Club

Just after 2 a.m. April 17, Charlie Price realized that David Bayard, his close friend, had left the D.C. nightclub where they'd been partying for a friend's birthday. Where did he go? Price wondered, dialing Bayard's cell. Would he be able to get home? he thought, dialing again. The night was muddled by drinking, and Price can't remember whether they connected. Hours later, a detective told Price his friend had been killed. The 24-year-old University of Maryland graduate student was found dead about 7:30 a.m. in his car, which was parked near a McDonald's in Prince George's County, just a few miles from the club.

Millions of motorists join automobile clubs to smooth th bumpy ride. Clubs provide roadside assistance and offer travel information.They're big business, as evidenced by constant club mailings received by motorists imploring them to sign up. Their plastic membership cards or club brochures look a lot alike and names sound similar. All include emergency help to tow a car in trouble, start a faltering engine or fix a flat tire at little or no cost. A toll-free 800 number is at your service.

If you wanted to dedicate a song to Christos Dardamanis to commemorate his longtime proprietorship of Club Stabile's, you could pick Willie Nelson's "Night Life" to mark the hours he has spent at the landmark country music nightspot in Highlandtown.Or, better yet, you could choose the Oak Ridge Boys' "Y'All Come Back Saloon" in recognition of the crowds he has attracted to the bar at 3919 Eastern Ave. year after year with live music and a friendly atmosphere.After 27 1/2 years, Mr. Dardamanis is selling the place rightfully billed as "Baltimore's home of country music."

A Harford club started two years ago to give children educational and social programs has hit the skids.The administrator has been forced to resign, needed donations aren't coming in and youth members have quit.But the board of directors of the group, the Harford County Boys and Girls Club, hope they can turn the organization around in the newyear. They want to hire another administrator, attract more donors and enroll more youths in the club's programs."We're real upbeat about the club," said Jerry Lacey, acting president of the club's board of directors.

The Harford County Boys and Girls Club is drawing up plans for a new multi-purpose center in Aberdeen.All it needs is a site and about a million dollars or so."We're committed to having a building in Aberdeen, it's very close to reality," said Jerry Lacey, president of the club's board of directors. No doubt about it.That spirit of optimism might not seem so unusual in an organization that has provided so much hope nationally to so many children through its after-school and summer programs.

A Baltimore Circuit Court judge agreed yesterday to postpone a final ruling on Odell's nightclub to give lawyers for the city and the troubled North Avenue nightspot more time to submit briefs supporting their arguments.But Judge Ellen L. Hollander stipulated that the club must remain closed, saying "that's the linchpin" of her agreeing to the postponement, which was requested by lawyers for Odell's. Judge Hollander granted the delay in open court after a half-hour meeting in chambers with attorneys for both sides.

After a year of community protests, court fines and laws enacted to shut it down, a striptease club in Rockdale closed its doors for good this week -- almost two months earlier than planned.Dominic Stenti, owner of Body Talk, reached an agreement with the county law office in which he would pay a reduced fine in exchange for immediately closing his club in the 8100 block of Liberty Road.Mr. Stenti had been under court order to stop nude dancing at the club by July 10.H. Emslie Parks, county attorney, said he would recommend that Mr. Stenti pay $6,000 in fines.

Only seven of the 30 tables set up had warm bodies around them, a disappointingly cool turnout for parents and students trying to start a private club for teens.About 800 students had indicated on paper that they would help, but just 21 showed up for the first meeting Thursday at the Carroll County Career and Technology Center.Organizers aren't ready to give up."Students are a hard sell," said Angie Diehlmann, a parent who has sold the idea of all-night, safe graduation parties since 1993.

Fans and opponents of Odell's, a violence-plagued private club at 21 E. North Ave., will have to wait a week for the city zoning board to act on the club's request for a "dance hall" permit.The board last night voted to delay its decision until 12:30 p.m. next Tuesday, despite four hours of sometimes-emotional testimony at a packed City Hall hearing attending by nearly 150 people.And depending on the witness, the club is either a boon to the community's recreation-starved black youth, or a blight on a struggling urban neighborhood.

After a year of community protests, court fines and laws enacted to shut it down, a striptease club in Rockdale closed its doors for good this week -- almost two months earlier than planned.Dominic Stenti, owner of Body Talk, reached an agreement with the county law office in which he would pay a reduced fine in exchange for immediately closing his club in the 8100 block of Liberty Road.Mr. Stenti had been under court order to stop the nude dancing at the club by July 10.H. Emslie Parks, county attorney, said he would recommend that Mr. Stenti pay $6,000 in fines.