Oella

OELLA -- The Benjamin Banneker Historical Park and Museum, a monument to the man known as the "first black man of science," was dedicated yesterday by Baltimore County Executive C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger.The Colonial-era almanac author lived and farmed tobacco at the 142-acre site of the museum at 300 Oella Ave. The dedication was attended by about 300 community members, politicians, descendants of Banneker and Friends of Benjamin Banneker, a group of volunteers that lobbied for the $2.5 million park and museum and helped find artifacts for exhibit.

In a decision that could put plans for the Patapsco Heritage Greenway in jeopardy, Oella residents voted 2-1 last night against becoming part of the project to create a state-certified heritage area along the Patapsco River in Baltimore and Howard counties. About 300 people came to the Westchester Community Center in Oella to cast a ballot between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. There were 190 votes against the Patapsco Heritage Greenway and 105 for it. Oella is the second community to vote itself out of the greenway.

Somehow, before he fell bleeding to the floor of his Country Corner Store in Oella, Jagdish "Jay" K. Patel managed to call 911, and then telephone his wife and his landlord."

Baltimore County police arrested a third suspect yesterday in connection with the armed robbery and shooting of an Oella grocery store owner last Friday.Kenneth Larmont Pittrell, 22, of the 600 block of Markham Road in Baltimore was arrested about 12:30 a.m. Monday. Police went to his home after getting information from an anonymous tipster Sunday afternoon.Mr. Pittrell was held without bail on charges of attempted murder, armed robbery and a handgun violation in the robbery of the Country Corner Store in Oella.

After four years of planning and debate, construction could begin next month on an 82-space parking lot in Oella that would be used primarily by shoppers in nearby historic Ellicott City.Situated on the Baltimore County side of the Patapsco River, the parking lot is a joint venture between Baltimore and Howard counties."The project is moving along," said Kenneth Mills, executive director of the Baltimore County Revenue Authority, which would manage the lot. Howard County has agreed to finance the $325,000 project.

ONE PROBLEM with being poor in Maryland is that there are few safe, cheap places to live.Twenty years ago, it was common to hear complaints about the poor families who lived in outhouse-equipped shacks within 25 miles of the White House.Supposedly, this made us appear backward to the rest of the world. The outhouse was a symbol of poverty. So the shacks with outhouses were torn down and replaced by tract houses that sold for over $100,000 each.I bring all of this up because of the recent clamor over the Moving to Opportunity program which seeks to relocate a tiny portion of Baltimore City's poor to better city and suburban neighborhoods with the help of federal rent subsidies.

RECENTLY, ON A HOT day, I went exploring at Historic Oella Mill. There, wood floors creak underfoot in immense, high-ceilinged rooms. An unbeatable view of the Patapsco River adds to the experience.Arts, crafts and antiques in their many variations are the mill's theme.The gallery of Oella Mill Art Center is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekends, and exhibits change regularly. On display now is a multimedia exhibit by gallery members.The gallery is run by the Howard County Art Guild, a nonprofit fellowship of artists.

Oella -- a tiny, historic mill town on the Patapsco River where some stone structures predate the War of 1812 -- may soon vault into the 1990s for good, with the help of state taxpayers.The Maryland Heritage Areas Authority has formally recognized Oella and its rustic surroundings as a heritage area, making it eligible for public funding that could help chart a formal course for the southwestern Baltimore County community.Among the possibilities that could emerge from an Oella master plan being developed: a system of hiking trails, a picnic area and a museum that would feature Oella's rich legacy of millwork.

The Patapsco Heritage Greenway faces a crucial hurdle tonight as Oella residents vote on whether they want to be part of the project, which would link the Patapsco Valley State Park to the cultural and economic resources of the surrounding towns.Charles L. Wagandt, a developer who revitalized Oella and past president of the greenway planning committee, called the decision "significant" but declined to say whether a rejection would destroy the project, which he and others have worked on for four years.

Margaret K. Anders, the former postmaster of Oella and a longtime soup kitchen volunteer, died of pneumonia Feb. 5 at Charlestown Retirement Community in Catonsville. She was 88. Born Margaret Kilduff, she was the eldest of 10 children of an Abingdon blacksmith. After graduating from St. Stephens High School in Bradshaw and Mount St. Agnes College in Baltimore, she married Cecil Trinkhaus, the Oella postmaster in 1941. Mrs. Anders became the assistant postmaster and, when her husband died, she took over as postmaster in Oella.