The softball highlight film finally has ended for Mount Hebron High School's Dawn Thomas, and what a movie it has been.
This year, Thomas decided to try pitching. All she did was toss three no-hitters and give the Vikings stability at their most questionable position.
Combining her prowess at the plate and on the mound, Thomas -- The Howard County Sun's Player of the Year -- led Hebron to a 14-6 season, its best spring since 1988.
The Vikings finishedin a second-place tie in the county standings before winning a regional championship and heading to the Class 2A state tournament. The Vikings lost in the semifinals to Damascus (Montgomery County), but that disappointment couldn't dim the accomplishments of Thomas.
Thomas, an imposing, right-handed hitter, certainly mastered high school pitching. In her final regular season, shehit .475 with a team-high four home runs, a team-high 29 RBI and an incredible .803 slugging average. She also scored 23 runs.
Fourteen of her 29 hits went for extra bases. In addition to her homers, oneof which was a booming, two-run, seventh-inning shot that beat Glenelg 5-4 last month -- several coaches still talk about it -- Thomas belted nine doubles and a triple.
She racked up eight multiple-hit games in the regular season while going hitless in only two of 17. Shehit for the cycle in He
Thomas didn't show nearly as much pitching polish, but she still gave Hebron an excellent season. In 110 regular-season innings, she gave up 67 hits, walked 57, struck out 135 and had an ERA of 1.69. Her control improved steadily as the season progressed.
Thomas, who is headed to Catonsville Community College, wound up her four-year Hebron career with 106 RBI.
"If I was starting a team, she would be my first pick," said Howard High coach Dave Vezzi. "No doubt about it."
Gov. Parris N. Glendening's recent appointment of Paul Rudolph of Severna Park to fill the District 33 seat on the Anne Arundel County school board is most welcome in these challenging times when county officials are searching for the proper balance between meeting school needs and facing budget realities.
More than ever, Anne Arundel County needs a unified school board that can establish, articulate and execute public education policy in this difficult environment. I see Mr. Rudolph's appointment as a valuable contribution to that effort.
Mr. Rudolph was one of three able candidates who was evaluated by delegates from 76 non-profit organizations in Anne Arundel County during the annual School Board Nominating Convention this past May. It is noteworthy that he won the support not only of the convention, but also of County Executive John Gary and the governor. With such wide acclaim as the most qualified candidate, Mr. Rudolph is well positioned to join the dedicated volunteers already serving on the board.
The challenge to our school system will not end this year. Our county needs to continue to improve its process of public debate on emerging issues and the screening by delegates of qualified candidates. This process worked well and produced sound results this year. I hope that more of our best citizens will be encouraged to come forward as school board candidates and convention delegates in the future.
We were pleased to see your July 3 editorial, "A community celebration," noting the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's rare appearance in Anne Arundel County.
As Severna Park residents and Baltimore Symphony subscribers, we want to thank everyone involved who provided that great start to our Independence Day festivities. Now that the holiday is over, we can say that nothing surpassed that initial kickoff.
Among those who deserve thanks from all 4,000 who attended are: the Cultural Arts Foundation of Anne Arundel County, Bell Atlantic, Northrop Grumman, Anne Arundel Community College and Anne Arundel County Executive John Gary.
Anne Arundel countians are fortunate to have Meyerhoff Hall so close, a fact that contributes to our representing the fourth-largest group of BSO subscribers and the third-largest group of single-ticket purchasers. We also learned from BSO's Diana Schramm that our students are well-represented in the symphony's Side by Side program for talented youngsters.
While the BSO is Maryland's greatest cultural treasure, we are doubly blessed to have an amazing array of talent in Annapolis. Few cities its size can boast of a ballet company, a choral arts group and a fine symphony orchestra, as well as the Crabtowne Big Band and gifted pianist Stef Scaggiari.
Let us hope that Mr. Gary will be able to keep his promise and bring us such magnificent music on all our future Fourths.
I know this sounds stupid, but why can't they play football in Camden Yards? We could save a lot of money.
The Sun published an article June 16 contrasting the governments in Anne Arundel County and the city of Annapolis.
As a former mayor of Annapolis, I want to add something that was left out of your analysis: the tremendous contribution that Alderman Carl C. Snowden has made to Annapolis.
Mr. Snowden, who is in his third term on the City Council, chairs its two most important standing committees: finance and economic matters. He has led the battle in reducing property taxes on city residents for three consecutive years.
He has demonstrated fiscal responsibility coupled with a social conscience. It would be erroneous for your readers to conclude that he has not been an effective legislator. In fact he is one of the brightest and more articulate members to serve on the City Council.
Mr. Snowden's integrity and intelligence has made him a leader in our city. I believe that he is mayoral timber and will be an effective chief executive officer. His maturity over the last
decade has been remarkable. I applaud his legislative skills and has ability to form coalitions with citizens. He has my backing.
I recently read a letter in my homeowners' association newsletter about Rep. Ben Cardin's pro-small business plan. It seems Mr. Cardin has proposed a broad new bill of increased regulations designed to give the appearance of help for small business.
The kind of help that has come from Mr. Cardin and the Capitol Hill crowd in the past for small business is the kind of help I think we all would be better off without.
Courtney moved from Maryland 10 years ago and is back in town this week for a wedding. Instead of being stuck by a fireplace as she had in winters past, yesterday Courtney sat on a bench by the water basking in the sunlight and record high temperatures. She was hardly alone.
The dock at Annapolis had a summer feel, as did Harborplace in Baltimore. Golfers flocked to the links. College students sprawled on their campus quads and broke out the flying discs and hacky sacks.
"We've been gone for a long time, and this feels like the weather we have now" in Florida, Courtney said. "This is the place you want to be on a day like this. It's very pretty. It brings back a lot of memories. It feels nice to be back home again."
Courtney's timing was impeccable. The temperature reached a high of 73 degrees in Baltimore yesterday, breaking the previous high of 69 degrees set in 1951. According to the National Weather Service, the average February high temperature in Baltimore is about 44 degrees and the average low is about 26.
But January and February have been much warmer than usual, with January temperatures surging into the 60s several times.
So rather than eat lunch in the cafeteria, a group of elementary school students carried their Barbie and Barney lunch boxes to the lawn around St. Anne's Church in downtown Annapolis to enjoy the weather. A rousing game of duck-duck-goose followed.
Almost every shop door was propped open to capture the gentle breeze. The sea gulls by the water congregated around children with bread scraps as if they hadn't been fed in months. The bathing suits and surfboards in a store window looked oddly appropriate. The birds seemed to chirp a bit louder.
Tim Hutcherson, manager of the Ben and Jerry's ice cream store near the water, said he can only remember a handful of winter days this pleasant, and he hopes to profit from it.
"We've definitely done a little better than usual," Hutcherson said. "We expect to do very good by the time we close today. Usually weekdays aren't so good in the winter. It's tough to be stuck in here, but I'll get my chance to enjoy the weather."
Hutcherson can thank a high pressure system that moved north from the Gulf Coast for yesterday's sales increase. The lingering system should keep temperatures in the lower 50s for the next few days.
That's not such good news for Jennifer Curreri, who has the challenge of trying to sell coffee at a Vaccaro's stand in Harborplace. Curreri seemed to have more requests for bottled water than hot coffee yesterday. Trouble is she doesn't sell bottled water.
"This is definitely slow," she said. "I'd much rather be in here on days when it's busy than have nothing to do and not be able to enjoy it outside."
If the waterfalls on Pratt Street were running and a crowd was cheering at Camden Yards, it could have passed for a summer day downtown.
People were piled in line waiting to enjoy summer seafood cuisine at Phillips. Benches, wall tops and steps were full with workers enjoying their lunch in the breeze. Three blenders loaded with fruit shakes were churning at once to accommodate the crowd.
Charles Wilson was one of many extending their lunch break to take in the scenery. Wilson said he normally works out in the afternoon but couldn't pass up a chance to sip a soda and gaze at the harbor from the second-floor of the Light Street Pavilion.
"You can put the groundhog back in the ground, this is spring," Wilson said. "You have to take advantage of weather like this. But it's a mixed thing when you start to think about it.
"We must have really messed up the environment to have the seasons this sporadic. It's terrific weather, but it's kind of sad when you think about it."
Said Fred Gadomski, a meteorologist at Pennsylvania State University: "Nothing about the weather patterns, when I analyze them, makes me say, 'Oh my god, I can't believe it.' It's just a warm southwesterly flow.
"That it has been mild this winter compared to last winter is stunning, but it's not going be one of the mildest winters ever."
Towson State senior Mike Gately was sitting in class watching students flock to "the beach," an outdoor hangout in the center of campus. Eventually, Gately got sick of watching his shorts-wearing peers frolic in the sunlight and decided to have some fun of his own. Gately blew off his last class and headed for the greens.
"I was getting spring fever just looking out the window," Gately said. "After a while I couldn't take it anymore. Sometimes you have to make a stand. Golf or class? It's not that hard of a decision."
Rufus E. Mitchell, who owned a tuxedo rental shop and managed an Anne Arundel County beach for African-Americans in the era of racial segregation, died Tuesday at his Ashburton home of heart failure. He was 93.
Born and raised in Jacksonville, Fla., Mr. Mitchell moved to Baltimore more than 65 years ago and lived on Druid Hill Avenue. He was briefly a chef at area restaurants, and from 1944 to 1946 served in the Army at Fort Meade.
In 1956, he opened his first business, a dry-cleaning shop at McCulloh and Laurens streets that he later named Valet Formal Rental. Family members said he had contracts with city high schools, including Douglass and Dunbar, to outfit students for proms and graduations. He later opened a branch in Mondawmin Mall. He retired in 2000.
In the 1950s, he was general manager of Carr's Beach, a summer resort near Annapolis owned by African-American business interests in Baltimore.
Situated next to Sparrow's Beach, another segregated summer place, Carr's featured a Ferris wheel, a merry-go-round and an open-air dance pavilion for the musical acts that Mr. Mitchell booked. On a busy Sunday, about 2,000 people would pay to hear the artists he signed.
"He'd bring in James Brown, Otis Redding or Sam Cooke," said his stepson, Nathaniel Alston of Baltimore. "He was a warmhearted person who took care of his artists. His musicians really respected him. Otis always used to call him `Old Soul' or `Old Dude.' The performers knew when he booked them, they didn't have anything to worry about."
Mr. Mitchell also managed the 20-acre property. He oversaw a small amusement park and ran the concessions. His musical events were regularly broadcast live by a close friend, Charles W. "Hoppy" Adams Jr., on radio station WANN-AM.
"Rufus booked any artist that hit the Top 10," said Mr. Adams, of Annapolis. "He had all the stars - the Temptations, Four Tops, the Supremes, Aretha Franklin, Ruth Brown. I've seen buses come up from North Carolina, the Delmarva Peninsula and of course Baltimore and Washington. The traffic would be backed up along the roads into Carr's."
In September 1956, Mr. Mitchell attracted attention by bringing former world heavyweight champ Joe Louis to train and do exhibition rounds at the beach.
Family members said that after desegregation, the popularity of Carr's Beach declined, and it closed in the 1970s.
Survivors also include his wife of 30 years, the former Lorraine Turner; a daughter, Janet Hall of Baltimore; and three grandchildren. Another daughter, Frances Mitchell, died in 1981.
Harbor Boulevard: Vehicle burglary, assault and battery were reported in the 1800 block at 1:37 a.m. Friday.
West Wilson Street and Fairview Road: Possession of a controlled substance was reported at 9:35 p.m. Friday.
Orange Avenue: A woman was reported missing in the 2600 block at 4 a.m. Saturday. She was found in the 2500 block of Elden Avenue at 7:30 a.m. Saturday.
Jamboree Road and Santa Barbara Drive: Traffic collision with injuries was reported at 4:21 p.m. Friday.
Drake, a stockbroker at E.F. Hutton & Co. Inc.'s Orlando office, stays informed because world events can affect her clients' investments. For example, stock prices of oil companies rise or fall depending on the decisions of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
In her automated office, however, Drake does not read newspapers. She simply pushes a few buttons and information appears on her computer screen.
''News will hit after the stock market closes,'' Drake said. ''That gives us a chance to talk with our clients before the market opens the next day.'' Drake is among thousands of American workers who read the news and conduct research via computers.
Dialog's 70,000 customers include the nation's largest corporations, law firms, doctors and companies in the aerospace, agricultural, electronics and pharmaceutical industries.
Dialog's fees to new clients range from $145 to $175. Research fees range from $35 to $100 an hour, depending on the information used. Bibliographic Retrieval Service in Latham, N.Y., and SDC in Santa Monica, Calif., offer services similar to Dialog.
Drake's office subscribes to one of Dialog's competitors, Dow Jones News /Retrieval in New York, a subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co. News/Retrieval offers more than 40 data bases, including documents filed at the Securities and Exchange Commission, current and historic stock prices and the full text of The Wall Street Journal, which is published by Dow Jones.
Costs vary depending on the kind of customer. Initial fees range from $29.95 to $49.95. Some customers pay subscription fees of $95 a year.
Others pay $50 a month. The annual maintenance fee of $12 does not apply to everyone. For most customers, using the system costs 20 cents to 90 cents a minute.
Dow Jones News/Retrieval's 235,000 clients include banks, brokerages, insurance companies, large corporations, private investors and small businesses.
News/Retrieval has evolved from Dow Jones News Service, which dispenses up-to-the-minute financial news via printers and computers. Like other wire services, Dow Jones News Service prints news and financial information on paper.
News/Retrieval has been available since 1974. The news service has existed since 1882 -- seven years before The Wall Street Journal was first published. Financial institutions, large corporations and newspapers make up the majority of customers subscribing to Dow Jones News Service. The service costs $576 a month via printers and $776 a month via computers.
Mary Smith, library services director for Akerman, Senterfitt & Eidson, a law firm in Orlando, uses computerized information from Westlaw, a division of West Publishing Co. in St. Paul, Minn.
Through Westlaw, Smith has access to opinions and decisions of federal and state courts. She also can obtain federal regulations and administrative rulings from the SEC and the Internal Revenue Service.
Smith also uses Lexis, a product of Mead Data Central in Dayton, Ohio, -- Westlaw's main competitor. Lexis offers legal research.
Users of Lexis also have access to other Mead data bases, including Medis, which features medical information, and Nexis, which provides the full text of 150 news publications, including The New York Times and The Christian Science Monitor.
Walt Disney Co.'s Epcot theme park in Orlando features Nexis and Dow Jones/News Retrieval as part of its technology display.
Lexis has about 180,000 clients -- mostly lawyers and business executives. Subscription fees range from $50 to $125 a month. Using the system costs $30 to $35 an hour. An extra $7 to $23 an hour is charged depending on the information used.
The University of Central Florida's library subscribes to H.W. Wilson, SDC, Viewtext and Dialog, said librarian Meg Scharf. For a fee, the library conducts research on those data bases for the public. The average research charge is $50 to $75, Scharf estimated.
Customers include advertising agencies, law firms, doctors and small business owners. ''Some of the most interesting searches I've done have been for people who need to make a speech,'' Scharf said.
CompuServe Inc. in Columbus, Ohio, claims to have more subscribers than any other company providing computerized information. CompuServe's 280,000 subscribers, who include individuals as well as businesses, have access to more than 400 data bases.
CompuServe's information is not especially conducive to academic research but, rather, is broad-based in nature, according to a company spokesman.
Customers can reserve airline flights, order merchandise, read the news and play computer games on CompuServe. The company's initial fee is $39.95 and hourly research fees range from $6 to $12.50.
Steven R. Ernst has joined Cabot, Cabot & Forbes to handle leasing at Heathrow International Business Center at Heathrow, a mixed-use community being developed in central Seminole County.
Mr. and Mrs. Harold Auer, Orlando, announce the engagement of their daughter, Lori Ann Gordon, to Mark Stewart Ebersold, Alexandria, Va., son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Ebersold, Burlington, Conn. The wedding is Oct. 25. The bride-elect graduated from Colonial High, Orlando. Her fiance graduated from University of Connecticut, Storrs.
Mr. and Mrs. John M. Myrick, Longwood, announce the engagement of their daughter, Suzanne Elizabeth, to David Ray Simpson, son of Bobby R. Simpson, St. Cloud, and Mrs. Madra E. Prater, Casselberry. The wedding is Aug. 9. The bride-elect graduated from Lake Brantley High, Altamonte Springs, and Florida State University, Tallahassee. Her fiance graduated from Lake Brantley High, Altamonte Springs, and attends University of Central Florida, Orlando.
Since I derive most of my life lessons from reading murder mysteries, I am reminded of a mystery by Marcia Muller, Listen to the silence. The heroine, Sharon McCone, turns her prodigious investigative talent to researching her own background. As she interviews family members, her significant other, also a heavy-duty detective, says, "Listen to the silence."
He meant, "When someone answers a question, don't just listen to what's said. Listen for the pauses, the silences in what they say."
As I listen to clients, I've decided that we need to listen to the messages sent by our bodies, our friends and family, and what some would call "the universe" -- our environment. As business people, we need to listen to our customers.
Considering a move to a new location and find yourself feeling like, "I don't belong here?" Going to a big job interview and feeling that everything you say is coming out all wrong? Well, pay attention!
In Finding Your Own North Star, Martha Beck claims the one quality shared by all successful people is a willingness to listen to their intuition.
In The Gift of Fear, Gavin de Becker tells us our intuition can keep us from becoming crime victims.
Intuition is not woo-woo. It's not about crystal balls -- it's about claiming your power. Some researchers believe that intuition originates in specific portions of the human brain.
Intuition doesn't come out of nowhere. The more information you have about a situation, the more helpful your intuition will be.
There are only a few times to heed well-meaning unsolicited advice. When Tony Soprano says, "This game isn't for you," pay attention. When the police officer says, "Slow it down," that's a good idea too. But most of the time, listen for subtle messages from whatever crosses your path.
Cathy Goodwin, Ph.D., is an author, speaker and career/business consultant, helping midlife professionals take their First step to a Second Career. http://www.cathygoodwin.com.
Concluding 3 p.m. today; ELCO Performing Arts Center, 410 S. Main St., Elkhart; (574) 293-4469 or www.elcotheatre.com; $. 2 p.m. today, 8 p.m. Wednesday, 2 and 8 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Nov. 30 (through Dec. 31); Round Barn Theatre, Amish Acres, Nappanee; (800) 800-4942 or www.amishacres.com; $. By Footlight Players; 8 p.m. CST Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays through Dec. 7; Footlight Players Theatre, 1705 Franklin St., Michigan City; (219) 874-4035 or www.footlightplayers.org; $. By Chicago Street Theatre; 2:30 p.m. CST today, 7 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Nov. 30 (through Dec. 20); 154 W. Chicago St., Valparaiso, Ind.; (219) 464-1636; $. By South Bend Civic Theatre; 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 3 p.m. Nov. 30 (through Dec. 20); 403 N. Main St., South Bend; (574) 234-1112; $. Deadline to submit information to The List: Weekend Edition, listings in Sunday's Intermission section or for Web listings is Today, one week in advance of publication. Information will be kept on file for one month. Send to: Karen Rallo, Features Department, South Bend Tribune, 225 W. Colfax Ave., South Bend, IN 46626, or e-mail to: Krallo@sbtinfo.com. No information will be taken over the phone. Inclusion at editor's discretion.
AIM Member Janet Granger is having a competition to launch her new Facebook page 'Janet Granger Dollhouse Embroidery'.
Just visit her page here: https://www.facebook.com/janetgrangerdesigns to like the page and share the post, and you can be in with a chance of winning a £15 voucher to spend on Janet's website for miniature needlepoint kits and charts.
This month our issue of the AIM imag is yet again packed with a wide variety of projects for you ALL to enjoy - and as ever all downloadable for FREE!
Do the dolls in your doll’s house have a handbag obsession?! Does your doll’s house need that ‘lived in’ look that can be created by placing personal belongings in the rooms? These little clutch bags could be just what you’re looking for. Janet Granger has just launched these cute little kits for you to make - they are quick to stitch, and easy to assemble. With six patterns to choose from, there is bound to be a suitable design for you to make, so that the dolls in your doll’s house have just the right bag for any occasion.
If you haven’t stitched in this scale before, or are unsure about making one of these kits, visit the FREE ONLINE TUTORIALS page at
www.janetgranger.co.uk/tutorials.htm and see how easy it is to create one of these little clutch bags.
The kits cost £9.95 each. P&P is £1.75 per order if placed by post (cheques to Janet Granger); p&p is free online if your order is over £40, otherwise it is £1.75.
As you may know, throughout the year, the members of AIM produce a FREE magazine filled with features, projects, news and more.
If you can't wait for the next issue of the magazine, then here on our blog you can keep up to date with our members' news and creations.
You can also access some of the very first issues of the AIM Magazine by going to the main Artisans In Miniature website and following the links to each edition of the AIM iMag from issue 9. Issues 1-8 were produced in an old format and are not available to archive, but many of the projects from these issues will of been revisited in the newer issues.
New Alexisonfire. This makes me happy in a really sad/angry/bash my head against a brick wall kinda way.
Avoid the oral or topical use of all skin medications for one week prior to waxing. This includes, but is not limited to: glycolic acid, Renova®, Retin-A, Accutane, Tetracycline, Differin®, Metrogel®. Please consult your esthetician with any questions.