Recreation And Parks

Starting today, the city Department of Recreation and Parks plans to provide free summer camps for some Baltimore youths for the first time in nearly two decades, officials said. "Budget cuts forced many of these programs to stop in the late 1970s, so this will be the first time in 20 years that a lot of these playgrounds will host free summer programs," said Lynn Baker, assistant to the director of Recreation and Parks. Offered through a grant from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program received through the Department of Social Services, the "Playground Program" will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays through Aug. 11. Children ages 5 to 12 will participate in sports, take nature classes, produce arts and crafts, and work on fitness.

I grew up in Dundalk and began my career in recreation, parks, and conservation with the Baltimore County Department of Recreation and Parks. My career took me to Harford County and Los Angeles. I came home to Baltimore County in 1995 as the director of Recreation and Parks. Throughout my career, I worked with staff, elected officials, volunteers and numerous citizen organizations in the purchase and development of neighborhood, community and regional parks, and I do not understand how our current Baltimore County government can decide to sell off a major community park for development.

Funding for the Department of Recreation and Parks was a hot issue at City Hall on Wednesday - with the City Council president suggesting that police and other agencies transfer money to youth programs, an activist criticizing a proposal to hire a driver for the department and a councilman re-emphasizing the need for an audit of its books. Council President Bernard C. "Jack" Young took the unusual step of suggesting at a public meeting that major city agencies, such as the Police Department, transfer 1 percent of their funds to the struggling department.

Baltimore City Councilman Nick Mosby said he is trying to set up a community meeting, possibly next week, to discuss the closing of the Roosevelt Park Recreation Center for up to a month to repair a broken water line. The city Department of Recreation and Parks closed the Roosevelt Park center at Falls Road and West 36th Street on March 28 after the kitchen drainage pipe broke, said spokeswoman Kia McLeod. A sign on the front door says, "Center closed until further notice due to mechanical repair emergencies.

The city Department of Recreation and Parks Project Reach One! Teach One! will stage the Ninth Annual Mayor's Holiday Basketball Tournament today through Wednesday at Lake Clifton-Eastern High School, 2801 St. Lo Drive.Basketball games will be played from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. On Wednesday, academic awards will be presented, based on students' last report cards. Admission is free.Project Reach One! Teach One! is designed to assist students with their studies during the holiday recess.Information: tournament coordinators Sherron Bogues and Anthony Lewis at 410-396-0848.

Carroll Recreation and Parks Director Richard J. Soisson has recommended the appointments of four residents to three-year terms on the county Recreation and Parks board.They are:* Cliff Beck, chairman of Mount Airy's town recreation council.* Edward S. Calwell of the Westminster Recreation Council.* Carolyn A. Garber of Winfield, vice president of the Carroll Equestrian Council.* Ken Lawson of the Deer Park Recreation Council.Mr. Soisson said yesterday he submitted the names to the county commissioners.

Russell Neal, who set up games and passed out balloons, lollipops and other treats for the Baltimore Department of Recreation and Parks, died Monday at the Brighton Manor Nursing Home of complications from diabetes.Services for Mr. Neal, who was 65 and lived on Duvall Avenue, will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at Ames Memorial United Methodist Church, Baker and Carey streets.He was nicknamed "Ham" because of a childhood fondness for the food.He worked for the department since the early 1960s, first as a truck driver and then with the Office of Adventures in Fun. He retired about two years ago.Virginia S. Baker, the director of the office, said that in addition to setting up games and working with children, Mr. Neal was good at recruiting teen-age volunteers.

The 24,500-square-foot brick building with green trim and tinted windows has just what the Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks needs: lots of space.After many years of tending to business in its Ellicott City headquarters and three branch offices around the county, the 25-year-old department has moved its headquarters and branches to one building at 7120 Oakland Mills Road in the Guilford community of East Columbia."We think we can deliver a better service by having everyone under the same roof," said Gary J. Arthur, the acting director of recreation and parks.

Douglas S. Tawney, retired director of the city's Department of Recreation and Parks who had been Memorial Stadium's first full-time manager, died of renal failure Friday at Stella Maris Hospice in Timonium. He was 80 and lived in Towson. Mr. Tawney, whose city career spanned more than 40 years, was born and raised in Overlea. After graduating in 1939 from City College, he went to work as a clerk for the Park Police Division of the Department of Recreation and Parks. He was attending the Johns Hopkins University when he enlisted in the Army in 1942.

SIX MONTHS AFTER Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke fired recreation and parks director Marlyn J. Perritt and ordered a dramatic restructuring of that agency, the worst fears of critics have not come to pass.Indeed, while pessimism remains, confidence is growing in the ability of acting director Thomas V. Overton to rejuvenate the downsized department. His performance should carry considerable weight in the process to replace Ms. Perritt. But first Mr. Schmoke needs to get on with the national search he promised.

Baltimore's recreation chief Bill Tyler is leaving city government to work in Montgomery County, city officials said Friday. Tyler, who earned $94,000 annually, was in charge of implementing Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's plan to consolidate recreation centers — closing and privatizing some — in an effort to cut costs while better focusing on the recreation centers that would remain open. Tyler's last day in Baltimore is Feb. 15. He will be the Southern Parks Division Chief of Montgomery Parks, officials said.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has hired a new director of recreation and parks, choosing an experienced manager who has headed similar agencies in three cities. Ernest W. Burkeen Jr., 64, who previously ran recreation and parks departments in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Detroit, will begin in Baltimore Dec. 17, the mayor is scheduled to announce Tuesday. "Ernest Burkeen is a nationally respected leader in his field with a great track record of success improving parks and recreational opportunities for urban communities," Rawlings-Blake said in a statement.

The City Council adopted a resolution Monday formally asking Baltimore police to create a system for posting active 911 responses online. Police officials raised concerns last month about their ability to create such a system, which would post active police responses on the Police Department's website, before their planned rollout of a new Computer Aided Dispatch system in September 2014. But Councilman Brandon Scott, the resolution's lead sponsor, said new Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts has since expressed a desire to work with him on the initiative.

A city-owned playground in the Harwood neighborhood of North Baltimore that was substantially damaged in a fire last month and recently drew the attention of Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake will be rebuilt, according to city officials. A claim to replace the damaged parts of the playground was filed with the city's Office of Risk Management by the Department of Recreation and Parks, which operates the playground and about 100 others like it throughout the city, shortly after the fire occurred on Aug. 13, according to Gwendolyn Chambers, a recreation and parks spokeswoman.

The City of Westminster's Department of Recreation and Parks is celebrating National Parks and Recreation Month with a number of events, including these listed below. Some are special events, others are simple suggestions to keep children and families active for the summer. The department is also hosting a "Parks of Westminster Scavenger Hunt," which involves visiting various parks in the city for details on the hunt - or on any of the events listed below, go to http://www.westgov.com/recreation/rec_events_july.html or call 410-848-9161.  Monday, July 16 - The Rec on the Move program will be at the Charles Street Tot Lot, 6-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 17 - Fly at Kite Day at King Park, Chase Street.

Volunteer nominations Howard County Volunteer of the Year nomination forms are available at howardcountymd.gov/voy.htm . Deadline is Sept. 7. Information: 410-313-2023. Auditions Silhouette Stages will hold auditions for its production of the musical "Rent" at 7 p.m. Monday, July 16, at Howard Community College, 10901 Little Patuxent Parkway in Columbia. Show dates are Oct. 25-Nov. 4. Information: 410-715-3800. Softball The Department of Recreation and Parks is accepting registrations for its Fall 50+ Adult Softball Leagues.

Tina Whaley Parker, a longtime city Department of Recreation and Parks employee, died Aug. 5 of cancer at her Ashburton residence. She was 82. Mrs. Parker, daughter a farmer/businessman and a homemaker, was born and raised in Orangeburg, S.C. She graduated from Wilkinson High School in 1946 and earned her bachelor's degree in sociology in 1950 from what is now Morgan State University in Baltimore. Upon her graduation, she married Charles T. Parker III, who worked as a city housing manager, and began her career with Baltimore's Department of Recreation and Parks at the Fairfield Center as a part-time recreation leader.

As Anne Arundel County's recreation and parks director for 7 1/2 years, Dennis Callahan says he's become a fan of the cheerleaders who attend numerous recreation events. But he says it's bothered him that while the parents always watched intently, many others didn't seem to pay attention. "I thought it was just about time that we recognize these athletes for what they are - athletes," Callahan said. Callahan pushed for the county Recreation and Parks Department to categorize cheerleading as a sport, and he was a driving force of the partnership between the county and the Anne Arundel Youth Cheerleading Association.

With a little luck and some donations, Carroll County dogs may soon have their day, as plans are in works for the county's first off-leash dog park. Supporters of the park - both four- and two-legged varieties - will be at the Carroll County Pet Expo on June 16, at the Carroll County Agriculture Center, hoping to drum up interest, and money, to turn plans for the Westminster park into a reality. "We have given pamphlets out around different animal places and at various veterinarians," said Laurie Walters of Westminster, one of the key proponents of the park.

Baltimore's historic park system ranks 15th among the nation's 40 largest cities in a new rating released Wednesday, which credits the city's foresight in carving out public spaces over the past two centuries but faults its more recent leadership for not maintaining that investment. The nonprofit Trust for Public Land gave Baltimore's 4,900 acres of parks three out of a possible five "park benches," or stars, in its ParkScore rating system. The city got high marks for the accessibility of its parks, with 85 percent of residents able to reach one within a 10-minute walk.