Harford County

Editor: Harford County was a wonderful place to have grown-up, riding ponies, attending Harford Horse Show Association Shows, and moreover, enjoying country living. The country living which I experienced was one of cooperation, where I never heard a chorus of extremist political views.  However, and sadly,  Harford County has come to be known by State Stakeholders as having political representation which holds beliefs which are far to the right on the political spectrum. The Harford County Delegation in general in known to hold these extreme, right-wing beliefs.

Baltimore and Harford counties have struck a deal on trash collection they say will benefit taxpayers in both places. Beginning next year, a Baltimore County contractor will take Harford County paper, plastic and other recyclables to a single-stream recycling facility in Cockeysville, which could generate $60,000 a month for Baltimore County. And in 2016, Harford County trash collectors will deliver garbage to Baltimore County's Eastern Sanitary Landfill near White Marsh, where it will then be shipped to an out-of-state landfill.

Tom Coard, branch manager of the Bel Air Central Office of Long & Foster Real Estate recently announced the office top producers for February. They are: Top Sales Group, Hirschhorn Group; Top Sales Team, The Rash Team; Top Sales Individual, Bill Schilling; Top Listing Group, Hirschhorn Group; Top Listing Team, The Rash Group; and Top Listing Individual, Janet Nicholson. The Bel Air Central Office of Long & Foster Real is at 590 Baltimore Pike in Bel Air; phone is 410-879-0900.

A trio of soaking rains in the past week has pushed rainfall totals above 6 inches across Central Maryland, nearly twice the normal monthly totals. At Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, 6.21 inches have fallen so far, with just over half of the month to go. The record for the month is just shy of 10 inches, set in 1972. Rainfall estimates based on radar and models show bands of 6-8 inches of rainfall across much of the Baltimore metropolitan area, from northern Anne Arundel County into eastern Howard, across Baltimore City and southern Baltimore County and up along the Chesapeake Bay in Harford County.

Rite Aid Corp. yesterday confirmed plans to build a nearly $70 million distribution center in Harford County that will employ at least 850, ranking the project as one of Maryland's largest job creators this decade.In selecting the Perryman section of Harford for its new warehouse, the Camp Hill, Pa.-based company becomes the latest in series of retailers and manufacturers, including Gap Inc., Time Warner Inc., Fila USA Inc. and Staples Inc., that have selected the state for major warehouse operations.

Three generations lived in the century-old wooden house with two chimneys in Harford County. Jerome Shropshire, a retired steelworker, and his wife, Annette, a homemaker, took care of their four young grandchildren while their daughter worked at a nearby supermarket and attended college classes. "He loved [the] children more than he loved himself," Joseph Shropshire Sr. said of his elder brother's bond with the grandchildren. "Wherever he went, they went." But a fire that started yesterday morning quickly spread and engulfed the Abingdon house, killing Shropshire, 72, and four others: a woman in her 60s, two preschool-age boys, and an 8-month-old girl, fire officials said.

The Land Development Council of the Home Builders Association of Maryland has announced its ninth annual Award of Excellence winners: The winner of residential project of the year is Clark Turner Companies for the Shores at Water's Edge in Harford County. The engineer for the project is Morris & Ritchie Associates Inc., and the primary contractor is Crouse Construction. The winner of the commercial project of the year is Sturbridge Homes, Sturbridge Development Co. and the Erwin L. Greenberg Commercial Corp.

The trick to serving up good crabs is consistency, “consistency of product and consistency of service,” says Richard Anderson, owner of The Seafood Stop in Fallston, a family-owned and run seafood market and carryout. That standard has been a winning strategy for Anderson since 1989, when he started his crab business from a truck on the side of the road. It helped him expand to a seafood market and restaurant within three years and led to launching a second market in 2006, Richard’s Fish & Crabs, just eight miles away.

With some exceptions, any illness can strike anyone at any time. One of the more dangerous to emerge in recent decades is Lyme disease. Harford County, as many of us know either first-hand or because of someone we know, is not immune from the tick-borne disease. The revelation last week that Harford County Council President Billy Boniface has contracted the sickness is yet another reminder. Lyme disease is treatable, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but it can also be debilitating.

The rain had begun to fall harder, so Anthony Sadleo figured he'd stop and see his buddy Keith Matthews in Matthews' small auto-detailing shop off Belair Road. Why plunge into rush-hour traffic before the weather cleared? Matthews was laughing when the men heard a keening sound, kind of like a train whistle, as the sky blackened over Fallston. "I think we're getting a tornado," he said. Within moments, Matthews was pinned under a collapsed concrete wall with a broken femur and dislocated shoulder that would send him to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore.

With 140 miles of shoreline and boating access, not only to the upper Chesapeake Bay but also the 5,000-acre impoundment held back by Conowingo Dam, Harford County has many opportunities for boaters and others who enjoy spending time on the water. Though much of the county's shoreline is off limits to the general public because it is part of restricted areas on Aberdeen Proving Ground, the county still boasts several marinas and boat ramps. MARINAS Bush River Boat Works (Perryman)

The Bel Air Independence Day Committee is eagerly seeking floats, marching units, antique cars and comic/novelty acts to join the area's Fourth of July celebration. Local businesses and organizations can be part of the fun as well, with their own entry appearing in front of tens of thousands lining the parade route through downtown Bel Air. "Our parade is an annual tradition for thousands of local residents, and we work hard to make sure the parade is a terrific, fun-filled event for all involved," parade chairman Michael Blum said.

The Harford County Chapter of the Izaak Walton League of America announces the winners of their five $1,000 conservation/environmental scholarships: Hunter Howell, Harford Christian School; Maggie Weese, Aberdeen High School; Cora Summerfield, Aberdeen High School; John Swab, Edgewood High School and Kourtney Rutkowski, C. Milton Wright.

HAR-CO Maryland Federal Credit Union recently awarded $15,000 in scholarships to graduating Harford County high school seniors. The education credit union has awarded the scholarships every year since 1985. Since then 229 students, including this year's recipients, have benefited from the program. Seventy-three students applied for scholarships this year. "Our applicants have gotten very impressive in recent years. We had a good cross section of candidates," Stephen Remsnyder, HAR-CO Scholarship Committee Chairman, said.

Minor storm damage was reported from the remnants of Tropical Storm Andrea in Harford County, where it rained steady most of the day. As early as 7 a.m., Carsins Run in the 600 block of North Gate Road in Aberdeen was reported to be overflowing, according to a damage summary report from the Harford County Emergency Operations Center. Also Friday morning, the 700 block of Girard Street in Havre de Grace was flooded and inaccessible, and trees were reported down on Furnace Road a half mile from Route 152 and at Franklinville Road and Sycamore Drive in Abingdon, closing the road.

Harford County, situated 25 miles north of Baltimore and nestled against the northwestern shores of the Chesapeake Bay, boasts a blend of history and modern living. Spanning 440 square miles of the Baltimore/Washington Metro area, it has a population of nearly 250,000. The three largest incorporated municipalities in the county are Aberdeen, Havre de Grace and the town of Bel Air, which also is the county seat. Even with a growing population, Harford County retains its rural charm.

Welcome to Drug City, akaHarford County,Maryland. Maybe that's what the signs should say on either end of I-95, Route 40 and Route 1 in our county, now that the federal Office of Drug Control Police has added Harford to the agency's High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas list. As much as some of us may hate to admit it, such a designation was long overdue, unwelcome as it may be. Surely, everyone even remotely familiar with Harford County knows we have a pretty darn bad drug-related crime problem.

Editor: Thank you, Harford County, for joining Oak Grove Baptist Church in our third annual Women's Conference held on April 13. With nearly 150 in attendance, we enjoyed the lavish account by DeeDee Jonrowe of her life on the Iditarod Trail over the past 31 years as a musher in Alaska. DeeDee is the foremost female dog musher competing in the world today and a breast cancer survivor. Her accounts of the life lessons learned on the Iditarod Trail have bolstered her desire to honor God in her racing and daily life.

Q: In your opinion what distinguishes Harford County? A: I believe the best distinction for Harford County in recent years is how we have successfully survived the recession. Our economy has been strong, we have worked to make our local government more efficient and we have maintained the vital services for our citizens. Q: Any important countywide changes or new programs Harford County residents should know about? A: Harford County has developed new programs and resources to assist citizens in starting their own businesses.

Two Republican members of the Maryland Senate will announce their plans over the next few days to leave the legislature and run for the top executive positions in their home counties. Sen. Barry Glassman plans to announce his bid for Harford County executive Saturday in Havre de Grace. Senator Allan Kittleman will kick off his campaign for Howard County executive Tuesday in Columbia. Glassman, 51, would succeed David R. Craig, who announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for governor Monday.