaurant, into a tranquil, upscale eating place. The 135-seat restaurant -- decorated with wooden model ships and other nautical memorabilia -- has a private banquet room and cocktail bar. The extensive menu offers an array of appetizers, including hot crab dip Aliapanah, described as a house specialty; clams casino; crab imperial stuffed mushroom caps; and raw bar selections.

A plan to develop a SportsPark in Columbia's Harper's Choice village was unanimously approved yesterday by the Howard County Planning and Zoning Board, though some board members seemed reluctant to endorse it.Board member Joan Lancos said she was uncomfortable with the financial aspects of the petition, which was developed by the community's homeowners' association, the Columbia Association, and the SportsPark's developer, Howard Research and Development Corp.Lancos...

Howard County is strongly committed to continuing its HotSpot police programs in Harper's Choice and Long Reach villages - with or without state funding, said Police Chief Wayne Livesay and County Executive James N. Robey. "It's doing a lot of good," Livesay said. "I believe it's working." He added that he likes the concept so much that the county used funds from the Horizon Foundation to begin a similar project in North Laurel and would like to put an office in the Oakland Mills Village Center.

Members of a newly formed community policing task force in Columbia's Harper's Choice village -- where a 17-year-old boy and a 38-year-old man were shot in separate incidents near the village center last month -- decided not to address the recent violence at their monthly meeting last night.Instead, they chose a formal name for themselves, discussed plans for the Apple Fest and talked about installing more lights and setting up extra trash cans in and around the village center."We need to move on," said Sgt. Rick Maltz, who regularly patrols Harper's Choice as part of an anti-crime effort begun in that village in June.

Loitering and the perception of crime are the most pressing issues facing Columbia's Harper's Choice village, according to participants in a two-day meeting on community policing.Though it took 10 hours over two days to reach that unsurprising conclusion, organizers said the idea was not just to address Harper's Choice's problems but also to develop a blueprint that can be used by other communities."We can take this process and bring it to the next community down the road," said Maj. Jeff Spaulding of the Howard County Police Department.