Badge

The Boy Scouts of America will participate in the 16th annual Harford County Farm Fair from Thursday through July 27, demonstrating emergency services training that will lead to an emergency preparedness merit badge. Emergency service providers and Scouts, ages 11 to 18, will show how to respond to emergencies, including radiation, chemical, biological and other hazards, according to Ernie Crist, Harford County emergency operations manager. David Eng, a representative of the Boy Scouts of America, said the Scouts are learning how to prevent injuries and possible loss of life in situations such as fires, explosions, cars stalling in a blizzard, gas leaks and avalanches.

WASHINGTON - The Energy Department has ordered a full review of security at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory after discovering security lapses that officials called "unacceptable." Federal officials ordered the review of the laboratory in Northern California on Friday after learning that the loss of an electronic access badge had gone unreported to senior managers for six weeks. The badge could help gain access to 3,000 offices at the facility, some containing classified material.

MURPHY, N.C. - When the net finally closed on Eric Rudolph, his captor was not a federal agent but a small-town police officer who had worn a badge barely eight months. Yesterday, the pride of this town of 1,650 was 21-year-old Jeff Postell, who arrested Rudolph while on routine patrol behind a Sav-a-Lot supermarket. The arrest placed Postell at the center of a moment in history that most police officers only dream about. The officer played it down as being "just in a day's work." But it marked an auspicious career start for a young man who had nurtured hopes of becoming a police officer even before graduating from Murphy High School a few years ago. As a teen-ager, Postell had joined Explorers chapters in Murphy and up the road in Andrews.

Harford County School Superintendent Jacqueline C. Haas has notified students and parents that all field trips to Washington, Philadelphia and New York City have been canceled until further notice because of the risk of war. In a letter to parents, Haas said that other field trips outside the county would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Schools have been reminded that anyone entering buildings must display a photo identification badge, employee identification or visitors badge. Vendors going into school buildings or offices must show company identification.

The badge of a Baltimore police officer deflected a bullet fired by an assailant last night during a struggle in a dark alley, leaving the officer slightly injured and sending police on an intense search for the attacker, authorities said. Officer James Howard was treated last night at Maryland Shock Trauma Center for bruises and minor injuries and released, officials said. The outcome could have been far worse. "He's very lucky," Police Commissioner Edward T. Norris said. "The badge is going in the police museum."

THIS HAS been a productive and fulfilling summer for the young men in Boy Scout Troop 550, according to Assistant Scoutmaster John McCarty. While camping at the Hawk Mountain Scout Reservation in Pennsylvania, many Scouts earned badges and some advanced in rank. All of the Scouts and adult leaders experienced the beauty and challenges of the outdoors during a weeklong trip. McCarty said that he and Assistant District Commissioner George Kline, who accompanied the troop, also had a surprise reunion.

If you want to check the speed at which young girls are growing up, you can subscribe to Seventeen, which is actually read by 11-year-olds, or Cosmopolitan, the Bible of 16-year-olds. You can watch MTV or VH1 or BET and try to decipher the raunchy lyrics. You can check out Britney Spears' "Crossroads" on video or tune into The Osbournes. Or you can consider this fact: the launch last fall of the newest Junior Girl Scout badge was the most popular in memory. More than 60,000 8- to 11-year-olds have qualified for it in less than a year.

Baltimore police officers were ordered to remove their badges and nameplates before going into the infield of the Pimlico Race Course during the Preakness last month, police said. The removal of badges and names was apparent on a videotape released yesterday by city prosecutors that shows an officer hitting a spectator with an object that appears to be a baton. The absence of badges and nameplates was criticized by civil libertarians worried that officers might be trying to hide their identifies, and the department's top lawyer said the practice was "a real concern" and could hurt police accountability.

A baggage screener at Baltimore-Washington International Airport has been arrested and charged with impersonating a police officer after security officials discovered him wearing his wife's Baltimore County police badge. William Darnell Jackson Jr., 36, of the 500 block of Molly Court in Edgewood, was also charged with making false statements during questioning by officials about 9:50 p.m. Wednesday in the airport's international terminal, Pier E. Airport officials are trying to determine Jackson's motives.