It's that time of year when school is coming to an end. Some will be returning to school in the fall with their friends. Others will be heading off to a new adventure in college, and still others will be entering the real world of the working adult.

Congratulations go to our family friends who are recent graduates. Nick Dorsey graduated from Mount St. Joseph and will be attending Coastal Carolina University in the fall. Samantha Oros just graduated from Stevenson University with a degree in nursing. Melissa Allen graduated from Liberty University with a degree in government and history.

Steve Brookfield graduated with a degree in aviation. Congratulations, one and all. Your families and I are very proud of what you've accomplished and look forward to sharing in your future successes.

The Glenelg High School boys' basketball team will be holding a free car wash Saturday, June 20 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the old Bushy Park Elementary School. The boys will wash your car for free, but this is a fund raising event, so donations are appreciated.

Howard County Executive Kenneth Ulman and the Department of Housing and Community Development are celebrating June as National Homeownership Month. There are several new programs that are encouraging homeownership. One will provide an opportunity for a Howard County employee to win a single-family home in Columbia.

Howard County Housing is changing two of its loan programs to broaden opportunities for homeownership. The Settlement Downpayment Loan Program will provide loans of up to $40,000 for settlement expenses and downpayments with no repayments until the house is sold.

The Rehabilitation Loan Program is being revised and streamlined to provide current homeowners with funds to repair their existing homes.

For more information about the 2009 Workforce House Initiative, call 410-313-6318.

In an effort to preserve some of the beautiful farmland in our county, County Executive Ulman has announced the opening of a new application period for the Agricultural Land Preservation Program.

The program is especially important to our neighborhood since the Woodbine area has most of the farmland in Howard County.

To qualify the ALPP, you must have 50 acres or more. Properties with 20-50 acres can also qualify if they are adjacent to agricultural preservation easements, environmental preservation parcels, or parkland. For applications or more information, go to howardcountymd.gov/DPZ/agriculture.htm or call 410-313-5407.

Just one last reminder that the Western Howard Relay for Life will take place Friday, June 19 beginning at 6 p.m. at the Western Regional Park. That's the night of Howard County's Traveling Band Concert. I'm on a new team this year, Mission Possible. Believe me, the concert and the Relay make for a wonderful, heart-warming family evening. I hope to see you there. If you come, please look me up at my team's sight.

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