Knettishall

Neighborhoods: The cheek-and-jowl Loch Raven Village and Knettishall Location: Mostly in Towson (Baltimore County) Average sales price: $219,000 (January through June) Notable features: Brick townhouses built in the 1940s and '50s, with more personality than most of the newer stuff. The yards are large enough for flower gardens, and Interstate 695 is less than a mile away. (Why "mostly in Towson"? Because the eastern half of Loch Raven Village is in Parkville.

Tricia Lige remembers the first thought she had in 2005 when she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis: "I'm going to end up in a wheelchair for the rest of my life. " Now, nine years later, the Knettishall resident will be walking with her entire family and about 40 others on her team, Lige Lightning in her 10th MS Walk Towson at Goucher College on April 13. "For some people, the disease progresses quickly," Lige said. "I have been fortunate to remain stable for the last nine years.

Neighborhoods:: The cheek-and-jowl Loch Raven Village and Knettishall Location:: Mostly in Towson (Baltimore County) Average sales price: : $219,000 (January through June) Notable features: : Brick townhouses built in the 1940s and '50s, with more personality than most of the newer stuff. The yards are large enough for flower gardens, and Interstate 695 is less than a mile away. (Why "mostly in Towson"? Because the eastern half of Loch Raven Village is in Parkville.) You've got all the locational benefits of Towson here - malls, colleges, recreation - without the usual Towson price.

On the matter of reopening Loch Raven Elementary School and moving the Halstead Academy population to Loch Raven, Baltimore County Superintendent of Schools Dallas Dance has been less than candid about the role that the Loch Raven Village and Knettishall communities and other stakeholders have played in the process ("Loch Raven Village residents protest outside Balto. Co. Board of Education," Nov. 5). Either that or people who advise him have been sloppy with their facts. An Oct. 30 notice on the Baltimore County Public Schools website reads as follows: "After six months of community engagement, Baltimore County Public Schools Superintendent Dallas Dance will recommend to the Board of Education, at its November 5, 2013, meeting, several proposals to relieve capacity issues in the central areas of Baltimore County.

On the matter of reopening Loch Raven Elementary School and moving the Halstead Academy population to Loch Raven, Baltimore County Superintendent of Schools Dallas Dance has been less than candid about the role that the Loch Raven Village and Knettishall communities and other stakeholders have played in the process ("Loch Raven Village residents protest outside Balto. Co. Board of Education," Nov. 5). Either that or people who advise him have been sloppy with their facts. An Oct. 30 notice on the Baltimore County Public Schools website reads as follows: "After six months of community engagement, Baltimore County Public Schools Superintendent Dallas Dance will recommend to the Board of Education, at its November 5, 2013, meeting, several proposals to relieve capacity issues in the central areas of Baltimore County.

With its rolling lawns and stately trees, the grounds of Babcock Presbyterian Church, just off busy Loch Raven Boulevard, is like an urban oasis. On a sweltering early August morning, a cool breeze sweeps across a grassy knoll behind the church building. The open space along Loch Ness Road is contoured with a dozen small, rectangular garden plots where squash, cucumbers, tomatoes and cantaloupes ripen on the vine and an occasional rabbit darts across the lawn and into the trees. The little plots, most about the size of a large dining room table, are part of the community garden project that Babcock Church started last year.

George Dorsey Yates, a retired Bendix designer active in Baltimore County recreation leagues, died of congestive heart failure Oct. 20 at ActivCare at Bressi Ranch in Carlsbad, Calif. The former Towson resident was 91. Born in Cambridge, he was the son of Philip Sherwood Yates and Mary Ethel Todd Yates. He attended public schools in Cambridge and attended an aeronautical engineering trade school in Glendale, Calif., before joining the Glenn L. Martin Co. in Middle River. Family members said a childhood eye injury prevented him from serving in World War II and he chose to work in the defense industry.

When Susan and Rodney Davis were looking for a house in 1996, they wanted something affordable and well-built, near her job in Towson and close to good schools. They settled on Knettishall, a community just inside the Beltway in Baltimore County, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary.Since moving into their three-bedroom, one-bathroom brick rowhouse in September 1996, the Davises have developed a common habit among residents of the community.During the warmer months, the couple and their daughter, Jenny, 6, spend a good portion of their late afternoon and early evening hours on the front porch, chatting with neighbors and enjoying the "neighborhood feel," said Susan Davis.

Tricia Lige remembers the first thought she had in 2005 when she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis: "I'm going to end up in a wheelchair for the rest of my life. " Now, nine years later, the Knettishall resident will be walking with her entire family and about 40 others on her team, Lige Lightning in her 10th MS Walk Towson at Goucher College on April 13. "For some people, the disease progresses quickly," Lige said. "I have been fortunate to remain stable for the last nine years.

For most of the last 32 years, James W. Anderson and his trash trucks have had the alleys of Knettishall and Loch Raven Village pretty much to themselves in the early morning hours.But not any more.Today, residents of the 40-year-old rowhouse communities east of Towson have more cars than ever and no room to park them all on the street. "So they park in the alley," Mr. Anderson said.The results are alleys repeatedly choked by parked cars, preventing trash haulers from getting through."It's getting to be a real pain in the neck for me and my men," Mr. Anderson said.

George Dorsey Yates, a retired Bendix designer active in Baltimore County recreation leagues, died of congestive heart failure Oct. 20 at ActivCare at Bressi Ranch in Carlsbad, Calif. The former Towson resident was 91. Born in Cambridge, he was the son of Philip Sherwood Yates and Mary Ethel Todd Yates. He attended public schools in Cambridge and attended an aeronautical engineering trade school in Glendale, Calif., before joining the Glenn L. Martin Co. in Middle River. Family members said a childhood eye injury prevented him from serving in World War II and he chose to work in the defense industry.

With its rolling lawns and stately trees, the grounds of Babcock Presbyterian Church, just off busy Loch Raven Boulevard, is like an urban oasis. On a sweltering early August morning, a cool breeze sweeps across a grassy knoll behind the church building. The open space along Loch Ness Road is contoured with a dozen small, rectangular garden plots where squash, cucumbers, tomatoes and cantaloupes ripen on the vine and an occasional rabbit darts across the lawn and into the trees. The little plots, most about the size of a large dining room table, are part of the community garden project that Babcock Church started last year.

Neighborhoods:: The cheek-and-jowl Loch Raven Village and Knettishall Location:: Mostly in Towson (Baltimore County) Average sales price: : $219,000 (January through June) Notable features: : Brick townhouses built in the 1940s and '50s, with more personality than most of the newer stuff. The yards are large enough for flower gardens, and Interstate 695 is less than a mile away. (Why "mostly in Towson"? Because the eastern half of Loch Raven Village is in Parkville.) You've got all the locational benefits of Towson here - malls, colleges, recreation - without the usual Towson price.

Neighborhoods: The cheek-and-jowl Loch Raven Village and Knettishall Location: Mostly in Towson (Baltimore County) Average sales price: $219,000 (January through June) Notable features: Brick townhouses built in the 1940s and '50s, with more personality than most of the newer stuff. The yards are large enough for flower gardens, and Interstate 695 is less than a mile away. (Why "mostly in Towson"? Because the eastern half of Loch Raven Village is in Parkville.

When Susan and Rodney Davis were looking for a house in 1996, they wanted something affordable and well-built, near her job in Towson and close to good schools. They settled on Knettishall, a community just inside the Beltway in Baltimore County, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary.Since moving into their three-bedroom, one-bathroom brick rowhouse in September 1996, the Davises have developed a common habit among residents of the community.During the warmer months, the couple and their daughter, Jenny, 6, spend a good portion of their late afternoon and early evening hours on the front porch, chatting with neighbors and enjoying the "neighborhood feel," said Susan Davis.

In zoning disputes, the battle lines are usually clear: residents against developer.But in the case of the Towson Marketplace redevelopment, neighbors are battling neighbors about a proposal to build a 16-screen cinema, causing bitter dissension in several old communities.The controversy over whether the area needs a multiplex with 3,500 seats has been heating up as tomorrow's zoning hearing nears. Emotions are high, and tempers are flaring, especially in Loch Raven Village and Knettishall.

Most of the time, Thetford Road off Loch Raven Boulevard looks like a typical, quiet residential street in Baltimore County. But then comes rush hour and it resembles the Beltway, residents claim.Commuters use Thetford Road and other streets in the Knettishall and Loch Raven Village neighborhoods to bypass the intersection of Loch Raven Boulevard and Putty Hill Avenue. Consequently, traffic backs up on Putty Hill Avenue as a steady stream of commuters use two lanes to go straight or turn right or left onto Loch Raven Boulevard.