Somerset delegate to replace Riley

J. Lowell Stoltzfus, a Republican member of the House of Delegates from Somerset County, was appointed to the state Senate yesterday by Gov. William Donald Schaefer.

Mr. Stoltzfus, 42, replaces Lewis R. Riley, who resigned to become deputy secretary of agriculture.

The district includes Somerset, Wicomico and Worcester counties. The Republican central committees from the three counties recommended three candidates for the job.

Mr. Schaefer chose Mr. Stoltzfus over Reginald Hancock, a Worcester County commissioner, and William Russell, chairman of the Wicomico County Central Committee.

Mr. Stoltzfus owns a plant farm that ships more than 30 million vegetable transplants throughout the United States each year. He also is founder and superintendent of the Holly Grove Christian school.