Family Center

Taxpayers group to hold meeting about tax rights Carroll County Taxpayers Association will meet at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow at Westminster Senior Center. Residents can learn about their rights and procedures to fight high property tax increases. The senior center is at 125 Stoner Ave. Information: 410-840-9699. Professor to discuss Islam and male authority A retired Pakistani professor will discuss "Women, Islam and Male Authority" at 7 p.m. Thursday in McDaniel Lounge at Western Maryland College.

Marine exhibit in Wilmington You can travel through four centuries of French warfare, naval exploration, scientific voyage, sea trade and pleasure sailing when Le Grand Voyage: Treasures From the National Marine Museum in Paris opens Saturday at the First USA Riverfront Arts Center in Wilmington, Del. The exhibit of more than 200 marine treasures from the 16th to 20th centuries includes historic ship models, paintings, navigational and scientific instruments,...

College and library to sponsor lectures on beliefs of Islam In cooperation with the Islamic Society of Baltimore, Carroll Community College and the Carroll County Public Library are sponsoring a free lecture and discussion, "Islam: A Growing World Religion." The basic beliefs and practices of Islam and the intersection between Islam and Christianity will be discussed. A question-and-answer period will be included. Presenters will be Dr. Habeeb Ashruf and David Neal. Ashruf is an executive board member and former president of Islamic Society of Baltimore.

NEW YORK -- This time, the Ravens huddled in silence. Four players from the Super Bowl champions -- Ray Lewis, Tony Siragusa, Peter Boulware and James Trapp -- and team president David Modell canvassed the ruins of the World Trade Center yesterday and took a moment to reflect. Joining city policemen, firemen and rescue workers in a small circle at ground zero, the players bowed their heads for a moment of prayer amidst the twisted metal and piles of rubble. "Father, I pray we never forget," team chaplain Rod Hairston told the group.

Shakespeare is happening in Hampden. Red curtains billow over the windows and exotic stage masks are draped over the young players" faces. They speak lyrically in Elizabethan English, pausing over such unfamiliar phrases as, "I pray thee, get thee gone."

It's nearly too good to be true. Some people might even say the talk is downright sappy. That's because Thornleigh residents themselves admit they are a sentimental bunch. And they unabashedly gush that their neighborhood is just about as close to perfection as you can get. "It's a feeling you get when driving through," said 10-year resident Kim Dockman, president of the Thornleigh Improvement Association. But if the feeling is difficult to describe, folks who live in Thornleigh are quite clear about the more tangible reasons that attract them to the 44-year-old neighborhood just minutes off the Jones Falls Expressway in Baltimore County.

Art and hors d'oeuvres made a good mix at Maryland Art Place for Hampden Family Center's "Silent Auction & Cocktail Reception." The 225 guests included event chair Dina Mallis Klicos, Hampden Family Center board president Beth Volk and executive director Lisa Ghinger. The shindig collected more than $23,000 for the Center.

Carla Buehler is moving, always moving, welcoming a hundred people one at a time to the cacophony of her daily life. Her exercisers thump in time to Shania Twain. Her card-players tune the noise out. The rest of her folks are getting their blood pressure checked, their dose of conversation and their coffee. Buehler's Ellicott City Senior Center is rarely quiet - partly because everything happens in one 40-by-55-foot hall, but also because many have flocked to the place for its feeling of instant family.

County taxpayers group to meet tomorrow Carroll County Taxpayers Association will meet at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow at Westminster Senior Center. State Sen. Timothy R. Ferguson will discuss the Maryland Economic Development Corporation, which was expanded by this year's General Assembly. He will discuss the implications of the measure on property owners. All property owners are welcome. The senior center is at 125 Stoner Ave. Information: William Hurlock, 410-857-1213. Planning and zoning panel plans public work session Carroll County Planning and Zoning Commission will hold a work session to discuss the Phase 2 Commercial and Industrial Comprehensive Rezoning recommendations in Election Districts 5, 9 and 14 (Sykesville, Winfield and Berrett, respectively)