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The Freestate Happy Wanderers Volksmarching Club will host its annual Sept. 11 memorial walk Saturday morning in Laurel.

Participants are invited to walk five- and 10-kilometer trails beginning at Montpelier Mansion in Laurel. They will receive signs and lanyards carrying names of the approximately 3,000 victims who died as a result of the 2001 plane crashes in New York, Shanksville, Pa., and at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. The annual walk is in its ninth year.

"A great many people perished, and another great number of people did heroic things to help those that were injured," said club member Phill Wilder. "It was really a milestone event for this generation."

The walking trails will include natural surfaces and residential roads, and the 10-kilometer trail will pass the Laurel Dinosaur Park. Walkers should arrive at the mansion between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., and the event will end at 4 p.m.

Montpelier Mansion is located at 9650 Muirkirk Road in Laurel.

For more information, call Wilder at 301-717-3604 or e-mail kindfellow1@comcast.net.

Laurel High alumnus

completes Army training

Army Pvt. Adam Shahdoza of Laurel has graduated from the Army's basic field artillery cannon crewmember advanced individual training course in Fort Sill, Lawton, Okla.

Shahdoza completed training on how to maintain, load and operate several military weapons, and also learned about radio and wire communications.

Shahdoza is a 2008 graduate of Laurel High School. His parents are Ferzana and Altaf Hussain of Laurel.

William Wirt students receive school supply donations

Prince George's County Register of Wills Cereta Lee donated backpacks and other school supplies to William Wirt Middle School in Riverdale on Sept. 1.

Lee gave the school six backpacks "jam-packed with supplies," said guidance counselor Charlene Marcelle-Warner. "Everything a student would need. Binders, pens, pencils, book covers, notebooks."

Marcelle-Warner said the items would be divided among as many students as possible, and would have a huge impact for students from low-income families. "You may not think one pack of pencils would make a big difference, but it does," she said.

The items were collected as part of Lee's fourth annual school supply drive in August.

"My goal is to assist and serve as many families as possible," Lee said in a statement. "This is my passion and I believe in giving back to the community."

Laurel resident wins pharmacy research award

Arpit Mehta, a Laurel resident and pharmacy student at the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in Erie, Pa., has won a $1,000 award for an upcoming pharmaceutical research project.

Mehta, a second-year pharmacy student, received the 2010 Mary Anne Stock Student Research Award from the Allegheny and Erie chapter of the Society of Toxicology. The annual award is given to a student who develops an outstanding research proposal.

Mehta's proposed study will examine the effects of low doses of acetaminophen on mice. While the pain reliever is known to cause liver damage to mice in large doses, Mehta will study whether smaller doses can actually help to regenerate their livers.

Mehta is a 2008 graduate of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, in Catonsville.

Laurel residents earn degrees

Christopher Packard and Vania Smallwood of Laurel received degrees from the American Public University and American Military University at the schools' spring 2010 commencement in Washington, D.C.

Packard majored in international relations, while Smallwood majored in criminal justice.

The American Public University System offers students more than 100 online certificate and degree programs to more than 70,000 working adult students.

Chavon Rhabb of Laurel has graduated from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn.

Rhabb received a bachelor's degree from the university's College of Arts and Science at its commencement on May 14.

Rhabb is a graduate of Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bethesda. Her parents are Andrew and Susie Rhabb.

Community hosts

annual Berwyn Day

The Berwyn District Civic Association will host its annual Berwyn Day celebration from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Berwyn Neighborhood Playground in College Park.

The community picnic will offer refreshments and games as well as bake, book and plant sales. There will also be a yard sale for residents.

The Berwyn Neighborhood Playground is located at the intersection of 49th Avenue and Patuxent Road.

For more information or to volunteer, call BDCA President Kevin Young at 301-474-3577 or e-mail kc5018@yahoo.com.

Greenbelt Cub Scouts

to welcome new members

Greenbelt Cub Scout Pack 202 will host Join Scouting Night Sept. 16. The pack, which has been serving the Greenbelt area for more than 65 years, will use the event to kick-off their scouting year and help new scouts fill out their applications, get organized into dens and meet the den leaders.

"When I got started with my son in scouting seven years ago, the hardest part was finding local scouting troops," said Cubmaster Gary Sanderson. "I thought I'd be more proactive about it."

The Cub Scouts are open to boys from first through fifth grade. The event will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the Greenbelt Community Church at 1 Hillside Road in Greenbelt.

Laurel to train

super babysitters

Laurel Regional Hospital is sponsoring a "Super Babysitting" course Sept. 18, aimed at teaching 11- to 15-year-olds safety precautions, proper infant handling, first-aid and even how to market their skills.

The class will last from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m., and attendees should bring a bag lunch. The registration cost is $28 and the deadline is Sept. 16. Those interested should call 301-497-7914 or send the attendee's name, age and fee to Laurel Regional Hospital, Public Relations Office, 7300 Van Dusen Road, Laurel, MD 20707.

Beltsville church hosts community festival

Emmanuel United Methodist Church in Beltsville will host its first annual Spirit of Beltsville festival from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday.

The event will include games, crafts, face-painting, food and refreshments, as well as a health fair. There will also be a 3 p.m. concert by Waldorf-based Christian music group TNL Praise Band.

"We hope that the Spirit of Beltsville festival will not only provide good, family entertainment, but also an opportunity to help and connect the community of Beltsville to social services and with each other," church Pastor Daniel Mejia said in a release.

The church is located at 11416 Cedar Lane in Beltsville. Call Carmen Gray at 301-937-7114, or e-mail eumcbeltsville@earthlink.net.