Gabbro

Jessup homeowners have organized a new community association they hope will give them a "unified voice" in negotiations with Washington businessman Kingdon Gould, who wants to develop a quarry in their neighborhood.Called Ridgelys Run Community Association, the organization includes developments east of Interstate 95, west of U.S. 1, north of Guilford Road and south of Route 175. Organizers say the association will deal with other issues of concern to members of the community of more than 500 homes.

Washington businessman Kingdon Gould told a group of Jessup area residents last night that he has no intention of getting into a "knock-down, drag-out" zoning battle with them in his efforts to develop a quarry operation in their community."

Country Life is the name of a Harford County farm where the Pons family has been breeding horses, primarily for racing, since 1933. "This little horse factory," Josh Pons fondly calls it at one point; this lovely acreage hard by the I-95 development corridor where "land speculators hide in the trees." The future is clouded; Baltimore County next door may still have 125 horse farms, but Maryland's annual total of registry yearlings is in decline. And how fickle is nature.In 1989, Mr. Pons began a day-to-day journal, for column use in the Blood-Horse, a Kentucky magazine.

Environmental experts say the operator of a controversial proposed quarry in Jessup should be required to carefully monitor the microscopic dust generated by quarries, which has been known to trigger respiratory problems."

Jessup, the area along U.S. 1 that grew into a substantial suburban community when it was mainly known for being the site of the state's prisons, now faces a new threat to its identity -- a rock quarry.Though some residents predict the noise, dust, dump trucks and NTC all the ancillary turmoil of that operation will permanently damage the town's appeal, so far its location on major roadways joining Baltimore and Washington appears to be keeping the area desirable."Jessup is a good place to live," said 67-year-old Merle Green, owner of a trucking company, who was born, grew up and still lives in the area.

If a tree falls in the woods and no one's there to hear it, that's fine with me. I had that thought Sunday morning as I drove through a state park that few Marylanders know about or ever will visit. In fact, I'm not going to tell you where it is. Nothing personal, friends. I just don't think the place is ready for a herd of human beings. In fact, it might never be. You could drive to this park from downtown Baltimore in fewer than 90 minutes, assuming you know where to look.

A Jessup resident's protest of Howard County's approval of a controversial rock quarry alleges a conflict of interest involving the community's own lawyers.Rosemary Ford's charges arise from an unusual arrangement: The bills for the high-priced zoning lawyers who represented the neighbors opposing the proposed quarry were paid by an anonymous donor.This arrangement was known to quarry opponents but never came out publicly during 15 months of public hearings on the issue.National legal experts say that, while this sort of arrangement is seldom seen, there is nothing inherently wrong with it as long as the attorneys properly represented their clients' interests, not those of the donor paying the bills.