Crofton

Concert Kids will enjoy Fink, Marxer Go see Grammy-winning children's entertainers Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer perform at the Crofton branch of the Anne Arundel County Library, 1681 Riedel Road. The 7 p.m. concert is free. Go to aacpl.net or cathymarcy.com.

Amid a groundswell of community opposition, Wal-Mart announced yesterday that it has backed out of a plan to build a 121,000-square-foot Supercenter in Crofton. After meetings with County Executive John R. Leopold and property owner William Berkshire, a spokesman for the retail giant noted that despite making several concessions, "it has become clear to us that there are various views about a project of this size and scope at this specific site and its relationship to the County's long-term development profile."

A pickup truck struck two 18-year-old women walking across Route 3 in Crofton late Friday night, killing one and leaving the other seriously injured, Anne Arundel County Police said yesterday. Kristen Margaret Meske of Clarksville was flown to Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where she died three hours later. Alexandra Denise Singer of Crofton was also flown to Shock Trauma, where she was listed in critical but stable condition yesterday. The women attempted to cross Route 3 near Crofton Station Court about 11 p.m. Friday as a Ford F-150 pickup was approaching in the left northbound lane, police said.

A FEW years ago, I attended a general membership meeting of the Crofton Civic Association. I don't remember the issue, but I do remember the Boy Scouts at the back of the hall.Going to a community meeting was not the boys' first choice for a Monday evening, but this was a requirement for a merit badge. So the Scouts sat there dutifully.Much to their surprise, they had a great time. Instead of a dull, boring meeting, this was an example of lively, old-fashioned American democracy. People got excited, even contentious.

Attack stains not just metal, but men, women of valorOh, the irony (re: "Berrigan, others arrested in attack on Guard planes," Dec. 20).These activists, led by the "re-nowned" Philip Berrigan, have once again shown the country why we are able to do things like this and still receive a fair trial.In doing so they have shamed all the men and women of the Armed Forces, past and present, who have gallantly, bravely, proudly and graciously given their time, freedoms and even their lives so that people such as this can degrade the very images of what provides them this very right.

DO YOU LIKE GREAT music? Each year, groups from Crofton-area churches gather to share in an Ecumenical Music Festival. This year's festival will feature hand chimes, a recorder ensemble and handbell choirs from Community United Methodist, St. Stephen's Episcopal, Prince of Peace Presbyterian and Baldwin Memorial United Methodist churches. The celebration will be held in the Fellowship Hall of Crofton Community United Methodist Church at 4 p.m. Sunday. In case of bad weather, the festival will be held Feb. 14.Meeting, luncheonPrince of Peace Presbyterian Church of Crofton will hold its annual congregational meeting after the 11 a.m. worship service Sunday.

Anne Arundel County police arrested an Odenton man on drug charges late Wednesday after they found more than 17 pounds of marijuana in a van parked in Crofton.Ricardo Muno De Jesus Docounto, 26, of the 2600 block of Evergreen Road, was charged with with possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance.Acting on a tip from Prince George's County police, the Anne Arundel county tactical narcotics team began watching a 1971 Dodge van parked in the 1600 block of Route 3 in Crofton after 11 p.m. Wednesday, police said.

THE WANING DAYS of summer have a special feel in our neighborhood. The dads (and many moms) who awaken to rude alarms at 5: 30 a.m. for the commute to the distant city first notice that it is no longer daylight at this "break of day" time, and the birds are not serenading the neighborhood before the coffee-makers and showers commence.By the time people dash to their cars and head for work, the sun is up but the shadows are growing longer, and they suddenly realize that those late fall days of having to work "dark to dark" are rapidly approaching.

AT 6 ON FRIDAY evening, our neighborhood erupted into celebration. Adults clapped and cheered. Children screamed and ran around in circles. The power was back on! Television! Computers! Lights! Garage-door openers! Vacuum cleaners! Well, you get the point.The power had gone out at 1: 45 p.m. Thursday, leaving us without electricity for more than 24 hours. At first, it was a great adventure. Candles and battery-powered appliances filled in for the missing electricity.But teen-age boys have a limited sense of adventure.

COMMUNITY associations have every right to demand that their members honor their covenants, even if homeowners are prevented from painting a front door the color they want.Likewise, people who enter agreements with community associations are right to demand that the groups hold up their end of the bargain, regardless of how long ago the deal was signed.The Crofton Civic Association is showing utter disregard in this vein. It is trying to interfere with plans by a landowner to build a six-story hotel near the entrance to the western Anne Arundel County community on commercialized Crain Highway.

WNBA OT loss ends Mystics' season; Fever advances to face Shock The Washington Mystics were eliminated from the WNBA playoffs on Saturday night with an 81-74 overtime loss to the host Indiana Fever in Game 2 of the best-of-three Eastern Conference semifinals. Crystal Langhorne (Maryland) scored 11 of her 15 points in the second half. Lindsey Harding and Alana Beard scored 10 each for Washington, but Beard shot a 10-foot airball from the left side as the fourth quarter expired. "Indiana got some very easy baskets in the paint in the fourth quarter, and that helped them to gain the momentum," Washington's Monique Currie said.

With the trial of the first of two Crofton teenagers accused of killing their 14-year-old son set for Tuesday, the parents of Christopher David Jones say they hope soon to look forward to something else: the construction of a community center in their son's memory, a place where teens can learn life skills and values. "Our focus is getting kids in a structured environment ... where they learn how to treat people," said Jennifer Adkins, Christopher's mother. Christopher died May 30 after being attacked by a group of teenagers as he rode his bike a few blocks from his Crofton home.

A group of Crofton community leaders secured a county-owned site for a planned youth community center Wednesday, a project that had languished over the years but received renewed attention after the gang-related death of a 14-year-old Crofton boy nearly three months ago. County Executive John R. Leopold signed a lease agreement Wednesday with the Crofton Regional Community Center Foundation for use of a plot of county-owned land at the cost of $1 annually....

Teen switched to home detention in firebombing A teenager who was ordered last week to spend the rest of his summer in a juvenile detention facility for his role in the firebombing of a Piney Orchard town house, in retaliation for the homicide of a Crofton youth, was switched Tuesday to home detention. Anne Arundel County Juvenile Court Master Cynthia Ferris changed her earlier decision, putting the 16-year-old's punishment in line with the other two juveniles in the case, who have been released from a detention facility.

Grand jury refuses murder indictment in teen's death An Anne Arundel County grand jury refused to hand up a second-degree murder indictment Friday against the teen accused of killing Christopher Jones, 14, near his Crofton home. Prosecutors immediately moved to keep the lesser charge of manslaughter, filing a criminal information against Javel M. George, 16. Earlier this week, a District Court judge found prosecutors had enough evidence to go forward with the manslaughter charge. A detective testified at George's preliminary hearing that early autopsy results indicated that blows to Christopher's head most likely fatally damaged an artery to the brain.

The tragic death of 14-year-old Christopher Jones of Crofton last month was a wake-up call for Anne Arundel County residents that their tranquil suburban communities are no proof against the threat of violent youth gangs. After police arrested two teenage suspects described as gang members and charged them with manslaughter in connection with Christopher's death, community leaders implored their friends and family to resist the impulse to even the score. Those pleas apparently went unheeded, however.

Anne Arundel County's police chief promised Wednesday night to crack down on teenage gang activity in response to community fears and anger stemming from the death of a 14-year-old Crofton boy who was beaten while he bicycled near his home last weekend. Hours after the funeral for Christopher David Jones, police Chief Col. James Teare Sr. told a crowd of more than 500 people to expect to see a mobile command unit, along with foot and bicycle patrols in their Crofton-area neighborhoods.

Two teenage Crofton boys were arrested Sunday and charged in the death of Christopher David Jones, a 14-year-old who was attacked a day earlier while riding his bicycle along one of the town's tree-lined streets, Anne Arundel County police said. An autopsy by the state medical examiner's office in Baltimore indicated that David, who lived on the 2400 block of Old Mystic Court in Crofton, died from head and neck injuries. Police said Sunday night that a motive for the fatal attack - by five to seven young men - is still under investigation, but emphasized that it was not a random act. Charged as an adult with manslaughter, second-degree assault and reckless endangerment and held at the county's detention center was Javel Marqueth George, 16, of the 2200 block of Montauk Drive.

Gold's Gym in Crofton has donated three automated external defibrillators to Anne Arundel County elementary schools this year, helping to meet the school department's self-imposed mandate to equip all of its schools with the life-saving devices. Meade Heights Elementary School in Meade was the latest recipient, receiving its AED this month, bringing the total number of donated defibrillators to nine. In January, Gold's Gym donated an AED to Nantucket Elementary School in Crofton and Seven Oaks Elementary in Odenton.

Betty O'Haver, a retired registered nurse who worked in oncology and treated soldiers at Fort Meade in the 1980s, died of pancreatic cancer Tuesday at Stella Maris Hospice in Timonium. The longtime Crofton resident was 77. Born in Muskegon, Mich., the former Betty Louise Tisch attended school in Michigan. She married Harry O'Haver in 1959, and the couple had four children. The family moved to Maryland in 1959. The couple divorced in 1997. Mrs. O'Haver worked as an oncology nurse while living in Ottawa in the 1970s.