Callers

Evander Holyfield is a very slight -- or at 38 pounds less, could we say light? -- favorite against defending heavyweight champion Buster Douglas in tonight's title fight, according to Evening Sun readers and other callers to SUNDIAL.Of the 369 respondents, 192 (52 percent) predicted Holyfield would win tonight's fight at The Mirage in Las Vegas. A total of 177 callers (48 percent) said they think Douglas will retain his title."It's Your Call" represents a sampling of opinions from certain segments of the community, but it is not balanced demographically, as would be done in a scientific public opinion poll.

Fallston High School and Fallston Middle School were placed on lockdown Friday morning following a report of a suspicious person in the area. A caller from the neighborhood reported seeing someone who might be carrying a rifle, but a search of the area did not find anyone, Eddie Hopkins, spokesman for the Harford County Sheriff's Office, said around 11:30 a.m. Parents of students at the neighboring schools on Carrs Mill Road were informed of...

Last week's callers to SUNDIAL, The Evening Sun telephone survey of topical issues, chose four of the six top categories that won the Oscars last night: best actor, best actress, best supporting actor and best director. Callers liked Anthony Hopkins for his chilling portrayal in ''The Silence of the Lambs" and Jack Palace for his crusty Curly in ''City Slickers.'' And they chose Jodie Foster as best actress, as did the Academy.They also correctly chose Jonathan Demme as best director for "Silence of the Lambs.

Police have still not identified a man who died Tuesday after being shot in Northeast Baltimore. A 911 caller found a gunshot victim in the Lauraville neighborhood around 7:45 a.m. Tuesday, police said. Around 2:25 a.m., officers responded to a call for shots fired in the 4900 block of Morello Road and canvassed the area, but did not discover a victim. The caller discovered a man in the 2600 block of Southern Avenue. The man was transported to Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 8:21 a.m. Homicide detectives are investigating.

If three out of four "It's Your Call" respondents had their way, Mayor Kurt Schmoke would call for a huddle and change his play regarding the possible tearing down of Memorial Stadium before the NFL makes up its mind if Baltimore will be getting an expansion franchise.Of 461 respondents, 358 (78 percent) said the city should not tear down Memorial Stadium before Baltimore's expansion status is solidified. It also was felt that the stadium's demolition would hurt the city's NFL chances, with 337 of 452 callers (75 percent)

Checkoffs on state tax forms to allow Marylanders to give money to various funds and boards evoked a negative response from 81 percent of callers to SUNDIAL, or 353 of 435 callers, who said they would not donate in this way. The remaining 82 callers (18 percent) said they would."It's Your Call" represents a sampling of opinions from certain segments of the community, but it is not balanced demographically, as a scientific public opinion poll would be.

If respondents to "It's Your Call" are looking into an accurate crystal ball, Toronto and Atlanta will be representing their divisions in the baseball playoffs.Garnering 168 of the 260 votes (62 percent), the Blue Jays were an overwhelming pick to hold on and win the AL East over Boston (26 percent) and Detroit (12 percent).Over in the National League, respondents were loyal to the upstart Braves, with 146 of 252 callers (58 percent) saying Atlanta would successfully complete its last-place-to-first-place odyssey.

Perhaps because it was a weekend to pay homage to Memorial Stadium, nearly three out of four respondents to "It's Your Call" said they were not in favor of the new stadium at Camden Yards.With the impending layoff of 1,766 workers to help the state offset a $450 million deficit looming, 773 of 1,080 callers (72 percent) said the $105.4 million for the ballpark, though not being funded by taxpayers, could be better used elsewhere. The other 307 (28 percent) said they were in favor of the new stadium.

By nearly a 3-to-1 margin, "It's Your Call" respondents believe the basketball team Chuck Daly and the NBA is putting together for next summer's Olympics in Barcelona is a can't-miss pick for a gold medal.Of 312 callers, 226 (72.5 percent) said the team of Michael, Magic, Larry and friends can't help but bring the United States its first basketball gold medal since 1984. Eighty-six skeptics (27.5) also responded."It's Your Call" represents a sampling of opinions from certain segments of the community, but it is not balanced demographically, as would be done in a scientific public opinion poll.

Either April Fools' Day came two weeks late or "It's Your Call" respondents see the AL East race differently from most of the experts.Asked to pick where the supposedly improved Orioles would finish in the division this season, the majority (36 percent) said in last place. The other 286 of the 449 callers put the Orioles in first place (7 percent), second (9.5), third (13.5), fourth (10), fifth (12) and sixth (11 percent).The Cleveland Indians, of all people, garnered much support for winning the AL East title.

Bobby Spivey can walk through the halls of Sparrows Point High School without drawing much attention from anyone aside from his group of close friends. But put the 16-year-old in the small Southern hamlet of Stuttgart, Ark. - the self-proclaimed "Rice and Duck Capital of the World" - and Spivey is something of a celebrity. Given his age and achievements to date, Spivey might become to duck calling what a teenage prodigy named Tiger Woods became to golf. Spivey had been to Stuttgart for the International Duck Calling Championship before last year's event in late November, finishing near the bottom the first time he tried in 2009 and coming in third in 2010.

100 Years Ago Guests, visitors and callers From the Times social column: "Rev. Watson E. Holly was a dinner guest at the home of Mr. and Mrs. William M. Harman, Sr. of Howard county. "Mr. and Mrs. J. Frank Harman have been entertaining Miss Hopkins, of Washington, and Mr. Frank Taylor, of Hanover. "Miss Bessie Ruppert has returned from a visit to relatives in Washington. "Mrs. R.A. Hammond spent Monday in Baltimore. "Miss Eleanor Maynard and Mr. Harold H. Newman, of Baltimore, were callers at 'Rupee' Sunday.

Baltimore County fire officials battled an early-morning boat blaze that spread to the dock of the Essex Marina on Sunday, a department spokesman said. Officials responded to the marina after receiving a call around 3:37 a.m. from neighboring residents who reported an "explosion" and a "loud pop" at the marina, the spokesman said. When officials arrived, the boat was fully engulfed in flames and the dock was also on fire, according to the spokesman, who said officials used foam to extinguish the blaze.

Baltimore's police commissioner struck a defiant tone during a radio appearance Tuesday evening and defended his department amid a series of high-profile cases that have cast a pall on the integrity of the 3,100-member force. Answering questions on the "Marc Steiner Show," Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III for the first time in recent weeks confronted some of his agency's recent scandals and tried to answer critics. He discussed several topics that he has refused to comment on in the past week.

Maryland utility regulators are expanding their investigation into Verizon's 911 service after some emergency calls came through without caller ID or location information. On May 30, police and fire dispatchers in Maryland and Virginia did not receive two key pieces of information that usually accompany an emergency call: the caller's location and the phone number they were calling from, according to the Maryland Public Service Commission. The problem lasted for three hours and affected 911 calls from IP networks and wireless phones, which, according to cell phone industry research, now account for 70 percent of all 911 calls.

Baltimore City Councilman Robert W. Curran defended encouraging residents to tell 911 operators a gun is involved, even if it isn't, to speed police response. But he conceded Thursday that he "may have used a poor choice of words. " At a news conference outside City Hall, Curran said he had given residents that advice during a community meeting in Northeast Baltimore, based on a conversation he had with a former city police commissioner. In an interview Wednesday, Curran said he told the group: "If you have a situation where your residents feel threatened and they need immediate police service, tell them there is a gun involved.

Despite President Clinton's repeated warnings to defiant Haitian military generals and appeals to the American public for support, his speech Thursday night did not persuade many area residents that an invasion is a good idea, according to an informal survey of callers to The Sun.About 70 callers to Sundial, The Sun's telephone information service, overwhelmingly opposed military intervention."

For a few hours last night, rap fell silent on Baltimore's V-103 and gospel was stilled on Heaven-600. Country-and-western took a break on WPTX down in Lexington Park and the symphonies paused on WSCL in Salisbury.Gov. William Donald Schaefer and a SWAT team of state officials took to the airwaves on 11 Maryland radio stations and Maryland Public Television to answer listeners' questions on crime.From the moment the phones started ringing at the second Governor's Radio Summit on Violent Street Crime, it appeared that the evening would tap plenty of frustration but generate little consensus and uncover few new ideas.

Each week, we've brought you a Q&A with a Ravens player to help you learn a little more about the team. Today is a little different. The guest is offensive coordinator Cam Cameron, who has guided the offense to 12th in the NFL in average yards gained. Cameron reflected on life as an offensive coordinator, the process of crafting the weekly game plan, and the impact of other coaches on him. Question: What's the most difficult part about being the offensive coordinator? Answer: I never looked at anything being real difficult other than going against great defensive coordinators and veteran defensive players.

I yelled at someone the other day. It doesn't happen often, maybe once every couple of years. You have to push the right buttons in proper sequence to set me off, but a state employee who works in the Maryland Board of Pharmacy office had my combination. I'll call the employee Wendy. (It just seems unhelpful bureaucrats shouldn't have names that contain more than two syllables.) My mission was simple. My wife is a pharmacist. She has a license in another state and wants to practice pharmacy in Maryland.