Hebron High School

Students at Mount Hebron High School in Ellicott City were dismissed at 10: 15 a.m. yesterday after timers -- which normally activate the air conditioning about 90 minutes before school begins -- failed.After the head custodian and two heating-and-air-conditioning specialists were unable to make repairs, school was dismissed because of the heat, said Assistant Principal Jack Bridner.The air conditioning was fixed and operating again by about 2 p.m., he said."It should be much better" today, Bridner said.

CHANGE HAS COME SMOOTHLY at Mount Hebron High School. An influx of children from half a world away could have resulted in turmoil at the Ellicott City school. But teachers, administrators, parents and students have done a commendable job of merging the heavy flow of Korean and Korean-American children into a new environment over the years.Children of Korean descent now comprise 12 percent of the school's 1,250-pupil population, or 150 students. That's a sharp increase over the early 1980s when they numbered fewer than 10 -- children, that is, not percent.

Thomas Jason Williams, a senior at Mount Hebron High School in Ellicott City, cut school with four friends last month in what they considered an end-of-the-year prank.But his hour of freedom landed him a 45-day suspension, barring him from the school's graduation ceremony, and resulted in two charges of assault that could put him in prison for 20 years.Williams, 18, of the Ilchester area of Ellicott City is accused of attempting to run over an assistant principal and a teacher as they tried to stop him from driving out of Mount Hebron's parking lot just before 9: 30 a.m. April 30.He has appealed his 45-day suspension -- the school system's minimum punishment for an assault on a teacher or administrator -- to the Howard County school board.

CONGRATULATIONS to Mount Hebron High School's Marching Unit which, for the third year in a row, won first prize at the Mummers Parade in Frederick on Nov. 2.The parade is the largest nighttime parade on the East Coast, with more than 100,000 people watching.The children marched in 36-degree weather in a stiff wind.Principal Addie Kaufman attended -- and sat bundled up -- to support her school.You can hear Mount Hebron's music at 7: 30 p.m Dec. 17 and 18 at the school's winter concert.Seasonal treatsEpiphany Lutheran Church, located in Ellicott City, is one of our community's many churches celebrating Thanksgiving in worship.

25 years ago (week of May 2-8, 1971):Superintendent of Schools M. Thomas Goedeke met with 75 angry parents to discuss proposed school boundary changes. The plan under discussion would require that 130 sixth- and seventh-grade Patapsco Middle School students be transferred to Glenwood Middle School, in order to relieve overcrowding at Patapsco. An alternate plan would transfer all Patapsco eighth graders to Mount Hebron High School.50 years ago (week of April 28-May 4, 1946):An examination was announced which Howard County residents could take to compete for college scholarships.

A 19-year-old contender has stirred up the normally quiet, nonpartisan Howard County school board race this election with his youth and outspoken views.From the beginning, Elkridge Democrat Jamie Kendrick raised eyebrows among parents and critics who questioned his maturity and his stake in the public school system. He has roundly criticized the school board and administration for being unresponsive.Most recently, he sent a letter to registered Democrats saying he was their best hope of defeating opponent Stephen Bounds, a Republican who attends a conservative church.

The Howard County school system is moving into a potentially perilous period over the issue of principal and teacher transfers.A committee charged with recommending policies that would govern the involuntary transfer of teachers and administrators has proposed numerous restrictions on school officials in the way they must handle such matters. A heavy dose of skepticism needs to be applied by Board of Education members as they consider these changes.It is not that the policy changes are bad on the surface.

The Mount Hebron Viking Backers have announced that their final fund-raiser of the year will be held April 18. Beginning at 9 a.m., rain or shine, participants in the 5K Viking Run or 1 mile Fun Run/Walk will fill the streets of the quiet residential area around Mount Hebron High School.Awards will go to the first three runners in the open division, the 19-and-under division, age 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50 and older, and male and female divisions.There will also be awards for the first three Mount Hebron teachers, Mount Hebron students by class, police officers, firefighters, Clydesdale men (190 pounds or more)

LaNell CoffeySchool: Mount Hebron High SchoolHometown: Ellicott CityAge: 17This Mount Hebron senior wears many hats. She's the reigning Miss Maryland Talented Teen and the second runner-up in the International Talented Teen Pageant, where she competed with 40 others from around the world this summer.She's also a scholar who's researching the lifestyle of black Americans and their high rate of cardiovascular disease -- a project she's undertaken with the help of a University of Maryland cardiologist.

It's almost November, the season for holiday bazaars and fall activities. (Some, like Barbara Barnett of Elkridge, want to spend their evenings cuddled up next to the wood stove.)Our community has been most responsive in letting me know about forthcoming events. Please keep calling. I do everything I can to help your groups get publicity. My phone number is 461-4513.*The Mount Hebron Neighborhood Association is not simply a quiet group that plants flowers around the development's sign. No, indeed.

A school board request for $4.7 million more county funding for new computers and building renovations appears unlikely to win approval from a Howard County Council beset by recession-driven cuts and employee furloughs. "I don't know where we'd find it," said council chairwoman Mary Kay Sigaty, a West Columbia Democrat, after a two-hour work session on the budget Friday in the county's temporary office quarters in Columbia. "Personally, I think they need to look at their own projects," commented Courtney Watson, an Ellicott City Democrat.

Mount Hebron High School is presenting the Aaron Sorkin play A Few Good Men at 7 p.m. Wednesday, through Saturday. The play will be performed in the round, with the audience seated on the stage surrounding the actors. momsclubofec_south@yahoo.com. Get happy : Ellicott City Senior Center, 9401 Frederick Road, is offering "Get Happy Hour" programs for those ages 50 and older who are interested in exercise classes but are working during the day. Carla Buehler, 410-313-1415 * A Low-Impact Cardio Combo will teach basic cardio combinations in an easy format at 5:30 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays.

A revised plan for renovation of Mount Hebron High School that school officials plan to present next month "is a step in the right direction" according to the leaders of a group of parents and staff at the school who have opposed previous construction drafts. The new plan calls for adding five to 10 classrooms and increasing the size of hallways and the cafeteria. A schematic design will be brought to the school board for approval April 10, said Ken Roey, executive director of facilities and management for the school system.

Although this is the second year that parents from Mount Hebron High School have asked Howard County Executive Ken Ulman to withhold funds for a major renovation that they want changed, Ulman couldn't help commenting on one aspect of the spectacle. "We're witnessing a pretty interesting phenomenon," he said, facing about 100 Mount Hebron supporters who festooned the County Council chamber in Ellicott City with yellow and black balloons -- the school's colors -- to make their point. "I believe what's been proposed is the most expensive project in Howard County history -- for anything," he said.

A Howard County student faces a felony charge, and another likely will be charged after an explosive device was detonated at Mount Hebron High School in Ellicott City, police said yesterday. No one was injured in the incident Tuesday. On Thursday morning, one boy was charged as a juvenile with making and using a destructive device, a felony, and reckless endangerment, police said. Police identified a second student Thursday night, and they plan to charge him with the same counts. Both are 15. About 7:15 a.m. Tuesday, students reported that they heard an explosion in the lobby, police said.

A group of parents and teachers opposes the school system's plans for a major construction project at Mount Hebron High School that could begin as early as the spring of next year if the county Board of Education follows the timetable set by Superintendent Sydney L. Cousin and his staff. "We still see deficiencies in the plan," said Cindy Ardinger, head of the Help Mount Hebron Committee. She said the group members want a slew of changes, including more square footage and classroom space than what the proposed $54 million plan offers.

Mount Hebron High School is likely to be renovated but not replaced when construction begins at the aging facility next summer, according to the chairman of the Howard County Board of Education. Diane Mikulis said last week in an interview that the cost of the project should not exceed $50 million. A major replacement of the school would cost about $90 million, school system officials have said. Mikulis made a similar statement on Sept. 14 during a breakfast meeting with elected Howard County officials.

Thomas Fruscello, a teacher at Mount Hebron High School, used an automotive analogy to make his point about the physical condition of the school to the Howard County Board of Education during a lengthy public budget hearing last week. "It's our educational vehicle," he said. "Most assuredly it has a good sound body, brick and block, but in almost every other category this building fails to meet the needs of its population. It is a Chevrolet Corvair of school buildings -- unsafe at any speed."

Mount Hebron group restates its purpose Despite repeated efforts of clarification and correction by the Help Mount Hebron Committee to the Howard County public school system leadership and the Board of Education, our goal has been repeatedly misstated and misrepresented by both. Consistently, questions from the Mount Hebron community in regard to the current condition of the building have been met with the response from system officials as "all they want is a new building." This false statement is then continually and inaccurately referenced in the press.

Howard County health inspectors found no evidence of rats inside Mount Hebron High School after an inspection Friday, according to Lisa DeHernandez, the department's spokeswoman. They did see evidence of rats in an exterior courtyard, where school officials had begun eradication efforts, she said, but not inside the building. School officials sent parents of Mount Hebron students e-mail letters Wednesday informing them of a rodent problem in the courtyard and on Friday debunking rumors of a more serious infestation.