Bane

Regarding Thomas Schaller's commentary ("The problem is not Islam but orthodoxy," Aug. 24), religion is, has been, and will forever be, the bane of mankind's existence. Toni Jordon, Severna Park

I went to the Harford County  Sheriff's Office town hall meeting last Saturday at North Harford High School. I was disappointed at the low attendance. There were less than 20 people from the North Harford area that bothered to come to the meeting. With this attendance, I have to think that the people of Whiteford, Pylesville and Street do not care about the crime in our area. The community meetings that the Sheriff's Office have are for our benefit and for information about crime throughout the county and in our area.

On April 25, 2005, ELBERT "AL" BANE; beloved husband of Emma Louise Bane (nee Holbrook); loving brother of the late Effie Norwood, June Rennant, Carl Bane, Art Bane and Abraham Bane; devoted stepdad of Patricia Lindemeyr, Sherman Holbrook, Kevin Holbrook and Norman Holbrook. Also survived by 10 step-grandchildren, seven step great-grandchildren and numbers of nieces and nephews. He was a member of Maryland Square Dance Federation. Friends are invited to call at the Burgee-Henss-Seitz Funeral Home, Inc., 3631 Falls Road, on Wednesday and Thursday from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9. Services on Friday at 1 P.M. Interment in Meadowridge Memorial Park.

My friend offered me extra plants from her yard. She said they are pretty but spread a lot. I'm a little nervous about accepting them. What do you think? Beware pass-along plants when a friend says they are indestructible, spread fast, and outcompete other plants. If you hear "Nothing kills it!" that can be a recipe for disaster. (When the plant is not native, it's a perfect description of an invasive plant.) You don't want to be fighting these plants for years to come. Many plants will spread or reproduce in the landscape when they are happy — and that's great — yet most do not get out of control.

BANE FOREST ASBURY, JR., 71, of Milford, VA, formerly of Baltimore, MD, died Saturday, September 17, 2005 at his home. He was preceded in death by his parents, Bane, Sr. and Rebecca Asbury and two sisters. He is survived by his wife, Dorothy Asbury; his daughters, Deborah Ervin and her husband Earl of Milford, Teresa Asbury of Maryland and Mary Holtzner and her husband James of Maryland; his sons, Bane Asbury III and his wife Lyn, Michael Asbury and his wife Sandra and Christopher Asbury, all of Maryland; eight grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, numerous friends, nieces and nephews and two brothers and six sisters.

L. Jesse Bane, a veteran of the Harford County Sheriff's Office, was sworn in yesterday as the agency's 80th sheriff, pledging a more progressive approach to policing and stronger involvement in the community. "No longer will we police the county as we have always done in the past," Bane, 57, told the crowd. A 33-year veteran of the agency, Bane jumped into the race looking to halt gang-related crime and internal strife. In his speech, Bane pledged to hold town meetings and to use analysis of crime data to determine where deputies are most needed.

Capt. Jesse Bane of the Harford County Sheriff's Office was named May's county Employee of the Month for a decade of making Christmas brighter for more than 100 needy families annually.The 22-year law enforcement officer, who commands the patrol division, interviews families between Thanksgiving and Christmas to determine their wish lists, said Deborah Henderson, a county government purchasing agent who nominated Captain Bane.He also talks to children and attempts to provide at least one item on their lists, plus food and clothing as needed, she said.

Sue Bane of Bel Air recently received the Distinguished Staff Award from the College of Notre Dame of Maryland at the annual Notre Dame Day celebration. Bane is office manager in the athletics department and coordinator of Camp Notre Dame. She has worked at the College of Notre Dame for eight years. The Distinguished Staff Award is given annually to a staff member who exhibits outstanding competence and performance, accepts challenges beyond the expected, shows a positive attitude, serves the community, empowers others with the Notre Dame spirit and contributes to the college's mission.

Sheriff L. Jesse Bane and his chief deputy will relinquish the use of brawny sport utility vehicles driven by their predecessors and turn the vehicles over to the agency for use by deputies. The sheriff's 2004 Ford Expedition, an eight-seat SUV purchased new for $28,700 by Sheriff R. Thomas Golding, will be available for deputies performing an extradition or traveling to out-of-county training, an agency spokesman said. The chief deputy's 2004 Chevy Trailblazer, bought used for $15,900 in 2006, will be used at the sheriff's training academy.

WASHINGTON -- Two top Clinton administration officials responsible for welfare policy resigned yesterday, saying they could not support the bill President Clinton signed.The resignations come as states struggle to sort out how to implement a bill that means more state control over welfare programs, less federal money and greater expectations to put people to work.They also add to the appearance of a liberal exodus from the Department of Health and Human Services as the administration moderates social policy.

Sometimes less is more, more or less. Sometimes, less is all you have and all you have will do just fine. Sometimes, the small things, the short things, the bits and pieces are worth keeping because they might be one day useful; my father felt that way about stove bolts. Walter Hard, a Vermont folk poet of Robert Frost's generation, once told of the frugal Yankee woman - was there any other kind? - who left a bag in her attic labeled, "Pieces of string too short to use. " So, alrighty then, that's my preamble and I'm going with it. Here, forthwith, are pieces of column too short to use ... • Suggestion for the Baltimore merchants who oppose Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's proposal to increase the city's bottle tax to five cents to pay for school renovations: Turn what you see as a problem into an opportunity.

Your editorial on prescription drug abuse in suburbia ("OxyContin in suburbia," July 31) was spot on. I live in Harford County and I know this has become a major headache to law enforcement here. In reply to your editorial, Tina Regester of Bel Air, manager of the American Pain Foundation, wrote to tell you that criminal behavior, not pain medications, are the problem in the case of prescription drug abuse. Her point seems to be that pain alleviation is essential and merciful in the practice of medicine, and that it can be done prudently with those taking opiates managing their pain judiciously without becoming addicts.

Reporters are by no means immune to forming opinions about issues they cover. We can't help it. But usually, unless we also write columns, we keep those opinions out of the public eye. On one issue I've covered for more than a decade now, it's been impossible to form a firm opinion. Had I been seated on the jury deciding whether the Intercounty Connector should have been built, I'd be the guy on the lonely end of an 11-1 vote on either verdict. Either way, it will be a personal milestone as well as one for all of Maryland next week when the state opens the first 5.5-mile leg of the long-desired, long-reviled, long-disputed toll road that will eventually link the technology-rich Interstate 270 corridor with Interstate 95. Weather permitting, the first traffic will be allowed on the stretch of road between Interstate 370 (a spur off I-270)

Regarding Thomas Schaller's commentary ("The problem is not Islam but orthodoxy," Aug. 24), religion is, has been, and will forever be, the bane of mankind's existence. Toni Jordon, Severna Park

I come to London for the signage ("Danger: Men working overhead"), and to pick up a tube of Euthymol toothpaste and devour a cup of Mr. Whippy lemon ice and a package of chocolate HobNobs, and to enjoy the roomy taxicabs and the cabbies' no-hesitation style of driving, their bold U-turns, and to observe the gilded gates and the Mounted Guards and all the storybook tinges of aristocracy so dear to us Americans. And terrific theater. Saw a beautiful performance by puppets - life-sized horses in War Horse at the National Theatre - shells of horses with visible frames and legs of two puppeteers inside, another manipulating the head, yet the sight of the beasts grazing, nuzzling, shying, rearing up was the most perfect and believable thing I've seen onstage in a long time.

Faced with declining revenues and a sluggish economy, county officials have cut nearly $13 million from this year's operating budget. Every agency and department has trimmed costs by at least 5 percent, while county officials have assured residents they will not experience any reduction in services. Projects, such as school and road construction that are already in the works, will continue to move forward, officials said. "The average citizen won't see any cut in services," said County Executive David R. Craig after a news conference last week to announce reductions in the fiscal year 2009 budget, which began July 1. The school board cut $5.3 million, the largest single reduction.

When L. Jesse Bane is sworn in as Harford County's 80th sheriff next month, he won't be among the county officials participating in the traditional event at the local community college. Instead, Bane will take the oath in the elegant ceremonial courtroom of the Circuit Courthouse. That approach will mark a return to the way things used to be and a symbol of Bane's hope to make his term differ from what the county has grown accustomed to. "I want to go back to way it was traditionally done," said Bane, a 33-year veteran of the agency.

Maj. L. Jesse Bane, a 34-year veteran of the Harford County Sheriff's Office who has been involved in several community initiatives, announced his candidacy for sheriff yesterday. Bane, who stepped down from his job yesterday to run for the office, said he would like to see the agency fulfill its potential. "I believe that my achievements during my career and my community service demonstrate that I have the desire and the ability to better serve the citizens of Harford County," he said in a news release.

Ground has broken on a $29 million addition to the Harford County Detention Center. Officials said the project, which will be finished by September 2010, will ease overcrowding at the jail, at 1030 Rock Spring Road, by adding 76,000 square feet of space. "This is a good day for Harford County," said Warden Elwood Dehaven, who spoke at the groundbreaking Thursday. The jail has a capacity of 474 prisoners; Dehaven said, but at times, the number of prisoners has been as high as 550. With the addition, the jail will be able to hold 762 prisoners.

Edgewood Harford County officials will discuss plans to bring the Guardian Angels, a voluntary foot patrol, to Edgewood at a public meeting tomorrow. For more than a year, the county sheriffs, County Council member Dion F. Guthrie and the Baltimore chapter of the Guardian Angels have sought to bring the group to Edgewood. "We have been studying this and been having numerous meetings over the last year," Guthrie said. It has not been determined where in Edgewood the group will patrol, said Harford County Sheriff L. Jesse Bane.