Roland Park

THE ROLAND PARK Second Presbyterian Church looked absolutely stunning last Saturday for the wedding of Natalia Pia Melanie Sommer and Richard Matthew Dohler. Thousands of wildflowers, miles of lace ribbons and tulle, and window sills decorated with Singapore orchids set the stage for the nuptials of the daughter of pop music star Donna Summer and her first husband, Helmut Sommer,and the son of Dick and Bonna Dohler, he's an Ellicott City builder.The church was filled with the music of German trumpeteer Langston Fitzgerald and selections of Bach, Beethoven and Vivaldi, played by the church's music director Margaret Budd on the organ.

The freshman closed out a banner first season for Roland Park, capturing the individual title at the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland's A Conference championship on Thursday and leading the Reds to their sixth straight team title. Over two days and 18 holes at Fox Hollow Golf Course, Owen shot consecutive 38s for a 4-over-par 76 that was 12 strokes better than three runner-up finishers. She started Wednesday's play with a birdie on the opening hole and ended the championship with a birdie in windy conditions Thursday.

The freshman closed out a banner first season for Roland Park, capturing the individual title at the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland's A Conference championship on Thursday and leading the Reds to their sixth straight team title. Over two days and 18 holes at Fox Hollow Golf Course, Owen shot consecutive 38s for a 4-over-par 76 that was 12 strokes better than three runner-up finishers. She started Wednesday's play with a birdie on the opening hole and ended the championship with a birdie in windy conditions Thursday.

Edwin Charles Saiontz, a highly-regarded health care expert and co-founder of SHR Associates Inc., died Thursday of multiple organ failure at his Boynton Beach, Fla., home. The longtime Pikesville resident was 77. The son of a lawyer and a homemaker, Edwin Charles Saiontz, who was known as Ed, was born in Glen Rock, Pa., and raised in Woodmoor. After graduating from Forest Park High School in 1953, he worked for Nation-Wide Check Corp. in Glen Burnie while studying at night at Baltimore Junior College and later at the University of Baltimore, where he earned a bachelor's degree in business.

I  had an email this week from a reader who spotted two deer crossing Roland Avenue near Lake Avenue at about 10:30 at night. Only a few cars were on the street. Bright lights made the deer easy to spot as they crossed Roland and strolled into yards on the east side of the street.   She wrote trying to reach someone in the neighborhood association for that area. After emailing friends in north Roland Park, I learned these deer were not an unusual occurrence. One friend on St. George's Road said her munched-on garden is proof of their regular prowling.

Joppatowne forward Shakara Head put the post moves on No. 7 South River quite a few times in Monday night's Vernon Brown Memorial Tournament at Fallston, but her final basket came on an open shot that all but sealed a 60-55 victory for the No. 3 Mariners girls basketball team. TroiQuay Malloy found Head all alone under the basket for an easy layup and a 56-53 lead with 51 seconds left. "Every time I get [inside], especially in a big game, I feel my team needs me, so I try to make big things happen," said Head, who finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds.

In winter, houses and structures are more obvious than in other seasons when abundant foliage obscures their view. On a recent walk in Roland Park, we passed one longstanding institution after another. I thought of what staying power these neighborhood institutions have had, and what anchors they have been to the community. The design of Roland Park has long been studied by architects and planners. The integration of educational and religious institutions, along with an off-street business block at the center, has given this community vibrant life since its earliest days.

Looks like the Radhika Sule's Rustic Gourmet of Roland Park, whose Indian food is well known to regulars at area farmers' markets, will be taking over the Hampden space being vacacted by Soup's On. Details to come.  

The recent robbery of two women at the Roland Park Shopping Center created a media stir. Although I have lived in Roland Park most of my life, I am always surprised by how some occurrences that go with little mention in other neighborhoods create citywide attention if they happen in Roland Park.   Not that a robbery of two city restaurant-goers, one a senior citizen, should go unnoticed. If all robberies received the attention of the recent one in Roland Park, perhaps more criminals would be caught.

Daisy Alaeze scored 23 points to power No. 10 Roland Park past host William Penn (Pa.), 58-26, Saturday. The Reds (10-9) led the Quakers 29-12 at halftime. Roland Park will host Seton Keough at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in the quarterfinals of the Interscholastic Athletic Assocation of Maryland A Conference tournament. Wrestling No. 10 River Hill 38, North Hagerstown 31 Patrick Linden (132) had a 9-7 decision to seal the win even though the Hawks (31-6) forfeited the last three matches.

For the 72 nd year, the area's most deserving unheralded football and girls basketball players will be honored at the McCormick Unsung Heroes Award Banquet Monday night at the Hunt Valley Inn. One male and one female will receive the 2012 Charles Perry McCormick Scholarships, which are valued at $36,000 over four years of college. The athletes - 112 seniors - come from 68 schools in Baltimore City, Baltimore County, the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association and the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland.

Long before ecdysiast Blaze Starr became the reigning Queen of The Block, there was the legendary Bettye Mills, who arose from humble Pigtown origins to become one of the tenderloin district's more memorable characters and nightclub owners — which in those days The Baltimore Sun politely called "cabarets. " What brought Mills' name back in the news was the death earlier this month of her son-in-law, James Thomas Lee "Jimmy" Stubbs, 95, who in the late 1940s was day manager of Mills' Stork Club, whose name was later changed to the Bettye Mills' Club.

Thomas Walter Gough Jr., a retired printing salesman and lacrosse coach, died April 13 of heart failure at St. Joseph Medical Center. He was 85. The son of a state worker and a homemaker, Thomas Walter Gough Jr. was born and raised in Towson. He was a 1946 graduate of St. Paul's School, where he was an outstanding lacrosse, football and basketball player. In 2010, he was inducted into St. Paul's Athletic Hall of Fame for his lacrosse and football prowess. Mr. Gough earned a bachelor's degree in 1950 from the Johns Hopkins University, where he played lacrosse and football.

In an effort to "shine a light on solar energy," Roland Park Country School staged a "Solarbration" on April 22 to pay tribute to Earth Day and the school's own stewardship of the environment. "We celebrated our partial conversion to solar energy and the importance of renewable energy in protecting our own health and the health of all living things," school spokeswoman Nancy Mugele said. For more than a decade, Roland Park Country School has been looking for ways to increase and improve environmental sustainability, Mugele said.

Savannah Bass, 21, who grew up in Ruxton and graduated from Roland Park Country School in 2008, is working to curb binge drinking on college campuses and along the beach during spring break. As one of 13 University of Alabama students in charge of LessThanUThink, she is using a humorous approach to convey the message that excessive drinking can have unintended, even embarrassing consequences. "We found through research that students don't respond to messages that are negative," she said.

Joe Rivera pitched a three-hitter with eight strikeouts and the No. 7 Northeast baseball team beat visiting Century, 4-1, in the title game of the Harry Lentz Memorial Tournament on Saturday. Rivera and Eric Grantland each collected RBIs, and the Eagles improved to 7-1. Northeast beat Annapolis Area Christian School to advance to the championship. No. 6 Glenelg 10, Thomas Johnson 6: Winner Tyler Hoeflich limited the host Patriots to three hits, and the Gladiators (7-0)

An backpack left at a bus stop near an M&T Bank branch in Roland Park shut down streets, shops and a school Friday afternoon. The backpack, left in 700 block of Deepdene Road, was X-rayed and found to contain books, according to Sgt. Anthony Smith, a spokesman for police. Police blocked off several streets in the area during the evening rush hour and buses were re-routed. Roland Park Elementary/Middle School was put on lockdown. Businesses along Roland Avenue were evacuated.

No. 2 Roland Park girls basketball team started the first round of the Lady Trojan Classic on a 10-0 run and never looked back in beating Bishop Sullivan Catholic (Va.), 48-29, Friday at Walsingham Academy in Williamsburg, Va. The Reds (9-0) hit a season-high five 3-pointers and advanced to tonight's scheduled championship game at 7:30. Beth Kelly and Lauren Edwards scored 11 and 10 points, respectively, to lead Roland Park. No. 8 Meade 93, Glen Burnie 27: Imani Bailey and Alissa Chambliss scored 21 each to power the host Mustangs (6-0)

The annual Anne Arundel Community College High School Girls' Lacrosse Tournament has grown into one of the most popular spring holiday tournament in the area and not just for teams in Anne Arundel County. While the bulk of the competitors in this year's tournament, scheduled for Thursday and Saturday, are from Anne Arundel, the popularity of the tournament stems from its pairings. The event gives teams a chance to meet opponents they wouldn't otherwise face during the season. Teams from Carroll County, Harford County, the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland, and the Eastern Shore are participating in this year's event.

At one point during Wednesday's neighborhood rivalry between No. 2 Bryn Mawr and No. 14 Roland Park, the host Mawrtians were winning almost every draw and finishing more than half their shots. Eventually, they built a commanding 10-3 lead with 10:27 remaining, weathered a late rally by the Reds and secured a key 12-7 Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference victory. Parlaying efficient shooting with dynamic play on the circle, Bryn Mawr (7-0) scored five of the first six goals in the second half to pull away from a Roland Park (2-3)