C. Milton Wright High School Science Teacher and Wrestling Coach Arrested For Multiple Child Sex Offenses
March 10, 2008
David “Dewey” Louis Vasses, a 29-year-old Science Teacher/Wrestling coach with C. Milton Wright High School in Bel Air, was arrested Saturday on charges that stem from information that a teacher at the high school was having a sexual relationship with at least one student at the school.
On Saturday, March 8, 2008, Harford County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Vasses, of the 100 block of Kipling Court in Abingdon, on charges of sexual child abuse, 4th degree sex offense and unnatural and perverted practices.
Vasses was released on $50,000.00 bond. Continue reading C. Milton Wright High School Science Teacher and Wrestling Coach Arrested For Multiple Child Sex Offenses
Fair Warning: Who Knew the Havre de Grace Parking Debacle Was Coming and Why Didn’t They Tell Anybody?
March 6, 2008
Harford County Executive David Craig and Havre de Grace Mayor Wayne Dougherty are engaged in a bitter battle, which may have even gone to court this week, over who is to blame for allowing a multimillion-dollar water treatment plant expansion project, and its accompanying impacts, to slip by with nary a heads-up for unsuspecting downtown business owners.
The issue boiled over this week when Dougherty, recognizing he was about to be lambasted by a furious public, issued an immediate stop work order that seemingly blamed the county for proceeding with the project, which will require closing off the sprawling parking lot behind the water plant for about 18 months, without having a proper plan in place to deal with the disappearing downtown parking spaces.
Craig came back this week with irrefutable proof that he was right and the public had been warned - a short sentence in a tiny article within a meager city-produced newsletter.
But as these masters of grandstanding duke it out over which trumps the other - Craig’s newsletter or Dougherty’s stop work order - what happens to the downtown businesses which could be crippled without a viable plan in place to keep traffic and tourists coming to town? Continue reading Fair Warning: Who Knew the Havre de Grace Parking Debacle Was Coming and Why Didn’t They Tell Anybody?
Looking For An Adrenaline Rush…And Maybe Some Bruises?: Harford Dodgeball Picks Off The Competition
March 5, 2008
Remember when you were in elementary school gym class and your teacher would unleash you with a bunch of rubber balls in the middle of the gymnasium?
You’d beeline to those balls, make your way back to the start position and the carnage would begin. You’d dip, dive, dance and hurl like a complete lunatic. It was survival of the fittest and, oh, what a pure adrenaline rush it was!
These days we don’t have to live on just memories. The Harford County Dodgeball League has it all worked out.
Continue reading Looking For An Adrenaline Rush…And Maybe Some Bruises?: Harford Dodgeball Picks Off The Competition
Harford Hoteliers Be Forewarned, Taxing Times Ahead: The Statewide Push To Tax Rooms In Aberdeen
March 3, 2008
If state Sen. Barry Glassman has his way, he will not give Harford County or the City of Aberdeen the ability to put a new tax on hotel/motel rooms anytime soon - unwelcome news to a financially-strapped city that was looking to finally secure the much sought after lodging surcharge.
While the rest of the city toiled with transition teams, inner turmoil among a feuding police department and ethics violations, old and new, at least one group of Aberdeen residents actually tried to get something done the old fashioned way - traveling by bus to Annapolis last week in support of the latest push to implement a hotel/motel room tax in Harford County.
Harford County is the lone jurisdiction in Maryland without the authorization to impose and collect a minimal fee on each night’s stay in such lodging. Yet its best chance yet to get the proposition passed - with a new senator representing the county and a broader bill introduced - may still be scuttled by fears of imposing a new tax, even a pass-through tax, during such uncertain economic times. Continue reading Harford Hoteliers Be Forewarned, Taxing Times Ahead: The Statewide Push To Tax Rooms In Aberdeen
Aegis Launches Ink-Saving Campaign - Truncates Week-Old Letter
February 29, 2008
Homestead Publishing Company, parent of the Aegis and Record newspapers, announced Friday morning that, in order to save ink, letters to the editor would be arbitrarily truncated – particularly if those letters make mention of a certain local news and commentary website peopled largely by ex-Homesteaders.
In order to save costs at the printing press, The Aegis today cut a few words from a letter to the editor written by former legislative aide and former District C county council candidate Brian Young. The (almost) same letter was published here February 19.
Here’s the closing paragraph from Young’s letter, as posted on The Dagger:
Continue reading Aegis Launches Ink-Saving Campaign - Truncates Week-Old Letter
Ursa Minor Threat: How Legislative Bear Wrangling in Maryland could put Bruins Inside the Beltway
February 26, 2008
Legislation under consideration in Annapolis would force the introduction of wild black bears into each of Maryland’s 23 counties. But don’t grab your shotgun before taking the trash out just yet - the lawmakers involved admit the bill is little more than a political bluff, designed to beat back the advances of liberal legislators who would do away with Maryland’s annual black bear hunt.
At issue is the fate of Maryland’s apparently burgeoning population of black bears: Will they continue to be managed/harvested through a controversial state hunting lottery, be allowed to breed and expand their territory without the intervening hand of man or will they be plucked from their scant remaining habitat and redistributed to each and every county in the state?
These are the options on the table and, beginning Wednesday afternoon during an Environmental Matters Committee hearing in Annapolis, the Maryland General Assembly will ponder House Bill 762 - legislation giving the state 7 years to establish a population of black bears in each of Maryland’s 23 counties. Continue reading Ursa Minor Threat: How Legislative Bear Wrangling in Maryland could put Bruins Inside the Beltway
Who’s Picking up the Tab?: Aberdeen Calls Off its Unbudgeted, $13,000 Volunteer Appreciation Dinner
February 21, 2008
It has been a tradition each year in Aberdeen for the city to honor its volunteers with a special night for them - a dinner, ceremony and awards presentation to say ‘Thank You’ to those who dedicate their time and energy to making Aberdeen a better place to live, work and do business.
That tradition was threatened last year when Aberdeen, in the midst of going bankrupt, could scarcely afford to put on the Volunteer Appreciation Dinner and, with the economic climate in the city unchanged, it looks like it’s in jeopardy again this year.
Aberdeen’s Volunteer Appreciation Dinner was scheduled for March 27 - scheduled by City Manager Doug Miller, who evidently proceeded with organizing a lavish, $13,000 event without consulting the Mayor and City Council or even determining from where in the city’s budget the money would come. The event was abruptly canceled this week when the City Council learned about the expensive engagement. Continue reading Who’s Picking up the Tab?: Aberdeen Calls Off its Unbudgeted, $13,000 Volunteer Appreciation Dinner
Predictable Outcome: Another Blown Winter Weather Forecast in Maryland
February 21, 2008
I’ve stocked up on milk, bread and toilet paper. I have gasoline in the generator. I’ve backed the truck onto to the driveway and brought the snow shovel in from the shed. I’m ready for the winter storm that will be “dumping 2-4 inches of snow across the area beginning after midnight tonight.”
I’m watching TV and am somewhat distracted by the weather alert broadcast by the local networks and moving across the bottom of my screen. If that weren’t enough, I notice the snowflake icon in the upper left hand corner of the picture with the word “Warning” underneath it. For the last 12 hours I’ve heard from the local meteorologists about the coming winter storm. The National Weather Service has issued a “Winter Storm Warning” for most of Maryland. Wow! This must be it! The Big One!
Heading home from work, I notice the Maryland State Highway dump trucks, plows attached and salt spilling out of their beds, sitting, waiting, in the median of I-95 - a good 9 hours before the first flake was due to fall. Pick-up trucks, more than I can count, pass me by, also with plows attached and salt spreaders in their beds, hoping for that big snow that Chief Meteorologist Tom Tasselmyer says is on its way. Continue reading Predictable Outcome: Another Blown Winter Weather Forecast in Maryland
District 7 Dominoes: Baltimore/Harford Delegates Line Up for a Probable Political Promotion
February 21, 2008
One is too young and inexperienced. Another is too cantankerous and controversial. And the third says he doesn’t even want the job. But odds are, when Republican Andy Harris is elected to Congress this November, one of the three District 7 delegates will move up to fill his seat representing Baltimore and Harford counties in the state senate.
Harris’ surprising upset of nine-term incumbent Wayne Gilchrest in the Republican Primary Election a few weeks ago placed the state senator as the favorite to take over the First District Congressional seat - leaving a prized piece of political real estate vacant and ready for occupancy.
Tradition and law make it exceedingly likely the next Baltimore/Harford state senator will come from the trio of offbeat politicians currently comprising the District 7 delegation. Rick Impallaria, J.B. Jennings and Pat McDonough have stuck together since they were elected to the newly configured district in 2002, but Harris’ impending departure from the senate could change all that. Continue reading District 7 Dominoes: Baltimore/Harford Delegates Line Up for a Probable Political Promotion
The Rocket Man Takes a Hit: “Misremembering” Roger Clemens’ Steroid Testimony
February 19, 2008
I had the opportunity to watch a good bit of the testimonials before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform that took place last Wednesday. You should know the one I am referring to whether you are a baseball fan or not. This was aired on Fox News and ESPN and Lord knows where else. Anyway, this was the Roger Clemens and Brian McNamee freak show where they took center stage to address allegations about steroid and HGH (Human Growth Hormone) usage from the Mitchell Report findings.
Many people feel that Congress has better things to do with their time. Since Congress has gotten involved and lit a fire under baseball commissioner Bud Selig’s butt, however, the implications have been impressive. Major League Baseball (MLB) has some of the strictest punishments for players getting caught of all the professional sports. Continue reading The Rocket Man Takes a Hit: “Misremembering” Roger Clemens’ Steroid Testimony
