Raffle

Bucky Lynch still hopes to get lucky.But the owner of the 11-store Lucky convenience market chain will have to wait another two months to find out if he holds the winning ticket to expand into the seafood business.When the Orchard Beach Fire Department decided to raffle off Captain Gilley's Seafood restaurant, Lynch saw a golden chance to keep his table loaded with fresh crabs and bought 100 tickets.But his shot at winning the restaurant on Nabbs Creek Road nearly went up in smoke Friday, when the volunteer fire company failed to sell enough $100 tickets to have the drawing.

It's sporty, speedy and sleek, and it might just keep a cash-strapped program for homebound seniors running for another year. Seniors Keep in Touch, a program that reaches out by phone to about 80 residents a day, will benefit from the raffle of a 2003 Harley-Davidson motorcycle next month. "Right now, we are bone dry with no grant money available," Patricia Owen, phone project coordinator, said. "We really need to keep this program going. It is so important to our seniors." Owen and one assistant made almost 20,000 calls last year, helping seniors connect with meals, medicines, housing and, recently, snow shovelers.

Amid renewed debate over a gun raffle to benefit Carroll County Republicans, a Baltimore-area state senator plans to introduce legislation that would prohibit offering a handgun as a prize in such a contest. Sen. Barbara A. Hoffman, a Democrat whose district includes parts of the city and Baltimore County, has told a Manchester couple whose 13-year-old son died in an accidental shooting two years ago that she would push for such a ban. "We have worked with the senator on several bills, and she has told us she is willing to sponsor one that would ban gun raffles," said John Price, who approached Hoffman with his wife, Carole.

Every January for the past five years, Chris Barritt of Mount Airy has been given the task of buying a car of your dreams.As chairman of the Mount Airy Fire Company's Carnival Raffle Committee, Mr. Barritt must find an attractive vehicle, in a catchy color, that fits within the company's budget and makes the public want to spend $5 or more on chances to take it home."

Bruce Smith is betting against growing odds that the biggest raffle of his life won't go up in smoke.The assistant chief at Orchard Beach Fire Department only has four days left to hawk another 400 tickets needed to raffle off a seafood restaurant on Stoney Creek.Chances appear increasingly slim that Smith and the other volunteer firefighters will succeed in their second last-minute pitch to fire up sales. Even with an extended deadline and month-long advertising campaign, they have failed to draw enough customers.

Forget selling books of restaurant coupons or chances on fruit baskets. One county charity has a little more appealing prize to raffle off this fall - a four-bedroom house on a spacious yard overlooking a creek. Foodlink, a nonprofit organization that provides other charities with donated food from grocery stores, caterers and restaurants, is raffling off a $550,000 home in northern Charles County. "It's a win-win situation," said Foodlink's director, Cathy Holstrom. "On the one hand, someone is going to be able to win this fabulous house.

Howard County Democrats are calling their pending raffle of a gun trigger lock a success, although Carroll County Republicans raised far more money raffling a gun in February. The war of symbols is the Democrats' way of raising the issue of gun control, said Wendy Fiedler, chairwoman of the Howard County Democratic State Central Committee. "It's not about the money. It's for gun safety. "This raises awareness for gun safety legislation. You can't do too much on gun safety," she said. Neil Quinter, the central committee member who conceived the gun lock idea, said the Republican fund-raiser was a "pro-gun statement.

Car dealers in the county and nation are riding out a recession thathas reduced the number of car sales. But that woe hasn't stopped 20 Harford County dealerships from joining a campaign to raise money forthe state's homeless.For every car that is sold, participating dealers are donating $10 for a raffle ticket in the name of the buyer for a $200,000 house. Cash raised in the raffle will go to Action forthe Homeless, a Baltimore-based group assisting the homeless.The raffle will take place Oct. 26. A brand new house in Anne Arundel County, built and donated by Ryland Homes, will be given to the winner.

Hoping to raise $10,000 to buy a computerized portable camera that detects eye problems, Freedom District Lions Club is raffling a "Dream Playhouse," a children's playhouse complete with a front porch and tilt-in windows. The Lions Club wants to buy an MTI PhotoScreener to screen preschool-age children for common eye problems, including nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism and media opacities such as cataracts. "The earlier an eye problem is discovered, the more of a chance the children have of getting the particular problem corrected," said Bob Miller, club treasurer and project chairman.

SHOPPERS AT Glen Burnie Mall will note that the stores are busy, the parking lots full and the trains are running on time. The mall is the next to the last stop for a train garden that will be raffled to benefit the North County Emergency Outreach Network.A coalition of churches and community groups, NCEON provides year-round assistance to needy people living in the North County area. The winning ticket will be drawn at 8 p.m. Tuesday. This is the sixth year for the train raffle.The 4-foot-by-6-foot design, which includes scenery, transformers and five separate train sets, is the result of months of planning and building by members of Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Pasadena.