Child Safety Seats Laws Change

By Darleen Sanford
Posted: July 3, 2008

Heads up, parents and grandparents. Maryland’s Child Passenger Safety Law has changed. Now every child younger than 8 years old must ride in a booster seat or other appropriate car safety seat unless the child weighs more than 65 pounds or is taller than 4-foot-9.

Each child ages 8-16 must be secured with a seat belt. Riding in the back seat is usually safest for children younger than age 13. Nobody wants to be ticketed and pay a fine for failing to abide by the law and more importantly, we want to protect our precious little ones. For more information call 1-800-370-SEAT or go to www.mdkiss.org.

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Celebrate in March Time

By Darleen Sanford
Posted: July 2, 2008

Five Howard County musicians will spend the summer traveling the country in marching band and drum corps competitions. Those musicians are: (Front row) Evan Berry and Kendra Orcutt; (Back row) Sarah Hines, Mark Mangus and Mike McNeil.

Are you itching to go some place this holiday weekend? Is the price of gas keeping you close to home? Coatesville, Pa., is fairly close, between Lancaster and Philly. You may ask, “What’s in Coatesville?” The answer is a little bit of what and a whole lot of who.

Six River Hill High School students and alumni and one recent Atholton graduate are traveling the country in marching band performances and drum corps competition. Look for Evan Berry, Sara Hines, Joe Lewis, Mark Mangus, Mike McNeill, Kendra Orcutt and Brian Whitney. Most are with Jersey Surf. Joe and Sara play with The Cadets. Brian is with Carolina Crown.

All are working very hard to perfect their musical skills through 18-hour practice days followed by sleeping on school floors or on the bus as they head to the next performance. Parents actually pay for their youngsters to have this opportunity. Parent volunteers even show up to serve four meals a day to keep their young musicians fueled for competition. They’ll be competing in Coatesville Sunday, July 6.

Be sure to seek them out after the show to let them know how much you enjoyed the performance and give them a few words of encouragement. You can view the entire competition schedule and learn more about Drum Corps at www.dci.org.

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Happy birthday, America!

By Darleen Sanford
Posted: July 1, 2008

Happy birthday, America! It’s time to remember and celebrate. Rising sixth graders from Clarksville and Pointers Run will take turns reading the Declaration of Independence in front of the River Hill Giant from 4-8 p.m. Thursday, July 3. Come on out. The kids will appreciate your support and it will help you get into the spirit as the summer celebration begins.

On July 4 at 9:30 a.m., flags will wave, marchers will march, fire trucks and floats will roll out of the parking lot at Clarksville Middle School onto Trotter Road onto Guilford Road onto Great Star Drive. The parade route ends at the Fifth District Fire Station. Stake out a nice shady spot along Great Star and prepare to cheer for the red, white and blue. Remember to bring a little drinking water, sun screen and a goody bag to take home all the freebees distributed by parade participants. You’ll also want a bag to collect your trash to take home. Let’s take pride in America and our community.

After dinner, be it picnic, cookout or family reunion, you might want to drive into Columbia for entertainment by Lake Kittamaqundi and fireworks.

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130th Clarksville Picnic is Saturday

By Darleen Sanford
Posted: June 26, 2008

Early Birds will descend on the grounds of St. Louis Catholic Church at Route 108 and Guilford Road on Saturday, June 28 at 9 a.m. when the White Elephant and Book Stands open for sales and the 130th Clarksville Picnic Day officially begins.

Volunteers will be cranking up the heat under the fryers long before that time to be ready with fresh fried chicken and country ham plus additional menu items for the family style dinners beginning at noon. Bingo, pony rides, fast foods, plant sales and all the games and sales of the midway open at noon, rain or shine. You’ll want to check out the 15th Annual Silent Auction for jewelry, collectibles, artwork, vacation home usage, tickets to sporting events, gift certificates and a few surprises.

Place your bids throughout the day. Illusions by Vick will perform from 1 to 2 p.m. to kick-off the day’s entertainment. Bluegrass and country western bands will play into the evening hours. Festivities end at 9 p.m. with the drawing for the $20,000 raffle. There is something for everyone. All are welcome and parking is free.

Call the Parish office for more information at 410-531-6040.

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The Glass Menagerie Trailer

By Darleen Sanford
Posted: June 26, 2008

Have you heard the buzz? It’s sweet news to know you can come home again. The You Can Always Come Home Players, alumni from the River Hill High School theater program, are home to present Tennessee Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie” June 26-28 for a very sweet purpose. Proceeds of the play will launch the River Hill High School Fine Arts Scholarship. You’ll love it. Take a few minutes to view the trailer on YouTube here and then go get your tickets to view the play in its entirety.

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