Gabbro

It was a show-and-tell session for the Howard County Board of Appeals, and developer Kingdon Gould's rocks were on display -- crushed rocks, rock piles and rocks at the bottom of a deep pit, waiting to be mined.Eager to demonstrate that a proposed quarry in Jessup would not disrupt the community, Gould's representatives shepherded board members through Gould's quarry in Frederick County this week, highlighting measures taken to prevent that operation from being a nuisance."You can talk about it all you want," said Richard B. Talkin, an attorney representing Gould, "but you really need to get out and see it."

Opponents of a proposed quarry in Jessup continued their fight against the project last night, arguing before the Howard County Board of Appeals that the mining operation will exacerbate traffic problems on troubled U.S. 1.With charts and traffic statistics she prepared at her "kitchen table," Jessup resident Judy McCleaf attacked developer Kingdon Gould's proposal to quarry rock on a 546-acre wooded site he owns in Jessup."

In their first attack on Kingdon Gould's proposal for a quarry in Jessup, opponents submitted to the Howard County Board of Appeals last night more than 40 pages of environmental charges filed against the developer's Frederick County quarry from 1989 to 1994.Included are charges of dust and air pollution, and damage to wetlands against Gould's Barricks quarry in Woodsboro, which is run by his Laurel Sand & Gravel Inc.Residents who have dubbed themselves the Stop the Quarry Coalition fear similar problems if a quarry is allowed in their community.

When the blasting ends and the dust settles, the proposed quarry site in Jessup will be an "ideal" location for recreation much like other former mining areas that now have tree-lined lakes, golf courses and parks, a landscaping expert told the Howard County Board of Appeals last night.The Jessup site "is one of the better situations," said Anthony Bauer, a landscape architect, speaking on behalf of developer Kingdon Gould Jr., who wants to quarry rock on a 546-acre wooded site east of Interstate 95, west of U.S. 1 and south of Route 175.Bauer's presentation, which included a slide show, seemed to give Gould's plan a boost.

About noon every day, the ground beneath Church Lane in Cockeysville rumbles as if a subway train were passing through. A plume of smoke fills the air, pinpointing the site of the latest blast at the Redland Genstar quarry, known as the Texas Plant."

Dealing a blow to Jessup residents who support a proposed quarry near their homes, the chairman of the Howard County Board of Appeals said last night the panel might not require the project's developer to keep promises he made to get residents' support.George Layman, the chairman, said that the board might run into legal difficulties if it requires developer Kingdon Gould to build a "club house" and keep other promises he made to residents."I do have a problem with promises made being part of the special exception," Mr. Layman said.

Attention residents: Prepare to secure your porcelain and fine china. Tremors from explosions at developer Kingdon Gould Jr.'s proposed quarry operation could send those delicate items crashing to the floor.A geological expert, testifying before the Howard County Board of Appeals last night on behalf of Mr. Gould, said vibrations from blasting on his Chase property probably would cause the china to "rattle" the same way it does when a person is "walking across a dining-room floor.""I would recommend [porcelain or china]

At a third hearing last night, developer Kingdon Gould's experts continued to pitch his proposal to quarry rock on a 300-acre site in Jessup, and opponents filed a petition to bring in their own experts.Opponents hope to counter testimony from the dozen experts Mr. Gould has lined up to support his proposal before the Howard County Board of Appeals.They didn't have sufficient time or information from Mr. Gould to prepare witnesses before the hearings that began in January, according to their 11-page petition.

Opponents of developer Kingdon Gould Jr.'s plans for a quarry in Jessup criticized the developer last night for refusing to submit impact studies of the project."

The first in a series of public hearings on developer Kingdon Gould's proposal to establish a quarry in Jessup was mostly a one-man show -- the developer arguing his case.For more than two hours last night, Mr. Gould addressed the Howard County Board of Appeals and a crowd of more than 100 residents. He promised that the quarry project would not have a negative impact on the area."We felt that we did not want to proceed with that operation without having a long-range plan for that area and without support of the state, of the Howard County government and in particular, the citizens in that area," Mr. Gould said.