Bethea

A boy so diminutive that the camera must tilt down to capture him waves a silver handgun while directing obscenities at the police. A self-proclaimed Park Heights drug dealer names three police officers who he says can be bribed with drugs. A young woman in a barber shop warns "Doobie" to stay away from her because he "was snitchin' on my man." The shock-value scenes from Stop Snitching 2, viewed this week by The Sun, are virtually interchangeable with those from the original. In many ways, the sequel replicates a formula that, three years ago, made Stop Snitching wildly popular in Baltimore neighborhoods and put the city's criminal culture on national display.

Oh, you can call him Warrenell, or you may call him Boom Boom. You can call him the Maryland State Heavyweight Champion (1959, beating Burt Whitehurst in 12 bone-crushing rounds). You can call him the All Army Champion and toss in the All Inner Services Heavyweight Champion as well. Me? I just call him Bootie, as I have since I first met him back in the '50s in Bel Air, where he was steadily making a name for himself and turning locals on to boxing. He was our own pride and joy and he fought by the name of Warrenell "Boom Boom" Lester.

When Eddie Arthur was a young boy, his mother had to spank him for running into the street to chase a fire engine. Almost every toy he had, or had asked for, had something to do with fighting fires.From the time he was 3 years old, all Eddie Arthur ever wanted was to be a firefighter."He loved the sound of the fire trucks," recalled Lillie Mae Campbell, who mourned yesterday for a son who died doing a job he loved. "I was very proud of him being a fireman because he wanted it so much. It was his dream."

`Stop Snitching 2' sends wrong signals Thanks to The Sun for publishing the enlightening, if disturbing, article on Stop Snitching impresario Rodney Bethea ("Thug life - the sequel," Dec. 23), who is photographed in front of an abandoned, boarded-up rowhouse that symbolizes the promise of his empire - Baltimore as a dilapidated ghost town. Unfortunately, I have yet to find an acceptable rationale for Mr. Bethea's actions. Although he promotes the stop snitching, pro-dealing ethic because, he says, "People are surviving the only way they know how," he fails to add the appropriate note that they are doing so by killing their brothers and sisters and their community.

Ask self-professed lip balm addicts about their habit, and they tend to answer sheepishly. "I noticed I had a little problem," says John Eichel, an 18-year-old employee of Princeton Sports in Columbia. Eichel claims not to panic if he can't find his ChapStick, but it really stinks, the Highland resident says, "if your lips are all chapped and it feels like razor blades are cutting into them." And then there's Jacqueline Bethea, the 25-year-old Chicago entrepreneur who started a Web site for buying lip balm: Lipmedic.

In what may have been a state playoff preview, No. 11 Southern-Baltimore defeated visiting and No. 13 Southwestern, 56-54, for its third straight victory yesterday.So why wasn't Bulldogs coach Meredith Smith smiling?"We turned it over on the dribble, we turned it over on passes," he said. "We had an uncontested layup, and all we had to do was make a fundamental pass, but we lose it out of bounds trying a behind-the-back pass. That has been the problem with this team all season."The Bulldogs (6-5)

On September 9, 2009, MAJOR; beloved husband of Shirley. Friends may visit the family owned MARCH FUNERAL HOME EAST, 1101 E. North Avenue on Tuesday after 8:30 A.M., where the family will receive friends on Wednesday at 11:30 A.M. Funeral services will follow at 12 noon.

On May 31, 2008 HERMAN KELLEY, SR. Friends may visit the family owned MARCH FUNERAL HOME WEST, INC., 4300 Wabash Ave. on Thursday after 2 P.M. where the family will receive friends on Friday at 9 A.M. followed by funeral services at 9:15 A.M.

On May 25, 2004, JERRY, JR. He is survived by a host of relatives and friends. Friends may call at the FAMILY OWNED MARCH FUNERAL HOME WEST, INC., 4300 Wabash Avenue, on Monday after 12 noon. Funeral Services Tuesday at 1:30 P.M. See www.marchfh.com

Donna Bethea, a health care analyst and longtime Northwest Baltimore resident, died of leukemia Tuesday at Gilchrist Hospice Care in Towson. She was 44. Ms. Bethea was born in Baltimore and raised on Brighton Avenue. She was a 1985 graduate of Polytechnic Institute. She earned a bachelor's degree in 2009 in information technology from the University of Phoenix, and two weeks ago had completed the course work for a master's degree in health administration, also from the University of Phoenix, family members said.