Rothstein, a retired colonel and former garrison commander at the Fort George G. Meade U.S. Army installation in Anne Arundel County, said several years ago, just after he retired, a young soldier came up to him and thanked him for saving his life. The soldier reminded Rothstein of a time years earlier when Rothstein checked in on him and shared that this intervention led him to seek help for PTSD and ultimately find healing.

Rothstein said it was a surprising example of the positive affect you can have on other people, without knowing it. He shared the story after reading aloud a proclamation declaring the month of September Suicide Prevention Month in the county.

“Suicide is preventable,” Rothstein said, reading aloud the official proclamation. “Through building awareness and essential skills, anyone can support people at risk. Asking someone if they’re thinking about suicide does not increase the risk of suicide. It can open a conversation that can save a life.”

Rothstein noted that it was important for the county to discuss suicide prevention this month but emphasized prevention efforts shouldn’t end when the month does.

“We really should remind ourselves it’s a proclamation for prevention every day,” he said. “I’ve shared with you my stories … and the importance of resilience and reducing the stigma (of mental health crises), putting people in positions where they feel there’s no way out …

“We need to intervene, one person at a time, one group at a time. I believe it is our responsibility and calling in our community to intervene.”

Rothstein made the remarks while wearing a black baseball cap with a large “988” on the front, aiming to bring awareness to the existence of the 988 Helpline, which anyone can call to seek help during a mental health crisis. Confidential help is available at that phone number and online at https://988helpline.org/ 24 hours a day.

County officials emphasized Thursday that suicide prevention is a community effort, and that Carroll County has many resources in place to help.

Amy Laugelli, director of prevention services for the Carroll County Health Department, discussed the array of free services, trainings and resources available via the health department.

“We want to prioritize connecting to hope,” she said. “We want to normalize talking about this. … Trainings can help people get comfortable with recognizing warning signs of suicide.”

The county marks the first “988 Day” on Sunday, with the theme of “No judgment, just help,” and the goal of getting the word out about using the 988 Helpline. World Suicide Prevention Day is Sept. 10, and health department employees will wear yellow to show solidarity “that we are all in this together as a community,” she said.

On Sept. 14, the Out of the Darkness Community Walk will be held at Krimgold Park in Woodbine, from 9 a.m. to noon, to raise awareness about suicide prevention, in association with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Similar walks will happen all over the country that day, she said.

Veronica Dietz, director of crisis services at the health department, noted the success of the county’s Crisis Intervention Team, which has trained about 100 law enforcement officers from all municipal police agencies, the sheriff’s office and state police, as well as correctional deputies, dispatchers, and officers who work at McDaniel College and Carroll Community College. The officers are trained to ask six specific questions to gauge if the individual they are dealing with is at high, moderate, or low risk for suicide.

“Oftentimes people call 911 because they are in a crisis. 988 is the place to call for a behavioral health crisis, taking some of the responsibility off of law enforcement,” Dietz said. “What we understand about suicide is that there is a level of ambivalence that is pervasive. Most people don’t want to die, they don’t want to be in the extreme behavioral health crisis that they are in. What they’re dealing with are overwhelming feelings and that leads to these thoughts of suicide.”

When people are given the opportunity to talk about what they are feeling, they take it, she said.

“If we can have an officer who is compassionate and empathetic,” who can offer people a listening ear as well as resources,” Dietz said, it “will ensure that individuals in our community will get connected more appropriately and more effectively.”

According to the health department’s website, Crisis Information Team trained officers “have been given intensive training to recognize symptoms, defuse situations, and provide assistance. This way of response allows situations to be handled in a manner that reduces arrest, trauma, injury, or even death during mental health crisis calls and promotes linking people with behavioral health concerns to behavioral health professionals and programs designed to coordinate diversion from jail and/or unnecessary use of the emergency department​.”

The Carroll County Health Department partners with Carroll Community College to offer free Mental Health First Aid and Youth Mental Health First Aid classes every month. These eight-hour courses aim to teach a 5-step action plan to offer initial help to people with signs and symptoms of a mental illness or in a crisis, and connect them with the appropriate professional, peer, social or self-help care.

In addition, the county’s Suicide Prevention Coalition just started up again, and hopes to identify local contributing factors to suicide in order to better direct funding, Laugelli said. The health department is working on communication efforts and raising awareness on social media and will soon hire a part-time staff member who will focus exclusively on doing that, Laugelli said.

Laugelli also noted the Sources of Strength program in Carroll County Public Schools, a youth suicide prevention project “designed to harness the power of peer social networks to change unhealthy norms and culture, ultimately preventing suicide, bullying, and substance abuse,” according to the school system’s website.

Dietz emphasized that the community should feel empowered to talk about suicide openly, as it is the best way to help those who need it.

“It’s a myth that talking about suicide will make people think about it and go do it,” she said. “In fact, we know that asking the question, ‘Hey, have you been thinking about killing yourself? Have you ever thought about going to sleep and never waking up? Have you ever had thoughts about not wanting to be here?’ Those are the absolute questions to ask because it gives the person struggling with that relief to know that someone sees them.”

Dietz told commissioners they should “know that we are diligently working to make this completely preventable type of death extinguished.”

Find out more about the health department’s programs at https://health.maryland.gov/carroll/Pages/Behavioral-Health.aspx. Register for the free Mental Health First Aid classes at https://www.carrollcc.edu/mental-health-first-aid/.

Mark Hemmis, owner of Phoenix Upper Main, managed to save some bricks from the former Phoenix Emporium building on lower Main Street. He is selling them for $40, with all proceeds going to local charities. Mark rescued 300 bricks from a dining room wall that collapsed during the flood of 2018. He stored them in a friend’s yard for four years then set about power washing them and adding commemorative plaques to each. Even without the brick I will never forget the way things were on Main Street, and it is nice to have this remembrance. If you would like a brick of your own, visit https://phoenix-upper-main.square.site/.

I was intrigued to learn about an interesting activity at Centennial Park, sponsored by the Howard County Recreation & Parks Department. On July 12 and 26, from 6 p.m. until midnight, there will be “Night Bite” fishing in Centennial Lake. Anglers meet at the Centennial Park South Boat Launch. The cost is $5 per person. To sign up visit www.tinyurl.com/hcrpnitebitefishing.

The next Lunch Date with History event will take place July 12 at the Museum of Howard County History, 8328 Court Ave. The featured speaker will be Tiffany Fisk, manager of historic and cultural resources for the county’s parks & rec department. She will talk, beginning at noon, about the county’s efforts to preserve our its history. The event is free, but registration is required. Call 410-480-3250.

We are getting into glorious tomato season, so my husband, Tom, recently made a trip to Breezy Willow Farm Country Market on the corner of Frederick Road and St. John’s Lane, to acquire a couple of tomatoes, some corn and zucchini. On his way out the door he spied a carton of tomato “seconds,” which we try to snag every summer. He lugged the giant box of joy into the house and suddenly my plans for the rest of the day were put on hold. It took me three days to process all of the tomato sauce that box yielded. So while I might be dreaming of fresh tomatoes in the winter, I will actually be able to enjoy the incomparable taste of local farm-grown tomato sauce all year long. I highly recommend it!

Here is one more reason to visit the historic district of Ellicott City this summer — the OEC Summer Bucks program is back! Pick up a voucher at the county Welcome Center, 8267 Main St., and spend them at any participating Main Street business this summer. County Executive Calvin Ball and the Ellicott City Partnership are sponsoring the effort. Only 2,000 of the $10 vouchers are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Send information about Ellicott City people and events at least two weeks in advance to janetkusterer21042@gmail.com.

Morissette, a seven-time Grammy award-winning singer/songwriter, burst onto the stage Sunday as a full moon rose behind her. Singing, “What it all comes down to, is that everyone’s gonna be fine, fine, fine,” from her hit “One Hand in My Pocket” on the album “Jagged Little Pill,” Morissette strutted across the stage, long hair flying, with a huge smile on her face.

Before Morissette took the stage, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts got the crowd on its feet, singing along to their hits “I Love Rock ‘N Roll,” “Crimson and Clover” (her 1981 cover) and “Bad Reputation.”

Jett started the show with a raucous rendition of her 1976 hit “Cherry Bomb,” an anthem released by The Runaways about the taunting power of a young girl. Jett was a guitarist, main songwriter and, eventually, lead singer of the pioneering group in the late ’70s before forming the Blackhearts, and re-recording the hit in 1984.

Jett, 65, was born in Pennsylvania, but told the Merriweather audience that she considers Maryland her home, after spending about six years living with her family in the area now known as North Bethesda. An ardent Orioles fan, she threw the first pitch at their game against the Rangers on June 28 at Camden Yards and led the crowd in an “Oh” chant during her set.

“I was here from like 8 to 13, very formative years,” she said before her family moved to California, where she helped form The Runaways.

Jett doesn’t only play her decades-old hits. She and the Blackhearts are recording, having released “Mindsets” last June. She played several well-received songs from the album, including its first single, “If You’re Blue,” telling the crowd, “I made mistakes I can’t erase I don’t deny, I made my own rules they don’t teach in schools, And that’s what I live by, come on, call me, call me, call me if you’re blue. Because I’ll still be here for you.”

Hitting the stage at about 9:15 p.m., and playing for about 90 minutes, Morissette exuded energy as she projected her powerful voice through the pavilion.

As she sang “Right Through You,” statistics about the plight of girls and women flashed on the screen behind her, announcing that “Every 10 minutes, an adolescent girl dies as a result of violence,” and “18 countries allow men to prohibit their wives from working,” ending with the question, “Why are we afraid of the divine feminine?”

In 2022, Morissette released “The Storm Before the Calm,” an album of guided meditations, and before each show she offers a special VIP Experience, allowing those who pay $1,250 to take part in a meditation practice with her along with other more traditional backstage VIP experiences.

While Morissette’s celebrated feminist rage was on full display during a loud, powerful rendition of “You Oughta Know,” her softer side came through as she and her band played an acoustic set toward the front of the stage, on “Mary Jane,” and “Missing the Miracle.”

She closed out the show with two songs, “Uninvited,” spinning in circles over and over as lights flashed around her, finally collapsing to the floor, then “Thank U,” during which images of the night’s audience flashed onscreen, smiling faces, peace signs and love emanating from the crowd back to Morissette.

The Triple Moon Tour includes 31 North American shows that began June 9 in Arizona and wraps up Aug. 10 in California.

The approval brings the total number of acres preserved in the county to 79,880. The program began in 1980, and the county has set 100,000 acres as its goal for agricultural preservation.

The county’s program works by paying landowners to permanently retire the development potential of their land. The easement that the county purchases restricts all future development of the property and remains with the land, binding future owners from development as well. The farm owner holds the title to the land and can continue to use it as a farm.

The conservation easement also requires conservation practices that “assure proper care of the land so it remains usable and productive for future generations,” according to the county’s agricultural land preservation website.

Both properties approved for easements on Thursday are owned by the same people, Frances L. Swift and Susan C. Lynch, and both are located on Stone Road in Westminster. The landowners were granted preliminary approval to participate in the County Agricultural Land Preservation Program on June 14, 2023, by the county’s Agricultural Land Preservation Advisory Board. Commissioners also gave preliminary approval on July 13, 2023.

The first property, at 1200 Stone Road, is 57.479 acres, with a fair market value for the land of $410,250.94. The easement cost the county $287,175.66, or 70% of the fair market value. The farm is among several other preserved properties.

The second property, at 1414 Stone Road, is southwest of the other property and comprises 124.74 acres. The fair market value of the land for this property is $890,317.48, and the cost to the county for the easement is $623,222.24.

Commissioners commented on the beauty of both properties before unanimously approving the purchases. They also congratulated the property owners, who attended the meeting.

The first item on the commissioners’ agenda is from the county’s Bureau of Aging and Disabilities, which is part of the Department of Citizen Services. Department Director Celene Steckel will ask commissioners Thursday for their approval for a grant application that county staff hopes to use to help fund a part-time position in the bureau to enhance care for people with dementia.

According to the agenda, the county’s Bureau of Aging & Disabilities recently participated in a work group with the Maryland Department of Aging to develop a program to enhance programming to provide new services to individuals with symptoms of dementia that interfere with daily living activities, as well as to their caregivers. The department plans to apply for a fiscal 2025 Long-Term Care and Dementia Navigation Grant in the amount of $26,732 for the program.

Commissioners will also oversee a public hearing on a $32,901.14 contract award for removal and replacement of carpet at Carroll Community College’s P Building. The P Building opened in 2002 and includes 15 faculty and staff offices, four classrooms, a gym, fitness center and locker rooms, according to the agenda. The building’s hallway is “a major corridor from the C Building to the K Building,” and therefore gets a lot of foot traffic, the agenda states, and the age of the carpet creates trip hazards and also makes removal of stains difficult or impossible.

The Office of Procurement will ask commissioners to approve the contract for removal and installation of carpet to Shaw Integrated Solutions.

The office is also asking for the commissioners’ approval on the following purchases or contracts:

• $732,897.04 to Motorola Solutions, Inc., for the purchase of portable radios and accessories for the Department of Public Safety at the Public Safety Training Center and at the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office Training Academy.
• $53,900 to Motorola Solutions, Inc., for the purchase of live streaming services that integrate with body worn and in-car cameras for the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office. The office was awarded a grant to cover funding of related equipment.
• $50,950 to Marathon Technology Services, LLC, for the purchase of replacement cameras for the county’s Detention Center.

The commissioners’ meeting is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m., Thursday, in Room 311 of the County Office Building, 225 N. Center St., in Westminster. The meeting will be livestreamed at https://www.youtube.com/@CarrollCountyGov.

Anyone can make public comment at the meeting, in person or online. Those wishing to attend online should call 872-240-3212 and enter access code 317-923-893 to join the meeting.

During Thursday’s Carroll County commissioners meeting, staff and contractors who work with the county to provide services to homeless residents, expressed the need for an expanded facility, as they gained commissioners’ support for submitting a grant application to the state.

During the past four years, 160 adults and 202 children used the county’s family shelter, and the facility has a waitlist, according to staff.

“The current facility does not provide a safe environment or adequate space for some of the county’s most vulnerable,” staff stated in meeting documents. “In addition to safety and space concerns, the existing shelter is not fully accessible and is not child friendly.”

The current family shelter, at 10 Distillery Drive in Westminster, is about 6,000 square feet. In 2021, the county purchased the Penn-Mar Organization building, at 115 Stoner Ave., in Westminster, for $1.3 million. The building is on the same campus as the county’s adult and night-by-night shelters and the county’s Westminster Senior Center.

The new building will include approximately 7,580 square feet for the county’s family shelter relocation and renovation.

Human Services Programs of Carroll County Inc., is the nonprofit Community Action Agency that partners with county government, as well as several state and federal programs, to provide shelter and housing services, including homeless prevention programs, eviction prevention and other housing supports to the community.

HSP Executive Director Scott Yard told commissioners Thursday that the new family shelter is “a long time coming,” and will allow the agency to leverage services to enhance safety and comfort for those seeking help.

“It will also allow a more balanced and appropriate setting for children. Right now, the children are on the fourth floor of an office building. The rooms don’t have ceilings, it’s very loud and very sterile and non-comforting,” Yard said. “The new shelter will put the children in a much better place so they can have a much more stable environment.”

The new facility will be called The COVE, which stands for The Center for Opportunity, Value and Empowerment, “because we know that in that building that is what we would like to do — to be able to lift people up and empower people and to put them into stability, whether it’s through aging programs, other government programs or the shelter itself,” said Celine Steckel, director of Citizen Services for the county.

“As you know being evicted is very traumatizing for a child and we want to do everything we can do to help them have the best transition back to a normal life,” Yard said. “[The new shelter will] also help to alleviate second-generation poverty. When a child grows up in a homeless shelter the chance that they will live in a homeless shelter as an adult greatly increases. So, providing a newer facility that allows us to have more resources in the facility and leverage other services, the chance of diminishing generational poverty in Carroll County is going to increase rapidly.”

Steckel said the new building will be a community space, with a portion dedicated to a new conference room that can be used by community partners, and space for the county’s Citizen Services and the Bureau of Aging and Disabilities departments.

Deb Standiford, manager of the county’s Office of Grants Management, said the county’s Community Development Block Grant application for fiscal 2025 will request the maximum amount available, $800,000, from the state. The grant program supports public facilities devoted to providing services to clients of low or moderate means, including homeless families, she explained.

The funds would be used toward construction of the family shelter. The county has said the shelter would be built during fiscal 2025, and the total estimated cost of the project is $5.5 million.

The county has received CDBG funds from the state for other projects in the past, including Springboard Community Services’ domestic violence Safe House, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Carroll County gymnasium in Westminster, respite facilities for Penn-Mar Human Services, and facility renovations at the ARC of Carroll County.

The pool and other backstage luxuries are just some of the renovations that have been made at the storied Columbia amphitheater during seven offseasons and finished earlier this month.

Merriweather’s management team celebrated the upgrades during a behind-the-scenes tour for members of the media, as staff worked feverishly to finish last-minute projects in time for the concert season to officially kick off May 4 with the two-day M3 Rock Festival. A summer full of big names will fill the amphitheater this season, including Sarah McLachlan, Alanis Morissette, Hootie & the Blowfish, Dierks Bentley, New Kids on the Block, and Imagine Dragons, as well as several festivals.

Saving Merriweather

The 57-year-old venue’s future was not always so bright — in the early 2000s Merriweather faced permanent closure, until some visionaries, political and musical, stepped in.

Merriweather Post Pavilion was built in 1967 as one of Columbia’s first amenities. The second public building to be constructed in Columbia, it was designed by architect Frank Gehry, known for his design of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. It took eight months and $1 million to build the simple pavilion amid towering beech trees adjacent to the Symphony Woods park in Columbia. The amphitheater was created to be the summer home of the National Symphony, and it was named for one of the group’s key patrons, Marjorie Merriweather Post.

But after two seasons, financial problems forced the symphony to end its relationship with the pavilion. The venue started seeking groups that would draw crowds, moving toward rock bands such as Led Zeppelin and The Who. The Nederlander Organization managed the pavilion from 1974 to 1999 and focused again on rock, pop and folk acts. The 1980s were more successful, with 30 to 40 bands on stage each season and most security problems under control. The Grateful Dead anniversary concert in 1985 included thousands of fans camping in Symphony Woods, descending on The Mall in Columbia for food and bathing in a Columbia fountain. Phish fans clogged traffic in Town Center in 1998.

Around 2003, the Rouse Co. started publicly stating that it was not happy with the venue’s financial performance, and during discussion of zoning changes to Columbia Town Center, Dennis W. Miller, a Rouse vice president and general manager of Columbia, talked about plans to change the pavilion, eliminating up to 10,000 lawn seats, making the venue significantly smaller, enclosing it for year-round use, and changing the types of events held there.

In October 2003, Rouse replaced Clear Channel Entertainment, Inc., with a new management company that would prove to be the amphitheater’s savior — I.M.P. Inc., the Bethesda-based owner of two D.C. venues, the 9:30 Club and the Lincoln Theatre. In March 2017, I.M.P. announced a 40-year lease deal to continue operating the historic venue, alongside a major renovation plan that began three years earlier and brought facility upgrades, art installations, improved concessions and bathrooms, and environmental features.

From the beginning I.M.P.’s owner, Seth Hurwitz, believed in Merriweather and his ability to bring in big acts to Columbia. “Merriweather has been portrayed as outmoded,” Hurwitz said in October 2003. “That couldn’t be further from the truth.”

Hurwitz and others at the May 3 celebration credited Ken Ulman as being integral in saving Merriweather. First elected to Howard County Council in 2002 at the age of 28, Ulman, a West Columbia Democrat, was the youngest county executive in the state’s history when he was elected in 2006 at the age of 32. Among other progressive moves for Columbia during his eight-year tenure, he made it his personal mission to save Merriweather from closure.

“Maybe because I was so young, maybe I was a punk a little bit at the time, and I said, ‘Hell no, you’re not closing Merriweather Post Pavilion,'” Ulman said May 3. “The reason that I felt so strongly was I was born and raised here and Merriweather Post Pavilion was part of the fabric of growing up here. It also spoke to our values. It speaks to the heart and culture. … It speaks to a place that brings our community together. Twenty years ago we didn’t have enough of those places and certainly today we don’t have enough of those places. And it also was something that made us different than any other generic suburb. You don’t get rid of the places that make you unique and special and interesting. You build on them.”

Youth and boldness

Then-County Council Chair Calvin Ball, a Democrat from East Columbia, started on the council just as Ulman was starting as executive. Together, the two were the youngest chair and the youngest executive in Howard County history.

Ball, now a second-term county executive, celebrated on Merriweather’s stage with Ulman on May 3, and said their youth and boldness was part of the Save Merriweather grassroots effort that included dozens in the community.

“Seeing the fruition of this vision, seeing all of the hard work so that the next generation is able to enjoy shows just reminds us that we can make a difference and we can make things better for future generations,” Ball said.

Ulman said 20 years ago he supported more development in Columbia, but not without Merriweather as a central part of the plan. Though he had the vision to save the place, he needed help to make it viable, and that’s where Hurwitz stepped in. Hurwitz contacted Ulman and assured him he could bring big acts to the amphitheater and make it viable for years to come, “and he did exactly what he said,” Ulman said.

“Saving an empty place, that doesn’t do anybody any good, so the fact that Seth Hurwitz lived up to his word and for 20 years has booked shows to generate revenue to put back into renovations, he deserves an enormous round of applause.”

In March 2013, Ulman proposed legislation to hasten redevelopment of the concert venue, and force Columbia’s master developer, Howard Hughes Corp., to turn Merriweather over to a county nonprofit up to 10 years earlier than originally planned. Howard Hughes transferred ownership on Nov. 30, 2016, to the Downtown Columbia Arts and Culture Commission.

The commission, a nonprofit that aims to promote arts and culture in Columbia, worked to add more community-based programming, including shows by local artists and partnerships with local organizations to bring a local vibe to the pavilion. In early November 2016 the County Council passed a $90 million tax increment financing deal to fund public infrastructure, including a $51 million public parking garage for Merriweather, which helped it survive as well.

The renovations

Brad Canfield, now vice president of operations, helped oversee the transformation, which began with 10 years of brainstorming to make Merriweather the best venue in the country, he said.

“For 10 years we came up with all sorts of crazy ideas, never before thought of things, and after 10 years we were able to start implementing them,” Canfield said.

In June 2014, musician Jack Johnson helped Hurwitz and local officials to announce a $19 million improvement program, including significant environmentally conscious upgrades, such as adding a solar array system, which powers house and backstage lighting for 70% of shows; composting facilities; and bringing a new concession stand and restroom to LEED standards.

Final site development plans for Merriweather’s makeover were approved by the Howard County Planning Board in January 2015, and the first phase of construction began that year. The project manager and architect at the time said they were focused on preserving the “extraordinary park-like” setting, working around existing trees and green space.

The venue never shut down during the renovations; instead, improvements were mostly made during the offseason each year for about seven years. Originally planned to take five years and cost around $50 million, the timetable stretched, thanks to the pandemic and other delays, and increased in cost, ultimately totaling about $65 million.

Renovation highlights included raising the stage via a 62-foot-tall stage house with advanced rigging, upgraded power, and installation of an 82-foot-wide Brazilian Redwood floor with a 48-foot spinning turntable insert, enabling 5-minute set changes. These upgrades allowed the venue to book bigger touring artists whose stage setups required them. Merriweather also added a first-of-its kind SkyLawn, with an elevated option for first-come, first-served lawn seating, on the venue’s grass-covered roof.

The pavilion’s roof was also made 20 feet higher in a monthslong effort in 2018. When the roof was near its final position in January 2018, it collapsed, but it was rebuilt and renovations continued.

Throughout the project, Howard County officials stayed involved and supportive, according to Ball, providing critical funding, including more than $17 million in nonprofit funding to Merriweather Post Pavilion and the Downtown Columbia Arts and Culture Commission during the past 20 years.

“Additionally, we took important actions to support the performing arts in Downtown Columbia during the COVID-19 pandemic, when many arts organizations had to shutter,” Ball said in a May 8 statement. “This included directing more than $1 million in pandemic relief funds to Downtown Columbia Arts organizations, which included Merriweather Post Pavilion.”

County government has partnered with Merriweather to support community events, such as free Teen Movie Nights and annual graduation ceremonies for all of the county’s public high schools.

“Merriweather Post Pavilion has had a profound impact on our community over the last two decades, and we look forward to many more years of partnership with them,” Ball stated.

In 2023, Pollstar magazine, a concert venue industry publication, ranked Merriweather Post Pavilion as the No.1 amphitheater in the world, in gross sales ($34 million), a designation that thrilled Audrey Fix Schaefer, communications director for I.M.P. and the venue.

“I get chills thinking about it because it could’ve gone under,” Schaefer said.

Ulman echoed her enthusiasm, saying that the renovations “feel authentic” and stayed true to venue’s historic treehouse-like feel.

“How many times did this place almost die in the process? The fact that we are here celebrating … this is a damn good story,” he said. “This place is owned by a nonprofit; no one will ever threaten this place again. Merriweather will always be here. … This just makes me really gratified and really happy and feel somewhat old, too.”

The Times’ photography staff earned first place for Best Photo Gallery for its 2023 Pictures of the year.

Photographers Kate Cedeno and Jerry Jackson earned Best in Show in the Breaking News category for their photo coverage of the aftermath of an early August storm in Westminster.

Sports reporter Timothy Dashiell won first place for sports writing for his story about a softball game between Francis Scott Key and Liberty high schools.

Senior Content Editor Jeffrey F. Bill won first place for his photo series on spring peepers in Mount Airy and earned second place for his photos in the General News Photography category, the Sports Photo Feature category, and for a photo series on the Raventree sculpture being installed in Wakefield Valley Park. Photographer Brian Krista won second place in the Feature Photo category.

Reporter Thomas Goodwin Smith won two second-place awards for his writing. A story about Carroll Community College students getting help in unlocking federal aid for groceries and other necessities earned an accolade in the Public Service category. And Smith’s story about a Westminster nonprofit leader being investigated for sexual solicitation of a minor won second place in the Investigative Reporting category.

The Baltimore Sun also took home 20 first place prizes in the contest. Stories singled out with the best in show designation included The Sun’s database of those accused of abuse in the Catholic Church who are beyond Baltimore’s archdiocese by Jonathan M. Pitts, Annie Jennemann, Maya Lora, Lia Russell and Cassidy Jensen; a man who served 34 years in prison for killing a teen who now mentors youth by Alex Mann; an examination of patients with dementia who have run ins with the police by Angela Roberts and Cassidy Jensen; a profile of Jonathon Heyward, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s musical director, by Mary Carole McCauley; and a way of interactively exploring the more than 800 bills that passed the Maryland Assembly by Annie Jennemann.

Sun stories that won first place covered topics such as a Baltimore County police officer who beat a prisoner and was reprimanded for swearing; how Federalsburg’s Black residents are fighting for representation in government; the breaking news surrounding the Brooklyn Homes shooting that left two dead and 28 wounded; photos from a firefighter’s funeral; and video of robots that deliver food to students at Morgan State University.

Admission will be $15 per person at the gate; everyone under the age of 18 is admitted for free. Parking is also free, making this a great place to take the family; however, keep in mind that this show is one of the largest in the country, and be prepared for increased traffic around the fairgrounds that weekend.

John Goodman, a lifelong Howard County resident and local historian, recently contacted me about the 65th Class Reunion for the Howard High School Class of 1958. The reunion was held at Kelseys Restaurant in Ellicott City in the middle of the day because many members of the class no longer feel comfortable driving after dark. The group has held a class reunion every five years since graduation. In earlier years they gathered for dinner dances and pig roasts, but now luncheons are the best way to get everyone together. In 1958, 202 students graduated; 24 members attended the 65th reunion.

Goodman reminisced about the night after graduation, when a large group of students went to Kramer’s Pool in Glenwood. Later that evening they drove to the home of Principal Omar Jones, woke up the family and made a special presentation to Jones, to recognize him for a job well done.

Goodman also wants to let all graduates from Howard High know about the monthly breakfast club at the Ellicott City Diner. On the first Wednesday of each month a group gathers at 9 a.m. to catch up on their lives. Alumni from the 1950s and 1960s usually attend. This would also be a great opportunity for anyone who graduated in more recent years to learn about Howard County history by talking to people who have lived through a lot of changes in the county.

The Glenelg High School Class of 1974 has scheduled its 50th Class Reunion. The reunion committee is still working on the details, but plans are for a party to be held on Oct. 5 at Union Jack’s in Columbia. Committee members are trying to find as many members of the class as possible. If you know someone who graduated in 1974, please send information including current name, address, phone, and email address to Terry Feaga Varner at tvarner13@gmail.com. They hope to schedule additional activities during the weekend and look forward to hearing from all their classmates.

Amy Syversen, the director of bands at Dayton Oaks Elementary School, is proud to announce the Band Musicians of the Month for May. Owen Interiano Saavedra, Ellie Dodson, Jaiden Richa, Trey Hoskey, Owen Painter, Kai Aneja, Carter Boston, Alex Halasz, Noah Choi, Zach Soldavin, Aarushi Patel, Warner Shipe, Ethan Guzman and Colin Lloyd have all been practicing hard and impressing Syversen.

Glenelg High School’s Jazz Ensemble will present Jazz Under the Stars on May 17 at 6 p.m. in the Glenelg Stadium.  The Glenelg Madrigals, Poms and Color Guard along with the Folly Quarter Middle School Jazz Band and Glenwood Middle School Jazz Band will also perform. This year’s special guest artist will be New York saxophonist Chris Hemingway. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the stadium. Proceeds will support the award-winning Glenelg Jazz Band. Food will be available for purchase from the Glenelg Boosters Club concession stand and Mike’s Gelato food truck.

Send news that you would like to read in this column to Tracy Trobridge at tracy21738@yahoo.com or call 410-489-7444.

The Thomas Viaduct is the first multi-span masonry railroad bridge built on a curving alignment in the United States. The 612-foot-long viaduct, completed in 1835, stands 59 feet above the Patapsco River and Patapsco Valley, and is “a crucial part of Maryland’s rail infrastructure, carrying passenger and freight trains,” according to a news release from the American Society of Civil Engineers.

The group recognizes historically significant civil engineering projects, structures and sites worldwide. Nearly 300 projects have earned the title of National Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks “for their creativity, innovation, and challenging conditions in which they were built,” the news release stated.

The dedication will take place at 11 a.m., Saturday in Pavilion 104 at Patapsco Valley State Park, 6113-6117 River Road, Elkridge.

Founded in 1852, the American Society of Civil Engineers represents more than 150,000 civil engineers worldwide and is America’s oldest national engineering society. The group “works to raise awareness of the need to maintain and modernize the nation’s infrastructure using sustainable and resilient practices, advocates for increasing and optimizing investment in infrastructure, and improve engineering knowledge and competency,” according to the news release.