Youth Programs

Pointing to her "cleaner and greener" campaign, Mayor Sheila Dixon announced yesterday the launch of an environmental conservation summer job program for high school students. The program will pay 40 Baltimore public school students to work in city parks and learn about conservation. The program, called Baltimore's Conservation Leadership Corps, is a partnership between the city and Johnson Controls, a Milwaukee-based company specializing in automotive interiors and energy efficiency.

Jalen Cornish spent two hours catching footballs Sunday. There was nothing strange about it, except that the 13-year-old was sprinting across the Soccerdome with the ball, and football season does not start until August. Jalen was one of 40 children at the Pasadena Chargers' first arena football workout. The popularity of football in the area pushed officials for the youth football team to start an outdoor league, but when they could not pull that off, they sought to launch the county's first indoor program - and the response delighted them.

The east Columbia library, 6600 Cradlerock Way, is sponsoring a meeting of its Teen Advisory Board for youth ages 11 to 16 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. April 7. Teens will have an opportunity to meet with friends, have a snack and share ideas about what the library should offer their peers. Registration begins March 24. Information: 410-313-7700. Preschool plans an open house East Columbia Preschool, a cooperative program for children ages 3 and 4, will hold an open house for prospective families from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. March 24 at Owen Brown Community Center, 6800 Cradlerock Way. Children are welcome to attend.

Free clinic -- Hall of Fame coach Morgan Wootten (above) and his son, Bishop O'Connell High School coach Joe Wootten, will lead a free basketball clinic from 12:15 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. Feb. 17 at Mount Hebron High School in Ellicott City. Admission is free, and registration is not required. The first part of the clinic will focus on drills and fundamentals for younger players and includes player participation. The second part of the clinic will focus on preparing middle school players for high school basketball.

The Harford-Baltimore County Youth Football League is celebrating its 20th anniversary this season, and there's no question that the times are changing in local youth football. This league covers all of Harford County along with parts of Baltimore County, plus other areas nearby where teams can easily travel to play. It now covers 28 areas and 319 teams along with more than 8,000 players in nine different age groups, and it has become one of the biggest recreation football leagues in Maryland.

The Howard County Bruins went through a typical preseason football workout Monday night at Long Reach High School. Much of the practice was spent working on fundamentals. But the Bruins are different than other youth teams because of their size -- that is, the size of their players. In fact, a motto on their Web site neatly summarizes one of the club's goals: "Let the big guys play." In most communities, there's a size/weight limit for children, often around 150 pounds, participating in youth football.

Dorothy B. G. George, former director of youth development programs for the old Baltimore Urban Services Agency, died of pancreatic cancer March 4 at Catonsville Commons Nursing Home. She was 77. She was born and raised Dorothy Belle Gibbs in New Bern, N.C., and earned a bachelor's degree in English in 1951 from what is now Morgan State University in 1951. Mrs. George moved to the Virgin Islands and became a welfare caseworker. After returning to Baltimore in the mid-1950s, she became an adoption caseworker for the Baltimore Department of Social Services.

Baltimore's 2006 YouthWorks Summer Jobs Program is taking applications through April 28 to employ about 5,500 young people this summer. Students, ages 14 to 21, will participate in a five- to six-week summer job program. Job placements include city agencies, nonprofit organizations, hotels, restaurants, health institutions, summer camps, retail stores and other companies in Baltimore. The annual work force development program is an opportunity for students to learn about six high-growth industries, as defined by the Baltimore Workforce Investment Board: health care, bioscience, business services, computer-Internet-software services, construction and hospitality/tourism.

Basketball keeps Rudy Brown busy nearly every night. The Severn resident is the treasurer/assistant basketball commissioner of the Harundale Youth Sports League and also spends about five nights a week coaching and teaching the sport. But keeping coaches and players busier with basketball has become the norm rather than the exception these days. Children used to sign up for teams that would play in one league. But now teams often compete in several leagues. "If you want your child to excel in basketball, they have to play more against top-level competition," Brown said.

Wearing a red sweater and white turtleneck, Kevin Michel cruised through the streets of Harford County in a red SUV yesterday, well-dressed for his Christmas Day task. The 52-year-old Havre de Grace man spent the early afternoon delivering meals to needy families, assisting the efforts of the Shamrock youth group from St. Patrick Catholic Church. Michel said he did not realize the color relation of his Ford Explorer to Santa's sleigh. "This is just a coincidence," he said. "The sweater, however, was deliberate."