Hood College

FREDERICK - Police investigating the death of a Hood College senior said yesterday that they believe it is not suspicious, although they are awaiting a report from the state medical examiner's office. "There is no foul play whatsoever," Lt. Thomas Chase, a Frederick city police spokesman, said of the death of Rebecca Sullivan, a senior from Landing, N.J. Her body was found in her dormitory room Wednesday after she failed to appear in class that morning and was reported missing by her professor, college officials said.

Frederick police are investigating the death of a Hood College student whose body was discovered in her dormitory room yesterday after she failed to show up for class. Police are calling the death of Rebecca Sullivan, a senior honors student from New Jersey, "suspicious" and are looking into "every possibility," including suicide or an accidental death, said college spokesman Dave Diehl. Students - 1,900 undergraduates and graduates - were notified of the death in two e-mails yesterday, and a letter will go out to parents today, Diehl said.

On January 24, 2005 LOU STEM BOUNDS-HOOVER; beloved wife of the late Vernon M. Bounds, Sr. and the late James H. Hoover; mother of the late Vernon M. Bounds, Jr. and the late Wilson R. Bounds, Sr.; step-mother of Rebecca Conklin, Melinda Cash and James Hoover. Also survived by 14 grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren. Services from the ELINE FUNERAL HOME, 11824 Reisterstown Road, (at Franklin Blvd), Thursday 10 A.M. Interment Druid Ridge Cemetery. Friends may call Wednesday 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 P.M. If desired contributions may be made to Hood College Annual Fund, Hood College 401 Rosemont Ave., Fredrick, MD 21701.

County offices to be closed Friday for New Year's Carroll County government offices will be closed Friday for New Year's. Northern Landfill and the Recycling Center will close at noon Friday and be closed Saturday. Hoods Mill Landfill will be closed Saturday. Carroll County public libraries will close at 5 p.m. Friday and be closed Saturday. Public schools will reopen Jan. 3. Senior centers will be closed Friday. MEDA winter conference scheduled for Jan. 6 The Maryland Economic Development Association's winter conference will take an in-depth look at the obstacles and opportunities faced by entrepreneurs in the state and the best ways the economic development community can help.

Moves Baseball PADRES: Purchased contract of P Andy Ashby from Triple-A Portland. PIRATES: Activated P Kip Wells from 15-day DL. RED SOX: Purchased contract of P Pedro Astacio from Triple-A Pawtucket. Transferred P Lenny DiNardo from 15-day DL to 60-day DL. ROYALS: Recalled P Chris George, P Mike MacDougal and C Paul Phillips from Triple-A Omaha. Recalled former Orioles P Denny Bautista from Double-A Wichita. Colleges CLEMSON: Reinstated DL Chris McDuffie after one-game suspension.

Perhaps a playoff is in order. For the second straight year, Harvard and Princeton share the top spot in the controversial U.S. News & World Report rankings of "America's Best Colleges." Princeton has earned at least a tie for No. 1 in the past five consecutive years, which saw few changes among the highest-rated schools. The latest survey, which hits newsstands Monday, again has Yale at No. 3, followed by the University of Pennsylvania. The University of California-Berkeley, at No. 21, was the top-rated public university.

Stars at Hood Hood College welcomes stargazers to its Frederick campus this spring. Each Wednesday evening through May 5, astronomy lecturer Ken Howard will answer guests' questions as they view stars and planets from the Williams Observatory's telescope. Visiting hours for this event are 8:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m. Hood College is at 401 Rosemont Ave., Frederick. Call 301-696-3679 or visit www. hood.edu. Tea from scratch Brew your own tea Saturday and Sunday at the Marshy Point Nature Center.

WHEN HOOD College announced in October that it would admit men as residential students, a few women students cried. What I and other reporters didn't know was that college officials were crying, too, but not over the sharing of dorms with the opposite sex. Hood was in dire financial straits, having essentially depleted its unrestricted savings, or endowment. Its lawyers wrote nine months later in a Circuit Court filing that "the college now faces a serious threat to its continued operations" without authority to dip into its restricted endowment -- money designated for specific purposes, such as scholarships -- to pay off debts.

Sculpture at Hood The human body combines with landscape forms in Alice Robrish's work, on display at Hood College's Hodson Gallery. Many of the clay sculptures depict the female form - some clay works stand alone while others intertwine with natural objects, such as driftwood. Also included in the show is a six-piece series that explores the progressions caused by aging. Robrish said the series, which begins with a work depicting a 4-year-old and ends with the form of an 80-year-old, shows "the transformations that happen from our youth to our old age."

The invitation was a staggering honor. Why, Marietta Geckos thought, would Hood College want her to deliver its commencement speech? Why would anyone want to listen to someone who isn't famous? Graduates around the country this month are hearing the likes of Bill Cosby, Hillary Clinton and President Bush. And then there's Geckos, a lawyer for the Department of Homeland Security's Transportation Security Administration. What do you say, she wondered, when you have 20 minutes to impart a message - when this may be the only opportunity of its kind in your life?