Degrange

Democrat James "Ed" DeGrange Sr. is handing out refrigerator magnets as he campaigns for the 2nd District County Council seat. Arthur C. Emge, his Republican opponent, is handing out business cards.Mr. DeGrange, whose family name hangs in huge block letters on the front of a hardware store where his opponent sometimes shops, is part of a large, well-organized ticket. Mr. Emge is TC organizing groups of his friends to go door to door. He has been outspent by Mr. DeGrange by a ratio of about 50-to-1.

A volley of letters among state officials has set the wheels in motion for getting a crossing guard on Ritchie Highway near Glen Burnie High School, where a student was struck and seriously injured last month as he was crossing the road. State Sen. James E. DeGrange Sr. learned yesterday that Anne Arundel County Executive Janet S. Owens wrote to schools Superintendent Carol S. Parham, offering to pay for a crossing guard. In her letter copied to DeGrange, Owens said the intersection at Fifth Avenue poses a "significant danger" to student pedestrians, and referred to the efforts of DeGrange and Sen. Philip C. Jimeno to improve the intersection.

Glen Burnie's art lovers turned out in droves Friday night, buying more than $14,000 worth of paintings, lithographs and prints at a benefit for the community's public health center.Organizers of the auction said they were "overwhelmed" with its success, adding they raised more money than they had hoped for."It was absolutely wonderful the way the community supported thisevent," said Katherine DeGrange, one of the organizers.DeGrange said members of the Glen Burnie Health Center Association had hoped to sell at least 300 tickets and raise about $7,000.

A new four-page report lists a strong sense of community, affordablehousing and proximity to major highways as just a few of Glen Burnie's many strengths.But it also lists a lack of uniform planning, ahigh infant mortality rate, decaying commercial strips and a less-than-sterling image as some of its weaknesses.Tallying the strengths and weaknesses of the newly released report, designed to be a look at the future by the three-member public works committee of the Glen Burnie Improvement Association, the minus side slightly outweighs the plus side.

A former political operative for powerful Republican congressmen is seeking to unseat an influential Democratic incumbent in one of the most hotly contested districts in the state. With military base restructuring slated to add 20,000 jobs to Fort Meade over five years, controlling a development boom in District 32 - which includes Glen Burnie, Hanover, Linthicum, Odenton and Severn - is the most important issue for both candidates. Jon Vandenheuvel, a former aide to Rep. Pete Hoekstra of Michigan and former Rep. J.C. Watts of Oklahoma, said he will use the growth to create opportunity for African-Americans in the district and would be an agent of change in Annapolis.

The appearance of roadside crab vendors along Ritchie Highway is as familiar a sign of summer as Friday-night backups at the Bay Bridge toll plaza.But the itinerant merchants, who until now have been free to set up shop almost anywhere they please, may be subject to a bit more scrutiny by local authorities.Dels. Joan Cadden, Mary Ann Love and Janet Greenip have sponsored a bill that would allow counties to regulate mobile seafood vendors, a function that is currently reserved for the state and municipalities.

The Big Glen Burnie Carnival finishes its run this week at the Glen Burnie Improvement Association, 19 Crain Highway. Hours are 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. today and 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. tomorrow. Organizers have no official count of the number of attendees because admission is free, but they estimate that more than 100,000 people will enjoy rides and games with their neighbors. About 1,000 carnival volunteers operate the games as well as raffles and food concessions. "I don't think we can get any more people on our few acres of property," said state Sen. James E. DeGrange Sr., who serves on the carnival's executive committee.

More than two dozen organizations and offices will promote good health, fitness and safety at a daylong, outdoor fair being planned for Oct. 2 in Glen Burnie."

When Leo Harnen moved to Ferndale 35 years ago, he knew his big neighbor just to the east was Baltimore-Washington International Airport. And he expected the inconveniences - the noise and traffic. Still, for about as long as the airport has been growing, he's wanted a little something in return, maybe sidewalks along the main roads so people can walk without being in the path of traffic. "I think we should get some restitution," said Harnen, president of the Ferndale Improvement Association.

For the past three years, Anthony Fernandez and Howard Davis have spent their weekends catching crabs on the Eastern Shore and selling the live crustaceans hours later from a truck parked along Ritchie Highway.The two men say they would be driven out of business by County Councilman James E. "Ed" DeGrange's proposal to license and regulate roadside vendors."This bill is unconstitutional, discriminatory, and it infringes 100 percent on everybody's right to have a livelihood," Mr. Fernandez said.