Education Program

Centro de Ayuda The organization provides a variety of social services to the Latino community in Annapolis and Anne Arundel County, with support offices in Annapolis and Glen Burnie. Volunteers are needed for a variety of functions. Information: 410-295-3434 or centrodeayuda.org . Rude Ranch An organization dedicated to the rescue, care and adoption of homeless animals in the Maryland and Washington area needs volunteers to assist with spaying/neutering, monitoring animals recovering from surgeries, getting surgical instruments ready for use, fundraising and helping feed and care for resident cats and dogs.

In LeslieLand: Leslie's campaigning for sex education for seniors because of the rising STD rates in that age group. She and Ann, Donna, and Andy are role playing being old people, asking Ann their "grossest sex questions. " It's nice when they remember that Ann is actually a nurse.  When meeting with the seniors, we find Pawnee's seniors think the biggest danger of sex is your partner dying during it. When Leslie begins a demonstration with a condom and a banana, one gentleman in the audience inquires, "But what do you do when the banana is soft and mushy and doglegs sharply to the left?"

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources will take part in National Hunting and Fishing Day with a program at the Associated Gun Clubs of Baltimore on Sept. 22. It marks the sixth year the DNR will be a part of the national day that was mandated by Congress in 1972, and the first year it will be held at the Marriottsville club. According to Patricia Handy, the DNR's information and education program manager, a crowd of between 600 and 1,000 has come to the event, which was held for five years on the Eastern Shore.

Phyllis Teather-Burke, a longtime Baltimore County public school educator whose specialty was early-childhood education, died Wednesday of cancer at her Glen Arm home. She was 77. "She was an outstanding educator who had a deep commitment to children," said former state Superintendent Nancy L. Grasmick, who retired in 2011. "She was a highly respected and an amazing educator. " The daughter of a businessman and an educator, the former Phyllis Burke was born in Valhalla, N.Y., and settled with her family in Reisterstown in 1942.

Dr. Gloria Lea Bledsoe, a retired Baltimore County guidance counselor who established an Oldfields School early-childhood education program, died of cancer May 30 at Glen Meadows Assisted Living. She was 85 and lived in Towson for many years. Born Gloria Lea Whittle in Baltimore and raised on LaPaix Lane, she was a 1945 graduate of Notre Dame Preparatory School. After raising her family, she began teaching at Oldfields School in 1979. She established a nursery school along with an early-childhood education program, family members said.

Regarding Maryvale Preparatory School's mandatory alcohol education program ("At Maryvale Prep, alcohol education comes before prom," May 24), anything that can help make sure these seniors are safe now that they are almost in college is a good thing. College parties will present them with increased peer pressure and risky activities, but knowing what choices are the right choices is powerful knowledge for a teen. That could make the difference in putting them in a situation where they or a friend gets injured or in trouble.

Mary S. "Molly" Jameson, who established and directed two outreach programs at St. Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic Church in Baltimore, died Sunday of breast cancer at her Lutherville home. She was 81. The daughter of a building contractor and an educator, Mary Smart was born in Garrett County and raised in Oakland, Friendsville and Grantsville. After graduating from Oakland High School in 1948, she enrolled at what is now Towson University, where she earned a bachelor's degree in 1952.