Visitor Center

Brad Knudsen, manager of the Patuxent Research Refuge, has announced that the National Wildlife Visitor Center will open to the public Jan. 21 after being renovated. Its new heating and ventilation systems are designed to be more energy-efficient and cost-effective. The annual National Wildlife Refuge System birthday celebration will be held March 14 at the visitor center, and the Friends of Patuxent Wildlife Art Show and Sale will be held at the newly renovated facility March 28 and 29. The visitor center will be open 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily, except federal holidays.

A pleasant Memorial Day weekend, dear readers! Memorial Day observances will be conducted May 27 at 9 a.m. at Angel Hill Cemetery and then proceed to Tydings Memorial Park by 11 a.m. Contact the American Legion Post 47, 410-939-0234. Memorial Day honors deceased veterans of all wars, though it was begun as a tribute to Civil War dead. Falling as it does with our country involved in a major military conflict in Afghanistan, let this be a patriotic inspiration to us all. As we honor our fallen heroes, some very recent, may we remember and cherish the freedoms and liberties for which they fought to defend.

The Naval Academy will break ground for a two-story visitor center at 2 p.m. on Oct. 26.The facility will be located on the south side of Halsey Field House and will replace the academy's 30-year-old visitors booth in a first-floor corner of Ricketts Hall.The $4.5 million building will include a gift shop and an 80-seat auditorium that will show a film about the life of the midshipmen and the history of the academy. The second floor will contain naval exhibits and an observation deck overlooking the City Dock and the school.

Hello dear readers, Saturday is the 10th Havre de Grace Community Yard Sale (April 27 – raindate April 28). Spaces are available by phoning 410-939-6562, to benefit the Havre de Grace Historic Preservations Commission. A final comprehensive list is available at the visitor center, 450 Pennington Ave. or 226 N. Union Ave. Otherwise, this will get you started: 414 Azra Court; 305 Bounding Home Court; 324, 325 and 330 Cigar Loop; 504, 532 and 534 Counterpoint Circle; 114 Deputed Testamony Place; 100 and 119 Flying Ebony Place; 409 Granville Court; 403, 450 and 507 Majestic Prince Circle; 305 and 306 Master Derby Drive; 313 and 314 Native Dancer Circle; 315 Seattle Slew Place; 214 Smarty Jones Terrace; 146 Snow Chief Drive; 540 Temperance Hill Way; 126 and 136 Touch of Gold Drive; 318 and 319 Victory Gallop Court; 207 War Admiral Way; 234 Whirlaway Lane.

The Naval Academy will dedicate the Armel-Leftwich Visitor Center at 4 p.m. Friday.The $5 million, two-story center, next to Halsey Field House, will contain an exhibit area, a theater, a gift shop and a guide service for tours.Center hours will be 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily from March to November and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. from December to February.Information: 268-3355.POLICE LOG* Annapolis : Someone broke into the Riva Trace Baptist Church in the 2900 block of Riva Trace Parkway early Monday and stole checks and $869.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Wildlife Visitor Center will offer bird walks for youths ages 16 and older and adults from 7:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. Sept. 6; 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Sept. 14; and 7:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. Sept. 20. Participants will have an opportunity to search for birds in several refuge habitats on the guided hikes. Field guide and binoculars are recommended. A bird walk for all ages is scheduled from 8:15 a.m. to 10 a.m. Sept. 24. "The Basics of Birding" will be taught from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Sept.

The county Office of Tourism has printed 75,000 copies of its annual "Calendar of Events." The 1997 edition lists exhibits, farmers' markets, church suppers, holiday events, theatrical productions, tournaments and annual traditions.The front of the booklet features a picture of Union Mills Homestead, which is celebrating its bicentennial next year with a series of events.Demand for the publication has increased so much that the office printed 25,000 more copies this year and began the listings with a Jan. 1 sculpture exhibit by Bart Walter, a local artist.

Hampstead will sell its interest in the town's historic depot to the nonprofit Hampstead Train Station Committee, which has agreed to restore the building and maintain it as a museum and visitor center.The price is $9,200, which the committee would pay in quarterly installments over 10 years at 5 percent interest. No closing date has been set, but the town and committee have come to an agreement, and are waiting for lawyers to draw up a formal contract, said Kenneth Decker, town manager.Both parties have agreed to conditions set by the town to ensure the integrity of the project.

Observing the bicentennial of the origins of Fort McHenry, and the Defender's Day anniversary of its famous bombardment, a citizens group launched a nationwide campaign to help keep Baltimore's star-shaped monument a tourist attraction for another 200 years.As part of the annual ceremonies commemorating the 1814 Battle of Baltimore -- in which the city's defenders repulsed an invading British fleet and Francis Scott Key wrote "The Star-Spangled Banner" -- the Patriots of Fort McHenry announced its drive to raise $5.5 million to build a new visitor and education center for the fort.

The address is the same, but the ambience is greatly improved.With a move across the hallway, the new Carroll County Visitor Center is brighter, better and has double the space of the old one."And, we have storage, which we never had before," said Sharon Kirk, who works at the center. "In the middle of the season, it was like sitting in the middle of a closet full of boxes."For about a month, volunteers repainted and redecorated the space once occupied by Uniquely Crafted at 210 E. Main St. in Westminster.

Edgar Allan Poe was possibly the most original literary talent ever to reside in Baltimore, and his death here, in 1849, at the age of 40 left an indelible mark on the city. Today, the house on North Amity Street, west of downtown, where the writer lived and worked for a time during the 1830s is a local landmark that draws visitors from across the country and around the world. But last week the Poe House Museum was forced to close temporarily, after the city ended its decades-long financial support for the institution.

MGM Resorts International will open a visitor center at National Harbor next week as part of its campaign to win approval to build a "destination" casino at the site on the Potomac River. The international casino and entertainment company said it will open a storefront center along the mixed-use development's main drag to offer visitors information about its plans, which will likely be decided in a referendum on gambling in November. The company has spent an estimated $5.4 million on television ads and other efforts in its battle to win approval of Question 7, which will ask voters whether Maryland should allow a new casino in Prince George's County and table games at all sites.

California residents Caryn and Kurt Burris missed the Star-Spangled Sailabration festivities in June, but they learned all about the Stars and Stripes this month at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine. The Burrises toured the birthplace of the national anthem Thursday with their children, Wyatt, 11, and Shelby, 13, while visiting Baltimore to see Kurt's great aunt. "It's an important part of history," Caryn Burris said. "We live in southern California, where everything is so new. It's nice to show the kids where it all started.

MSSA meeting April 23 . The monthly meeting of the Perry Hall Chapter of Maryland Saltwater Sportsfishermen's Association will be 7:30 p.m. at Surf City Bar and Grill, 9654 Belair Road, Perry Hall. Visitors welcome. For details call Lee Haile at 410-828-0575. Nature storytime April 26 , May 3, May 31, 11 a.m. Eden Mills Nature Center invites all who enjoy children's literature to listen to a story and participate in a nature-themed craft. Pre-registration is required.

Wildlife Visitor Center in Laurel hosts Film Festival The National Wildlife Conservation Film Festival runs Nov. 4-6 in the Aldo Leopold Auditorium at the National Wildlife Visitor Center at Patuxent Research Refuge, 10901 Scarlet Tanager Loop. The festival offers more than 20 short and feature natural history and wildlife documentary films representing nations across the globe. Films are screened in a two-hour series, with each series showing from two to five films. Friday's films shown between 6:30 and 8:30 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday showings begin at 10 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. Cost for each series is $8 per adult and $6 for students and seniors.

Harriet Tubman was one tough lady. She escaped slavery, fleeing an Eastern Shore plantation. She was a leader in the Underground Railroad, traveling at night under the North Star — probably along the Choptank River — hiding at safe houses along the path to freedom. During the Civil War, she saw duty as a spy, assisting Union forces that raided plantations and freed slaves along the Combahee River in South Carolina. Tubman played an outsized role in American history, a contribution that is recently (and belatedly)

A post office in historic Ellicott City could become the site for a visitor center if two local civic groups reach an agreement with the U.S. Postal Service.The Restoration Foundation and Historic Ellicott City Inc. also want to relocate their offices to the basement of the post office at 8267 Main St.The groups already have come to a tentative agreement with postal officials to lease the basement, but still are discussing who would pay for improvements to the room. The groups' attorney, Roland Bounds, said he expects the deal to be finalized in two or three weeks.

Harriet Tubman has long inspired a deep sense of pride among Marylanders, especially in the rural communities of the Eastern Shore, where the former slave was born and led dozens to freedom on the Underground Railroad. While her story is taught to schoolchildren across the country and a small storefront museum here pays homage to Tubman, descendants and historians have been waiting to see her memorialized in a grander fashion. The state announced Tuesday that it had secured enough money for a state park and visitor center bearing Tubman's name, cheering advocates for the long-planned project.