Swan

The resignation of a state juvenile services official in the wake of disclosures of past abuse at a Montana facility doesn't end the matter. Juvenile Services Secretary Donald W. DeVore still has to answer for the agency's failure to fully investigate the employment record of Chris Perkins, who was appointed to run the state's new residential treatment center in Frederick County. The controversy over Mr. Perkins' employment involves allegations of abuse at the Swan Valley Youth Academy he ran in Montana.

By late afternoon, chef Jim Schumann of the Manor Tavern is putting the finishing touches on spicy Cajun chicken ten- ders, smoked-salmon tortilla pinwheels, miniature spinach quiches and other hors d'oeuvres for an evening cocktail reception in Havre de Grace.The executive chef, who also oversees the preparation of meals at the Monkton restaurant, has been working steadily since 9 a.m., assembling roasted vegetables, rolling goat cheese in freshly chopped chives and wrapping pencil-thin asparagus in prosciutto.

Everyone hopes to find that unnoticed masterpiece languishing under layers of dust at the local flea market. I thought I had found one the other day when, on impulse, I purchased an Italian glass swan for a piddling sum.Well, there are bargains and then there are bargains. It turns out mine wasn't exactly the great deal I thought. But it did lead me to learn something about the fascinating art of glassmaking, which dates back to pre-Roman times, and about the intellectual adventures the most ordinary objects can launch.

A ballet company that premieres two original works in one night and includes the "Black Swan Pas de Deux" of Tchaikovsky is offering an adventurous program as it is. Throw in Bizet's "Carmen" in the second half and it becomes an ambitious and exciting evening.But Ballet Theatre of Annapolis pulled it off last weekend at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts in Annapolis.The new works were Anton Wilson's "Seep," an abstract piece based on Emily Dickinson's poem "Almost" and danced to the music of contemporary composer Phillip Glass, and Edward Stewart's traditional "The Crowned Jewel," a moving tribute to his late mother set to the music of French romantic composer Gabriel Pierne.

Christopher Green of Annapolis says that his favorite experience at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County has been making vanilla ice cream."We rolled it in a can to make it soft and good," he said. "And we put a lot of sugar in it."He is no sophomore basketball star coasting through a gut course. Christopher is one of the kindergartners from Mills-Parole Elementary in Annapolis who spend Saturdays at UMBC as part of a pilot program aimed at curing some of the ills confronting urban schools.

Ballet Theatre of Annapolis will bring to Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts this weekend a program of dance that should be of interest to the whole family.The all-classical program includes "Beauty and the Beast," a two-act ballet based on the ancient folk tale and choreographed by BTA's artistic director, Edward Stewart, and Act II of Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake," choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov."Beauty and the Beast" will be a visual treat with elegant costumes and dramatic sets.

GORTNER -- In a tiny schoolhouse in a Garrett County meadow, the past, present and future converge.Amish and Mennonite children have attended Swan Meadow, a public elementary and middle school, for more than 100 years. For the first time, the school's graduates are returning to the simple brick building this fall to pursue high school diplomas -- a departure from their traditions.Every Tuesday evening, 16 students -- age 13 and older -- come to Swan Meadow, in the rolling hills south of Oakland, to study for state General Educational Development (GED)

One of three trumpeter swans that learned to migrate at the wing of an ultralight airplane last fall appears to have begun her spring migration to Airlie, Va., on her own.Bob Ferris, of Defenders of Wildlife, said Yo Yo was spotted Sunday on the west side of the Chesapeake Bay, at a Patuxent River spot where the birds rested during their fall flight to the Eastern Shore. "She is going back the same way she came," Ferris said.The other two trumpeters remain at the Dorchester County wintering grounds.

OAKLAND -- For the Amish and Mennonite children who attend the tiny Swan Meadow School in Garrett County, "reading is a major pastime," says Liz Gilbert, who teaches a combined class of youngsters in sixth, seventh and eighth grades.When Gilbert asked her students on the first day of school to name their favorite activities, reading was the top item on the list."It has a lot to do with their lifestyle," says the soft-spoken teacher.She considers 11-year-old Mark Yoder a stellar reader.Yoder, a seventh-grader, arrives at 7: 30 a.m., eager to discuss the latest book he's been reading.

LONDON -- Four times a week, William Kemp pulls off his T-shirt, jeans and hiking boots, slips into a knee-length leotard with strips of white chiffon and performs what is normally one of the great female roles in classical ballet.Kemp is the lead Swan in "Swan Lake.""When I heard they were making a male 'Swan Lake,' I said, 'Stop, look at it, it could be camp, naff, a complete flop,' " Kemp recalls. "Or it could be fantastic. Well, it's fantastic. I have a job. And my parents can stop paying my rent."

When he joined the Orioles in July 2000, Melvin Mora was one of 14 unfamiliar commodities received in the club's now infamous trade-deadline fire sale that sent six high-priced veterans to various contenders. Mora was considered the key to the Mike Bordick deal with the New York Mets, but he was viewed in baseball circles as nothing more than a late-blooming utility man. Nine years later, Mora, 37, is about to end his Orioles career as the lone member of that regrettable group to make an impact.

No pool. No spa. No concierge. No room service. Not even a restaurant, unless you count the Burger King a few blocks away. But the Swan Creek Inn and River Lodge at Aberdeen Proving Ground is the haute place to stay, anywhere on the planet, at least according to the Army. Last summer, the hotel won the Army's highest hotel honor, Lodging Operation of the Year, beating military inns and lodges from Japan to Texas. Swan Creek has won in its category - large hotels - three times in the past decade, an impressive feat, given that military lodges are ineligible for the contest for two years after winning.

The state Board of Public Works approved yesterday a marina, observation piers and a shoreline project for the Villages at Swan Point, a Charles County development, over the objection of Gov. Martin O'Malley, who expressed concern about the negative environmental impact on the Chesapeake Bay and the area's wetlands. O'Malley didn't state his reason for voting against the wetlands license for the project during the public meeting, saying he would explain his position in a letter he plans to write to the board.

Senior Rashida Suber scored 10 points and became Coppin State's all-time leading scorer as the Eagles (7-10, 2-2 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) defeated Bethune-Cookman, 61-46, yesterday at the Coppin Center. Suber, who is also Coppin State's career leader in steals, stole a pass and went the length of the floor for a layup in the first half for the record-setting basket. She now has 1,543 career points. Bethune-Cookman fell to 3-12, 0-4. Mount St. Mary's 74, Sacred Heart 63 -- Dominique Mazzuchi recorded her first double double with 26 points and 13 rebounds to power the host Mountaineers (5-13, 3-4 Northeast Conference)

Goucher spotted host Scranton the first 10 points, and the Royals earned a 72-60 Landmark Conference victory over the Gophers last night. Goucher came up empty on its first nine possessions, finally scoring on a basket by Amir Hakim 5:47 into the game. The Royals (9-6, 1-3) had a 35-20 lead at halftime. Freshman forward Marcus Cotton had a team-high 17 points for Goucher (4-10, 2-2) . Women Siena 67, Loyola 57 -- Vika Sholokhova led three Loyola players in double figures with 17 points and matched her career high with 13 rebounds, but it was not enough for the Greyhounds (8-8, 3-3 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference)

In his last years, Verdi drew extraordinary inspiration from Shakespeare, producing two equally compelling swan songs - Otello and Falstaff, each with its own remarkable combination of musical sophistication and theatrical sureness. This being the age of directorial license, both works are candidates for rethinking. If you go Verdi's Otello will be performed at 3 p.m. tomorrow at the John. F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Virginia and New Hampshire avenues Northwest, Washington.

The resignation of a state juvenile services official in the wake of disclosures of past abuse at a Montana facility doesn't end the matter. Juvenile Services Secretary Donald W. DeVore still has to answer for the agency's failure to fully investigate the employment record of Chris Perkins, who was appointed to run the state's new residential treatment center in Frederick County. The controversy over Mr. Perkins' employment involves allegations of abuse at the Swan Valley Youth Academy he ran in Montana.

The superintendent of a Maryland program for juvenile offenders once headed a military-style youth academy in Montana that closed amid findings of child mistreatment, the Department of Juvenile Services acknowledged yesterday. But Secretary Donald W. DeVore said he had full confidence in Chris Perkins -- now superintendent of the Victor Cullen Center in Frederick County -- and pointed out that Montana authorities cleared Perkins of all allegations of child abuse or neglect last December.

The tipping point. There's always one when public opinion slides from one position to another or stops midway and dangles in the land of indifference. With striped bass, the tipping point occurred when census counts showed and anglers' anecdotal evidence suggested that a fishing moratorium was needed to save the dwindling species. A five-year moratorium that began in 1985 restored balance. The same was true 10 years later, when a declining migratory goose population was restored with a five-year hunting moratorium.

On September 27, 2007 Eldred G. Swan Friends may call at the family owned Kirkley - Ruddick Funeral Home 421 Crain Hwy. S.E. Glen Burnie on Sunday from 3-5 & 7-9 P.M. where Funeral Services will be held on Monday at 11:00 A.M. Interment Meadowridge Memorial Park.