The Baltimore Sun from Baltimore, Maryland • Page G5

THE SUN IN HOWARD WEDNESDAY 06.20.2007 5G Inside the belly of the beast Caplan's leadership, good humor noted; HCC trustee 12 years From Page 1G "I feel like I'm giving a lot through my vocal expression. I think we're a good team." She added: "There is actually a kind of liberty in that anonymity. It's an opportunity to be the worst villain I can be because nobody can see me." Lehan said he needed extra help, since he cannot see very much from inside the padded heads. "I was constantly asking the actors, 'Does this make sense to you? Is this angry he said. "I feel angry on the inside, but I am totally reliant on the actors and director and Genevieve herself to give feedback." Audrey II has required technical tweaking as well.

The puppets, purchased from another theater company, were "in a serious state of disrepair," said Grabau, who did much of the refurbishing. Among his tasks was to replace a metal frame in the largest puppet with a plastic one. He said: "It used to weigh about 140 pounds; now it is about 70." At dress rehearsal, Orenstein worked with the cast to get the jaw to align properly, the green felt-covered roots to lie correctly and the actors to move smoothly into the jaws and "disappear." This past week, Lehan did all of the shows as Audrey II while Grabau was performing as the understudy for the character of the dentist. Lehan said things fell into place nicely. In rehearsal, "I really had to think everything through," he said.

"Now I'm at the point I'm feeling it more like an actor as opposed to a mechanical puppet. I speak the words so I can feel my Michael Lehan, sans Audrey II costume, rehearses a scene with David James (left), who portrays Seymour. Lehan had to get in shape to play the physically demanding role. STEVE RUARK SPECIAL TO THE SUN sense that he has more passion than anyone for the community college. His excitement about helping students is just unparalleled." She said Caplan also was active in fostering a respectful and productive board environment.

"I think they all commit very early to the idea that it's not about us, it's about the college, and whatever our individual biases are, we're going to do the best thing for the college," Duncan said. She said Caplan was "a leader in coming up with the protocols for the board. They can disagree if they want, but once the decision is made, in public they would never undercut each other. They never try to upstage each other in any way." Caplan said he was proud to have been an early supporter of the Silas Craft Collegians program, which provides academic support, career exploration and leadership opportunities to students who have potential but did not excel in high school. The college had established the Rouse Scholars scholarship and leadership program for high-achieving students, Caplan said, and he suggested, "We are the place where people come to get that gateway to an education." Caplan also established an annual fundraiser at Hunan Manor restaurant that has brought the college tens of thousands of dollars for student scholarships.

As a former middle school teacher, Caplan said, he also has a soft spot for the educators at the college. He praised the faculty's commitment to putting teaching first, and he said he wished the board could have raised salaries more. Gov. Martin O'Malley will appoint a new trustee on the recommendation of state Sen. Edward J.

Kasemeyer. Caplan said that the trustees with whom he served left the college better than it was when he arrived. "It's got to be a culture," he said. "I hope after I leave, the culture prevails." sandy.alexanderbaltsun.com BY SANDY ALEXANDER SUN REPORTER After two six-year terms, Roger N. Caplan will complete his role as a Howard Community College trustee at the end of this month.

Caplan served on the seven-member board including as chairman from July 2001 to June 2004 during a time of significant growth in students and infrastructure. He said his greatest contribution to that growth was being on the committee that hired Mary Ellen Duncan as president in 1998. Duncan, who stepped down at the beginning of this month, has been widely praised for leading efforts to construct four buildings, enhance the campus atmosphere and offer more programs, technology and learning tools. "I am thrilled now we have a campus and a quad," Caplan said. "She was an eloquent spokeswoman for our students to have first-class facilities." Patrick Huddie, the current board chairman, said Caplan played a key role in "an expansion of the sense of possibility that Howard Community College can be a world-class community college It has no limit to what it can achieve." Huddie said he was struck by Caplan's commitment to the welfare of students and also his "great sense of humor.

He's just a joyful personality. When he's serious, he's really serious. But most of the time, he's just good-humored." Caplan, a Columbia resident who owns the Caplan Group advertising and public relations firm, said the board's role was to offer its expertise when needed and keep the issues of affordability and accessibility front and center. "The most important thing when you're a trustee is to know your role," Caplan said. "You do not micromanage policy; you set objectives and goals with the president You have to trust the leaders of the organization." Duncan said, "Roger is an exceptional board member in the years, but he said this is his first major commitment to a show after more than a decade during which he focused on his family and his job as director of purchasing at the Capital Hilton in Washington.

"It's just a toe-tapper," he said. "It's fun. The music is exciting. And the people at Toby's are great people. They're great to be around.

It's not a job." sandy.alexanderbaltsun.com Toby's Dinner Theatre: www.tobysdinnertheatre.com, or 410-730-8311. mouth open up how the puppet is supposed to open up. It's more second nature for me." In addition to an acting challenge, Lehan and Grabau agree that the role is a physical feat. "To start with, is the slight claustrophobia, because it's pretty tight in there," said Grabau, 26, who has appeared in nine shows at Toby's and worked in technical roles on about 30. "It gets very warm very quickly," he said.

"And the last puppet is a marathon. You sit in there for about 45 minutes." He added: "The most difficult part is eating people. You have to be concerned about the actor's safety as you are doing it. The puppet does have a significant amount of weight to it. You don't want to come down too hard on them." Lehan, 51, played the puppet manipulator role about 20 years ago at Olney Theatre Center and shortly after that at Toby's when the two theaters collaborated to buy the puppets.

He said he started getting into shape at the beginning of the year, but "I just don't rebound like I did 20 years ago." Lehan has done a few smaller roles help out at Toby's over the Draft transportation plan unveiled for US. Bike lanes, sidewalks among the proposals plans, given that the expansion of Fort Meade is expected to bring thousands of jobs to the area in the next five to seven years. "They need to have a bigger commitment to making this happen sooner rather than later," Wellman said. "People are coming whether you like it or not. The homes are coming.

It takes so long for traffic studies and roads, but the sooner you can get that going the better. To me, it seems like a lot of dreams. We'll see what actually happens." Jeff Harmon, 38, and his wife are considering buying a home in one of the developments along U.S. 1 and wanted to know how his potential future property could be affected by development. He liked the idea of widening the highway and adding pedestrian walkways and smaller side roads.

They hope to create a main-street affect by adding walkways and sidewalks. They would like people to travel between stores, restaurants, offices and homes on foot. They would like to make the area "quasi-urban" by adding street trees, banners, lights and open spaces. About 50 residents showed up Monday night. Some wanted more green space or safe, walkable sidewalks or a more definitive time line.

Others had comments about where a signal could be shorter or an additional road could ease traffic. "Anything to make Route 1 less industrial and more like a community will increase the value of my property," said Jennifer Wellman, 29, who bought a home in Elkridge a year ago. But she has concerns about the timing and feasibility of the Though revitalization of the U.S. 1 corridor is expected to take at least a decade, the process is well under way. Some key pieces that are completed or in the works are the transformation of the former Eastgate Shopping Center in Jes-sup into commercial condominiums, the expansion of the Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream plant and the development of mixed-use projects at Elkridge Crossing, Belmont Station and Ashbury Court.

Other anticipated multi-use projects include the ll-acre Savage Towne Centre, the Blue Stream Overlook and the Elkridge Town Center. rona.marechbaltsun.com A second meeting covering the same material will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. today in the Great Room at Savage Mill, 8600 Foundry St. in Savage.

County schools announce administrative changes BY RONA MARECH SUN REPORTER With efforts to rejuvenate a long-maligned but potential-laden section of U.S. 1 creeping forward, Howard County officials and the State Highway Administration unveiled a draft transportation plan that calls for adding paths, sidewalks, side roads, bike lanes, bus lanes, car lanes and a median to deal with increased traffic and use as the corridor grows. At a meeting Monday evening at Elkridge Landing Middle School, planners, designers and engineers laid out a proposal on colorful maps and asked community residents for feedback about how the plans would affect their neighborhoods and what they overlooked or misjudged. "How do we make sure we protect the health of the neighborhood and businesses while helping to foster new neighborhoods and businesses?" said Steve Lafferty, deputy director of the county's Department of Planning and Zoning. As more residential units, retail and office space pop up along the 11 miles of U.S.

1 that shoot through Howard County, officials hope to control congestion, improve safety and make it easier for vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists to circulate. To that end, their maps were criss-crossed with dots and lines, showing new network paths and roads that would reduce dependence on U.S. 1. Presenters talked about designated turn lanes, reducing the number of driveways, adding signals, creating visible crossing zones and possibly expanding U.S. 1 to six lanes and making it a "real boulevard" with a median.

m. r. at Stevens Forest Elementary will be the principal at Talbott Springs Elementary; David Larner, assistant principal at Hammond Elementary, will become principal at Clemens Crossing Elementary; Sharon Lewandowski, a math support teacher at Bryant Woods Elementary, will be an assistant principal at Laurel Woods Elementary; Brian Vanisko, a teacher on special assignment from Fulton Elementary, will become an assistant principal at Hammond Elementary; David Adelman, assistant principal at Waterloo Elementary, will be an assistant principal at Deep Run Elementary; Bridget Darden, assistant principal at Deep Run Elementary, will become an assistant principal at Waterloo Elementary; Peggy Dumler, principal at Clemens Crossing Elementary, will be principal at Laurel Woods Elementary; and Rosanne Wilson, principal at Laurel Woods Elementary, will become a human resources specialist. BY JOHN-JOHN WILLIAMS IV SUN REPORTER A slew of school administrative changes were announced at Thursday's Board of Education meeting. They will take effect July l.

At the secondary level, Kathy McKinley, principal at Bonnie Branch Middle, will be the principal at Mount View Middle; Carolyn Jameson, principal at Murray Hill Middle, will become the principal at Bonnie Branch Middle; Rosalie Bowen, assistant principal at Howard High, will become the assistant principal at Marriotts Ridge High; Lisa Veslany an assistant principal at Marriotts Ridge High, will become assistant principal at Howard High; Tammy Foyles, assistant principal at Reservoir High, will become an assistant principal at Wilde Lake High; and Sara Maslow, an assistant principal at Wilde Lake High, will be an assistant principal at Reservoir High. At the primary level, Nancy Thompson, assistant principal THROUGH DEDICATION TO OUR CUSTOMERS AND OUR COMMITMENT TO QUALITY, WE FEEL THAT WE CAN OFFER YOU THE BEST SERVICE IN MARYLAND! We offer the following services: Fence Installation Repairs Deck Patio Installation Repairs Pool Hot Tub Decks Replacements Spring Savings Up To 35 OFF Visit US on the web! 20 Years' Experience MHIC 92582 I Accepted Financing Available Lilypons Water Gardens Shop all day. every day 800-999-5459 IilypOns.COm Call for a FREE Catalog Installation, Cleaning Maintenance Services Available 6800 Lily Pons Road, Adamstown, MD 21710 Directions: Take MD 1-270 lo Urbana exit and follow signs lo Lilypons Water Gardens.