Peace Corps

Not quite a mayor and not a CEO either, Padraic "Pat" Kennedy held a job unlike any other as the first and longest-serving president of the Columbia Association. Kennedy, who was president of the association from 1972 to 1998, was honored yesterday with a scholarship fund created in his name by the Horizon Foundation. The award, pegged to Columbia's 40th anniversary, recognized Kennedy's longtime service to the planned community he led from its earliest days. "It was amazing," said Richard Krieg, president of the Horizon Foundation and the one who presented the award.

Under Sunday's sunny skies, one son shot baskets in the driveway while the other was at swimming. Maybe later in the day they'd all go for a bike ride, to enjoy the dazzling weather and dad's last weekend in town for a while. Charles Blomquist is headed to Iraq, where what was a particularly beautiful day here was hideously and horribly bloody there - at least 60 people killed in the usual complement of shootings, suicide bombings and sectarian violence. You have to wonder how many other people in Baltimore, similarly basking in one of the most delightful weekends around here lately - spring had finally sprung, the Orioles swept Toronto - gave Iraq much thought.

March 1 1872 Congress authorized creation of Yellowstone National Park. 1961 President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps.

More than 2.8 million freshmen are expected to enter college this fall. That's the easy part. Until then, however, parents are experiencing: Stress. Worry. Worry, followed by stress. Stress, followed by worry, then stress, followed by this truth: If we had to apply to college today, not only would many of us be rejected on a litany of academic counts, we would probably be fined for even applying. In 1981, I graduated from the University of Florida, an esteemed state university (not too shabby in sports, either)

Forty years ago, when Lillian Carter applied to the Peace Corps, the idea of a 67-year-old woman's volunteering to serve as a public health worker in India was so unusual, the sexagenarian had to have her head examined before being accepted. The Corps requested she undergo a psychiatric evaluation. The mother of President Jimmy Carter passed the assessment and went on to become one of the Peace Corps' most famous senior volunteers. After her death in 1983, the organization established an award in her name to recognize volunteers 50 and over for outstanding service.

James T. Lester was a psychologist in Beverly Hills. He climbed Mount Everest. He traveled throughout the Caribbean and Central America during two years in the Peace Corps. The globetrotting free spirit, who is known as Jim professionally, has settled down in Annapolis - on the stool of a piano. At two recent gigs, with Brooks Tegler's Little Big Band at Loews Powerhouse and as part of a trio with bassist Joe Byrd and saxophonist Larry Prascus at 49 West Coffeehouse, Winebar and Gallery, Lester showed grace.

For most of the past year, Aaron and Jenny Christman have been tying up loose ends: selling their cars, moving out of their Westminster apartment, preparing their wills and income tax returns - and brushing up on their Malagasy, an official language of Madagascar. The two Carroll County teachers are scheduled to leave today to serve with the Peace Corps for two years and three months. The married couple is expected to fly to Philadelphia this morning, where they will stay for two days while they receive immunizations and an overview of their assignment in Madagascar.

Dr. and Mrs. Daniel E. Fielding, of Phoenix, MD, announce the marriage of their daughter Rebecca Anne, to Enso Luis Portillo - Martinez. The wedding took place in Villarrica Paraquay on July 23, 2005. They met while Rebecca was a volunteer in the Peace Corps in Paraquay.

JUST WHEN it seemed that American public diplomacy couldn't get any worse, along comes Congress. In an era of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay, you might think that the government would be devising ways to ensure that the face of America overseas is not solely that of a soldier. Instead, Congress is now doing the opposite: taking the nation's oldest civilian overseas volunteer organization - the Peace Corps - and sending soldiers its way. The military has officially has begun encouraging its recruits to serve in the Peace Corps, allowing them to count time in one toward service in the other.

Tonga will be Peace Corps volunteer Lauren Drexel's home for the next 27 months, while she works on a project to teach schoolchildren about the environment. A 2000 graduate of Bel Air High School, Drexel, 21, is one of several young Harford County residents postponing traditional careers or graduate school for service in the Peace Corps. Five other volunteers from the county are serving in destinations from Malawi to Bulgaria, according to the Peace Corps. By the fall, five other area volunteers will be serving on Peace Corps missions.