Hours Of Community

FROSTBURG -- If a child needs tutoring, a bird's wing mending, a day care center tending, a hospital's walls brightening, or if other such good deeds need doing in this Western Maryland community, people know whom to call: the students in Allen Hall. An otherwise unimpressive three-story brick building on the campus of Frostburg State University, Allen Hall is gaining a national reputation as what might be called a full-service dormitory. It is the home of the Allen HallSTARS!, an innovative program that combines the growing interest in social service among college students with academic programs and residential life.

Robert Francis Burdette is remembered for the many kindnesses he showed people during his 74 years, and an Anne Arundel County judge moved Tuesday to ensure that the man who took Burdette's life in a traffic crash remembers that. Judge William C. Mulford II ordered Sean Kevin Fitzgibbon of Friendship to perform 74 hours of community service at Burdette's church, Clinton United Methodist Church, after he completes 18 months in jail — "one hour every other weekend," during five years of supervised probation.

A Hampstead woman was sentenced yesterday to 18 months in jail after she was found guilty of violating probation for a 1994 cocaine distribution conviction.Probation authorities said Julie G. Tarbart, 26, of the 800 block of Century St. violated probation when she was convicted in Texas of carrying a suitcase containing 70 pounds of marijuana through an airport last summer.Tarbart also has been convicted in Baltimore County of burglary and theft under $300, but has not been sentenced in that case, said Ralph Ubersax, a Westminster attorney representing Tarbart.

A 20-year-old Woodbine man convicted last year in the shooting of a teenage schoolmate missed a Tuesday probation-violation hearing to address issues of his community service requirement because he said he did not receive notice of the hearing, a spokesman for the state's attorney's office said. Benjamin Mark Allen was convicted of reckless endangerment in June 2005 when he removed a handgun from his father's safe and accidentally shot Katie Lea Weyer, then 16, of Dayton, in the chest as he was showing her the firearm.

A Westminster woman, found guilty yesterday of violating probation, was given a one-year suspended sentence, ordered to perform 62 hours of community service by Dec. 31 and to pay $100 restitution within 60 days or go to jail.Probation officials said Wendy J. Jirsa, 24, of the 1200 block of Guadelupe Drive has paid no restitution and completed three hours of community service. She was ordered to perform 65 hours of community service after being convicted of battery and trespassing in 1995.

Two former Maryland Insurance Administration agent enforcement officers pleaded guilty yesterday to criminal charges related to unauthorized access of state computers, according to the Maryland attorney general's office. Prosecutors said William E. Unkle of Stewartstown, Pa., and Joseph E. Wolfe of Felton, Pa., were involved in a scheme to alter the insurance administration's licensing system computers to indicate that both men had insurance producer licenses. Baltimore Circuit Judge John P. Miller sentenced each man to one year of prison and suspended the sentences in favor of a year of probation.

A 20-year-old Woodbine man convicted last year in the shooting of a teenage schoolmate missed a Tuesday probation-violation hearing to address issues of his community service requirement because he said he did not receive notice of the hearing, a spokesman for the state's attorney's office said. Benjamin Mark Allen was convicted of reckless endangerment in June 2005 when he removed a handgun from his father's safe and accidentally shot Katie Lea Weyer, then 16, of Dayton, in the chest as he was showing her the firearm.

Three men who pleaded guilty to illegally dumping used tires on a vacant lot in southern Baltimore were sentenced to 100 hours or more of community service, according to a Maryland assistant attorney general.The guilty were identified by prosecutors as Sanquel E. Prince, 26, whose last known address was in the 3700 block of Koppers St. in Violetville; Al K. Singleton, 25, of the 4600 block of Pimlico Road; and Bobby S. Queen, 26, of the 3000 block of Oakford Ave. in Northwest Baltimore.Each man was fined $5,000, which was reduced by Judge David Mitchell to $1,000.

The Owen Brown Community Association is offering a community servicescholarship of $500.Applicants must be residents of the village of Owen Brown (elected or appointed board/council representatives andtheir families, and staff members and their families are not eligible); are required to write an essay answering, "What do you plan to doupon finishing your post-secondary education, and what school do youplan to attend?"; are required to submit evidence of academic achievement; and must submit a listing of all community service (at least 50 hours of community service must have been performed)

The county school board, superintendent and teachers association came out strongly this week against the state's proposal to require highschool students to complete 75 hours of community service before graduation.The opponents raised several objections, but in the wordsof Carl Roberts, director of secondary education for Harford schools, their concerns boil down to this: "Philosophically, we don't agree with mandatory service."That sentiment contrasts sharply with those expressed in hundredsof letters sent to the state school board by business owners and community leaders.

Two former Maryland Insurance Administration agent enforcement officers pleaded guilty yesterday to criminal charges related to unauthorized access of state computers, according to the Maryland attorney general's office. Prosecutors said William E. Unkle of Stewartstown, Pa., and Joseph E. Wolfe of Felton, Pa., were involved in a scheme to alter the insurance administration's licensing system computers to indicate that both men had insurance producer licenses. Baltimore Circuit Judge John P. Miller sentenced each man to one year of prison and suspended the sentences in favor of a year of probation.

A foggy sky that threatened rain couldn't dampen the enthusiasm of Glenelg Country School students last week as they met near the intersection of Routes 32 and 108 in Clarksville. The students, along with alumni, parents, small children, faculty and staff, were there Saturday morning to plant 100 trees and help beautify the area in conjunction with Maryland's State Highway Administration. "I live near here, and so I'll be able to see how the trees will grow," said Glenelg Country sophomore Sabina Kaczanowska, one of 20 students who participated.

A 55-year-old Virginia man who fatally shot his cousin in anger in a Jessup hotel room 12 years ago was sentenced to the 3 1/2 years he served in state custody while his case wended its way through trial and appeals, ending with a manslaughter plea this year. Adel George Hagez, a restaurateur whom friends and family praised as a "pillar of society" and "an asset to the community," will have to pay "restitution for society as a whole," performing 2,000 hours of community service during his five-year probationary term, Howard Circuit Judge Lenore R. Gelfman said yesterday.

FROSTBURG -- If a child needs tutoring, a bird's wing mending, a day care center tending, a hospital's walls brightening, or if other such good deeds need doing in this Western Maryland community, people know whom to call: the students in Allen Hall. An otherwise unimpressive three-story brick building on the campus of Frostburg State University, Allen Hall is gaining a national reputation as what might be called a full-service dormitory. It is the home of the Allen HallSTARS!, an innovative program that combines the growing interest in social service among college students with academic programs and residential life.

Three men who pleaded guilty to illegally dumping used tires on a vacant lot in southern Baltimore were sentenced to 100 hours or more of community service, according to a Maryland assistant attorney general.The guilty were identified by prosecutors as Sanquel E. Prince, 26, whose last known address was in the 3700 block of Koppers St. in Violetville; Al K. Singleton, 25, of the 4600 block of Pimlico Road; and Bobby S. Queen, 26, of the 3000 block of Oakford Ave. in Northwest Baltimore.Each man was fined $5,000, which was reduced by Judge David Mitchell to $1,000.

A Hampstead woman was sentenced yesterday to 18 months in jail after she was found guilty of violating probation for a 1994 cocaine distribution conviction.Probation authorities said Julie G. Tarbart, 26, of the 800 block of Century St. violated probation when she was convicted in Texas of carrying a suitcase containing 70 pounds of marijuana through an airport last summer.Tarbart also has been convicted in Baltimore County of burglary and theft under $300, but has not been sentenced in that case, said Ralph Ubersax, a Westminster attorney representing Tarbart.

Volunteers from the Auxiliary of Springfield Hospital Cente Inc. and other civic and church groups that work with the mentally ill at the center in Sykesville were honored at a lunch sponsored by the hospital.James Macdonald, coordinator of volunteer projects for the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, told the audience of volunteers and staff Wednesday that volunteers have made a tremendous difference to his own father, who lives in a veterans hospital."I want to thank you personally, for me," he said.

Despite a slow start in some counties, the state's high school seniors are moving steadily toward completion of their student service-learning requirements, state school officials have told the Maryland State Board of Education.As of February, only one-third of the Class of 1997 -- the first class required to do 75 hours of community service as a condition of graduation, under a 1992 requirement -- had completed their hours.But state officials say that as of Oct. 21, more than 29,000 of the state's 44,153 seniors, or more than 65 percent, had completed the requirement.

A Westminster woman, found guilty yesterday of violating probation, was given a one-year suspended sentence, ordered to perform 62 hours of community service by Dec. 31 and to pay $100 restitution within 60 days or go to jail.Probation officials said Wendy J. Jirsa, 24, of the 1200 block of Guadelupe Drive has paid no restitution and completed three hours of community service. She was ordered to perform 65 hours of community service after being convicted of battery and trespassing in 1995.

Despite a slow start in some counties, the state's high school seniors are moving steadily toward completion of their student service-learning requirements, state school officials have told the Maryland State Board of Education.As of February, only one-third of the Class of 1997 -- the first class required to do 75 hours of community service as a condition of graduation, under a 1992 requirement -- had completed their hours.But state officials say that as of Oct. 21, more than 29,000 of the state's 44,153 seniors, or more than 65 percent, had completed the requirement.