O Farrell

When a South Carroll center for juvenile delinquents was singled out last week as a national model for the treatment of young criminals, not everyone was impressed.Carroll McCulloch, executive director of the Howard County Sexual Assault Center, said yesterday she was "absolutely horrified" to learn that the San Francisco-based National Council on Crime and Delinquency bestowed its first Excellence in Adolescent Care award on the Thomas O'Farrell Youth Center.Ms. McCulloch said she was angered by the award because a 15-year-old O'Farrell resident who escaped supervision during a field trip raped a 27-year-old woman who was jogging in an Ellicott City park April 26, 1991.

There's a silver lining to the state's decision to close a residential treatment center for boys in Carroll County. Maryland's Department of Juvenile Services says it will use nearly half of the $1.5 million in savings from the move to expand home-based family therapy services that have shown impressive results with juvenile offenders. That's not only good for the state's bottom line, it's an investment in its future. When the Thomas O'Farrell Youth Center in Marriottsville closes its doors at the end of November, about 20 of 30 youngsters housed there will return to their families and participate in a special intensive therapy regimen that pairs families with counselors who are involved in their daily lives.

The Thomas O'Farrell Youth Center is celebrating its fourth anniversary today in an award-winning way.Barry A. Krisberg, president of the National Council on Crime and Delinquency, will present the council's first Excellence in Adolescent Care award to the Marriottsville center, which serves youths committed to the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services."

The state Department of Juvenile Services announced yesterday that it will close the Thomas O'Farrell Youth Center, a privately run 43-bed facility for delinquent boys in Carroll County. Department officials said the center, unlocked but staff-secure, treated about 80 boys per year at an annual cost of more than $3.7 million to the state. Youth advocates have called the center outdated, both in its physical structure and its programming. When the center closes Nov. 30, about 10 boys will be moved to other facilities, and the rest will be released to community programs, said Tammy Brown, a spokeswoman for Juvenile Services.

In a well-mannered voice, a 17-year-old resident of the Thomas O'Farrell Youth Center detailed a typical day and described various programs as he led a group of guests on a tour of the place he has called home for nearly a year."

The state Department of Juvenile Services announced yesterday that it will close the Thomas O'Farrell Youth Center, a privately run 43-bed facility for delinquent boys in Carroll County. Department officials said the center, unlocked but staff-secure, treated about 80 boys per year at an annual cost of more than $3.7 million to the state. Youth advocates have called the center outdated, both in its physical structure and its programming. When the center closes Nov. 30, about 10 boys will be moved to other facilities, and the rest will be released to community programs, said Tammy Brown, a spokeswoman for Juvenile Services.

Residents at the Thomas O'Farrell Youth Center in Marriottsville have turned chores into dollars for the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. About a dozen of the students, who are placed in the residential program by the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services, volunteered for odd jobs at the center and in the community, then donated their pay to the Red Cross. The images on television and in newspapers convinced Manuel, 15, of Hagerstown that "people really needed help. "A lot of people in this disaster lost their homes and everything else," Manuel said.

There's a silver lining to the state's decision to close a residential treatment center for boys in Carroll County. Maryland's Department of Juvenile Services says it will use nearly half of the $1.5 million in savings from the move to expand home-based family therapy services that have shown impressive results with juvenile offenders. That's not only good for the state's bottom line, it's an investment in its future. When the Thomas O'Farrell Youth Center in Marriottsville closes its doors at the end of November, about 20 of 30 youngsters housed there will return to their families and participate in a special intensive therapy regimen that pairs families with counselors who are involved in their daily lives.

In a bathroom of the Thomas O'Farrell Youth Center in Carroll County this week, one boy choked another, causing him to fall unconscious and hit his head. The victim was flown to Maryland Shock Trauma Center with a brain injury. Workers at the facility first reported what happened as an accident. Now several state agencies are trying to determine why. Thomas O'Farrell, a medium-security residence for juvenile delinquents in Marriottsville, is run by a private firm under a contract with the Department of Juvenile Services.

Several pieces of Carroll County history will be on the auction block tomorrow as the O'Farrell Auction Barn sells pictures, mirrors and other furnishings from Cockey's Tavern in Westminster.Cockey's, open as an inn or tavern since the early 1800s, closed in September. At the time, owner Robert E. Lowry said some longtime employees had resigned and the Main Street reconstruction project had hurt business at the restaurant, at 216 E. Main St.Among the items for sale is a portrait of Confederate Gen. J.E.B.

In a bathroom of the Thomas O'Farrell Youth Center in Carroll County this week, one boy choked another, causing him to fall unconscious and hit his head. The victim was flown to Maryland Shock Trauma Center with a brain injury. Workers at the facility first reported what happened as an accident. Now several state agencies are trying to determine why. Thomas O'Farrell, a medium-security residence for juvenile delinquents in Marriottsville, is run by a private firm under a contract with the Department of Juvenile Services.

On January 1, 2006, SUSIE R. KRICK of Ferndale; devoted wife of the late Matthew Krick; beloved mother of Evelyn M. Enders, Margaret L. O'Farrell and Charles E. Krick; cherished grandmother of Teresa Pyles, Joe Mc Aleer, Chuck Krick, Dawn O'Farrell and Jason Krick; loving great-grandmother of seven and great-great grandmother of one. She is predeceased by three brothers and two sisters. The family will receive visitors at the family owned Singleton Funeral Home, 1 Second Avenue S.W. (at Crain Hwy)

Residents at the Thomas O'Farrell Youth Center in Marriottsville have turned chores into dollars for the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. About a dozen of the students, who are placed in the residential program by the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services, volunteered for odd jobs at the center and in the community, then donated their pay to the Red Cross. The images on television and in newspapers convinced Manuel, 15, of Hagerstown that "people really needed help. "A lot of people in this disaster lost their homes and everything else," Manuel said.

Three teen-age boys who ran away from a low-security juvenile detention center in Carroll County on Monday night - including one who stole a car - were back in custody by yesterday afternoon, state police said. The teens were reported missing about 9:20 p.m. after they failed to appear for an evening headcount at the Thomas O'Farrell Youth Center in Marriottsville, said LaWanda G. Edwards, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Juvenile Services. The facility is unsecured, she said.

Lynda Niles, a Carroll County health educator, smiled as the students at the Thomas O'Farrell Youth Center did a double take at the T-shirt she wore for the Marriottsville school's health fair. She had taped wrapped condoms around the shirt's safe-sex slogans - and she could tell from the youths' reaction that they got the message. "Did you read her shirt?" 17-year-old S.P. asked as he gently jabbed a classmate. "It's funny and it's got a good message that says wear protection if you're gonna have sex."

An innovative program at the Thomas O'Farrell Youth Center in Carroll County is giving errant teen-agers -- and stray dogs -- a second chance at life. The residential center in Marriottsville will be the first in the state and one of few in the nation to conduct the pet therapy project that pairs abandoned dogs with troubled youths. "Research tells us that a noncritical, nonjudgmental creature can enhance a child's mental health and sense of self-worth," said Catherine Carey, planner for the Department of Juvenile Justice, which places at-risk teen-agers at O'Farrell.

Town Manager James Schumacher accepted a plaque Friday from the Thomas O'Farrell Youth Center. The award honors Sykesville's "continuing support of the off-campus youth employment program."The awards ceremony culminated the center's second annual Career Awareness Day Friday and included notes of appreciation to Sykesville and several other employers who have hired youth in its program.O'Farrell houses 40 teen-aged boys committed to its program by lTC the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services.

On January 1, 2006, SUSIE R. KRICK of Ferndale; devoted wife of the late Matthew Krick; beloved mother of Evelyn M. Enders, Margaret L. O'Farrell and Charles E. Krick; cherished grandmother of Teresa Pyles, Joe Mc Aleer, Chuck Krick, Dawn O'Farrell and Jason Krick; loving great-grandmother of seven and great-great grandmother of one. She is predeceased by three brothers and two sisters. The family will receive visitors at the family owned Singleton Funeral Home, 1 Second Avenue S.W. (at Crain Hwy)

Fashion statements that defined every decade of this century are coming out of storage next week, all part of a Festival of Memories, a show to benefit a Westminster charity.The production features vintage clothing, from the Gibson girl to the gown of the millennium.Kathy Brown, director of Shepherd's Staff, an ecumenical ministry to Carroll County's needy, is used to seeing old clothes, which people continually donate to the ministry.But she put out a call a few months ago for clothing with a history and was inundated with authentic costumes.

An alternative site for a new Westminster high school -- on farmland north of the city -- is under serious consideration by county officials, some of whom say the tract might be the safest and most economical available.The 75-acre parcel, known as the O'Farrell property, sits southwest of the intersection of Sullivan Road and Lemmon Road, outside Westminster.The county commissioners are expected to decide this week whether to build the 1,200-student school there or at the original site, next to Cranberry Station Elementary School off Center Street in Westminster.