Darrah

The former principal of a regional Catholic school pleaded guilty yesterday to stealing about $60,000 in school funds - including bake sale and other fund-raising proceeds - and spending it on shopping over the course of a decade, her lawyer said. Janice C. McIntosh, 53, of Annapolis tearfully asked forgiveness from the school community as she told Anne Arundel County Circuit Judge Joseph P. Manck that she did not intend to cause "anger, disappointment and sadness" at Arthur Slade Regional Catholic School in Glen Burnie.

After Gen. John Logan recommended that people to honor fallen Civil War soldiers by laying flowers on their graves, Westminster resident Mary Shellman took it a step further. In 1867, Shellman and a group of youngsters marched about a half mile from Westminster Elementary School to the Westminster Cemetery, where they laid flowers on the graves of Civil War soldiers. Although Logan, as commander of the Army, didn't officially proclaim Memorial Day - first known as Decoration Day - as a day of observance until the next year, the parade was a hit in Westminster.

Kiam signs Patriots over to St. Louis backerVictor Kiam, after much haggling with minority owner Fran Murray past a noon deadline yesterday, signed the papers that would remove him as owner of the New England Patriots by agreeing to sell his 51 percent ownership share of the troubled franchise."

Moves Baseball MLB: Suspended Cubs OF Sammy Sosa eight games for using illegal bat Tuesday. ANGELS: Activated P Troy Percival from 15-day DL. Optioned IF Chone Figgins to Triple-A Salt Lake. Recalled P Bart Miadich from Salt Lake. BLUE JAYS: Agreed to terms with P Josh Banks (Severna Park), 50th overall pick in amateur draft. DEVIL RAYS: Claimed 1B Jeff Liefer off waivers from Expos. DIAMONDBACKS: Placed former Orioles OF David Dellucci on 15-day DL, retroactive to June 2, with concussion.

Moves Baseball BRAVES: Transferred 2B Marcus Giles to 60-day DL. Recalled P Tim Drew from Triple-A Richmond. Optioned P Travis Smith to Richmond. BLUE JAYS: Purchased contract of P David Bush from Triple-A Syracuse. Optioned P Micheal Nakamura to Syracuse. DODGERS: Placed P Hideo Nomo on 15-day DL with inflammation of his right rotator cuff. Purchased contract of P Giovanni Carrara from Triple-A Las Vegas. MARINERS: Purchased contract of P Travis Blackley from Triple-A Tacoma. Optioned P Clint Nageotte to Tacoma.

Maybe it's time for more liberal policy on drugsIn response to Marshal Meyer's letter on George Soros' pledge ("Soros' links to the mayor raise drug policy concern," Dec. 15), maybe it's about time for a new approach to the nation's drug problem. If liberalizing drug-use laws can cut down on crimes connected to the trade, maybe the time has come for this direction.The present method of drug enforcement is not winning any prizes for the most efficient method. The lure of easy money often tempts otherwise law-abiding citizens to get into the game.

Epiphany Episcopal Church will have its 14th annual Fair and Rummage Sale from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.This year, $1,000 will be given to Linda Glazier, an inmate at the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women in Jessup, as a commitment of support and to encourage others to help. Glazier is serving two consecutive life sentences for her part in the murder of her parents, who she claims had abused her.A "Friends of Linda" fair booth will have information and give supporters an opportunity to help.

'O Pioneers!' When: Tuesdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 7:30 matinees Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m. Through Dec. 23.Where: Center Stage, 700 N. Calvert St.Tickets: $8-$29.Call: 332-0033.**** The opening image in Center Stage's stirring music theater adaptation of Willa Cather's "O Pioneers!" is a woman in a large, dark coat silhouetted against a vast blue sky, to the plaintive strains of a solo French horn.It is an arresting sight, setting the scene, both visually and aurally, for this magnificent evocation -- adapted by Darrah Cloud with music by Kim D. Sherman -- of Cather's underappreciated 1913 novel.

In 1977, when he was a law clerk for a Maryland Court of Appeals judge who had known him since birth, Timothy E. Meredith decided that he, too, wanted to be a judge someday. The Severna Park lawyer got his start yesterday when he was sworn in to sit on the Court of Special Appeals, the state's second-highest court. Appointed in June by Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., Meredith has stacks of legal briefs to read for the court session that starts next month. `An important job' "It's an important job," Meredith said after yesterday's brief ceremony at the State House, which was attended by lawyers, judges, officials and Meredith's family.