West Friendship

Mary Ann Scully , of West Friendship, has been named the 2011 recipient of the Howard County Good Scout Award presented by the Baltimore Area Council, Boy Scouts of America. She is currently employed as the chairwoman, president and CEO of Howard Bank. Scully, who is chair of the Maryland Bankers Association, was one of the founding officers of Howard Bank and headed its organizing committee before the bank opened in 2004. Deborah Valenza has been hired by Visiting Angels as their Director of Marketing.

The Howard County Economic Development Authority is sponsoring several events in March. The Howard Tech Council networking event will be held Tuesday, March 19 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Union Jack's Columbia, 10400 Little Patuxent Parkway, in Columbia. The Central Maryland Women in Agriculture Forum is scheduled for Thursday, March 21 from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Howard County Fairgrounds, 22120 Fairground Road, in West Friendship. Cost is $35 per person and includes lunch and light refreshments.

The Howard County Fair will be held from Aug. 5 to 12 at the fairgrounds, 2210 Fairgrounds Road, West Friendship. A farm queen will be crowned, and the fair will include animals, household arts, 4-H exhibits, rides, contests, food and entertainment. The fairgrounds is off Route 144, west of Route 32. The hours will be 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Admission is $4. Information: 410-442-1022.

John D. Danko stops in mid-conversation to note the sound ringing through the house. The small brass bell chimes from behind the face of the grandfather clock in the foyer, perhaps the same sound people would have heard in their homes while waiting for word from the battlegrounds of the War of 1812. "Back in those days, this is what they heard," says Danko, after the clock has chimed nine times on the hour. Then there's only the tick-tick-tick of the seconds as two weights and a pendulum wrought in cast iron keep the time using technology that dates to the days of the Battle of North Point and Fort McHenry's defense of Baltimore harbor.

The West Friendship Volunteer Fire Department will hold Longaberger Basket Bingo at 6 p.m. April 1 at the Sykesville-Freedom Volunteer Fire Hall on Route 32 at Freedom Avenue. The event, which includes 20 regular games, three specials and a raffle, is to raise money for medical expenses for Pieter Lucas, a volunteer firefighter and auxiliary police officer from Glenwood who was injured Nov. 23 while directing traffic at the scene of an accident on U.S. 40 in Ellicott City. Information or to purchase tickets for the basket bingo: 410-489-9958.

If you're driving along Route 144 in Howard County, passing through West Friendship, and get a yearning for a McDonald's Big Mac, fries and a shake, just keep driving. Because, try as you might to find a McDonald's in West Friendship, you'll come up empty-handed. And that just may be one of the reasons why residents in this part of Howard County like to call West Friendship home. For, if a McDonald's isn't present - as Mary Jo Neil, a resident for five years, can attest to - neither is the commercial clutter that comes with creeping development and sprawl.

Brigid Smith did a little dance after winning the cow-milking contest yesterday at the Howard County Fair.The Catonsville resident had never touched a cow before but knew what it took to win -- just squirt the milk into the bucket."

When Russell Shipley started school in 1925, he never knew he'd watch his sister, daughters and grandchildren follow in his footsteps at Howard County's oldest school - West Friendship Elementary. He didn't know that he'd drive a bus to and from the school after he graduated, bringing his neighbors' children to West Friendship's doors. And he didn't know that at age 88, he'd be back at the school as a guest of honor at the school's 75th birthday, with current and past West Friendship students - including his family members - crowding around to shake his hand.

John D. Danko stops in mid-conversation to note the sound ringing through the house. The small brass bell chimes from behind the face of the grandfather clock in the foyer, perhaps the same sound people would have heard in their homes while waiting for word from the battlegrounds of the War of 1812. "Back in those days, this is what they heard," says Danko, after the clock has chimed nine times on the hour. Then there's only the tick-tick-tick of the seconds as two weights and a pendulum wrought in cast iron keep the time using technology that dates to the days of the Battle of North Point and Fort McHenry's defense of Baltimore harbor.

POLICE LOG* West Friendship: 11402 block of Old Frederick Road: A mailbox was destroyed Monday or Tuesday, police said.

Mary Ann Scully , of West Friendship, has been named the 2011 recipient of the Howard County Good Scout Award presented by the Baltimore Area Council, Boy Scouts of America. She is currently employed as the chairwoman, president and CEO of Howard Bank. Scully, who is chair of the Maryland Bankers Association, was one of the founding officers of Howard Bank and headed its organizing committee before the bank opened in 2004. Deborah Valenza has been hired by Visiting Angels as their Director of Marketing.

The following students earned Bachelor of Arts in May from St. Mary's College of Maryland: Bradley Dodson , of Sykesville, earned a degree in biology and a minor in political science; Thomas Barnes , of Sykesville earned a degree in economics and a minor in political science; James O'Keefe , of Eldersburg, earned a degree in English and a minor in philosophy; Keith Brown , of Eldersburg, earned a degree in mathematics and...

The Simulated Congressional Hearing has become a rite of passage for many area fifth-graders, including those at West Friendship Elementary School. Throughout the school year, the students learn about the Bill of Rights, the Constitution and other aspects of American government. Their social studies lessons culminate in the hearing, an authentic, interactive experience through which they demonstrate their understanding of constitutional principles. At West Friendship Elementary, every fifth-grade classroom chooses a patriotic team name (this year: justice, liberty and John F. Kennedy)

A Marriottsville man was killed Thursday night after his car swerved off the road and struck a utility pole in the West Friendship section of Howard County, police said. The driver, Kenneth John Dunsmore, 26, of the 12000 block of Old Frederick Road, lost control of his car at about 7:50 p.m. as he was traveling east on Frederick Road near Fairgrounds Road, police said. The car, a 2001 Mercedes S430, veered off the right side of the road, striking a pole and brick pillar, police said.

Richard W. Tennant, a retired business owner who served in World War II, died of a stroke Wednesday at his Summerfield, Fla., winter home. The West Friendship resident was 85. Born in Baltimore and raised on Gilman Terrace, he was drafted into the Army immediately after his graduation from Polytechnic Institute in 1943. As a young man, he played baseball with the Catonsville Bluejays. He fought in the Italian campaign and landed on the coast at Anzio in January 1944. "He often told the story of having his backpack blown off on his back during the first day of combat," said his daughter, Nancy Tennant of Ellicott City.

Most elementary school pupils would agree: Any school day that starts with a teacher asking you to burp is one that's off to a good start. That's what happened to Marshall Demaree. "Can you belch on cue?" Elsa Fawcett, the gifted-and-talented resource teacher at West Friendship Elementary School asked Marshall. "You can even gulp some air if you want to." Marshall, a fifth-grader, gave it his best effort. He gulped in some air and emitted a small, authentic burp. Fawcett was delighted.

POLICE LOG* West Friendship: 2500 block of Wellworth Way: A VCR was taken after someone entered through an unlocked door Thursday, police said.

Mary Jo Neil got involved in the PTA in 1997, when she became president of the organization at West Friendship Elementary School, where two of her three children were pupils. She learned there was an opening for president, and she went for it, she said, never bothering to start at a lower level and move up through the ranks. Now, Neil is president of the Maryland PTA, a statewide post that puts her at the helm of an organization with 214,000 members, one that works to improve the conditions of schools throughout the state.

Jay Rhine's ancestors purchased a dairy farm in West Friendship in 1923. Rhine was the fourth generation of Rhine dairy farmers when he started mowing lawns on the side for a little extra cash. Nine years later, the lawn-mowing business had grown into a major landscaping company with 60 full-time employees, including an architect, an arborist and 20 masons. Rhine Lawn Care and Landscaping provides pretty much everything a person could need on his or her property, from mowing and pruning to complex architectural creations such as patios, pool decks and retaining walls.