Academy

Twenty-three Harford County residents have graduated from the county sheriff's Citizens Police Academy after completing 14 weeks of classroom and field instruction. Sheriff Tom Golding presented diplomas during commencement exercises. The graduates, who began academy classes March 6, have learned about nearly every aspect of Sheriff's Office operations, from patrol services and criminal investigation to the agency's canine unit, dive team and crisis negotiation team, said Ginger Rigney, spokeswoman for the office.

The U.S. Naval Academy has been cited by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration for two serious safety violations after a steam blast last month that injured two maintenance employees.An OSHA report said specific procedures had not been developed for the control of potentially hazardous energy in the basement Mechanical Room of Bancroft Hall, the dormitory that houses all 4,100 midshipmen, and that employees were not trained in an energy control program."The classification is a serious violation," Leonard Moore, assistant area director for the Baltimore office of OSHA, said yesterday.

The Navy inspector general's office has begun reviewing the Naval Academy Athletic Association (NAAA) after its purchase of a condominium for its president and an all-expense-paid trip for supporters spurred Congress to call for an overhaul of Navy athletics.Capt. Tom Jurkowsky, an academy spokesman, confirmed yesterday that a lawyer with the inspector general's office has been collecting documents about the operation of NAAA."I think they're in the information-gathering mode," said Captain Jurkowsky.

The Naval Academy is investigating allegations that a midshipman stole an automated teller machine card and withdrew cash from another midshipman's account to gamble on professional and college football games, an academy official said yesterday.Academy officials confirmed that an investigation was nearing completion and said the focus was on one midshipman."During the course of an ongoing investigation of misconduct by a midshipman -- the misuse of an ATM card -- we received indications that the midshipman may have been involved in some type of gambling," said academy spokesman Capt.

Adm. Charles R. Larson, commander in chief of U.S. Pacific forces, has emerged as the leading candidate to become superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy, congressional sources said yesterday.Eight candidates -- many of them three- and four-star admirals -- have been interviewed for the academy job in the past month by Navy Secretary John Dalton and other Navy officials."If you were a betting man, bet on Chuck Larson," said a congressional source familiar with the search. "I think it's a very strong possibility."

WASHINGTON -- A former Naval Academy midshipman has won a second chance to pursue his constitutional challenge -- the first case of its kind -- to the forced resignation of military cadets solely because they are gay.Joseph C. Steffan, 26, of Warren, Minn., is seeking to get his diploma and be commissioned as a Navy ensign three years after leaving the academy just weeks before his scheduled graduation. An administrative board had recommended that he be discharged because he admitted to being gay, so he resigned, believing he had no choice.

Three projected Navy football starters have resigned from the academy, bringing to five the number of upcoming juniors who won't be playing for the Midshipmen this fall.Wide receiver Rob Holmberg of Mount Pleasant, Pa., resigned for personal reasons and is expected to transfer to Penn State. Tailback Ivan Bullard of Hinesville, Ga., and defensive back Darrel Graham of Collierville, Tenn., resigned for academic reasons, academy officials said."We had projected all into our plans for this fall.

Since 1942, midshipmen have been squaring off in the Naval Academy's annual brigade boxing tournament, trying to win on of eight spots on a squad that represents the academy at regional and national competitions. This year, 87 boxers laced on gloves at the beginning of the season in search of the brigade title in their weight divisions.The midshipmen who will represent the academy this year are Colin Keenan, a 139-pound junior from Brooklyn, N.Y.; Liam Huin, a 147-pound junior from Dennis, Mass.

Tired of being the underdog in battling top universities for the best and brightest minority high school students, Naval Academy officials have devised an aggressive recruiting campaign with a $740,000 price tag.Their goal is to increase African-American and Hispanic enrollment from about 7.5 percent each to 12 percent each in all four classes and to raise the total racial minority enrollment -- including Asian Pacific and Native American -- from 18 percent...

'Twas the season of Christmas, and all through the dorm,G; Little creatures were stirring to keep themselves warm.When midshipmen at the Naval Academy departed Dec. 18 for their holiday break, they began a temporary cease-fire in their battle against the co-inhabitants of their dormitory, Bancroft Hall.Put another way, when the weather outside turns frightful, mice -- and sometimes rats, raccoons and squirrels -- find the warmth of Bancroft Hall delightful.``I can hear them running around in the ceiling at night,'' said senior Kate Oliver.