Hampstead Hill

About 400 residents of the Patterson Park area met with police and city officials at St. Elizabeth's Roman Catholic Church to seek solutions to end the on-going violence and unruly conduct they say is caused by some students at Hampstead Hill Middle School.During the two-hour meeting last night at the church at Lakewood Avenue and Baltimore Street, residents showed strong emotions and deep frustration."Enough is enough," said Loretta Willits, 60.Willits said it's time that parents of troublemakers at the school be held accountable for their children's actions.

City officials have outlined a number of changes at Hampstead Hill Middle School after angry complaints from neighbors about incidents involving rowdy students.But some of those changes were already in the works before the near-fatal beating of a man last week by three youths, allegedly including a student at Hampstead Hill. That incident focused intense city attention on conditions at the aging school.The victim, Expedito "Pedro" Lugo, 24, remained in critical condition today after being beaten with his own baseball bat after leaving Patterson Park last Friday.

Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke has outlined a number of changes at Hampstead Hill Middle School, after neighbors complained about incidents involving rowdy students.But some of those changes were already in the works before the beating of a man last week by three youths, according to a school department spokesman. One of the three youths charged is a student at Hampstead Hill.Changes include the reassignment of Principal Preston Roney after this school year and the possibility of redistricting the school as part of an citywide redistricting program, said to Douglas J. Neilson.

Facing angry complaints from residents about unruly and violent students from Hampstead Hill Middle School, Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke announced yesterday that the troubled school's principal would be transferred.The mayor also told nearly 200 people gathered at St. Elizabeth's Roman Catholic Church that his administration would investigate the possibility of rezoning the school so that more of its students come from the immediate neighborhood."One of the big problems is that the children attending the school are not from the neighborhood and thus they have to cross over this neighborhood to get home," Mr. Schmoke said.

Two 15-year-old youths were charged as adults yesterday with attempted murder after a 24-year-old man was severely beaten last Friday with his own baseball bat as he was about to leave Patterson Park.State's Attorney Stuart O. Simms said the charges were filed against Keith M. Robinson of the 1000 block of North Collington Avenue and James I. Holley 3rd of the 2500 block of Ashland Avenue after a review of investigative accounts of the attack.In addition to attempted murder, both youths were charged with assault with intent to murder and assault, said Mr. Simms.

Some students at Hampstead Hill Middle School say their school is getting a bum rap.They say the school, in the 100 block of S. Ellwood Ave., isn't a haven for violent troublemakers."

In the wake of community complaints, city school officials plan to revise dismissal policies at Hampstead Hill Middle School as suggested by Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke.The school system today was expected to ask the state's Mass Transit Administration to provide five additional buses each day to ferry students away from the school, according to Willie J. Foster, director of middle schools.Currently, there are only two MTA buses assigned to the school, despite the fact that 65 percent to 70 percent of the school's more than 1,200 students live outside the immediate neighborhood.

On Friday, Diane M. Evans, 39, will change her travel schedule so she will arrive home earlier. She wants to make sure she will be able to get ready for her sister's wedding.Evans wants to get to the wedding on time, but she also wants to get home before the students at nearby Hampstead Hill Middle School, in the 100 block of S. Ellwood Ave., are let out at the end of the school day."In order to avoid them, I'll leave work an hour early," said Evans, a supervisory clerk. "That's the way you have to think."