Improvement Association

NEIGHBORHOODS ARE A lot like people. Both start out small and have growing pains, and it can take much hard work to become successful. As we grow, we can look to parents and other relatives, teachers or churches to guide us and get us through the rough times. Neighborhoods depend on their residents to survive the growing pains, mature and become successful. If the residents aren't involved, the chance for success diminishes. One way to help your neighborhood succeed is to take part in its community association.

SIX-YEAR-OLD Jacob Wenger Smith knows more about structure than most children his age, having spent the past two years in home-based therapy for autism. For 40 hours a week, he participates in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), a one-on-one therapy. He is also on a restricted diet that does not allow dairy, gluten, beef or additives. Jacob was 3 when his autism was diagnosed. After visits to specialists and a variety of tests, his parents, Steve and Doris Smith, decided that ABA might give Jacob the best chance for an independent future.

THE START of a new year is the time to plan for the future and make a few resolutions. At the top of my list are to focus on the future instead of the past and to finish reading James Joyce's "Ulysses." Note, I said to finish reading it; I didn't say anything about understanding it. I then thought about the possibility of a collective resolution. For example, if the residents of Brooklyn Park could make a resolution for the community, what would it be? The range of possibilities seemed immense.

OFFICERS AND MEMBERS of the Brooklyn Heights Improvement Association always seem ready to work, not only to improve the community, but also to hear and act on concerns of neighborhood residents. For many parents, a recent concern has been the safety of children who must cross Ritchie Highway as they walk to Brooklyn Park Middle School. Those who wish to speak about that can attend the association's meeting at 7 p.m. tomorrow in the Brooklyn Park Library, 1 E. 11th Ave. The meeting will feature a discussion of whether neighborhood children can qualify for school bus service to Brooklyn Park Middle.

BILL WILLIAMSON admits to being pleasantly surprised at the response to last weekend's all-day Music in the Park concert sponsored by Jenkins Memorial Church - a turnout estimated at upward of 500 people over the course of the event. Williamson coordinated the concert at Riviera Beach Community Park, which featured local church choirs and groups, as well as solo performers singing traditional and contemporary Christian music. While he's had some success running Jenkins' monthly coffeehouse, a youth concert he organized at the Curtis Bay Coast Guard yard last year did not attract the crowd he envisioned.

HOWARD WEST, a longtime resident of Uniontown, will have his work cut out for him when he blows out the candles on his cake Sunday. West, the first president of Uniontown Improvement Association, will turn 90 Sunday. West's life began in Baltimore off Greenmount Avenue. The year was 1910. After a "short time," West said, his family moved to Eastern Avenue. Life was different then. West said he went to school up to the sixth grade. "I was the oldest of six kids and so my mother took me out of school to work," West said.

THE GLEN BURNIE Improvement Association touches the community in big ways and small ways, donating funds for items such as heart monitors and school computers. And GBIA's budget is based largely on its annual mega-fund-raiser - the Big Glen Burnie Carnival. About 250,000 people are expected to visit this year's carnival from Friday through Aug. 5. Jolly Shows of Annapolis will provide the rides for the second year. New additions include Titanic, an inflatable boat ride. Ride-all-night tickets are available Monday through Thursday for $11. Continuing favorites (likely dating back to the carnival's start in 1908)

Rep. Wayne T. Gilchrest will speak at the June 15 meeting of the Arundel Improvement Association. The 1st District Republican is scheduled to speak at 8 p.m. in the AIA Hall at 705 Cross St., Brooklyn Park. The public is invited.

SOMETHING GOOD has come out of the bad weather -- another chance to celebrate the 148th anniversary of St. John United Methodist Church. Known as the Holly Run Mission Church when it was established in 1852, the original building was on Old Annapolis Road, near the Patapsco River. It had a dirt floor, backless benches and 15 members. The church did not have a regular minister, and visiting ministers were relied on to hold services. Today, St. John stands proudly at 6019 Belle Grove Road, in the center of the Pumphrey community that it serves so well.

LOCAL COMMUNITY associations will start 2000 by selecting officers to help make the new year a success. Some are keeping their familiar faces.The Brooklyn Heights Improvement Association -- leading an effort to improve the quality of life in the community -- will retain its officers. Joe Collini is president; Derrick Myers is vice president; Lyn Shifflett is secretary; and Amelia Collins is treasurer.Collini said that having the community designated an anti-crime HotSpot by the state last week is not the only initiative the association has been working on."