Yara

For the second time in 10 months, Mays Chapel residents on Monday night used a public hearing before the Baltimore County Board of Education to express their opposition to the use of Mays Chapel Park for a new 700-seat elementary school. Over the course of the two-hour hearing at Loch Raven High on Jan. 14, many of the three dozen speakers cited economic, environmental and personal reasons for the board to vote down the park as a schoolhouse location in what will be the board's second vote on the matter.

A Hyattsville man who was legally drunk when he crashed his Jeep into the back of a car on a Route 100 ramp in Howard County this summer was convicted yesterday of auto manslaughter. Marcos P.S. Amaya, 34, also was found guilty of 17 other alcohol and driving offenses related to the crash July 13 that killed Nadine Younis, 4, and seriously injured her two sisters, Nouran, 6, and Yara, 19 months. Howard Circuit Judge Diane O. Leasure, who tried the case, noted Amaya's high blood-alcohol reading - 0.19 - as well as evidence that he had been driving erratically for several miles and that he apparently never braked to try to avoid the Younis family's car. Amaya's actions showed "a disregard to the safety of others," Leasure said.

Hagerstown Junior College will be the site of indoor track and field meets Jan. 6 and Jan. 19 starting at 5 p.m. The Tri-State Track Club-sponsored events have been drawing 300 entries since adopting the field house as its home last year.Competition will be in the high jump, shot put and pole vault and the 55, 200, 400, 800, 1,500 and 3-K runs. Entry fee per event is $3 for ages 18 and under, $5 for open contestants. Wayne Vaughn (733-6076) is the meet director.* Jeff Hinte took the Harmony half-marathon in 1:22:20, enjoying about a 9-minute advantage on the field . . . Bob Yara grabbed seventh at the Rocket City Marathon in Huntsville, Ala., turning in a 2:21:01.

More than 90 percent of rental properties in Baltimore County have been inspected and licensed under a new countywide registration law, officials said. Nearly 12,000 rental properties have been registered, and officials said the county office of permits and inspections is still receiving about 80 applications a week. The law took effect in January after being delayed for six months to give landlords more time to comply. "There are a tremendous number of citizens sleeping a lot easier in their homes because of what has been fantastic compliance," said Mike Mohler, the county's deputy director of permits.

The question: How do you get teen-agers to grasp the differences between the haves and the have-nots in this world?The answer: Let them eat rice.At Notre Dame Preparatory School, a private, Roman Catholic girls' school in Baltimore County, all 437 high school students were invited yesterday to a $2-per-person banquet to benefit the hungry.What they didn't know until moments before sitting down was that not all meals would be equal. Students were divided into three groups, based on per capita income statistics that reflect allocation of the world's resources.

Parents and teachers at Hampton Elementary School are asking Baltimore County officials to make an addition to the crowded building the highest priority for school construction dollars next year. Dozens jammed the county school board meeting Tuesday night to demand relief for the system's most crowded school, which they said would be more than 80 percent over capacity next year. Superintendent Joe A. Hairston is expected to ask the school board to vote on the county's capital request on Jan. 11. A request will then go to County Executive Kevin B. Kamenetz.

The July 1 deadline for landlords in Baltimore County to have their rental properties inspected came and went. Now county lawmakers are talking about extending the deadline to Oct. 1 or later. And one councilman, T. Bryan McIntire, a North County Republican, has suggested scrapping the requirements altogether. About a dozen landlords and residents spoke at yesterday's council work session, most in support of extending the deadline or eliminating the program. The council is set to vote on the rental registration program and several other bills at its Aug. 4 legislative session.

A group of Baltimore County Council members and state legislators has asked school Superintendent Joe A. Hairston to make an addition to Hampton Elementary his priority for school construction dollars in next year's budget. The request in a letter sent Tuesday comes two weeks after two dozen parents and staff made the same request at a school board meeting. "The addition would alleviate the severe overcrowding that threatens the learning environment at Hampton Elementary School, which is one of the finest schools in Baltimore County," the legislators and council members said in the letter.

Great gesture by track stars Patti Sue Plumer and Michael Johnson, in the area recently to hype the Mobil 1 Invitational Meet at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va., Feb. 3: Both will donate $500 of their appearance money to provide tickets for kids.In addition to Plumer and Johnson, other top names entered in the meet are Said Aouita, world recordholder in everything from 1,500 to 5,000 meters; Doina Melinte, the world's top woman miler; and high jumper Javier Sotomayor. The meet runs from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. For tickets, call 432-0200.

Faced with opposition from Mays Chapel residents, the Baltimore County school board postponed a final vote Tuesday night on whether to build an elementary school on 20 acres there to relieve overcrowding. The board, however, gave preliminary approval to the site and said it will hold a public hearing to further discuss the issue March 19. The board is scheduled to vote the next day. About 120 Mays Chapel residents attended the board meeting, brandishing small yellow sheets that said, "Save Mays Chapel Park.