Anne Arundel

As a small-business owner on Clay Street, the rough-and-tumble Annapolis community where he grew up, Michael McFarland was keenly aware of the need for mentors for the neighborhood's youth. In the early 1970s, when he owned a laundromat there, he began an athletic club that allowed hundreds of low-income kids from the area to compete in organized sports like basketball and flag football. As a coach, McFarland, nicknamed "Little Buck" for his short stature, not only taught sportsmanship; he exalted the importance of education.

When Gordon "Babe" Phelps died a few weeks back at age 84, Anne Arundel County lost one of its all-time athletic greats. A life-long Odenton resident, Mr. Phelps experienced some of the glory days -- if not-so-well compensated days -- of baseball.He was a local legend as the top hitter for the Odenton Athletic Club (which played in the Southwestern Industrial League and the Baltimore Major League).His big break came in 1930, when the owner of the Washington Senators saw Mr. Phelps play against the Bowie Athletic Club and decided that he had the potential to play in the professional major leagues.

Elementary school results The following elementary schools in the Baltimore area had the highest percentage of students who passed. To see more rankings, go to baltimoresun.com. Shipley's Choice (Anne Arundel): 100% Rodgers Forge (Baltimore County): 100% Severna Park (Anne Arundel): 99.5% Chadwick (Baltimore County): 99.4% Mayo (Anne Arundel): 99.3% Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold wants to block an upcoming move of nearly 400 state workers from Crownsville to Prince George's County by eliminating funding to the Department of Housing and Community Development for the relocation. Leopold, a Republican, is hoping the state legislature will consider a bill that he has proposed that would cut funding for the impending move. Leopold says the department's move would be a detriment to Anne Arundel and would cost the state millions of dollars in unnecessary lease payments.

A fire tore through a single-family home in southern Anne Arundel County late Thursday, bringing more than two dozen firefighters to the scene to fight the blaze, according to the Anne Arundel County Fire Department. Firefighters responded to the home in the 800 block of Harwood Road about 9:36 p.m. and found flames shooting through the roof of the home, and were still fighting to control the fire an hour later, said Lt. Cliff Kooser, a department spokesman. No injuries had been reported as of 10:30 p.m., Kooser said.

A fire at an Anne Arundel trailer park Wednesday morning killed one person and destroyed a double-wide mobile home, fire officials said. Firefighters responded to a call at 8:25 a.m. for a dwelling fire in the first block of Zona Street, in the Parkway Village mobile home park in Maryland City. The blaze took 40 firefighters from four departments 45 minutes to bring it under control, officials said. Firefighters found the victim, who was pronounced dead at the scene and has not been identified, after the fire had been put out, officials said.

A stretch of Route 4, including the section that passes through southern Anne Arundel County, was renamed last week for Stephanie Roper, whose 1982 murder led her parents to crusade for rights of crime victims and their survivors. The approximately five miles that Maryland officials named Stephanie Roper Highway extend from Upper Marlboro in Prince George's County to Bristol in Anne Arundel, according to the Maryland Crime Victims' Resource Center. A gubernatorial proclamation was issued last week.