State Digest

Caroline County : Denton

Teacher charged with child sex abuse

An eighth-grade teacher has been arrested on child sex abuse charges, the Caroline County sheriff's office said.

Investigators said Lee Holmes, 25, of Greensboro, a teacher at Lockerman Middle School in Denton, is charged with having a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old female student.

Police said Holmes became a suspect Tuesday night after the girl was dropped off at her home in Marydel after leaving without permission. Her mother chased the driver at high speed until the car she was chasing crashed in Queen Anne's County. The mother said she recognized Holmes as the driver of the wrecked car.

Holmes was treated at Maryland Shock Trauma Center and was arrested Wednesday at his mother's residence in Prince George's County.

Associated Press

Prince George's

: Oxon Hill

No pets injured in fire at store

Dozens of pets are safe after a two-alarm fire at a pet store yesterday.

Prince George's County Fire Department spokesman Mark Brady said pet store employees rescued about two dozen cats and dogs that had been left by their owners for grooming at the PetSmart store in Oxon Hill. People in the area housed the pets in their vehicles until the owners arrived to claim them.

Brady said one cat escaped during the evacuation and is missing.

No one was injured in the fire, which broke out about 11 a.m.

Brady said dozens of smaller pets sold in the store, including small birds, rodents and reptiles, were all deemed safe and taken to another PetSmart store.

Associated Press

Queen Anne's

: Wye Mills

Safety work planned along U.S. 50

The State Highway Administration is planning safety improvements at the intersection of U.S. 50 and Route 213 near Wye Mills.

The SHA plans to prohibit motorists from turning left from 50 onto 213 on a solid green light. Left turns will be allowed only on a green arrow. The traffic signal timing will be revised and the changes are expected to be in effect early next week.

Plans call for the left-turn lanes to be lengthened by late spring to allow more vehicles to wait for the left-turn arrow.

An accident in December at the intersection killed a 2-year-old boy, and an accident there Sunday killed a 7-year-old girl.

Associated Press

Cecil County

: Elkton

Man gets 6 months in fatal accident