Foor

Science teacher Robert Foor-Hogue, whose students are always raising money for one project or another, has found a new way to bring in dollars for South Carroll High School.He is this year's statewide winner of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Teaching.The award, for secondary science, gives him $7,500 to spend on his school. He also will spend a week of March in Washington, and get to meet the president during a Rose Garden ceremony at the White House."I'll use it for equipment," he said of the prize money.

Whether building a bridge over a threatened stream, conducting an insect census, constructing a wind tunnel or planting trees, the students in Robert L. Foor-Hogue's science classes at South Carroll High School have learned to become intensely involved outside of the classroom.His projects and presentations have earned the teacher a string of accolades and more than a few grants. (In one powerful demonstration on the effects of cigarette smoking, for example, he infused smoke into a fishbowl, which caused the fish to act disoriented and its circulation to drop.

Robert Foor-Hogue and his wife Nancy Lee have done what many people only wish they could do -- make their dream house a reality.The Manchester couple, who built a solar home in 1976, have been enjoying since then the beauty of the predominantly wooded seven acres that surround the home off of Schaulk Road 1."My wife and I always knew that we wanted an energy-efficient house, and one we could erect ourselves," explained Foor-Hogue. "Since my wife grew up in Lewistown, Pa., and I had grown up in Ohio, we wereused to the quiet and solitude, and that was our dream.

OCEAN CITY -- Sunday afternoon, charter boat captains, fishermen and their families were gathered in the shade of the Flying Fish Saloon, awaiting the weigh-ins on the final day of the Ocean City Tuna Tournament.Now, one might have expected the focus of the small, vocal crowd at the Ocean City Fishing Center to be centered on tuna. Instead, most eyes were on a set of television screens, on which the NASCAR race at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa., was being shown. It was a race in which Rusty Wallace was challenging for the lead to the great delight of a bartender with a pair of large, silver earrings.

Two Carroll County residents will meet President Clinton in the White House Rose Garden next week to receive Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science and Mathematics.They are Robert Foor-Hogue of Millers, a science teacher at South Carroll High School, and Judy Faye Bruchey of Keymar, a math teacher at Green Valley Elementary in Monrovia, Frederick County.The other Maryland award-winners are Sally Edgerton Bell of Baltimore's Hilton Elementary School, and Linda K. Agreen of Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, Prince George's County.

For about a month now, students in the science research classes at South Carroll High School have hounded teacher Robert Foor-Hogue with one question: "When are we going to break our bridges?"A strange request, and a strange goal: building something just to break it.But the only way to judge a bridge is to see how it takes weight, Mr. Foor-Hogue said.Friday, in the school auditorium, the students took turns connecting their balsa wood bridges to a box-like instrument called a stress analyzer.

Name: Robert L. Foor-HogueHonored by The Carroll County Sun for:Winning the Class Act Award from WBAL-TV, Channel 11. The station makes the award, based on nominations from students, to teachers and principals who have made a positive contribution in the class room. Foor-Hogue is the science department head at South Carroll HighAge: 40Residence; hometown: Manchester; Columbus, OhioEducation: Bachelor's degree in zoology from University of Maryland, College Park; master's equivalency in science and education from the Johns Hopkins UniversityFamily: Wife: Nancy Lee, social worker withthe Carroll County Department of Social Services; daughter: Sarah, 10; son: Joshua, 6Activities/hobbies: Breeds and trains horses andmaintains aquatic gardens on his farm; also built his own solar-heated home, where he is adding a sun roomAccomplishments: Maryland Science Teachers Association "Teacher of the Year" in 1986; finalist for 1990 Presidential Award for Excellence in ScienceRecipient's comments: "Teaching is a hard job. I am always flattered and honored when my efforts are recognized by students and colleagues."

Homeowners have banded to oppose a church retreat proposed for Schalk Road and to challenge the recent county zoning amendment that allows such centers.The Sugar Valley Community Association has hired aWestminster attorney to oppose a zoning application filed by Full Gospel American Mission Church members, who have proposed building prayer, conference, living and recreational facilities on 22 acres.Residents of the 18-lot Gunpowder Ridge subdivision say the retreat could have adverse environmental impacts, produce increased traffic and change the community's character.