Relay

There are few commonalties between the serenity of Sydney and the angst in Athens, one being a Baltimorean at the center of an American relay controversy. Four years ago, it was Bernard Williams. Now, it's Michael Phelps. Like doping scandals and lapel pins, a U.S. relay disagreement is woven into the Summer Olympic fabric. The men's track and field team has a reputation for squandering its superior depth with dropped batons, tasteless celebrations and dustups over lineups. American officials waffled in 1936 in Berlin and pulled two men from the anticipated 400-meter relay lineup.

The tug of war between Relay residents and developer Carl Julio over how to use 24 acres of vacant land in that southwestern Baltimore County community has entered a new phase.The County Review Group, an important technical review panel, yesterday approved Mr. Julio's newest plan to build 198 back-to-back condominium townhouses in a development called Hilltop Place, near Relay Elementary School. Although the review group has been replaced by a more citizen-friendly development process, cases that had been begun before March 15, 1992, are still handled by the two-member group.

In the beginning, a "relay" of fresh horses waited there to pull early trains on the second half of the trip between Baltimore and Ellicott City. It later became a busy stop on the B&O line, and the village that emerged contained enough architectural gems to make it one of nine official historic districts in Baltimore County. Then, Trisha and Dave Hope put vinyl siding on their house. Right in the middle of Relay. That home improvement project has sparked an effort to do away with the southwestern Baltimore County neighborhood's historic status.

For the Defenders, it wasn't the hot desert sun, dust storms, rain, hail, snow or howling winds that prevented the Baltimore-based pro squad from winning the grueling 24 Hours of Moab team relay mountain bike race on Sunday.After all, local racers Roger Bird, Brad Erickson, David Duvall and Floyd Landis led the race for its first 18 hours -- and through a storm that swept the Utah desert before dawn -- before seeing their lead slip away as the sun rose over the mountains of eastern Utah.Instead, it was a powerhouse Schwinn team led by two mountain biking superstars: 1988 world mountain bike champion Mike Kloser and Ranjeet Grewal, third-place finisher at this year's World Cup cross country race.

Glenelg senior Alicia Adams paced the Gladiators' 3,200-meter relay team to a meet record at the Howard County Track and Field Championships at Oakland Mills yesterday.After four final girls events, Glenelg led host Oakland Mills, 34-30, with defending champion Hammond (eight points) relying on today's sprint and relay events to put the Golden Bears in the hunt for consecutive titles.Early boys team results were not available, but prohibitive favorite and defending county champion Oakland Mills placed in nearly each final event, winning the 3,200 relay and shot put."

A month ago, Bel Air's swim team managed to edge John Carroll by twopoints. In the rematch Thursday night, the Bobcats not only increased that margin to 49 points, but they also threw in a county record.Kevin Murach, Erik Jankowiak, Chris Holloway and Rob Flynn set the new mark in the 200-yard freestyle relay. Their time of 1 minute, 35.84 seconds broke the old record of 1:36.52 set in last year's county championship finals by Holloway, Murach, Jankowiak and Gerard Warwick.Bel Air coach Janus Shimp said she knew the team had the potential to eclipse the old mark, but she had given them a goal of 1:37.

For months, state officials have warned that the recession has dried up money to buy land for future parks.In Relay, they've been listening.The Relay Community Association last week launched a fund-raising effort aimed at purchasing a 24-acre tract along Cedar Avenue and Metropolitan Boulevard as a future park.Residents say that with the shortfall in state open-space money, they are going to have to raise part of the estimated $400,000 price tag themselves."The message that we're getting is that we're going to be pretty much on our own here," said Anne Heinrichs, vice president of the Relay Community Association.

Howard County's Relay for Life, an overnight community fund-raiser for the American Cancer Society, will hold a yard sale from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 30 at Hammond High School. Everyone is invited to sell. Spaces cost $10 each, and sellers should bring a table. At least 50 percent of the profit must be donated to Relay for Life, which will be held June 10 and 11 at the school. Information or to reserve a table: Debra Wilkenloh, 410-997- 8700. Book club is to discuss `Monk' tomorrow morning Morning Books With Coffee, an east Columbia library book club, will discuss The Monk Downstairs, by Tim Farrington, at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow at the branch, 6600 Cradlerock Way. The Black Fiction Book Club, focused on outstanding fiction by contemporary African- American authors, will discuss Flight to Canada, by Ishmael Reed, at 1 p.m. Saturday.

THEY CALL themselves names like Happy Homemakers, Claus for the Cause, and Candy for a Cure - teams mostly made up of people from our community who will be participating in the Relay for Life beginning Friday evening on the grounds of Lindale-Brooklyn Park Middle School. From 6 p.m. Friday until 10 a.m. Saturday, team members will be taking turns on the school track in an overnight fund-raiser for the battle against cancer, and to remember its victims. "It is really kind of a fun experience, yet such an emotional thing, too," said Lynn Marie McGowan, captain of the Happy Homemakers - all members of the Woman's Club of Linthicum Heights.

There's a turn-of-the-century, storybook look about the small community of Relay. The older homes with broad wraparound porches can fill an architect's notebook of styles: Victorian, Federalist, Georgian, Queen Anne. Many homes date to the Civil War, built on streets that have been quiet and tree-shaded ever since.Relay is south of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, hugging the hillside along the protected river and woodlands of Patapsco Valley State Park."You'll only find us if you're looking for us," said Anne Heinrichs, 41, whose parents, Herbert and Dolores Plitt, purchased a Civil War-era home on Rolling Road and Cedar Avenue about 40 years ago when she was a year old. They restored the original yellow wood siding with green shutters while raising six children.