Farm Queen

Six local young women will compete tomorrow night for the honor of becoming the Carroll County Farm Queen.The contest, followed by a performance of Shockwave, a local barbershop quartet, kicks off the Carroll County 4-H Fair, which runs through next Sunday at the agricultural center in Westminster."

Howard County's new Farm Bureau agricultural ambassador, Anna Marie Schlicht, will spend her 17th birthday today as she has spent many others - at the Howard County Fair. Schlicht raises beef, swine and poultry on a 1-acre farm in Clarksville and has been active in 4-H since she was 10 years old. So she is usually at the fair in early August. This was the first year Schlicht was old enough to enter the ambassador contest - sponsored by the Howard County Farm Bureau Women and previously called the Farm Queen Contest.

Four young women will compete in the Carroll County Farm Queen contest on Aug. 2 -- opening day of the county 4-H/FFA Fair.The winner will serve as an ambassador for agriculture in the county in the coming year and will be eligible to compete in the state contest Aug. 29 and 30 for a $2,000 scholarship.Candidates will be judged on their poise and knowledge of agriculture, said contest coordinator Jane Wolfe of Woodbine.Mrs. Wolfe said she met Tuesday with the candidates to discuss issues facing farmers today, such as property and water rights, animal welfare and the use of pesticides.

Jamie Bullock was all ready to pack her things and head back to college in North Carolina when it happened. School will have to wait another week for Bullock, an 18-year-old from Ellicott City, who beat out 20 other young women Friday night to be crowned the Maryland Farm Bureau Queen. The win came as a shock to the college sophomore, who this year served as the Howard County Farm Bureau Queen. "I was trying to make sure they called the right name," Bullock said yesterday before she returned to her duties at the Maryland State Fair in Timonium.

The reigning Carroll County Farm Queen has agriculture in her future, if not her past.Renata Ramonda's only background in farming is through caring for and riding her family's six quarter horses. The Westminster High School senior has ridden them to win several ribbons and awards since she was 6.But Renata, 16 and representing Carroll County in promotional activities at the Maryland State Fair this week, plans a career in agriculture."Mostly I ride and go to shows," Renata said of her farm experience.

The Howard County Fair will be held from Aug. 5 to 12 at the fairgrounds, 2210 Fairgrounds Road, West Friendship. A farm queen will be crowned, and the fair will include animals, household arts, 4-H exhibits, rides, contests, food and entertainment. The fairgrounds is off Route 144, west of Route 32. The hours will be 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Admission is $4. Information: 410-442-1022.

Carroll County's Farm Queen was named first runner-up Sunday in the Maryland Farm Queen contest at the Maryland State Fair.Laura M. Kaminski, 19, of Manchester, said she will represent the Maryland FarmBureau at events during the year that the queen cannot attend.She also will be at the fair, which runs through Labor Day, to help hand out awards.Kelly Holland of Pocomoke, Worcester County, won the title after a two-day competition. She was crowned by the outgoing queen, Jenell Rinehart, 18, of Taneytown.

WESTMINSTER -- Poised, smiling and articulate, Heather Hull of Westminster was chosen as the 1992 Carroll County Farm Queen Sunday evening.Miss Hull, 17, of the 1000 block of Sullivan Road, will be a senior at Westminster High School this fall.She won $250 and will represent county farmers during the next year as she speaks to community groups and attends the state fair."It's a great honor and privilege to represent the farmers of Carroll County. You guys are the hardest working business people I know," she said after being named farm queen.

The three contestants for Howard County farm queen, squirming in their scratchy new dresses, rocked on the balls of their feet, backward and forward, backward and forward.There was nothing to do now but wait.The judges huddled in an office at the quaint fairgrounds next to Interstate 70, deciding the winner.The contest was last Sunday in the same damp show ring where an hour earlier the milking contest was held and a couple of hours later sheep and pigs would be shown.As the judges considered the girls' backgrounds, one fact stood out: Of the three contestants for farm queen, only one lived on a farm.

Baltimore boy, 9, drowns in quarryBALTIMORE -- A 9-year-old Baltimore boy drowned yesterday afternoon in a quarry off Falls Road, where he disappeared while swimming with friends, police reported.The body of Jason White was found by a city police officer and a paramedic who searched the chilly waters for 40 minutes. Jason had apparently been under water for an hour, and resuscitation efforts were futile.Police said Jason was apparently overpowered by the current of the water, which is 8 to 10 feet deep, police said.