Safe House

Salman Rushdie's "Satanic Verses" is a novel in which the two main characters bounce unpredictably through time and space, past and present.Today, exactly four years after Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini imposed a death sentence on Mr. Rushdie for blaspheming Islam in his book, the creator of those fantastic travelers remains an earth-bound prisoner of the late Ayatollah's edict, or fatwa, which comes with a bounty of more than $2 million. Guarded by British police, moved from safe house to safe house, Mr. Rushdie is frozen in the present, his future on hold.

SYKESVILLE — The Sykesville Police Department will host its first "Safe House" gun turn-in program in November, where residents can bring any unwanted firearms and ammunition to a drop-off point at the Sykesville Police Department, 7547 Main St., Sykesville. The "drop-off" site will be opened on Saturday, Nov. 19, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. The site will be manned, but no questions will be asked of persons dropping items off. If requested it, a receipt can be provided. Police say residents should not bring loaded weapons to the station.

The Carroll County office of Family and Children's Services of Central Maryland has officially teamed up with all the county's law enforcement agencies - the state police, the municipal departments and the sheriff's office - to match crisis workers with police officers to respond to domestic violence incidents through the First Step program. The expanded partnership will help Family and Children's Services bring its programs to more victims and publicize the county's more than two-year-old protective shelter, said Connie Sgarlata, director of the non-profit agency's Westminster office.

Housing law addresses firefighting water supply The Carroll County commissioners approved an ordinance yesterday that would require new one- and two-family residential projects to meet minimum water supply requirements for firefighting. The ordinance was developed by the Regional Fire Protection Committee, which was created by the commissioners and included developers, business people, fire officials, residents and county staff members. Under the law, developers would be required to install a 30,000-gallon underground water tank no more than two miles from new developments of four or more lots that are not served by a public water system.

In the Ghanaian children's song "Sansa Kroma," the mission of a hawk named Sansa is to secure orphaned children, conveying the importance of safety within a family and a community. It is an appropriate selection for a concert organized to raise funds to shelter domestic violence victims in Carroll County, said Margaret Boudreaux, music department chairwoman and director of the McDaniel College choir, which will sing the song at the concert. The college choir is one of six groups that will perform in the "With One Voice" concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina - Grbavica, the final Bosnian Serb-held enclave in the Sarajevo area that will come under Muslim-Croat control, was torn by huge explosions last night as fires swept through the area and gangs with cans of gasoline dodged NATO patrols in an effort to ignite high-rise apartments.There was little that the NATO-led peacekeeping forces appeared able to do.Italian troops arrested 12 Bosnian Serb men suspected of arson in four incidents, frisking the men as they stood against a wall.

Carroll County's neediest will benefit from the 25th annual Westminster Fallfest, which has pledged its proceeds to four area charities. Money from the festival, which opens tonight in downtown, will help build a safe house for abused women, provide hospice care for the indigent and help pay for several school projects. Fallfest is the county's largest charity event and is expected to draw about 40,000 people during its four-day run through Sunday. The festival has 15 food vendors, more than 100 crafts booths and 250 volunteers to keep the event running smoothly.

WASHINGTON -- In confirming the existence of a top-secret domestic spying program, President Bush offered one case as proof that authorities desperately needed the special surveillance tool to plug a gaping hole in the counterterrorism firewall that allowed terrorists to carry out the Sept. 11 attacks. In his radio address Saturday, Bush said two of the hijackers who flew a jet into the Pentagon, Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Midhar, had communicated with suspected al-Qaida members overseas while they were in the United States.

Reduced YWCA funding will hurt We were devastated to see that County Executive John R. Leopold's proposed budget includes a $60,000 reduction in FY08 funding for the YWCA. This will inevitably have a severe and immediate impact on our ability to help women and their families in crisis. This county money directly funds Arden House, which is the only safe house in the county for women fleeing from domestic violence. Lack of service for these vulnerable women and children means an increased likelihood of injury and death.

A gray whirling tornado inches past a brown rectangular house, surrounded by a white picket fence. Then the house is engulfed in flames while the image of an American flag waves in the corner of the screen. Pictures of Westminster sights come into view on the screen, with the words, "When in need, the community comes together!" Filled with cartoon graphics, photos, and lists of emergency supplies, the Ready React Respond Community Connection Web site was set up to teach residents how to prepare for a natural disaster or a terror threat.