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Hyattsville parks are now home to 12 colorful wooden planters, each shaped like the letter "H."

A total of 40 planters initially decorated construction areas along the H Street Northeast corridor in Washington, D.C., but with that project drawing to a close, staff members and volunteers from Hyattsville's Office of Community Development worked with DC Greenworks to transport the planters Aug. 16 to several Hyattsville locations including Centennial Park, Magruder Park and Heurich Park.

"We may put potted flowers in them, something a little eye-catching," said Community Development manager Jim Chandler. "You need a little splash of color around. ... It intrigues people and gets their attention for a few moments."

Chandler said the planters would likely stay in Hyattsville for a couple of years.

"At some point in the future, we may pass them on to another organization or city and let them build upon it," Chandler said.

Granddaughter of Riverdale resident completes training

Army Reserve Pvt. Deirdra L. McLaughlin, granddaughter of Riverdale's Rowenna McLaughlin, finished basic combat training at Fort Sill in Lawton, Okla.

Over the course of nine weeks, McLaughlin studied the Army Mission and trained in drill and ceremonies, Army history, military justice, rifle marksmanship, map reading and land navigation and unarmed combat.

Local students make dean's list at Frostburg State

Several local students were named to the spring 2010 semester dean's list at Frostburg State University.

The list honored students who completed 12 or more credits while earning a grade-point average of 3.4 or greater.

Recipients included Terrance Martin of Beltsville; Carly Payne of Berwyn Heights; Matthew Sinclair of College Park; Evangeline Cade of Colmar Manor; Greenbelt residents Carmelius Iwuagwu, Tai Lowry and Kiersten Meyer; Hyattsville residents Elenilson Ayala-Orellana, Paula-Ann Maxwell, Theodros McCreanor, Ashley Phillips and Tammi Stevens; and Riverdale residents Chidinma Dureke and Stefan Rogers.

In addition to making the dean's list, Cade and Sinclair also earned perfect 4.0 GPAs during the semester.

Frostburg State University is a public university located in Allegany County and founded in 1898. It has about 4,800 undergraduate students.

College Park resident makes Ball State dean's list

Sarah Milligan of College Park was named to the spring 2010 semester dean's list at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind.

The dean's list honored students who earned 12 or more credits and a grade-point average of 3.5 or greater during the semester.

Ball State University was founded in 1918 and has about 20,000 students.

Vansville PTA

appoints new officers

PTA members at Vansville Elementary School in Vansville have appointed new organizational officers for the 2009-2010 school year.

President Veronica Atkinson, vice president Sabrina Ridley, treasurer LaTania Williams and secretary Camille Chapman will all serve during the coming year.

Vansville Elementary opened in 2008 and has about 860 students.

Riverdale Elementary participates in Kohl's Cares

Riverdale Elementary School is looking for support in the nationwide Kohl's Cares contest, where the department store will give $500,000 each to the 20 schools from across the country that get the most votes on Facebook.

The school wants to use the money to start after school programs for students.

"We would really like to offer our students positive things to do after school," said fifth-grade teacher Neysa Condron. "Many of our students don't get to participate in activities outside school, and this would give them something to do so they're not hanging out and getting into trouble. ... We would really appreciate the votes."

Voters must log on to Facebook.com and become fans of Kohl's in order to access the contest, and can vote up to five times for the school of their choice. Voting ends Sept. 3.

College Park housing complex hosts back-to-school pool party

The Mazza GrandMarc student housing complex in College Park will host a back-to-school pool party at 2 p.m. Sunday for tenants and prospective residents.

The 231-unit, 627-bed complex opened Aug. 1 and is one of several privately owned apartment complexes on Route 1 catering to students at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Staff members will be on site Sunday to give tours and answer questions from students looking for housing.

Mazza GrandMarc is located at 9530 Baltimore Ave. in College Park.

For more information, call 301-474-0244.

Grandson of Greenbelt resident completes basic training

Army Pfc. Vince Halsey has completed basic training at Fort Jackson in Columbia, S.C. Halsey is the grandson of Jesse Halsey of Greenbelt.

During the nine-week program, Halsey studied a variety of subjects, including Army core values and traditions, and trained in basic combat skills, chemical warfare and bayonet training, rifle marksmanship, armed and unarmed combat and field training exercises.

Youth jazz orchestra

planned for Hyattsville

Hyattsville residents and area jazz musicians are putting together a jazz orchestra and are looking for middle- and high-school musicians with a passion for art.

The program will give middle- and high-school students the opportunity to interpret and perform original jazz arrangements and study with professional jazz artists, such as Washington, D.C.-based saxophonist Antonio Parker.

"We looked around at the schools and saw how they're pulling the art out, pulling the music out," said Hyattsville's Tonya Thomas, who is organizing the orchestra with Parker. Thomas said she hopes the orchestra will give serious young musicians a chance to get intense training in the craft.

Auditions will be held Sept. 18, and students are expected to have a minimum proficiency in music, the ability to sight read and to own their own instruments.

For details about the auditions, contact Tonya Thomas at 301-439-1044 or by e-mail at TMetThomas@Gmail.com.

Race for a cause

in College Park

The sixth-annual College Park Cares 5K race will be held Sept. 25 in College Park.

The electronically timed, 5-kilometer race starts at 8:30 a.m. There will also be a free kids' fun run at 8:15 a.m. and a 2.4-kilometer walk at 8:45 a.m.

The 5-kilometer or 3.1-mile race will be run on a relatively flat course beginning and ending on the city's Paint Branch trail, next to the Ellen Linson Swimming Pool. There will be an awards ceremony at 9:30 a.m. and post-race food and entertainment will be provided.

Proceeds from the event will go toward health and fitness programs run by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission and Dimensions Healthcare System, a nonprofit health care provider for county residents.

Individuals or teams of five or more can compete in the 5K. Individual registration is $18 until Tuesday, $20 starting Wednesday and then $25 on race day. Teams must have male and female participants and group prices start at $12 per person. Reduced family rates are also available.

Online registration is available for individuals and groups, and race-day registration is from 7 to 8:15 a.m. The event will begin at the Ellen Linson Swimming Pool, located at 5211 Paint Branch Parkway in College Park.

For more information, visit www.collegeparkcares.com, call 240-965-4500 or e-mail cpc5k@vecna.com.

Victim advocacy group needs volunteers

Community Advocates for Family and Youth, a Capitol Heights nonprofit that advocates for and supports crime victims in Prince George's County, is looking for volunteers.

CAFY was founded in 2003 and performs a variety of services, including community outreach programs and moral support for victims. The organization is scheduled to begin training in October, and volunteers will assist in several roles including victim support, work with teens and event planning.

Those interested in volunteering should contact volunteer coordinator Lizet Porter at 301-390-4092 or lporter@cafyonline.org. For more information, visit http://cafyonline.org.