Downs Park

Anne Arundel County police are looking for a woman who said she witnessed a man give money to two boys in Downs Park before trying to walk them into the woods. They are also looking for the boys and others who may have seen the incident on Sunday. Police said the woman told a park ranger that around 5:30 p.m. she went over to the man and "told him to leave the children alone," then reported the incident to a ranger, police said. The ranger and woman waited with the boys for their parents.

Anne Arundel County police are looking for a woman who said she witnessed a man give money to two boys in Downs Park before trying to walk them into the woods. They are also looking for the boys and others who may have seen the incident on Sunday. Police said the woman told a park ranger that around 5:30 p.m. she went over to the man and "told him to leave the children alone," then reported the incident to a ranger, police said. The ranger and woman waited with the boys for their parents.

Downs Park wouldn't be Downs Park without volunteers -- maintaining its 231 acres would not be possible without their help.Park officials and local merchants will honor 156 altruistic volunteers known as the "Friends of Downs Park" with a banquet at 2 p.m. tomorrow in the Mount Carmel Methodist Church Hall on Mountain Road.Co-sponsors for tomorrow's event include Pastore's of Pasadena, True Value food stores, V. Jordan Lumber Co. of Glen Burnie and I.N.R.Grocery and Prudential Preferred Properties, both in Pasadena.

Their first public appearance was a smash hit. Six Chesapeake Bay Middle School students stood before state and federal environmental experts Wednesday in Annapolis to explain that they want to build an artificial reef at the Downs Park fishing pier in Pasadena to improve water quality and fishing opportunities. They walked out to applause from the adults and some helpful suggestions for their next audience: Gov. Martin O'Malley and the rest of the Board of Public Works. "This is good.

More than 80 artisans will sell their wares at the 1995 Downs Park Craft Fair from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the park on Mountain Road.From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. there will be children's games at 25 cents a game; face painting; pumpkin painting at $1 a pumpkin; and scarecrow-making at $5 a scarecrow. A children's costume contest will begin at 1 p.m. at the amphitheater for three age categories.The Hot Jazz Orchestra will perform from noon to 2 p.m. A quilt raffle, sponsored by the Downs Park Quilters Guild, will be held at 3 p.m.Entrance to the park is free the day of the festival.

The Downs Park Junior Naturalists will explore the world of nature at Downs Park during six sessions from June 21 at the park.Sessions will run on Monday afternoons from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. and enrollees will earn a Junior Naturalist patch and certification by attending at least five of the six sessions.Topics in the series will include Bay ecology, birds at the park, reptiles and amphibians and more.The program is for children age 9 to 14 and the program fee is $15. Registration is due by June 21.The county Department of Recreation and Parks will sponsor a Summer Fishing Contest starting today through Aug. 30 at Downs Park.

Monday is the official beginning of spring, the season of new growth and change. For Bill Offutt, the new ranger at Downs Park, the season got an early start three weeks ago when his son, Scott, was born."

A pipe bomb exploded on a pedestrian bridge at the John H. Downs Park and caused minor damage earlier this week, county police said.William Offutt, a ranger at the park in the 8300 block of Johns Downs Loop, arrived at work about 8:35 a.m. Wednesday. Park maintenance workers showed him the damaged bridge, which runs over Pinehurst Drive, police said. Mr. Offutt checked the bridge and found a 6-foot wooden plank destroyed and several pieces of pipe on the 10-foot wide bridge, police said.Mr.

Even though we are in the midst of summer, organizers at Downs Park are preparing for the fall craft fair. The fair is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 28, in conjunction with the highly successful Halloween Haunted Trail.This is a juried event, and applications are being accepted from interested artisans.All items sold at the fair must be made by the artisan.The fees are $20 for one space and $30 for two. Application packets are available at the park information office or by mail.For details, call the park, 222-6240.

Tired feet and empty bank accounts are about all I can remember about this last week of the summer of '95.Even though we officially remain several weeks in the summer season, it's over on Monday morning.Alarms all over Pasadena will sound. Happy, excited students will bound from their cozy beds eagerly anticipating another fun-filled, educationally challenging, intellectually stimulating waltz down the corridors of education.That scenario usually lasts for, maybe, one day. Then it's back to dragging a sleepy-headed kid out of bed in time to eat, dress and catch the bus (better known as the "cheese bucket" around my household)

Their first public appearance was a smash hit. Six Chesapeake Bay Middle School students stood before state and federal environmental experts Wednesday in Annapolis to explain that they want to build an artificial reef at the Downs Park fishing pier in Pasadena to improve water quality and fishing opportunities. They walked out to applause from the adults and some helpful suggestions for their next audience: Gov. Martin O'Malley and the rest of the Board of Public Works. "This is good.

Arundel police seek attacker of woman in Downs Park 2 Anne Arundel County police are looking for a teenager who they said grabbed a 40-year-old woman around the neck as she walked in Downs Park in Pasadena over the Labor Day weekend. The woman suffered minor injuries, according to police, who said she was on a wooded trail in the park area Saturday about 3:45 p.m. when she came across a teenage boy "acting in a strange manner," appearing to intentionally fall off his bike several times.

Anytime George Bentz wants to drop a line or just appreciate his water views, he walks out onto his pier on the Marley Neck Peninsula. "I have all the facilities I need," he said. Though Anne Arundel County boasts 530 miles of shoreline, pier access is a luxury mostly limited to people who live along the waterfront or in beach communities. Until three weeks ago, the county had only one public pier. With Bentz's help, that has changed. This weekend, county officials planned to celebrate the formal opening at Downs Park in Pasadena of a 300-foot T-shape pier, the first in the county specifically designed for fishing.

If any good can emerge from the aftermath of the tragic death of Deanna Green, the 14-year-old girl who was electrocuted at a softball field in Druid Hill Park, I hope it would be an increased emphasis on park maintenance. The explanation city parks director Connie A. Brown put forth in a news conference this week that a freakish combination of circumstances led to the accident seems plausible. He said that the tip of metal fence post tapped into an underground cable, sending a lethal dose of electricity into the softball player when she simultaneously touched two metal fences along the sidelines.

Gary Klein loves and loathes his classic car. He devotes half his garage, hours of free time and a good chunk of change to his yellow convertible 1975 TR6. It's British, and it's his little metal baby. The car's design - the straight lines and the boxy shell - drew him in. That's his favorite part of the car. "It's the shape," Klein said. "It's been described as a man's car, and I guess I must have fallen into that trap. It attracted me." After restoring it, Klein reached out to other British-car owners in the area.

City sophisticates seek out Mount Vernon's museums, galleries and fine dining. But what could soon become the urban neighborhood's hottest ticket is designed to appeal to a less-cultured, though no less discriminating palate: that of toddlers. A determined cadre of Mount Vernon parents united two years ago with the mission of bringing child's play to an area of town better known for more mature cultural pastimes. And after raising an impressive bankroll, the neighborhood will soon turn a run-down park into what promises to be one of the city's most deluxe playgrounds - including a computerized water feature and a hedge maze.

DOWNS PARK just seems to be getting better with age. When the gates were first opened on July 1, 1982, the park was a welcomed addition to an ever-expanding suburbanized area. Featuring 231 acres of woodlands with trails, areas for picnicking or play, and a spectacular view of the Chesapeake Bay with a 2,000-foot shoreline, the park offered the surrounding community a place for fun and recreation while preserving the native habitat of a rapidly vanishing rural waterfront area. "When we opened our gates in 1982, we weren't exactly sure what the community expected from us," said Rick Holt, park superintendent.

THE STAFF AT Downs Park has been extra busy in recent weeks, preparing for this weekend's kickoff of another fantastic season of its popular Bayside Concert Series. As we have all come to expect, this season's lineup includes a selection of singers - 18 Sunday evening programs with something for every age and every musical taste. The opening show, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, will feature the lively Caribbean sounds of Jambulay. June's schedule will include classical, Top 40, Motown, and an eclectic mix of jazz, reggae and folk.

McDonogh's unbeaten girls basketball team aced the first test in a two-week stretch of tough competition with solid free-throw shooting to beat fiesty, No. 14 Roland Park, 45-38, last night. The No. 3 Eagles hit only 11 field goals but made up for it by making 21 of 31 free throws. Versatile sophomore guard Brittany Mallory hit 13 of 16 free throws and finished with a game-high 20 points. "We bailed them out a lot," said Roland Park coach Scott Buckley. "We fouled too much, and they got in the double bonus really early.

Panel OKs $350,000 to build fishing pier in Downs Park The Maryland Board of Public Works has approved a $350,000 grant to build a fishing pier in Pasadena's Downs Park. The 300-foot pier is expected to be completed next year as part of an overall renovation of the county park. Downs Park, a 245-acre tract along the Chesapeake Bay, offers nature trails, playing fields and other recreational facilities. Comcast airing greetings from service members Comcast is airing holiday greetings through New Year's Eve in Central and Southern Maryland from 117 local military personnel stationed overseas.