Clarksburg

This wine is a perennial winner in the budget wine department but the 1994 is the best to date. For the first time this wine carries a regional designation of Clarksburg, near Sacramento, Calif., and it's quite clear that this region can produce gorgeous chenin blanc. The wine is crisp, crackling and decadently fruity, but underneath all that peach, melon and, tropical fruit and spice flavor is a mere 0.7 percent residual sugar -- dry by any standard. This is a great value and a brilliant hot-weather wine.

When discussing Stefan Houston 's senior season, Clarksburg football coach Larry Hurd couldn't help but come back to the same phrase over and over again. “He just makes plays,” Hurd said several times when asked to describe the play of the Maryland-bound athlete. Hurd's praise for Houston is backed up by the numbers. In the Coyotes' first three games of the 2011 season, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound athlete rushed for 106 yards and two touchdowns, caught 18 passes for 361 yards and three touchdowns, and came up big for Clarksburg time and time again at the WILL linebacker spot.

Drive along Snowden Farm Parkway in Clarksburg and you can catch a glimpse of two completely different worlds. On one side, a landscape of narrow roads snaking their way around rolling hills, still snow-covered and dotted with farm equipment and red barns. But across the road, the bucolic scene gives way abruptly to rows of half-finished town homes and handsome brick-and-stone multistory houses, packed tightly together and abutting Little Bennett Elementary School. The scene hints at the explosive, sometimes painful, growth hitting this part of Montgomery County — officially the fastest-growing area in Maryland.

Drive along Snowden Farm Parkway in Clarksburg and you can catch a glimpse of two completely different worlds. On one side, a landscape of narrow roads snaking their way around rolling hills, still snow-covered and dotted with farm equipment and red barns. But across the road, the bucolic scene gives way abruptly to rows of half-finished town homes and handsome brick-and-stone multistory houses, packed tightly together and abutting Little Bennett Elementary School. The scene hints at the explosive, sometimes painful, growth hitting this part of Montgomery County — officially the fastest-growing area in Maryland.

When Eastern Tech football coach Marc Mesaros first saw his seniors put on pads as freshmen, he knew what they were capable of. "When they came is as freshmen, I knew that it was a special group," Mesaros said. "I told them, if you do everything we ask you to do, and you work hard, you'll be a formidable force." Last night, the group proved its coach right, playing near-perfect football in the last high school home game of their careers, a 35-0 rout of Clarksburg in the 2A state semifinals at CCBC-Essex.

Clarksburg Porten Homes is building a model home and has 23 home sites available at Clarksburg in northern Montgomery County. The community of single-family homes, situated near Little Bennet Park, offers public water-and-sewer systems and gas heat and cooking. The home sites range from one-fifth to one-third acre. Porten offers two home plans at the community. Base prices range from $399,900 to $411,900 for 3,400 square feet to 3,600 square feet. Standard features in the homes include 9-foot first-floor ceilings, gas fireplace, bay windows, front porch columns, security system and a two-car garage.

1997 Baron Herzog Chenin Blanc, Clarksburg ($8).This dry, crisp, fruity California white wine is a far cry from the sweet kosher wines of old. It offers lively flavors of peaches, pears and snap peas. It holds more of its charm than most wines that have been put through the flash pasteurization process (used for making most wines that are kosher for Passover). Here's a product with ecumenical appeal for all wine consumers who appreciate a bargain.Pub Date: 03/17/99

COWBOYS Sam Stephens, 5, of Clarksburg (above) hangs on to win the "Mutton Bustin' " portion of the Battle of the Beast Rodeo at the JBarW Ranch in Johnsville, in Carroll County. At left, cowboys, minus their $100 entry fees, line up before the rodeo. Each summer, the Williams family, which owns the ranch, puts on six rodeos, and much of the money from them goes to charity.

CLARKSBURG - Five bicyclists suffered serious injuries when they crashed into each other during the annual Michael P. Murad Memorial Road Race in Montgomery County yesterday morning, police and race organizers said. Police said one of the cyclists in the men's 50-59 age category lost control and caused four other cyclists to crash near Clarksburg and Burnt Hill roads, about half an hour into a 42-mile race that began at 8:05 a.m. After the race was halted, two of the injured cyclists were taken by helicopter to Suburban Hospital in Bethesda.

CARLTON "BUMPSY" WATTS, 72, of Baltimore, MD., residing in Clarksburg, WV., died May 11, 2004 in the Heartland Nursing Home, Clarksburg. He was the son of George and Catherine Watts of Baltimore, Md. Carlton's immediate family consisted of four brothers; Emmet Watts, Kenneth Watts, George Watts and William Watts; three sister; Catherine Watts, Janet Watts and Elizabeth Watts; one son; Gary Thomas Watts of MD and four grandchildren Kristen Watts, Megan...

Hereford waited 20 years for a return trip to the state title game. The wait for a championship, however, continues. Clarksburg took command with a pair of early goals, and the Montgomery County school won its first state title with a 3-0 victory over No. 7 Hereford in the Class 3A championship game Thursday night at foggy UMBC Stadium. The Bulls last made it to a state title game in 1989 when they shared the Class 2A championship with Andover. Hereford also split the Class 1A state title each of the two previous years and then have made it to the state semifinals six times since, but the Bulls couldn't get back to the finals until this game.

Hereford waited 20 years for a return trip to the state title game. The wait for a championship, however, continues. Clarksburg took command with a pair of early goals, and the Montgomery County school won its first state title with a 3-0 victory over No. 7 Hereford in the Class 3A championship game Thursday night at foggy UMBC Stadium. The Bulls last made it to a state title game in 1989 when they shared the Class 2A championship with Andover. Hereford also split the Class 1A state title each of the two previous years and then have made it to the state semifinals six times since, but the Bulls couldn't get back to the finals until this game.

When Eastern Tech football coach Marc Mesaros first saw his seniors put on pads as freshmen, he knew what they were capable of. "When they came is as freshmen, I knew that it was a special group," Mesaros said. "I told them, if you do everything we ask you to do, and you work hard, you'll be a formidable force." Last night, the group proved its coach right, playing near-perfect football in the last high school home game of their careers, a 35-0 rout of Clarksburg in the 2A state semifinals at CCBC-Essex.

CLARKSBURG - When he first moved into his new townhouse a few years ago, Tim DeArros says, he enjoyed watching from his bedroom window as the sun set behind the rounded summit of Sugarloaf Mountain in the distance. But now, he says, the sun dips behind the rooftops of neighboring homes, which have risen to block his view of the familiar landmark that anchors the gently rolling farmland and forests to the north and west. "We became hemmed in by construction," says DeArros, 42, who works out of his home as an operations manager for NCR Corp.

CLARKSBURG - Five bicyclists suffered serious injuries when they crashed into each other during the annual Michael P. Murad Memorial Road Race in Montgomery County yesterday morning, police and race organizers said. Police said one of the cyclists in the men's 50-59 age category lost control and caused four other cyclists to crash near Clarksburg and Burnt Hill roads, about half an hour into a 42-mile race that began at 8:05 a.m. After the race was halted, two of the injured cyclists were taken by helicopter to Suburban Hospital in Bethesda.

2003 Dry Creek Dry Chenin Blanc, Clarksburg ($8). Dry Creek's dry chenin blanc has been recommended here before. It remains one of the best white-wine bargains produced in the United States. What's exciting here is that Dry Creek has gotten this wine onto retail shelves in good time for summer so that consumers can enjoy its lively flavors and crisp acidity in their peak season. The blazingly fresh 2003 is dry but not severe, with flavors of cherry, melon, peach and minerals. The price is so appealing that it would be well worth it to buy a case and consume it between now and the onset of autumn.

When discussing Stefan Houston 's senior season, Clarksburg football coach Larry Hurd couldn't help but come back to the same phrase over and over again. “He just makes plays,” Hurd said several times when asked to describe the play of the Maryland-bound athlete. Hurd's praise for Houston is backed up by the numbers. In the Coyotes' first three games of the 2011 season, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound athlete rushed for 106 yards and two touchdowns, caught 18 passes for 361 yards and three touchdowns, and came up big for Clarksburg time and time again at the WILL linebacker spot.

2001 Dry Creek Vineyard Dry Chenin Blanc, Clarksburg ($9). Once again, Dry Creek Vineyard has come through with a white wine of extraordinary quality for its price. Fans of this wine can only hope that the masses continue to swill chardonnay and ignore the excellent and inexpensive chenin blanc grape, which requires no oak aging to be palatable. This year's version manages to be both very dry and very fruity - with an exotic mix of melon, cherry, tropical fruit and peach flavors - seasoned with honey and spices.

CARLTON "BUMPSY" WATTS, 72, of Baltimore, MD., residing in Clarksburg, WV., died May 11, 2004 in the Heartland Nursing Home, Clarksburg. He was the son of George and Catherine Watts of Baltimore, Md. Carlton's immediate family consisted of four brothers; Emmet Watts, Kenneth Watts, George Watts and William Watts; three sister; Catherine Watts, Janet Watts and Elizabeth Watts; one son; Gary Thomas Watts of MD and four grandchildren Kristen Watts, Megan...