Keep storm drains clear. At the Greater Baltimore Highlands Community Association meeting Monday evening, Baltimore County community liaison Mike Lynch reminded residents about the importance of keeping storm drains clear during this rainy season, particularly in areas prone to flooding. If you see a storm drain blocked with debris, call 410-887-7428. The county will send an inspector and clear the drain if necessary. Vandalism in Relay. According to a recent e-mail from the Relay Improvement Association, two residents on Elm Avenue had graffiti spray-painted on their fences. The stop sign at…

Every Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. the membership of the Arbutus Community Association meets at Town Hall to drink beer and attend to the order of business. The minutes of the previous meeting are read, followed by the treasurer's report. The order of business is periodically punctuated by the rumbling of knuckles on the tabletops as members vote in assent. Among the items on the agenda – hall rentals, completion of the new men's bathroom – was the matter of foxes. Mike Eagle stands to address the room. He has the bearing that comes from 20 years in the Army, which he did as a search and recovery …

Listen up, Relay dog owners: This...stuff...is about to get real. The Relay Improvement Association issued a notice to all dog owners in the community: Stay out of the Relay Children's Center playground. The Relay Children's Center has received calls from concerned parents about dogs running free in the fenced-in playground area on the Relay Children's Center property. The concern is the feces that dogs may leave behind even when it is cleaned up by the owners. Parents have asked the Children's Center to lock the fenced-in playground area after hours. The Children's Center does not wish to …

One of my favorite parts of being editor of Arbutus Patch is having the opportunity and reason to delve into historical subjects, learning new things about the community I thought I knew so well. There was so much I didn't know about – the English Consul mansion, the Arbutus Oak, the origin of the telephone pole. One historical fact that everybody seems to know is that the village of Relay was named for the station where they switched horses, back before mechanized locomotives when trains were pulled by horses. America's first commercial train track was laid out from Baltimore to Ellicott …