Problems With Absentee Ballots Have All Eyes On Harford Board Of Elections

The Dagger is hearing that there is some sort of problem or discrepancy with the absentee ballot counting in Harford County which has lawyers and representatives from the local Republican and Democratic parties speeding to the Board of Elections office in Forest Hill.

Apparently, the tallying was expected to be completed today, but now won’t be finished until tomorrow due to the situation.

With fewer than 1,000 votes separating 1st Distrist congressional candidates Andy Harris and Frank Kratovil, the hotly contested race will be decided by the outstanding absentee and provisional ballots.

Harford County voted strongly for Harris and could be key to pulling out the congressional victory.

Harford Votes For McCain/Harris/Slots: Unofficial 2008 Presidential General Election Results

Bucking state and national trends and once again showing its conservative leanings, Harford County voted overwhelmingly for Sen. John McCain as president and state senator Andy Harris as congressman - both of whom were losing when the polls closed Tuesday night.

Among Harford County residents who voted on Election Day, McCain garnered 66,744 votes (58.5%) to eventual president-elect Barack Obama’s 44,601 votes (39.1%). Similarly, Harris brought in 33,959 votes (56.9%) to opponent Frank Kratovil’s 24,074 votes (40.3%). The Harris/Kratovil contest remains tight statewide with the candidates separated by about 1,000 votes. The new 1st District Congressman may not be named until later this week after overseas and provisional ballots are counted.

When it came to the ballot questions, Harford County voters were in line with the rest of Maryland, voting in support of both early voting and legalization of slot machine gambling. Continue reading Harford Votes For McCain/Harris/Slots: Unofficial 2008 Presidential General Election Results

Did Anyone See Me On TV Halloween Night Talking About Maryland’s Goatman?

I was quite surprised Friday to see myself featured prominently on a nationally-televised documentary airing at prime time on Halloween night. I think you will be equally surprised to learn the show was titled “666: Searching For Satan” and featured me as a “local journalist” doggedly pursuing the history and reality of Maryland’s very own monster - The Goatman.

For those who haven’t heard the story yet, I offer a brief retelling. In the course of helping my friend Matt Lake finish his book Weird Maryland, he received a call from a British production company that was interested in filming in the United States for a special on the existence of Satan, which was to air in the UK on June 6, 2006 - 666, you know, the number associated with the Devil?

While other segments featured Parisian cannibals, psychic entities and famous American serial killers, our portion would feature some local folklore not well known outside of Maryland. Specifically, the Goatman. You can watch the show or buy the book or ask me if you’re curious about the Goatman, but as far as the show was concerned, it went like this.

Me, Matt, and our friend Joel of Eerie PA Magazine piled into a car and met the British production crew in the lobby of a Bowie hotel. Immediately, Matt was assigned the role of “historian and theologist” and told he would be interviewed about the Devil in myth and religion. The producer then turned to me and told me I would be interviewed as the reporter who chronicled and catalogued the local Goatman stories. So much for reality TV.

I remember I purposefully wore my Batman T-shirt that reads, “Duh Nuh Nuh Nuh, Nuh Nuh Nuh Nuh, Nuh Nuh Nuh Nuh, Nuh Nuh Nuh Nuh, Batman” and was promptly asked to zip my hooded sweatshirt up. I was positioned virtually reclining on a sofa in the hotel lobby. Some tables were moved and faux flower arrangements rearranged before the lights, microphones and cameras were turned on.

I’ve blocked out most of what happened next, but I remember the show host pelting me with unanswerable questions in a thick Cockney accent (”Do you believe the Devil exists?”) while two or three other people held microphones and positioned lights. Of course, the production drew the attention of any and everyone passing through the hotel, so there was an entourage of passersby watching me stumble through explaining how the Lord of the Underworld might walk through the woods of Bowie, Maryland.

Once I was through my portion, I vaguely remember Matt Lake being propped up at a nearby table and decorated with scattered tomes to enhance his professorial role. When he was asked on camera to explain the role of the Devil in myth since the beginning of religion, I turned and left the lobby.

The funny part was the Brits had apparently hornswaggled the hotel by arranging for rooms they never intended on occupying, in exchange for use of the lobby. Once filming was done and pleasantries exchanged, the crew was packed up and out of the lobby before we were. The Bowie hotel may still not fully understand what happened that day. Oh yeah, it was filmed on Mother’s Day too. So I had an interesting explanation for why I showed up late to the family dinner that night at my Mom’s house.

After airing 6/6/06 in England, the show became difficult to track down. An insider at the production company wanted to sell me a dubbed copy for the British equivalent of $160. Eventually, a year or so later, a bootlegged copy was procured.

Now, without warning, “666: Searching For Satan” has aired at least once in America. Finally, I feel like I can add it back to my resume without guilt and I’ve got the my lasting quote ready to be chiseled into my tombstone:

“If it looks like the Devil, acts like the Devil, walks like the Devil…it might be the Devil.”

 For the bravest souls out there, here’s the intro to the show and first segment:

 

And here’s our Goatman portion:

And here’s a synopsis of the show I found online:

Just what does the Devil look like? It’s a question that’s perplexed people for centuries and no one seems able to come up with a definitive answer… until now.

The show travels around the world to shed new light on some of the most heinous crimes ever committed in which the perpetrators claim to have been guided or ‘inspired’ by the devil to carry out their grisly acts. The sightings and interpretations of Satan will then be amalgamated to create a final image of the “Devil” through CGI imaging technology.

The show visits six grim locations associated with the Devil, to illustrate where Satan could possibly be found. From the Bronx streets where serial killer Son of Sam swears he was forced to commit his crimes under the instructions of a devil-dog, to the Manson Murder mansion where whisperings of the Devil are believed to have driven the killers into a crazed murdering spree and the Parisian cannibal Nico Claux who claims the Devil was his guide.

Six images have been created from six stories that led to the composite; most would agree it looks surprisingly similar to the Satan we would expect. But when looking at the image, remember one thing: many people believe the Devil’s greatest trick is convincing people he does not exist.

The dog:The question of whether the Devil can take on any living form has raged for years. Son of Sam serial killer David Berkowitz, whose bloody reign terrorised New York in the late 1970s, seemed to think so. He claimed his neighbour’s dog was a messenger of the Devil that drove him to murder. His attorney, Mark Jay Heller, says: ‘The dog’s howling was a sign to David. He felt he was an instrument of a greater power.’ Before he was captured, Berkowitz taunted police with notes saying: ‘I am the monster, I am Beelzebub.’

Charles Manson: The man widely regarded as Satan in human form instructed his followers - The Family - to kill five people, including Roman Polanski’s pregnant wife Sharon Tate on August 9, 1969. Manson’s followers described him as ‘having magical and hypnotic powers’ and he often referred to himself as both Christ and the Devil. According to other family members, Manson’s right-hand man, Charles Tex Watson, exclaimed: ‘I am the Devil and I have come to do the Devil’s work’ while on the murder spree. Manson’s name has since become synonymous with evil in popular culture.

Jersey Devil: As featured in Metro last month, the Jersey Devil has been described as a bat/dog/goat hybrid that roams the Pine Barrens of the American state of New Jersey. Witnesses have reported hearing blood curdling screams in the night and bizarre unexplained footprints have been found.

Pazuzu:Pazuzu is an Assyrian demon on which The Exorcist was based. He is said to have the body of a man, the head of a lion, talons instead of hands and a scorpion’s tale. Nico Claux, a convicted Parisian murderer, necrophile and cannibal, firmly believes he is one of Pazuzu’s servants saying: ‘Cannibalism is a communion with the devil. When I die, I will go to hell and sit on his left side. People say I am the devil but I am not, I am just a tool in his hands.’ Disturbingly, after serving eight years for murder, Claux is now not only free but has been declared legally sane.

Possessed eyewitness account: In the aptly named town of Wilder, Kentucky, Bobby Mackey’s Music World is a nightclub that many think houses the gateway to hell. The club was once a slaughterhouse and a basement tunnel would pour blood from dead animals into a nearby river, while a group of Satanists would practise rituals on the site. Carl Lawson, a former resident caretaker of the club, believes he was possessed by the Devil while working there, saying: ‘I firmly believe the spirits were in me. Satan would make me stay up for days on end. I could see his face in the bar mirrors. He had piercing red eyes.’ Lawson was later exorcised by a local priest.

Goatman:Maryland in the US has its own forest legend, the Goatman - a beast that looks similar to the Greek god Pan.

Bel Air Coffee Talk 10/30: MTA Cutbacks, Concerts, Tudor Hall Tours

Oct 30, 2008
Capt’n Jim’s Coffee Talk©

NEWS
THE MTA IS PROPOSING CUT BACKS IN PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION FROM HARFORD/CECIL COUNTY TO BALTIMORE.
Public Hearings will be held on the following dates:
Monday Nov 17, 2008 Tuesday November 25 Tuesday November 25
6 to 8:30 PM 6:30 to 8:30 PM 6 to 8:30 PM

In Bel Air at: In Edgewood at: In Perryville at:
John Carroll H.S. Edgewood Rec. Center Perryville H.S.
The Brown Room Multipurpose Room 2nd Floor Media Ctr.
703 E. Churchville Rd. 1980 Brookside Dr. 1696 Perryville Rd.
Bel Air, MD. Edgewood, MD. Perryville, MD.

Nov 1 - Special benefit concert featuring the North Harford High School Choir. Tickets are $30 and proceeds will benefit “Pennies for Peace” - concert begins at 7:30 pm.

Nov 2 - Tour Tudor Hall, the home of John Wilkes Booth. Reservations required - call 443-243-7571. Suggested donation is $3.00. (Tours at 1:00 PM, 2:00 PM and 3:00 PM)

Nov 6, 7, 8 - The Patterson Mill Drama Club will present “The Crucible” at 7:00 pm. in the school auditorium. Tickets are $10.00 adults, $7.00 for students, and $5.00 for seniors.

Nov 9 - A Taste of Excellence benefiting Harford Friends School – Bel Air Armory 2:00 pm to 4:30 pm. Tickets are $35 in advance and $45 at the door. Visit www.harfordfriends.org

Nov 13 – Movie Premier of “Under Our Skin” - A two hour feature film about Lyme disease presented by the Harford County Lyme Disease Support Group Inc. Admission is free & refreshments will be served. Highland Presbyterian Church in the Fellowship Hal, 701 Highland Rd., in Street. Doors open at 6:30 pm.

Nov 16 – Tour Tudor Hall, the home of John Wilkes Booth. Reservations required -call 443 243 7571. Suggested donation is $3.00 (Tours at 1:00 PM, 2:00 PM and 3:00 PM)

Nov 28 – 30 - The Festival of Trees to benefit the Chesapeake Cancer Alliance will hold their Christmas Tree Event at the Bel Air Armory. November 28 is the Preview Party by reservation only. Saturday is open to the public from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm.; Sunday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. Admission on Saturday and Sunday is $5.00 for ages 12 & up.

Dec - 5 & 6, Dec - 12 & 13 - THE BEL AIR CHRISTMAS THEATRE returns. The region’s most talented young actors will present the musical adaptation of “Miracle on 34th Street”, a musical by Meredith Wilson. Tickets prices $14 (18 and under), $16 seniors, & $20 adults. Tickets include dessert and coffee. Pre-show dinners are being offered by area restaurants. For more information and reservations, call 410-838-2177.

Dec 6 – Eagle Watch - Dr. Dennis Kirkwood will lead a workshop on eagles at Fisherman’s Park at the Conowingo Dam from 9:00 am to 11:00 am. Sponsored by Exelon Power Co.

One last Hurrah! Saturday April 25, 2009. Dinner catered by Outback Steak with dining in the cafeteria. Go to www.saygoodbyetobelairhigh.com. The Bel Air High School building, as we knew, it will be demolished June 2009. Tickets are limited due to the space available. First Pay…First Play! For more information, you may call 410-342-8891.

Participants wanted for Bel Air’s Christmas Parade on December 7, 2008. Deadline for signing up is November 3, 2008. Email for details. ssaunders@belairmd.org

Voters in Precinct 3-16 – NOTICE: Your polling location has been changed from Wakefield Elementary School to Ring Factory Elementary School due to construction.

That’s it for today……………….Captain Jim
DON’T FORGET TO CHECK MY WEB SITE WWW.thecaptaincares.com
Citizens for Captain Jim - Authority William Kelly, Treasurer
Copy write 2007 2008

“Legalized Government Harassment?” Property Maintenance Could Become Costly And Mandatory In Aberdeen

Have you heard the one about how the Aberdeen City Council is going to impose a citywide Homeowner’s Association and force all the municipality’s residents to clean up their properties lest they be hauled off to court and fined into compliance?

While that description might be a slight exaggeration (perpetuated, perhaps, by a group of vocal opponents), the crux of the idea could soon become reality. Proposed Property Maintenance Ordinance 08-9 would extend Aberdeen’s “Livability Code” from just rental properties onto all structures and properties in the city and force owners to clean up their acts or pay the price. Continue reading “Legalized Government Harassment?” Property Maintenance Could Become Costly And Mandatory In Aberdeen

Harford County Detention Center Ground Breaking Ceremony On Thursday, Oct. 23

The Harford County Sheriff’s Office will be holding the ground breaking ceremony for the Expansion Project at the Harford County Detention Center at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 23.

The Expansion Project, expected to be completed by September of 2011, will add 76,146 square feet and renovate an additional 14,000 square feet. Included in this project is the addition of a medical housing unit, 8 maximum security, and 4 minimum security housing units, for a total of 288 additional beds.

Turning Towers Into Trees And Other Amendments To Harford’s Zoning Code

On Tuesday night, the Harford County Council convened to consider amendments to the proposed update to the county Zoning Code. Early Wednesday morning, and 136 or so amendments later, the county council adjourned - leaving the rest of us with 105 pages of much-needed, controversial, long-time-coming, ill-conceived and incomprehensible amendments to sift through. Continue reading Turning Towers Into Trees And Other Amendments To Harford’s Zoning Code

Suspicious Man Attempts To Get Girl Into His Vehicle At Bel Air Bus Stop

(Bel Air, MD – October 16, 2008) - Harford County Sheriff’s deputies are investigating a suspicious incident which occurred at the intersection of Duncannon Drive and Charter Oaks Place earlier this morning.

While walking to the bus stop this morning at approximately 6:30 am, a 15 year old girl noticed a light blue, four door vehicle, parked at the intersection of Duncannon Drive and Charter Oaks Place. As she walked by the vehicle, the driver began to yell at her to get in the vehicle. She refused. However, he continued to yell at her to get into the vehicle.

She then ran to a friend’s house in the area. The vehicle was last seen turning onto Duncannon Drive.

The driver is described as a white male in his 30’s, dark hair, with a short hair cut. Deputies canvassed the area; however they were unable to locate the vehicle or driver.

The Sheriff’s Office continues to encourage citizens to report suspicious activity and maintain adult supervision of children. Anyone with information regarding the suspicious person or the incident described is asked to contact the Harford County Sheriff’s Office Southern Precinct at 410-612-1717.

Fallston Vandalism Of Obama Campaign Sign Investigated As Hate Crime

A campaign sign for presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama was defaced over the weekend in Fallson in a manner that led police to contact the Secret Service and classify the vandalism as a hate crime.

Harford County Sheriff’s Office public information officer Sergeant David Betz confirmed there was a verified Racial/Religious/Ethnic (RRE) incident reported in the 2100 block of Watervale Road involving a presidential candidate’s sign being defaced. He said the incident occurred sometime between Saturday, October 11 and Sunday, October 12th.

The Sheriff’s Office is investigating the hate crime and asking that anyone with information regarding the incident to please contact the agency.

After Cecil County Standoff, Man Charged With Murder Of Perryville Woman

(Perryville, MD) – Maryland State Police homicide investigators have charged a man with the murder of a Cecil County woman that occurred late last night at a motel in Perryville.

The accused is identified as Krsna (sic) D. Johnson, 25, of no fixed address. After consultation with the Cecil County State’s Attorney’s Office, Johnson is being charged at this time with first and second degree murder and the use of a handgun in the commission of a felony. Additional charges are possible. He will be taken to the Cecil County Detention Center to await his initial appearance before a court commissioner.

The victim is identified as Kimberly N. Cain, 22, of the 5200-block of Pulaski Highway, Perryville, Md. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Shortly after 11:00 p.m. yesterday, a Perryville Police Department officer was dispatched to the Relax Inn, in the 5200-block of Pulaski Highway, for a report of suspicious persons at room 35 of the motel. While the officer was on his way, the call was changed to an assault in progress.

When he arrived at the motel, the officer saw a person, later identified as Cain, lying on the ground in front of room 35. A male and female standing near the victim both went into the motel room and shut the door. The officer called for assistance and units from the Maryland State Police, Cecil County Sheriff’s Office, and the Maryland Transportation Authority Police responded. A standoff occurred and police called for the Maryland State Police Special Tactical Assault Team Element (STATE Team).

About 45 minutes later, just as the STATE Team arrived, the female, identified as Kathi B. Stewart, came out of the room. Police saw the male, later identified as the accused, inside the room and took him into custody without further incident. Stewart was later released without charges.

Perryville Police Chief Daly requested that the Maryland State Police Homicide Unit conduct the investigation. The preliminary investigation revealed Cain and her boyfriend lease room 35 at the Relax Inn. Kathi Stewart apparently resides there with them.

During the day yesterday, Stewart had been visited by her boyfriend, Johnson, and they spent much of the time arguing. Sometime between 10:30 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. yesterday, Stewart asked Johnson to leave. Johnson allegedly returned a short time later with a handgun.

The victim, Cain, and her boyfriend returned to the room moments later. Cain is said to have been concerned and upset that Johnson had a gun. Her boyfriend and another man left to call 9-1-1.
The victim walked outside the room, to apparently call 9-1-1 also. Stewart told police she heard one gunshot and saw Cain lying on the ground with Johnson standing over her.

During the early morning hours today, investigators obtained a search warrant for the motel room crime scene. Police recovered a semi-automatic handgun with an obliterated serial number inside the doorway to the room. The gun has been forwarded to the Maryland State Police Forensic Sciences Laboratory for ballistics examinations. Other scene processing was conducted by crime scene technicians from the State Police Forensic Sciences Division.

Criminal investigators from the State Police, the Perryville Police Department, and the Cecil County Bureau of Investigation assisted with this investigation. The investigation is continuing.

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