The snowstorm earlier this month didn't bring down the Bethel family of North Potomac, who spent several hours creating a snow statue of a polar bear that for days had cars slowing in front of their home on Turley Drive.

"It's bigger than a big polar bear and about the size of a small car, it looks so cool," said Patricia Bethel last week. "It's not going to melt for a while because it's so big."

Bethel, the family matriarch, hails from Chicago, where 7 inches of snow is just another day. Public school closures had left two of her three children home for the day and the emergency room nurse didn't want the teens spending it watching television. So Bethel and Sarah, 17, and Jonathan, 15, a senior and freshman at Quince Orchard High School, bundled up and went outside.

"I did it in order to get them to shovel the driveway," Bethel said. "I figured if I made it fun they would do it. I like to sculpt. I usually use clay."

The threesome created their masterpiece with a shovel and spatula she used to carve the bear's face and "and kind of outline the muscles and stuff."

The spontaneous snow statue was "just a way for me to spend the day with my kids" and relax, said Bethel, who said her job at Shady Grove Adventist Hospital in Gaithersburg can be stressful.

The effort took three and a half hours.

"They kind of were giving up at the end," Bethel said of her children. "But I'm like that, I just stuck with it. It would have been really embarrassing to have this huge thing that looked crummy on the front lawn. I get into my work."

Big Train is back!

Local host families are needed to house young baseball players that will be descending on Bethesda this summer from all across the country to play in Big Train Baseball, the summer collegiate wooden bat team that plays at Shirley Povich Field in Cabin John Park. Twenty-nine players are heading to the area from states including California, Oregon, Mississippi, Kentucky, North Carolina, Michigan, Virginia, Georgia, New Jersey, Delaware and New York. Most of the players will also be acting as camp counselors for the Big Train summer baseball camp.

Housing a player may be an especially exciting experience for families with children who play baseball. Young baseball players will be afforded an inside glimpse at the drive, talent and commitment it takes to play collegiate ball, and may help younger players bring their game to the next level. Families who host players receive a free family season pass to Shirley Povich Field, valued at $125. Host families whose children want to be Big Train bat kids will receive first priority. Interested families should contact Jami Deise, host family coordinator, at 301-765-5026 or email faninfo@bigtrain.org.

The C&O Canal Trust wants you to ‘Get Your Pride on'!

C&O Canal Pride Days, a large-scale volunteer effort geared to tackle much-needed maintenance projects in the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park, is back. The initiative, launched last year as a joint effort between the C&O Canal Trust and the park, was a huge success and was extended several weeks in order to accommodate all the volunteers who wanted to help out. In total, more than 700 volunteers contributed 2,450 hours completing 74 projects, including spreading more than 72 cubic yards of mulch, raking and bagging 10 truckloads of leaves, pulling 85 bags of invasive garlic mustard, and painting 21 picnic tables. This years' Pride Days is set to launch April 18, at Great Falls and will continue throughout the spring — volunteers can also help out April 25, at Lander and Brunswick and May 2, at Williamsport and Hancock. On May 16, a special event is planned for Cabin John. Marking Armed Forces Day, 50 volunteers are needed to help rehabilitate a popular river access trail near the Washington, D.C. border frequently used by injured combat veterans taking kayak lessons to aid in their rehabilitation process. The wounded veterans from Walter Reed Army Medical Center take kayak lessons through Team River Runner, a nonprofit organization founded by D.C.-based kayakers. The trail, however, is dangerously worn and poses a safety issue to the wounded veterans, many of them amputees, attempting to access the river. For more information about the Armed Forces Day volunteer project, call Jenna Warrenfeltz at 301-714-2233 or e-mail warrenfeltz@canaltrust.org. For more information about C&O Canal Pride Days or to sign up, visit www.canaltrust.org.

Martial arts competitors going for gold, heading to nationals

Two local elementary school students recently took home gold medals from the 2009 Maryland State Championships and USA Taekwondo National Qualifier Tournament. Bells Mill Elementary student Alain Abedellatif, 8, and Farmland Elementary School student Eric Shin, 10, were awarded the medals in forms and sparring at the event, which was held in Baltimore and drew 275 martial arts students from across the state.

The wins qualified the students, both yellow belts, to compete at national championships for the Junior Olympics later this year in Texas. The competitors are both students at the Rockville-based Capital Martial Arts Academy and train under martial arts Masters Tarek Hussein and Khaled Saleh. Hussein is a graduate of Winston Churchill High School. "These students performed with passion, power and precision and their hard work and determination paid off. We look forward to competing in nationals," Hussein said in a statement.

A ‘creepy' experience

Ever wonder about what crawls beneath? Join volunteer naturalist Deborah Landau from 1-2 p.m., April 19, for a "bug walk" at the River Center at Lockhouse 8. Landau will guide participants on a walking tour around the canal, highlighting the creepy crawlies that make their homes along the Potomac River and, perhaps, in your backyard. The River Center at Lockhouse 8 is run through the Potomac Conservancy, a conservation group geared at protecting the Potomac River and its tributaries. Lockhouse 8 is located at 7906 Riverside Ave. in Cabin John. For more information, contact River Center coordinator Bridget Chapin at 301-608-1188, ext. 213 or e-mail chapin@potomac.org. To learn more about the River Center at Lockhouse 8, visit www.potomac.org.

Kudos

Congratulations to Potomac native Artemis Giorjia Apostolaros, who has been named to the Dean's list for the fall 2008 semester at Radford University in Radford, Va. Apostolaros is a sophomore majoring in fashion at the school.

Scrabble Scramble Fundraiser to benefit adult literacy

The Literacy Council of Montgomery County is gearing up to host a SCRABBLEÆ SCRAMBLE to raise money for the group's adult literacy programs.  The event will take place from 6-9 p.m., March 29 at the Bolger Center, 9600 Newbridge Drive, Potomac. Teams of four will compete at the classic word game for the highest score, and prizes will be awarded to the three top scoring teams. Players will also be able to purchase extra letters or "buy" a glance at the dictionary. Tickets are $200 for a table of four, and all proceeds go directly to the Literacy Council. For more information, contact Pam Saussy at 301-610-0030 or info@literacycouncilmcmd.org.

Help for job-seekers

at Quince Orchard

In these tough economic times, some county residents may be looking for work. Several workshops have been underway at the Quince Orchard Library, located at 15831 Quince Orchard Road, to help give job seekers an edge. The series will be presented by Lisa Stern of MontgomeryWorks, a service of the County's Department of Economic Development and Workforce Investment Board and the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. From 3-5 p.m. today, Stern will wrap up the series by reviewing key interviewing skills. The program is are sponsored by the Friends of the Library, Quince Orchard Chapter and Quince Orchard's Library Advisory Board. For more information about the series, call the library at 240-777-0200.

This column is for you. Send press releases, news tips and other information to Erin Donaghue by phone to 301-280-3007, by e-mail edonaghue@ gazette.net, by fax to 301-670-7183 or by mail to 9030 Comprint Court, Gaithersburg, MD 20877.