Worthington

Richard Bayly Buck Jr., who as president and chairman of the Valleys Planning Council worked diligently for the preservation of the scenic Green Spring and Worthington valleys, died Saturday of cancer at Greater Baltimore Medical Center. The Lutherville resident was 85. Mr. Buck was born in Baltimore and raised on Overhill Road in Roland Park. He was a 1940 graduate of Episcopal High School in Richmond, Va., and began his college studies at the University of Virginia. During World War II, he enlisted in the Army and served as a paratrooper with the 13th Airborne Division in France.

Despite Shelley Wygant's best efforts, the largest swath of undeveloped land in Ellicott City -- about 400 acres of fields, streams and woodlands -- is falling prey to suburban sprawl.Wygant was one of at least a dozen Ellicott City residents who came to a Howard County Planning Board meeting yesterday to protest two housing developments planned on property owned by Dr. Bruce Taylor, medical director and chief executive officer of Taylor Manor Hospital in Ellicott City.The planning board unanimously approved one of the housing projects, Worthington Fields, which paves the way for 144 homes on 88 acres off scenic New Cut Road.

Worthington Valley residents fighting a proposed group home for emotionally disturbed juvenile offenders in their neighborhood have bought the half-million dollar property, a move that could end a bitter, three-week battle to keep the facility out.Bruce Bertell, chief executive officer of Family Advocacy Services Inc., said yesterday that he had been notified by letter that a limited liability corporation called SK Management L.L.C. had purchased the sprawling four-bedroom brick Colonial he had rented for a group home.

Bah! Worthington's answer for troubled youths"Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?" With apologies to Charles Dickens, that seems to be the thrust of the missive "Group homes don't belong in any state neighborhood" (Feb. 28).The letter writer is irked by nettlesome do-gooders such as those at Family Advocacy Services who would impose a group home for their dreary young delinquents with their depressing problems and baggy clothing on his posh Worthington Valley community.Surely, he must fear, they would bring with them their dreadful loud music and frighten the horses if, indeed, they do not eat them.

In Catonsville, homeowners protested when they learned of plans to open a group home for women recovering from drug addiction. Woodlawn residents complained after disabled clients in group homes vandalized the neighborhood. And in Pasadena, residents who had welcomed a home for troubled girls applauded when it closed after years of conflict.Such clashes have erupted throughout the region, as state officials move to place troubled children and adults -- including criminal offenders -- in group homes.

Randallstown-area residents marshaled their own campaign yesterday against a proposal for a group home for juvenile offenders, saying that the home should not be placed there simply because it is unwanted in well-to-do Worthington Valley."

IT MAKES sense to connect several of the existing roads in one of the most popular areas for new homes in Ellicott City. The traffic volume there has increased tremendously during the past five years. Worthington Way is often congested as a result.The best way to relieve that congestion is to divert some traffic to other arteries. But residents on streets that would provide traffic relief don't want it to happen.Their reluctance is understandable. Looking at how busy Worthington Way has become, they fear traffic diverted from that road will change the character of their quiet neighborhoods.

Determined to block a proposed road extension through their Ellicott City neighborhood, homeowners have hired a lawyer and erected yard signs with a message for Howard County Executive Charles I. Ecker: "Just say NO to Alternate 2. Preserve our neighborhood."Alternate 2 is the controversial part of a plan to link Hale Haven and Doncaster drives, diverting traffic off congested Worthington Way. Residents in the area have vowed to fight the plan by making their voices heard at a series of county budget hearings and work sessions, including one next week.

NAGANO, Japan -- Five days after these 18th Winter Games began, the United States has its first Olympic medal.It was captured by Californian Jonny Moseley, who won the gold in men's moguls on a sunny day at the Iizuna Kogen Ski Area.The accomplishment was a glorious face-saver for the Americans, who had not produced any memorable Olympic moments."I got No. 1!" Moseley screamed as his score of 26.93 was posted. "I can't believe it. Now, what do I do? I'm going to Disneyland."Moseley clinched the gold in part by executing his signature "360 mute grab," a trick in which he crosses his skis and touches them as he spins around 360 degrees before landing back on the course.

A Baltimore police officer has been removed from a Police Athletic League Center after allegations were raised that he inappropriately touched one or two young girls, department officials said yesterday.Col. Alvin A. Winkler, who heads the agency's youth bureau, said the investigation is internal, not criminal, and that the complaint was made by a fellow officer who heard about a possible problem involving girls between ages 11 and 13."No parent came forward. No child came forward," Winkler said.

Josephine Bentley Offutt, who was active in Roman Catholic organizations, died of heart disease Sunday at St. Joseph Medical Center. The Lutherville resident was 99. Born Mary Josephine Bentley in Baltimore, she was raised at Rokeby, her family's Old Court Road home. She attended the Bryn Mawr School and was active in its drama productions. She then attended the old Eden Hall Academy in Torresdale, Pa. She married Thomas Worthington Offutt Jr. in 1931. When he was overseas during World War II, she ran the daily operations and handled the finances of their 450-acre Fleetwood Farms near Owings Mills.

COLLEGE PARK - More than seven months after Maryland ended relationships with two highly touted men's basketball recruits, coach Gary Williams and athletic department officials are offering conflicting accounts of what happened and why. Kathleen Worthington, a senior associate athletic director, yesterday questioned Williams' statements about forward Gus Gilchrist and guard Tyree Evans, who were to have been integral parts of Maryland's recruiting class....

The news that the NCAA is allowing Maryland transfer Gus Gilchrist to play basketball at South Florida beginning in mid-December came as a big surprise to Maryland senior associate athletic director Kathy Worthington. In an interview yesterday afternoon, Worthington said she spoke with an official at the NCAA yesterday and "they are not holding Gus accountable for the ACC sit-out rule. ... I think they are taking a very liberal interpretation of that rule." ( For more, go to baltimoresun.

Sean Mosley, the talented 6-foot-4 shooting guard from Baltimore (St. Frances) who was recently academically admitted to the University of Maryland, has been approved by the NCAA Clearinghouse, Maryland senior associate athletic director Kathleen Worthington said yesterday. Mosley becomes the 10th scholarship player for the Terps, who earlier this summer saw freshman center Gus Gilchrist and recruit Tyree Evans, also a shooting guard, released from their scholarship commitments. Gilchrist, who has yet to play in a college game, has since transferred to South Florida.

COLLEGE PARK -- Less than two weeks after junior-college transfer Tyree Evans asked for his release, the University of Maryland granted another potential college basketball star a similar request yesterday. Gus Gilchrist, a talented 6-foot-9, 235-pound forward who, like Evans, was expected to play a major role next season, asked for his release so he could possibly play immediately at another school outside the Atlantic Coast Conference. Because of ACC rules, Gilchrist had to sit out the first semester of games because he had initially signed to play at Virginia Tech.

On July 27, 2007 FRED E. WORTHINGTON. Devoted and loving husband of Anne R. Gossett, beloved father of Ashton Scott and his wife Tina March. A memorial service will be held Thursday, August 16 at 3:00 PM at Maryland Institute College of Art's Brown Center, 1301 Mount Royal Avenue in Baltimore. In lieu of flowers, the family request memorial donations be sent to Fred E. Worthington Memorial Fund, MICA, 1300 Mount Royal Avenue, Baltimore MD 21217, or the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, 11350 McCormick Road, Executive Plaza lll, Suite 100, Hunt Valley, MD 21031.

Fred E. Worthington, a longtime trustee of Maryland Institute College of Art and an advocate of preserving Baltimore's historic neighborhoods and landmarks, died Friday of prostate cancer at Hospice of Howard County. He was 71. Mr. Worthington served on MICA's board of trustees for more than 30 years and played a key role in shaping the school's alumni association in the late 1960s. "He served in many, many capacities," said Fred Lazarus, president of the Baltimore art institute. "I can't overstate the role he played in helping MICA move from where it was in the 1960s to where it is now."

HOLLYWOOD -- Call it the hunt for the new male movie star -- a youth to step into the shoes of Tom Hanks, Brad Pitt or even Leonardo DiCaprio, who's already hit the ripe old age of 32. In the next year, Hollywood is betting a billion dollars on a raft of relative unknowns in the hopes of creating a star to appeal to Millennial Generation, those born between 1978 and 2000, for whom Tom Cruise could be their father. Ever heard of Emile Hirsch, James McAvoy or Sam Worthington? If not, you're not alone, but that hasn't stopped Warner Bros.

Virginia A. "Gin" Worthington, a medical librarian at Sinai Hospital and an active church member, died Saturday of thyroid cancer at Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care. The longtime Govans resident was 76. Virginia Allenbaugh was born in Baltimore and raised on Augusta Avenue. She was a graduate of the old St. Martin's High School, and before her 1955 marriage to Daniel P. Worthington worked as a legal secretary at the Baltimore law firm of Miles & Stockbridge. "She was responsible for typing the check which originally purchased the Baltimore Orioles," said a daughter, Kathleen R. Worthington of Federal Hill.

Richard Bayly Buck Jr., who as president and chairman of the Valleys Planning Council worked diligently for the preservation of the scenic Green Spring and Worthington valleys, died Saturday of cancer at Greater Baltimore Medical Center. The Lutherville resident was 85. Mr. Buck was born in Baltimore and raised on Overhill Road in Roland Park. He was a 1940 graduate of Episcopal High School in Richmond, Va., and began his college studies at the University of Virginia. During World War II, he enlisted in the Army and served as a paratrooper with the 13th Airborne Division in France.