The Baltimore Sun from Baltimore, Maryland • 73

'trrfi iVMtiTiiiiIiiiiiiiftiiMTftui Hi, Howard! a 1 I I II Maybe we've surprised you with our new look. This is the first issue of The Howard Sun to come out in what newspaper folks call the tabloid fashion. Our new typographical clothes are intended to make our paper more interesting, more readable, and more attractive for you. We hope you'll agree, even if adjusting to what we're doing takes a few issues. We believe our new format also is more attractive to community advertisers interested in getting their messages to Howard county.

We'll still be part of The Sun and The Evening Sun each Wednesday. And our goal continues to be giving you the best possible coverage of what Howard county people are doing. Look us over. Here's a sampling of what you'll find inside: Newsmakers DeFrancis: Freestate to the state Frank DeFrancis, the colorful 56-year-old owner of Freestate Raceway in Laurel and Clarksville resident, believes in living with gusto. "I don't hit a golf ball without it, and it's a major ingredient in my work," he says.

A profile shows a man of wide experience and long-distance drive. Page 4 Seeking school board seats The county's political season is about to open, and among the first to pitch the public are Allen Swanson and Anne Dodd, candidates for a school board seat. Page 6 I 'III' I II Sports ,0 'C'-r7 fsr ''T Columbian Joe Wagner talks about his experience of participating in the famed Ironman triathlon, which means swimming, biking, and running more than 140 miles. During the competition he wore a Howard Striders shirt. Page 17 THE HOWARD SUN WILLIAM HOTZ JOE WAGNER Spring fling Highland dancers Kimberfy and Ginny MacNemar, backed (from the left) by pipers and drummers Michael Rogers, Stephen and Alexander Cruickshank, Centennial takes mat title The county's 1983-84 wrestling champion is Centennial High School, which also won the dual meet season.

But Oakland Mills's Doug Lew was the meet's top performer. Page 18 and Robert Mitchell, of the Glen Campbell Pipes and Drums, will perform in "An Evening of Scottish Entertainment" Saturday, March 3, at Oakland Mills High School. For a look at the county groups putting on this show, see Page 1 1 Residents say county agencies' handling of epidemic is uncoordinated By Rick Belz The Howard Sun A lack of coordination among county agencies has some residents concerned about public health and safety during the current rabies epidemic. Week in review Search continues Police continued searching for Oliver Wendell Munson, 39, an industrial arts teacher at Ellicott City Middle School. He was to be a witness in an auto theft trial scheduled to begin last week, in what Baltimore police called an "interesting coincidence." They say they have no evidence of a link, however, between the two events.

Mr. Munson, of Catonsville, became a witness when he innocently purchased a used car that had been stolen. Mr; Munson's 1980 Ford Pinto, found Thursday on Braeside road, had been ransacked and the stereo ripped out As of February 17, 30 cases of rabid raccoons had been confirmed in Howard county this year, a number equal to the total for 1983. The number may be higher, however, because of the difficulty in confirming rabies cases; residents simply bury many wild animals found dead. The epidemic apparently entered the county from Montgomery county, engulfed Highland, and is spreading southward, said John Garrity, the county's animal control officer.

All but one case has been in the rural western half of the county. The only reported case in Columbia occurred January 7 on Gales lane, on the east side of U.S. 29 near Lake Kittamaqundi and next to three apartment complexes Copperstone Circle, High Tor and Autumn Crest -Please see RABIES, Page 2 with rabid animals or animals suspected of being rabid, residents expressed concern not only about gaps in available information, out compiainea about tne response from some county agencies, particularly Animal Control "I think the community needs to become aware," said Highland resident Barbara two children are undergoing rabies shots. "There must be a mobilization of No scare tactics, but information..