Sandy Point State

Deer will run free in Sandy Point State Park this winter, a victory for animal rights activists who think the ban on hunting will be permanent, despite statements to the contrary from state officials.What Maryland Department of Natural Resources officials are saying is that hunting has been banned temporarily while the best way to control deer populations in all the state's suburban parks is studied.That will take 18 months. No plan has been devised for the study, and no one knows how many deer are in the parks.

Youths run mock governments in program at Naval AcademyAt least 375 young men are setting up their own governments at the Naval Academy this week -- and top leaders are encouraging it.The 16- and 17-year-old boys are participating in the annual Maryland Boys State, a program that teaches citizenship by having youths set up mock governments.Also at the academy this week, a group of disadvantaged youths in seventh through ninth grades will be offered a taste of college and military life.At a youth camp Wednesday and Thursday, academically talented but economically disadvantaged students will experience first-hand training at the military college in Annapolis.

Organizers of the 20th annual Chesapeake Bay Bridge walk, which begins at 8:45 a.m. Sunday, promise this year's participants a shorter wait for buses shuttling between the bridge and parking areas.Many walkers complained last year about having to wait up to 90 minutes for shuttles to their cars. The waits occurred after the walkers had finished the 4.5-mile hike and been dropped off at the Bayfest celebration at Sandy Point State Park.The sight of frustrated walkers queued up for buses in Sandy Point's steamy parking lots was one reason the state Department of Natural Resources canceled Bayfest this year, said DNR spokesman Mike O'Brien.

It was just after a five-minute break for coffee and hand-decorated Christmas cookies that the conversation turned to contract killings and systematic execution.The people gathered in the makeshift meeting room of a nearly empty tin shed in the woods had seemed harmless enough -- until they broached the subject of some horrific possibilities.Murder, starvation, involuntary relocation or deadly viral infections? Mandatory birth control?Even Tabasco sauce.Anything to get rid of the problem: rampant white-tail deer that pose not only a nuisance but a health threat for neighbors of Sandy Point State Park outside Annapolis.

Organizers of Sunday's 21st Annual Chesapeake Bay Bridge Walk say new double-size buses will help shuttle walkers back to their parked cars with little delay.NTC This year, the Maryland Transportation Authority will use 10 of the new buses, which look like two buses joined by an accordion, among the 120 it is leasing for the 4.5-mile walk, which affords a spectacular view of the bay."We expect about 50,000 people," said Kerry Brandt, MTA spokeswoman.About 35,000 people made the trek last year.

An elderly Edgewater woman died yesterday after the boat she was sailing in capsized near Annapolis, and a 7-year-old boy drowned at Sandy Point State Park, according to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources police.Ellen M. Bealle, 83, of Midland Road in Edgewater was sailing on the South River with her daughter, Linda M. Bealle, when their 16-foot boat capsized about 2 p.m.Bealle went into cardiac arrest when the boat overturned and was taken to Anne Arundel General Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, said Richard McIntire, spokesman for the state Department of Natural Resources.

THE SCENE was Christmas Eve in a restaurant, about two hours before the youngest two offspring were due in at Baltimore-Washington International Airport. We'd finished dinner early because the restaurant wasn't crowded. What to do?"How about the lights at Sandy Point?" says he."Wouldn't the kids [ages 19 and 23] like to see it while they're here?""I doubt it."The scene shifts to Sandy Point State Park at the Bay Bridge about 40 minutes later."We should have brought the kids," says he.Anne Arundel Medical Center's Lights on the Bay, the first of what certainly should become an annual spectacle for area residents and visitors, is truly a delight.

Saturday, a record number of people are expected to dive into the frigid waters of the Chesapeake Bay to raise money for Special Olympics Maryland. Last year, about 3,000 people pre-registered for the Maryland State Police Polar Bear Plunge at Sandy Point State Park. This year, that number is about 5,600 - almost double. Organizers are hoping for 7,000 participants. "The event has become more than just jumping in the water in terms of entertainment," said organizer Tom Schniedwind. "That's what we hoped to create 11 years ago when I created this thing - an event that would stand alone.

SANDY POINT STATE PARK -- Its mast held high but sails drooping down on deck, the skipjack Sigsbee was towed onto the beach at Sandy Point State Park yesterday -- rescued by salvors after it sank Saturday during the annual Chesapeake Appreciation Days races.Two powerful tow boats -- the Popeye and the Hornet -- used their 750-horsepower engines to pull the 91-year-old skipjack two miles through the cool bay waters to the red sand beach above the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.When the skipjack finally reached the shallow waters at Sandy Point about 3:45 p.m., a crowd of about 100 spectators -- among several thousand enjoying the second and final day of the annual celebration of the bay's food and culture -- broke into applause.

SHOWSThrough Sept. 26: Chesapeake Changes, a natural history exhibit that focuses on the geology, geography, wildlife and human settlement in the 64,000 square mile watershed of the bay, Explorers Hall of the National Geographic Society, 17 and M streets NW, Washington.FISHINGTomorrow: Monthly meeting of the Pasadena Sportfishing Club, Orchard Beach Firehall on Solley Road, 7:30 p.m.Thursday-Sunday : Ocean City Tuna Tournament, Ocean City Fishing Center. For more information, call (410) 213-1121 or (1-800)