Crofton

A 13-year-old boy was struck by an SUV while walking to his school bus in Crofton Thursday morning, according to Anne Arundel County fire officials. Fire crews responded to John Hopkins Road and Lowell Court after a 7:37 a.m. 911 call, said Lt. Cliff Kooser of the Anne Arundel County Fire Department. The boy was taken to the pediatric intensive care unit at Johns Hopkins Hospital with serious injuries that did not appear to be life-threatening, Kooser said. No one else was injured, he said.

Anne Arundel County police arrested two men and charged them in the armed robbery Wednesday of a bank in Crofton. The BB&T Bank in the 2100 block of Defense Highway was held up about 12:15 p.m., and the robbers got into a white Mercedes sport utility vehicle and headed east. When officers spotted the vehicle headed south on Route 301 and attempted to stop it, the driver tried to elude them in the Upper Marlboro area of Prince George's County, according to police. The occupants of the SUV ran into woods near Route 301 and Marlboro Pike, where they were apprehended by Prince George's, Anne Arundel and state police.

The Crofton Civic Association is seeking delegates to the Anne Arundel County School Board Nominating Convention, to be conducted May 6 at Severna Park High School.Three delegate slots must be filled. Call 721-7410 by Feb. 8.In addition, an at-large seat must be filled. If anyone is interested in seeking a postion on the Anne Arundel County School Board, please contact the Anne Arundel County School Board Nominating Convention Committee, P.O. Box 506, Glen Burnie 21060.

Quick, somebody send Crofton leaders a copy of "How to Wi Friends and Influence People." The way they tore into Anne Arundel County Executive Robert R. Neall on one of his recent feel-good "County Comes to You" excursions shows that they need a lesson in diplomacy.Croftonites have complained for years that their special taxing district hasn't been receiving its fair share of services. This year, they're calling on Mr. Neall to provide money for new baseball fields and a library.bTC Last week, it had a chance to show him why those facilities are necessary, to share its problems and send him away thinking nice thoughts about Crofton before he puts the finishing touches on next year's budget.

In the mid-1960s, residents of the then-isolated Anne Arundel community of Crofton set up a special tax district to pay for extra police. Now, faced with rampant development, Croftonites are looking at the possibility of becoming an incorporated city.Crofton is not alone. The notion of greater governance at the community level is picking up steam in the wake of explosive growth and financial problems in county governments. In Anne Arundel alone, the number of special tax districts has risen nearly 25 percent since 1985.

Crofton always has been a little different. This is, after all, the western Anne Arundel County special tax district that employs its own psychologist to provide counseling to anyone living within its community.But now that the counselor has been given notice that her job is likely to be terminated, her services appear to be needed more than ever, at least by the town fathers. The Crofton Civic Association's board of directors is mired in a budget dispute that reflects the tensions coursing through this affluent bedroom community.

It is the classic 1990s suburban nightmare: You buy a house in suburbia, thinking you are protected from such evils as satellite dishes and cigarette boats parked on the street. You even get a copy of the covenants outlining said protections. Then one day you find out somebody screwed up by never registering the covenants with the county, as required.That leaves your community with no enforceable covenants. And while you may be willing to sign them to make them binding, your neighbor, who never liked the restrictions in the first place, is thinking a basketball court in his driveway might be nice, after all.This little neighborhood drama is playing out in the Anne Arundel County community of Crofton Woods.

How often do you go to a sports store and get to rub elbows with Ravens' wide receiver Torrey Smith? Or get to swap football observations with Ravens defensive tackle Terrence Cody or the Washington Redskins' defensive back Josh Wilson? You can do so this weekend at Dick's Sporting Goods new store in the Crofton area. The retailer is holding a three-day celebration to mark the occasion. The event starts Friday at 8 a.m. with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the store located at 1417 South Main Chapel Way in Grambrills.