The Comet Booster Club is offering a great way for Ravens fans to watch their favorite pro football team play the Indianapolis Colts this Sunday.

The club is hosting a Ravens Tailgate on Sun., Oct. 12, from noon to 5 p.m. at the Knights of Columbus hall on Frederick Road next door to the Catonsville Library.

Watch the 1 p.m. game on a big screen TV and enjoy Maryland crab soup, barbecue shrimp, wings, chili, pit beef, Italian sausage, pit roasted turkey, salads, Ms. Desserts, beer, wine and soda for $50.

Proceeds benefit renovations to Comet Park at Catonsville High School. For tickets, contact Beth Reymann at reymann1904@verizon.net or Kevin Beard at Kevinlbeard@comcast.net or stop by Opie's Soft Serve and Snowballs, 1603 Edmondson Avenue, at the Junction.

Speaking of the library, Bob Maranto, the branch manager at the Catonsville Library, will be leaving us for his new post at the Essex branch at the end of October.

He's been at the Catonsville Library for five years and we will miss him.

Margaret Prescott, the manager for 12 years at the Cockeysville branch, will be taking over for him in Catonsville.

We wish you well, Bob.

Another new face on Frederick Road is Tony Paek, the owner of the Columbia Golf Store at 721 Frederick Road.

"We're excited about the move and look forward to meeting golfers from Catonsville," said Paek, who is moving his shop on Route 40 in Ellicott City to Catonsville.

The shop, which Paek said has been in business for 16 years, will offer golf lessons and a computerized swing analysis featuring a hitting area with a launch monitor to show how far you hit the ball and the spin rate.

Matt Spence, the store manager, grew up in Catonsville. He said the store is planning a grand opening for November 1, but area golfers can stop in now.

Speaking of launches, Smithwood Avenue's Dan Ossing is working on an exciting project for NASA.

The aerospace engineer, who works at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab, is a consultant for Chandrayan, India's historic moon mission.

The husband of Megan and proud father of Kathryn, 17, David, 13, John, 11, Mary, 8, Sarah, 6, and Grace, who died in 1997 at age 4, will be at the ground station in Columbia near a 60-foot satellite dish on October 22 when a satellite launched by India goes to the moon.

"We're just trying to help receive the signals to the ground station," he said on his tracking work during the 11-day trip.

For information on the mission, go to http://www.chandrayaan-i.com.

Longtime Catonsville neighbors Lisa Boone and Jan Carlson are sponsoring a walk on Sunday, Oct. 19, at 9:30 a.m. for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.

It should be a ton of fun.

In the past, they've had a large group head downtown or to Cockeysville for the official walk.

This year, they'll meet at the beginning of the trolley trail at the end of Edmondson Avenue and walk to Ellicott City and back.

In 2008, an estimated 182,460 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women in the U.S., and 40,480 women are expected to die of the disease this year, according to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Web site at cms.komen.org/komen/index.htm.

Lisa and Jan remind us that the best defense against breast cancer is early detection. So, if you are over age 40 and have not had a mammogram in the past year, make an appointment. And don't forget your monthly self-exam.

To make a donation or for more details, e-mail Jan at jbcarlson1@verizon.net or Lisa at Boone97@comcast.net.

Rissa Miller and Nathaniel Corn of Balance Photography are amazingly talented photographers who also give back to the community.

Last year, they raised almost $3,000 for the local nonprofit Maryland For Our Military by putting together a Thank You calendar.

They are working on another calendar this year.

"We are grateful to everyone who helped make the project a success. We are well on our way to do even better this year with your help and support," Miller said.

The project has no political affiliation and is strictly for the benefit of our veterans with all the proceeds going towards assisting soldiers recovering at Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda.

Maryland For Our Military provides those soldiers with things such as bottled water, snacks, shampoo and soap as well as flying in family members who can't afford plane tickets and helping to cover costs of the visit.

"We cover the costs of printing the calendars with money from sponsors so that all the proceeds from the sales go directly to the soldiers," Corn said.

Sponsors get an ad online and also in the printed calendar. Ad rates start at $100.

For information, go to www.thankyoucalendar.com.

University of Maryland graduate student Carl Oswald, an amazing oboe player who won the 2007 Concerto Competition, is performing with the University of Maryland Symphony Orchestra on Nov. 1 for the world premier of faculty composer Mark Wilson's "The Phoenix."

The performance will take place at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center on the College Park campus of the University of Maryland.

His parents, Patapsco Woods residents Jim and Patti Oswald, are beaming with pride for their impressive musician.

Nearly 80 residents attended the recent Citizens on Patrol informational meeting at the Catonsville Library.

Officer Bill Rubie of the Community Outreach office at the Wilkens Precinct was impressed with the turnout.

For information, call his office at 410-744-1584.

For area crime statistics, go to Crimereports.com and put in your address.

If you see graffiti on U.S. mailboxes, call the Giepe Road station at 410-869-9547 and they will report it to maintenance control at the downtown post office to have the damage painted over or the mailbox replaced.

I've already called about the one at Edmondson and Beechwood avenues and the one at Magruder and Mellor avenues.

Sheri DePetro, a licensed social worker and acupuncturist, is celebrating two years in her office at 38 Mellor Avenue.

The 10-year resident of Paradise has a holistic practice that is a unique blend of western and Chinese medicine.

She offers psychotherapy and/or acupuncture, and treats issues ranging from pain relief, the common cold and depression to healing from an injury.

"This is mind-body-spirit medicine, individually tailored for your unique needs," said the graduate of Tai Sophia Institute in Laurel.

On an historical note: Did you know the Susquehannoghs were hunting Indians who inhabited this area when Captain John Smith in 1608 entered the lower regions of the Patapsco River?

The Catonsville Room in the lower level of the library is open every Thursday afternoon and the first Wednesday evening of the month.

For information, call 410-887-0951.

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