Driveway

A 60-year-old Gamber-area man was killed yesterday afternoon when an empty logging truck apparently rolled down his steep driveway and struck him as he was walking, according to state police at the Westminster barracks. John Carroll Kibler of the 3500 block of Nicholson Road was caught and dragged several yards before falling under the older model, six-wheeled International truck weighing more than 10,000 pounds, said Lt. Terry L. Katz, barracks commander. Paramedics found the victim dead at the scene of the 12:15 p.m. accident after receiving a report of an unconscious person in the driveway.

It's hard to see how a land deal before the Harford County Council that would allow the county to swap 11 acres of public territory for about one acre of private land is a good one. The county is looking to clear up a dispute with the owner of a property adjacent to the 465-Swan Harbor Farm, the waterfront park on the Susquehanna Flats in Oakington between Havre de Grace and Aberdeen. At issue is a key piece of land through which the county park's driveway runs. The county has a survey that says the driveway is on county land; the owner of a neighboring farm, Griffith Davis, disputes the county's survey, and claims he has a more accurate one showing he owns the key access parcel.

Being slight of stature may have saved a 78-year-old woman from serious injuries when she was knocked down and partially run over by a car in the driveway of her Union Bridge home Friday morning.Helen Cottrell, of the 600 block of Union Bridge Road, was taken to Frederick Memorial Hospital, where she was in fair condition Friday. She was held for observation, a hospital spokesman said.Deputy Sheriff Brad K. Brown, who investigated the accident, said, "Mrs. Cottrell was standing in the driveway and turned to look across the street at a neighbor as her husband, Clark Cottrell, 76, started to back their car out of the garage."

A woman was abducted and assaulted Saturday morning by a man who claimed to be a Prince George's County police officer, county police said.Christy Ann Ennis, 23, who lives in Cedarville in Prince George's County, told police she pulled her car off Route 214 in South County about 2 a.m.The woman said she was approached by a man saying he was a policeofficer. He told her she had been swerving between the lanes and that he thought she was driving while intoxicated, police said.The victim agreed to cooperate, police.

A lot of people think nothing interesting happens in suburbia, but I can offer proof to the contrary. For example, just last week someone left a Pyrex baking dish at my home and I had to do some extensive sleuthing to discover its owner. Of course I jest. Suburbia is more than the stereotypical land of barbecue grill, yard, job title and student SAT-score one-upmanship! It's a place where new parents can meet at library story hour, enjoy a feeling of community around a ball field or hang out on summer nights in the driveway after work, chatting with people who just might turn out to be lifelong friends.

Melanie and Rodney Stambaugh once drove down a gravel path shaded with pine trees to reach their 74-acre dairy farm.But when school officials started the $16 million renovation of nearby Francis Scott Key High School last summer, the couple woke up to find their driveway disappearing.Without warning, contractors knocked down the pine trees and crowded the gravel path with trucks and equipment.When the Stambaughs complained, they learned that part of their 1,000-foot driveway was being replaced by the high school's new bus turnaround and 200-car parking lot.It was too late to stop it."

It was 4 a.m. when Joanne Valentine finished work at one of her family's two Pasadena nightclubs and drove up the long, pitch-black driveway of her waterfront home in Arnold. A small foreign car carrying several men pulled up behind her. She got out of her car and yelled at them. One of the men pulled a gun, and as she raised her right arm in self-defense, the man fired. The bullet tore through her forearm and lodged in her neck. The car sped off as Riptide, the family's Chesapeake Bay retriever, began barking and neighbors flicked on their outdoor lights.

As I write this, it is snowing again and the sky is the color of dishwater and I have lost all circulation in my wrists from shoveling.The shoveling began at 8 in the morning, and for the first few minutes, it was not too bad at all, nerve-damage-wise.However, by 8:15, with the wind whipping along at a brisk 20 mph or so, I was alarmed to discover there was no longer any feeling in my face, and my wrists went shortly thereafter.A lesser man might have quit at this point, but I kept shoveling.

I think it was the fault of the woman who parked in the pick-up lane at the grocery store. At least, I'm blaming her. Even in the best weather, it's annoying when people park their vehicles in the grocery pick-up lane. I'm not opposed to dropping someone off at the door -- but then you should move on and park, pulling in to the pick-up lane when your designated shopper comes out. It's one of the unwritten rules of suburban life -- no standing in the grocery pick-up lane. Also, no mowing your lawn before 8 a.m. on the weekends.

An Owings Mills man suspected of breaking into his former Ellicott City home and fatally shooting his estranged wife Monday night has disappeared with his two sons, Howard County police say.Investigators said Daniel Scott Harney, 40, of the 4300 block of Flint Hill Drive is wanted for questioning in the slaying of Shirley Scott Harney, 41, and the wounding of her 45-year-old male friend.Mr. Harney had not been charged yesterday, police said. He was last seen driving a grayish 1987 Toyota Camry with Maryland tags VEJ169.