North Linthicum

Responding to growing concerns about crime at light rail stops in northern Anne Arundel, County Executive John R. Leopold has called on the state's transit administrator to permanently place patrols at three stations and bolster other security measures. In a letter sent last week to Maryland Transit Administrator Paul J. Wiedefeld, Leopold said his administration has received several complaints from residents and riders of the light rail system in Anne Arundel. Leopold's comments come a month after a twice-convicted rapist was charged with raping a 22-year-old woman at the Nursery Road stop in Linthicum, and less than two weeks after a taxi driver was robbed at gunpoint by a passenger she dropped off at the same station.

A PARADE will lead the way to Saturday's 10th annual Linthicum Community Fair -- bringing together local nonprofit organizations for a fun day that will help raise money to help the needy and honor some of our most inspiring neighbors.The parade begins at 9 a.m., on a route from Lindale/Brooklyn Park Middle School to the fairgrounds at St. John's field at Hammonds Ferry and Maple roads. Fair hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.Its main beneficiary will be the North County Emergency Outreach Network (NCEON)

ON MY short street alone, I saw two neighbors hosing down their pool covers this week. One neighbor was planting shrubbery around a new pool. Another, who is expecting a baby in September intends to spend most of the summer soaking in a pool. If you're not lucky enough to have a pool in your back yard, what's a person to do? North county residents do have a couple of swimming holes of the chlorinated variety available, though they are well-hidden.The North Linthicum Recreation Club is at the end of Governor's Gate Lane, next to Overlook Park.

FERNDALE -- Two passengers suffered smoke inhalation in an electrical fire aboard a Central Light Rail Line car during yesterday's evening rush hour, a Mass Transit Administration spokesman said.Anthony Brown, the spokesman, said the southbound train, heading for the Ferndale station, was nearing Broadview Boulevard about 4: 45 p.m. when passengers reported flames, smoke and sparks in one of the cars. The train, which carried 60 to 80 passengers, stopped and firefighters from area stations quickly extinguished the fire, said Battalion Chief Gary Sheckells of the Anne Arundel County Fire Department.

WHEN I WAS in elementary school, the May Fair was the highlight of the year. It was the one event at which I was allowed to roam freely without an adult and that was "way cool." In fact, it was such a big deal for me that my mother would make my girlfriend and me matching outfits to wear. It was a fun-filled day of eating (lemons with peppermints), playing games and buying used treasures and flowers for Mother's Day.If you would like to revisit your May Fair memories or make some for your children, go to the May Fair sponsored by St. John's Christian Day School PTA, from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday at the church, Third and Washburn avenues, Brooklyn Park.

EVERY CHRISTMAS, Shirley Beck decorates her house to the hilt, and every year, her friends and family say more people should see how beautiful it looks.This year, Beck is taking their advice, and, along with the Woman's Club of Linthicum Heights, is sponsoring an open house from 3: 30 p.m. to 7: 30 p.m. Dec. 21 at 16 Coronet Drive in North Linthicum.Admission is a $2 donation that will benefit Sarah's House, a homeless shelter for women at Fort Meade.Beck said she chose Sarah's House to receive the proceeds.

For most of her 45 years in Pumphrey, Regina B. Griffin could count on the No. 63 bus to come rumbling down Belle GroveRoad to carry her wherever she needed to go.Not anymore.The Mass Transit Administration's restructuring, scheduled to take effect Feb. 11, includes dropping the No. 63 bus line. Mrs. Griffin wonders how she will get around."I don't drive at all, so I depend on the bus and light rail for my transportation," said Mrs. Griffin, 75. "I would love to see, if not that bus, then a substitute."

THE FIRST day of school is just around the corner. If you are new to the community and have to register your child, or if he or she needs immunizations brought up to date, now is the time to take action.Contact your school for an appointment to register your child. Bring a transcript from the former school and your child's Social Security number, birth certificate and proof of residence.you have questions or need to schedule an appointment, call: Ferndale Elementary, 105 Packard Ave., 222-6927;Hilltop Elementary (Ferndale)

The summer reading program at the Brooklyn Park Library, 1 East 11th Ave., opens its schedule of summer reading events at 10 a.m. Wednesday. Jamal Koram, the Story Man, will bring his collection of ancient and contemporary African and African-American stories and songs to share with the children.Mr. Koram has more than 20 years' entertainment experience and has performed at festivals, colleges and on national television. The Story Man program is free and geared toward children entering kindergarten through sixth grade in the fall.

A dispute over a parking space near the North Linthicum light rail station last June ended up costing one Orioles fan a night in jail.But it could end up costing three of the station's neighbors and county police a lot more.Edward Disham of the 300 block of S. Riverside Drive in Crownsville filed a $6.5 million suit in Anne Arundel Circuit Court yesterday, a year after his car was ticketed and he was arrested and locked up for taking a cardboard "No Parking" sign from Koch Road in Linthicum Heights.

Neighbors in North Linthicum have gathered at their community pool for more than three decades' worth of summers. Friends barbecued. Children learned to swim. Teenagers got their first jobs as lifeguards. Now, the pool has become another victim of the financial crisis. Faced with years of declining membership and mounting debt - and dim prospects for a loan to ride out the slump - it is unlikely to open for another season. "Every year, the pool makes enough just to squeak by," said Tu Armagost, president of the North Linthicum Recreation Club, which owns and operates the facility.

One matter on which all who live in Baltimore can agree is that the area's local rail transit system leaves much to be desired. But, hey, there is a system, more or less, and why shouldn't we use it? Growing up in Chicago, I learned that suburban dwellers can have a good time in the city getting around by rail transit. Sturdy shoes help. Sure, the Baltimore light rail system has had a checkered career. It lost a couple of years to a double-tracking project that should have been part of the original design.

Responding to growing concerns about crime at light rail stops in northern Anne Arundel, County Executive John R. Leopold has called on the state's transit administrator to permanently place patrols at three stations and bolster other security measures. In a letter sent last week to Maryland Transit Administrator Paul J. Wiedefeld, Leopold said his administration has received several complaints from residents and riders of the light rail system in Anne Arundel. Leopold's comments come a month after a twice-convicted rapist was charged with raping a 22-year-old woman at the Nursery Road stop in Linthicum, and less than two weeks after a taxi driver was robbed at gunpoint by a passenger she dropped off at the same station.

Grace M. Chapman, a retired secretary and a former North Linthicum resident, died Saturday of natural causes at a hospital in Fairfield, Iowa. She was 89. Born Grace M. McCabe and raised in Rochester, N.Y., she married Stanley J. Chapman, a Westinghouse Electric Corp. quality assurance inspector, in 1940. He died in 1997. In 1938, Mrs. Chapman went to work as a secretary for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington and later for the Army missile shop at Fort Meade. She retired in 1975.

Six light rail stations, closed since February because of construction of a second track, will reopen on schedule Sunday, according to Maryland Transit Administration officials. The stations - Westport, Cherry Hill, Patapsco Avenue, Baltimore Highlands, Nursery Road and North Linthicum - were closed Feb. 28 so that crews could add a second track to the southern half of the rail system. The new track will eliminate delays and make it easier for crews to perform repairs, officials said. "Too many times in the past, riders have been delayed because their light rail train had to move off to the side to allow another train to pass," said Maryland Transportation Secretary Robert L. Flanagan.

Like a lot of young couples, David and Karen Cole wanted a home of their own. Both in their late 20s, the couple had rented for years. Their last rental home, in Pasadena, was nice enough, but it wasn't theirs and it wasn't what they really wanted. What they wanted was a rancher in a stable, family-friendly neighborhood in Anne Arundel County where they could raise their two sons, 9 and 4, and daughter, 7. Karen Cole wanted hardwood floors and maybe a fireplace. But the couple were also on a budget.

Joseph J. Marsiglia, a retired data processing manager for the state Department of Human Resources and World War II veteran who was wounded on Guam, died of heart disease Saturday at St. Agnes HealthCare. He was 81. Mr. Marsiglia retired in 1981 from the department's data processing administration. He also worked for nearly 14 years for the Anne Arundel County government, for which he managed the data processing department, and earlier was a credit manager and data processing manager for the former Equitable Trust Co. for five years.

Joni Annette Johnson, a homemaker and former teacher, died Sunday of a brain hemorrhage at Harbor Hospital Center. She was 47 and lived in North Linthicum. In the 1970s, she taught special education in the city school system. She also worked at the Social Security Administration as a clerk. Born Joni Annette Norwood in Baltimore and raised on Clifton Avenue, she graduated from Northwestern High School in 1972 and earned a degree in special education from Coppin State College. She designed and made her own clothing and enjoyed singing in area talent shows.

William L. Blotzer, 80, manager at Westinghouse William L. Blotzer, a retired Westinghouse Electric Co. manager, a community volunteer and an Optimist Club official, died Friday of a heart attack while attending a convention in Lancaster, Pa. He was 80 and lived in North Linthicum. He retired in 1985 as manager of reproduction services in the air arm division at the Westinghouse plant at Baltimore-Washington International Airport. He had joined the company in the late 1930s. Born in East Pittsburgh, Pa., he attended Turtle Creek High School.

LINTHICUM RESIDENT Robert G. Formwalt has been awarded the Melvin Jones Fellowship by the Lions Clubs International Foundation in recognition of his service to the community. Named for the Lions Club founder, the fellowship is the foundation's highest honor -- awarded to an individual who demonstrates a commitment to humanitarian service. Bob Muchow, past district governor of the Maryland Lions clubs, presented Formwalt with a plaque and lapel pin at the local club's honors night at Terry's Restaurant on Ritchie Highway on April 3. Formwalt, a Linthicum resident since 1950, joined the Linthicum Lions in the late 1950s but had to resign because of his busy work schedule.