Oakland Mills High

The announcement over the Oakland Mills High School intercom pierced through the whispering voices and shuffling papers of Monday morning's first period: Two former students had died and one was critically injured on a spring break trip to Florida.Many had heard the news of the knife and baseball bat attack during the weekend. Friends had been calling each other. Parents had asked if they knew the men, Kevans Hall II, 23, Matthew Wichita, 21, and Seth Qubeck, 21.But the announcement brought the attack inside the walls of the school in this tight-knit community.

Success in Style benefit is Sept. 30 Success in Style, a nonprofit organization that provides free business attire, advice and support to women in crisis who are entering the work force, will hold its annual benefit, a black-tie Masquerade Ball, from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Sept. 30 at Historic Oakland, 5430 Vantage Point Road, Columbia. Live music, dancing, mystery celebrity guests, roving musicians, a prize wheel, a raffle for a plasma television set and an auction for a vacation in France are planned.

The Long Reach Community Association, in partnership with village center owner Perrine Wheeler Inc., will have a Cintas document-shredding truck on the village center parking lot from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 6 for residents to dispose of unwanted documents. The service is free; residents must present identification showing residency. Participants will be issued "certificates of destruction," showing that their documents have been disposed of safely. The paper will be recycled. Information: 410-730-8113.

The Columbia Bank will offer free credit training to Oakland Mills residents from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Aug. 15 at The Other Barn, 5851 Robert Oliver Place, in Oakland Mills Village Center. The class, which will discuss the importance of a credit report, how to order one and how to repair a credit history, is offered in conjunction with the Oakland Mills Revitalization Plan. Renters looking toward homeownership, owners interested in refinancing and improving their property and those interested in improving their financial situation are invited to attend.

A high school football coach who could be fired as the result of a grade-changing scandal appeared before a Howard County circuit judge yesterday to argue for the release of papers he said he needs to retain his job. "These documents are critical," said Thomas R. Bundy III, attorney for Oakland Mills High School coach Kenneth O. Hovet Jr., who filed a lawsuit against the office of the Howard County schools superintendent last month alleging he was being...

Diane Zdenek was a popular high school Latin teacher who taught the language creatively, annually dressing up in togas and holding Roman feasts for her students.The longtime high school teacher died Sunday after a two-year struggle with ovarian cancer. She was 40.Services will be held at 11 a.m. today at Beth El Congregation, 8215 Old Georgetown Road in Bethesda.Mrs. Zdenek split her work schedule between Wilde Lake and Oakland Mills high schools for more than 15 years."There's a lot of sadness," said Bonnie Daniel, principal of Wilde Lake High School, where Mrs. Zdenek taught for 15 years.

Lively Arts for Little Ones! will present a performance by Milkshake for children ages 2 to 5 and their chaperones at 10 a.m., and 1 p.m. April 7 at The Other Barn in Oakland Mills Village Center. The Interactive music-making show costs $4.50 for children ages 2 and older and adults. Group rates are available. The Other Barn is at 5851 Robert Oliver Place. Information: 410-730-4610. Oakland Mills PTSA planning a benefit The Oakland Mills PTSA is planning a dinner and silent and live auction to help raise money for medical expenses for David Hillen, parent of a student at the school.

The Howard County school board voted unanimously yesterday to reinstate the former athletic director of Oakland Mills High School in Columbia, who was suspended after he was implicated in a grade-changing scandal that forced the football team to forfeit a playoff game and its seven regular-season victories. In making its decision, the school board rejected the recommendation of John R. O'Rourke, then superintendent, that Kenneth O. Hovet Jr., who also coached the football team, be fired.

During a recent ceremony, Todd Colby and James O'Keefe were named Eagle Scouts at a Court of Honor held at the Owen Brown Community Center.The young men also can be proud to be part of BSA Troop 601, which has produced 38 Eagle Scouts. It is sponsored by the Oakland Mills Village Association.Their Scout Leader is Francis "Butch" Colby.Mr. Colby, a Scout since 1985, has been awarded the Order of the Arrow, two World Crests, two Miler Awards and 27 Merit Badges.His Eagle Scout project involved planning, preparing and planting landscaping for Oakland Mills High School's new science greenhouse addition.