Weather 69/41

SPORTS
North Carroll
Mostly
sunny /A2 golf wins state
championship /B1
/A3

www.carrollcountytimes.com 75¢
100TH ANNIVERSARY
1911-2011 Thursday, October 28, 2010

Laptops stolen from Union Bridge lab

Police investigating leads in case
BY CARRIE ANN KNAUER
TIMES STAFF WRITER
Police are investigating a
break- in at the Union Bridge
Community Center last week
that led to the theft of two lap-
tops used in the town’s public
computer lab.
Major Phil Kasten, of the Car-
roll County Sheriff’s Office, said
someone broke in to the com-
puter lab overnight between Oct.
20 and 21 by breaking the glass
out of one of the windows. The
person or persons then broke
into a cabinet that stored four
laptops purchased through the
Carroll County Public Library
with donations by Bridges: The
Union Bridge Youth Committee.
The stolen equipment is valued
at more than $2,000, Kasten said.
Sheriff’s Office deputies and a
crime scene technician responded
to a call about the thefts late in the
afternoon Oct. 21, and are now
following up on leads from details
at the crime scene and other
information they have received.
Anyone else who has informa-
tion about the break- in and theft
is encouraged to call the Sheriff’s
Office at 410- 386-2900 or the
anonymous tip line at 888- 399-
8477, Kasten said.
Jaclyn Mathias, the executive
director of Bridges, said the dis-
covery of the theft has had a
tremendous impact on her group.
“We’re all pretty much devas-
tated that we lost that much
money,” Mathias said of the value
of the laptops. “We’re kind of
struggling now to make ends
meet.”
While four laptops had been
stored together in the cabinet
that was broken into, only two
were taken, she said, as well as
the power cords for all four
computers.
Please see Theft, A7

Sykesville

Park to get
playground
equipment
Renovations to be paid for
by $100,000 state grant
BY CHRISTIAN ALEXANDERSEN
TIMES STAFF WRITER
The bright red playground equipment
at Jones Park in Sykesville is scheduled
to be demolished Friday to make way for
a new, safer play area.
West Recreation, a playground manu-
facturer based on the Eastern Shore, is
expected to demolish the nearly 20-
year- old equipment and begin installing
the new playground at the park, said
Town Manager Matt Candland.
The park, known locally as “Red Park,”
will now have a rubberized surface and
new playground equipment.
Aside from the new and improved
KEN KOONS/STAFF PHOTO playground, plans also call for a new
fence, pathway and landscaping im-

A performance of strings provements and a sign.

The town received a $100,000 grant
from the state Community Park and
The Azimuth String Quartet performs a piece by Joseph Haydn at the Scott Center at Carroll Community College Playground Program to make the reno-
Wednesday. The quartet is an ensemble- in- residence at Carroll Community College and performs regularly in the area. vations.
While the park can be used by anyone,
The performers shown are: Adam Gonzalez, on the cello, James Tung, on the violin, Nicholas Currie, on the violin and
Candland said the majority of the peo-
Alice Tung, on the viola.
ple who use the playground live in the
surrounding neighborhood.

Residents catch glimpses of bald eagles Please see Playground, A10

Number in Maryland continues to grow TODAY IN

BY CHRISTIAN ALEXANDERSEN
TIMES STAFF WRITER
Justin Nevius was surprised
with what he spotted in his yard
while looking through a kitchen
window in his Taneytown home
about a week ago.
Nevius saw a bald eagle,
known worldwide as America’s
symbol of freedom, gnawing on
a dead groundhog that he shot
earlier. The eagle remained in
his backyard, Nevius said, for
about 30 minutes.
But before it took off Nevius
was able to take a few pictures of
the bird.
“I was shocked,” he said. “I
didn’t know there are eagles in THE TIMES
the area.”
Glenn Therres, an eagle biol-
ogist with the Maryland Depart-
ment of Natural Resour-
ces, said eagle sightings are not
unusual in Carroll County, but
are definitely not common. Bald
eagles are typically found
around large bodies of water,
which serve as good food
sources, Therres said.
Liberty Reservoir, in Finks-
burg, and Piney Run Reservoir,
in Sykesville, are a couple places
where eagles are typically spot- SUBMITTED PHOTO
ted in Carroll, Therres said. A bald eagle is shown in Taneytown. While eagles are typ-
ically found around large bodies of water, many have been
Please see Eagles, A10 spotted across Carroll County.

Rape crisis center seeks new volunteers Learning to fly

Service changes application requirements to get more help
BY RYAN MARSHALL
TIMES STAFF WRITER
A Carroll County organiza-
tion that assists victims of sex-
ual assault is taking new steps
to try to increase the number
of people available to help.
Rape Crisis Intervention
Service of Carroll County is
looking for volunteers to help
staff the organization’s 24- hour
hot line, as well as accompany
victims during hospital visits.
The organization likes to
have 16 to 20 volunteers, but
currently has 10 to 12, said CEO
Janice A. Kispert. If there
aren’t enough volunteers,
those spots must be filled by
staff.
Kispert said the service has
instituted some new strategies
to encourage more volunteers.
They’ve lowered the minimum
age from 21 to 20, condensed
the amount of training from 20
hours to a one- day eight hour
course with supplemental
training throughout the year
and lowered the fee from $75
to $25, which covers only the
cost of a background check,
she said.
Please see Center, A10
Liberty High School to put on
“Peter Pan,” where students
will literally soar across the
stage. C1
Republicans’ big plans
GOP preparing post- election
agenda. A5

encore Get entertainment INSIDE © 2010, Carroll County Times

➧➧

news, movie reviews, Business C6 Obituaries A4

Dow - 43.10 Classified C9- D4 Opinion A8- 9
online Best Bets and arts
columns.
Comics
Nation/World
C7 Puzzles
A5- 6 Sports
C10
B1- 4
Nasdaq + 5.97
www.carrollcountytimes.com/entertainment See Page C6 Westminster, Maryland