Safety Patrol

Because so much favor and fervor has been created by the Baltimore Orioles and their new downtown park, a situation has evolved that merits inspection. Safety Patrol Day, when the club gives away admissions as a reward to youngsters, has been sharply reduced but, fortunately, not eliminated.The event has been held for 37 years to honor elementary schoolchildren of Baltimore and Maryland counties who protected the pedestrian safety of fellow students. A total of 17,900 tickets were distributed last season to public and parochial schools for use by the youngsters, their supervisors and teachers.

Some community leaders want to increase the property surtax in Midtown Baltimore by more than a third to pay for additional security cameras and safety patrols — a plan that has divided residents over whether a tax increase and public safety upgrades are needed. The proposal, which is being pushed primarily by residents of Charles North and Mount Vernon, is set for a vote Wednesday night by the Midtown Community Benefits District's board of directors. Under the proposal, property owners would pay 18.2 cents for every $100 dollars in assessed value, 5 cents more than the current rate.

The Maryland Campaign for Kids' TV yesterday honored four stations with its first annual awards for quality children's programming. Winners were Baltimore's WBFF (Channel 45) and WMAR (Channel 2), Washington's WBDC (channel 50) and WHAG (Channel 25) in Hagerstown.WBFF won for Outstanding Locally Produced Special Children's Program, "Safety Patrol Sports Special," and Outstanding Locally Produced Public Service Announcement, "Fox 45 Safety Patrol PSAs." WMAR won for Outstanding Locally Produced Regularly Scheduled Program, "Fast Forward."

I never had my favorite teacher in the classroom. Mr. Verlangas was the moderator of the safety patrol at Leith Walk Elementary School, of which I was the proud captain. At that time, my father suffered a major heart attack. He was in the hospital, and we didn't know if he was going to make it. At a time in my life when I needed a male role model most, Mr. Verlangas was there to help me navigate the tough days. I wanted desperately to be in his classroom, but it never came to be. My father lived until he was 84, but I never forgot Mr. Verlangas' kindness.

Republicans subverting MedicareIf you think we believe all these lies about Medicare going broke, you can think again. We realize now this was on the Republican agenda long before now.All this talk about balancing the budget in 100 days was never intended to happen. It was just a lot of talk to throw seniors off the track and into a panic about losing their health care. When they get into managed care, that will open their eyes.I am disappointed we supported the Republican Party. We know need to lower the growth of health care, and we expected to take a cut like everyone else, but we did not know that Medicare would be targeted as a means to balance the budget and the seniors would be pushed into managed care which the government has decided would be suitable for us.There are other ways to fix Medicare, but it is not fast enough for the party to get its job done; improving the economy and balancing the budget before the cutoff date.

The first day of school yesterday brought a contingent of concerned parents and their children to Waugh Chapel Elementary School in Odenton, intent on demonstrating the dangers youngsters face walking to class each morning.They pointed to a busy intersection students must cross and called for another stop sign to control increased trafficgoing through Odenton to avoid Route 3. They led the way up a trail that offers a shortcut from the intersection to the school and said they worry about the isolated path and a developer's plan to clear theland of trees and build homes.

County engineers are studying the design of Tamar Drive, traffic volume and speed in response to parents' concerns that the road is unsafe for children to cross unassisted near Jeffers Hill Elementary School.The county Traffic Engineering Division expects to complete its evaluation of Tamar Drive and recommend changes that could help slow traffic, said C. Edward Walter, division chief.The traffic division must make a recommendation to the county Police Department before an additional crossing guard could be hired.

I never had my favorite teacher in the classroom. Mr. Verlangas was the moderator of the safety patrol at Leith Walk Elementary School, of which I was the proud captain. At that time, my father suffered a major heart attack. He was in the hospital, and we didn't know if he was going to make it. At a time in my life when I needed a male role model most, Mr. Verlangas was there to help me navigate the tough days. I wanted desperately to be in his classroom, but it never came to be. My father lived until he was 84, but I never forgot Mr. Verlangas' kindness.

IT ALWAYS seems a pity that Halloween costumes are worn only once a year. Sometimes they get recycled to reluctant younger siblings, but that's rare.This year, Halloween falls on a Sunday -- presenting an opportunity for a weekend of activities to which costumes may be worn, before the Great Pumpkin arrives on Halloween.Here are some venues your children can enjoy while wearing their disquieting disguises.On Oct. 30, the Savage Community Association invites preschool and elementary school-age children with a parent to enjoy a scary good time.

The stretch limousine pulled around the corner of Denison Street and Carlisle Avenue yesterday morning, and Phil Moore pointed excitedly out the window."

My sixth-grade teacher could not bring herself to tell the class that President John F. Kennedy had been assassinated. She returned from having been called to the office to report that "something has happened, but I don't feel that I can tell you what it is. " And so we went on with the remainder of our Friday afternoon lessons in a state of excited wonder. The unfathomable news came to me later, outside the front door of the school, where I was serving on safety patrol. It was on the lips of everyone who passed my station in front of the circular drive, where my duty of keeping students back until it was safe to cross kept me from focusing fully on the magnitude of what I was just now learning.

The last lunch table had been wiped clean and the recess stampede begun when Michael Woods, a tall fourth-grader, grabbed his coat and headed for the door. The sound of a falling coin stopped him short. As the footfalls around him quieted, his eyes followed a quarter as it rolled under two lunch tables, did a loop-de-loop into the air and skidded 15 feet to land under a chair. He ran over to scoop it up and place it in the outstretched hand of its owner, a fellow straggler rushing to join his friends on the playground.

IT ALWAYS seems a pity that Halloween costumes are worn only once a year. Sometimes they get recycled to reluctant younger siblings, but that's rare.This year, Halloween falls on a Sunday -- presenting an opportunity for a weekend of activities to which costumes may be worn, before the Great Pumpkin arrives on Halloween.Here are some venues your children can enjoy while wearing their disquieting disguises.On Oct. 30, the Savage Community Association invites preschool and elementary school-age children with a parent to enjoy a scary good time.

The Maryland Campaign for Kids' TV yesterday honored four stations with its first annual awards for quality children's programming. Winners were Baltimore's WBFF (Channel 45) and WMAR (Channel 2), Washington's WBDC (channel 50) and WHAG (Channel 25) in Hagerstown.WBFF won for Outstanding Locally Produced Special Children's Program, "Safety Patrol Sports Special," and Outstanding Locally Produced Public Service Announcement, "Fox 45 Safety Patrol PSAs." WMAR won for Outstanding Locally Produced Regularly Scheduled Program, "Fast Forward."

Republicans subverting MedicareIf you think we believe all these lies about Medicare going broke, you can think again. We realize now this was on the Republican agenda long before now.All this talk about balancing the budget in 100 days was never intended to happen. It was just a lot of talk to throw seniors off the track and into a panic about losing their health care. When they get into managed care, that will open their eyes.I am disappointed we supported the Republican Party. We know need to lower the growth of health care, and we expected to take a cut like everyone else, but we did not know that Medicare would be targeted as a means to balance the budget and the seniors would be pushed into managed care which the government has decided would be suitable for us.There are other ways to fix Medicare, but it is not fast enough for the party to get its job done; improving the economy and balancing the budget before the cutoff date.

The stretch limousine pulled around the corner of Denison Street and Carlisle Avenue yesterday morning, and Phil Moore pointed excitedly out the window."

The last lunch table had been wiped clean and the recess stampede begun when Michael Woods, a tall fourth-grader, grabbed his coat and headed for the door. The sound of a falling coin stopped him short. As the footfalls around him quieted, his eyes followed a quarter as it rolled under two lunch tables, did a loop-de-loop into the air and skidded 15 feet to land under a chair. He ran over to scoop it up and place it in the outstretched hand of its owner, a fellow straggler rushing to join his friends on the playground.

My sixth-grade teacher could not bring herself to tell the class that President John F. Kennedy had been assassinated. She returned from having been called to the office to report that "something has happened, but I don't feel that I can tell you what it is. " And so we went on with the remainder of our Friday afternoon lessons in a state of excited wonder. The unfathomable news came to me later, outside the front door of the school, where I was serving on safety patrol. It was on the lips of everyone who passed my station in front of the circular drive, where my duty of keeping students back until it was safe to cross kept me from focusing fully on the magnitude of what I was just now learning.

Operating a business within a community, as the Orioles do in presenting baseball entertainment, also translates into an obligation -- especially when the park they play in, where they are making tons of money, was built by the citizens of Maryland. Other private businesses should be so fortunate as to enjoy such a privileged arrangement.The Orioles, for the second year in a row, have decreased the number of free tickets they will offer to members of the safety patrols -- the youngsters who stand outside public and parochial schools in all kinds of weather to make sure the rest of the students are protected from the dangers of passing traffic.

County engineers are studying the design of Tamar Drive, traffic volume and speed in response to parents' concerns that the road is unsafe for children to cross unassisted near Jeffers Hill Elementary School.The county Traffic Engineering Division expects to complete its evaluation of Tamar Drive and recommend changes that could help slow traffic, said C. Edward Walter, division chief.The traffic division must make a recommendation to the county Police Department before an additional crossing guard could be hired.