Accokeek

In an effort to reverse the effects of the chestnut tree blight of the 1950s, the first American Chestnut/Fall Farm Festival, noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, will demonstrate the value of the tree as wood and as a fruit. The Nationl Colonial Farm, a re-creation of a mid-18th century tobacco farm, will host the festival, offering demonstrations of chestnut woodcraft, chestnut wreath making and chestnut pancakes making, plus Colonial crafts and children's games, music, storytellers, carriage rides and tours of the farm and its chestnut gove.

Maryland State Police are asking motorists to be on the lookout for a missing 66-year-old woman from Prince George's County. Police said Sunday afternoon that they have issued a "silver alert" for Adela Shepard-Barrett, last seen in Accokeek on Friday. She could be driving a 2010 gray Nissan Sentra, license plate 4AB2351. Silver alerts are issued in Maryland when adults with cognitive disorders, such as Alzheimer's, go missing. Text BUSINESS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun Business text alerts

ACCOKEEK - The Episcopal Diocese of Washington and a Prince George's County parish have ended an 18-month dispute over the appointment of a conservative rector. Bishop John Chane and the vestry of Christ Church, Accokeek, have agreed to the appointment of the Rev. Stephen T. Arpee, who had been serving in an interim capacity. The vestry has agreed not to appeal a federal court decision forcing the Rev. Samuel L. Edwards from the parish, where he had remained last fall in defiance of Bishop Jane H. Dixon.

ACCOKEEK -- An audience lined a flat and straight stretch of rural highway in the middle of the night to watch what many here say is a recurring show of speed and thunderous noise. The drivers spun their wheels, throwing smoke and warming the tires for the contest to come. At some point, the spectators stepped into the road. And, police later said, a Ford Crown Victoria not involved in the illegal street race drove into the blinding haze, straight into the crowd. Eight people were killed and at least five injured in the accident, which occurred about 3 a.m. yesterday near an unlighted intersection on Route 210 - also known as Indian Head Highway - in southern Prince George's County.

Maryland State Police are asking motorists to be on the lookout for a missing 66-year-old woman from Prince George's County. Police said Sunday afternoon that they have issued a "silver alert" for Adela Shepard-Barrett, last seen in Accokeek on Friday. She could be driving a 2010 gray Nissan Sentra, license plate 4AB2351. Silver alerts are issued in Maryland when adults with cognitive disorders, such as Alzheimer's, go missing. Text BUSINESS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun Business text alerts

ACCOKEEK -- A conservative priest at the center of a religious and ideological dispute was evicted by the Episcopal Church from his four-bedroom home in Prince George's County yesterday. The Rev. Samuel L. Edwards, his wife, two children and two cats left their home on the grounds of Christ Church in Accokeek, the day after a federal appeals court rejected a request to allow them to stay temporarily. The court's ruling and the departure of Edwards from the church grounds mark a victory for the bishop of Washington, who has sought to oust Edwards since May. A federal judge ordered Edwards in October to immediately cease his ministry at the church.

ACCOKEEK - A conservative Episcopal priest who has been serving as rector of a Prince George's County parish in defiance of a bishop's attempts to oust him said yesterday that he will obey a federal court order barring him from the church while he seeks to have the ruling overturned on appeal. The Rev. Samuel L. Edwards, 47, speaking in front of the white-clapboard rectory because he is barred from the grounds of the adjacent Christ Church in Accokeek, said that he defied the acting bishop of Washington, but will not defy civil authority.

Beretta USA Corp. regained its status as a defense contractor when the Accokeek company received an $18.5 million order for 45,000 of its 9 mm handguns for the Navy.The new order is the second largest in the southern Prince Georges County company's history. It will activate Beretta's military assembly operation for the first time in more than a year.In August 1994, the company shipped the last of 392,000 handguns, valued at $110 million, to the Army, the purchasing agent for all branches of the military.

ACCOKEEK - An Episcopal church in Prince George's County that has been locked in a bitter dispute over the fate of its conservative priest took a step toward reconciliation yesterday, but parishioners on both sides said the mood remained tense despite the effort at healing. Supporters of the Rev. Samuel L. Edwards - who was ordered last week by a federal judge to leave his post as rector of Christ Church in Accokeek - were joined by those who favor his ouster for the first time in more than five months at the hourlong service.

ACCOKEEK -- The 16-shot, semiautomatic 9 mm handgun lying on Robert Bonaventure's desk has a lot to do with his sense of security.Mr. Bonaventure is head of Beretta U.S.A. Corp., and the gun he picked up and waved about is almost identical to those the company makes for the U.S. military.Beretta has used its military contract to establish such a strong position in the domestic firearms market that even when its Army order is filled next spring, the company expects no slowdown in production.

Scientist is indicted on false-claim counts ACCOKEEK -- A federal grand jury has indicted a Prince George's County scientist with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on charges of claiming work-related expenses while vacationing at the Trump Casino in Atlantic City, among other allegations, officials said yesterday. Myron Price, 45, of Accokeek is charged with eight counts of making a false claim. If convicted, he could face up to 40 years in prison. Between 1998 and 2004, according to the U.S. attorney's office, he inflated mileage on travel vouchers and claimed several reimbursements for "official travel" while on vacation.

ACCOKEEK - The Episcopal Diocese of Washington and a Prince George's County parish have ended an 18-month dispute over the appointment of a conservative rector. Bishop John Chane and the vestry of Christ Church, Accokeek, have agreed to the appointment of the Rev. Stephen T. Arpee, who had been serving in an interim capacity. The vestry has agreed not to appeal a federal court decision forcing the Rev. Samuel L. Edwards from the parish, where he had remained last fall in defiance of Bishop Jane H. Dixon.

ACCOKEEK -- A conservative priest at the center of a religious and ideological dispute was evicted by the Episcopal Church from his four-bedroom home in Prince George's County yesterday. The Rev. Samuel L. Edwards, his wife, two children and two cats left their home on the grounds of Christ Church in Accokeek, the day after a federal appeals court rejected a request to allow them to stay temporarily. The court's ruling and the departure of Edwards from the church grounds mark a victory for the bishop of Washington, who has sought to oust Edwards since May. A federal judge ordered Edwards in October to immediately cease his ministry at the church.

ACCOKEEK - An Episcopal church in Prince George's County that has been locked in a bitter dispute over the fate of its conservative priest took a step toward reconciliation yesterday, but parishioners on both sides said the mood remained tense despite the effort at healing. Supporters of the Rev. Samuel L. Edwards - who was ordered last week by a federal judge to leave his post as rector of Christ Church in Accokeek - were joined by those who favor his ouster for the first time in more than five months at the hourlong service.

ACCOKEEK - A conservative Episcopal priest who has been serving as rector of a Prince George's County parish in defiance of a bishop's attempts to oust him said yesterday that he will obey a federal court order barring him from the church while he seeks to have the ruling overturned on appeal. The Rev. Samuel L. Edwards, 47, speaking in front of the white-clapboard rectory because he is barred from the grounds of the adjacent Christ Church in Accokeek, said that he defied the acting bishop of Washington, but will not defy civil authority.

Nearly three dozen members of a Prince George's County Episcopal church and their supporters yesterday filed ecclesiastical charges against acting Bishop Jane H. Dixon of Washington, escalating a dispute to retain a conservative rector at the 300-year-old parish. The parishioners and supporters of Christ Church in Accokeek charged that Dixon violated canon law by attempting to oust the Rev. Samuel L. Edwards, whom the parish called as its rector in December, after the 30-day period in canon law when she is allowed to intervene.

Scientist is indicted on false-claim counts ACCOKEEK -- A federal grand jury has indicted a Prince George's County scientist with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on charges of claiming work-related expenses while vacationing at the Trump Casino in Atlantic City, among other allegations, officials said yesterday. Myron Price, 45, of Accokeek is charged with eight counts of making a false claim. If convicted, he could face up to 40 years in prison. Between 1998 and 2004, according to the U.S. attorney's office, he inflated mileage on travel vouchers and claimed several reimbursements for "official travel" while on vacation.

ACCOKEEK -- An audience lined a flat and straight stretch of rural highway in the middle of the night to watch what many here say is a recurring show of speed and thunderous noise. The drivers spun their wheels, throwing smoke and warming the tires for the contest to come. At some point, the spectators stepped into the road. And, police later said, a Ford Crown Victoria not involved in the illegal street race drove into the blinding haze, straight into the crowd. Eight people were killed and at least five injured in the accident, which occurred about 3 a.m. yesterday near an unlighted intersection on Route 210 - also known as Indian Head Highway - in southern Prince George's County.

Unable to resolve a dispute with a dissident conservative priest through church channels, the acting bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington has gone to federal court seeking an injunction to regain control of a Prince George's County parish. Bishop Jane H. Dixon filed suit Monday in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, asking that a federal judge prohibit the Rev. Samuel L. Edwards from officiating at Christ Episcopal Church in Accokeek. Dixon also is asking the court to order the vestry, the lay body that runs the 120-member church, to allow her to visit and minister at the parish.

A conservative Episcopal priest who was hired as rector by a 300-year-old Prince George's County parish is defying the authority of the bishop pro tempore of Washington, who happens to be a woman. The Rev. Samuel L. Edwards says he doesn't recognize her sacramental authority as bishop and will not receive communion from her. Bishop Jane H. Dixon says that his conservative views and his claim that the Episcopal Church is "hell-bound" make him unfit to be a rector in her diocese and that she wants him out. He was ordered to cease ministering at Christ Episcopal Church in Accokeek on Friday.