The Monday Roundup

Laurel College Center Celebrates 10-Year Anniversary

It was a homecoming of sorts for staff and alumni at as the campus celebrated its 10-year anniversary.

The college, a partnership between Howard County Community College and Prince George’s County Community, sailed passed the 10-year mark this month. Since its inception as a small continuing education program serving the Laurel area, the college has from grown from an enrollment of a few hundred to now having more than 2,300 credit-seeking students. It has academic partnerships with Towson University, University of Maryland University College among others.

“We’re very proud of the students and how the center has grown,” said Nancy Grinberg,, the school’s program director.  “It’s a very unique partnership program.”

Read more here.

Laurel Received Sustainable Communities Designation

Laurel joins Aberdeen, Cumberland, Hyattsville and Westminster in being designated as "sustainable communities" by the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) and Maryland Department of Planning.

As a designee, Laurel will have access to state funding and resources for a number of projects.

"Existing communities in rural, suburban and urban areas are smart places to grow and focus scarce local and state resources for revitalization," said DHCD Secretary Raymond Skinner in a news release. "The Sustainable Communities program aims at helping existing communities to create clear action plans for revitalization."

A "Sustainable Community Area" designation reflects that a municipality has identified a specific local area in need of revitalization and has created a comprehensive strategy to encourage and guide local investment. The comprehensive Sustainable Community strategy aims to increase economic, transportation and housing choices as well as the quality of the local environment, according to a news release.

Read more here.

Rotary Club Donates 552 Dictionaries to Area Schools

Students at schools in Laurel will have some extra books on hand because the Rotary Club of Laurel is donating 552 dictionaries to schools.

As part of the Dictionary Project, the club has donated 2,856 dictionaries to students over the last seven years, according to The Gazette.  The books will go to third-grade students at Bond Mill, Laurel, Montpelier, Oaklands, Scotch Town Hills, James H. Harrison and Deerfield Run elementary schools and St. Mary of the Mills School.

The club raised more than $950 this year for the dictionaries.