Grease

Minutes before members of the U.S. Naval Academy's Class of 2013 were to begin the annual first-year-ending assault on the Herndon Monument Monday afternoon, a chant went up from some of the hundreds gathered for the traditional climb: "Grease the pole. Grease the pole." If "pole" seemed a disrespectful way to refer to the 21-foot granite obelisk erected for Capt. William Lewis Herndon, perhaps it expressed the measure of dissatisfaction in the throng. By order of Vice Adm. Jeffrey L. Fowler, superintendent of the service academy, the monument was not slathered with lard nor coated in Crisco, neither was it buttered as in one year gone by, nor treated with the dark petroleum-based, rust-preventing goop called Cosmoline.

A fire was reported at the popular Wegmans grocery store in Abingdon late Sunday evening, causing a brief evacuation of the store by employees and customers. No injuries were reported, and the store re-opened shortly after the fire was contained, a Wegmans spokesperson said. The store also was open at its normal time on Monday, at 6 a.m. The fire in the first block of Wegmans Boulevard, was reported between 6:45 and 7 p.m. Sunday, when firefighters responded for reports of smoke coming from the computer room, according to the Harford County Volunteer Fire and EMS Association Facebook page.

Hot grease in a deep fryer started a fire Monday night at River Valley Ranch, in the northeast corner of Carroll County, damaging the snack bar and a counselor's apartment at the camp, according to a deputy state fire marshal.A 19-year-old employee who grabbed a fire extinguisher and fought the flames was treated and released at Carroll County General Hospital for inhalation of the chemical powder and smoke, said Deputy Chief Warren D. Gott. Damage to the uninsured building, owned by the Peter & John Radio Fellowship, was estimated at $30,000, with another $20,000 loss to the contents.

What kind of regular maintenance should I do to prepare my home for spring? Jim Embe, Baltimore district manager for Home Depot, suggests these spring chores for around the home. •Now is the time to put down lawn fertilizer and pre-emergent weed killer. If you want to seed your lawn, there are now products that allow you to do both. •Clean out the gutters and downspouts and make sure they haven't pulled away from the fascia during the winter. •Now is the time to power-wash the deck or the siding.

Chesapeake Music Hall has a proven winner in "Grease," an instant smash on Broadway in 1972, a hit movie in 1978 and again last year during the film's 20th anniversary revival.Director Sherry Kay deserves high marks for dancing and singing that does justice to Jim Jacobs' and Warren Casey's score and for assembling a talented young cast, half of them appearing for the first or second time. In addition to directing and choreography, she designed and built the set, costumed the cast and serves as CMH's general manager.

A grease blockage caused leakage of about 1,200 gallons of wastewater next to a fishing pier at Lake Elkhorn in Columbia this week, and warning signs will be posted there for about two weeks, according to Robert M. Beringer, utilities bureau chief for Howard County. Beringer said the wastewater was forced up from a manhole cover in a 12-inch sewer line next to the foot path that runs between the fishing pier and a two-story pavilion near the lake's dam. The blockage was caused by grease from restaurants upstream, off Snowden River Parkway.

The sewage that backed into several Canton homes over the weekend was caused by a grease clog in an 8-inch sewer pipe, Department of Public Works officials said yesterday. Several sewage backups have occurred in the 2900 block of Elliott St. over the past few years, residents said. Workers have cleared the clog, department spokesman Kurt L. Kocher said yesterday, and the city will take several steps to prevent the clogs - and resulting backups - from recurring. Besides residences, the sewer line in the Canton neighborhood serves several restaurants and bars, and Kocher said the grease might be coming from those establishments.

Only four contestants remain in You're the One That I Want!, NBC's reality TV show in which contestants vie to be cast as the leads in a new Broadway production of the musical Grease. National television exposure is rare for Broadway, and letting the public vote on casting its productions has never been done. But the TV show, which wraps up Sunday, takes its lead from How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?, a British program about casting a West End production of The Sound of Music. In Sunday's A&E Today section, Sun theater critic J. Wynn Rousuck will talk to David Ian, the creative force behind both television shows.

Baltimoreans produced the original New York production of "Grease," so it seems especially appropriate that 20 years later Towson State University's Maryland Arts Festival is giving local audiences a chance to have a reunion with this show -- which happens to be about a reunion.Though the musical is little more than a flash from the '50s, the current production makes it seems fresher than a cheerleader's smile. Director and choreographer Todd Pearthree's staging leaves you be-bopping, doo-wopping and feeling just about every other silly '50s emotion you can remember -- except boredom.

A cast of 22 teen-agers is rocking Key Auditorium at St. John's College with Talent Machine's production of "Grease," the musical with its heart in the 1950s.The cast sings impressively under the musical direction of Glenette Schumacker, director of the Arundel Vocal Arts Society and a veteran of more than 60 musical productions. And Bobbi Smith, Talent Machine founder, director and choreographer, gets percent out of her cast.From the moment the Pink Ladies and Burger Palace Boys sing a parody of their school's alma mater, the energy level soars.

After selling more than 100 million albums, starring in one of America's most beloved films and finding time to be a wife, mother and author, Olivia Newton-John has earned a break. But don't tell her that - she's as dedicated as ever, focusing on philanthropy and raising cancer awareness. Newton-John, who's 62 but looks 40 and has been breast cancer -free since 1992, continues her fight against the disease Saturday as she co-hosts the "Pink and Blue for Two" cancer awareness event with former NFL star Terrell Owens at Rams Head Live . Calling from her kitchen, Newton-John spoke about her focus on philanthropy, her "Glee" cameo and what she's most proud of in her career.

Most of the cast members in Catonsville Youth Theatre's production of "Grease" live in Anne Arundel County, so it seemed practical to offer the show in an Arundel venue. On Aug. 19, "Grease" will open as the first full weekend production at the Robert Kauffman Theater at Anne Arundel Community College's Pascal Center for Performing Arts. (A ceremony celebrating the naming of the theater for Kauffman, the late professor emeritus known as "The Chief," will be held Aug. 10. It only seems right that the production should involve a former Kauffman protegee, Christy Stouffer.

It was just a little grease fire in the kitchen, so at first Mike Tirone wasn't all that worried. "Flames were shooting up as high as the hood," said the 24-year-old Tirone, who was working Saturday night as a bartender at the Charles Village Pub & Patio , a longtime Towson fixture and popular watering hole for students at nearby Towson University. "But we've had grease fires in the kitchen before," he said. "So, we were all very casual, to be honest. It didn't seem that serious at first.

Baltimore loves "Grease," so Paramount has brought it here in a "sing-along" edition. At least that's the studio's story. For weeks it's been running an online promotion asking fans of the 1978 musical smash to vote for it to come to their city. With 1,414 demands to date — whoops, I just checked, make that 1,415 — Baltimore has ranked #3 in requests for the film out of 3,617 markets in the running. "Grease" opens Friday at the Cinemark Egyptian. It's the perfect midsummer gift for hons who wanted to sashay like the Pink Ladies or be good and look great in leather like Olivia Newton-John.

I found your article, "Herndon Climb Holds The Grease" (May 25), to be not only amusing but indicative of how introducing substitutions for either safety or political correctness destroys the spirit and symbolism of traditions. I believe that the Sea Trials are important, but what holds fast in the participant's mind is the unconventionality of an activity such as climbing the greased Herndon Monument. To me, it represents similar events and imitations that I have participated in with my life.

Minutes before members of the U.S. Naval Academy's Class of 2013 were to begin the annual first-year-ending assault on the Herndon Monument Monday afternoon, a chant went up from some of the hundreds gathered for the traditional climb: "Grease the pole. Grease the pole." If "pole" seemed a disrespectful way to refer to the 21-foot granite obelisk erected for Capt. William Lewis Herndon, perhaps it expressed the measure of dissatisfaction in the throng. By order of Vice Adm. Jeffrey L. Fowler, superintendent of the service academy, the monument was not slathered with lard nor coated in Crisco, neither was it buttered as in one year gone by, nor treated with the dark petroleum-based, rust-preventing goop called Cosmoline.

AS A CHILD I rarely heard any deliberation about what would be on the table on a particular night of the week. My grandmother and her sister had a simple and effective system that determined the menu for each day of the week.If it was a Saturday, the main course was either roast beef or spaghetti.Wednesdays were invariably ground beef, steak or meat loaf.Friday, without fail, meant seafood, a Baltimore smorgasbord of fried fish, crab or oysters in season, and always steamed shrimp.I recall Thursday being pork night, either a loin roast, chops or smoked shoulder.

When Herbert Johnson was a kid, an audible cough or a red-hot forehead would send his grandmother into action, dishing out treatments ranging from the unorthodox to the disgusting. "The emergency room was not an option back then," said the 73-year-old retiree. One of Johnson's first memories comes from a time his grandmother attempted to cure a headache by parting his hair into even sections, sprinkling his scalp with salt and tying brown paper to the ends of his hair. How exactly that was to help is unclear, but the technique has stuck with him, along with countless recollections of other home remedies.

Taylor Hicks extends run with 'Grease' tour American Idol winner Taylor Hicks has reupped his contract with the national tour of Grease. He'll now appear on the road with the show through the 2009-2010 season, reports Variety. Hicks, who plays the cameo role of Teen Angel in the musical, has played in the tour since it went out in December. He also had a stint in the Broadway incarnation, which shuttered in January. Grease will make stops this spring in San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco, among other cities.