Lake Elkhorn

Lake Kittamaqundi in Town Center and Lake Elkhorn in Owen Brown are one step closer to a long-awaited dredging after the Columbia Association board of directors settled on two locations to stage the work. The board voted, 6 to 4, on Thursday to use an area near South Entrance Road along the southern tip of Lake Kittamaqundi for equipment, temporary storage and drying of the dredged material and access for trucks to haul the sediment away. It voted, 7 to 3, to stage the Lake Elkhorn dredging in a parking lot area near the Elkhorn Dam. The board had approved $11 million for the two dredging projects, but every staging choice comes with an additional price tag, said Maggie J. Brown, president of the Columbia Association.

Zach the swan can't seem to catch a break. The rare trumpling swan has graced a 37-acre lake in Columbia for seven tumultuous years, enduring the loss of his unrequited love interest to a more aggressive male -- and her subsequent slaying by a BB-gun toting teen. Now 11-year-old Zach has been run out of his own neighborhood: In March, the same feisty mute swan that stole Zach's late object of affection roughed him up so badly that he ended up in rehab at a Virginia wildlife laboratory.

Gardening has long been a passion of Mary Gold. When the librarian moved to Columbia nearly three decades ago, she was disappointed to find that her backyard was too shady to grow vegetables. These days, she finds time to garden several days a week, and grows enough vegetables and herbs to share with her friends and family. Gold, 61, is one of 114 gardeners who lease plots at the Lake Elkhorn Community Gardens in Owen Brown village of Columbia. Not only have the Community Gardens offered Gold a place to follow her passion for the past 25 years, they also have provided a place for friendships to grow.

THE ISSUE: -- The Columbia Association board voted to close the tot lot at Lake Elkhorn rather than build a barrier around the playground, which the board had been discussing for months after a toddler who was playing there drowned in the nearby lake in September. Do you think closing the playground is a good idea, or do you think the board overreacted? (Editor's note: On Wednesday, the CA board reversed its decision to close the Lake Elkhorn tot lot. Nevertheless, we received numerous letters and wanted to publish a representative view of the responses.

"Harry Potter" programs will be offered at the east Columbia library to celebrate the new book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Participants can see Potter movies, then read the books. The movies are rated PG -- parental guidance suggested. Children to age 12 must be accompanied by an adult. Each movie is about 2 1/2 hours. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone will be shown at 6:30 p.m. July 12; Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, at 6:30 p.m. July 13; and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, at 6:30 p.m. July 14. Tickets, which are required, are available at the children's desk a half-hour before the program begins.

When the Owen Brown Community Association kicks off its 1994 Lake Elkhorn Festival, the 2,000 to 3,000 people expected to attend Saturday will be opening the annual celebration with a giant birthday cake."

A Columbia man was sentenced to two years in prison yesterday after pleading guilty to 11 charges for his part in the theft of at least 23 four-wheel-drive vehicles last winter.Adam Matthew Fattori, 19, of the 8900 block of Blade Green Lane, also was ordered to pay nearly $9,500 in restitution to 10 victims as part of a plea agreement he accepted in Howard Circuit Court.Fattori pleaded guilty to three counts of theft and eight counts of unauthorized use of a vehicle.Before receiving his sentence, Fattori apologized for the incidents and said he got mixed up with the wrong people.

Lake Elkhorn will become a big mud puddle for the next five months as the Columbia Association lowers the water level to implement $540,000 in repairs to the lake's concrete dam, boat dock and pier. The water will be lowered by 4 feet for the work, which is scheduled to begin late this month. The lake is less than 4 feet deep along much of the shoreline, particularly on the eastern edge, said Warren Raymond, the association's assistant director for open space management. "It will be a little unsightly for a little while, but I think it's very necessary," he said.

It's easily 95 degrees at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, and air is so thick with humidity your lungs would prefer to wring it out before breathing it in. Undaunted, Emily Green Shaw scatters straw in her garden plot to keep the weeds down, and recounts how she became the site manager for the Lake Elkhorn Community Gardens in Columbia. "I was at one of the Columbia Gardeners meetings, and no one else would say `yes'" she said. It's not as if Shaw, 30, has copious free time. Trained as a medical illustrator, Shaw is a simulation specialist with Laerdal and travels internationally teaching medical procedures with software she helped develop.

A fifth member of a Columbia car club called the Low Riders has been charged by Howard County police in connection with the theft of 20 four-wheel-drive vehicles since Christmas.Keith Richard Burton, 18, of the 8900 block of Footed Ridge was released on $25,000 bond yesterday. Police say they expect to charge three other members of the group by Friday.Mr. Burton was charged after he surrendered on a theft warrant at police headquarters in Ellicott City Tuesday. Police issued warrants for two other club members Monday.