Dannelly

The Carroll County attorney's office is investigating a planning commission member for failing to disclose he owned a piece of South Carroll property that lies in the path of a proposed road he supported as a commission member.Grant S. Dannelly, who has served on the planning commission since 1995, and his wife are one-third owners of a .27-acre parcel at the north end of Marriottsville Road No. 2, just south of its intersection with Ridge Road in the county's Freedom Area.While updating the comprehensive plan for the Freedom Area this year, Dannelly supported keeping in the plan a proposal first made in 1977 to relocate Ridge Road.

When the final buzzer sounded on yesterday's state Class 2A girls basketball championship game, City senior Akilah Sewell dropped to the floor with her hands over her face. If you didn't know any better, you would have thought her team had just lost, but the No. 4 Knights had just become the first City College team to win a state championship in any sport - and they did it by defeating previously unbeaten River Hill, 59-51, in overtime at UMBC's RAC Arena. "I wanted this so bad," Sewell said.

The president of the Carroll County Landowners Association yesterday urged County Commissioners to fire Grant S. Dannelly from the Planning and Zoning Commission for allegedly slurring Asians and those suffering from Alzheimer's disease during a planning conference Saturday.Dannelly insulted "the entire Asian community by complaining that the 'Orientals' -- his word -- were taking our water from the [public] spring on Henryton Road and he now has to wait in line," said Edward Primoff, president of the property rights lobby.

Early on in Saved!, a gentle satire of life at an evangelical Christian high school, a student named Dean swims to the bottom of a pool with his girlfriend, Mary, and tells her that he might be gay. Stunned, Mary breaks for the surface, accidentally banging her head against a ladder. A bearded carpenter, working nearby, dives to the rescue. Before pulling Mary to safety, the carpenter morphs into Jesus Christ and tells her she must do everything she can to help Dean. How Mary interprets this apparent request from the Almighty is at the heart of Saved!

County Commissioners Donald I. Dell and Richard T. Yates asked a county planning commission member to resign yesterday because of allegedly "insensitive" remarks made about Asians and the elderly two months ago in Eldersburg.The commissioners issued a six-page press statement giving their rationale for asking Grant S. Dannelly of Marriottsville to step down, but did not repeat the remarks Dannelly allegedly made Oct. 18.Dell called the omission "an oversight.""I understand that he [referred to a home for Alzheimer's patients]

Calling it a "clear" conflict of interest, the Carroll County Ethics Commission announced yesterday that a planning commission member broke county ethics laws by failing to disclose that a road project he championed would cross property he owns. Grant S. Dannelly, who has served on the planning commission since 1995, and his wife are one-third owners of a 0.27-acre parcel at the north end of Marriottsville Road No. 2, just south of its intersection with Ridge Road in the Freedom area. A proposed road project to relocate Ridge Road, connecting it to Marriottsville Road No. 2 farther south, would cross directly through his property.

At his last meeting as a member of Carroll County Planning and Zoning Commission, Grant S. Dannelly questioned yesterday the ruling from an ethics panel that has led to his exit from the commission two days before the end of his term. Dannelly, whose five-year term expires tomorrow, used the commission's regular monthly meeting as a forum for presenting his side of a controversy that has surrounded him for more than six months. He contended he was repeatedly denied opportunities "to present my side on a level playing field" to the county commissioners and the ethics board.

County commissioners were warned nearly six months ago that planning commission member Grant S. Dannelly supported rerouting a road through his property, but the board did nothing to investigate the possible conflict of interest until this month, a county official says.In a letter sent in March, Board of Zoning Appeals member Hoby Wolf informed the three commissioners that Dannelly owned the small parcel that lies in the path of the proposed relocation of Ridge Road in South Carroll.Dannelly supported the proposal during workshops on the Freedom Area Comprehensive Plan, a blueprint for development in the county's most populous area.

Early on in Saved!, a gentle satire of life at an evangelical Christian high school, a student named Dean swims to the bottom of a pool with his girlfriend, Mary, and tells her that he might be gay. Stunned, Mary breaks for the surface, accidentally banging her head against a ladder. A bearded carpenter, working nearby, dives to the rescue. Before pulling Mary to safety, the carpenter morphs into Jesus Christ and tells her she must do everything she can to help Dean. How Mary interprets this apparent request from the Almighty is at the heart of Saved!

HERE WE GO again. Another member of the Carroll County Planning and Zoning Commission is accused of having a conflict of interest in the panel's decisions. Grant S. Dannelly voted for a commission proposal to reroute a new county road across property he owns in the Freedom area.Three years ago, the county tried to expel planning commission member and real estate lawyer Robert H. Lennon, who voted on development planning decisions affecting his former clients. The courts ordered Mr. Lennon's reinstatement; he later resigned anyway.

This week's Maryland Film Festival marks a homecoming for UMBC grad Brian Dannelly, 40, who's taken his private-school upbringing (Holy Family Elementary and Arlington Baptist) and used it as the inspiration for the comedy Saved! his first film as a writer-director. The movie stars Jena Malone and Mandy Moore as students at a conservative Christian high school (they're members of the exclusive "Christian Jewels" group) whose world is knocked decidedly askew when the boyfriend of one of them starts thinking he might be gay. Scheduled for nationwide release later this month, Saved!

I DONT blame Grant S. Dannelly for his philippic against the county government and its lack of growth-control commitment. Many of us would have done the same thing, stung by official rebuke from the Ethics Commission and the termination of his service on the county Planning and Zoning Commission. It may have been technically out of order, but personal remarks of members have long been tolerated by these bodies of citizen volunteers. Especially when the remarks constitute a farewell message.

At his last meeting as a member of Carroll County Planning and Zoning Commission, Grant S. Dannelly questioned yesterday the ruling from an ethics panel that has led to his exit from the commission two days before the end of his term. Dannelly, whose five-year term expires tomorrow, used the commission's regular monthly meeting as a forum for presenting his side of a controversy that has surrounded him for more than six months. He contended he was repeatedly denied opportunities "to present my side on a level playing field" to the county commissioners and the ethics board.

When the planning commission meets today, member Grant S. Dannelly will not be allowed to vote. The county commissioners pointed to an ethics violation and unanimously asked Dannelly "to no longer sit as a voting member" on the panel, where he has served since 1995. They informed Dannelly in a letter last week. Because Dannelly's term expires this month, the decision will only affect today's meeting. "We have to uphold standards for all our boards," said Commissioner Robin Bartlett Frazier.

Calling it a "clear" conflict of interest, the Carroll County Ethics Commission announced yesterday that a planning commission member broke county ethics laws by failing to disclose that a road project he championed would cross property he owns. Grant S. Dannelly, who has served on the planning commission since 1995, and his wife are one-third owners of a 0.27-acre parcel at the north end of Marriottsville Road No. 2, just south of its intersection with Ridge Road in the Freedom area. A proposed road project to relocate Ridge Road, connecting it to Marriottsville Road No. 2 farther south, would cross directly through his property.

HERE WE GO again. Another member of the Carroll County Planning and Zoning Commission is accused of having a conflict of interest in the panel's decisions. Grant S. Dannelly voted for a commission proposal to reroute a new county road across property he owns in the Freedom area.Three years ago, the county tried to expel planning commission member and real estate lawyer Robert H. Lennon, who voted on development planning decisions affecting his former clients. The courts ordered Mr. Lennon's reinstatement; he later resigned anyway.

Calling it a conflict of interest, members of the Carroll County Planning and Zoning Commission said yesterday that fellow member Grant S. Dannelly should not have supported a proposed road that would cross a piece of property he owns.But some members were quick to defend him, saying they accepted his explanation that he forgot to tell the commission about the potential conflict. Dannelly is under investigation by the county attorney for a possible ethics violation."He should have recused himself," said Thomas Hiltz, a commission member.

A court battle against a $32 million shopping center and theater complex proposed for Eldersburg is over.The Carroll County Planning and Zoning Commission voted 5-1 Monday not to appeal a Carroll Circuit Court ruling allowing the center, known as the Promenade, to move ahead.The court upheld a Board of Zoning Appeals decision allowing the center to be built on industrial land on Route 32 at Londontown Boulevard.The planning commission's only recourse would have been to file an appeal with the Court of Special Appeals.

County commissioners were warned nearly six months ago that planning commission member Grant S. Dannelly supported rerouting a road through his property, but the board did nothing to investigate the possible conflict of interest until this month, a county official says.In a letter sent in March, Board of Zoning Appeals member Hoby Wolf informed the three commissioners that Dannelly owned the small parcel that lies in the path of the proposed relocation of Ridge Road in South Carroll.Dannelly supported the proposal during workshops on the Freedom Area Comprehensive Plan, a blueprint for development in the county's most populous area.

Calling it a conflict of interest, members of the Carroll County Planning and Zoning Commission said yesterday that fellow member Grant S. Dannelly should not have supported a proposed road that would cross a piece of property he owns.But some members were quick to defend him, saying they accepted his explanation that he forgot to tell the commission about the potential conflict. Dannelly is under investigation by the county attorney for a possible ethics violation."He should have recused himself," said Thomas Hiltz, a commission member.