Parks And Recreation

When Jonathan Schuchman arrived at Westminster City Park on July 9, he knew it would be fun. "We got to bring all the balls down and play whatever we wanted to play," said the 12-year-old counselor-in-training for the City of Westminster's Department of Recreation and Parks. "I come all summer," he said. That's music to the ears of Robin Cherney, a program specialist for the city's rec department - though in truth, she wants even more. Cherney said she has the goal to keep kids moving all year long, and to that end, she created the program Rec on the Move, last September.

Vernon Harry Wiesand, a retired attorney and police magistrate who was a former city Recreation and Parks Board president, died of stroke complications May 26 at the Anchorage Nursing Home in Salisbury. The former Mount Vernon Place resident was 92. Born in Baltimore and raised on Wilke Avenue, he was a 1938 City College graduate. He earned a degree at Western Maryland College, where he met his future wife, the former Shirley Jones. His son, Mark Wiesand of Kingsville, said his father overcame polio as a child and volunteered with charities active in disability work.

Volunteers can help keep Laurel's Granville Gude Park clean by participating in an Earth Day Park Cleanup on Saturday, April 28. Participants will meet at the lake house, 8300 Mulberry St., at 9 a.m., and should wear appropriate clothing for working outdoors. Trash bags and gloves will be provided, and a limited number of Earth Day T-shirts will be available for volunteers. Students can earn service hours and should bring their own forms. For more information, call the Laurel Department of Parks and Recreation at 301-725-7800.

Annie's Playground in Fallston will remain closed until at least Nov.21, while routine maintenance continues at the popular play area, the Harford County Department of Parks and Recreation reported Thursday. The playground was closed last week and was expected to open by the middle of this week; however, some of the work was delayed, county government spokesman Bob Thomas said. A contractor is power washing some of the equipment and staining some of the wood structures. Thomas said the staining has been taking longer than anticipated and was further pushed back because of the weather.

Oracle Band's music of the '70s, '80s, '90s and today will fill the air Fri., July 29, 7-9 p.m., outdoors at Granville Gude Park and Lakehouse, 8300 Mulberry St. Bring a blanket or chair and a picnic, and enjoy this concert in the park with the whole family. Children younger than 13 not permitted without parent or guardian. Sponsored by Laurel Department of Parks and Recreation. http://www.laurel.md.us . 301-725-7800. "Les Misérables," the summer youth production at Laurel Mill Playhouse opens Fri., July 29 at 8 p.m. at 508 Main St. Performed entirely by students, this school edition is produced and directed by Patti Knazik and musically directed by Stu Knazik.

Ciy pools in Laurel will remain open until 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday to provide relief during the current heat wave. The city operates two pools: Municipal Pool at Ninth and Main streets and the Greenview Drive Pool, located in Patuxent Greens at 11415 Greenview Drive. For more information on Laurel's city pools, call Laurel Department of Parks and Recreation at 301-725-7800.

For some old-fashioned fun, bring the family to the bike decorating contest and parade followed by an ice cream social Friday, June 10, 6:30-8:30 p.m., at the Laurel Armory Anderson and Murphy Community Center, 422 Montgomery St. Kids can decorate their bikes and scooters inside the armory (bike helmets must be worn). Then a parade starts at 7:15 p.m. on Montgomery Street between Fourth and Fifth streets. Ice cream social follows the parade. Sponsored by the Laurel Department of Parks and Recreation, and Laurel Police Department.

The 19th annual Wine in the Woods festival was held May 21-22 at Symphony Woods at Merriweather Post Pavilion. Beautiful weather helped attract crowds that averaged 20,000 each day, according to organizers from the Howard County Department of Parks and Recreation. Twenty-nine wineries from Maryland took part. Visitors who purchased a $30 wristband could sip as many half-ounce samples as they wished.

There's no question that Baltimore County has experienced an increase in vandalism in its parks in recent years. Some of it - setting fire to playgrounds or bathrooms, for instance - is alarming, but most of it falls into a less dire category of graffiti and petty crime, an all-too-familiar problem not only in urban areas and national parks but in small-town America as well. That doesn't make it acceptable behavior, of course, but does it justify spending $600,000 on "smart" cameras to keep five of the county's regional parks under constant video surveillance?

C. Lee Geddes, who during his more than three-decade career as project manager for the Harford County Parks and Recreation Department helped bring to fruition numerous award-winning waterfront projects throughout the county, died of a heart attack Monday at his Aberdeen home. He was 66. Mr. Geddes - who preferred to be known as Bob Lee Geddes - was born in Reading, Pa., and raised in nearby Shillington, Pa., where he graduated from Governor Mifflin High School in 1959. He was also a graduate of the Columbia School for the Arts in Philadelphia, where he studied broadcasting.