All spring long, smoke has been rising from the drawing boards in Anne Arundel Community College's architectural drawing class. The red-hot assignment that fired the students' imaginations was designing an addition to the Anne Arundel County fire training and research centerin Millersville.
Fifteen aspiring architects entered the competition hoping to be chosen one of five finalists. On Tuesday evening, the five -- Ben Cohey, Erin Gruver, Debbie McMahon, Donna Ross and Michael Sugatan -- presented their designs to a panel of judges that included fire officials, members of the building trades and the architectural community.
The top three winners were first place, Cohey; second place, McMahon; and third place, Gruver. Honorable mentions were awarded to Ross, Matt Fulton, Nancy Cupp, Ed Mosmiller and Sugatan.
When it was first decided that ideas were needed for the addition of classrooms and a fire simulator room, Lt. Irv Peusch of the fire academy approached his friend Karl Houser, a fire protection engineer, suggesting thatthe fire department work with Mike Ryan, an architectural drawing instructor at the community college. Houser, a former student of Ryan's, thought this would make a good academic exercise.
"It really is as close to a real-life situation as we can get in an academic setting," said Ryan.
"It gives them the ability to work on a real project with a client," he said. "Because the students are required to accurately represent the existing building and grounds, both in model andin drawing form, the project is perfect for meeting the course objectives."
The fire department's educational facility trains about 5,000 people each month from various emergency agencies in techniques such as fire suppression, emergency medical care, fire safety education, incident management and police SWAT tactics.
Although the original structure, built in 1968, had received an addition just last year, the proposed addition would provide more classrooms and a studio for broadcasting training programs to fire stations throughout the county.
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Yesterday, you should have received the official, 16-pageRecreation and Parks Summer Guide for Anne Arundel County, a complete schedule of summer activities. (If you didn't receive your guide, pick one up at the library.)
Today, you can use that guide to register for all county summer programs.
Playgrounds and day camps are offered for children ages 3 to 16 at 70 sites throughout the county. Some day camps are theme-oriented, including a wilderness challenge and a living-history camp.
Quiet Waters Park on the South River andHarness Creek in Annapolis provides the setting for our newest countywide summer day camp. Open to boys and girls ages 5 1/2 to 12 1/2, this camp offersswimming, field trips, theme days, family day, sports,crafts, drama, music, nature and cookouts.
Early registration is encouraged, since all day camps are expected to fill quickly. Family discounts and bus transportation are available.
For information, call 222-3600.
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Severn School is accepting applications for itsannual summer programs.
There will be three two-week sessions of Day Camp from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily for youngsters from nursery through seventh grade. Summer school for grades 6 through 12, running from Monday, June 24, through Friday, Aug. 2, will offer review and original credit courses.
Driver education for those who will be 16 by Oct. 15 will begin June 19 for two weeks.
Sports camps for boysand girls will offer soccer, lacrosse and field hockey.
For further information, call the Severn School Summer Programs office at 647-7700 or 544-9443.
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The Severna Park YMCA on Baltimore-Annapolis Boulevard offers a variety of summer camps. For information, call 647-3800. For summer activities at the YWCA Northeast Area Center on Cypress Creek Road, call 647-1500 Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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If you missed AACC's triathlon, stop crying in your Gatorade. You can still have the dubious joy of swimming half a mile, running 3 1/2 miles and biking 10 miles, all in the same day.
The Severna Park YMCA Triathlon will be at 9 a.m. on Saturday, June 15, at South River High School and Central Middle School in Edgewater.
Entrants must be 16, and applications must be received by Sunday, June 9.
For details, contact Christopher Parana at 647-3800.
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Here's one reason why the math team from Severna Park High School is always so successful: They're graduates from Belvedere Elementary School.
This year at Belvedere, fourth- and fifth-graders were given a nationally administered math test from the Math League Press Inc. that concentrated on thinking and problem solving.
The test consisted of 30 items to be completed in 30 minutes. Teachers were told that "few students score as high as 24 points; students with half that, 12 points, deserve commendation."
The lowest score tallied by a Belvedere student was 13, with Jason Hadricky, Peter Bartolomeo, Aaron Troup, Meg Collins, Nick Tang, Todd Belton, Lucy Umberger, Brett Wishart and Bryan Corley all scoring above 24.
Perhaps that is why the highschool has selected at least one Belvedere grad for its math team for the past 12 consecutive years.
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Four Severna Park business people were honored recently at the Spring Membership Luncheon of the Severna Park Chamber of Commerce.
David Troy and Ray Mitchell, owners of Toad Computers, who had been chosen by the chamber as Young Entrepreneurs of the Year, were selected as the first runners-up for the same award on a statewide level by the U.S. Small Business Administration. For that award, the two were honored earlier this month at the 7th Annual SBA Maryland Small Business Award Breakfast at the Baltimore Convention Center.
In 1986, the two young men, who were stillin school when they started the business which is now the only Ataridealership in the state. They are beginning to achieve a name for their company nationally.
Selected as Small Business Person of the Year by the Severna Park chamber was Dennis Carleton Wells, owner of Wells Co. Inc. As a registered broker dealer, Wells focuses his business on venture capital placement, financial planning concepts and retirement plan management.
Wells was honored for contributions to hisclientele, the community and the chamber. He worked as coordinator with other merchants to make the Benfield Beautification Project a reality. He has been second vice president of the chamber and served on its board for four years.
Jean Marie Zemo was honored by the chamber as Women in Business Advocate of the Year.
Zemo's teaching degree in early childhood education from Towson State has had a significant impact on her business, Teetertotter Ltd., a children's clothing store in Park Plaza, where she serves as manager, bookkeeper and buyer.
For 4 1/2 years, Jean has worked behind the scenes to assist other businesswomen in the shopping center. Her efforts have been the reason many of these business owners, some first-timers, have remained.
Jean is also responsible for the success of the Fourth of July Festival that follows the annual park parade.
Phone: 647-1413