Award

A Baltimore County jury has ordered Exxon Mobil Corp. to pay more than $495 million to compensate a group of Jacksonville families and businesses for claims of lost property value, emotional distress and medical monitoring resulting from a 2006 underground gasoline leak - and damages could continue to grow. The Circuit Court jury was scheduled to continue working Thursday to decide an amount to award the 160 families and businesses in punitive damages, which could be several times higher.

The Rev. Michael Braxton removed his clerical gown and took off his tie."This is dress-down Sunday," he told his Annapolis congregation a few weeks ago. "God isn't so much concerned with your outward appearance; God is concerned about your heart."Mr. Braxton, the pastor of Cecil Memorial United Methodist Church on Parole Street, often breaks with tradition to make a point.Sometimes, he'll quote teen-ager's slang during sermons that tend to be lively and humorous."I use the slang the kids know," he says, "like, 'Whoomp!

Last night, the Tennessee Titans eliminated the New York Jets from playoff contention with a 14-10 victory on Monday Night Football. One of the key players for the Titans on defense Monday night was Wilde Lake alum Zach Brown, a rookie linebacker who was graduated from the Howard County school in 2007 and was selected by Tennessee in the second round of this year's NFL draft. The former three-sport athlete for the Wildecats had seven tackles and two sacks in the victory, but his biggest play was a fumble recovery in the final minute, securing the win for the host Titans.

Linell Smith, a Sun feature writer, is the winner of the Outstanding Media Award for Health and Medicine Reporting for 2003, given by the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. Smith won for a two-part series, published last June 2-3, about a Baltimore-area veterinarian and her struggles with bipolar disorder. The award will be presented July 1 at NAMI's national convention in Minneapolis. The series is available on The Sun's web site, www.sunspot. net/laurariley.

Carroll County's tourism efforts captured two of six awards given at last month's Governor's Conference on Tourism.The county's tourism office received a merit award for a series of three walking-tour brochures published this summer. The brochures, detailing walks through Westminster and Union Bridge, give historical information on prominent buildings.The second award received by the office was the 1990 Excellence in Advertising plaque. That award was given for last summer's campaign of print ads featuring interesting county activities.

Dr. A. Haleem Tahir of Columbia was awarded the 1990 Alfred E. Johnson Award for outstanding achievement in the field of engineering at the annual meeting of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.Tahir, the State Highway Administration's top engineer for materials and research, administers the testing and evaluating of soils and of various materials used to construct and maintain the state's highways.

The Carroll County Association of Life Underwriters honored outstanding life and health insurance agents at its annual awards luncheon Thursday.Roger A. Diehl of Prudential received the agent-of-the-year award for his service to the association, his church and community, and his 1992 insurance sales.David P. Griffin of Baltimore Life received the manager-of-the-year award, and two-year agent Richard E. Fisher of Prudential received the rookie-of-the-year award.Other awards included:* The National Quality Award to John P. Buenger Sr. of Nationwide, David M. Carl of Home Beneficial, Dennis W. Martin of Massachusetts Mutual, E. Bradley Cornell of Prudential, Robert F. Schilling of Nationwide, Wayne D. Toth of Prudential, James H. Fair of Lutheran Brotherhood and Paul K. Dell of New York Life.

Arundel High School baseball coach and athletic director Bernie Walter has been selected to receive the 1991 Easton Sports Master Coach of the Year award for his contributions and accomplishments as a baseball coach.Last year, Walter led his Wildcats to a 17-5 record before coaching a Mayo American Legion Post 226 team (71-7) that captured a national title while he was in Havana, Cuba, coaching the USA Junior team in the World Tournament.At the World Tournament, the Walter-coached U.S. contingent finished with an 14-3 record, which was good enough for a third-place finish.

Westminster High School senior Connie Tromble has been awarded this year's Principal Award sponsored by the National Association of Secondary School Principals.Students who possess outstanding leadership qualities and are in the top 20 percent of their senior class are potential candidates.Other areas looked at are participation in service organization clubs, athletics, honors, scholarships and academic record. Winners are selected by a School Awards Committee and the principal.Connie is eligible to apply for a $1,000 scholarship for college if she winsthe national award.

A Dayton home tutor who was raped and murdered earlier this year was honored with a posthumous award in her name that will be given each year to a home-hospital teacher.The first Shirley Rue Mullinex Award of Excellence was accepted Wednesday by Wayne Mullinex, the husband of the 57-year-old woman whose body was found in March behind a Columbia convenience store in the village of Kings Contrivance."I wish Shirley was there to accept the award," Mr. Mullinex said in a telephone interview Friday.