Westminster

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.

Even though the successive weeks of frigid temperatures, snow and ice have driven most of the alcoholic "street people" off Westminster's Main Street, city officials worry the winos will return to their old haunts once the weather warms up.To keep them away, Westminster's Mayor W. Benjamin Brown has suggested that Schmitt's Rexall Drugs voluntarily relinquish its liquor license. City Council members thought this suggestion unfairly singled out one retailer and recommended that a letter be sent to all city liquor stores asking them to stop selling fortified wine and booze in miniature bottles.

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

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.

Common Ground on the Hill, a festival celebrating the traditional arts on the campus of McDaniel College in Westminster, opens for its 18 t h season Sunday. The multicultural gathering of musicians, artists, writers, actors and dancers sharing their skills with students of all ages and abilities offers two separate weeks of daytime classes and many evening concerts through July 13. Participants can learn to play an instrument, everything from the standard piano to the unusual oud, or perfect their musical skills.

The Social Security office in Westminster will open at a new location Monday. The new office is in 125 Airport Drive, Unit 10, not far from the old location at 115 Airport Drive. The old office will take its last customer at 3 p.m. Friday. Partial service will start at noon Monday at the 125 Airport Drive location. Beginning Tuesday, the new office will provide full services. Regular hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. The office is open from 9 a.m. to noon Wednesday.

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?

When Westminster boys lacrosse coach Steve DeFeo was talking about the qualities that has helped keep his Owls undefeated this season, he made sure to mention how much they enjoy playing together. It certainly showed Thursday night at cross-town rival Winters Mill. The No. 12 Owls shared the ball on attack and put up a strong collective front on defense - dominating the defending Carroll County champion Falcons in every facet to come away with an 18-5 win. Senior attackman Ryan Drenner was the offensive catalyst, finishing with six goals and four assists.