Bane

A former administrative assistant at the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development was ordered to serve six months in prison yesterday for her role in stealing more than $33,000 from the state agency, the attorney general's office announced. Denise Rosado, 40, of Glen Burnie pleaded guilty in Baltimore Circuit Court to felony theft for her role in creating fictitious invoices -- which led to 17 checks being issued for services that were never provided to the agency. Five relatives and friends received the checks, splitting the stolen money with her, according to prosecutors.

Harford County police are investigating the shooting of a 31-year-old Edgewood man, the latest in a string of violent crimes in a southwestern Harford County community that police have called the epicenter of gang violence. Police responded to reports of a shooting at 4 a.m. Saturday and found Andre Overton shot in the neck inside his home in the 1800 block of Edgewater Drive. Overton was flown to Maryland Shock Trauma Center, said Sgt. Christina Presberry, a spokeswoman for the Harford County Sheriff's Office.

Harford County experienced a decline in homicides in 2007, with a total of five recorded as of late Friday, including three in Edgewood. All of the victims were male, with the youngest a 7-week-old infant who was shaken in an Abingdon apartment. The number of homicides was a slight decrease from the nine in 2006. "I've seen homicide rates go up and down," said Harford County Sheriff L. Jesse Bane. "I'd like to think with strategies, we'll be successful in bringing them down. It's impossible to live anywhere today where you won't have a homicide of some type."

A Savage man was found severely injured on a roadside near U.S. 1 in North Laurel Tuesday night, but Howard County police have to hold many of their questions until he regains consciousness.Sanford Russell Walters Jr., 51, of the 8400 block of Woodward St., was listed in critical condition yesterday at the Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, a hospital spokeswoman said.He was being treated for severe injuries to his face and head and for other wounds to his neck and legs, Howard rescue officials and police said.

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.

The timing was not right for the Westminster wrestling team last night.Just three days after losing an emotional match to South Carroll, the Owls ran into a strong Frederick squad and the outcome was not very pretty.The Cadets, 3-0 and winners of the Garry Trott tournament last weekend at Fallston, defeated Westminster, 42-15, in Westminster."My wrestlers didn't know Frederick was that good and I as a coach didn't know they were that good," said Westminster coach Henry Mohlhenrich. "But now we know why they beat North Carroll [33-24]

Two new hires with impressive Eastern European credentials received guaranteed lifetime contracts with the Harford County sheriff's office last week and immediately began special training assignments, Sheriff Robert E. Comes said.They are Ison and Dan, two German shepherds that are graduates of the "Schutzhund" discipline program in Europe. They were purchased for $3,500 each through a Hampstead kennel owned by Robert and Lisa Barrett."The Barretts guarantee that the 2-year-old champion purebred dogs are in excellent health, have sound hips and will work for life," said Sgt. John Cavanaugh, who directs the sheriff's K-9 Division.

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.

Sightings of a thin, balding and beardless Santa Claus entering and leaving a Forest Hill workshop in the days before Christmas were accurate.Curiously, the jolly, but not so old, St. Nick wore plain clothes. He had a ready smile, a twinkle in his eye and was a dead ringer for Capt. Jesse Bane of the Harford County sheriff's office. In fact, it was he.And Santa's workshop, dank and dark, looked a lot like a basement donated by Ralph Klein, a local grocery chain owner.In preparation for today, the workshop emptied fast Wednesday and Thursday as elves, who in real life are retired deputies Bud Hans and Bill Glen, lugged bags of food and boxes of brightly wrapped gifts to vans and trucks backed up to a rear door.

Tommy Kiler of North Carroll smiled broadly when asked about his effort last night. What he did also brought smiles to the rest of the Panthers.Kiler, a 135-pound sophomore, pinned former state champion Tim Novak of Frederick in the first period, leading No. 3 North Carroll to a 43-12 victory over the visiting Cadets in a Central Maryland Conference match.North Carroll (6-0, 2-0) led 14-6 heading into Kiler's match. Novak, a state champion two years ago and currently ranked sixth in the state at 140, appeared to be a tough challenge for Kiler.

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.

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.

Harford County experienced a decline in homicides in 2007, with a total of five recorded as of late Friday, including three in Edgewood. All of the victims were male, with the youngest a 7-week-old infant who was shaken in an Abingdon apartment. The number of homicides was a slight decrease from the nine in 2006. "I've seen homicide rates go up and down," said Harford County Sheriff L. Jesse Bane. "I'd like to think with strategies, we'll be successful in bringing them down. It's impossible to live anywhere today where you won't have a homicide of some type."

Harford County police are investigating the shooting of a 31-year-old Edgewood man, the latest in a string of violent crimes in a southwestern Harford County community that police have called the epicenter of gang violence. Police responded to reports of a shooting at 4 a.m. Saturday and found Andre Overton shot in the neck inside his home in the 1800 block of Edgewater Drive. Overton was flown to Maryland Shock Trauma Center, said Sgt. Christina Presberry, a spokeswoman for the Harford County Sheriff's Office.

Harford County Sheriff L. Jesse Bane told nearly 50 residents of an Edgewood community that has been hiring its own security that his deputies are taking steps to fight crime in the area. After a string of robberies and assaults in the neighborhood, the First Harford Square Community Association has taken on debt to pay for a private security firm to patrol the neighborhood every night. Bane told the First Harford residents last night that a surveillance-camera plan for Harford County is in the works and that bicycle and foot patrols are regularly monitoring the community.

As county and state officials came to Edgewood last night to update citizens on base-relocation planning, a topic on the minds of many in audience was one that has vexed the community in recent months: crime. Several of the questions that came from those in the crowd of 200 that turned out at Edgewood High School raised concerns about whether funding for police initiatives would lose out to money for improvements in roads, schools and infrastructure. Three of the four killings in the county this year have occurred in Edgewood, and gang activity has been an issue with which residents and police have grappled.

A crime-fighting tool that has paid dividends when put to use in Baltimore and Aberdeen now is the focus of Harford County officials looking to turn back the tide of crime in Edgewood. The use of surveillance cameras, the topic of frequent discussion in the community in recent weeks, took an important step forward last week when County Executive David R. Craig offered his support for the plan. "This won't happen overnight, but I have asked the sheriff to look into the cameras," Craig said Friday.

After the recent daylight killing of a man unnerved Edgewood, the Harford County sheriff pledged to fight crime by putting deputies on foot patrol, instituting a zero-tolerance policy toward lawbreakers and exploring the use of surveillance cameras in the troubled areas. In a community meeting last night at the Boys and Girls Club in Edgewood, Sheriff L. Jesse Bane told a crowd of nearly 100 to improve their neighborhoods and to report crime. "We understand there's fear in the community," he said.

A former administrative assistant at the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development was ordered to serve six months in prison yesterday for her role in stealing more than $33,000 from the state agency, the attorney general's office announced. Denise Rosado, 40, of Glen Burnie pleaded guilty in Baltimore Circuit Court to felony theft for her role in creating fictitious invoices -- which led to 17 checks being issued for services that were never provided to the agency. Five relatives and friends received the checks, splitting the stolen money with her, according to prosecutors.