Family Life Center

Lutheran preschool accepting registration for coming school year Registration is being accepted for the 2001-2002 school year at the Galilee Lutheran Preschool, 4652 Mountain Road. The preschool, intended for children who will be age 3 or 4 by Dec. 31, is a structured Christian program. Classes are offered for 3-year-olds Tuesdays and Thursdays, and for 4-year-olds Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays. Two sessions are available for each age group: a morning session from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and an afternoon session from noon to 2:30 p.m. Tuition is $85 per month.

The Carroll County Planning and Zoning Commission gave its approval yesterday for construction to begin on two cell towers, a warehouse, an equipment rental store and a church expansion. The seven-member panel also allowed two small housing subdivisions - 13 lots in all - in South Carroll to move to the next step of the review process for proposed residential developments. AT&T Wireless Services plans to build a 135-foot tower on wooded property near Arthur Avenue and Liberty Reservoir in South Carroll and a 120-foot tower on a farm near Stuller and Nicodemus roads south of Westminster.

The Columbia Foundation -- a Howard County community foundation founded in 1969 by the late James W. Rouse -- has granted $169,500 to 23 local charitable organizations.Thirteen human service grants totaling $115,000 will help support groups addressing concerns such as homelessness, maintaining families and employment for the disadvantaged.Beneficiaries include Camp Attaway Inc., to provide scholarships for emotionally disturbed children to attend a summer camp; Cars for Careers Inc., to provide transportation for low-income families; Churches Concerned for the Homeless; and Developmental Services Group, for equipment to expand job training for brain-injured individuals.

U.S. Housing Secretary Henry G. Cisneros yesterday announced awards totaling $4 million to aid nine historically black colleges in reviving their surrounding neighborhoods, including a $500,000 grant to Baltimore's Coppin State College."

"Glorious the song when God's the theme," said 18th-century poet Christopher Smart in his "Song to David." The committee overseeing the Performing Arts Ministry of St. Philips Episcopal Church in Annapolis couldn't agree more, which is why they are dedicated to providing the public with entertaining concerts and shows that have an uplifting and redeeming quality. In keeping with that theme, St. Philips shifts its congregational focus to Key Auditorium on the St. John's College campus Sunday, when its Performing Arts Ministry will present "Dance for Life," a recital by choreographer, dancer and teacher Anton Wilson and a troupe of his talented colleagues.

Annapolis man attends conference on poverty issues Earl Smith of Annapolis Area Ministries - one of the 17 area congregations that offer financial and volunteer support to the Light House Shelter in Annapolis - recently attended a two-day conference held by the Center for Poverty Solutions at Coppin State College in Baltimore. Those who attended the conference could choose from more than 40 workshops on welfare reform and HIV/AIDS grant writing, prison reform and domestic violence. Workshop leaders included professionals from area nonprofit organizations such as Health Care for the Homeless and the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.

ONE OF THE more noticeable religious trends nationwide has just landed in Davidsonville and some residents don't like it. Like a growing number of Protestant congregations that are building giant religious-activity centers, Riverside Baptist Church is proposing to erect a huge worship complex on 41 acres in the middle of farm fields.The Riverside congregation is currently based in Upper Marlboro in neighboring Prince George's County. The "mega-church" it plans to build at U.S. 50 and Davidsonville Road would include a 110,000-square-foot worship center with capacity for 1,500 people; a family-life center with racquetball and basketball courts; an elevated jogging track; children's play areas and a parking lot for 700 cars.

A three-decade-long career devoted to human services that will come to an end next week is being honored today, along with the contributions of a volunteer and two community groups. Judith S. Pittman, education and training director at the Association of Community Services since 2002, will be recognized by ACS with a Special Recognition Award at the Audrey Robbins Humanitarian Awards Luncheon at noon at The Meeting Place in Oakland Mills. She is retiring May 29. The awards, named for a former county social services director, were created in 1975 to highlight the work of human services organizations, volunteers and staff members.

Robert W. "Bob" Russell, a businessman and community activist who was a noted figure in community theater circles, died Aug. 19 of esophageal cancer at his Columbia home. He was 66. Mr. Russell, the son of a Ford Motor Co. assembly line worker and a homemaker, was born in Jersey City, N.J., and raised in Maywood, N.J. After graduating from Bogota High School in 1961, he earned a bachelor's degree in 1965. He also received a master's degree in education from the University of Southern California.

Elizabeth Jamieson Winstead "Libby" Rouse, the former wife of developer James Rouse — who helped inspire the original concepts used in the development of Columbia — died of pneumonia early Wednesday at her home in North Roland Park. She was 96. She had been an official of the National Peace Foundation and was an advocate of conflict resolution. "She was a formidable person with a strong religious and ethical sense," said Matt DeVito, former chairman, president and chief executive officer of the Rouse Co. "Jim Rouse told me Columbia was Libby's idea as a way of instilling egalitarian ideas in a community setting.