Turkey Trot

THE HOLIDAY trees displayed at Savage Mill announce the approach of a new festive season. The trees are decorated by schools and community agencies and highlight the services they offer.Check out the tree by Bethel Christian Academy of Savage, which won third place in a competition last week.The names of the school's teachers are written on miniature blackboards tied to the branches.First-place winner Fidos for Freedom has a tree decorated with glass, plastic and porcelain pooches and dog biscuits -- just the right thing for these helpful dogs.

ON THE WINTRY DAY before Thanksgiving, the turkeys were trotting for fitness at three Elkridge community schools -- human turkeys, that is.Elkridge Landing Middle School held its second Turkey Trot. Students, staff and families competed in a 1 1/4 -mile run/walk.Prizes were awarded to the fastest three girls and boys in each grade and to the top three adults.Sixth-grade winners were: Robert Ramsey and Kristy Adams, first; Maureen Murphy-Ryan and Michael Witmer, second; Gabrielle Federline and Evan Tilley, third.

Runners are invited to take part in a Central County Thanksgiving tradition and win some of their holiday supper at the eighth annual 5K Turkey Trot Nov. 26.The race will be at 11: 30 a.m. at Anne Arundel Community College's Siegert Field.First-place winners in six categories win turkeys. Runners-up take home apple pies. The first 70 entrants receive free T-shirts.Last year, about 70 runners and walkers competed. Broadneck High School soccer player Gretchen Oaksmith won the women's trial in 20 minutes, 26 seconds.

If Dave Cooley is to partake of any Thanksgiving bounty this year, he had better know how to gobble.That's because time is going to be at a premium for the race director, who will be overseeing the inaugural Towson YMCA Turkey Trot 5K on Thanksgiving Day and the Baltimore Road Runners Club's annual Northern Central Trail Marathon two days later.The Turkey Trot is one of three area Thanksgiving Day races, the others being RASAC's Thanksgiving Turkey Trot Four-Miler at White Marsh and the Howard County Striders' Turkey Trot Prediction Run."

LYNN Starman, children's librarian at Savage, is pleased to announce that more than 200 children from 19 schools voted for their favorite author in the Children's Choice Election held in November at the branch.The winning author was R. L. Stine, author of the "Goosebumps" series of scary stories. Dr. Seuss came in second, and Ann Martin, author of "The Babysitters Club" series, came in third.About half the voters identified themselves as students at Forest Ridge, the school closest to the library.

Ken Fowler went into the year with one goal; he will leave it with at least three personal records.Nov. 19, JFK 50 Mile, Boonsboro, 7 a.m., (301) 739-7004.Nov. 19, Turkey Trot 10K, Newark, Del., 9:30 a.m., (302) 654-6400.Nov. 19, BRRC Grand Prix Cross Country Championship, Baybrook Park, Brooklyn, 5 miles, 10 a.m., (410) 789-7560.Nov. 20, HCS Metric Marathon, Columbia, 8 a.m., (410) 964-8258.Nov. 20, RASAC Bel Air Parking Garage 5K, Bel Air, 9 a.m., (410) 879-7679.Nov. 20, United Negro College Fund Walk-A-Thon, Inner Harbor, 10 a.m., (410)

County schoolchildren are trotting, jogging and running with turkeys this week.At Elkridge Elementary School tomorrow, students invite their grandparents or community senior citizens to spend a day at school, coinciding with family travels at holiday time. A prize will be awarded to the grandparent who travels the farthest distance to share the day with a child.One of the day's activities is the Turkey Run, a 1-mile run in which adults are invited to join the children.A certificate for a turkey from Elkridge's Super Fresh will be given to the fastest boy and girl in each grade level.

Gina Caruso, director of the film series at the Walters (Art Gallery) Film House, has pulled off an international coup for Baltimore film buffs.Short Circuit 1995 has agreed to bring exciting, innovative short films, made by emerging and established United States directors, to be screened in the museum's Graham Auditorium on May 5, 12, 19, 26 and June 2.First, a brief history: In 1990, Elendil Productions (it produces and distributes short films and features)...

Students and staff at Burleigh Manor Middle School have been particularly busy this fall.The school is not new any longer -- it's been open two years -- and having left its infancy behind, it's ready to blossom!The staff has initiated a Student Recognition program this year. Once a month, each teacher acknowledges two students for their effort; one recognition awards a student's "Super Job," and the other awards the ability to "Turn Things Around."In October, each award-winning student qualified for a free pizza donated by American Pizzas.

Arnold church sponsors talks by evangelistThe New Covenant Church of Arnold is sponsoring an international healing evangelist this week.The Rev. Mahesh Chavda, an ordained Baptist minister, says he has healed lepers and AIDS patients, has made the paralyzed walk and the blind see.Mr. Chavda, who is well known in charismatic religious circles, drew a crowd of 500 during a visit to Anne Arundel County last year.He spoke at the Annapolis Armory last night and will speak again tonight at 7.The evangelist was born of Indian parents in Kenya, East Africa, and was a devout Hindu until age 16, when he converted to Christianity.

More than 30 years ago, physical-education teachers at Bel Air Middle School started a Turkey Trot, a fun run held around Thanksgiving. The program has grown each year, with more than 1,250 students participating. Unlike other Turkey Trots, which are designed to raise money for a charitable cause, the Bel Air Middle event is a fun run to promote fitness, said Jeff Eaton, the physical-education department chairman who heads the program. Five other teachers at the school also work with Eaton on the program.

Anticipating their coming Thanksgiving feast, Steven Levin and his family got an early jump on burning the excess calories. Along with 1,500 other runners and walkers, the Levins participated yesterday in the 24th Annual Green Valley Turkey Trot near Owings Mills, an informal charity event that attracts strolling families as well as hard-core runners. "We can offset the damage we're going to do later," said Levin, a running enthusiast from Reisterstown who attended with his wife, Michelle, and 12-year-old son, Eric.

Striders -- Striders' Series Race 7 (2M, 10K, 15K) is to be run at 2 p.m. Sunday at Longfellow Elementary School in Columbia. Steve Zelenak, 410-884-9267; Melissa Burger, 443-325-0579, Marsha Demaree, 410-444-9796. The Thanksgiving Turkey Trot - Prediction Run (10K) is scheduled for Nov. 22. Registration is to begin at 9:30 a.m. at Jeffers Hill Elementary School in Columbia. The closest finish to 11 a.m. wins. Watches are not permitted. The winner gets a brass turkey trophy. Dave and Judy Tripp, 410-730-4499.

Tragedy brings outpouring of aid On behalf of the members of the Harford County Deputy Sheriff's Union, I would like to express our sincere thanks to the many people who helped us during the last week in reference to our fallen brother, Deputy 1st Class William H. Beebe. I wish I could list all of you in this printing but that would be impossible, as we are overwhelmed by all of the support. Sheriff Golding said in his address at the ceremony that on the night of this tragic incident, the silver star that we wear upon our chest lost some of its shine.

It's the season of roasted turkey, cranberry sauce, family gatherings and football. But Thanksgiving can include far more than a full belly, pigskin and shopping. It's a time to raise money for community organizations by participating in a race. Here's a roundup of some area runs taking place today: Start your Thanksgiving celebration a few hours early at the 23rd annual Green Valley North Turkey Trot. Participants can compete in a five-mile run or three-mile walk. The event raises money for Crohn's disease and colitis research at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and the University of Maryland Medical System.

TURKEY TROT Walk or run for charity Before you gobble, run in the 23rd annual Green Valley North Turkey Trot. There's a 5-mile run or 3-mile walk, all to raise money for Crohn's dis ease and colitis research at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and the University of Maryland Medical System. The turkey trot begins at 9 a.m. (registration at 8 a.m.) at 12109 Ridge Valley Drive in Owings Mills. Call 410-252- 2834 or visit greenvalleytur keytrot.com. FYI J. Wynn Rousuck is on as signment. Her theater column does not appear today.

TODAY SYMPHONY OF LIGHTS -- Beginning tonight, Howard County General Hospital's drive-through Symphony of Lights will take place from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and holidays through Jan. 7 at 5950 Symphony Woods Road in Columbia. Tickets are $15 for vehicles with up to 11 passengers, $25 for vehicles with 12 to 24 passengers and $100 for buses of 15 or more. www.hcgh.org. TOMORROW BALTIMORE COUNTY SCHOOLS -- The Baltimore County school board will meet at 7:30 p.m. at the Education Support Services Building, 6901 Charles St., Towson.

Makenzie Frieman, 7, and her sister Emily, 5, waited eagerly for their mother to round the corner in the last leg of the 23rd annual Green Valley Turkey Trot yesterday morning. "Where is she?" Makenzie, craning her neck to look, asked her father. Her mother, Toni Frieman, decided to run the 5-mile race to prepare for a relay leg in next year's Baltimore Marathon. After the race, she planned to go to her Reisterstown home and start cooking Thanksgiving dinner, glad to begin the day with a good run. "The hills were a killer," Toni Frieman said, referring to the race route near Owings Mills, often too narrow for a car to squeeze past runners.

On Thanksgiving morning 1983, Morton "Morty" Hyatt and his buddies from around the neighborhood did what they did almost every other morning: run a few miles along the side streets of Owings Mills. But Hyatt, who had just received a diagnosis of colitis, told each of his friends to bring $10 to donate to research for the intestinal disease. In return, he gave each a T-shirt with "Turkey Trot" spelled across the chest in iron-on letters, and a tradition was born. On that first morning, Hyatt's wife served bagels and cream cheese to the eight runners in the family kitchen, and the group raised $325.

Turkey Trot Lace up the sneakers and get ready for the Anne Arundel Community College's 15th Annual Turkey Trot on Tuesday. First-place finishers in the 5K will receive a turkey, and second-place finishers will receive an apple pie. There are several categories for runners, including individual and combined predicted time, fastest runner under 15, individual male and female fastest time, and fastest doubles for AACC staff/faculty. Registration is $18 for individuals and $30 for doubles.