Westminster High School

Westminster High students are collecting school supplies and donations as part of Operation Iraqi Children, a national program created to help pupils in Iraq. The students will hold their last collection day at the Wal-Mart in Westminster from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. tomorrow. They have raised about $800 in cash and have solicited more than $1,000 worth of supplies. Social studies teacher Ralph Schewell introduced the idea after reading about the program online, said John Seaman, Westminster High principal.

After beating No. 5 South River in Friday night's state semifinal, C. Milton Wright's third-ranked girls lacrosse team avoided the temptation to celebrate too much. "We made sure that wasn't it," said Mustangs defender Sarah Gallion. "We still had one more huge step to go, so we just focused." The Mustangs took that last step last night, rolling past Westminster, 19-6, for the state Class 4A-3A championship at UMBC Stadium. The crown was the first for the Mustangs in nine trips to the state tournament and four trips to the final.

2 county students chosen for Carson Scholars Award Hayley Clark-Braverman, a student at Westminster High School, and Jessica Horn, a seventh-grader at Oklahoma Road Middle School, have been selected to receive the 2004 Carson Scholars Award. The Carson Scholars Fund Inc. was founded in 1994 by Johns Hopkins pediatric neurosurgeon Ben Carson and his wife, Candy, to help children stay competitive in science, math and technology. To be eligible for a scholarship, students must be in grades four to 12, have at least a 3.75 grade point average and possess outstanding humanitarian qualities.

Whenever culinary arts teacher Tim Norwood asks beginning students to list their favorite foods, their typical responses are pizza, French fries and cheeseburgers. Two years ago, a student seated in the front row of Norwood's classroom at the Carroll County Career and Technology Center answered, "foie gras." "I knew right then that this kid would work out fine," Norwood said. Norwood nominated that student, Chad Little, for a state award. Tonight, the Restaurant Association of Maryland will name Little, 17, a senior at the Westminster school, its Student of the Year.

Charles Edward Essich, a retired truck driver and an outdoorsman, died of congestive heart failure Sunday at Carroll Hospital Center. The Finksburg resident was 70. Mr. Essich was born and raised in Westminster and graduated from Westminster High School. He served in the Army from 1957 to 1959. He drove trucks for more than 30 years for Shipley Transfer. He retired in 1996. He was a member of Teamsters Local 311. He enjoyed hunting and fishing, and was a member of the United Coon Hunters Association.

David C. Geiman Sr., a former partner in J. Stoner Geiman & Sons, a Westminster furniture store, died of a stroke Sunday at Carroll County General Hospital. He was 81. A lifelong Westminster resident and 1939 graduate of Westminster High School, he earned a bachelor's degree in business from the University of Baltimore and attended the old Baltimore Business College. During World War II, he joined the Navy and was stationed in Hawaii as a code-breaker. He was a member of the Carroll post of the American Legion and Molleville Farm post of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Prayer in the Park planned in Westminster The Carroll County Heritage Foundation will hold its annual Prayer in the Park at 6 p.m. Saturday at Westminster City Park. The event will feature Christian music, youth groups, children's choirs, and praise, worship and prayer for the students of Carroll County as they start a new school year. Participants should take a chair or a blanket. In event of rain, the program will be held at Westminster High School. Food will be available. Donations will be taken to help pay for the program.

Judging by the way she handles herself at the Westminster Common Council's public meetings, Suzanne P. Albert might seem like the quietest member of the panel. But behind the scenes, her colleagues say, she is a team player who is not afraid to speak up. "Acting like a lady" doesn't mean one can't be assertive, says Albert, 70, who says she is both. Running for a third term on the council, Albert says she has worked to spur economic development in the city, balanced a budget and saved precious town landmarks during her years on the panel.