Woodstock

POLICE LOG* Woodstock: 1800 block of Quarter Horse Drive: Three bikes and jewelry were stolen Tuesday when thieves used a "dog door" attached to the garage to enter the home. Police said the master bedroom door had been kicked and pried open.

25 Years Ago (Week of Dec. 8-14, 1968):* Howard County citizens responded generously with donations to assist the George Wright family, who lost their home and all their possessions, including Christmas presents, in a fire. 50 Years Ago (Week of Dec. 12-18, 1943):* Mr. and Mrs. George F. Schatz of Montgomery Road received a 50-word postcard from their son, Cpl. George A. Schatz, who was being held by the Japanese in a North Luzon prison camp. This was only the second communication they had received from him since his imprisonment 20 months earlier.

On January 29, 2004, REVEREND JOSEPH ROBINSON LERCH, S.J., beloved son of the late Charles S. and Margaret Mullin Lerch; dear brother of Richard H. Lerch and his wife Marie Logan Lerch. Also survived by his sister-in-law Priscilla Murray Lerch, wife of his deceased brother Charles S. Lerch, Jr., four nieces, six nephews and 27 great-nieces and nephews. Friends may call at the family owned Mitchell-Wiedefeld Funeral Home, Inc., 6500 York Road (at Overbrook Rd) on Monday from 3 to 5 P.M. and 7 to 9 P.M. Father Lerch's body will lie in state at the St. Alphonsus Rodriguez Church, 10800 Old Court Road, Woodstock, MD on Tuesday, February 4 from 9:30 A.M. to 10:15 A.M. A Funeral Mass will be concelebrated at 10:30 A.M. Interment in the Jesuit Cemetery, Woodstock, MD.

On October 16, 2004, MILDRED I."Mickey" PARRISH, beloved mother of Gilbert, Steven and Stephanie Kingree and Diana Parrish, mother-in-law of Hope Kingree and Larry Mack, devoted grandmother of Lauren, Lindsey, Ashley, Whitney, Christopher and Brandon, loving sister of Doris Alexander and Fay Anderson. Friends may call at THE JOHNSON FUNERAL HOME, P.A., 8521 Loch Raven Blvd. (Beltway Exit 29 B) on Tuesday from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 P.M. and at the Dellinger Funeral Home, 157 N. Main St., Woodstock, VA., on Wednesday from 12 noon to 2 P.M. Service and interment in Sunset View Memorial Gardens, Woodstock, VA., at 2:30 P.M.

On March 12, 2006, RUTH GRACE SCHWARTZ beloved wife of Philip Schwartz of Sunrise, FL, devoted mother of Barbara Brown of Sunrise, FL, Philip E. Schwartz of Baltimore, MD, Darlene Kidd of Baltimore, MD, Deborah Castellanos of Miramar, FL, John Schwartz of Woodstock, GA, Richard Schwartz of Woodstock, GA and Gary Schwartz of Ft. Lauderdale, FL, adored grandmother of 20 grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren on the way....

The Howard County Conservancy, a land trust whose headquarters is on 232 acres in Woodstock, is switching directors. Elizabeth J. Stoffel, who joined the conservancy five years ago, resigned and will leave next month. Lynne Nemeth, a Columbia consultant active in the local nonprofit community, has been named interim director. The conservancy, founded in 1990, has helped preserve more than 1,500 acres in Howard and will open an environmental education center next year.

National Geographic photographer George Grail's slide presentation, "Life on a Wharf Piling in the Chesapeake Bay," takes place at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Howard County Conservancy, 10520 Old Frederick Road in Woodstock. Discover techniques that animals develop for camouflage, reproduction and adaptation to changes in the tides and environment. Call 410-465-8877 or go to hcconservancy.org for more information.

ROME, N.Y. -- Peace and love went up in flames as Woodstock '99 ended last night.Around 9: 30, about halfway through the festival-closing Red Hot Chili Peppers' set, concertgoers started lighting bonfires at the east stage. They knocked down a nearly 30-foot tower at the front of the stage.About an hour later, state police started arriving. Vandals had set six tractor-trailers at the left side of the stage on fire. As the propane tanks exploded, onlookers hooted and hollered.Fire trucks and police cars congested the roads behind the stage.

"Best Friends Forever" Jennifer Weiner (Atria, $26.99) Addie Downs and Valerie Adler were supposed to be best friends forever until the drama and popularity contests of high school got in the way. Fifteen years later, Val is a local celebrity and Addie is a frumpy homebody, but a strange crime in their small hometown in Illinois compels them to reunite and figure out where they went wrong, reconciling the friendship along the way. "Rain Gods" ...