Fairhaven

Fairhaven Retirement Community is offering Sykesville the opportunity to annex 12 acres of its property if the town willrethink its opposition to the extension of Third Avenue."

Walter Scott Brown, a retired Baltimore & Ohio Railroad civil engineer whose career overseeing the railroad's infrastructure spanned nearly 40 years, died Monday at the Fairhaven retirement community in Sykesville of complications from a fall he suffered last month. Mr. Brown, who family members said "remained sharp until the end of his life," was 106. The son of a building contractor and a homemaker, Walter Scott Brown was born at home in Lafayette Square, where he was raised.

COMPARED WITH a cement factory or a mega-store or even a restaurant, a retirement center is a desirable choice for a neighbor. But to some folks in north Sykesville, it looks just as unattractive as any other business.Episcopal Ministries to the Aging, whose Fairhaven Retirement Community has been in the town for 23 years, wants to build a headquarters on its own land across Third Avenue from the retirement center. The structure would consolidate administrative staff from three facilities, employing about 40 people, most of whom already work at Fairhaven.

Thomas K. Pettit, a retired Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. engineer who later co-owned a natural-foods store, died Tuesday of complications after gall bladder surgery at Northwest Hospital. The one-time Timonium and Mays Chapel resident was 86. The son of a Western Maryland Railway purchasing agent and a homemaker, he was born in Baltimore and raised in Ashburton and later Ten Hills. He was a 1944 graduate of Polytechnic Institute, where he was a star quarterback and lacrosse player.

NOW THAT IT'S HARVEST time for most summer vegetable gardeners, I've begun to notice some of the more productive gardens in the area. It seems everywhere you look, something is ripe for the picking.Nowhere is the green thumb more apparent than in the Fairhaven retirement community. I'd noticed the large garden on the community's outskirts for the past few years as I drove by, and I had always wondered what was there and who tended it.It turns out that a love of horticulture is shared by many Fairhaven residents.

James I. Melhorn, president and chief executive officer o Episcopal Ministries to the Aging, recently presented 14 student scholarships at a Parent/Student open house at Fairhaven, a residential retirement community in Sykesville.High school students who have been employed at Fairhaven for at least a year are eligible for a $500 scholarship. Students who have worked there for two years or more are eligible for a $1,000 scholarship.Recipients of $500 scholarships are:Angela D. Andrews of Randallstown; Loren M. Grimm of Sykesville; Brian R. Grimsley of Mount Airy; Brandi Miller of Sykesville; Debra J. Snyder of Ellicott City; Nicole K. White of Sykesville; and Elizabeth A. Zambito of Eldersburg.

Fairhaven Retirement Community has made one more pitch to its Sykesville neighbors, hoping to win support to build a $3.5 million corporate headquarters in town.For Fairhaven to proceed, the town must change the residential zoning on the property to business, an action residents vehemently opposed during two lengthy public hearings. A third hearing is to be held at 7 p.m. today at the Town House.The Town Council is expected to vote on the rezoning after the hearing.Fairhaven administrators held out several carrots, including $1.2 million in road improvements and land for a town pool, to an audience of about 100 attending an information session Thursday at Fairhaven.

After lengthy public debate, the Sykesville Town Council postponed action last night on a $3.5 million corporate headquarters that Fairhaven Retirement Community plans on the northern edge of town.The 3-2 decision disappointed the nearly 50 residents who attended the session, who expected the council to vote on a petition that would change the zoning on the vacant 3 acres from residential to commercial."This postponement is obviously a delaying tactic," said Connie Higgins of Main Street.

Fairhaven Retirement Community's plan to build a $3.5 million headquarters has several of its Sykesville neighbors clamoring for the complex to keep its distance.Episcopal Ministries to the Aging, Fairhaven's parent company, angered homeowners along Springfield and Central avenues recently when it announced plans to build corporate offices adjacent to their residences."Would you want an office building in your back yard?" asked Debbi Lamb of Central Avenue. "I have no problem with Fairhaven as neighbors, but not next door."

With the design for a new intersection along Route 32 and access roads nearly complete, the town of Sykesville has yet to find all the money it needs for the $8 million project. Officials, both in the town and Carroll County, would like businesses that stand to benefit from the roadwork to contribute to it. "We are trying to do what is right and fair," said Mayor Jonathan S. Herman. "The state does not want to pay for other people's responsibilities. We are trying to come up with justifiable expenses for all the players.

SYKESVILLE — The South Carroll Fine Arts League is continuing its current art exhibition at the Fairhaven retirement community in Sykesville through July 15. The show debuted in June; and includes works of original oil, acrylic and watercolor paintings; photographs; and framed prints by 10 local artists: Mary Decker; Sam Gunby; J.C. Coleman; Barbara Taccino; Wayne McWilliams; Gale Ratley; Frank Torockio; Lucille Kerns; Darlene Jones; and Kevin...

Emily B. Holman, a homemaker, volunteer and longtime Ruxton resident, died Sept. 22 of complications from a stroke at the Fairhaven retirement community in Sykesville. Mrs. Holman was 94. Emily Brown, the daughter of a pharmacist and a homemaker, was born and raised in Deposit, N.Y., near Binghamton, N.Y. After graduating from a private school in Rowayton, Conn., she studied to be a teacher at the Ethical Culture School in New York City. In 1941, she married Yerby Rozelle Holman, who was serving in the Army.

Joseph Partridge Paine, a retired aeronautical engineer and defense consultant, died May 21 of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at the Fairhaven retirement community in Sykesville. He was 90. Mr. Paine was born in Augusta, Maine, and was raised there and in Small Point, Maine. After graduating from high school, he earned a bachelor's degree in 1940 in aeronautical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He moved to Baltimore and went to work for the old Glenn L. Martin Co. in Middle River.

Louise M. Harris, a former real estate agent and a homemaker, died of cancer Aug. 28 at Fairhaven Retirement Community in Sykesville. She was 90. The former Louise Fairfax was born in Richmond, Va., and spent her early years on her family's James River farm. She moved with her family to Cannes, France, in 1922 and, eight years later, to St. Andrews, Scotland, where she studied at St. Leonards School for Girls, now St. Leonards School and Sixth Form College, where she earned an Oxford certificate.

Doris W. Pearce, a retired junior high school secretary and former Lutherville resident, died of respiratory failure Friday at Fairhaven Retirement Community in Sykesville. She was 89. Doris Way was born in Baltimore and raised in Hampden. She was a 1935 graduate of Western High School. From 1959 to 1979, she was a secretary to the counselors in the guidance department at Woodbourne Junior High School. She was married for 62 years to Irving E.W. Pearce, former supervisor of supplies at the Curtis Bay Coast Guard Yard, who died in 2001.

On April 20, 2007 FRANK MICHAEL BABULA 92, of Baltimore, MD; beloved husband of the late Aniela "Nellie" (nee Jasenska); devoted father of Patricia Pierce, Carol Roush and Stephen Babula; dear brother of Stella Atwood; loving grandfather of Michael Pierce, Marlene Roush and Daniel Roush. Friends may call at the BARRANCO & SONS P.A. SEVERNA PARK FUNERAL HOME, Ritchie Highway at Robinson Road on Tuesday from 10 to 12 Noon with Service to begin at Noon. A memorial service will be held a the Fairhaven Chapel, 7200 3rd Ave, Sykesville, Wednesday at 3 p.m. Burial private.

After three public hearings and hours of intense debate, the Sykesville Town Council voted 6-1 last night against a rezoning proposal that would bring a $3.5 million corporate headquarters into a neighborhood.The mayor's promise that a vote would take place drew a standing-room-only crowd of nearly 100.Nearly all those attending opposed rezoning residential land to business use and allowing Episcopal Ministries to the Aging to build its headquarters.The ministry -- the parent company of Fairhaven Retirement Community, South Carroll's largest employer -- planned a series of six cottage-like buildings on a 3-acre plot at the northern end of town.

It seems that everybody at Fairhaven knows Jane Weyrauch. As she passes a photo exhibit by Bruce Blum hanging on the art gallery walls, residents and staff greet her, some hugging her, others asking how she is doing or joking about her celebrity status. The photo display is Weyrauch's doing. As Fairhaven's director of art, the art studio and exhibits, Weyrauch has coordinated art shows -- one every six weeks for the past 11 years for the Sykesville retirement community. She has exhibits scheduled through March 2011.