Zentz

Forty Maryland and Delaware firefighters are fighting difficult fires in dense timber "40 miles from nowhere" in northeastern Oregon.Two crews of 20 wildland firefighters each are "mopping up" hot spots along fire lines in the Umatilla National Forest, where beetles have killed many of the tightly packed trees, creating highly combustible sections of dead woodland.Dry lightning, which strikes without rain, has started many blazes in Umatilla and other parts of the West this year."It's a very big fire," Rick Lillard of Washington County was quoted as reporting from the scene.

WILLARDS -- You know it's a bad fire season when a cypress swamp starts burning.The fire risk in Maryland is so high that a normally soggy Wicomico County swamp has gone up in flames. In the chilly hours after midnight yesterday, about 100 families were forced to leave their homes near this farm town because of dense smoke.About 160 firefighters took most of the day to knock down the 60-acre fire, but it will smolder until it rains or until everything flammable within the swamp has burned, state fire experts said.

Editor's note: Today, we conclude our series of stories following up on some of the people and issues that made news in the Baltimore area in 1998.It's not entirely true that people only talk about the weather but never do anything about it.Even now, as we watch the skies for predicted showers, the pertinent agents of the state's bureaucracy are deployed to deal with the dangerous consequences of months of the very worst weather -- drought, to be specific.A...

WASHINGTON -- Maryland would get taken to the cleaners if President Bush's $105 billion, five-year plan for overhauling federal aid to transportation were adopted unchanged, state officials said yesterday.The program, unveiled at the White House yesterday, would increase overall federal transportation spending, give state officials a greater say in how that money is spent and require states to kick in a larger share of the cost of most construction projects."We are encouraging creative new financing and management by the states," Mr. Bush told highway officials at the White House yesterday.

Eastern Tech's Andrew Tyner maneuvers with such stealth that at times even coach Peter Glaudemanns isn't sure of his whereabouts. But there was no mistaking Tyner as the player whose goal lifted the 13th-ranked Mavericks to last night's come-from-behind, 3-2 victory over seventh-ranked Towson for the Baltimore County boys soccer championship at CCBC Essex. The junior midfielder one-timed a left-footed, 12-yard shot past diving keeper David Eisen (13 saves) with 7:15 to play, having beaten a lone defender to a pass from senior Luke Herold.

Yikes! It is almost Easter. Or, yikes! It is almost Passover.Either way it means a big family meal. If you are like me, it is a meal you are rarely prepared for.Unlike the other big eating holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas, Easter always sneaks up on me.Usually I have a problem deciding what to fix for Easter. Somehow, barbecued ribs, my entree of choice for most major eating holidays, does not seem appropriate.For Easter I was thinking about marinating a leg of lamb in red wine, olive oil and marjoram then cooking it slowly on the barbecue grill.

Outwardly, Chesapeake football coach Rick Zentz says he's happy "just to be coaching" Baltimore County's All-Stars against the Maryland Scholastic Association's All-Stars in their 12th annual game Sunday.But one gets the feeling that inwardly, he and his five-member coaching staff want to end the county's six-game losing streak this time around."Most of the guys are just happy to be there, but I think that the guys feel pretty confident," said Zentz.Along with first-year Woodlawn coach Brian Scrivin, Ron Shultz (Dundalk)

Terrence Garvin rushed for two touchdowns, from 34 and 3 yards, and Leon Kinnard threw two touchdown passes to power the No. 2 Loyola football team past host Landon, 27-6, yesterday. Loyola's defense held the Bears (0-2) to six points, a 1-yard touchdown run by Ray Lynn with 6:28 left in the second quarter. Kinnard completed both touchdown passes in the first half and Garvin scored in the second half for the Dons (3-0). Loyola will host Fork Union Military Academy on Saturday at noon.

(Games at UMBC) Class 1A girls Loch Raven (14-2-1) vs. Queen Anne's (15-4) Time: noon Outlook: The Raiders are looking for their fifth title in 11 years. In 2001, the Raiders shared the 1A crown with Smithsburg, but they dispatched the Leopards, 3-0, in last week's semifinal. The Lions needed a shootout to beat Oakland Mills in their semifinal. Midfielder Lauren Askey leads the Raiders with 17 goals and 13 assists, and striker Danielle Nicholson has 16 goals and 12 assists. Goalie Rachael Wisner has a 93-percent save rate, and the Raiders have posted 12 shutouts.

Calvert Hall Cardinals 1992 record: 2-9. Coach: Bill Mackley.Top players: Kevin Tyler, Sr., RB-S; Mike Callahan, Sr., LB-FB; Brad Sonczewski, Sr., C; Jason Conroy, Sr., G-LB; Chris Hayes, Sr., DE-TE.Outlook: There are 23 returning players, including 17 starters, who are itching to get back to the 9-2 record of 1991. "We feel that we can be competitive with anybody in the league. We're not going to sneak up on anybody, but we have some greathopes and expectations," said Mackley.Catonsville Comets 1992 record: 4-6. Coach: Warren Como.