Veterans Day

Harford County government offices will be closed tomorrow for Veterans Day. The Harford County Waste Disposal Center will be closed, but Waste to Energy will be open. Harford transit will operate on a limited schedule. Harford County Public Library and senior centers are closed. Public schools are open.

These agencies will be closed tomorrow for Veterans Day:* Carroll County government offices.* Department of Social Services.* Human Services Programs of Carroll County Inc.* All branches of the county public library.* County senior centers.* County circuit and district courts.* New Windsor town offices.* Sykesville town offices.These agencies will be open on Veterans Day:* Carroll County public schools and school system offices.* Northern Landfill and the Recycling Center.* Hampstead town offices.

Story session, prayer services and breakfast among offerings Several organizations will observe Veterans Day with services as follows: Westminster Senior and Community Center will hold a Veterans Day program at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at 125 Stoner Ave. Seniors are requested to take memorabilia, photos and souvenirs to share. Songs, readings and a guest speaker will be featured. Lunch reservations are required. 410-386-3850. Mount Airy branch library will hold a program, "Honor Our Vets," for teens and adults at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at 705 Ridge Ave. Members from the Mount Airy Veterans of Foreign Wars post will tell stories from their service.

American Legion Towson Post No. 22 will host a Veterans Day commemoration to honor men and women who served in the U.S. Armed Forces on Friday, Nov. 11, 11 a.m., at the Wayside Cross, located at York Road and Shealy Avenue, Towson. All are invited. After the Wayside Cross ceremony, the Towson Elks will conduct a service at the Vietnam Memorial on the grounds of the Old Courthouse in Towson.

Armistice Day was lucky for the doughboys fighting in the trenches at the end of World War I, and many Maryland lottery players apparently think it will be lucky for them, too.State lottery officials say the Pick 4 number 1111 has been sold out since Wednesday, and has sold out again for Sunday. They're guessing that the reason is the approach of Sunday, Nov. 11, or 11/11.Originally established in 1926 to commemorate the armistice that ended World War I at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11, 1918, Armistice Day was renamed Veterans Day in 1954 to honor all men and women who have served in the U.S. armed forces.

I just phoned six friends and asked them what they will be doing tomorrow.They all said the same thing: "working." Me, too.There is something else we share. We are all military veterans.And there is a third thing we have in common. We are not employees of the federal government, state government, county government, municipal government, the Postal Service, the courts, banks or S&Ls, and we don't teach school.If we did, we would be among the many millions of people who will spend tomorrow goofing off.Which is why it is about time Congress revised the ridiculous terms of Veterans Day as a national holiday.

In a clear voice, Zachary Novak read a biography of a fallen soldier. "Patrick Ryan Adle. Born March 18, 1983. Date of death: June 29, 2004. Cause of death: He was killed when the Humvee he was riding struck a landmine." When Novak finished, the next student read a biography of another soldier, until eight profiles of county residents killed in the line of duty in recent years were read. The activity, part of a Veterans Day program in government class at Fallston High School last week, struck a chord with Novak, a 17-year-old senior.