Eastern Technical

Instead of celebrating their first days of summer vacation on the beach, Chris Bowerman and Nick Venzke have had their noses in the books and their heads under the hood. Both recent Eastern Technical High School graduates have been meeting with their automotive tech teacher to practice for the Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills national competition this month. The two-student team won the state level of the competition April 22, giving Eastern Technical School two straight wins there. For the contest, the students had 90 minutes to diagnose a series of bugs placed in a car. Since their triumph, Middle River residents Bowerman and Venzke have met in their classroom to go through car manuals and anticipate problems they might see in the national competition June 27 in Dearborn, Mich.

Seven Maryland schools were designated Thursday as national Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence, an award given to those with consistently high performance or a high percentage of economically disadvantaged students who have shown significant improvement. Five of the schools are public, including Eastern Technical High in Baltimore County and Ellicott Mills Middle in Howard County, and two are Catholic. "This is one of the nation's most significant awards presented to public schools," state schools Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick said in a statement.

Several weeks ago, Army Spc. Casey W. Nash came home on leave from Iraq to visit his family in Essex and Middle River. He watched sports with his father, worked on his sister's car and drove his beloved red-and-white Chevrolet S-10 Xtreme pickup truck. A quiet man, the 22-year-old said little about his time in the combat zone, but he did make this point: Six months into his second tour of duty in Iraq, he was ready to leave the Army and return home for good. That visit was the last time his family saw him. On Friday, Specialist Nash and two other soldiers were killed in Tahir, Iraq, by an improvised explosive device.

The three students who share one of the biggest accomplishments in Baltimore County this year say they never sought to be perfect. They just tried to be present. Carly Ordak, Danielle Spyridakos and Renee Yusuff graduated Tuesday from Eastern Technical High School with perfect attendance records, having attended school every day from kindergarten through 12th grade. They were the only students in Baltimore County to graduate this year having done that. "I think this is an incredible accomplishment," said Tom Evans, principal of Eastern Tech.

Students at Eastern Technical High School won new bragging rights yesterday as Principal Robert J. Kemmery announced the school had been selected one of the most innovative high schools in the nation by the U.S. Department of Education.As a 1999 New American High School award winner -- 13 high schools were selected nationwide -- the Essex campus will get about $10,000 to sponsor groups of visiting educators, Kemmery said.The principal and three staffers will accept the award Friday at the White House.

Describing it as Maryland's model for vocational-technical learning, a high-powered delegation of state legislators and educators visited Eastern Technical High School yesterday to see what ranks it among the best in the county -- and the state.The visit came one day after the State Department of Education named the Essex high school one of 11 Maryland Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence -- one of six in the Baltimore area."We believe we have an advantage at this school because we help students dream -- dream of what they want to do in the future," Eastern Principal Robert J. Kemmery told legislators and county and state educators.

Tell me where do you go when you got no dough, "There must be a way out of here. "But I've got to find some peace of mind, "There must be a place that I can find." -- Garnet Mimms and the EnchantersOn the sidewalk near Big Boyz Bail Bonds and the liquor store, a few men stand in a splash of sunlight and speak in reverent tones of the high school kid everyone calls "Dawg."It's a nearly discarded neighborhood, a tiny chunk of Middle River in eastern Baltimore County, the kind of place where police removed two public telephones because dopers were using them to run their packages.

School is never closed for principals -- even during the summer. Just ask Robert J. Kemmery.Last week, the affable Eastern Technical High School principal cut short a trip to Pennsylvania when one of his teachers suddenly quit. By Wednesday, he was back at the Essex school setting up interviews for the physical education/health position.He's not alone. Throughout the metropolitan area, principals have been carrying on the work of their schools for the past two months while others have been basking in the sun or taking longer, sometimes exotic vacations.

Eastern Technical continues to make opponents pay for the errors of their ways.The Mavericks took advantage of eight C. M. Wright errors for a regional semifinal win on Saturday and did more of the same yesterday, capitalizing on a number of Franklin mistakes for a 7-0 win in the Class 3A North Region final.Visiting Eastern Technical (15-3), which advances to the state semifinals for the first time in school history and will face McDonough today at Randazzo Park, scored six unearned runs thanks to six Franklin errors.

Ryan Frost will always remember his first varsity victory -- and so will the rest of his Dulaney teammates.Frost, a sophomore heavyweight, pinned Larry Jaski at 4:36 to give host Dulaney a 35-30 victory over dwich No. 13 Eastern Technical in a Baltimore County 3A-4A Division II match yesterday -- the first time in school history the Lions had defeated the Mavericks.Dulaney (6-1, 3-0) led by 14 at one point, but Eastern Technical (5-1, 3-1) won three straight matches to take a 30-29 lead heading into the last match.

Several weeks ago, Army Spc. Casey W. Nash came home on leave from Iraq to visit his family in Essex and Middle River. He watched sports with his father, worked on his sister's car and drove his beloved red-and-white Chevrolet S-10 Xtreme pickup truck. A quiet man, the 22-year-old said little about his time in the combat zone, but he did make this point: Six months into his second tour of duty in Iraq, he was ready to leave the Army and return home for good. That visit was the last time his family saw him. On Friday, Specialist Nash and two other soldiers were killed in Tahir, Iraq, by an improvised explosive device.

Instead of celebrating their first days of summer vacation on the beach, Chris Bowerman and Nick Venzke have had their noses in the books and their heads under the hood. Both recent Eastern Technical High School graduates have been meeting with their automotive tech teacher to practice for the Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills national competition this month. The two-student team won the state level of the competition April 22, giving Eastern Technical School two straight wins there. For the contest, the students had 90 minutes to diagnose a series of bugs placed in a car. Since their triumph, Middle River residents Bowerman and Venzke have met in their classroom to go through car manuals and anticipate problems they might see in the national competition June 27 in Dearborn, Mich.

In the second year of a state test aimed at making schools more accountable, all of Maryland's 24 school districts improved their performance, with elementary grades showing the most significant gains. Despite the upward trend, hundreds of schools could be labeled as failing later this month and face sanctions because they are not improving fast enough to meet federal standards. Among the thousands of pieces of data in the Maryland School Assessment results released yesterday were a few surprises.

The books are stowed, papers cleared and all that remains on his office walls are the hangers that held up his many plaques. Eleven years after taking over a moribund vocational school that prepared students for some jobs that didn't exist, Robert J. Kemmery is leaving the nationally recognized academic powerhouse that he built. "I don't have this out of my system yet," the principal said on the second-to-last day in his Eastern Technical High School office in Essex. Kemmery had just given a tour of the school to his replacement and explained what more he wanted to accomplish when he turned to his guest and said: "No, wait a minute.

In Baltimore County Council approves stricter zoning rules for medical facilities TOWSON - The Baltimore County Council unanimously approved stricter zoning regulations last night for methadone clinics and other medical facilities. Responding to proposals for two methadone clinics within a half-mile of each other in Pikesville, Councilman Kevin Kamenetz, a Democrat who represents the area, proposed restrictions to keep the facilities in manufacturing, business or office zones, provided they are at least 750 feet from residential property.

In Baltimore County Redistricting panel will meet Aug. 29 at Towson University TOWSON - The Governor's Redistricting Advisory Committee will hold a public meeting Aug. 29 for Baltimore County residents to discuss redistricting of congressional and state legislative districts. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. in the Concert Hall of Towson University's Center for the Arts, Cross Campus and Osler drives. Information: 410-974-5521. Harvard publication lauds school's program for seniors ESSEX - Eastern Technical High School and its efforts to keep high school seniors focused on learning are featured in the current issue of The Harvard Education Letter.

For Howard, success at the Quaker Invitational was as easy as one, two, three, four.Brian Neal, Eric Paskin, Chris Poling and Frank Tortella all won championships for Howard, and the Lions were the lone team to finish with more than two titles in the tournament at Friends yesterday.No team scores were kept in the 19-team tournament.Howard and Eastern Technical each placed four wrestlers in the final round. Loch Raven advanced three and Bowling Brook, Dunbar, Glenelg, and Loyola each had two.Howard went 4-for-4 in the final round, while Dunbar won twice.

Perry Hall wrestling coach Al Miller acknowledges that he's a worrier.And when the latest winter storm delayed Baltimore County's wrestling tournament, Miller wondered whether the Gators could perform their best.He needn't have worried.No. 8 Perry Hall placed five wrestlers in the finals, won two individual titles and held off No. 9 Eastern Technical to win their first county tournament since 1990 last night at Dundalk High School.Perry Hall finished with 177 points, topping Eastern Technical's 162. No. 12 Owings Mills was third with 139.5.

Students at Eastern Technical High School won new bragging rights yesterday as Principal Robert J. Kemmery announced the school had been selected one of the most innovative high schools in the nation by the U.S. Department of Education.As a 1999 New American High School award winner -- 13 high schools were selected nationwide -- the Essex campus will get about $10,000 to sponsor groups of visiting educators, Kemmery said.The principal and three staffers will accept the award Friday at the White House.

In Baltimore CityHigh level of bacteria causing Legionnaires' found at rehab centerAfter detecting a high level of the bacteria that cause Legionnaires' disease in a water tank, Maryland Rehabilitation Center on Argonne Drive sent home 120 disabled clients who live there during the week, and canceled classes for 180 others yesterday and today.No one has contracted the disease, an acute and sometimes fatal form of pneumonia. The bacteria were detected during a routine check of the water system, and authorities planned to flush the building's water system last night to kill the bacteria.