Hard Work

A snowball stand's success depends on two key things: hot weather and lots of hard work, say Baltimore-area purveyors of the summer treat. Add those ingredients to the crushed ice and syrup concoction that has long been a regional favorite, and summertime entrepreneurs say they can make a decent living during the season's warmest weeks. "A lot of people think it's easy to start it," said Margo Torsell, who along with family members runs a three-year-old stand on Liberty Road in Randallstown.

Dawn Stauffer Hyde, who founded an affirmative action and human resources consulting firm, died of early-onset dementia, or posterior cortical atrophy, May 11 at Gilchrist Hospice Care in Towson. She was 57 and had homes in Ellicott City and on Gibson Island. Born in Baltimore and raised on Berkshire Road, she was a 1972 Northern High School graduate. She earned a bachelor's degree at Goucher College and her master's degree in administrative science at the Johns Hopkins University.

It is a large moment for Democrats, learning to stick with a good man through a rough period when the people who crave disillusionment have become disillusioned. It's like a winter vacation in the Caribbean when it rains buckets and you eat some bad shellfish and a shrieky teenager says you've ruined her life forever. You smile, take a shower and organize a volleyball game. You have to work at it. It's work. We the people are fond of hustlers and slick operators and the reverend with the diamond-studded Rolex and Sarah Palin slipping into Nashville and collecting a hundred grand for a 40-minute speech of no distinction whatsoever ("I'm so proud to be an American.

When Martray McKesson takes the field at McDaniel College in the fall, he won't just be the first Reginald F. Lewis graduate to play college football - he'll be the first to play any college sport. The school's first athletic recruit in its 10-year existence, McKesson not only excelled on both sides of the ball during the Falcons' 8-2 football season, he also excelled in the classroom. With his 3.6 GPA, he's ranked second in his class. First-year Lewis coach Donte' Foster said McKesson was an excellent example for his peers in working to overcome a 2-8 season in 2010.

Well. I know I speak for many women when I say, "Thank heaven that's settled. " Women like me have been struggling with our identities as working mothers for decades, but thanks to Hilary Rosen, Ann Romney and Hillary Clinton, we now have some clarity. Because of commentator Rosen's unfortunate choice of words (Ann Romney "never worked a day in her life"), we have it on the highest authority that raising children is, indeed, hard work. And because Hillary Clinton was caught knocking back a beer and dancing in a Colombia cantina while on summit duty, we now know it is impolite for a woman to drink beer from a bottle instead of a glass.

Mount St. Joseph's wrestling team won its 26th Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association wrestling championship on Monday, but the theme of the day was not the Gaels' dominance. Rather, it was the joy that came from seeing hard work by individuals and teams that are not always in the limelight succeed. John Carroll coach Keith Watson let out a big "Yes!" when he heard his team had finished second to Mount St. Joseph, 238.5-181. "Mount St. Joe is the Big Dog," Watson said.

By the time I entered the College of Notre Dame in the early 1960s, Sister Maura Eichner was already well known. Author of several books of poetry, she was friends with important literary figures like Flannery O'Connor, Karl Shapiro and Richard Wilbur - connections that were unusual for a woman teacher in the '60s - to say nothing of a nun garbed in a long black habit and veil. I had applied to be an English major with a writing concentration. This required a portfolio and a meeting with the department chair, Sister Maura.

Lansdowne High School, according to indoor track coach Charles Pridee, had not scored a point in the Baltimore County indoor meet in more than a decade entering this season. But last weekend, the Vikings scored 32 points and finished fifth out of more than 20 teams. Leading the Vikes was junior Yelnats Calvin, who joined the team as a sophomore and who has become its leader. He won the 500 meters (1 minute, 11.10 seconds), finished second in the 300 and helped the 800-meter relay team to second place and the 1,600-meter relay team to third place.

An interchange is being constructed at Interstate 95 and Interstate 695. The work is part of a 10-mile project that began in 2005 and is expected to be completed in 2012. Two express toll lanes will be added to I-95 in each direction, which involves reconstructing bridges and interchanges. View more photos and see a video of the construction at baltimore sun.com/whitemarsh.

Walter Chitwood, one of Anne Arundel County's most loyal, hard-working bureaucrats, recently discovered he had made TC mistake: He'd given more of the last 19 years to county government than to his own family. He knew the ins and outs of the county budget better than his kids. He spent so much time working that he forgot what he was working for.Many readers might have missed our small story about Mr. Chitwood's decision to quit his latest job, a fairly prestigious, well-paying position as assistant superintendent of county schools.

Former state Sen. Walter M. Baker, who had served in the legislature representing the upper Eastern Shore for more than two decades and also had been a Cecil County attorney, died Tuesday of complications from diabetes at Christiana Hospital in Delaware. The longtime Elkton resident was 84. "Walter was a lifelong Democrat. He was from a large family that was rural and poor, and he grew up with a great sense of values," said Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller. "He was conservative, and loved the Eastern Shore and reflected its conservative values.

One of his closest friends was shot and killed in a case of mistaken identity. The prep school program he signed on to play for suddenly folded. And his family - including his newborn son - was more than 400 miles away. For Tione Womack , life after high school proved to be an unexpectedly jarring introduction to the real world. “It was just like a pause on my life,” said Womack, who graduated from Randallstown in 2008 and enrolled at Queen City Prep in North Carolina.

Well. I know I speak for many women when I say, "Thank heaven that's settled. " Women like me have been struggling with our identities as working mothers for decades, but thanks to Hilary Rosen, Ann Romney and Hillary Clinton, we now have some clarity. Because of commentator Rosen's unfortunate choice of words (Ann Romney "never worked a day in her life"), we have it on the highest authority that raising children is, indeed, hard work. And because Hillary Clinton was caught knocking back a beer and dancing in a Colombia cantina while on summit duty, we now know it is impolite for a woman to drink beer from a bottle instead of a glass.

Some things from Buck Showalter's pre-game media session: The Orioles manager said he didn't really consider giving Mark Reynolds a day off of third base after his rough start Tuesday, in which he made a key error that allowed the Yankees back into a game they eventually won, 5-4. “I didn't consider it too long, but I understand what topics of conversations are. They are certainly not going to be about the three or four above-average plays...

Franklin senior pitcher Matt Goodman and his new catcher, junior Jackson Thornton, worked together for two months in anticipation of this baseball season. Wednesday afternoon at Atholton, everyone saw how the hard work paid off. With Thornton calling the pitches, Goodman threw a two-hit shutout as the Indians defeated the No. 7 Raiders, 6-0, in the season-opener for both teams. In the process Goodman matched his career high with 10 strikeouts. "It feels great to come out here and beat a team of this quality," said Goodman, who was 4-2 with a 2.18 ERA last season.

The closure and sale of St. Peter the Apostle Church on Poppleton Street is, indeed, a great loss, both historically and architecturally ("Second-oldest Catholic church in city is being sold," Jan. 28). However, the ultimate tragedy is the insight this decision gives into the state of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. For the past 12 years, the Archdiocese has closed churches and schools in poor areas of town, while allocating money to "important" building projects (remember the "Heritage of Hope?"

COLLEGE PARK - After the final buzzer sounded in Saturday's Class 2A state title game, Lake Clifton guard Aaron Parks immediately dropped to the floor. He remained there, face-down, for several seconds until a teammate yanked him up and coach Herman "Tree" Harried met both with outstretched arms and a huge grin. "We worked so hard all year, and this was just a relief," Parks said. "I just had to collapse. " Parks and the Lakers desperately wanted a state title, and they got their wish.

It's safe to say the South Carroll boys basketball team has taken on the personality of its point guard, senior Dan Mullen. In his fourth year on varsity, the two-year captain is smart, works hard and does whatever is needed to bring home wins. After the graduation of standout Ryan McTavish, who left the program as Carroll County's all-time leading scorer last year, many believed the Cavaliers would slip a bit this season following two state tournament appearances in the past three years.