Sykesville

The Kirchhoff family home at the end of a quiet cul de sac in Sykesville in southern Carroll County looks pretty much like any other 30-year-old rancher built of concrete and aluminum siding. But pass through the front door under a three-column portico, and that changes. "It's your typical rancher," Diane Kerchhoff said matter-of-factly. "We just opened it up and doubled the size." No interior walls define any specific area in two-thirds of the home's living space. An open banister for the stairs to the lower level is the only break in an open floor plan that sweeps 50 feet in depth and 35 feet in width.

On Sunday, March 18, 2007, LT. EDMUND LEE "Peep" BRADLEY of Sykesville, beloved husband of Janis Lee Bradley (nee Gordon), devoted father of Edward Dana Bradley and his wife Robin, Julee L. Mingee and Emory T. Mingee, loving brother of Dawn Adams, Michele Adams and Gayle Moser, dear grandfather of Miranda Mingee, Austin Bradley, Jaden Mingee, Cathy Meyett and Camille Lynch. He was preceded in death by twin grandchildren Brittany and Freeman. Funeral services will be held on Friday at 10:30 A.m., at St. Paul's United Methodist Church, 7538 Main Street, Sykesville.

On February 16, 2007, WILLIAM ARTHUR, of Sykesville; beloved husband of the late Jessie Mae Creamer (nee Coffman); devoted father of Larry W. Creamer, Carolyn A. Creamer-Garber, Connie S. Creamer-Sheffler and the late Samuel R. Creamer; father-in-law of Diane Creamer and Terry Sheffler; dear grandfather of Katie and Christina Creamer, W. Cory Starner, Christopher Coquia and Dylan Sheffler; great-grandfather of Ryan G. Coquia. A Funeral Service will be held at 10 A.M. on Wednesday at the Haight Funeral Home & Chapel (6416 Sykesville Road)

On March 13, 2007 JANE FRANCES BROWN, devoted mother of Glen H. Brown, W. Craig Brown and Sandra Lynn Brown and loving grandmother of Skyler, Anna and Lydia Brown. A funeral liturgy will be held at St. Joseph Catholic Church, Eldersburg, MD at 10 am Monday. Entombment will be in Loudon Park Mausoleum. The family will receive friends at the Haight Funeral Home & Chapel (6416 Sykesville Rd) Sykesville from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 P.M. on Saturday and Sunday.

Whether it's the creaky wooden floorboards, the big brass cash register on the counter or the faint smell of oil, walking into Purkey's Toy Trains in Sykesville is like taking a step back in time. There are no scanners, no neon signs, no big-box store lighting. If you're lucky, you might hear the clankety-clank and horn of the freight train that ambles by 100 yards behind the shop. Owner Wiley Purkey has worked hard to create a place where time seems to have stopped decades ago. He opened his store in 2000 after painstakingly restoring part of the building to its original 1878 exterior.

James N. Purman, a World War II veteran and former Episcopal priest who became an addictions counselor, a house painter and curator for a municipal museum, died Monday of heart and circulatory disease at the home of his daughter in Wichita, Kan. The former Sykesville resident was 81. Mr. Purman served at parishes in Baltimore and as the rector of St. Barnabas Episcopal Church until he left the ministry in 1973 to work in counseling. He also maintained a painting business that ultimately led him to the Gatehouse Museum in Sykesville.

Twenty-one-month-old Sarah Lorentson made a speedy recovery after she nearly drowned when she fell into the family pool in Eldersburg, family members said yesterday. On June 22, her 14-year-old brother, Jacob Lorentson, pulled her out of the pool, and her mother and a neighbor performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation until emergency workers arrived. "You would have never known anything had happened two days before," said Jacob, describing how his sister had splashed in the bath and played with other children at her cousin's baptism just days after the accident.

A slate of three newcomers won seats on the Sykesville Town Council, ousting three incumbents in a nonpartisan election yesterday. Pharmaceutical representative Frank Robert, accountant Scott D. Sanzone and attorney and real estate agent Leo J. Keenan III received the most votes among seven candidates vying for three seats. They defeated Council President Mark Rychwalski, a loan officer, and incumbents Russ Vreeland, an accountant, and Jim Kelley, director of sales for a transportation logistics company, who had all hoped their experience would help them stay in office.

FireSykesville: Firefighters from Sykesville, Gamber and Liberty Road in Baltimore County responded to a smoke alarm at a house in the 6800 block of Autumn View Drive at 9: 47 a.m. Thursday. Units were out 20 minutes.Sykesville: Firefighters from Winfield, Sykesville and Lisbon in Howard County responded to a house fire in the 800 block of Streaker Road at 11: 50 p.m. Wednesday. Units were out 42 minutes.

The season's first home-grown fruit was celebrated yesterday in Sykesville, at the town's 16th annual Old-Fashioned Strawberry and Ice Cream Festival.The event, sponsored by the Sykesville Historic District Commission, drew some 300 people to the Gate House Museum of History for sundaes, shortcake and succulent strawberries served with whipped cream.Young girls wearing long skirts and friendly smiles waited on visitors under a yellow and white canopy, dishing up berries by the bowl or quart.

Miriam H. Coffin, a homemaker and former federal worker, died Friday of a stroke at the Fairhaven retirement community in Sykesville. She was 92. Miriam Hilton, the daughter of farmers, was born and raised in Mercer, Maine. She was a 1934 graduate of Skowhegan High School in Skowhegan, Maine, and earned a bachelor's degree in home economics in 1938 from the University of Maine at Orono. She moved to Washington in 1939 and worked during World War II for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

On November 1, 2009, William Shirley Alexander A funeral service will be held on Friday at 10 A.M. at the Haight Funeral Home & Chapel (6416 Sykesville Road) Sykesville. Interment will be in Old Oakland Cemetery. The family will receive friends on Thursday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 P.M. at the funeral home. A masonic memorial service will be held on Thursday at 7:30 P.M. at the funeral home. Those desiring may make memorial donations to St. Paul's United Methodist Church, 7538 Main Street, Sykesville, MD 21784

Baltimore police arrested a Sykesville man Saturday in the hit-and-run death of a Johns Hopkins University student eight days ago. Thomas Meighan, 39, of Sykesville was picked up between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m., said Detective Nicole Monroe, a police spokeswoman. The charges were not released. After police sought the owner of a pickup truck involved in the accident, Meighan turned himself in on Tuesday and was released as detectives continued to investigate the death of Miriam Frankl, 20, who was hit Oct. 16 in the 3500 block of St. Paul St. at University Parkway.

On October 3, 2009 HARALD ALBERT, of Sykesville, MD, beloved husband of Helen Elizabeth Burgard (nee Hyle) and devoted father of Renee Louise Burgard of Palo Alto, CA, Michele Marie Burgard of Sykesville, MD, Marc Albert Burgard and his wife, Regina of Fallston, MD, Peter John Burgard and his wife, Sylvia of Arlington, MA, Denise Burgard Gagliardi of Baltimore, Maryland and Anna Marlis Burgard of Tybee Island, GA. Dear grandfather of Andrew Dana Burgard,...

On October 5, 2009 Bessie Ada Gassaway, Friends may call on Thursday from 7 to 9 P.M. at the Haight Funeral Home & Chapel, 6416 Sykesville Road in Sykesville where a funeral service will be held on Friday at 11:00 A.M. Interment White Rock United Methodist.

Leonard Albert Yagatich Jr., founder and owner of a Sykesville heating, ventilating and air-conditioning firm who was also an auto enthusiast, died of cancer Sunday at Carroll Hospice's Dove House in Westminster. He was 55. Mr. Yagatich was born and raised in Pittsburgh, where he graduated in 1972 from St. Michael's Catholic High School. He served in the Navy for a year and was discharged in 1976 because of an injury. In 1978, he established Target Controls, an HVAC company, in Pittsburgh.

Karen Michele Putnam, daughter of Timothy R. and Mary Ruth Putnam of Sykesville, Maryland and Eric Michael Lubitz, son of Shelly K. Burns of Finksburg, Maryland and the late Larry H. Lubitz were married at The Best Western Westminster Catering and Conference Center in Westminster, Maryland on September 20, 2008. The groom is also the stepson of Michael P. Burns of Finksburg, Maryland and the grandson of Martha Kirson of Pikesville, Maryland. The blended ceremony was jointly performed by Rev. Dr. Judy Powell and Cantor Alvin Donald.

A 13-year-old boy was killed Wednesday in a two-vehicle crash at Route 32 and River Road in Sykesville, according to Howard County police. The boy, Vincent Woodward, was riding in the front seat of a 2008 Mazda 5 minivan driven by Kyong Hae Kim of Sykesville, police said. Kim was turning left from River Road onto southbound Route 32 about 5 p.m. when she pulled into the path of a flatbed tow truck, police said. Kim, 51, of the 12200 block of Howard Lodge Road, was taken to Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore in critical condition, according to police.

Two men dead in separate incidents A man who was shot in the leg Wednesday died from his injuries and another man was found dead in a vehicle in separate incidents on Baltimore's east and west sides, police said. The two homicides bring the city's count to 65 for the year, compared with 55 at this time last year. A man was found dead in a vehicle in the 1800 block of Aiken St., in the Oliver community. Three hours later, a man was shot in the leg in the unit block of Gorman Ave. in the Penrose community, and died later.

CEG deal with French utility OK'd by FERC Constellation Energy Group has cleared one regulatory hurdle for sale of half of its nuclear power business to France's largest utility. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved yesterday the $4.5 billion transaction, saying the deal "will not adversely affect competition, rates or regulations." The Baltimore company agreed in December to sell half of its nuclear business to Electricite de France. In doing so, Constellation scrapped an earlier agreement with MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co., a deal reached in September amid a liquidity crisis facing the company.