North Laurel

Bluegrass music Savage Bluegrass plays at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 15, at Sam and Elsie's Bar and Restaurant in Laurel. No cover charge. Information: 301-317-7796. Open house Emmanuel Methodist Preschool will host an open house from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 22, at 10755 Scaggsville Road in Laurel. Visitors can tour the school, meet with teachers and learn about the program. Information: 301-725-5178 or emmanuelpreschool.com . Montpelier tours Montpelier Mansion, 9650 Muirkirk Road, Laurel, offers tours at the following times: •Self-guided: year-round, between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Thursdays-Tuesdays.

The proposed 33-unit Single Room Occupancy apartment facility for the county's homeless in North Laurel is not the answer for Howard County. This portion of Laurel has undergone a gradual revitalization over the years, including new businesses and homes peppering the once-questionable area. My family had plans to purchase a property in this area; however, now that Mr. Ulman has decided to place a Single Room Occupancy facility in what would be our new neighborhood, we no longer feel safe moving there.

Staci M. Watkins was found dead a week ago in a patch of woods along U.S. 1 in Laurel, not far from the Turf Motel, where she'd been living for a few weeks. She and her boyfriend, Donald "Butch" McCulley, were managing to keep the room on the first floor and avoid the more raw existence of many fellow homeless people who stay close to the old highway - some living in their cars, some under highway overpasses, some in tents in the woods behind the used-car lots, industrial buildings and fast-food restaurants.