Christmas

If you're a big fan, you already knew what was coming in the season finale. But it didn't make it any easier -- or less heartbreaking -- to watch. The majority of the Season 3 "Downton" finale, or the "Christmas special" as its called in the U.K., took place in Scotland, where the whole family (minus Branson) visits the Highlands home of the Dowager's niece, Susan, and her husband, Shrimpy. Most of the trip included bagpipes, hunting, more bagpipes and Scottish reel dancing. But more on that later (and more on O'Brien meeting her Scottish lady's maid doppelganger)

A team of more than 40 volunteers from Tower Federal Credit Union, headquartered in Laurel, and the Gilbane Building Co. helped renovated the Laurel home of a disabled Navy veteran April 27 during Prince George's County's Christmas in April effort. Because of roof and foundation leaks, up to 2 feet of water had damaged the first-time homeowner's house after a heavy rainfall. The volunteers repaired roof leaks and gutters; replaced a storm door; installed a new front porch and repaired and painted the back porch; removed dead bushes and trees in the front yard; and added new flower beds.

A turkey and ham dinner will be served beginning at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 13 at the Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer, 7606 Quarterfield Road in Glen Burnie. After dinner, the Canterbury Ringers Bell Choir presents a concert of holiday music.' Tickets are $8, $15 for couples, $5 for children ages 6-12 and free for children 5 and younger. Call 410-766-8778 for more information.

Elsie Anna Collison, 93, of Havre de Grace became a great-great-grandmother on Christmas morning at 8:08 a.m. Zandria Jayde Lamon was 6 pounds, 11 ounces and 19.5 inches long. She is the daughter of Christina Lawson Lamon and John Franklin Lamon of Braselton, Ga., granddaughter of Linda Collison Breese and Richard Breese and Steven and Teresa Turner, all of Georgia.

Earlier today I became aware that that insipid Christmas song, “The Little Drummer Boy,” which I have loathed these many years, was running in my head and would not stop . Mild and even-tempered a fellow as I am, a virtual milquetoast, I could not help but reflect how gratifying it would be if the composer, lyricist, arranger, musicians, and everyone involved in the publication, production, dissemination, and broadcast of that song were set...

I 've just come from Cambridge, that beehive of brilliance, where nerds don't feel self-conscious: There's always someone nerdier nearby. If you are the World's Leading Authority on the mating habits of the jabberwock beetle of the Lesser Jujube Archipelago, you can take comfort in knowing that the pinch-faced drone next to you at Starbucks may be the W.L.A. on 17th-century Huguenot hymnody or a niche of quantum physics that is understood by nobody but himself. People in Cambridge learn to be wary of brilliance, having seen geniuses in the throes of deep thought step into potholes and disappear.

I n Phoenix, the bougainvillea is blooming red against a landscape of buttes and rocks outside my hotel window and interesting cacti that look like cell phone base stations or Modigliani sculptures. Midwesterners who came here long ago slapped grass down on the desert, hoping to make it more like Indianapolis, but Phoenicians have come to accept aridity. If you enjoy rocks, you will love Arizona. But for me, it's weird to walk outdoors and hear "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas" from little speakers hidden among the cacti and "Dashing through the snow in a one-horse open sleigh."

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The Harford County Department of Public Works, Recycling Office has announced the location and availability of recycling for Christmas trees and similar greenery following the holiday season. The Harford Waste Disposal Center Yard Trim Facility will be open Monday through Saturday, from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m. The Harford Waste Disposal Center Yard Trim Facility is at 3135 Scarboro Road in Street. The Tollgate Yard Trim Drop-off site will be open on Saturdays only from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Tollgate Yard Trim Drop-off site is at 703 N. Tollgate Road in Bel Air. For additional information, contact Robert Ernst, recycling program ,manager for Harford County, 410-638-3417 or crernst@harfordcountymd.gov .

A new holiday commercial for the NBA features Baltimore's Carmelo Anthony and other hoops stars playing a most unusual instrument: basketballs. Using nothing but bouncing balls, Melo and the other players offer a rather amazing rendition of the Christmas classic "Carol of the Bells. " Suppose it's actually "Carol of the Balls. " Behold: jill.rosen@baltsun.com @BaltInsider on Twitter

"The Heart of Christmas," a musical play, was directed and coordinated by young aspiring performers Abigail Surgeon and Krista Villan from the Wilna Seventh-day Adventist Church. The theme of the musical was to share the meaning of Christmas but in a child-friendly format. "Christmas is often seen as a time to receive gifts by most kids" Abigail said. "I wanted to produce a Christmas program to allow kids to celebrate the birth of Christ and build a closer relationship with God. " The approach was to develop a play that would be directed and performed by children.

Baltimore police have charged a man in the Christmas Day beating of Kenni Shaw, though it was not announced for several days as the city's gay community remained on edge amid fears of violence. Shaw says he was attacked because he is gay, though police have not suggested a motive in the case. The beating, illustrated by images taken in the hospital of his badly swollen face, helped spur a rally Saturday in East Baltimore that included Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts. Records show Marcus Evans, 26, was picked up two days before the rally on a warrant filed Dec. 29. When asked about the case the day of the rally, police said it remained under investigation.

The challenge to keep Christ in Christmas began several years ago. Since then we have seen efforts across our nation to remove Christ from the public arena. The local pastors of the Susquehanna Ministerium made the appeal to remember the reason for the season yet again this year, and a number of Havre de Grace residents, businesses and churches have been very gracious in honoring this challenge by displaying a nativity scene during the Christmas holidays. Even more families have joined the effort.

County officials are encouraging residents to consider recycling Christmas trees after the holidays for use as compost, mulch or wood chips. Residents can drop off Christmas trees at the Northern Landfill and Recycling Center, 1400 Baltimore Blvd., Westminster, Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., or Saturday 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.; or at the Hoods Mill Landfill, 7901 Kabik Court, Woodbine, the first and third Saturdays of the month from 7...

Among the 82 calls for medical and fire-rescue service received by the Arbutus Volunteer Fire Department during the period Dec. 21-28 were the following: Stonewall Rd, 300 block, 9:28 a.m. Dec. 27. Crews responded to the report of power lines arcing in Catonsville and found a tree leaning on the lines, but no arcing. Birch Avenue, 1200 block, 12:09 p.m. Dec. 26. Crews responded to the report of a hazardous condition in Arbutus and found an overheated fuel heater. Stuart Mills Place, unit block, 10:31 p.m. Dec. 24. Crews from the Arbutus volunteer station and Catonsville, Westview and Woodlawn career stations responded to the report of a residential fire in the Westview area of Catonsville and found a rubbish fire in the stairwell.

As the punches kept coming, landing across his face and head, Kenni Shaw tried to talk to his five attackers but couldn't get the words out. "I was pinned down by punches," Shaw said of the beating he received Christmas night, outside the East Baltimore liquor store he frequents near his home. "It was so hard that I felt my lip and side face swell up immediately. I was trying to talk to these guys, but they weren't letting me talk. " Instead, they were intent on beating him - simply out of hate, said Shaw, a 30-year-old gay man. "I was just beaten in my face.

The Harford County Department of Public Works, Recycling Office has announced the location and availability of recycling for Christmas trees and similar greenery following the holiday season. The Harford Waste Disposal Center Yard Trim Facility will be open Monday through Saturday, from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m. The Harford Waste Disposal Center Yard Trim Facility is at 3135 Scarboro Road in Street. The Tollgate Yard Trim Drop-off site will be open on Saturdays only from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Tollgate Yard Trim Drop-off site is at 703 N. Tollgate Road in Bel Air. For additional information, contact Robert Ernst, recycling program ,manager for Harford County, 410-638-3417 or crernst@harfordcountymd.gov .

A 7-year-old boy remains in critical condition with a severe head injury after a traffic accident on Christmas night. At about 10 p.m., Anne Arundel police responded to Casuarina Way near Spring Meadow Way in Odenton where a 1997 Acura sedan had struck a parked tow truck. The boy, who had been sitting in the front seat of the Acura, was taken to John Hopkins Children's Center. Police are not releasing his name. The car's driver, Lisa Marie Middledorf, 30, was not injured. Police said preliminary evidence indicates alcohol and driver fatigue contributed to the crash.