The 11-year-old boy found a grenade in his backyard and wanted to show his friends. So he took it to school Wednesday in La Plata in Charles County. But as soon as a teacher at F.B. Gwynn Education Center saw it, school officials took immediate steps to place the grenade outside the building and move students to other parts of the school that were farthest from it, authorities said. Police and bomb squad technicians were called to the scene and determined that the grenade was harmless, according to Deputy State Fire Marshal Joseph G. Zurolo Jr. He said the grenade proved to be an empty shell, lacking a firing mechanism and explosive material. Investigators believed the grenade was possibly made during the Korean War or World War II era. He said investigators visited the boy's house, searched the woods where he found the grenade and spoke with his father. They determined that the boy did not intend to terrorize or harm anyone, and no charges would be filed, Zurolo said.
around the region
Gus G. Sentementes
Democrat Kratovil gets pair of GOP endorsements
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Frank Kratovil Jr., a Democratic congressional candidate in Maryland's Republican-leaning 1st District, announced yesterday endorsements from two GOP county officials. Roy Crow, president of the Kent County Board of Commissioners, and Jack Cole, president of the Caroline County Board of Commissioners, are backing Kratovil, according to his campaign. The Democratic state's attorney for Queen Anne's County faces state Sen. Andy Harris, known for his solidly conservative credentials, in the November election in a district centered on the Eastern Shore but also includes other parts of the state. Harris, who is from Cockeysville, defeated longtime Republican incumbent Rep. Wayne T. Gilchrest in the February primary.
Laura Smitherman
Baltimore Co. recycling program expanded
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Baltimore County is expanding its residential recycling program for compact fluorescent lamps, fluorescent bulbs, mercury thermometers and thermostats, and lead-acid and rechargeable batteries, officials said. Residents may now recycle these items at the Western Acceptance Facility in Halethorpe and the Baltimore County Resource Recovery Facility in Cockeysville, in addition to the Eastern Sanitary Solid Waste Management Facility in White Marsh. Only residential items, and not commercial loads, will be accepted. County government also will begin to recycle these items in most of the buildings that it owns or maintains, officials said. Information: 410-887-3745.
