Fader

Sparks flew yesterday as Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church and the Greater Patapsco Community Association faced off in Baltimore County Circuit Court, resuming a four-year argument over Bethel's plan to build a 3,000-seat sanctuary in rural Granite. But the sparks weren't generated by the two parties. Instead, lawyers for both the church and the community had to deal with Judge John F. Fader II. After apologizing to the lawyers for arriving at the hearing 45 minutes late, Fader promised that things for them were about to get worse.

A Baltimore County Circuit judge declined yesterday to sentence Wesley Allen Rollins to death, saying that despite a jury's verdict to the contrary, he did not believe beyond a reasonable doubt that Rollins murdered 71-year-old Irene Ebberts. "If he could be charged and given the death penalty for being a horrible human being and a predator on society, I would do it in an instant," Judge John F. Fader II said as he imposed a sentence of life without parole. The judge then looked at members of Ebberts' family, who sat stony-faced along one courtroom bench.

On June 30, 2003, EARL L. "CHUBBY" JONES, passed away peacefully in his sleep, after a 2 year battle with cancer. He is survived by his wife, Evelyn; sons Rodger and Gregory; step-daughters Barbara Gibbons (Francis) and Suzanne Lamont (Kenneth); also survived by six grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren; five sisters, Eileen Wolters, Beverly Fader, Dorothy O'Connell, Shirley Moran and Gloria Lebling; his brother-in-law Allen Fader and friend Ed Barney; predeceased brother Bill Jones and mother Edith Strobel.

Daniel Fader, an English teacher and author, died Monday of cancer at his Truro, Mass., home. The former Northwest Baltimore resident was 73. Born in Baltimore and raised in Ashburton and on Dolfield Avenue, he was a 1948 City College graduate and attended Loyola College. He earned degrees at Cornell University and a doctorate at Stanford University. He also studied at Cambridge University. In 1961, he joined the faculty of the University of Michigan, where he taught English and was the founding chairman of the English Composition Board.

On June 23, 2003, DANIEL N. FADER of Truro, MA, formerly of Baltimore, MD and Ann Arbor, MI. Loving husband of Christine Verzar; beloved father of Dr. Paul Fader and his wife, Dr. Lori Brown and Lisa Fader, step-father of Ben Bornstein; Cherished grandfather of Caitlin and Zachary Fader; beloved brother of Dr. Howard Fader and his wife Ruth; and loving uncle of Joel and Tracy Fader, Susan and Bradley Feild, and Betsy and Steven Goldstein. Funeral services will be held privately. On August 22, 2003, a memorial gathering will be held in Truro, MA on Cape Cod. Contributions in his name may be made to either Castle Hill, Truro Center for the Arts, Truro MA 02666, or to a charity of your choice.

Judge John F. Fader II shows pictures of his baby granddaughter on his Hewlett-Packard laptop - a computer the 61-year-old bought for his Baltimore County chambers because he felt the Circuit Court-issued Dells were not up to his speed. Next door, Judge Lawrence R. Daniels, 55, dictates a document onto his computer through the voice-recognition Dragon NaturallySpeaking software, a skill at which he became so adept his secretary was starting to get worried. And down the hall, Judge Michael J. Finifter, a 45-year-old former state lawmaker who sponsored technology legislation while in the House of Delegates, sits in front of his certified public accountant certificate.

Atlantic Automotive Corp. of Pikesville, one of the largest new-car retailers in the state, said yesterday that it has reached an agreement to acquire a large dealership in Pennsylvania. Atlantic has signed a letter of intent to buy MotorWorld Automotive Group Inc., a 77-acre auto mall in Wilkes-Barre that sells a dozen domestic and import brands. "All the stores are located in one huge building, about 80,000 square feet," said Jerome H. Fader, president and chief operating officer of Atlantic.

Baltimore County Circuit Court officials are changing the way the county picks juries because of the disclosure last week that the jury commissioner has been improperly excusing potential jurors, a practice a judge called unconstitutional. "I'm telling you, that's got to stop," Judge John F. Fader told Jury Commissioner Nancy Tilton in court. "And believe me, it will." The main problem, Fader said, is that Tilton was automatically excusing anyone who said he or she had day care problems.

Premium cigar sales, which burned fiercely in the mid-1990s, have tapered off significantly in recent years, leading the two top investors who bought the venerable A. Fader & Son Inc. cigar and pipe chain in 1998 to sell four of its six stores in recent months. Each investor wound up owning a store, while former Fader's employees now own the rest. The chain's flagship downtown location at 12 S. Calvert St. will remain in the hands of one of the investors, Stephen L. Gurba, who said he's dedicated to keeping open.