Clarksville

These groups meet regularly. Center of Light and Love - Second Sunday, 6-7 p.m. Owen Brown Community Center, 6800 Cradlerock Way, Columbia. 410-995-4647, centeroflightandlove@comcast.net or http://www.centeroflightandlove.org . Chavurah - Second Sunday and fourth Friday. A secular-humanist Jewish group. 410-337-0100. Columbia Ski Club - Second Monday, 7:30 p.m. Skiing, biking, hiking and community service. Columbia Hilton, 5485 Twin Knolls Road, Columbia.

Sunday, June 9 Talking genealogy Wanda Franklin, director of the Columbia Family History Center and mother of three adopted children, will host a presentation on "Searching for Birth Parents: Some Experiences and Resources" at 3 p.m. at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 4100 Saint Johns Lane in Ellicott City. She will talk about search techniques, reactions of relatives who were discovered and how finding birth relatives has affected the lives of her children. Free.

Back in 1972, 13-year-old Kathleen Koch made a habit of scrutinizing every detail of her new bayside home in Mississippi each time her family pulled out of the driveway to go somewhere, attempting to commit its every feature to memory. The Clarksville resident said she adopted her anxiety-driven routine after seeing remnants of Hurricane Camille's wrath flung randomly about Bay St. Louis, a picturesque town on the upper Gulf Coast where her family had just moved. Three years earlier, the Category 5 storm had flattened much of the state's coastline.

These groups meet regularly. Center of Light and Love - Second Sunday, 6-7 p.m. Owen Brown Community Center, 6800 Cradlerock Way, Columbia. 410-995-4647, centeroflightandlove@comcast.net or http://www.centeroflightandlove.org . Chavurah - Second Sunday and fourth Friday. A secular-humanist Jewish group. 410-337-0100. Columbia Ski Club - Second Monday, 7:30 p.m. Skiing, biking, hiking and community service. Columbia Hilton, 5485 Twin Knolls Road, Columbia.

Toll Brothers Inc. has begun pre-construction sales at Clarksville Hunt in Clarksville, where the firm is building 160 traditional homes with Colonial, Federal, New England or provincial fronts.Public sewer and water, gas heat, cooking and hot water, 42-inch kitchen cabinets, crown molding and chair rails in living and dining rooms are some of the standard features in the Howard County community.One of the models to be built at Clarksville Hunt is the Richmond, a 2,850-square-foot home with a starting price of $323,975.

On Thursday, Aug 4. my wife and I joined about 200 other people for a hearing in the county's George Howard Building. The subject was a study and proposed land acquisition for a road spur from the west side of Route 108 in Clarksville to Auto Drive in Clarksville. The proposal is a very poor solution to a problem that may or may not exist. The impact of the proposal on businesses and property owners affected is intolerable. It is difficult to see how or why the Howard County planning people would waste their time and county funds on an unnecessary study to reach an unsatisfactory conclusion.

County residents expect a lot out from their local government, and we want our neighborhoods to thrive. I believe that the Howard County government is trying to improve my community. I don't always agree with the county, but that doesn't mean it is not working in our best interest, though it might not always be obvious. My neighbors and I talk a lot about what we think Clarksville will look like in the next five to 10 years, and we seem to circle back to one sentiment: We don't want Route 108 to grow and change without a plan.

Three more people have been arrested and charged in connection with a shooting in Clarksville on April 6, according to Howard County police. Patrick James Belt, 21, of the 16000 block of Frederick Road in Mount Airy faces attempted first-degree murder, assault, robbery and other charges. Stevie Ann Gribble, 19, of the same address, was charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree assault. Diana Eileen Marker, 22, of the 5500 block of Hunting Horn Drive in Ellicott City was charged with conspiracy to commit murder, attempted first-degree murder, attempted armed robbery and other charges.

Dan Geraghty first picked up an electric guitar when he was 10 and now, at 17, he nearly always has his hands on one. Though just last spring he was a junior at River Hill High School, right now he and the other four band members of Hollywood Ending are contestants in "Next Big Thing," a Radio Disney talent competition that began its fourth season this month. "I've wanted to play music forever," said the Clarksville resident last week from aboard a tour bus traveling from New Jersey to Pennsylvania.

Friday's editions included a Q&A with Notre Dame Junior midfielder Jim Marlatt. Due to space constraints, here are some more answers from the Clarksville native and River Hill graduate that did not make the cut. How does a guy from Clarksville and River Hill end up in South Bend, Indiana? There was definitely some interest in staying closer to home. I have four younger siblings, including a little brother I'd love to see a little bit more often. But I think the balance between academics and athletics, just how well they take care of their athletes and making sure they do well in school are what really attracted me there.

Clarksville resident Tatyana McFadden won the women's wheelchair race in the London Marathon on Sunday, six days after her win in the Boston Marathon. "The race is definitely dedicated to Boston and we had huge support from London, which was amazing," McFadden said during the post-race news conference. "Just the support that we're getting around the world means a lot, especially back in Boston and to the athletes. " McFadden, whose 1:46.02 time was a record mark for London, won the Boston Marathon wheelchair event Monday.

Explosion update: Details of evacuation after Boston Marathon blast 12:56 Clarksville's Tatyana McFadden says she played to her strengths in winning this year's Boston Marathon. "My weakness, I think everyone knows, is going downhill," she told reporters Monday afternoon. "My strength is definitely on the flats and climing. " "I'm an oddball -- I really enjoy climbing. " McFadden mentioned that her high school time on the east coast helped prepare her for the Boston landscape.

Clarksville resident Tatyana McFadden won the women's wheelchair division of the Boston Marathon on Monday, hours before the race was marred by deadly explosions near the finish line. Though McFadden added to her resume as one of the elite Paralympic athletes in the world, her achievement was rapidly overshadowed by scenes of blood and mayhem. She tweeted that she was unharmed, about an hour after the initial reports of the explosions. "I am okay my family and teammates are okay," she wrote.

Linden-Linthicum United Methodist Church youth mission teams are hosting a carnival and yard sale April 20, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Vendor and crafter parking lot spaces are available for $10. Bring your own table or rent one for an additional $10. In case of bad weather, the sale will move indoors to the fellowship hall. Contact beth@l-lumc.org . Maybe you don't have enough items to need your own space. You can donate household items and toys April 7-18 only to the Mission Team table, but no clothing, books or large furniture.

Buy a shirt, save the world. OK, it might not be that easy. But at Boulder, an eco-conscious clothing store for men, customers can do their part to make a difference in the environment. "Everything we do is centered around the environment, animal welfare and community," says general manager Evan Saulsbury. "We want you to feel good about how you look and know where your clothes come from. " Boulder, which opened this summer, is the latest addition to Conscious Corner in Clarksville -- a collection of businesses on Route 108 near River Hill that are focused on healthy and mindful living.