Lark

WHEN BALTIMORE County Detective Ed Spragg came into work yesterday morning, his computer had already been set to display the photo - the one in which he's lying on his back on a tennis court with a 700-pound bison looming over him. "Twenty-five years on the force, and this is what I'll be remembered for," he said, unharmed in the encounter but quickly up to his neck in ribbing. Actually, it was nice to see Baltimore make the front pages worldwide for something other than homicides, drugs or other urban ills.

Editor's note: This retelling of an Australian folktale focuses on a singing contest among the animals.Long ago, on a great island in the middle of the ocean, there lived a collection of creatures found nowhere else in the world. They all chattered at once, and their voices were harsh and loud. The island was the noisiest place you could imagine.Tired of the raucous sounds, Old Man said he would make a musical instrument in honor of the creature who developed the most beautiful singing voice.

Lark Brown Crossing Firetti Homes has two floor plans available in Lark Brown Crossing in Howard County. The townhouse community features public water and sewer and gas heat. The Bentley starts at $138,225 for 1,200 square feet. The first floor features an 11-by-13-foot living room, 14-by-8-foot dining room, 9-by-10-foot kitchen, 8-by-9-foot breakfast area and 10-by-8-foot morning room. The second floor consists of a 9-by-10-foot bedroom, bathroom, 8-by-9-foot bedroom, 15-by-11-foot owner's suite with bathroom.

* Kings Contrivance: 8800 block of Stonebrook Lane: Someone tried to steal a 1982 GMC truck about 3 a.m. Tuesday, but fled when the owner approached him. Police arrested a 17-year-old Columbia youth and charged him with attempted theft.* Long Reach: 5400 block of Luckpenny Place: Four tires valued at $250 each were stolen from a 1991 Volkswagen Jetta between 2 and 10:45 a.m. Monday.10100 block of Shaker Drive: A green bank bag with $1,447.86 in cash and checks was stolen from the Kings Contrivance Restaurant between noon Saturday and noon Sunday.

Police Blotter is a sampling of crimes in Howard County.Ellicott City: 3300 block of Oak West Drive: A man was robbed Wednesday when a group of young men walked in front of his car and forced him to stop. Police said the men surrounded the car and began shaking it. The driver offered them cash. The men took that money, reached into the driver's pockets, took more cash and fled on foot. No one was injured.Owen Brown: 8900 block of Lark Brown Road: Someone tried to break into a house Tuesday by breaking a rear side window.

A gastronomic journey at the Center Club's Fifth Annual Casino Gala raised $20,000 for the Muscular Dystrophy Association's Summer Camp Campaign.Some 208 guests began their "Evening on the Riviera" by diving into Mediterranean seafood antipasto spread in one room and continuing on their epicurean excursion with sushi, pasta, carved beef and dessert stations set out in others.As if that wasn't enough, at midnight, breakfast was served.Getting their fill at this food fest: event co-chairs Dr. Mark J. Gloth and Theresa G. Giardina; Calvin Hargett Jr., president of the Muscular Dystrophy Association Maryland-Southern Delaware Executive Committee; Annie Kennedy and Katie McGuire, camp co-directors; Michele Dressman, camp nurse; Julie Mercer, Young Members' Committee chair; Lark Pfleegor, designer with Patrick Sutton Associates; Al Reid, president of Rapid Response Inc.; and Jack Marks, president of John Marks Associates Advertising.

... red fish, blue fish. Three fish, four fish, Kisserfish, more fish. Five fish, six fish, At Your Serfish. Seven fish, eight fish. Had enough fish?(Actually, there are 120 fish.) The Fish Out of Water sculptures are out in full force. There's red-lipped Balti, the bright blue Kisserfish. He hangs out in McKeldin Square on the corner of Light and Pratt streets. Pucker up! Check out the painterly School on the Bay fish; it offers a wildlife lesson with the images on its fins. It's docked at the end of Constellation Pier, near a cozy little bench where a couple completes the portrait.

The mere mention of it brought laughter from my children and a quizzical look from my wife. A neighbor agreed to go along, but he, too, was skeptical."

At first glance, Ty Lanahan's 3-hour, 4-second finish in the Boston Marathon eight days ago is a fairly respectable showing.Lanahan has been running for only a year and a half, and not until this year has he gotten his marathon training log up to 80 miles a week.But considering what he has done in the last half year -- in the Marine Corps Marathon, in the Caesar Rodney Half-Marathon and the London Marathon -- his statment, "I only ran through Boston with some friends," is not idle boasting.