2nd Marine Division

Bryson lawyers will seek to bar crime scene photosAttorneys for Michael C. Bryson Sr. are set to argue more than 30 pretrial motions at a hearing before Anne Arundel Circuit Judge Warren B. Duckett Jr. today.Mr. Bryson, charged with first-degree murder in the shotgun death of Melrose hardware store owner Charles W. Therit, has filed motions seeking the suppression of crime scene photographs and witness statements and the inclusion of evidence favorable to the defense.Other motions seek to have Mr. Bryson declared mentally retarded and to allow attorneys to ask questions of potential jurors rather than having the judge question them.

Value City of Glen Burnie, the American Cancer Society and Phi Beta Sigma will sponsor a Cancer Awareness Day observance from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. The Cancer Awareness Day event is part of the American Cancer Society's collaboration with the fraternity's national project, Sigma's Waging War Against Cancer. The event is open to the public. Value City is at 7700 Ritchie Highway, Glen Burnie. Information: Phi Beta Sigma, 410-669-8683; or Value City, 410- 553-6500. People Honored: Donald Smith of Glen Burnie was honored by the Maryland Transportation Authority for his outstanding job performance last year.

Berrywine Plantations, Linganore Winecellars, will have a holiday wine and cheese tasting through Monday. Hours will be from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today and tomorrow, and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. Tours of the winery will be offered. Visitors are welcome to bring a picnic lunch and kites for the children to enjoy on the grounds. Admission is free. Linganore Winecellars is at 13601 Glissans Mill Road, Mount Airy. Information: 410-795-6432 or 301-831-5889. Marine Sims reports for duty in North Carolina Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Brian C. Sims recently reported for duty with 2nd Tank Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, Camp Lejeune, N.C. He is the son of Joyce and John Sims of Mount Airy.

The Phelps Senior Center, 701 Montgomery St., Laurel, will offer two free sessions this month. Gann Partnership will sponsor "Learn to Protect Your Life Savings" at 11 a.m. Tuesday. Topics will include Medicare and Medicaid laws and an analysis of using one's assets vs. long-term care insurance. Triad Salt, sponsored by Seniors and Law Enforcement and Sheriff Alonzo Black, will be offered at 11 a.m. Aug. 20. Black will speak about emergency (911) cellular telephone service, while the staff will demonstrate how the system works.

Army Pvt. Philip Schubert, at 18, already has seen his first war, but that hasn't stopped him from being just a kid."One of the firstthings I did when I got home was go outside and roll in the grass with my brothers and climb a tree," he said.Schubert also turned the tables on his mother, whom he called from Saudi Arabia at 3 a.m. to wish a Happy Mother's Day before flying home that same day to Fort Riley, Kan."He called and said he was coming home the 20th and not to tell anybody," said Debbie Elkins, hismother, of Finksburg.

Killed in Iraq As of yesterday, 867 U.S. service members have died since the beginning of military operations. Since May 1, 2003, when President Bush declared major combat in Iraq at an end, 729 U.S. soldiers have died. Latest identifications Marine Lance Cpl. James B. Huston Jr., 22, Umatilla, Ore.; died Friday in a vehicle accident while responding to hostile action in Anbar province; assigned to 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Howard County Public Library will dedicate the meeting room at the Miller branch library in honor of Lenna Baker Burgess, one of the county's first librarians. The ceremony will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Miller branch, 9421 Frederick Road, Ellicott City. In 1941, Burgess helped create the county's first library in three rooms of a portable school building on Main Street in Ellicott City, according to library archives. Members of her family, County Executive James N. Robey and other officials will be on hand.

Marine Cpl. Joshua D. Snyder could be playful. He was even sometimes ornery. But he was always conscientious and loyal, his friends said last night during his funeral service at Eline Funeral Home in Hampstead. Snyder died Nov. 30 - two weeks before his 21st birthday - of wounds suffered during combat in Fallujah, Iraq. The Hampstead resident, awarded the Purple Heart during the service, was a member of the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Camp Lejeune, N.C. Last night, mourners alternated between tears and laughter as church leaders, co-workers and neighbors shared anecdotes about Snyder's pranks at his job at Wal-Mart and his concern for others.

CAMP PENDLETON -- A Marine general testified yesterday that he probably would have ordered an investigation into the killing of 24 civilians in Haditha, Iraq, but for a misleading report filed by the commander there. Maj. Gen. Richard Huck's testimony is central to the prosecution's case that Marine Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, 43, is guilty of dereliction of duty in connection with the killings. On Nov. 19, 2005, Marines under Chessani's command shot five young men outside their car in Haditha and then killed 19 members of three families in or near their homes.

Paul L. "Sarge" Hartsock Sr., a retired Baltimore Fire Department communications lineman and a Korean War veteran, died March 8 of heart failure at Manor Care Ruxton. The Dundalk resident was 81. The son of a steelworker and a homemaker, Mr. Hartsock was born at home on East Hoffman Street, 45 minutes after midnight on Jan. 1, 1930. The family later moved to North Washington Street. Mr. Hartsock attended city public schools and left to enlist in the Navy when he was 16. "When they found out, they let him go. He later enlisted in the Marine Corps," said a son, Paul L. Hartsock Jr. of Edgemere.