Drainage

Commissioners receive surprise airport tax bill The Carroll County commissioners received an unexpected tax bill, amounting to nearly $38,000. Because the county's new corporate hangars at the Carroll County Regional Airport are leased to private companies, they are subject to county and state property taxes. The bill is for fiscal year 2004. The county will pay the $4,276 state portion immediately. It will not pay the county portion, however, because no money was budgeted. On a recommendation from Eugene C. Curfman, county comptroller, the commissioners exempted the airport for fiscal year 2005.

A major overhaul of Druid Hill Park unveiled yesterday would restore the park's old "Negro" tennis courts as a memorial to Althea Gibson and the late Arthur Ashe -- champions who learned the game when Jim Crow laws prevented blacks and whites from playing together.The tennis memorial is part of a master plan to end years of neglect at Druid Hill, which was designed in 1860 and, with more than 1 million visitors annually, is one of the city's most popular parks.Other proposals include restoring the Sisters Pools and the surrounding meadows and woodlands, expanding and improving the Conservatory gardens, and replanting the Promenade tree rows and restoring the tower at Druid Lake.

Around the house* Remove hardened candle wax. Place an ice cube on wax and scrape off with a credit card or plastic spatula.* Save energy when using fireplace. Close all doors and warm-air ducts in a room with a fireplace. Open a nearby window 1/2 inch to 1 inch to provide air needed by the fire. This will reduce the amount of heated air drawn from the rest of the house.In the garden* Keep blooming gift plants such as poinsettias away from direct sunlight, heat ducts and drafts. Remove foil and place plant on a gravel-filled saucer to allow adequate drainage.

Q: Our toddler had frequent ear infections and got tubes in her ears this winter. Now it's hot, and we'd like to take her to the pool. Is is all right for her to swim?A: Doctors call the ear "tubes" you're referring to as "tympanostomy" tubes. They create a small artificial opening in the ear drum (tympanic membrane), so that air pressures can equalize on the two sides of the ear drum and fluid cannot become trapped in the middle ear where it might promote bacterial growth and start another ear infection.

A river runs through Richard Anderson's North Laurel yard -- not every day, just when the rains overflow the small drainage pond in the new development behind his home.Water several inches deep races past his house, flooding his garage and washing silt over his yard and driveway. Mr. Anderson has complained to Howard County officials for nine months -- only to be told that the property was subdivided too long ago to be subject to current drainage regulations."This is ruining our property," he said.

It may be hard to believe that Weather Hill, a sleek brick-and-stucco rancher in the midst of tree-studded hills in Hunt Valley, was once a dinosaur on the housing market.Before it was renovated last winter, the 16-year-old three-bedroom house languished on the market for over six months with nary a nibble of interest.Owners Bart and Peggy Chernow, who wanted to sell Weather Hill so they could build their dream home, knew there were problems. From the outside, its solid-brown brick walls and flat black roof were dreary.

The Orioles and the Maryland Stadium Authority are excavating portions of the outfield at Camden Yards to determine the cause of a disease afflicting the stadium's grass. The damage to the grass is significant enough that the Orioles likely will replace the turf for the first time in the stadium's nine-season history, a team official said yesterday. Rectangular holes - about 6 feet long and 2 feet wide - have been dug in several areas of the outfield. Grass and soil samples have been removed for laboratory analysis, and officials are inspecting the field's drainage system to find out what caused areas of the grass to thin late in the baseball season.

Every time it rains or snows, Howard County dumps drainage into Joseph Mahony's back yard in the Laurel area.It flows in a stream a couple feet wide and 2 or 3 inches deep, washing away his grass and eroding his land. And before the water escapes through a culvert underneath Route 29, it forms a small pool in his neighbor's back yard."I could get a kayak and take a ride," said Mr. Mahony, 63, while following the stream's path through the woods behind his house. "It gets worse and worse every year."

25 Years Ago (Week of May 10-16, 1970)* The Wilde Lake Board of Directors voted down a proposal by Howard Research and Development (HRD) to construct an island in Wilde Lake. Among the reasons for the disapproval of the proposal were the facts that the island could pose a safety hazard for children, and that it would increase an existing siltation problem in the lake.50 Years Ago (Week of May 13-19, 1945):* The Howard County Extension Service, in conjunction with the Soil Conservation Service, presented demonstrations on several county farms of how dynamite could be used to facilitate the drainage of farmland: A ditch was opened by exploding several charges of dynamite simultaneously to create a series of overlapping craters.

Creeping Thyme (Thymus sp.) Searching for a low groundcover that deer don't eat? A sunny spot in your garden may be perfect for creeping thyme. This herbaceous perennial forms a mat about 3 to 5 inches tall by creeping stems. Tiny glossy leaves range from green to gold to variegated, depending upon species and cultivar. Midsummer flowers of pink, lavender, red or white attract bees to their rich nectar. Creeping thyme requires excellent drainage, but, once established, this drought-tolerant groundcover makes a scented carpet underfoot.