County Council District

Five plans for new Howard County Council district boundaries were submitted last night by members of the county's Redistricting Commission - including one Republican proposal that would dislodge incumbent District 3 Democrat Guy J. Guzzone. That plan, submitted by Republican member Michael J. Deets, would give the GOP a good chance to win control of the five-member council in next year's elections, since the removal of Guzzone would leave the pivotal District 3 without an incumbent. Chances of that proposal being adopted are slim and none, however, since Democrats control the commission, 4-3, and the council, which has final say, 3-2. Commission Chairman David Marker said he hopes to reduce last night's offerings to two or three plans for a vote at the next commission meeting Aug. 14. A public hearing would then be held in September on one plan chosen for recommendation to the County Council.

For an area of such vast, peaceful space, rural western Howard County is fraught with tension. Its rich history as a farming community is unfolding to an uncertain future, and the pull between those who welcome change and those clinging to a romantic notion of the past is exceedingly strong.Ironically, many of those who have toiled the land for generations are also the ones quickest to embrace the future. As for newcomers, those who reside in mini-mansions on three-acre lots, their aspirations spring from nostalgia for a lifestyle they have only recently been able to realize.