Hampstead Business

Hampstead Business Expo promoting small businesses and services available in the Hampstead area will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 28 at North Carroll High School.Hampstead Business Association, with about 220 members, sponsors the annual expo. New members are welcome. Reservations for exhibition space should be made before Saturday.Career opportunities will be presented by Carroll Community College, Western Maryland College, Maryland Army National Guard, Maryland Air National Guard, Hampstead, DARE and Carroll County Office of Tourism.

SMALL TOWNS become hometowns when everyone contributes an effort to be friendly, to help a neighbor, to contribute a talent or skill to community activities.I've felt extremely fortunate to have met many, many people from Hampstead, Manchester, Lineboro, and the tiny neighborhoods in between while writing this column the past five years.I've met lots of neighbors -- the people who so graciously contribute thoughtful, helpful acts day after day. They take pleasure in being friendly, serving our children, stimulating new directions in our organizations and places of worship.

ON HAMPSTEAD DAY, Saturday, Hampstead will be visited by hundreds of people, all on foot.They will come, intrigued by the prospects of shopping among more than 150 sidewalk vendors, selling antiques, furniture, bric-a-brac, flowers and tasty snacks.A mile-long stretch of Main Street, from Route 88 to Route 482, will be flanked by purveyors of Americana old and new. Main Street will remain open to vehicles, but driving will be at a snail's pace because of the crowds.The Rotary Club, the event sponsor, will sell freshly made lemonade.

WHEN MANCHESTER watercolor artist Suzanne Mancha takes paint to paper, her brush builds excitement, manipulating contrasts in light and color. In her medium, the paper becomes a color in the painting."

The Hampstead Business Association will meet at 7 p.m. tomorrow at Dean's Restaurant, 832 S. Main St.The association will present $700 to JoAnne Hunter, a representative of Christmas in April, and $50 to the computer laboratory at North Carroll High School.Both sums come from proceeds of the 13th Annual Hampstead Business Expo in February. The expo showcased 53 businesses and eight nonprofit groups.The association has increased its membership the past year by 62 percent, to 142 businesses.

FIFTH GRADE is the year to join Just Say No clubs, which meet monthly for activities that promote wellness and self-esteem."Just Say No" clubs are in full swing at all three North Carroll elementary schools.Last year, the Hampstead Elementary Just Say No club received an award from Junction, a counseling service for substance abusers and their families, as an outstanding program.This year's Hampstead club had a kickoff event that included country line dancing lessons, an aerobic workout, time in the school computer lab, plus board games and viewing a video of motivational speaker Sandy Queen.

HOW CAN television best serve the Hampstead area?Representatives from WMAR-TV, Channel 2, have approached the Hampstead Business Association, and at the association's Feb. 7 meeting, they'll try to find what viewers in our area want."

Timing their meeting to end during rush hour, Hampstead business and political leaders pleaded yesterday with Maryland's transportation secretary to begin work on the Route 30 bypass."

Hampstead's Town Council awarded a three-year trash contract to Hughes Trash Removal of Hampstead last night.Although Hughes was not the lowest bidder, council members agreed to award the local company the contract because, they said, they were familiar with the company and had been pleased with its service.For the past three years, Hampstead's trash has collected by Waste Management Inc. as part of a unified contract with half a dozen Carroll municipalities. Before that, Hughes collected the town's trash.

To encourage North Carroll residents to shop close to home, the Hampstead Business Association is sponsoring its 12th annual Business Expo.Nearly 65 businesses and nonprofit organizations will be touting their wares from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at North Carroll High School on Hampstead-Mexico Road. Admission is free."This is an opportunity for people to see what Hampstead has to offer the community," said Dot Warehime, who is organizing the business fair for the second consecutive year.