Nature Center

The broad-winged hawk at the Irvine Nature Center is one step closer to getting a new home. About a year from now, the bird, which lost its wing after being hit by a car, will move to a new aviary at the nature center's future site in the Caves Valley area of Owings Mills. The spotted owl one cage over will be going with him, as will the diamondback terrapin and the bearded lizard. Construction on the $7.5 million project began last month. The nature center is leaving its location on the campus of St. Timothy's School in Stevenson, which it has used for the past 33 years, for a much larger property about seven miles away.

A winter minicamp at Bear Branch Nature Center gave some Carroll County children a break from television and toys this week in favor of woods, wetlands and worms.The second of their three days dawned with a dusting of snow on the ground yesterday, so the group of 5- to 8-year-olds left their regularly scheduled program with the county-run program briefly to find tracks of raccoon, fox, beaver, deer, muskrat, opossum and mink."I've never had such luck, and I've run about 100 camps," said Sherry L. Fisher, 35, a naturalist at the park north of Westminster, after a chilly wind drove the group of 14 back inside the nature center.

THANKS TO the generosity of pupils and staff at Eldersburg Elementary School, more than 20 area families will have a little bit brighter holiday.Sturdy laundry baskets filled with two dozen cleaning, paper and personal hygiene items were distributed to area residents last week during the His Table bagged lunch program administered by ESCAPE Ministries Inc.Project coordinator Christine Schwarz and committee members Nicole Agostino, Maureen Diesher, Cindy...

A Manchester man was held in lieu of $2,500 bail after he was accused of forcing his way into the home of his estranged wife. He also is accused of violating a court order that he stay away from her.Roland E. Brown, 34, of the 4800 block of Melody Drive was arrested at his residence soon after police went to the 4500 block of Northwoods Trail in Hampstead about 9 p.m. Friday.The man's wife, Joanne Brown, said her hand was injured as she tried to keep her husband from shoving his way through the front door, police said.

Baltimore police issued a citywide lookout yesterday for a brown and yellow leopard tortoise that was stolen late Thursday or early yesterday from a nature center in Leakin Park.The unusual pronouncement was delivered by a police dispatcher in a monotone voice, using typical law enforcement vernacular: "Any officer coming in contact with said tortoise should hold same and notify."Police said someone broke into the city-run Carrie Murray Center and took the tortoise named Sophia, who is given free run of the building.

Nearly 100 children gathered yesterday in Manchester for the local park foundation's annual Easter egg and scavenger hunt, turning Pine Valley Nature Center into a playground for youths eager to take part in the springtime tradition.Some youngsters got to the center long before the eggs were hidden in mulch piles and under trees. The early arrivals waited eagerly while the eggs were hidden by members of a local Boy Scout troop.The event was so popular that organizers ran out of eggs for the little ones to find in less than 20 minutes.

WALK THE WILD side of Manchester on Sunday during the third annual Pine Valley Nature Center open house. Watch wild animals, see monarch butterflies, and discover the town's underground springs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.From 11 a.m. to 11: 45 a.m., Steve Miller, Manchester's public works director, will give a tour of the town's spring water collection system. The town has depended on the system for its water since the 1940s.Ellen Rugemer, event chairwoman, found a previous tour to be a fascinating look into a system of underground storage basins and a reservoirlike cistern.

WITH A do-si-do and promenade left, square dance caller Bob Harrison kept young dancers moving Friday evening under the stars at Piney Run Park during the first overnight campout of the 1998 Nature Camp. The square dance was one of the highlights of the 22nd annual Nature Camp program at the park.Under the supervision of third-year director Julie Egdahl and 21 counselors, about 300 campers will spend the next several weeks exploring the park and its natural inhabitants through camp sessions designed for children who have completed kindergarten through eighth grade.

Nuts are still green and mushrooms too risky, but the young members of Piney Run Nature Center's Ecology Club foraged successfully last week for wild edibles.Ice cream was the only store-bought fare when the nine youngsters returned to the center to feast on nature's bounty.The ice cream was slathered with a syrup made from wild black cherries -- heated to remove the poison from their pits. It was washed down with a rather bland sumac tea -- brewed from the nonpoisonous staghorn variety.The group of 9-to-13-year-olds set out after school Thursday.

THE NATURE CENTER at Piney Run Park is alive with the spirit of volunteerism.Many of its programs are dependent on volunteers, and two of the center's most active volunteers were recently recognized for their efforts.Norma and Jack Norman of Sykesville have been faithful volunteers the past four years. The retired couple can be found lending a hand at nearly every event at the Nature Center."Jack and Norma are such a terrific couple," said Elaine Sweitzer, a Piney Run naturalist. "They're always ready and willing to do anything that needs to be done.

Radio stations raise funds for Waverly playground 1 Two local radio stations are holding a fundraiser this afternoon to help rebuild the Waverly playground that was destroyed in a fire Tuesday. Disc jockeys from 101.9 LITE FM and 102.7 JACK FM will be at the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Family Center at Stadium Place, 900 E. 33rd St., from noon to 3 p.m. collecting donations. More information is available at www.ymaryland.org. Neighborhood organizations had raised more than $300,000 over several years to build the original playground.

Jemicy teacher killed in New York accident An English teacher at Jemicy School in Towson died recently in a motorcycle accident in New York as he was heading to Vermont for vacation, his mother said. Gary Anthony "Tony" Smith, 29, of the first block of Griffin Court in Fells Point was traveling through an intersection about 11 a.m. Tuesday when a car making a left turn struck him, his mother, Nicole Gnezda, said that New York State Police told the family. Gnezda and her husband, John Snouffer of Worthington, Ohio, had planned to meet Smith and his sister, Katharine Smith of Seattle, over the weekend for a wedding in Massachusetts.

When Frank Marsden visited Eden Mill about 17 years ago, he had a glimmer of an idea. He saw something more than a closed-down mill, built in 1805, that was filled with cobwebs and dust. He saw an opportunity to use the land to get people away from their televisions and back into nature. "We have a wonderful environmental education center [the Harford Glen Environmental Education Center] that was established through the school system," said Marsden. "But we didn't have anything for the public.

Delaware: Arrest Md. woman charged with embezzlement A Maryland woman has surrendered to Newport, Del., police to face charges of embezzling more than $100,000 from the town that employed her as an administrative assistant and bookkeeper. Cynthia Reynolds, 48, of Elkton turned herself in Friday, said Newport police Chief Michael Capriglione. The thefts from the town began in 2004 and continued through 2007, totaling more than $128,000, according to police. The thefts were discovered in late March when a state official noticed there had been no contributions from Newport into the state pension plan for several months, police said.

Thirteen children, ages 5 to 9, were given a task of finding something biotic - living in nature - and placing a donut-shaped piece of cardboard around it. Chloe Fornoff, Eden Fornoff and Syvia Weiskopf took the ring and walked down a path to a tree with branches that hung straight out on either side of its trunk. "A tree is biotic," Chloe, 7, of Whitehall, said to Eden and Syvia. They agreed. Repeatedly, Chloe jumped up and down trying to hang the ring, but the branch was too high. Finally, she settled for a lower branch.

The 19.8-acre Girl Scout property on Ilchester Road in Ellicott City -- visited by thousands of girls each year -- is getting a new nature center, named for Caitlin Dunbar, an ardent Girl Scout who died in 2004, when she was 15. The Caitlin Dunbar Nature Center will have a focus on science and will include a sunflower garden that produces seeds for biofuel, observation beehives and a fossil collection. Terrapins will be raised and released. In the days before the grand opening, scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday, members of local Girl Scout troops have been painting murals of nature scenes on the walls, building book cases and collecting supplies.

The broad-winged hawk at the Irvine Nature Center is one step closer to getting a new home. About a year from now, the bird, which lost its wing after being hit by a car, will move to a new aviary at the nature center's future site in the Caves Valley area of Owings Mills. The spotted owl one cage over will be going with him, as will the diamondback terrapin and the bearded lizard. Construction on the $7.5 million project began last month. The nature center is leaving its location on the campus of St. Timothy's School in Stevenson, which it has used for the past 33 years, for a much larger property about seven miles away.

Baltimore County firefighters overwhelmingly ratified a one-year contract that calls for a 3 percent cost-of-living increase and additional benefits for tenured members of the department, union officials said yesterday. The agreement calls for additional pay raises for firefighters and paramedics who have worked for the department for at least 13 years and another increase for those with more than 17 years, union officials said. Under the new contract, new hires will be required to work 30 years with the department or be 60 years old before they're eligible for their pension, said Michael K. Day Sr., president of the Baltimore County Professional Fire Fighters Association.

In 1996, plans for a $5.5 million nature complex in Marshy Point Park took shape that included a nature center with an education wing, a trail network, bridges and outdoor exhibits. But when construction began at the 500-acre park in 1999, funding cuts had reduced the project to a nature center - minus the classrooms - and a parking lot. A decade later, using $2.8 million from the county and the state, the second phase of the Marshy Point plan is under way, if belatedly. The work includes a canoe storage facility and dock, bridges, a second parking lot and an entry road leading into the north half of the park, all scheduled to be completed this spring, county parks officials say. "Everybody who has been involved with Marshy Point ... is happy that they are finally seeing the fruits of their labors," said John Markley, the deputy director of the county's parks and recreation department.

The lowdown -- Create holiday ornaments from natural materials at Oregon Ridge Nature Center this weekend. The center will provide teasel, nuts, pine cones and other natural materials for the decorations. If you go -- The event is 2 p.m.-4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The center is at 13555 Beaver Dam Road in Cockeysville. $2 per person is due in advance. Call 410-887-1815 for reservations. Stories at Cylburn The lowdown -- Today, Cylburn Arboretum hosts a Children's Nature Story Hour. Kids ages 3-6 and their parents can listen to stories and tour the gardens from 10 a.m.-11 a.m. If you go -- The story hour is $1 per child and free for adults.