Skating

A skating rink in Woodlawn that police say consistently causes law enforcement problems has been granted a few more days to come up with a plan that might allow it to remain open for business. The reprieve came from a Baltimore County code enforcement officer, Meg Ferguson, who upheld a decision to revoke Skateworks' license but left the door open for discussions with the facility's owners about how to save the skating rink. The four owners now have until Wednesday to convince county officials of their commitment to avoid disruptions that police say have been caused by large crowds entering or leaving the facility at 1716 Whitehead Road.

After being open nearly a year, skateboarders are mostly pleased with the North Laurel Community Center's outdoor skate park, which Howard County opened last June. The 12,000-square-foot park opened June 3, 2011 along with the rest of the $25 million North Laurel Community Center. The skate park is mostly made of concrete and has metal rails and stone boulders at different places throughout the park. One end of the park has a covered sitting area where skateboarders can rest or watch each other perform tricks on the various ramps, rails, boxes and curved pool.

Baltimore County will allow a Woodlawn roller skating rink to remain open another week while the county code enforcement officer decides whether to revoke its license. Enforcement officer Meg Ferguson issued the order Thursday to give herself "sufficient time for proper consideration of the evidence and testimony" before deciding the fate of Skateworks, which county officials say is straining police resources, tying up traffic and violating the closing time spelled out on its license by staying open past midnight.

For the first time in decades, flouncy, flowered dresses, hat boxes and shopping bags filled a storefront window at Howard and Lexington streets, once the center of Baltimore's retail district. Ladies in pearls and long gloves, wild-haired hippies and a giant bag of Utz potato chips whirled around the first floor of the former Stewart's Department Store Sunday afternoon — on roller skates. The performers, part of Fluid Movement, a Baltimore group best known for its elaborate and creative water ballets, staged a play on skates commemorating the area's history as "The Hub," the center of city shopping in the era before malls.

Vaughan Mason's personalized license plate displays his lifelong credo for success: "FAILURE." Before you raise a jaundiced eye, keep in mind that he's a musician who is still getting paid for work he did in the 1970s and '80s. And if you were part of the nightclub or roller-skating scene then, chances are you're familiar with one of his efforts: Bounce. Roccccccccccccccck. Skate. Rolllllllllllllllllllllll. Bounce. It's been almost 27 years since Mason recorded the pulsating ode to roller-skating, "Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll," which took him from living on the sofa of a friend's brownstone apartment in Brooklyn (five houses down from Spike Lee, no less)

HAVE YOU EVER wondered how professional journalists cover an international sporting event? Too bad, because I'm going to tell you. In February I spent three weeks at the Winter Olympics in Utah ("Where the Party Never Stops Until 8:30 p.m."). I was part of the press corps swarming around in thermal underwear, asking penetrating questions such as: (1) Who won this event? (2) How can you tell? (3) What is this event called again? As you can see, the Olympic press corps does not always have a solid grasp on the events it's covering.

Nearly three years after his dream burned to the ground, Harry W. Morfoot is ready to fulfill the promise he made to patrons of the Sportsman's Hall roller rink on June 21, 1992.After several false starts, Mr. Morfoot finally poured new footers for a rebuilt rink in Arcadia last week, signaling the return of the roller skating mecca that had been a gathering place for generations."There were big, 250 to 300-pound men with beards and mustaches standing around crying," Mr. Morfoot said, recalling that June 1992 evening when arson destroyed the rink.

HAMAR, Norway -- This time, she will not skate for a medal. She will not vamp and flirt with a crowd, a Carmen on skates, dying like a fluttering butterfly.Katarina Witt is 28 now, a woman who speaks of peace and perspective.For her, the killing in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, is a source of pain, the chase for an Olympic gold a source of bemusement.The woman who was once the face of East Germany to the world, is at a Winter Olympics for the first time since 1988, representing one Germany, united.

"I'll be dying 27 times," Olympic gold medalist Katarina Witt says wryly, as she thinks about performing the role of "Carmen" on ice in a new show that's just begun a five-month tour."Skating II" -- which will be performed at 7:30 tonight at the Baltimore Arena -- features Ms. Witt together with fellow Olympian Brian Boitano and an international cast of 12 world-class skaters.The East German skating star will be in the spotlight five times during the evening. As a finale, she and Mr. Boitano will perform the death scene from the HBO movie, "Carmen on Ice," which won the pairEmmy Awards.

Courtney Winer, an 8-year-old student at Pot Spring Elementary School in Timonium, cut right to the chase.She used The Evening Sun's call-in line to ask a simple question of celebrity ice-skaters Brian Boitano and Katarina Witt: "Has skating been worth the things you gave up in your childhood and teen-age years?"Boitano and Witt, who brought their show, "Skating II," to the Baltimore Arena last night, more than agreed that their sacrifices have been well-rewarded. Boitano is even reluctant to admit that he made sacrifices.

Don't miss the cast of 60 local skaters from ages 3 to 55 in "Beauty and the Beast On Ice," presented by the Gardens Figure Skating Club Saturday, March 24 and Sunday, March 25 at 1 and 3:30 p.m at the Gardens Ice House Patrick Arena, 13800 Old Gunpowder Road. This figure skating portrayal of the classic French fairy tale features music from the 1991 Disney hit movie and the Broadway musical depicting a prince transformed into a beast who risks staying a beast forever unless he receives reciprocated love from a young woman named Belle.

The girls stand together in their skates before taking the ice. They talk animatedly as they stretch and prepare for a long practice. "They haven't seen each other in a week," one of the mothers says in passing. The Sailors, the highest-level team in the Chesapeake Synchronized Skating club, compete nationally at the intermediate level. The girls come from counties around the state and see one another only at practice, but they're close-knit. "We're just like a family now," said Blaire Burgin, a tri-captain and a Pikesville junior.

Hello, Top Cheffers! Tonight's episode felt like the quiet before the storm. The final three chefs, Lindsay, Paul and Sarah, are very friendly toward one another. Usually there is a little infighting or a passive-aggressive “good luck” here and there within the final cheftestants, but these three sincerely seem to enjoy each one another's company. That is lovely in real life but leads to a bit of a boring episode. With that said, the episode didn't completely fall flat, so let's get into the good stuff, shall we?

Baltimore County police report that two teens were attacked when an assailant hit them with roller skates in the 8800 block of Orchard Tree Lane , Towson, at 2 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 18. In addition to that incident, the following items were compiled from police reports from the Towson and Cockeysville precincts. Our policy is to include descriptions when there is enough information to make identification possible. Cockeysville Boxer Hill Road, 12100 block, between 8:30 a.m. and 12:10 p.m. Feb. 17. Money stolen after door kicked in and house ransacked.

100 Years Ago Serious skating Headlining the Laurel social column was this marital tidbit: "Mrs. Marie Martin, wife of Mr. Roger Martin, who disappeared from her home over ten days ago, has returned to her home, she having been located in Philadelphia, where she had stopped with her brother-in-law and later going to the home of her parents. It is stated that Mrs. Martin left her home on account of her husband going skating, which she had forbidden.

Nick Collins and Todd Collins share a great deal - last names, for one, even though they are not related. They've also known each other since they were in first grade at Manchester Elementary, and also attended North Carroll middle and high schools togather. They are both are Carroll County natives, are both 33 years old, are both married and each have a son. The've also shared a passion throughout their lives - for skating and snowboarding. So when the two friends decided to go into business together, they tapped into their friendship and common interests - and the result is Kliq Board Shop, scheduled to open Saturday, Jan. 28, at 85 W. Main St., in downtown Westminster.

LANDOVER -- For four days afterward, Alexander Zhulin and Maia Usova went back to the rink in Lake Placid, N.Y., where their friend and countryman, Sergei Grinkov, had died.For four days, they tried to skate, tried to prepare for an ice show that was ultimately postponed, tried to continue with their lives."We would skate for about 15 minutes, then we would stop and cry," Zhulin recalled yesterday.A week after Grinkov's death from a massive heart attack at age 28, these former world champion and 1994 Olympic silver medalist ice dancers went to perform at a show in New York's Central Park.

Skipjacks left wing Brent Hughes personifies the term "rink rat."Hughes, a native of New Westminster, British Columbia, began skating as a 3-year-old and began playing hockey when he was 5. He has always been partial to rinks and is still one of the first on the ice and one of the last off at practice."

Just when it seems skateboarding is picking up in popularity again, the City of Havre de Grace razed the public skate park on Seneca Avenue. When our office was on Hays Street in Bel Air, I could drive by the Skateology shop on Thomas Street virtually any given day of the week and see at least half a dozen boys outside on their boards. Sometimes, they'd be in the middle of the road, creating a traffic hazard, but they were always there, boards in hand. It was obvious they were enjoying their hobby.

Here's something Howard County can brag about: It hosts the state's only "Nutcracker" holiday extravaganza on ice, perhaps even on the entire East Coast. Presented each year by the Columbia Figure Skating Club , it's a pretty cool show in more ways than one. Dozens of darling little skaters share the ice stage with some real pros, making this a must-see family outing for all "Nutcracker" fans. My family wouldn't ream of missing a production. I actually prefer the Sunday-before final dress rehearsal.