Cecil County

Maryland Live! Casino at Arundel Mills will have its grand opening at 10 p.m. June 6, casino officials announced Thursday morning. The grand opening still requires approval by the Maryland Lottery, which will oversee a trial run to take place before June 6. The announcement comes as the state slots commission on Thursday considers a bid to open a casino in Rocky Gap, in Western Maryland, by Evitts Resort LLC. The commission also has yet...

A fire caused extensive damage to a blacksmith's workshop in Dublin Friday afternoon. The fire in the 1500 block of Deerfield Road was called in shortly before 1 p.m. The State Fire Marshal's Office said the fire originated on the rear wall of a 10-by-16-foot outdoor storage facility; however, emergency radio transmissions said the building involved was a "workshop. " Thirty firefighters responded from the Darlington, Level and Whiteford volunteer fire companies in Harford County and Water Witch Fire Company in Cecil County and brought the fire under control in 10 minutes, according to a notice of investigation from the fire marshal's office.

The company that owns Pimlico and Laurel racetracks said yesterday that it has reached an agreement that will let it replace its shut-down off-track betting outlet in Cecil County with a large, modern parlor designed to attract a new generation of bettors.Martin Jacobs, general counsel of the Maryland Jockey Club, told the Maryland Racing Commission that the company plans to open a betting facility in Elkton this fall. He said the parlor would occupy 16,750 square feet in an existing building in Big Elk Shopping Center.

Melville French Heath II, an avid traveler and a self-trained guitarist who grew coveted peonies and taught French and Spanish at private schools in the city as well as Baltimore and Cecil counties, died April 12 of a heart attack. The retired teacher, who moved to Southport, N.C., last year and was building a home along the Cape Fear River with his companion, Ethel Taylor, was 69. Mr. Heath was born in Massachusetts, the youngest of three boys. His father worked in insurance and his mother ran the household while maintaining a boutique clothing business on the side.

I read the article written by Michael Dresser "Increases in bridge, tunnel tolls cruel but fair" (June 13) and, although I rarely respond to articles I read in the paper, felt a needed to respond to this one. I was born and raised in Baltimore City but moved to Cecil County in 1973. I am a huge supporter of the city and its sports teams and always wish the best for it in the eyes of outsiders. However, Mr. Dresser's one-sided view of the proposed toll increases elicited a response.

While we're already in a battle to stop in-state tuition for illegal immigrants, the politicians and the Maryland Transportation Authority are trying to increase tolls and abolish the decal system. The decal system lets locals in places like Cecil County pay a small annual fee for unlimited access to enter the county where they live. Many of you have voiced your outrage at the proposed toll increases. I have one thing to say to the elected politicians and the MdTA leadership who want to put their hand in our pockets again: Our money belongs to us and you do not have a right to it. Cecil County is the only county the citizens have to pay to enter.

A Cecil County woman was killed early Wednesday in Arbutus when her car was broadsided by another vehicle as she tried to make a turn, Baltimore County police said. Gail Gwiazdowski, 58, of North East was driving north on Southwestern Boulevard near Interstate 695 in a Subaru Outback station wagon about 6:25 a.m. when she changed lanes in preparation for a U-turn, police said. As she did so, a Dodge van, also traveling northbound, struck the Subaru in the driver's door. Gwiazdowski was killed upon impact, according to Cpl. Michael Hill, a department spokesman.

The northeastern Maryland town of Elkton must allow the Ku Klux Klan to march there despite fears that such a demonstration could provoke violence, a federal judge ruled in Baltimore yesterday.After a brief hearing, U.S. District Judge Benson E. Legg ordered the Cecil County town to grant the Klan a march permit. He said Elkton had mustered "insufficient evidence that the threat of violence is beyond reasonable control.""Speech cannot be barred or hampered simply because the message is unpopular or offensive," the judge said, echoing a 1988 federal court ruling that allowed another Klan group to march through the Frederick County town of Thurmont.

Two construction projects that are expected to cost more than $3.3 million will allow boaters greater access to the waterways of Harford and Cecil counties this year, creating potential boons for the regional economy, state officials say. Harford County will remove more than 20,000 cubic yards of dredge material from the Bush River and Otter Point Creek, improving navigation to two popular boat ramps and a marina. In Cecil County, the town of Perryville has hired a Maryland contractor to build a 575-foot pier, a structure that will provide 12 slips for visiting boaters.

Commuters between Harford and Cecil counties will soon have a public transit option for crossing the Susquehanna River, one with a fare that is $4 less than the toll motorists pay to use the bridge. Maryland Transit Administration and county officials launched the first inter-county public transportation route Monday with the oldest crossing, an aging railroad bridge, and the newest transit bus models from each county in the background. "Two jurisdictions have partnered for the first time to bring this great opportunity to their citizens," said Elizabeth Kreider, MTA director of local transit support.

Former state Sen. Walter M. Baker, who had served in the legislature representing the upper Eastern Shore for more than two decades and also had been a Cecil County attorney, died Tuesday of complications from diabetes at Christiana Hospital in Delaware. The longtime Elkton resident was 84. "Walter was a lifelong Democrat. He was from a large family that was rural and poor, and he grew up with a great sense of values," said Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller. "He was conservative, and loved the Eastern Shore and reflected its conservative values.

In March, APG Federal Credit Union honored Kimberly D. Hadry, assistant manager, Dealer Direct, with an award presentation for 25 years of dedicated service to the credit union. In 1987, Hadry was hired as a teller at APGFCU's Aberdeen Proving Ground Branch and was later promoted to member service representative. Since then, she has held positions as Visa representative and loan officer. In her current role as assistant manager, Dealer Direct, Hadry is responsible for the supervision and coordination of the Dealer Direct Department and Centralized Disbursal, including member service lending functions.

The parent of 1st Mariner Bank said Monday that it took a minority stake in a small Cecil County bank after a customer defaulted on a loan — not as part of an acquisition strategy. 1st Mariner Bancorp. declined to identify the customer who lost nearly 25 percent of Cecil Bancorp's total shares to 1st Mariner in a collateral claim on a bad loan. The only person with such a significant stake in Elkton-based Cecil is its chairman, Charles F. Sposato, according to regulatory filings.

There are characters, and there are characters, and one of the area's true unique ones, Leonard "call me Len" H. Lockhart Sr., died Feb. 27, the day following his 85th birthday. Plenty of folks around Havre de Grace knew Mr. Lockhart and some had business dealings with him, among them Cecil Hill, Bob Wood and the rest of group that developed Bayview Estates, where the eponymous Lockhart Court is named for him. Mr. Lockhart was a lawyer and a banker, a mixture of Harold Hill, Seabright Cooley and Elmer Gantry to name a few literary characters that come to mind.

At least figuratively speaking, it's had more return engagements in Annapolis than Tom Jones or Wayne Newton have had in Las Vegas. Its chances of survival are probably about as good as hitting the same number on a roulette wheel five times in a row. Unfortunately, it's a good idea with about as much a chance of becoming law as getting away with counting cards and beating the house on a regular basis. Slot machine gambling has been legal in the lodges of fraternal organizations in many Maryland counties for decades, but not in Harford County.

From The Aegis dated Feb. 26, 1987: A month after Harford County recovered from a snowfall that dropped almost 20 inches of snow, Mother Nature struck again with a 15-inch snowstorm that led to one death and at least two injuries. The heavy, wet snow fell in just about seven hours. Raymond Colton, 53, of Edgewood, died from an apparent heart attack while shoveling snow at his home. In Aberdeen, a man lost two fingers in a snowblower accident and a Street man broke his leg when the bulldozer he was using toppled backward and pinned him to the ground.

A 62-year-old Aberdeen man died shortly before 6 a.m. Saturday after the vehicle he was operating crashed near the Hatem Bridge in Cecil County, according to Maryland Transportation Authority police. Officer Dawn Tufts identified the man who died as Raymond Rowe. She said he was driving a 2007 Dodge eastbound and it struck the jersey wall, then hit the curb in front of the toll plaza and came to rest in a grassy area by the toll plaza. No one else was in the vehicle. The crash and its cause remain under investigation, Tufts said.

A Cecil County zoo that got its start as a personal hobby for its owner, survived political controversies and delighted children and other visitors for 24 years has closed its doors. Ed Plumstead, 82, of Rising Sun, the founder and owner of Plumpton Park Zoo, could not be reached for comment, but the county's tourism director, Sandy Turner, said Plumstead had contacted her last week to tell her he would close the zoo because tending its more than 300 animals had become too hard for him. He shut the business down sometime last week, she said.

One day last winter the Balunsats carried home a gangly baby goat. They named the fuzzy thing Snowbird, cradled her while she slurped a bottle and allowed her inside to snuggle under a heat lamp. With Chesapeake City grass, hay and the occasional potato chip, Snowbird filled out into a handsome animal with a thick white coat, ridged horns that curl between her ears and lips that seem ever-pursed in an ironic smile. When she bleats "Meh, meh, meh," Lisa Balunsat - who will tell anyone she raised that goat as a child - hears, "Ma, Ma, Ma. " Cecil County officials mainly hear a zoning violation.

Centrist Democrats in the House of Delegates have decided to form a group to promote their point of view within the party and weigh in on key issues, a leading member of the group said Thursday. Del. Mary Dulany-James, a Harford County Democrat, said the groups would probably be called the Blue Dog delegation or caucus -- named after a similarly oriented group of moderate Democrats in Congress. James said the group could have apotential membership of about 20 members of the Democratic caucus, which has tended to be dominated by more liberal members from Baltimore city and Prinnce George's and Montgomery counties.