Gartrell

Martha H. ElderPreschool directorMartha Holland Elder, retired director of Trinity Church Day School in Long Green, died Saturday of heart failure at the Dulaney-Towson Health Care Center. She was 76.She had lived in Rodgers Forge for nearly 10 years after living in the Long Green Valley for many years.She retired in the late 1960s as director of the preschool at Trinity Episcopal Church, a post she held for much of the time since the school, which had closed during World War II, was reopened with her help in 1948.

BEL AIR -- Mike Weichert kicked a 42-yard field goal with 42 seconds left to give C. Milton Wright a 25-24 win over Aberdeen last night.For heart-stopping thrills, the game was every bit the equal to the Mustangs' 14-13 upset of Aberdeen last year that began their climb toward their regional championship.The teams exchanged the lead seven times before a standing-room-only crowd at C.M. Wright's home field. And the Mustangs withstood a big rushing performance by Aberdeen tailback Demont Blackmon.

Looking to keep pace with growth and increased demands for police service, the towns of Hampstead and Manchester have hired rookie officers who begin 18 weeks of training Monday.Taking advantage of a three-year Department of Justice grant, which provides 75 percent of salary and benefits, Hampstead has hired Stacey Hager, its first female officer, and Manchester has hired Patrick Gartrell, its first rookie.With Hager, 25, of Catonsville, Hampstead will have a force of seven officers, including Chief Kenneth Meekins.

Edward Leo Starr Jr., a retired Martin-Marietta manager, died Monday at the University of Maryland Medical Center of injuries from an automobile accident April 2. The Catonsville resident was 76. Born in Baltimore and raised in Mount Washington, he attended the Shrine of the Sacred Heart Parochial School. He was a 1947 graduate of the old St. Charles Seminary in Catonsville and earned a degree from St. Mary's Seminary in 1949. Mr. Starr decided not to enter the priesthood and went on to earn a master's degree in social work from Catholic University of America in 1952.

The Fire Prevention Committee at Winfield Community Volunteer Fire Department has been given 30 smoke detectors to give away in the community to those who need one.Committee chairwoman Debbie Gartrell said the Carroll County Health Department's Injury Prevention coordinator Meg Gobrecht gave the station the smoke detectors as part of its Keep Injuries Down with Safety (KIDS) Club program.The smoke detectors are available to anyone living within Winfield's response area. Fire Department personnel will go to the home, install the detectors free of charge and conduct a safety inspection of the home, Ms. Gartrell said.

Carroll County Volunteer Firemen's Association will dedicate and show its newest fire prevention tool at 10 a.m. tomorrow at the Fire Training Center on Washington Road in Westminster. The $38,000 family fire safety house is a scaled-down mobile home with kitchen, living room and bedroom, and will enable firefighters to teach children fire safety and prevention in an environment similar to their homes. In each room, fire personnel will show children fire safety tips and burn and injury prevention.

JOHN GARTRELL can't help himself. The Union Bridge resident has to tinker with something.When he's not working on his Victorian house, he's tending the lush flower garden out back. Cold weather brings him inside to craft stained-glass windows or lamp shades, or to fiddle with his mechanical musical instrument collection.Most of all, Gartrell likes to quilt."Like many people, I fell in love with quilts in Lancaster County," he said.If he had to buy a quilt, Gartrell believed he would own just one because they are expensive.

Southern States Cooperative Inc.'s plans for a bulk fuel storage facility in Mount Airy will go to the town board of zoning appeals next week.Also on the agenda are a proposal for condominiums and apartments in Wildwood Park, a senior citizen housing complex, and a request from the owners of a planned Amoco station in Peacock Center for a larger sign than the town allows.The board will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the town office, 110 S. Main St.Southern States plans four 30,000-gallon and three 15,000-gallon petroleum storage tanks on a 6.2-acre site on East Ridgeville Boulevard near Century Drive.

WELCOME HOME TO Milt Griffin, John Gartrell, Nick DiGiaconantonio, Judy Blair and Susan Smith-Taylor, members of Union Bridge United Methodist Church who returned from a Volunteers in Mission project on the island of Vieques last week. The five church members spent 10 days working with residents to repair a health clinic and build a kindergarten classroom. Both structures are part of the United Methodist Church complex on the island, which is part of Puerto Rico. The Union Bridge parishioners teamed with members of Thurmont United Methodist Church for this leg of the mission.

The handblown, hand-painted glass ornaments on Elaine Holmes' Christmas tree in Union Bridge are, she says, "a way of holding onto your immortality."Most of the ornaments were her grandmother's, and someday they will be passed along to her son and two daughters.Holmes and other members of the Union Bridge Area Heritage Committee will display their antique holiday collections at the committee's annual holiday social this week.John Gartrell will bring his reproduction feather tree. One member may bring a menorah.