Hampstead

A Hampstead man was shot to death in his home Tuesday morning by the ex-husband of his fiance, police say. Michael Leo Swift III, who was indicted earlier this month on machine gun and other weapons charges, blasted his way through a sliding glass door with a 12-gauge shotgun to get into the house in the 1200 block of Allview Drive, police say. Swift shot Zaidan Stephen Asid, police say, before turning the gun on himself. Hallie Patricia Swift called police from inside the house in the 1200 block of Allview Drive at about 11 a.m. to report the shootings, State Police spokesman Greg Shipley said.

MANCHESTER - State Sen. Joe Getty this week asked the Carroll County Board of Education to adopt a north county zone for implementation of school delays - similar to the "Hereford Zone" that currently operates in Baltimore County. In a letter sent on Jan. 24 to Board President Jennifer Seidel, Getty cited hazardous road conditions that confronted students, parents and school bus drivers on Jan. 23 in the Taneytown, Manchester and Hampstead communities as an example that demonstrates the need for such a zone.

Baltimore County police are investigating a man found burned to death early Friday morning inside his vehicle in Hampstead. Police responded to a call for a car on fire in the 4600 block of Black Rock Road about 1:42 a.m. Officers found a man on fire in the car. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Homicide detectives are investigating, according to police.

Mary H. Coleman, a Medfield day care provider who cared for several generations of children, died Saturday of a stroke at Johns Hopkins Hospital. She was 78. Mary Hilda Grothe was born in Hampstead and spent her early years in Manchester and Millers before moving to Fawcett Street in Remington with her family. She attended city public schools until leaving to go to work. After her 1955 marriage to John C. Coleman Sr., the couple moved to Medfield, where they had lived for more than 50 years.

Shame on the small group of Hampstead residents for their intemperate, ill-informed and intolerant opposition to locating a special education program at the old Hampstead Elementary School. They have behaved as if these students were hardened criminals who would rampage through their neighborhood, when, in reality, these are merely teen-agers who are having difficulty learning.The approximately 30 children in the Behavioral Education Support Team (BEST) program were formerly taught at Springfield Hospital Center as part of a state-run education program.

How to cope with Hampstead's rapid growth will be the overriding issue in Tuesday's municipal election there. In five years, the town's population has increased by more than a third to nearly 3,800 residents. The rapid growth has divided the town into two bitter factions. One group of townspeople believes the growth has been beneficial and well-managed, the other contends it has worsened Hampstead's quality of life.Incumbent Mayor C. Clinton Becker, who presided over much of the recent growth, is up for re-election.

FIRE* Hampstead: Hampstead assisted Baltimore County in fighting an apartment fire on Falls Road Sunday at 1:55 p.m.

C. Clinton Becker (unopposed for mayor) and Arthur Moler and Gary Bauer (unopposed for council) were asked these four questions:* What do you view as the town's three most immediate needs?* Considering the anticipated growth in Hampstead, how should thetown assure adequate services for its residents (i.e.: water, roads,fire and emergency services, public facilities)?* Do you believethe county and towns can meet the 1994 mandate for 15 percent recycling? Do you support mandatory or voluntary recycling?

A Hampstead woman was sentenced on Friday, Oct. 28, to eight-and-half-years in prison for her role in the September 2009 robbery of a Finksburg pharmacy. Victoria Jean Reid, 26, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz to the 102-month term, to be followed by three years of supervised release for conspiracy to commit an armed robbery and using a gun during the robbery. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John Sippel. Officials said Joseph Wagner, 26, of Baltimore, has also pleaded guilty to the same charges and was sentenced in June to also serve 102 months in prison.

HAMPSTEAD — St. George's Episcopal Church will host a 5K charity run and walk on Cape Horn Road, between Route 30 and Boog Road, in the Hampstead and Manchester area on Saturday, Oct. 22, between 8 and 9 a.m. The following roadways will be closed to all traffic: Cape Horn Road between Route 30 and Harvey Gummel Road, including Boog Road, Opie Drive, Laverne Circle, Darlene Drive, St. George's Court, Cape Hill Court, the intersection of Sussanan...

As much of the region continues to recover from closed roads, downed power lines and other remnants of Hurricane Irene, Carroll County Public Schools officials said Monday that the school system will open tomorrow, Tuesday, August 30, on time and as scheduled - with two exceptions. Hampstead Elementary School and Century High School will not open on Tuesday due to power outages at those two schools, according to school system officials. There was no immediate word on when they would open.

FINKSBURG — County Commissioner Haven Shoemaker, who represents District 2 in the Hampstead and Finksburg areas, will hold a question-and-answer meeting on Wednesday, June 15, 7-8:30 p.m., at the Finksburg Library, 2265 Old Westminster Pike. The session will take place in the library's large meeting room. Residents of District 2 are invited to attend to discuss issues of interest.

An elderly couple was found dead Saturday night in their Carroll County home that emergency personnel discovered to contain 80 times the normal level of carbon monoxide. Lewis Keyser, 81 and his 84-year-old wife, Betty, were found in the basement of the house. Relatives told Maryland State police that they found the house in the 1900 block of Lang Road in Hampstead filled with soot and haze Police said Sunday that no foul play is suspected and that the couple was last seen on Thursday.

A Carroll County woman was fatally shot by a Maryland state trooper after she pointed a gun at him during a confrontation at a Hampstead home, state police said late Monday. State police were called about 5:40 p.m. to a home in the 4600 block of Upper Beckleysville Road for a domestic dispute. A second emergency call reported that the 40-year-old woman had a gun and was threatening to kill herself, state police said in a news release. The woman's sister said she and a teenage daughter had locked themselves in a bedroom for protection, police said.

Ida S. Schmidt, a retired Hutzler's department store sales associate who showed her affection for the Orioles by flying a team flag every day, died Sunday of a heart attack at Carroll Hospital Center in Westminster. The Hampstead resident was 92. Ida Catherine Schiffner, the daughter of a Canton Railroad locomotive engineer and a homemaker, was born in Baltimore and raised on Macon Street. She later moved with her family to Kenwood Avenue in Overlea. She attended Eastern High School until the 10th grade, when she left to take a job as a packer for the Esskay meatpacking company.

Men's clothier Jos. A. Bank reported a 22 percent profit increase for 2009 as it continued to attract shoppers with steep discounts. The Hampstead company said net income came in at $71.2 million, or $3.84 per share, for the fiscal year ended Jan. 30. That was compared with $58.4 million, or $3.17 per share, for the same period a year ago. Revenue for the year jumped to $770.3 million, a 10.7 percent gain from a year ago when revenue was $695.9 million. The performance beat Thomson Reuters analysts' expectations of $3.70 per share, or $753 million.