Bowleys Quarters

The Baltimore County Council voted last night to support a marina owner's plan to build a 36-unit waterfront condominium in Bowleys Quarters. The proposal by Galloway Creek Marina owner Milton Rehbein must win approval by the Planning Board and undergo a review by county agencies. But the 7-0 council vote allows the project to move forward as a "planned unit development." The designation, while subjecting the plans to public hearings, would eliminate certain zoning rules if the project is deemed to benefit the community.

The sun glistens on the Back River, and motor boaters zip over the water. But there's trouble in paradise.Byron Livingston, who has lived in Bowleys Quarters for more than 40 years, has watched the decline of the area -- the demise of the aquatic grass, the diminishing number of fish and crabs. Sewage from failing septic tanks seeps above ground and leaks into the water. "My wife said if I caught a fish and brought it into the house, she'd throw it in the trash," Livingston said.For decades, Baltimore County has known that the waterfront communities in Bowleys Quarters and the Back River Neck Peninsula were in trouble from failing septic tanks.

On any given day, Thomas Lehner can observe an abundance of wildlife from his 1.75-acre property -- from deer to nesting turtles, from snakes to several species of birds. In describing his land, people would assume Lehner lives in one of the bucolic suburbs of Baltimore County -- say Sparks, Long Green or Granite.Better, says Lehner, he lives next to the water in Bowleys Quarters."It's still really very wooded and it gives you a feeling of isolation. It has a very nice rural feel to it," said Lehner, who moved to his waterfront home about eight years ago. "My wife and I lived in a rehab in upper Fells Point with the idea of always having a waterfront [home]

The Baltimore County Council imposed last night a four-month moratorium on sewer hookups on the Bowleys Quarters and Back River Neck peninsulas, an effort to shut the door to development of up to 1,300 lots in the environmentally sensitive areas.The moratorium, approved by a 6-0 vote, is intended to curb growth on the two peninsulas, where a sewer system is being built to replace failing septic systems.The measure suspends new sewer hookups, needed to build homes, while the county Planning Board comes up with growth management controls for the communities.

Correcting what county officials say was an oversight, a Baltimore County councilman has expanded the area to be covered by a proposed sewerage hookup moratorium on Bowleys Quarters and Back River Neck peninsulas, aimed at temporarily blocking new development.Vincent J. Gardina, a Perry Hall Democrat, said yesterday that officials neglected to include in the moratorium a section of Bowleys Quarters reaching north to Edwards Lane. The previous boundary was Susquehanna Avenue.Last week, a bill was introduced in the County Council suspending new agreements for the sewerage hookups needed for new homes, while the county planning board develops growth-management controls.

Stung by the spectacular crash of a Stealth fighter aircraft last year, the Chesapeake Air Show will be held again this fall, but without high-speed aerobatics and under new leadership.At a meeting last night in Middle River, community leaders were told the show will be held, but with slower-flying aircraft performing airborne tricks.As part of an agreement with skittish residents in Bowleys Quarters and Wilson Point, air show jets will not fly but will be part of a ground display during the show, scheduled for Sept.

Mark and Betsy Green had been in their house just two weeks.It was a nice, waterfront bungalow in Bowleys Quarters, a few minutes from the edge of the runway at Martin State Airport in eastern Baltimore County. The Greens had plans to renovate their home in the coming years. Little did they know that changes would be coming much sooner than they ever could have dreamed.It was Sept. 14, 1997 -- a sunshine-filled Sunday -- when the Greens left their home for a day on the Eastern Shore.By sunset, their $155,000 home at water's edge had been turned into a burned-out, charred hulk.

An eastern Baltimore County restaurant drew a $500 fine from the county liquor board this week after the board heard evidence that a 20-year-old police cadet on a sting operation saw underage former high school classmates drinking there.Undercover county police cadet Robert Lockwood entered Danny's Wild Rose Cafe in Bowleys Quarters on Jan. 7 to try to buy beer without identification and saw a group of former high school classmates drinking.Lockwood quickly left, and a second cadet, Joseph Conger, 20, entered and bought beer without a challenge.

BOWLEYS QUARTERS -- Miami Beach park's swimming area -- closed July 7 because of high bacteria counts in the water -- will remain closed through the Labor Day holiday, the traditional last day for the swimming season.Ian Forrest, Department of Environment bureau chief for the county's Waste Management and Community Service division, said continued testing of the water remains uneven. "Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad," he said.County officials plan to discuss what can be done during the off-season about ducks thought to be the source of the contamination, he said.

Roy P. Elder Sr. took up running a decade ago to lose 50 pounds. But after achieving that goal, he didn't stop until suffering a stroke Thursday at his home in Bowleys Quarters as he was preparing for his daily 10-mile run.Mr. Elder, 67, died Friday at Franklin Square Hospital Center.A member of nine running clubs, he had placed second for his age group in a March 29 marathon in Chambersburg, Pa. He won hundreds of trophies and ribbons from races in the East and Midwest, and was sponsored by Nike shoes and Power Bar.Last summer, Mr. Elder was among the Marylanders who carried the Olympic torch for the Summer Games in Atlanta and ran in the 100th Boston Marathon.

Frank P. Hepner, a retired welder who enjoyed home improvement projects, died of a circulatory ailment Friday at Gilchrist Hospice Care. The Middle River resident was 92. Born in Baltimore and raised in Fells Point, he was a 1935 City College graduate and later attended Strayer's Business College. He served in the Army as a medical technician during World War II. Mr. Hepner became a welder and worked at Bethlehem Steel's Sparrows Point Shipyard and later for the Standard Oil Co. He retired nearly 30 years ago from the C. Hoffberger Co. He oversaw the unloading of fuel from tankers docked in Canton.

Johnnie Manzari Sr., a retired auto and boat upholsterer, died of cancer Oct. 28 at a son's Bowleys Quarters home. He was 81 and lived in White Marsh. Born in Baltimore and raised in Middle River, he attended Baltimore County public schools but left school early to help support his family. He served in the Army during World War II and was stationed in the Philippines. He became an auto upholsterer at the old Charley Brackett's on Eastern Avenue in the Middlesex section of Baltimore County.

Gilchrest supports Obama, Biden on WYPR Maryland Republican Rep. Wayne T. Gilchrest strongly supported the Democratic presidential ticket in a radio interview aired yesterday, calling Barack Obama and Joe Biden "prudent" and "knowledgeable." "We just can't use four more years of policy that's somewhat haphazard, which leads to recklessness," said Gilchrest, who lost a 1st District primary to state Sen. Andy Harris this year, in a report on Baltimore's WYPR. In a subsequent interview with The Baltimore Sun, Gilchrest said he did not intend the remarks to be an endorsement, but information for voters.

To its opponents, the proposed condominium project on the Bowleys Quarters waterfront would be a monstrosity, a blight on the landscape the size of the playing field at M&T Bank Stadium. Its supporters, many of them of retirement age, enjoy the prospect of moving into the 36-unit building and enjoying the view of Galloway Creek - and leaving the yardwork to others. A public hearing last night on the subject, held by the Baltimore County Planning Board, was a standing-room-only affair and amply illustrated the divergent views of residents of the eastern county peninsula.

Pair sentenced for cheating on Medicaid A husband and wife from Randallstown were each sentenced in Baltimore County Circuit Court to two years in prison for submitting thousands of false claims to the Maryland Medicaid program, the state attorney general's office said. Tammy D. Smith, 39, and Anthony Smith, 40, of the 4200 block of Huntshire Road also were ordered at sentencing last week to pay more than $780,000 in restitution to the state Medicaid program, according to court documents.

The Baltimore County Council unanimously passed legislation last night to remove residential zoning from properties that are designated in the future as marinas or boatyards in the Bowleys Quarters and Lower Back River neck areas. The bill also blocks residential components in "planned unit developments" on properties rezoned for marinas or boatyards in those areas. The law will go into effect in August. Councilman Joseph Bartenfelder introduced the bill, which some residents say does not go far enough in limiting future development.

Bill Lagna doesn't feel he's leading a coup. As the first president of a community group created in the wake of a divisive plan to build condominiums at a weathered marina in Bowleys Quarters, Lagna says the goal is to unify residents on the eastern Baltimore County peninsula. "The intent of the group is to try to come up with acceptable developments that will fit in with the general theme of the existing neighborhood," says Lagna, president of the new Bowleys Quarters Community Association.

Man sought in robbery of armored-car guard County police are searching for Jerome Willis in the robbery of an armored-car guard who was making a delivery in front of Wachovia Bank in the 6800 block of Belair Road on Sept. 26. A warrant has been issued for Willis, 23, whose last known address was in the 2800 block of Pelham Ave. He is described as 5 feet, 10 inches tall, with a medium build and black hair, police said. Police said a man was waiting in a car for Joseph Dukes Jr., who is accused of assaulting the guard and taking the money.

People in Bowleys Quarters say Milton Rehbein is easy to like. He's a native of the tight-knit shore community in eastern Baltimore County. And he put in or rebuilt just about everyone's pier or bulkhead. But his plan to turn the old family marina into upscale condominiums has divided a waterfront hamlet still coming to terms with change in the aftermath of a punishing tropical storm. How strong are feelings running in Bowleys Quarters? The local community association has endorsed the proposal - and opponents say they will push to impeach the group's president at what is expected to be a stormy meeting tonight.

The Baltimore County Council voted last night to support a marina owner's plan to build a 36-unit waterfront condominium in Bowleys Quarters. The proposal by Galloway Creek Marina owner Milton Rehbein must win approval by the Planning Board and undergo a review by county agencies. But the 7-0 council vote allows the project to move forward as a "planned unit development." The designation, while subjecting the plans to public hearings, would eliminate certain zoning rules if the project is deemed to benefit the community.