Poster Contest

Board of Education to hold meeting at 4 p.m. tomorrow The Board of Education will hold its regularly scheduled meeting at 4 p.m. tomorrow in the boardroom at the Department of Education, 10910 Route 108, Ellicott City. The session will begin with a public forum, during which citizens can address the board on any topic for which there is no formal hearing process. Sign-up in advance is preferred. No evening session will be held tomorrow. Information or to sign up to speak: 410-313-7197 or 410-313- 6682.

The Carroll County Volunteer Firemen's Association has announced the winners of its eighth annual Fire Prevention Poster Contest. A "Punch and Goodies" reception will be held at 2 p.m. Nov. 30 at the Winfield fire hall, 1300 W. Old Liberty Road. All teachers and pupils and their families who participated are welcome to attend. All winners listed below will receive ribbons. Grand-prize winners and all schools that participated will receive a certificate. Any pupil or school not at the awards ceremony will receive their ribbon/certificate at their respective school within a week.

The student: Jeffrey Hao, 7 School: Ilchester Elementary Special achievement: He took first place among first-graders for his artwork in a Fire Prevention Poster Contest sponsored by the Ellicott City Fire Station. The theme of his poster: Keep walkways clear of ice and snow so firefighters can get through. "Because you can slip on ice and you can fall down and get hurt," Jeffrey said. "I showed a person with a shovel picking up snow and putting it into a pile. ... Then I drew a stairway up to my house, and then I drew a street way with snow and ice on it and I was digging up the street way."

The student: Alexandra Miller, 8 School: Ilchester Elementary School Special achievement: Alexandra took first place among second-graders in the Ellicott City Fire Station's annual Fire Prevention Poster Contest. Her class made posters for the contest. "It feels really good to be in first place," she said. What was her inspiration? To illustrate the theme of "What is your meeting place?" Alexandra used her family home as a model. "It looks like smoke coming out of my house, and we're meeting out in my treehouse," she said.

Cedarhurst Unitarian Universalists Congregation continues its monthly coffeehouses with a concert featuring Doug Alan Wilcox at 8 p.m. Saturday. Admission is $5. Nonalcoholic drinks and desserts will be available. The church is at 2912 Clubhouse Road, Finksburg, and is accessible to the disabled. Information: 410-861-8820. Sun columnist Reimer to speak at women's club The Women's Club of Westminster will hold a lecture featuring Susan Reimer, author and columnist for The Sun, at 7 p.m. April 10 at Ascension Episcopal Church.

State writers' group schedules contest, annual conference The Maryland Writers' Association will hold its annual writers' conference from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. April 10 at Chesapeake Center for the Creative Arts, 194 Hammonds Lane, Brooklyn Park. The conference gives writers a chance to participate in sessions led by established authors, instructors and motivational speakers. Author Nancy Kress, a columnist for Writer's Digest magazine, will be the keynote speaker. The Maryland Writers' Association and 1stBooks.

The Carroll County Volunteer Firemen's Association will present awards for its annual fire prevention poster contest at 2 p.m. today at the Mount Airy Volunteer Fire Company's open house. The contest is sponsored by the Prevention and Life Safety Committee for children in grades one through five. The grand prize winner in each grade will receive a certificate. Other winners will receive ribbons. Schools that had entries will receive a participant ribbons and certificates. Winners are: Faith Christian School: First grade, Chloe Pavuk, first place and grand prize winner.