Aberdeen

The frail 68-year-old woman takes a puff on her cigarette, coughs painfully and tries again.She's not well, she says. It's been a difficult year for Irene Gabler.Her husband, Bud, died last May, and the exhausting world of the family's crab house in Aberdeen has taken its toll."It's been a bumpy road," says Ms. Gabler, a former West Virginian who arrived in the Harford County town 46 years ago, wondering, "What am I going to do out here?"The young nurse had come to the secluded spot on the Bush River because, "I married the man."

A 16-year-old boy has been charged in connection with the explosion of two improvised bottle bombs in an Aberdeen Dumpster, according to state fire marshals. Aberdeen city police originally responded to the first block of East Bel Air Avenue for a calls of "shots fired" shortly after 10 p.m. Thursday, according to a notice of investigation from the State Fire Marshal's Office. Police discovered two explosive devices - bottle bombs - inside a commercial Dumpster at the Magnolia Apartments, according to the notice.

As a girl growing up in Madison, Ind., in the 1930s and 1940s, Ramona Bennett was fascinated by the past. That might have had something to do with Madison, a venerable Ohio River town designed in 1821 by Alexander Ralston, who helped Pierre L'Enfant design Washington, D.C. It's filled with gorgeous old houses bearing names such as the Jeremiah Sullivan House and the Lanier Mansion. Bennett came to Aberdeen in 1958 to work at the Aberdeen Proving Ground. Until she retired in 1988, she scheduled munitions tests for all of the nine proving grounds around the country.

The Aberdeen Farmers Market is open for the season, Fridays from 3 p.m. until 7 in Festival Park at 60 N. Parke St. The market features Hickory Chance Farm's Angus cross beef, Keyes Creamery ice cream and cheese, herbs, flowers, heirloom vegetables, baked goods, seasonal produce, handmade furniture, bird houses, hanging flower baskets, dog treats and many more vendors. The market is open rain or shine. Festival Park is across from Aberdeen City Hall. For more information, call 410-272-1600

Residents of eight apartments in Aberdeen were displaced Tuesday afternoon following a fire in their building. The fire, reported around 3 p.m. in a building in the 300 block of South Parke Street, was determined to be accidental, started by contractors who were working in the building, Rich Gardiner, a spokesman for the Harford County Volunteer Fire and EMS Association, said Tuesday evening. The residents displaced are being helped by Red Cross Disaster Assistance, he said. Gardiner said it took about 65 firefighters from Aberdeen Fire Department, Aberdeen Proving Ground Fire Department, Susquehanna Hose Company and Level Volunteer Fire Company about 20 minutes to control the fire, which affected the eight units in the building.

Gov. William Donald Schaefer presented the first Town of Aberdeen economic development awards Friday.The breakfast at the New Deal Diner recognized four Aberdeen businesses for their contribution to economic revitalization.Honorees included:* The 15 South Parke Professional Building for keeping alive a commercial site in the middle of Aberdeen's business section. Opened as an Acme grocery in 1952, the building was converted to a photographic processing plant and later to a cosmetology school.

Aberdeen voters go to the polls Tuesday to elect two council members. Up for election are incumbents Ronald Kupferman, the council president, and Macon L. Tucker Jr., and challenger Barbara Kreamer, a former state and county officeholder. Letters from the candidates outlining several of their positions are at right.Since switching to a strong-mayor form of city government last year, the town has had its share of political controversies. The city of 13,500 residents is also just coming off a festive centennial year and its outlying industrial areas have been the fertile ground for much of Harford County's job creation efforts.

Aberdeen's experience with a minor-league baseball stadium is a cautionary tale to any small town investing in an enterprise about which it knows little. By all accounts, Ripken Stadium has been a great success, as are the Aberdeen IronBirds, the Class A team that plays there, and the adjacent youth baseball academy. But it's been a hugely unprofitable situation for Aberdeen, which is losing about $311,000 each year, chiefly because a real estate development that was expected to be built next door (and generate substantial tax revenues)

HAVRE DE GRACE -- Some cheering was reported in Prince George's County police circles last week when the news of Terrence Johnson's death arrived, and who can wonder why?Terrence Johnson was a cop-killer who had been twice saved from the full consequences of his actions. He was saved first by his youth, next by his intelligence and charm. A factor each time was the patronizing idea so pervasive in the courts of our day that because he was black, he deserved leniency and assorted second chances.

Bri Jones had 24 points and 11 rebounds to power visiting No. 1 Aberdeen past North Harford, 79-55, Thursday. Jimmia McCluskey added 18 points for the Eagles (17-0). No. 2 Digital Harbor 80, Carver 27: A'Lexus Harrison had 25 points and 16 rebounds to help the host Rams (14-2) defeat the Bears. Digital Harbor started with a man-to-man defense and led 53-22 at the half. A defensive switch to zone in the second half limited Carver to seven points.   No. 10 River Hill 61, Oakdale 10: The Hawks (29-6)

Today's Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference baseball game between No. 4-seeded Archbishop Curley and No. 1-seeded Gilman has been moved to Yankee Stadium at the Ripken Complex in Aberdeen.  The game will begin at 6 p.m.

Last week we talked about the binder of Aberdeen police history donated by retired First Sgt. James Testerman to be included in the Aberdeen Room Archives and Museum. The history is long and illustrious, so we will continue this week. As we said previously, the police department moved to the building that housed the Aberdeen Fire Department in the 1960s. When Aberdeen Fire House 1 was completed in 1974, and the fire department moved from the corner of North Parke Street and West Bel Air Avenue, the police department was able to expand, and was renovated.

Aberdeen Proving Ground will celebrate Armed Forces Week with a variety of events including a golf tournament, veterans luncheon, and a museum open house. The celebration will be held Monday through Saturday, according to the APG Public Affairs Office, but most events will be concentrated on Wednesday when school bands will play, veterans will be honored and the APG will have an open house showing the public what goes on at the military facility. The public is invited. For more information about the events, call 410-278-4500.

The Edgewood boys and the No. 4 Aberdeen girls took the team titles at Wednesday's UCBAC championship track and field meet at Elkton. Brandon Chase led Edgewood by winning the 100, 200 and 400. He also ran on the victorious 400 relay as the Rams finished with 98 points, beating out Perryville (95). Lenier Tucker (800) and Raymond King (triple jump) were Edgewood's other individual winners, and the Rams also captured the 1,600 relay. For the Aberdeen girls, Jimmia McCluskey took second in the 100 and 200 plus third in the long jump and ran on the first-place 400 relay.

The Maryland State Highway Administration is temporarily closing and detouring the interchange ramps from Route 715 (Short Lane) north and south to Route 40 east (Pulaski Highway/Philadelphia Boulevard) in Aberdeen this weekend to replace three drainage pipes underneath the ramps. The Maryland State Highway Administration is temporarily closing and detouring the interchange ramps from Route 715 (Short Lane) north and south to Route 40 east (Pulaski Highway/Philadelphia Boulevard)

The Aberdeen Room always enjoys getting assistance with extensive record keeping by donors who have been very active in civic affairs in the Aberdeen area. At times we receive help from those who have worked for city government and are very knowledgeable about their work. We were very fortunate to have a visit by retired First Sgt. James Testerman from the Aberdeen Police Department. He brought with him, as a donation, a binder containing pictures and information about the Aberdeen Police Department, from which he had retired after 39 years and 28 days.

Thursday's much-anticipated girls basketball rematch between Aberdeen and host Joppatowne turned out to be a lopsided 82-40 win for the visiting Eagles, who stayed unbeaten in the Chesapeake Division of the Upper Chesapeake Bay Athletic Conference. Aberdeen, 19-0, division champions at 10-0 and ranked No. 1, used its relentless full-court press to force the Mariners (16-4, 9-2) into numerous turnovers throughout the first half. The Eagles led 31-8 after one quarter, 45-21 at the half and 68-38 after three quarters.

Aberdeen's No. 1 girls basketball team found itself in double jeopardy Tuesday night at nationally ranked Riverdale Baptist. The Eagles managed to climb out of a 10-point first-half hole, but when Riverdale made its run in the third quarter, they weren't able to answer, falling, 72-51, for their first loss of the season to the Crusaders, ranked No. 6 in USA Today's Girls Basketball Super 25 and No. 1 in The Washington Post. "It's a great learning experience," Aberdeen forward TK Fowlkes said.

Rudolph James "Rudy" Redd Sr., an engineer who spent his nearly 40-year career with the Army's Research, Development and Engineering Command at Aberdeen Proving Ground and was an advocate for the mentally ill, died April 27 of a cardiac arrest at his home in the Versailles Apartments in Towson. He was 88. Mr. Redd was born in Charlottesville, Va. After the death of his mother when he was very young, he moved to a home on Druid Hill Avenue, where he was raised by Irene Scott, a close friend of his mother's.

The ARC Northern Chesapeake Region accepted a check for $8,000 from The Aberdeen Rotary Club, proceeds from the rotary's annual bull, shrimp and oyster roast.