Years from now students, families, and school personnel will be saying, "Remember the year school started late because of an earthquake and hurricane all in the same week." It's a good thing that doesn't happen often. Once in a lifetime is plenty.

Everyone is happy that things are back to normal. All reports indicate that we are off to another good school year after the brief delay caused by Hurricane Irene. Each school has its own unique way of kicking off the new school year. At Dayton Oaks Elementary it was the sixth annual Dayton Oaks PTA Ice Cream Social. Now there's a sweet way to get things going.

Folks at St. Louis School report that Aug. 30 was a fantastic day for the start of a new school year. Hurricane Irene delayed the school opening, but did nothing to dampen the spirits of students, faculty and staff who were all happy to see one another again.

After being named a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence this past year, St. Louis is welcoming more than 75 new families and has doubled the size of its Pre-K program. Students found new interactive white boards and LED projectors in classrooms and new computers in the computer lab.

Also new this year, the school will be offering several STEM initiatives to encourage student interest in science, technology, engineering and math. They plan to continue to reach children of diverse learning styles with instruction through its Illuminations Program. They're sure it's going to be a great year.

Come to Triadelphia Adventist Church on Brighton Dam Road Saturday, Sept. 17 for an uplifting 6 p.m. performance by internationally known recording artist Scott Michael Bennett. Scott has been featured on Safe TV and recently won the National Young Artist Award. Each life has a purpose. Through music and conversation, Scott will help you find yours. All are invited. The concert is free.

Maryland Search and Rescue in conjunction with Boy Scouts of America Crew 616 will host its annual fall recruiting open house Monday, Sept. 19 at Mt. Zion Church on Route 216. MSAR fully trains and deploys volunteers in Maryland, Virginia, West Vieginia and Pennsylvania for lost person searches and mountain rescues.

Membership is open to anyone at least 13 years old and has completed the eighth grade. The group meets Monday evenings from 7-9 p.m. and usually one weekend a month. Training can be rigorous, but if you enjoy the outdoors, like a challenge and want to give back to the community, MSAR may be for you. If unable to attend, call 410-531-2114 or 410-740-2913 for more information.

Thanks to Hurricane Irene, the planned benefit for the Humane Society of the United States at Great Sage will need to be rescheduled. Your next benefit dining opportunity at Great Sage will be Sept. 25. The Orphaned Wildlife Rescue Center will receive 10 percent of your food purchase price. The center is more than 20 years old and the only facility of its kind in the state.

I've been asked to remind reader age 70 or better that Howard County offers a senior tax credit for those who meet income and asset criteria. The filing deadline has been extended to Oct. 31. To learn more, call 410-313-4076 weekdays, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. This information was sent to me in big bold print. Do you think someone is under the impression that I'm getting old?

David Walters, a 2005 graduate of River Hill High School, has been an impressive closer this year for the Delmarva Shorebirds, the Baltimore Orioles' low Class A farm team, in the South Atlantic League. He finished the season with 30 saves, just three short of the all-time Shorebirds' team record set by Derek Brown in 1998. His sinking fastball has been clocked in the low 90s. David wants to keep playing baseball as long as he can. The next stop in the Baltimore farm system is high Class A Frederick followed by Double-AA Bowie and then Triple-A Tidewater. In the off-season, David works out and has a job at a food establishment. He loves baseball, but doesn't earn enough as a player not to work at another job. Perhaps some day we'll see him playing at Camden Yards and he won't need an off-season job. Good luck, David.

The Howard County Bird Club is going green by offering its members, and others who may be interested, an electronic newsmagazine, The Goldfinch. The link for the September/October issue is http://www.howardbirds.org/archive/110910_HCBC_newsletter.pdf. You can read it and see what you think. We have a wide variety of birds in this area all year round.

Keep me posted on happenings at your house. You are the local good news you know.