Boot Camp

A prison inmate from Baltimore was killed and another inmate was injured after a sedan veered off the Capital Beltway in Prince George's County and hit a trash removal crew from a state Division of Correction boot camp, according to Maryland State Police. James Morton-Bey, 27, who was serving a two-year sentence for distribution of drugs, was killed, said correction division spokeswoman Maj. Priscilla Doggett. The second inmate was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. Both were wearing reflective vests.

A state prison inmate who was hit by a truck and killed Thursday while working along the Capital Beltway was identified yesterday as Rodney Jennings, 28, who had been serving a two-year sentence for possession of drugs with intent to distribute. Maj. Priscilla Doggett, a spokeswoman for the Division of Correction, said the prison system is suspending road work crews from the Herman L. Toulson Boot Camp in Jessup until better safety standards can be established. The incident was the second fatality involving a Division of Correction highway crew member in the past three months.

Closing boot camp, firing some officials doesn't go far enoughI am taking this opportunity to com-mend The Sun for its series on Maryland's juvenile hoot camps (Dec. 5-8). How sad for the state of Maryland that it took public disclosure before any action was taken.I am outraged by top officials who claim that they were either "misled" or thought rcports of abuse and violence were "isolated" incidents. My question is: Why didn't they know?I find it interesting that neither the governor nor the lieutenant governor was available for comment for a week.

IN A SERIES of news stories about teen-age criminals sentenced to a crucible boot camp, Sun reporter Todd Richissin found that the boys were not only pummeled and pounded while in custody, but they also returned to drugs and crime almost as soon as they were released.The boys, ages 14 to 17, arrived at the Savage Leadership Challenge camp in Garrett County in handcuffs and shackles and were dragged off the bus, slammed, pounded and thrown to the ground in a smorgasbord of physical abuse that was described by Richissin and documented by Sun photographer Andre Chung.

HERE'S WHAT Mayor Martin O'Malley saw when he picked up the front page of this newspaper on his first full day in office:"Violence escalates in drug turf war""Probes target juvenile camps""Charlie Squad," the last part in a searing series on the state's violent and ineffective "boot camp" for incorrigible young delinquents.Oh yes, there was also the lead story on Mr. O'Malley's inauguration as Baltimore's 47th mayor.With all the bleak local news surrounding us these days, it's tough keeping your spirits up, even for a 36-year-old mayor.

NOTHING WAS usual about the punishment inflicted on Charlie Squad members. The treatment was so cruel that it demands immediate explanations from Gov. Parris N. Glendening and the entire chain of command.Fourteen Charlie Squad members, subjects of a four-part Sun series, are juvenile offenders who were sent to the Savage Leadership Challenge in Garrett County for rehabilitation.Reporter Todd Richissin and photographer Andre F. Chung vividly documented assaults by leather-gloved guards -- fists to the throat, punches to the mouth, mashing faces into the ground -- at the Western Maryland boot camp.

MAN WITH THE heroin is ready, kid with the vein is willing. Needle with the dope's probably dirty, but so what? The kid's shooting up for the first time, his virgin blast, worth the chance for a hell of a ride.Jimmy Phelps spent five months in a state boot camp for juvenile delinquents. In April, a month after his release, he's back on the streets, feeling nothing, rolling up his shirt sleeve. Forget counseling, forget rehab classes, forget the pithy words of encouragement. None of it works.

JIMMY PHELPS is a junkie, Michael Taylor's charged with attempted murder, Kevin McManus with driving a stolen car, Roland "Reno" Scott with selling crack. They have at least two things in common:They've committed their latest crimes after graduating from the Savage Leadership Challenge, a state boot camp for juvenile delinquents in the woods of Garrett County, and every one of them has escaped penalty from Maryland's Juvenile Justice Department for not reporting to his probation officers and drug rehab classes.

BIG SAVAGE MOUNTAIN -- Derrick Horrey snaps to attention in the gymnasium of the Savage Leadership Challenge, just as he plans to snap to attention a few days later in the Marines.In razor-creased fatigues, he and 13 other teen-agers stand shoulder to shoulder in two rows, backs straight, chins up, arms down, thumbs precisely at the seams of their pants. They hardly resemble the young thugs they were a little more than 20 weeks ago.Horrey had been a crack dealer, like a lot of the other kids at this state boot camp for delinquents.

If Syria and Israel can make peace, anyone can.Spare the rod and spoil the fun, - Boot camp motto.If legislators really want to improve recruitment for Maryland schools, the first step is to stop kicking them around.So whom does the state get to represent it in court against Peter Angelos?The new chief exec of Coca-Cola is Daft.

COLLEGE PARK - -Forget the poor economy: Yesterday was a day for start-up dreaming at the University of Maryland. More than 500 people turned up for the university's ninth annual technology start-up boot camp. It was a full day of speakers and sessions dedicated to helping the university grow as a regional powerhouse for innovation and business incubation. The audience was dotted with graduate and undergraduate students, venture capitalists and local entrepreneurs. and faculty members, some of whom are involved in their own start-up businesses.

Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski took off for the Senate on Thursday afternoon to cast her vote for Judge Sonia Sotomayor, after leaving Mercy Medical Center in downtown Baltimore, where she had undergone ankle surgery July 27 and what she called rehabilitation "boot camp." From a wheelchair, she said, "My vote will be cast for her" and called the Supreme Court nominee "my fellow Nancy Drew reader." The senator described how she fell on steps after leaving a July 19 afternoon Mass at the Basilica of the Assumption.

A Boot Camp fundraiser will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday April 20 at City Dock to raise money for the annual KidWalk. The ladies of Even Keel, Easy Street and Precision Pilates will sponsor the Boot Camp, featuring fitness activities for all levels, from warm-up to a walk, jog or run through parts of Annapolis and Eastport. A $10 donation is requested. The KidWalk will be held at 7 a.m. May 2 at the Naval Academy Stadium. The 5-kilometer walk begins at 8 a.m., with festivities from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. The minimum cost is $25 for adults, $10 for children 12 and under, and $50 for families of up to four members.

Del. J.B. Jennings, a Baltimore County Republican who joined the Maryland Air National Guard last summer, just got back from 6 1/2 weeks of boot camp at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. How was it? "It was hell," he said. "It's everything you think boot camp is like. The TIs [training instructors] are in your face screaming all the time. You get no time to eat. When you're in the chow hall eating, they're 'Hurry up, hurry up.' And they're constantly pushing you physically. You march everywhere you go. ... I lost 26 pounds in 6 1/2 weeks."

MOUNT LAUREL, N.J.-- --They've touched up his makeup and straightened his suit, and now someone's rolling a lint brush all over Mike Flynn. His shoulders are so broad, and the brush is like a John Deere tractor over a large field. A voice in the control room tells Flynn to take a deep breath and treat the camera like someone in his living room. Flynn, the bulky center recently released after 10 seasons with the Ravens, says he's "99.9999 percent" sure that he's played his last football game, which is part of the reason he's sitting here in a South Jersey studio on Day One of the NFL's Broadcast Boot Camp.

The rarely seen silent film Chicago, a 1927 drama based on the same two murder cases that are at the center of the Oscar-winning musical, will be shown tomorrow at the American Film Institute's Silver Theatre, 8633 Colesville Road in Silver Spring. Adapting a 1926 play written by Chicago Tribune crime reporter Maurine Watkins, the film paints a portrait of corruption and opportunism that would be elaborated on by John Kander and Fred Ebb in their 1975 Broadway play. That play, revived on Broadway in 1996, would earn Oscar gold when brought to the big screen six years later.

In the process of recently reviewing the new Leopard operating system, I conducted an iChat video interview with Chris Bourdon, senior product line manager for Mac OS X. After going over Leopard's key new features, I asked him about a few issues that have arisen since the product's release. On security: Many security experts have accused Apple of making security worse in Leopard, primarily by going with a new firewall and perplexingly turning that firewall off by default. The old firewall is still there, but deactivated.

A state prison inmate who was hit by a truck and killed Thursday while working along the Capital Beltway was identified yesterday as Rodney Jennings, 28, who had been serving a two-year sentence for possession of drugs with intent to distribute. Maj. Priscilla Doggett, a spokeswoman for the Division of Correction, said the prison system is suspending road work crews from the Herman L. Toulson Boot Camp in Jessup until better safety standards can be established. The incident was the second fatality involving a Division of Correction highway crew member in the past three months.

A prison inmate from Baltimore was killed and another inmate was injured after a sedan veered off the Capital Beltway in Prince George's County and hit a trash removal crew from a state Division of Correction boot camp, according to Maryland State Police. James Morton-Bey, 27, who was serving a two-year sentence for distribution of drugs, was killed, said correction division spokeswoman Maj. Priscilla Doggett. The second inmate was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. Both were wearing reflective vests.

Tae Boe, boot camp -- Billy Blanks, a world karate champion and fitness expert, will lead classes during a daylong event at Columbia Association's Supreme Sports Club on Jan. 6. The event will focus on Tae Boe and Billy's Boot Camp, two workout routines created by Blanks. Intermediate Tae Bo for beginners and more advanced students will be offered from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.; Ultimate Tae Bo (intermediate/advanced) from 10 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. A motivational speech is scheduled from 11:15 a.m. to 11:45 a.m., and Billy's Boot Camp for intermediate and advanced students will be offered from 2:15 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sessions cost $75-$100; $50 for early registration, available today only.