Veterinarian

JACKSON TOWNSHIP, N.J. - Bill Rives was having another busy day at the office, making the daily rounds of patients - all 1,200 of them. He called out their names, talked to them and laughed at their antics. Denise, the towering giraffe who had run full steam into an oak tree, breaking her shoulder blade, was looking good, thanks to the doctor's surgical skills. "She's over at the feeder," Rives said as he headed off road into a herd of giraffes. 'See, her left shoulder is fine now." He paid a call on Rip, a 7-ton bull elephant with a fondness for banana-flavored monkey biscuits.

DR. FRED LEWIS became an Eagle Scout nearly 60 years ago, but his involvement with Scouting didn't stop there. Lewis, 75, has 10 children, all of whom have gone through the Scouting program. His seven sons all became Eagle Scouts, the highest Scouting level possible. His three daughters were also active and successful in Girl Scouts, he said. Now, his grandchildren are getting involved in Scouts and "working on their Eagles," he said. Lewis, who lives in Clarksville, was honored for his involvement by County Executive James N. Robey, who named Lewis the winner of the "Good Scout" award for 2002.

Larry Atkinson, 75, is off his rocker. He must be, in order to pick up a barbell and hoist 230 pounds. Atkinson is too busy lifting weights and carrying off trophies to set on the front porch and snooze. "There's this universal mind-set of, `My God, he's 75, he should be pushing up daisies,' " says Atkinson, of Monkton. "You should see the reception I get at competitions. Everyone applauds like I'm Lazarus come back from the dead. "Well, I'm here to straighten out their brains." And take home some hardware.

Dr. Robert Philip Magdeburger, a noted Cecil County veterinarian and Air Force veteran of the Berlin Airlift, died of cancer Wednesday at his home in North East. He was 73. Born in Washington, Dr. Magdeburger served as a flight engineer in the Air Force from 1948 to 1952. During that time, he flew potentially dangerous missions, carrying food, coal and medical supplies to West Berlin, which had been blockaded by Soviet forces at the beginning of the Cold War. He also flew medical evacuation missions during the Korean War. He earned his bachelor's degree in animal husbandry from the University of Maryland, College Park in 1955 and his doctorate of veterinary medicine from the University of Georgia School of Veterinary Medicine in 1962.

Dr. C. Spencer Streett, a medical researcher and former Harford County veterinarian and animal pathologist, died Thursday of cancer at his Kalamazoo, Mich., home, where he had lived since 1991. He was 66 and had earlier resided in Fallston. A veterinarian who tested drugs for a company engaged in human and animal cancer research, he owned and operated the Fallston Veterinary Clinic in Fallston from 1963 to 1975. He also did consulting work in animal pathology. "He was extremely intelligent, and he had one of the finest work ethics I've ever encountered," said Henry S. Holloway, a friend who is a Darlington farmer.

ELMONT, N.Y. - The death-defying ordeal started with a routine abrasion. While romping with another colt in their Florida paddock in March last year, Invisible Ink cut his right hind ankle. A thousand other young horses could sustain the same minor injury, receive treatment and return to normal within a week. But for Invisible Ink, who races tomorrow in the Belmont Stakes, the seemingly harmless incident nearly cost him his life. The 2-year old apparently had a severe allergic reaction to his medicine and plunged into a pathetic state.

Chamber holding breakfast meeting in Columbia The Howard County Chamber of Commerce will hold a breakfast for new and prospective members from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. Thursday at chamber offices, 5560 Sterrett Place, Columbia. A light breakfast will be provided. A Business After Business networking event will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. May 22 at the Belmont Conference Center, 6555 Belmont Woods Road, Elkridge. Admission is $10 for members; $20 for nonmembers. New board members will be installed at a general membership luncheon at 11:30 a.m. May 30 at Turf Valley Resort and Conference Center in Ellicott City.

Veterinarians in Maryland were urged yesterday to be on the alert for signs of brain infections among the state's horses that could be the result of West Nile virus. The symptoms can include a loss of coordination, an inability to stand, weakness and a reluctance to move, and can lead to death in close to half the cases. Although only crows and blue jays have tested positive for the mosquito-borne illness in Maryland, it has sickened 49 horses in six other East Coast states since last year.

A wreck in Virginia that killed the horse-hauler John "Jack" Mount began a bizarre tale of Middle East-style negotiations for the release of injured racehorses "held for ransom." Mount, who rented an apartment in Laurel, was killed Sept. 8 in the accident that by itself could be called bizarre. A longtime driver of horse vans, Mount, 70, was transporting two horses - Casper Can Fly and Willamette - from trainer Dale Capuano's barn at Laurel Park to Colonial Downs in Virginia. As Mount, the horses and their grooms proceeded south on Interstate 95 near Fredericksburg, Va., something, possibly a barbecue grill, flew off the bed of a pickup truck.