Westminster

Business group to offer workshops starting Tuesday The Women's Business Institute of Taneytown is offering a series of two-hour workshops for small-business owners or anyone thinking about starting a small business. The workshops will be held at Carroll Community College, 1601 Washington Road, and cost $15 each. Workshops are: Assertiveness Training, Tuesday: Learn how to deal with negative feelings, present ideas without hesitation, express your opinions, and display confidence and a positive image.

After losing to perennial powerhouse Severna Park in last year's Class 4A/3A state championship game, the Westminster girls' lacrosse team had waited for the chance to play the Falcons again. The Owls arrived at UMBC Stadium Wednesday night, but had to hold off for another day when lightning storms forced the postponement of the scheduled meeting between last year's state finalists. But an extra day to prepare for the rematch didn't matter, as Severna Park took an early six-goal lead and cruised to its second consecutive championship victory over the Owls, 13-6, on Thursday at UMBC Stadium.

For me and many of my old school friends, sport is not about efficiency, titles and "winning" but rather about fairness and appreciation of athletic ability and the effort it takes. Instilling those values in children, whether they go on to become athletes or not, is something most parents are challenged by. Having the Ravens' training camp in a small town is right for many reasons, the biggest being the opportunity it gives the team to engage children, especially those from families who can't afford game day at the stadium.

It has been a familiar scene the past two days at UMBC: lacrosse sticks flying everywhere, a mass celebration, then the traditional team photo with the state championship plaque proudly displayed. When it was the South River boys' turn, after a stunning, 10-8 comeback win over Westminster in the Class 4A-3A final, the sticks flew a bit higher, the celebratory pile came together quicker and the smiles were broader. The No. 8 Seahawks had more to enjoy than bringing home the program's second state championship Wednesday at rainy UMBC Stadium.

BOYS LACROSSE No. 14 Westminster (6-1) at Winters Mill (4-1) When: Tuesday, 7 p.m. Key players to watch Westminster: Eric Natale, Sr., G; Luke Thompson, Sr., A; Dylan Marks, Sr., D Winters Mill: Teddy Chase, So., M; Tyler Hutson, Sr., A; Evan Horn, Jr., M Keys to Victory The game features a contrast in style: The visiting Owls like to play in transition with a balanced attack led...

The last place you're apt to find Westminster resident Bruce Lesh — a history, government and politics teacher and chairman of the social studies department at Franklin High School, inReisterstown — is standing in front of a class pontificating on history's broad themes or regurgitating names and dates. "We have nearly a hundred years of data that tells us that that old model of teaching history just doesn't work," he said. Lesh is the author of "Why Can't You Just Tell Us the Answer?

In the biggest upset of the local football season, the senior quarterback threw for 422 yards and five touchdowns Friday night to lead the Owls to a 32-31 victory over Linganore, the No. 9 team in the state. He also had a 53-yard punt from the Owls' end zone with five minutes to go, which helped secure their first win over the Lancers since 2005. Cheese, 6-feet-2, 210 pounds, completed 21 of 39 passes and ran the ball 20 times for 43 yards. This season, he's 37-for-71 passing for 618 yards and nine touchdowns while rushing 33 times for 129 yards and a touchdown.

Defense contractor General Dynamics said Thursday that it expects to lay off 31 Westminster-based employees in July, a smaller second round of cuts after eliminating 80 jobs at the Carroll County operation earlier this month. The cuts hit workers in the robotics systems division. About 370 employees will remain after the newest layoffs. General Dynamics worked as a subcontractor on a job building mail sorters for the U.S. Postal Service, but that contract is finished, the company said.

A teen was killed in a Westminster car crash Thursday night, state police said. The 18-year-old man was killed at about 7:30 p.m. at Route 482 near Leisters Church Road, police said. Police have not released the teen's name pending family notification. Roads were shut down in both directions for about three hours while the state police crash team investigated the accident. No additional details were available Thursday. jkanderson@baltsun.com Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

John Houser III enjoyed his meal at Cafe Tuscany (formerly A Little Bit of Tuscany) more than he thought he would. He reports in his review that Cafe Tuscany was worth the one-hour drive. But, of course, Cafe Tuscany is in a lot of our readers' neck of the woods. Here's John on the shrimp picatta: "This recipe was run into the ground during the 1990s and became a culinary pariah. Here it is un-ironic and delicious, showing why it became popular in the first place. " I love that feeling of "OH, that's what this is supposed to be!

Gilman's Shane Cockerille wasn't the most touted quarterback heading into the Nike Football Training Camp at McDaniel College, but the future Terp finished Sunday as the event's most impressive signal-caller. Cockerille, who committed to Maryland before the Red-White Spring Game at Byrd Stadium last month, earned QB MVP honors over Eastern Christian's David Sills , who committed to USC as a seventh-grader. Cockerille told ESPN.com that he " had a mindset to be the best . " Many schools had recruited Cockerille as a safety, not a quarterback.

No. 3 Century was coming off a 15-8 loss to No. 1 McDonogh in girls lacrosse Monday and fell behind by five goals to host Westminster on senior night. But the Knights (13-1) ignited a second-half rally by winning draw controls and doubling the ball on defense Thursday and went on to gain a 14-8 victory in the regular-season finale. The Owls opened with a 6-1 lead before the Knights cut the lead to 6-4 at the half. Century's Madi Hall led all scorers with four goals. Boys lacrosse No. 14 Broadneck 8, St. Mary's-Ryken 7, 2OT: Kevin Malenich scored his second goal and the game-winner with a minute left in the second overtime as the host Bruins (12-1)

William M. Staley, a retired Baltimore police officer and a Navy veteran, died Thursday of dementia at Somerford Place, a Columbia assisted-living facility. He was 80. The son of a steelworker and a homemaker, Mr. Staley was born in McKees Rocks, Pa., and was raised in Dundalk. After he graduated in 1951 from Mount St. Joseph High School in Irvington, he served in the Navy as a boatswain's mate from 1951 to 1955. He was appointed to the Baltimore Police Department in 1959 and began his career in the Western District.

A 21-year-old Sykesville woman was fatally injured in a one-vehicle accident early Saturday morning in Westminster, the Carroll County Sheriff's Office said. Authorities say driver Adriana Maria Passaretti died after being taken to a Baltimore hospital. Passenger Kristopher Lee Myers, 23, of Union Bridge, was being treated for non-life-threatening injuries. Passaretti was behind the wheel of a 2006 Ford F-250 truck around 1 a.m. when she failed to negotiate a curve in the 1900 block of Nicodemus Road, the sheriff's office said.

McDaniel College jumped out to an 8-2 halftime advantage before holding on to topple No. 13 Gettysburg, 12-10, in Centennial Conference (CC) men's lacrosse action on Saturday, April 21. Skippy Clary (Baltimore/Catonsville) scored three goals to lead the Green Terror (8-6, 4-3 CC), who handed the Bullets (10-4, 6-1 CC) their first conference loss of the season. JS Duke (Fort Washington/Upper Dublin) added two goals and three assists in the team's first win over Gettysburg since 1997, snapping a 17-game losing streak in the series.

Last September was the first time since its beginnings in 1974 that the community theater group September Song went "dark. " It was a heart-breaking decision for Joan Eichhorn, producer, but a necessary one. Financially-strapped after its sponsoring organization decided to part ways, September Song held a musical revue as a fundraiser, instead of a full-fledged production. "It is so grossly expensive to put on musical theater," Eichhorn said. "We had no choice but to go dark.

Gilman's Shane Cockerille wasn't the most touted quarterback heading into the Nike Football Training Camp at McDaniel College, but the future Terp finished Sunday as the event's most impressive signal-caller. Cockerille, who committed to Maryland before the Red-White Spring Game at Byrd Stadium last month, earned QB MVP honors over Eastern Christian's David Sills , who committed to USC as a seventh-grader. Cockerille told ESPN.com that he " had a mindset to be the best . " Many schools had recruited Cockerille as a safety, not a quarterback.

Mourners of Airman 1st Class Matthew Ryan Seidler said the Westminster man had followed his dream of serving his country, found a band of brothers in the Air Force and died protecting his fellow soldiers in Afghanistan. "When we talked to him New Year's Day, it was the happiest that he had ever been in his life," his father, Marc Seidler, told the more than 500 mourners who filled the Sol Levinson & Bros. funeral home Tuesday in Pikesville. "He loved the Air Force. " Matthew Seidler, an explosive ordnance disposal apprentice, was killed Jan. 5 by a bomb in Helmand province.

In the early innings of Wednesday's baseball game between No. 6 Westminster and No. 7 Liberty, the wind was blowing, a cold rain was falling off and on and the temperature sat in the mid 50s. It was a perfectly miserable day for baseball, but when Westminster senior third baseman Eric Deitz came to the plate in the first inning with his teammate Ryan Ruff already on base, all he saw was the baseball leaving the hand of Liberty pitcher Andrew Massey....

This week the Carroll Arts Center in Westminster is pretty in pink … and yellow ... and green ... for the fifth annual Peep Show, a combination of candy and art taking over the Main Street gallery through next Sunday, April 15. The show, which opened April 5, challenges local residents to create original works of art made with Peeps, the marshmallow confection created by the Just Born company of Bethlehem, Pa. This year's show includes 196...