Shepherd S Staff

Amid fervent prayers, gentle banter and sincere gratitude, about 25 clerics rededicated the Westminster home of an outreach ministry yesterday. Minutes before the blessing that marked the 10th anniversary of Shepherd's Staff's having a home, its director, Kathy Brown, called across the parking lot to a late arrival who carried an oversized roll of papers resembling engineering plats. "Are you bringing me plans for a new building?" Brown asked. "I need a warehouse and maybe another site.

Amid fervent prayers, gentle banter and sincere gratitude, about 25 clerics rededicated the Westminster home of an outreach ministry yesterday. Minutes before the blessing that marked the 10th anniversary of Shepherd's Staff's having a home, its director, Kathy Brown, called across the parking lot to a late arrival who carried an oversized roll of papers resembling engineering plats. "Are you bringing me plans for a new building?" Brown asked. "I need a warehouse and maybe another site.

Among the many flea market vendors on the parking lot at Shepherd's Staff in Westminster tomorrow will be several McDaniel College students with nothing to sell but their labor. About a dozen students have organized Chores for Charity and are offering their time and housekeeping talents for an hourly fee of $5. They plan to turn the fruits of their labor over to the ministry that serves the needy in Carroll County. "We will be hiring ourselves out for a good cause," said Tiffany Mack, a junior from Baltimore.

All-terrain vehicles draw complaints, possible solutions After receiving numerous complaints about noise, dust and trespassing stemming from the use of all-terrain vehicles, the Carroll County government is proposing ordinances to tackle the problem. The first measure would mirror the state's noise regulations, and the ordinance would be enforced after authorities received complaints about potential violations. The county commissioners are also considering a zoning amendment that would revise the conditional use for commercial race tracks or courses.

A Westminster charity has created a midsummer slogan to spur donations to its annual back-to-school giveaway. Shepherd's Staff, an ecumenical ministry to the needy, is asking area families to "clean out your closets and fill ours" before its new program begins Aug. 9. The charity finds itself short of school-appropriate clothing, particularly for elementary pupils. The collection of gently-used clothing can help a child start class in cool duds, said Lois Giles, the organization's clothing drive coordinator.

When Lois Giles' family in Indiana decided they wanted to experience a Maryland Thanksgiving, she gladly extended an invitation. But, she said, the 12 of them would not be gathering around her table. Instead, they would be dining at a school cafeteria in Carroll County with about 400 others. Shepherd's Staff, a Westminster charity, will hold its 10th annual free Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. Giles, the organization's secretary, and her family will help serve turkey dinner to the hundreds of guests expected at St. John's Catholic School.

Spending a sunny autumn Saturday selling cast-offs from garages, attics and basements might ordinarily hold little appeal for college students, but for the right cause, they will forgo the football game for a yard sale. A group of McDaniel College sophomores spent two days hauling, sorting, pricing and showcasing hundreds of items donated for a yard sale to Shepherd's Staff, an outreach ministry to the needy in Carroll County. They are trying to make a difference. The students are part of the local effort participating in Make a Difference Day, a nationwide movement sponsored by USA Weekend and the Points of Light Foundation that encourages neighbors to help each other.