Stevens Forest

Volunteers from the Oakland Mills Traffic Action Committee and the Village Board will conduct speed studies this week for Howard County Traffic Engineering Division, using a radar and speed display unit.The unit will be operated along heavily traveled streets in Stevens Forest, primarily Stevens Forest, Kilimanjaro and Farewell roads.The survey will be held for about two weeks. Data will be used to evaluate traffic, not for enforcement purposes.Information: 730-4610.POLICE LOG* Owen Brown: 7000 block of Deepage Drive: A green 1990 Acura Legend with Maryland tags 248ABN was stolen from the parking lot outside the Supreme Court athletic club Wednesday, police said.

In reading the article ("CA explores heated pool open year-round," June 6) on the possibility of turning the Dorsey Hall pool into a heated year-round pool, my memory was jarred. CA currently has two heated outdoor pools, Stevens Forest and Swansfield. Wouldn't making necessary adjustments to either of those pools be more fiscally responsible than reconfiguring a third? Just a thought. Sue Heyman Columbia

The Howard County school board rejected last night a proposal to split the county's program for seriously emotionally disturbed students between Stevens Forest and Waterloo elementary schools.Instead, the board, in a 3-2 decision, adopted a plan that limits the Waterloo program to 20 students and keeps its special education staff intact. The rest of the students will be sent to the Cedar Lane School for physically and mentally disabled students."I believe that putting this program at Stevens Forest is like putting a square peg in a round hole, and I'm not willing to do that," said board member Stephen Bounds.

Thirty-four people were displaced and seven injured by a two-alarm fire early Thursday in the 5600 block of Stevens Forest Road in Columbia. The Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services reported that 10 apartments at the Autumn Crest complex were affected by the fire at 1:30 a.m. and that crews had to rescue about eight residents of the three-story building with ladders. According to Battalion Chief Gordon Wallace, seven residents were injured in the fire, and two adults and one child were taken to an area hospital with injuries not considered life-threatening.

THE ENTHUSIASM of youth and the hope of spring are epitomized in third-graders Emily Kay and Christina Boussy, who invite everyone to join them in planting 500 seedlings, saplings and container-grown plants.The Stevens Forest students' project to beautify and protect the environment is in partnership with the Howard County Department of Parks, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Colorado-based Plant-it 2000 and Windstar Connection, which was co-founded by singer John Denver.The local project began when gifted and talented students, under the direction of teacher Tom Stabile, organized a chapter of Windstar Connection -- the very first Windstar student chapter, they say. Windstar aims to involve people in the environment, global illiteracy, hunger and refugee relocation.

THERE WAS A stock market on Stevens Forest Road this past academic year. Mathematics teacher Nancy Mosedale was the adviser for an unusual project.Shrewd investing (and a bit of luck) placed the Stevens Forest Elementary students in first place for the 1995 fall competition in the Maryland region. Each student received a framed award last month from the Maryland Board of Education at the Economic Awards Ceremony in Baltimore.The students also were invited by Alex. Brown & Sons Vice President Michael Molloy to tour the company's trading floor.

CURTAIN UP! Oakland Mills High and Stevens Forest Elementary schools' spring plays are being presented this month.Drama director Holly Pasciullo and students present "Quilters" on Friday and Saturday at Oakland Mills.The young actresses portray pioneer women who tell about their experiences of adversity through the quilts they make.The cast includes Cirrus Alpert, Obenewa Amponsah, Laura Bacon, Melanie Boley, Lauren Crandell, Becca Doob, Kathryn Doxzon, Fedelis Dumlao, Amanda Dykstra, Jayne Gillespie, Katie Graybeal, Charis Huhta, Jennifer Kersey, Justine Lutterodt, Myya Mixon, Gina Newsome, Michelle Pie, Chrissie Rochester, Rebecca Ross and Carrie Wilmoth.

Barry Palmer is a physical education teacher with a flair for the dramatic.For the 13th straight year, Mr. Palmer is directing the Stevens Forest Elementary School play, which, over the years, has developed into nothing less than an extravaganza for most of the fourth and fifth grades."

Attention parents of Stevens Forest Elementary School students: please note the revised schedule for elementary class dismissal this week because of teacher conferences.There will not be adult supervision for students after 1:30 p.m. and students must leave the school grounds, so parents must make arrangements for them to be picked up promptly at 1:30 p.m. every school day this week.Today, morning kindergarten will have regular hours and afternoon classes are canceled. Tomorrow, morning kindergarten classes are canceled and afternoon sessions will be held in the morning.

Life is sometimes a puzzlement.The residents of the San Fernando Valley in California are still devastated by the aftermath of the earthquake. Only the tremors moved fast.I have wondered how and why it was possible for the media, politicians and Federal Emergency Management Agency to travel to the area within hours but not load their planes with food, water and essentials to be distributed immediately upon arrival.Paperwork and promises do not feed children when they are hungry or help heal wounds and suffering.

The following is compiled from police reports. The Columbia Flier includes descriptions of perpetrators only when the description makes identification possible. East Columbia Sheerock Court , 5600 block, 8:39 p.m. Aug. 8. Entry attempted by tampering with door. Majors Lane , 6100 block, between 12:01 and 5:30 a.m. Aug. 8. Entry gained through unsecured sliding glass door. Purse stolen. Keys used to unlock vehicle. Cash stolen from car. Majors Lane , 6000 block, between 6 p.m. Aug. 7 and 9:55 a.m. Aug. 8. Black 2009 Suzuki DRZ400 stolen.

Howard County police have arrested a fourth suspect in the fatal shooting of a Columbia man in May. Kevin Jennings, 19, of the first block of Montaigne Court in Pikesville was arrested Thursday night, police said yesterday. Investigators believe Jennings drove the other men involved in the shooting to the homicide scene. About 3 a.m. May 17, police found Jason Batts, 23, of Columbia, dead in the parking lot of Stevens Forest Apartments in the 5800 block of Stevens Forest Road in Columbia.

It's a Casual Thursday at James Kendig's small business. Donning a maroon T-shirt, jean shorts and some old pins he found at his grandmother's house, James considers himself the manager. He supervises advertising, money-handling and customer service, and he takes his job seriously - even if he does work barefoot. But this isn't an ordinary operation. James is spending part of his summer running a lemonade stand to raise money for the American Cancer Society. And he's only 9 years old. "I was at a restaurant and I was just squeezing lemons into my water," said James, a rising fifth-grader at Stevens Forest Elementary School.

In the wake of two shootings over the weekend in one of Columbia's oldest communities - including one that left a 23-year-old man dead - Howard County police plan to meet with residents tonight to discuss the crimes. Though investigators say they do not believe the incidents in Oakland Mills village are related, residents say the shootings have raised questions about safety in their neighborhood. "From the community's standpoint, we're looking at ... how can the community respond to this, and how can we do things to make the residents of the community safe?"

Things are looking up in Oakland Mills, with four different projects planned or under way near the village center, each boosting the community in a slightly different way. The star attraction is the 58,890-square-foot, four-story "green" office building called Meridian Square planned for a vacant lot next to the village center. That $10 million project is moving closer to fruition, with a hearing before the county Planning Board scheduled for Thursday. Construction could begin this year.

After four weeks of summer school at Running Brook Elementary, nearby residents were used to the steady flow of students at the newly renovated facility. But the sight of two fully grown cattle outside the school's front entrance Friday was a surprise. The two steers - Michael and Angelo - were at the school as part of a challenge issued by Assistant Principals Troy Todd and Brian Vanisko. Todd, who oversaw the 46 students from Running Brook Elementary, and Vanisko, who oversaw the 71 students from nearby Stevens Forest Elementary, joined forces to encourage their students to keep up their attendance at the Running Brook summer school program.

STEVENS FOREST Elementary School's annual production, "Clowns," will be performed at the school Thursday and Friday at 2 p.m. for students and families. Cast and chorus also will perform at Oakland Mills High School, March 14 and 15 at 7: 30 p.m.The performances are the result of the dedication of director Barry Palmer, the school's faculty, and volunteers who worked with auditions, costumes, set and stage construction, rehearsals, photography and programs.The program design is the group effort of artists Jason Abramowitz, Jessica Beroes-Dodson, Arthur Douglas, Jennifer Hersey, Laura Klatka and Dustin Melton.

By the end of the school year, George Pittman hopes that the students at Stevens Forest Elementary School will be ready to begin their experiments examining the effects of cigarette smoke on plants. But if more time is needed, that's OK, too. Pittman said he believes that kids learn about science by figuring things out for themselves. It might take years to perform the experiment, but meanwhile, students are learning about oxygen and ambient light and control data. They are building chambers to hold the plants and figuring out how to make sure each plant receives the same amount of smoke.

By the end of the school year, George Pittman hopes that the students at Stevens Forest Elementary School will be ready to begin their experiments examining the effects of cigarette smoke on plants. But if more time is needed, that's OK, too. Pittman said he believes that kids learn about science by figuring things out for themselves. It might take years to perform the experiment, but meanwhile, students are learning about oxygen and ambient light and control data. They are building chambers to hold the plants and figuring out how to make sure each plant receives the same amount of smoke.

At Stevens Forest Elementary School, as at many other Howard County schools, yesterday offered a chance for children to parade in their Halloween finery. Pupils from kindergarten through fifth grade at the Columbia school participated in singing Halloween songs and parading in their costumes on the blacktop.