Caroline County

MARYDEL -- When the Rev. Chris LaBarge arrived at the ramshackle trailer in rural Caroline County on Monday afternoon, he found the body of a newborn boy wrapped in a plastic grocery bag on the bathroom floor and Erminia Escalante Berdugo curled in a bed nearby."

DENTON -- The Caroline County seat is one of those small towns where just about everybody knows everybody, where the florist and dry cleaners are a short stroll down tree-lined brick sidewalks, where most of the parking meters still take only dimes and nickels.Denton is also a town where prominent families often hold key business or civic jobs for generations. It's a town where the appointment of the wife of Caroline's state's attorney as a Circuit Court judge has caused hardly a ripple.In the next month or so, Karen Murphy Jensen will take over as the only female trial judge on the Eastern Shore, a position that will require some deft scheduling and a lot of traveling to avoid criminal cases handled by her husband, Christian J. Jensen, or his prosecutors.

DENTON -- A Guatemalan teen-ager who faces a first-degree murder charge in the death last month of her newborn son was returned to jail yesterday, her bail review hearing postponed until the state medical examiner's office determines how the infant died.Defense lawyers and prosecutors said they had little choice but to delay the proceeding for 17-year-old Erminia Escalante-Berduo."Obviously, we can't get to first base in this case without an autopsy report," said Caroline County public defender W. Porter Ellington.

PRESTON -- From the pizza shop to the corner diner to the hair salon, residents of this small Eastern Shore town worried yesterday about the ripple effect of the surprise closing of its largest employer.Preston Trucking Co. Inc. announced Monday that it would go out of business this week. After the final shipments are made, the economic mainstay of life in Preston for 67 years will cease to exist -- with a potentially serious impact on local businesses and Caroline County's economic health.

Gov. Parris N. Glendening announced yesterday four appointments to fill vacancies on the Circuit and District Courts in Caroline, Carroll and Harford counties.In Harford County, District Court Judge Emory A. Plitt was elevated to Circuit Court, and Mimi Cooper was appointed to District Court, the first woman named to the bench in that subdivision, according to Glendening's announcement.The governor also appointed Damian Halstad, president of the Westminster City Council, to the Carroll County Circuit Court and Karen Murphy Jensen to the Caroline County Circuit Court.

TUCKAHOE CREEK -- Bill and Louise Schmotzer thought they had found the perfect place to retire, on a secluded, waterfront farm surrounded by the flat fields of the Eastern Shore.But after 15 years of bruising trips home, billowing clouds of reddish-brown dust and constant car repairs, life at the end of a dirt road has lost its charm."It's a mess. We can't even get out when the weather's bad," frets Louise Schmotzer, 78, who grew up a mile away and remembers being thrown out of her seat on the school bus."

Newly appointed Circuit Judge Karen Murphy Jensen of Caroline County is providing a good example of how to handle problems dealing with conflicts of interest arising out of marriage -- treating the issue seriously but solving it with common sense.In today's world of working couples, it's common to find husbands and wives in the same field. That two lawyers happen to be married should not disqualify one from being appointed to the bench. But the courts must ensure that fairness, impartiality and equity are not compromised by favoritism.

Carl E. Hershberger, 78, instructor at GM plantCarl E. Hershberger, a retired instructor at General Motors Corp.'s Broening Highway plant, died in his sleep Saturday at Franklin Square Hospital Center. He was 78 and lived in Middle River.Mr. Hershberger joined GM's Chevrolet division as an assembly line instructor and trainer in 1952. He retired in 1982.In 1947 he went to work firing steam engines at the B & O Railroad terminal in Cumberland but lost his job in 1952 with the arrival of diesel locomotives.

Preston Trucking Co. Inc., an Eastern Shore-based regional hauler acquired five years ago, said yesterday that it would become an independent company once again through a management buyout.Yellow Corp., a public company based in Overland Park, Kan., agreed to sell Preston to a group of three senior managers. Terms weren't disclosed.Preston management hopes to complete the deal, which is contingent on a new labor agreement with the company's drivers, by the end of the month."There's virtually no synergy created among trucking companies when they join together," said Sean Callahan, Preston's chief financial officer and one of the acquiring executives.

This table shows composite index scores by county for the past six years under the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program. The composite is roughly equivalent to the overall percentage of students who scored at a satisfactory level or better on the MSPAP tests. The last column shows the percentage-point improvement since the tests were first administered in 1993.Jurisdiction .. .. 1998 .. 1997 .. 1996 .. 1995 .. 1994 .. 1993 .. Chg.Maryland .. .. ... 44.1 .. 41.8 .. 40.7 .. 39.6 .. 35.3 .. 31.7 .. 12.4Allegany County .. 47.6 .. 41.6 .. 40.2 .. 37.2 .. 28.8 .. 26.5 .. 21.1Anne ArundelCounty ... ... ... 48.4 .. 46.7 .. 47.3 .. 44.5 .. 41.5 .. 36.6 .. 11.8Baltimore City ... 16.1 .. 13.9 .. 13.5 .. 13.8 .. 11.7 .. 10.4 ... 5.7Baltimore County .. 49.8 .. 47.9 .. 44.7 .. 44.5 .. 39.6 .. 34.9 .. 14.9Calvert County ... 53.8 .. 54.3 .. 49.0 .. 48.8 .. 38.9 .. 34.6 .. 19.2Caroline County .. 44.3 .. 40.6 .. 38.7 .. 34.7 .. 29.5 .. 25.1 .. 19.2Carroll County ... 56.4 .. 55.4 .. 55.3 .. 51.1 .. 48.1 .. 42.0 .. 14.4Cecil County .. .. 48.4 .. 47.4 .. 41.5 .. 42.5 .. 38.7 .. 32.4 .. 16.0Charles County ... 41.9 .. 38.4 .. 38.5 .. 34.5 .. 33.0 .. 30.1 .. 11.8DorchesterCounty ... ... ... 41.2 .. 40.6 .. 39.1 .. 34.1 .. 25.1 .. 21.0 .. 20.2Frederick County .. 53.1 .. 52.9 .. 54.2 .. 54.5 .. 46.3 .. 44.5 ... 8.6Garrett County ... 43.8 .. 47.8 .. 45.4 .. 46.3 .. 41.5 .. 35.6 ... 8.2Harford County ... 58.3 .. 53.5 .. 52.2 .. 50.9 .. 42.2 .. 38.4 .. 19.9Howard County .... 60.1 .. 57.6 .....

EASTON - Frances Kostkowski cried when Boater's World decided to close the Denton distribution center where she spent 14 years filling orders for boating accessories. The 57-year-old widow cried again while sitting inside a Panera Bread on Route 50 in Easton and contemplating an uncertain future in the face of an unstable job market. "I can't live on minimum wage," Kostkowski said. "I can't pay the rent, the electric bill, the car payments, the car insurance on minimum wage." That distress is gripping residents across the state as the recession's unabated sweep leaves an accumulation of closings and layoffs in its wake.

Like a lot of root vegetables, turnips get little respect. Thanks to years of verbal jabs from comedians, we believe a rube is someone who just "fell off a turnip truck." Even deer diss turnips, preferring to munch on beets. "The deer will use their hooves to dig up the beets," said Joe Bartenfelder, who grows turnips and other vegetables on his family's 20-acre farm in Baltimore County and on 100 acres in Caroline County. "With the turnips, the deer just eat the greens." Yet those who know turnips love them, realizing that while they may not look slick and sophisticated, they have a natural, home-grown sweetness.

South Carroll's run as the Class 1A state titlist ended last night when the defending champion Cavaliers lost to Poolesville of Montgomery County, 25-19, 25-19, 25-13, in the Class 1A state volleyball semifinals at Ritchie Coliseum in College Park. The No. 15 Cavaliers (13-5) were led by Tianna Quiambao-Panas' 26 assists. Lindsey Will and Mary Harshman contributed six kills each for South Carroll. "They were the best team we've faced all year," Cavaliers coach Marcia Kunkel said. "They played great defense, and although we gave it our all, they were the better team."

FEDERALSBURG --Five teenage boys have been charged with raping a 12-year-old girl in the dugout of a baseball field in this small Eastern Shore town. According to charging documents, the girl told police she went to the park Feb. 9 planning to have sex with her 15-year-old boyfriend but changed her mind. She was then attacked by other youths, who had been watching the couple, the documents say. The girl told her parents about a week later. The girl and the five suspects all live in or around Federalsburg, a town of 2,600 along the Marshyhope Creek that was once a trading center and still is a hub for rural northern Caroline County.

TODD POINT -- Phil Spedden is a regular on the "liars bench" next to a roaring wood stove where locals have gathered daily for nearly 60 years in John Lewis' Grocery. They gossip, swap stories, sip coffee and wrangle over politics as somebody throws another log on the fire. This year, the talk is often about the unusually lively race in Maryland's 1st Congressional District, where two state legislators are trying to oust Rep. Wayne T. Gilchrest in the Republican primary. Spedden, a retired farmer, said various views can be heard about that among the wood-stove gang here in Dorchester County.

Caroline County : Denton Teacher charged with child sex abuse An eighth-grade teacher has been arrested on child sex abuse charges, the Caroline County sheriff's office said. Investigators said Lee Holmes, 25, of Greensboro, a teacher at Lockerman Middle School in Denton, is charged with having a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old female student. Police said Holmes became a suspect Tuesday night after the girl was dropped off at her home in Marydel after leaving without permission.

A pedestrian died after being struck by a car yesterday evening near Downes in Caroline County, Maryland State Police said. The accident occurred about 6 p.m. on Route 404 near Downes Station Road, said Sgt. Vernon Love. The identity of the victim was not available last night. Route 404 was closed after the accident, which troopers were continuing to investigate last night, Love said.

Four of Maryland's smallest counties saw some of the biggest increases in sales taxes per capita between 2001 and 2006, according to figures from the Maryland comptroller's office. Garrett, Dorchester, Kent and Caroline counties ranked second through fifth in sales tax growth per person in the state, with per capita collections rising by about one-third in each county. Only Carroll County saw a higher per capita growth in sales taxes, with a 41.7 percent rise over the five years, from $344.

Audrey McMahan of Federalsburg, MD, died peacefully at her home surrounded by her family on Monday, February 12, 2007. She was 80. She was born on June 28, 1926 in Hobbs, Caroline County, Maryland the daughter of the late Frank and Narcissa Neighbors Adams. She was preceded in death by her husband, Lee D. McMahan on March 7, 1990. She was a member of Union United Methodist Church , United Methodist Women, and the Circle Ruth. She was a member of Nanticoke Chapter 64 Order of the Eastern Star . She was a past member of the Federalsburg Branch of the Memorial Hospital Auxiliary and the Memorial Hospital Association.

MARYDEL -- When the Rev. Chris LaBarge first came to this hardscrabble little town that straddles the Mason-Dixon Line, local officials told him there were virtually no Hispanics here. A decade later, 250 people pack a white frame church every Sunday night to hear "Father Chris" say Mass in Spanish. His Eastern Shore parish offers Latino immigrants their own Sunday school, Bible study, social groups, English classes and computer training. LaBarge estimates that Caroline County today is home to at least 2,000 Latinos from Guatemala and Mexico.