Tansill

Senior Campus Living Inc. of Catonsville said yesterday that it has obtained approval from zoning boards in two Maryland counties to develop a $250 million, 120-acre apartment community in Silver Spring.Senior Campus Living purchased the former Great Oaks Center land, which straddles the Prince George's-Montgomery County line, from the state for $9.1 million in October 1996. The state closed Great Oaks, a facility for the developmentally disabled that was opened in 1970, in June 1996 in preparation for the sale.

One night in July, a guy climbed up the left field foul pole and The Fan thought, yep, it's starting. Then this month, The Fan met a couple who confessed that on an overseas business trip recently, they logged on to wbal.com to listen to the games. That meant the first pitch, given the 12-hour time difference, came at 7: 30 a.m."The Singaporeans," Evie Altman-Orbach said, "didn't know what make of us."Can shirtless guys on 40-degree nights, a slew of newborns named B.J. and a rise in "sick days" during midweek afternoon games be far behind?

Rebecca C. Tansil, retired Towson State University director of admissions who participated in changing the former two-year teachers college into a four-year institution that grants degrees in a number of disciplines, died of cancer April 5 at her home in Parkton. She was 96.She retired in 1963, ending a career that began in 1931 as registrar of what was then the State Normal School at Towson.Towson State began in 1865 as a school devoted entirely to preparing teachers for Maryland's public schools.

Myrtle Theresa Ward, 79, longtime foster parentMyrtle Theresa Ward, who won awards for her work as a foster parent, died Saturday at Good Samaritan Hospital of heart failure. She was 79 and lived in Fallston.Mrs. Ward cared for nearly 30 foster children in addition to raising 11 children of her own. She received a gubernatorial citation and an award from WJZ-TV for her work.The former Myrtle Theresa Walker was a native of Otter Creek, Fla., who came to Baltimore as a child with her family.

Chuck Burke spent the final 56 years of his life remembering the last time he saw Lou Gehrig. It was the spring of 1939, two days before a dying Gehrig pulled himself out of the New York Yankees lineup."

Paul CaseJournalistPaul Case, a veteran news reporter and public affairs officer who was an accomplished piano player, died Wednesday of cancer at his home in Severna Park. He was 59.Mr. Case, a Baltimore native, began his journalistic career with the Maryland Gazette in Anne Arundel County. In 1962, he became a general assignment reporter for the News American, where his varied assignments included police and courts, Baltimore County and Ocean City.He left the News American in 1964 to cover the California Legislature for the Associated Press, then returned to the Baltimore newspaper in 1965 as a reporter and feature writer.

After a lackluster start, the United Way of Central Maryland seems to be gaining momentum in its annual fund-raising drive.Donations more than doubled in the past month, from $12.8 million to $28.3 million, a spokesman said. United Way, which started the campaign Sept. 23, has until Jan. 31 to reach its goal of $40 million."We think the message is getting out," spokesman Mel Tansill said. "Perhaps the anxiety level over the economy is finally over."United Way officials have maintained that Maryland's weak economy was their biggest concern going into the 1992 campaign.

The board of the United Way of Central Maryland was meeting today to decide whether it should withhold dues to its national trade group, the United Way of America, which has been hit by allegations of financial abuses.The local board already has withheld payment of about $80,000 in first-quarter dues to the national organization. Today's meeting was the first time the local board has met to discuss how to respond to the allegations and stem distrust of the organization.Withholding dues "is a tough call for the board of directors to make," said Mel Tansill, spokesman for the local group, which paid $346,000 to the national organization last year.

The board of United Way of Central Maryland today decided to change the way it pays dues to its national trade group, United Way of America, which has been hit by allegations of financial abuses.The board, meeting in Baltimore, decided to pay the dues monthly, rather than quarterly, said Norman O. Taylor, president of the local group. It also will monitor the management of the national organization more closely, a process that will include periodic reviews of financial reports, he said."They need to be held accountable," Mr. Taylor said.

With less than a month to go in the Central Maryland United Way campaign, workers are hoping they can match last year's contributions of $31.9 million.As of yesterday, the campaign had raised $26.8 million and the projection was that the non-profit agency could raise at least $31.5 million by Jan. 31, spokesman Mel Tansill said."If that holds up, that would be a tremendous response from the community in hard times," Tansill said."If we can match last year's fund-raising total, we would consider this campaign to be a success, especially in light of the recession."