February 19, 2010 at 10:03 pm

Rocks Do Over: Route 24 Project To Begin Anew With Promise Of Cooperation

The State Highway Administration has wiped its slate clean and will be starting anew on plans to repair Route 24 through Rocks State Park – this time promising to work in concert with a contingent of scientists, planners, environmentalists, elected officials and citizen activists.

During the first meeting of the DNR/SHA Advisory Committee for MD 24-Rocks Road, held Thursday night in Bel Air, Kirk McClelland, director of the Office of Highway Development for SHA, announced that SHA would reset its Route 24 proposal and consider new alternatives for the project.

“We’re starting this project over again,” McClelland said. “We’re starting fresh.”

In its initial proposal, SHA planned to deal with the continued erosion of the banks of Deer Creek by moving the roadbed of Route 24 as much as 20 feet away from the water, which would require deforestation and blasting of the rocks in the park.

Once those SHA plans were made public, opposition came swiftly and significantly. The Save the Rocks community group [of which this author was a founding member] quickly organized to inform the public and, in less than two months, Save the Rocks amassed more than 8,600 online supporters and forced the hand of SHA to postpone its Route 24 project until at least this fall. Under SHA’s original proposal, the agency was expected to be bidding out its blasting contract by now and was prepared to close Route 24 for more than three months this summer when the detonations and roadwork were set to begin.

With SHA’s project postponed, Harford County Councilman Chad Shrodes, with the blessing of County Executive David Craig, formed the DNR/SHA Advisory Committee for MD 24-Rocks Road – a 20-person group is comprised of members of SHA, Department of Natural Resources, Harford County Division of Agriculture, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Lower Susquehanna Heritage Greenway, Deer Creek Scenic Advisory Board, Deer Creek Watershed Association, Izaak Walton League, and Save the Rocks.

On Thursday night, Shrodes welcomed the committee, which he called a “dream team” group who would get “a second shot to do it the right way.”

“We may have gone down the wrong path initially, but we have a clean slate and I know we can do this,” he added.

McClelland and the SHA staff in attendance wouldn’t go as far as admitting their agency went down the wrong path with its Route 24 proposal, but did say more could have been done to facilitate a better project.

“If we’re guilty of something, it’s not casting the net wide enough,” McClelland said, acknowledging SHA should have solicited more feedback from Deer Creek and Rocks stakeholders early on in the process.

A Safe Road

Despite earlier claims by SHA that Route 24 through Rocks was a relatively dangerous road in need of realignment, widening, and straightening, McClelland pointed out Thursday that Rocks Road is actually considered a safe road.

From 2006 through 2008, along the entire length of the portion of Route 24 under study (only 2.4 miles), there were 34 crashes. Eleven of those crashes were attributable to speed, six were blamed on inattentive driving, and six due to wet road conditions.

McClelland said Route 24 through Rocks State Park is actually below the statewide average for accidents on two-lane rural roads.

Additionally, only two of those accidents involved trucks, which led McClelland to assert that, “we don’t believe trucks are an issue through this area.”

Dispelling Rumors

McClelland also attempted to dispel several rumors he’s heard that Route 24 will be expanded into multiple lanes to accommodate heavy traffic use from the north. He said Route 24 is not identified for any future expansion and all future work on the road will be limited to operational/safety needs and maintenance.

Another topic of controversy was the soil investigation work SHA undertook this winter. SHA has five exploratory borings planned for the northern portion of Route 24 (near St. Clair Bridge Road) and 13 boring planned in the southern section (near Sharon Road). SHA completed three of those borings before work was shut down in late January due to immediate and significant community opposition to the drilling, which included rock coring and the removal of trees.

McClelland said the boring exploration doesn’t presume the road would be shifted, but would provide information on ground water flow and rock stability and must be conducted this summer.

“We need this information regardless what we do,” he added.

Routine guardrail maintenance work has also stopped due to the heavy snowfall.

Soil sampling and guardrail repair aside, SHA’s primary concern on Route 24 is the erosion of Route 24 as Deer Creek scours closer. SHA hopes to address the erosion through this project before the road starts crumbling, at which point it would have to initiate emergency road closure for repairs. McClelland stressed that there is no imminent threat of the road crumbling through Rocks, but said the project must nonetheless proceed.

“We have time to work on it, but we can’t afford to just abandon the project and walk away because eventually it’s going to be a problem,” he added.

SHA is also concerned with surface water ponding on Route 24. McClelland said, even if Route 24 is not shifted, at a minimum there will need to be disturbance to the toe of the hill (via rock cutting) to put in a ditch and pipe runoff under the road and into Deer Creek.

Committee Anecdotes

Here were some other notable moments from Thursday’s committee meeting:

- Lee McDaniel of the Deer Creek Scenic River Advisory Board and Deer Creek Watershed Association said that runoff would need to be filtered in some way so as not to spill oil, salt and other pollutants off Route 24 and directly into the creek.

- Deborah Bowers, a Rocks resident and member of Save the Rocks, said an institutional change in SHA is needed, after the agency has continually downplayed the scope and significance of this project to the public. “Rocks has to be respected,” she said.

- Terry Maxwell, Scenic Byways Coordinator for SHA, had several innovative Context Sensitive Solutions he wanted to bring to the project, including ways to preserve viewsheds of the creek and rocks from Route 24. He also suggested, if sections of boulders end up having to be removed, perhaps the rock can be cut back using historic drilling methods to replicate the look of the current rock – right down to the drill marks.

- David Malkowski, SHA Metropolitan District Engineer for Baltimore and Harford Counties, said he climbed in Rocks as a teen, has had family reunions in the park, and fishes Deer Creek. “I am committed and so is the organization, to fix the road, but do it in an environmentally sensitive way,” he added.

- Joseph DaVia, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, cautioned that his 25 years of experience in this line of work tell him there will be comprises made on both sides as this project progresses. “Everyone’s going to be mad,” he said.

- Daryl Anthony, DNR’s Central Region Manager, was encouraged by the level of community interest and involvement. “Looking at the Facebook page, for me it’s refreshing that that many people care about what could be happening to that treasure,” he said.

- Deputy DNR Superintendent Chris Bushman sat quietly in the audience for most of the evening, but spoke up at the conclusion of the meeting to address the silence of his agency regarding the Rocks project. Bushman said DNR will remain objective, but must fulfill its duty to protect the resource. Given the confluence of environmental, historical and recreational components of Rocks State Park, its real value is as an irreplaceable cultural resource, Bushman said. “We’re not managing the parks instead of you, we’re managing them for you,” he added.

The next committee meeting will be held in late March or early April.

January 28, 2010 at 6:02 pm

Crew Pulled Off Rt 24 After Rocks Residents Complain Of Drilling, Cutting in Park

From Save the Rocks:

ROCKS, MD Jan. 28 — In response to citizen complaints, the State Highway Administration today removed workers from MD 24 in Rocks State Park who had been drilling for soil samples and cutting trees along the hillside just south of St. Clair Bridge Road. Residents complained the work was unnecessary if the SHA had put a stop to a plan to blast rocks along the roadway.

Deborah Coomes, who lives near the park, said her husband, Mike Coomes, heard a chain saw in the morning and went out to see what was happening. He said the road had been closed “to cut down a fairly large tree in order to get their drilling equipment high up on the hillside in a new location.” Coomes then went to the state park office, where staff told him they were unaware that trees were being cut down and that they were only told by SHA this morning that they needed to close the road to “move some equipment.” Assistant Park Manager Tina Bianca sent word to the crew requesting that no more trees be cut.

Save The Rocks chairperson Deborah Bowers emailed and then called SHA in Annapolis and urged that they immediately cease operations on MD 24 and that SHA acknowledge on their website that plans to blast rocks in the park and move the road would not be going forward. She received a call back from project managers who said they would consider the request to recall the work crew. Bowers, who had also contacted Sen. Barry Glassman, later received an email from him that “work has stopped.”

An email to Bowers from SHA project manager Jialin Tian later stated: “We apologize that trees and branches were cut down while the contractor was locating the equipment for the drilling for the soil investigation. SHA has requested the contractor to suspend the work and remove equipment from the site. We are looking forward to working with the Advisory Committee to develop new alternatives that improve the roadway safety and minimize the impact to the natural resources in the area.”

Bowers said it was unfortunate the drilling work, which is known to be prerequisite to blasting, was allowed to go on for weeks when the SHA had claimed the road plan would be revised “to address the concerns of citizens.”

“The SHA has given residents good reason not to trust them, and that’s really too bad,” Bowers said. “For weeks, people have had to put up with seeing heavy equipment digging into the hillside, damaging the environment, full well knowing the plan had been called off.”

Bowers will be serving on a Rocks Road Advisory Committee created by Harford County Councilman Chad Shrodes, which will begin meeting in February. Deborah Coomes was also appointed to the committee, as well as Brian Goodman, all members of the Save The Rocks campaign group which is made up of local residents. The group has a Facebook page called Save The Rocks.

January 12, 2010 at 11:27 pm

Saving The Rocks: SHA To Reevaluate Plans For Blasting In State Park

The Maryland State Highway Administration is backing away from an aggressive highway improvement plan, which would have closed portions of Rocks State Park for several months in each of the next two summers while demolition crews blasted away portions of the historic boulders that give the park its name.

The Route 24 Slope Protection Project, as it has been named, is aimed at improving safe traveling conditions along the highway through Rocks by moving the roadbed as much as 20 feet away from the eroding banks of Deer Creek. In order to accomplish such a move SHA would have to at times send the road through solid rock.

Those plans changed Tuesday, when, after an intense two-week public outcry, SHA announced it was reevaluating its plans and would postpone the project by at least a season.

A letter distributed Tuesday by Kirk G. McClelland, Director of the Office of Highway Development for SHA, included the following statement:

“As a result of the feedback, SHA and its partner agencies are reevaluating the proposed alternatives and postponing the project until at least fall 2010.”

The Rocks project has riled residents and park visitors alike since it was first announced. Many (including this writer, who, in the interest of full disclosure, was and remains a founding member of Save The Rocks) have pointed out that SHA proposes nothing in the way of streambank stabilization and instead chose to detonate the culturally- and environmentally-significant Rocks.

With the help of more than 5,100 and counting supporters on its Facebook site, a grassroots campaign called Save The Rocks (of which this writer is an active member) kept the pressure on local legislators, SHA and the Department of Natural Resources, which has the final say in all goingson in the state park.

The SHA postponement comes just days after Save The Rocks began a campaign to mobilize supporters to attend the January 21 meeting of the Whiteford/Cardiff/Pylesville/Street Community Council, during which an SHA representative was expected to appear to present the agency’s plans for Rocks.

The community council moved its meeting to the auditorium of North Harford Middle School at 7 p.m. on January 21 in order to accomodate the anticipated crowd. It remains unclear whether SHA will still be sending a representative to the meeting now that the plans are being reevaluated and postponed.

Save The Rocks says its members and supporters will still attend the meeting and maintain pressure on SHA. Several elected officials, including Del. Donna Stifler and Harford County Councilman Chad Shrodes have indicated they will still attend the meeting to discuss the issue with concerned constituents.

In an update on its website Tuesday evening, however, Save The Rocks indicated the 3-month postponement of the SHA plan is little cause for celebration:

“We heard from SHA today – they are working on a revised plan they say will respond to our concerns. We read their memo and thought about what it means. We know we want to be involved in the revision. If we are not involved, then we will be waiting until next Fall just to see if they give us the 10ft plan instead of the 20ft plan, when we won’t settle for anything but the 0ft plan. That is our stand. Are you with us?”

Deborah Bowers, a lifelong resident of the area and founding member of Save The Rocks, has a visceral reaction when she learned of SHA’s plans for the Rocks.

“I’ve never been so appalled by a plan before — it is almost inconceivable that the State Highway Administration would propose this kind work — that is, blasting rocks– at Rocks State Park. The road itself is a scenic attribute of the park. It has to stay that way. There are other ways to deal with the effects of the creek on the road,” she said Tuesday.

Bowers and the Save The Rocks committee will continue looking into streambank restoration techniques that would halt the erosion of Deer Creek and allow necessary road improvements to be made on Route 24 without blasting through the rock outcroppings.

Councilman Shrodes represents the northern area of the county, including Rocks, and spent much of Tuesday evening passing along word of the SHA postponement. Shrodes, who says he is passionate about Deer Creek and Harford’s other natural resources, was appalled by the SHA plans.

“I can’t help but to imagine what devastation SHA proposal would look like if it was actually constructed. It really just makes me sick that it was even considered,” he said.

The contract for the explosive work was set to be bid out by SHA within the next month or so and the northern end of the park (near St. Clair Bridge Road) was expected to be closed to traffic, hiking, fishing, tubing, swimming, etc from June through September of this year.

The second phase of the $9.25 million project would impact the southern portion of Route 24 (near Sharon Road) from June through September 2011). This southern phase would also endanger the home of a longtime Rocks Road resident, who would have to negotiate with SHA on the sale of his home – so it could subsequently be razed to allow for the road realignment.

This $9 million SHA project represents only two sections (A and G) of what is eventually anticipated to be a seven-section project to improve, widen, and straighten all of Route 24 through Rocks State Park.

Here is that SHA update:

MD 24 (Rocks Road) – Slope Protection Project
Project Update: January 12, 2010

In 2003, the Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) completed a study which examined the supporting slope of MD 24 near Deer Creek in Harford County. Seven distinct sections were identified with varying degrees of slope failure. The northern section, Section A, from the Deer Creek Bridge to 1200 feet south of that bridge, and the southern section, Section G, from 900 feet south of Sharon Road to 1700 feet north of Ferncliff Lane, have the most severe erosion and are most in need of repair. As a result, SHA began to work on a design for Sections A and G that would improve safety by remediating the failing slope along Deer Creek, as well as repair the pavement, improve roadway drainage, and address roadside safety concerns.

SHA held two public meetings in December 2009 and has since received several comments from the public regarding the proposed design. We at SHA recognize the importance in listening to feedback from our customers.

As a result of the feedback, SHA and its partner agencies are reevaluating the proposed alternatives and postponing the project until at least fall 2010. The reevaluation will look to revise the proposed roadway width, in order to minimize damage to the rock that borders the west side of MD 24. The reevaluation will also examine additional ways to stabilize the slope along Deer Creek. SHA will post project updates on its website, www.roads.maryland.gov,and will notify area residents of a follow-up public meeting to be held later this year.

SHA has worked closely with several environmental agencies during the design of this project, including: the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACOE), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Through dialogue with the environmental agencies, various alternatives were evaluated to balance work to be performed in Deer Creek, as the creek is classified as a wild and scenic river. These alternatives currently include three proposed alignments: the existing alignment, an alignment that would shift the roadway centerline 10 feet away from the stream, and an alignment that would shift the roadway centerline 20 feet away from the stream.

During the December 8 and December 17, 2009 public meetings held at North Harford High School, SHA presented the three alignment alternatives, along with other roadway elements such as on-road bicycle compatibility, a catchment area for potential rock falls, and retaining walls for slope stabilization. SHA received several comments regarding these alternatives, such as:

- The proposed roadway width is greater than actually needed

- Additional alternatives to address the slope stabilization should be investigated

- The scenic view and natural features in the area should be preserved

- Concerns about rock blasting

- Concerns about sequencing of construction and maintenance of traffic during construction

Over the next several months, SHA will consider the public comments and present its new range ofalternates at a public meeting to be held later this year.

As always, safety along MD 24 remains SHA’s top priority. The additional time that SHA will invest to develop suitable alternatives will not affect safety, but will ensure that the concerns of both the public and the government agencies with a stake in this project be heard.

December 16, 2009 at 6:36 pm

Darlington Man Charged With Vehicular Manslaughter, DUI/DWI After Triple-Fatal Crash

From Maryland State Police:

(Bel Air, MD) – Charges resulting from a Harford County Grand Jury indictment were served by State Police this morning on a driver involved in a crash last month in which three people were killed.

The accused is identified as Travis N. Gray, 31, of the 3500-block of Day Road, Darlington, Md. He is charged with three counts each of vehicular manslaughter, negligent homicide while under the influence and negligent homicide while impaired. He is charged with one count each of driving while under the influence and driving while impaired.

Gray turned himself in to State Police CRASH Team investigators at 7:00 a.m. today at the Bel Air Barracks. After processing, he was taken to the Harford County Detention Center where he was incarcerated on $250,000 bond.

On December 15, 2009, a Harford County Grand Jury handed up an indictment in this case. The charges were forwarded to State Police investigators for service.

The indictment is the result of a fatal crash that occurred shortly after 4:30 a.m. on November 14, 2009, on Route 543, just south of Prospect Road in Harford County. The Maryland State Police CRASH Team investigation revealed Gray was driving a 2002 Ford F-250 truck north on Rt. 543 when he crossed the double yellow center line and struck a southbound 1998 Ford F-150 truck.

All three occupants of the southbound truck were killed. They were identified as James A. Bielanski, 48, and his wife, Pamela B. Bielanski, 47, and their friend, Robert W. Arbogast, 35. All three victims lived in Street, Md.

Evidence developed during the Maryland State Police CRASH Team investigation was provided to the Harford County State’s Attorney’s Office. The State’s Attorney’s Office coordinated presentation of the evidence to the Grand Jury, which prompted the indictment.

December 10, 2009 at 7:40 pm

Between Rocks and a Hard Place – Improving Rt 24 Could Disturb a Creek, a Park, and a Home

In its role as equal-opportunity protector of the state’s environment, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources has found itself caught between a creek and a hard place – or a lot of rock and an environmentally-sensitive wet place, if you prefer – dealing with a road improvement project in Jarrettsville.

The State Highway Administration is proposing a $9.2 million project to shift, widen, and straighten Route 24 through Rocks State Park, but it may ultimately be up to DNR to decide whether the construction will disturb the protected waters of Deer Creek or blast even deeper into the famous rock that gives the park its name.

During a public information session organized and hosted by SHA officials Tuesday night, DNR representative Arnold “Butch” Norden acknowledged his agency had not yet recommended with which plan SHA should proceed – the one that disturbs the creek or the one that blasts away the rock.

Norden, chief of resource management with the Maryland Park Service, said DNR hasn’t given support one way or another and is still weighing which deserves more protection Deer Creek or the rocks at Rocks, but “would not be a roadblock” to the project.

The project is needed, according to SHA, because Deer Creek is scouring away at its banks and creeping dangerously close to Route 24 as it winds through Rocks State Park. In some places, this erosion has caused utility poles and traffic barriers to lean. In other areas, it has led to cracked pavement and pooling water. Eventually, SHA contends, without stabilization of Deer Creek’s bank or a shift of the road away from the encroaching waterway (and through the solid rock on the other side), the safety of motorists traveling along that section of Route 24 (currently at a pace of 5,850 vehicles per day) could be jeopardized.

So SHA has proposed three options to remedy the problem:

- Hold the existing centerline of the road.

- Shift the road 10 feet from Deer Creek.

- Shift the road 20 feet from Deer Creek – with the additional options of adding a retaining wall along the west side of the stream.

The “do-nothing” option would require major stream bank stabilization work to be conducted within Deer Creek, doesn’t separate vehicle traffic from bicycles on Route 24, allows for only a two-foot shoulder on each side of the road, and is generally deemed not desirable by park staff or environmental agencies because of the amount of disturbance that will have to be done to the creek. This option disturbs the creek heavily, but involves no blasting or cutting of rock.

The “10-foot-shift” option would still require work in the creek and on the slopes, allows for an increase in the shoulder size, but disturbs 0.4 acres of forest when crews cut 10 feet through the rock outcrops opposite the creek. This option disturbs the creek and rock about equally.

The “20-foot-shift” option eliminates the need for stream bank stabilization whatsoever, separates vehicular and bike traffic, widens the shoulders to five feet, and creates a 20-foot grassy area between Deer Creek and Route 24, which project planners expect will be used recreationally by fishermen and park visitors. However, this plan disturbs 0.7 to 0.84 acres of forest and requires significant blasting to cut 20 feet into the rock in some places. This option does little to disturb the creek directly, but involves the most intensive blasting and cutting into the rock.

On the southern end of the project, where traffic first enters Rocks State Park on Route 24, the third option is split off into two separate sub-options – a 20-foot shift with a retaining wall and a 20-foot shift without a retaining wall.

Both of the 20-foot-shift options trade minimal disturbance of Deer Creek for an increased rock blasting operation. In one version of the plan, a large and unpleasant-looking retaining wall would cut abruptly through the rocky terrain to allow the road to be shifted away from the creek.

In the other version of the plan, a gradual, sloping hillside would be implemented to allow the road to be shifted without need for the retaining wall. However, this version also contains one other deviation – it calls for the removal of a house on the hill.

Ten or so attendees wandered around the cafeteria of North Harford High Tuesday evening, including a few members of the Whiteford/Cardiff/Pylesville/Street Community Council, who are concerned that closing Route 24 for several months in each of the next two years could force additional traffic onto the already dangerous and excessively-travelled Route 543. Also in attendance was the owner of the lone residence jeopardized by the project.

One option proposed by SHA would bring Route 24 about 20 feet closer to the home he’s owned for 27 years.

Another option would bring an SHA real estate appraiser to his front door making him an offer for his home.

An SHA representative explained the situation to the home owner and listened patiently as the man told a potentially-tragic tale of how he planned on selling his home and property in about 20 years to provide him with the financial means for retirement.

While courteous and understanding, the SHA representative was clear the state would pay only the current market value for the house and land, not the estimated value it might have a few decades from now.

Even as he was left to ponder the fate of his home and carefully constructed retirement plan, the jeopardized homeowner admitted the conditions were such that “something had to be done” about keeping Deer Creek away from Route 24.

DNR and SHA hope to have decided on with which option to proceed with the northern portion of the project by spring 2010 and anticipate construction to begin in summer 2010. The southern portion of the project would begin in summer 2011. Each construction period will last several months, during which Route 24 will be closed to through traffic and access to the park and creek will be restricted.

More details on the project can be found on the SHA website.

A second, identical public meeting on the Route 24 slope protection project is scheduled for Thursday, December 17 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at North Harford High School.

December 10, 2009 at 8:18 am

High-speed Chase in Northern Harford Leads To Arrest of Serial Robber

(Harford County, MD: December 9, 2009) The Harford County Joint Investigative Task Force consisting of members from the Maryland State Police Bel Air Barracks and the Harford County Sheriff’s Office arrested William Preston Grace Jr., age 22, of Port Deposit, MD in connection with several armed robberies and thefts that occurred in Harford County between December 7 and December 9, 2009. Harford County locations related to Grace’s arrest include Fallston 7-11 Convenience Store, Redner’s Warehouse Market, The Dublin Market, Bel Air 7-11 Convenience Store, Sunoco in Rock Springs, Halsey’s Market and Saubel’s Market in Pylesville, MD.

Due to the frequency and similarity of the series of robberies, on December 9, 2009 deputies and troopers saturated the northern end of Harford County searching for the primary suspect who had been identified through investigation as William Preston Grace Jr. As the search developed, it was determined that Grace was operating a Volkswagen Tiguan that had been stolen on Tuesday, December 8, 2009 from the 1400 block of Tayside Way in Bel Air, MD.

On December 9, 2009 at approximately 2:30am, a robbery occurred at the 7-11 in the 1300 block of Churchville Road. Continued investigation guided law enforcement officers to Delta, PA. When shortly thereafter at approximately 8:30am an attempted robbery occurred at Halsey Market and less than an hour later at Saubel’s Market both in Pylesville a short distance from Delta, PA. The description of the suspect in both of these attempted robberies matched the characteristics of the earlier robberies. Quickly, troopers and deputies were able to establish a perimeter of the area. Grace was observed around 11:30am in the stolen Volkswagen traveling Southbound on Route 161, Darlington Road in Darlington MD.

Working together, along with aviation resources, troopers and deputies were able to apprehend the subject in a cornfield off the 3400 block of Old Level Road, Darlington MD following a high-speed vehicle pursuit that lasted approximately six miles, and less than ten minutes. In effort to evade capture, the suspect, Grace rammed a Maryland State Trooper’s car on the passenger side door. The trooper was able to maneuver his car in such a manner which prevented the stolen vehicle operated by Grace from continuing further. Grace was placed under arrest. There was also a passenger in the vehicle that was detained for questioning, but was released with no charges.

The following charges have been filed against William Preston Grace, Jr., 22 of Port Deposit, MD – First Degree Assault, Second Degree Assault, Malicious Destruction Of Property Over $ 1,000, Armed Robbery, Theft, Motor Vehicle Theft and multiple traffic charges as a result of the high speed pursuit. In addition, Grace has been connected to several other criminal incidents to include the burglary of Cliff’s Liquors in Darlington, MD that occurred on November 26, 2009. He may also be connected to several robberies in the Southern York County region of PA.

Grace is currently being held at the Harford County Detention Center Interagency Processing Center where he is waiting for his initial hearing before a District Court Commissioner.

The successful apprehension of William Preston Grace in connection with the serial robberies was a direct result of multi-agency cooperation to include resources and personnel from the Harford County Sheriff’s Office, Maryland State Police, Baltimore County Police Department, and Pennsylvania State Police.

Law Enforcement Officers to be recognized for their hard work and contribution include: Detective Peter Georgiades, Harford County Sheriff’s Office, Sergeant Jim DeCourcey, Maryland State Police, Corporal Justin Gross, Maryland State Police, Corporal Jeffrey Pettitt , MSP – Bel Air Barracks, DFC Grant Krulock, HCSO – Northern Precinct, Sergeant Benjamin Neal, MSP – Bel Air Barracks, Sgt Jeff Kloiber, Maryland State Police, Detective Shawn Craig, HCSO – Auto Theft Unit

November 14, 2009 at 5:02 pm

Charges Pending In Double Fatal Motor Vehicle Collision In Street

From Maryland State Police:

Date: November 14, 2009 Time: 0439 hrs. CC No. 09-53-0013662

(Street, MD): Troopers from the Maryland State Police Bel Air Barrack responded to MD 543, Ady Road, south of MD 646, Prospect Road, in reference to a two car motor vehicle collision.

The preliminary investigation revealed that a 2002 Ford pick-up operated by Travis Nelson Grey, thirty-one years old, of Street, MD, was traveling northbound on Ady Road prior to Prospect Road. Gray failed to maintain control of his vehicle traveled into the southbound lane colliding head-on with a 1998 Ford pick-up where both vehicles came to final rest. The 1998 Ford pick-up was operated by James Andrew Bielanski, forty-eight years old, of Street, MD. The 1998 Ford pick-up was also occupied by Pamela Blanche Bielanski, forty-seven years old, of Street MD, and Robert William Arbogast, thirty-five years old, of Street, MD.

James Bielanski and Pamela Bielanski both sustained fatal injuries and were pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics and the State Medical Examiner. Arbogast was transported by ambulance to R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma where his condition is serious.

The roadway was closed for approximately 3 hrs while investigators from the Maryland State police CRASH Team investigated the collision.

The collision remains under investigation by troopers from the Bel Air Barrack “D” and the CRASH Team. The Harford County State’s Attorney’s Office has been consulted with and are in the process of reviewing the particulars of this case. Charges are pending.

October 8, 2009 at 3:05 pm

North Harford Hawks To Celebrate 40 Years of Football

From Harford County Public Schools:

Calling all former Hawks Football players and coaches: North Harford High School is celebrating 40 years of Hawks Football!

Please help us spread the word. Past players, coaches and Endzone members are invited to join Varsity parents and players before and after the October 23rd Varsity football game.

Alumni should sign in at the welcome tent to receive free admission to the game and the right to buy a limited edition anniversary hat for $15.00.

During the halftime, the returning alumni will be recognized.

September 23, 2009 at 10:40 am

Harford Graduation Rate Remains High; Joppatowne/North Harford/Fallston Class of 2009 Realize Big Gains

From Harford County Public Schools:

Harford County Public Schools earned a graduation rate of 86.95 for the Class of 2009, according to data released by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) during its Board meeting on Monday, September 21. Harford exceeded the Annual Measurable Objective, or AMO, of 85.5 for 2009 graduation rate, achieving Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) as a system in that academic area.

To meet AYP in Maryland, all students within a school, as well as eight student subgroups within that school (African American, Asian, White, and Hispanic students, those students receiving free and reduced price meals, students with limited English proficiency, and students receiving special education services) must reach the AMO in both reading and math, and on other criteria. Graduation rate is the “other” academic measure for AYP for high schools.

Graduation rate is calculated by dividing the number of high school graduates by the sum of the drop outs for grades nine through 12, plus the number of high school graduates.

North Harford High School achieved the largest improvement with a 2009 graduation rate of 93 percent, up nearly four percentage points from the previous year. Joppatowne and Fallston High schools also achieved significant gains and met AYP in the graduation rate academic measure.

In addition to graduation rate, the Maryland Report Card also reports a drop-out rate for each high school. The drop-out rate reflects the number of students in a graduating class who, at any time between grades nine and 12, leave school for any reason before graduation or completi on of an approved educational program and are not known to enroll in another school or state-approved program during the school year.

Harford County’s drop-out rate for 2009 was 2.32 percent, which represents a decline of 0.60 percent compared to 2008 and the lowest rate reported since 1993. Statewide, the drop-out rate reported for 2009 was 2.6 percent.

“Harford County continues to make progress in getting more students to graduate on time with a meaningful diploma, however there is more work to be done,” said Superintendent Robert M. Tomback. “Our goal is to reach every child, every day, and give each student every opportunity to graduate ready to succeed.”

Three high schools failed to meet the AMO for graduation rate: Aberdeen High, Edgewood High and the Alternative Education Center, while the remaining schools met or exceeded the objective for 2009. Focused interventions have been implemented at not only the high schools where graduation rate is an issue, but all the high school to ensure that every child graduates.

Individual high school scores, system-level AYP, and state-level AYP data are now available on the MSDE report card website (www.MDReportCard.org).

September 18, 2009 at 7:42 am

State Approves Parks And Recreation Projects In Darlington And Jarrettsville

From the MD Department of Natural Resources:

Annapolis, Md. (September 16, 2009) – Governor Martin O’Malley today announced Board of Public Works approval of land acquisition and recreational projects in Baltimore, Carroll, Cecil, Dorchester, Frederick, Harford, Wicomico and Worcester Counties through Program Open Space.

“These are challenging times for our families and our state, but working together with our local partners, we are continuing to invest in a more sustainable future for our children, creating critical new opportunities for children to have increased access to our natural environment, the outdoors, safer play areas and open spaces,” said Governor O’Malley.

The Board of Public Works approved the following local-side Program Open Space projects in Harford County:

- $124,000 to acquire two parcels totaling 27.99 acres with frontage on MD-23 adjacent to the Rural Village of Jarrettsville. The site will be used for development of an indoor recreation facility with passive parkland, and is one-quarter of a mile from the Jarrettsville Recreation Complex and Jarrettsville Elementary School.

- $41,250 to construct a new multipurpose court in the area of an existing baseball diamond on the grounds of Darlington Elementary School. The multipurpose court willl be an all weather surface of 50 feet by 60 feet for basketball and other outdoor games for both students and community residents.