Oklahoma Road Middle

WHEN OKLAHOMA Road Middle School opened two weeks ago, one wag joked that the timing of its debut was the source of its name, the Eldersburg institution for 675 pubescent pupils having begun its useful life in the middle of the school year.An anonymous, for good reason, teacher allowed that she felt caught "in the middle of the middle," having to learn a lot of new names and a new curriculum to jump-start the second semester.The $13 million school was a welcome change for lots of the teachers and children who were parked in the 14 portable classrooms at jam-packed Sykesville Middle, where lunchtime lasted all day due to the cafeteria's limited seating capacity.

Autopsy is inconclusive in boy's death An autopsy could not determine whether the fatal shooting of a 12-year-old Glen Burnie boy was a suicide or an accident, the state medical examiner's office said yesterday. "The manner of death is pending," said the office's Linda Thomas. Tawn Anderson, 12, of the 500 block of Crestpark Drive was found in the basement of his house with a gunshot wound to the upper body at 7 p.m. Monday, police said. He was declared dead 30 minutes later. Officer Sara Schriver, a spokeswoman for Anne Arundel County police, said that the boy's parents and his sister were upstairs at the time.

THERE'S NO DOUBT that this will be a memorable day for middle school students and teachers, as the long-awaited opening of Oklahoma Road Middle School finally becomes reality.Teachers, support staff and administrators worked furiously over the five-day extended weekend to prepare for the arrival of 677 students transferred from Sykesville Middle School.Students were scheduled to be greeted this morning by a videographer from Fil Sibley Productions, ready to record their first day. Students will have the opportunity to purchase the video as a memento of the school's opening.

The Oklahoma Road Middle School drama club will be serving mystery and mayhem with spaghetti and meatballs in the cafeteria tonight and tomorrow evening. In this dinner theater, the menu is Italian and the show is slightly slapstick. The cast doubles as the wait staff and promises to draw the audience into Who Poisoned His Meatball? - an interactive murder mystery by Craig Sodaro. The club chose the two-act play for its dramatic debut and selected dinner fare that would complement the plot.

SEVERAL HUNDRED Eldersburg residents crowded the gymnasium at Oklahoma Road Middle School Sunday for the school's official dedication.Principal Larry Barnes and Assistant Principal Cathy Hood welcomed county and state government officials, and community activists during the 90-minute ceremony.The ceremony included brief speeches by Sue Krebs, community activist; Charles Frank, general building contractor for the school; Scott Stone, president of the county Board of Education; and Dr. Brian Lockard, Carroll schools' superintendent.

The Oklahoma Road Middle School drama club will be serving mystery and mayhem with spaghetti and meatballs in the cafeteria tonight and tomorrow evening. In this dinner theater, the menu is Italian and the show is slightly slapstick. The cast doubles as the wait staff and promises to draw the audience into Who Poisoned His Meatball? - an interactive murder mystery by Craig Sodaro. The club chose the two-act play for its dramatic debut and selected dinner fare that would complement the plot.

The principal for the new Oklahoma Road Middle School will be Larry Barnes, currently principal of Mount Airy Middle School.The county school board voted unanimously Thursday to appoint Mr. Barnes, who has worked for Carroll County schools since he began his career 26 years ago as a teacher. He has a bachelor's degree from the University of Maryland and a master's degree from Western Maryland College.Oklahoma Road Middle School is being constructed in Eldersburg and is expected to open in the fall.

Following are the bus routes for Oklahoma Road and Sykesville middle schools starting Tuesday.The a.m. time represents the time of the first pupil pickup on the route. The p.m. time represents the first pupil drop-off time.75B OKLAHOMA ROAD MIDDLE 8 A.M.-3: 40 P.M. -- Along Monroe Avenue at Sherryl Avenue & Ridge Road; along Ridge Road at Marvin Avenue; along Marvin Avenue at #6625 and #6607; along Sunset Drive at Fawn Haven Court and #6701; along Marriottsville Road #2 at Walden Way; along Ridge Road at #7108, Beverage Drive, Cable Drive, Blacksmith Drive, Stafford Court; Kali Drive South.

Carroll County's only Democrat is encouraged that the state will help pay for Oklahoma Road Middle School after a meeting with Gov. Parris N. Glendening this week."

Contractors may start bidding on the Taneytown Elementary School expansion in April and on the Oklahoma Road Middle School shortly after that, school officials say.The Carroll County Board of Education voted to approve construction documents yesterday for both projects.The Taneytown Elementary School project will add a gym, cafeteria and classrooms and renovate the existing building. Most of the new construction will be on the north and east side of the school, with a new entrance on the east side.

An eighth-grade boy brought a handgun to Oklahoma Road Middle School yesterday morning and fired a single shot in a school bathroom in an apparent suicide attempt, police said. No one was hurt in the incident at the Eldersburg school, authorities said. The boy, 13, took his father's .44-caliber revolver from a locked box at home and brought the gun to school in a backpack, said Maj. Greg Shipley, a state police spokesman. The boy fired the handgun about 10 a.m. in an empty boys' bathroom while pupils at the school were between classes, police said.

They begin arriving as early as 7:20 a.m. Some Oklahoma Road Middle School teachers walk a few laps outside the building. Others drift over to the nearby McDonald's for coffee. Many remain huddled in the parking lot, just across the bus loop from the building's main entrance, where they talk about their quiet protest for respect, appreciation and better pay. What the few dozen teachers don't do is escort early-arriving pupils to the cafeteria, meet with parents or spend extra time setting up their classrooms - all the normal before-school activities of a teacher.

THE GIVING SPIRIT OF Christmas is flourishing at Oklahoma Road Middle School. Pupils at the Eldersburg school have been working to create a town scene dubbed Winter Wonderland.More than a dozen pupils in a group called the Partners Club have spent the past two weeks working on the display, which covers about 50 square feet. Pupils in the club spend time during their skills class working with pupils in teacher Lois Dolan's Learning for Independence class.I visited the Winter Wonderland display last week as the children were putting finishing touches on their work.

BALDWIN'S STATION in downtown Sykesville continues to win new fans with its fine cuisine and entertainment.The August issue of Baltimore Magazine named Baldwin's the best new restaurant in the metropolitan region for 1998. The restaurant was praised for its food, atmosphere, service and entertainment.The entertainment in particular has really helped to draw new customers. Concerts geared toward children have gained in popularity.Tom Vincent, a singer-songwriter and winner of a Parent's Choice Award for 1996, will present a concert from 10: 30 a.m. to 11: 30 a.m. Thursday at Baldwin's.

THE DRAMA CLUB at Oklahoma Road Middle School has been hard at work for weeks preparing to bring audiences a real "blast from the past" as its member present "Schoolhouse Rock Live!"The play is based on the Emmy-Award winning short animated pieces that were seen on Saturday morning television from 1973 through 1985. Shown between cartoons, "Schoolhouse Rock!" brought the classroom into living rooms across the country. Its well-crafted songs brought depth and meaning to fundamental subjects from grammar and history to math and biology.

O LITTLE TOWN of Eldersburg could very well be the name of a holiday project at Oklahoma Road Middle School.Since early this month, students have spent time each day creating a detailed train garden display featuring many Eldersburg landmarks.The project has been dubbed Winter Wonderland and is the result of the cooperative work of more than 80 students who are members of the Partners Club.This club provides an opportunity for students of resource teacher Lois Dolan to meet on a regular basis and work on this holiday project together.

BALDWIN'S STATION in downtown Sykesville continues to win new fans with its fine cuisine and entertainment.The August issue of Baltimore Magazine named Baldwin's the best new restaurant in the metropolitan region for 1998. The restaurant was praised for its food, atmosphere, service and entertainment.The entertainment in particular has really helped to draw new customers. Concerts geared toward children have gained in popularity.Tom Vincent, a singer-songwriter and winner of a Parent's Choice Award for 1996, will present a concert from 10: 30 a.m. to 11: 30 a.m. Thursday at Baldwin's.

The Carroll County School Board tossed Justice and Independence aside when they named the proposed new middle school on Oklahoma Road.But no one will be confused. The new name: Oklahoma Road Middle School. Which is what everyone has been calling it anyway."Kind of tricky, a little creative," said Superintendent R. Edward Shilling about the name after he recommended board approval Wednesday."I am recommending what the majority of the [building] committee is recommending," he told the board.

WEARING WETSUITS and carrying an assortment of plastic beach toys, Oklahoma Road Middle School Principal Larry Barnes and Assistant Principal Cathy Hood sat on a drop seat awaiting the inevitable.The two administrators agreed to be dunked last Wednesday in exchange for students raising a particular amount during the school's recent PTA "Twistin' the Day Away" fund-raiser.Any student who collected pledges of $25 or more had a chance to hit the target and send one of the administrators into the tank.

Parents at Oklahoma Road Middle School want to know why several classrooms sit empty while some upper-level math classes have 40 students.At crowded Westminster West Middle School, every classroom is used and 12 portables have been added to accommodate students.In the less developed Taneytown area, Northwest Middle School is about half full.The contrast in Carroll's middle schools is the result of the rapid, uneven growth of the county, where elected officials try to keep taxes and spending down as enrollment goes up every year.