Human Resources

Robert Jemellaro, a retired Constellation Energy human resources director, died Friday at the Brighton Gardens nursing home of a heart attack. The Perry Hall resident was 67. Born in Baltimore and raised in Highlandtown, Mr. Jemellaro was a 1958 graduate of Patterson Park High School and was student body president. He attended the University of Baltimore and the Maryland Institute College of Art. He served in the Army. He joined Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. on a work-study program. He initially worked in customer service and remained with the company, eventually becoming director of human resources with Constellation, the parent of BGE. He retired in 1998.

To write one or not. I'm talking about the cover letter. Eileen Levitt, president of the HR Team in Columbia, wrote me recently to lament about how shocked she was "by how many people don't include them in applications, even when they are requested in ads." Here's the back story: Levitt posted a job for an executive assistant for her human resources consulting firm, specifically asking applicants to send a cover letter. But about 80 percent didn't follow instructions, Levitt says. "As a result, we didn't even consider those people as applicants," she says.

Baltimore: Education BCCC names head of human resources Baltimore City Community College President Carolane Williams has named Lexsee Waterford as the college's new executive director of human resources. Waterford -- who took the position Feb. 12 -- was most recently executive director of human resources for a high school district in the Denver area. She also has worked for the U.S. Postal Service, a Denver-area construction services company and AT&T, and as a corporate consultant, according to college officials.

Isis withdraws from program The head of a firm fast-tracked for state certification as a minority business has withdrawn her company from the program. But the probe of Maryland's minority business enterprise system continues. Carol L. Hirschburg, a longtime Republican strategist, had asked that her company, Isis Technology Consulting LLC, be removed from Maryland's Minority Business Enterprise program March 1, the same day The Sun detailed her efforts to get a $12 million slice of a three-year, $110 million technology contract with the state Department of Human Resources.

Robert J. Casper never saw being a quadriplegic as a handicap. To him, it was just something of a hindrance.At office parties, he zigged and zagged his wheelchair down the center of the "Soul Train"-style dance line -- with a few more moves and a lot more energy.Friends said he was always the first person in the office trying to get others to go out after work.On Thursday, Mr. Casper, 59, a lifelong Baltimore resident, died of heart failure at Greater Baltimore Medical Center."He taught all of us to recognize what disabled people can do and not what they can't do," said Sue Needle, a friend and former co-worker at the state Department of Human Resources.

New positionsAnnapolis publication names Wilner associate publisherCall Center Management Review appointed Ann Wilner associate publisher. She will work to expand the circulation and readership of the Annapolis-based trade publication and newsletter to an international level.In the business-to-business publishing industry for 15 years, she formerly was marketing manager for UCG home care division, where she was responsible for its line of home health publications. The Annapolis resident is a graduate of the University of Colorado and is active in several civic and community organizations, including Parents & Children Together.

The county commissioners announced on Friday that Carole Hammen has been named Carroll's director of human resources.Hammen, a graduate of the University of Maryland, replaces Beverly Billingslea, who resigned in February.Hammen, of Finksburg, a lifelong Carroll County resident, brings 25 years of experience to her new job. In her former positions, Hammen was responsible for developing human resource policies and procedures, as well as a number of employee relations initiatives.PoliceWestminster: An employee of Grinnell Fire Protection Services told police Wednesday that company property was stolen.

PeopleJeff Sube has joined Amerix Corporation as vice president, human resources, and director of the Amerix Institute -- the company's training division. Sube joins the company from AT&T Corp., where his 12 years included call center and human resources management. He is a graduate of the Greater Baltimore Committee leadership program's class of 1999. Amerix is a Columbia-based debt management company providing services to consumers and the credit counseling industry.Kimberly Keller, of Ellicott City-based Baltimore-WashingtonFinancial Advisors Inc., has received the certified financial plan- ner designation.

New positionsAMERICOM names McGrath VP for human resourcesAMERICOM Wireless Services has named Laura McGrath vice president of human resources. Formerly a human resources director with McCormick & Co., she supervises personnel functions for the Lutherville-based wireless industry technical support, repair/refurbishment and management services firm, including employee relations and training.Breslow is vice president of Millennium InorganicMillennium Inorganic Chemicals, with headquarters in Hunt Valley, appointed Stuart G. Breslow vice president, general counsel and secretary.

Western Maryland College is accepting students for the third cohort of its graduate program in human resources development.The two-year course of study leading to a master's degree in HRD is expected to begin in mid-September. The program features six-week courses throughout the year meeting twice a week on Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings. The program does include short breaks for Christmas and spring, as well as an extended break in late summer.Although the cohort model is designed so that students go through the entire program together, students can transfer eligible credits in order to graduate in less than two years, according to Sherri Lind Hughes, HRD coordinator and associate professor of psychology.

The Maryland Department of Human Resources' new effort to place children in family settings rather than in group homes when their parents can't care for them "is not working," a state lawmaker said at a hearing Tuesday. Sen. Joan Carter Conway, chairwoman of the Senate committee that oversees social services, also accused Human Resources Secretary Brenda Donald of unfairly putting private group home providers out of business. Conway called Donald to Annapolis to answer questions about her Place Matters strategy, which has resulted in the closings of dozens of group homes.

Driver is arrested for fleeing after hitting Essex pedestrian Baltimore County police arrested the driver of a Jeep who sped off after hitting a pedestrian Tuesday in Essex. Police made the arrest shortly after the man hit a person attempting to cross Eastern Boulevard at the intersection of Wiltshire Road about 12:30 p.m. The pedestrian was taken to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. Police have not released identifications of the pedestrian or the driver. - Brent Jones Shooting caught on cameras leads to woman's conviction Officers monitoring Citiwatch surveillance cameras caught a 2007 shooting as it happened, leading Baltimore police to nab the shooter - 28-year-old Keah Wooden - within minutes after she fired the gun. The city State's Attorney's Office released the video footage Tuesday, saying it led to Wooden's conviction last week in Circuit Court on assault, handgun and reckless endangerment charges.

The stories were horrifying and heart-wrenching: a boy beaten bloody while in foster care; a 15-year-old girl tortured and starved to death by a mentally ill guardian; a 5-year-old fatally scalded by his mother after state officials removed him from a safe foster home. It's no wonder such egregious cases of abuse and neglect have helped drive a 25-year-old lawsuit over how the Maryland Department of Human Resources and the Baltimore Department of Social Services care for the state's most vulnerable children and adolescents.

Maryland agencies that have already undergone several rounds of belt-tightening will have to get even leaner. State Budget Secretary T. Eloise Foster distributed a memo Friday asking department heads to take another look at next year's budget with an eye toward more program cuts. The memo was prompted by this week's announcement that, amid a national economic downturn, revenues through the end of April fell $200 million short of what the state anticipated. Agency leaders - from Public Safety to Human Resources to Environment - have until June 5 to "itemize and discuss ... reduction proposals" and single out three programs each that "do not deliver critical services."

Miracyle Thompson, a pregnant Baltimore County mother of two little boys who have sickle cell disease, was skipping meals and battling with angry doctors over unpaid bills. Her husband's sales job wasn't bringing in enough money to support the growing family. Seeking help, she applied in February for state food and medical assistance. Federal law requires that those emergency benefits be approved within 30 days. A month ticked by, and then a letter from the state Department of Human Resources arrived: "An agency delay has occurred beyond our control."

Joan H. Williams, a retired hospital human relations executive and Parkville resident, died of lung cancer April 30 at Greater Baltimore Medical Center. She was 68. Joan Hoskins was born and raised in Chester, Pa. After graduating from Chester High School, she earned a bachelor's degree from Pennsylvania State University in 1963. Mrs. Williams, who also held a master's degree from the Johns Hopkins University, began her career working in the personnel department for the city of Philadelphia.

For a massive infusion of government aid to the needy to stimulate the economy, it is necessary for such aid to actually be delivered. Unfortunately, in Maryland, this is not a given. After the stimulus is approved, federal government transfers such as food stamps, unemployment insurance and health care likely will increase. But it takes state employees to process and deliver that aid. And in this state, recent history shows that human services personnel are expendable. Gov. Martin O'Malley's fiscal 2010 budget pares 1,875 state jobs with a broad sweep that includes all agencies, but the state departments of Human Resources and Health and Mental Hygiene will suffer more than the others.

The nation's unemployment rate climbed to a 16-year high last month, according to government figures released yesterday, and the pain of the recession is spreading to those fortunate enough to remain employed. U.S. employers shed 598,000 jobs in January, driving the unemployment rate up to 7.6 percent from December's 7.2 percent, the Labor Department said yesterday. January's worse-than-expected losses cut across nearly all industries, except for private education and health care, and economists expect more people will lose their jobs even as lawmakers work on a $900 billion economic stimulus package.

HAR-CO names Lisa Taylor HR manager HAR-CO Maryland Federal Credit Union has named Lisa Taylor its human resources manager/compliance officer. She has more than 10 years experience in human resources in the service industry. Her responsibilities will include staff recruitment and training, benefits administration, policy development, compliance and employee relations. She will work out of HAR-CO's Bel Air headquarters. Maritime Museum The Havre de Grace Maritime Museum's What Knots gift shop offers a variety of items for the holidays and special occasions year-round.

Even as China's opening ceremonies for the Olympics inspired awe, there was something repellent in the exactitude of such mass perfection. The military precision of 2,008 drummers moving in perfect synchronicity, pounding out the sound of a billion hearts beating, was both mesmerizing and slightly creepy. If they can do that, what else can this giant power do with a limitless supply of human resources and dedicated discipline? Inevitably, comparisons have been drawn to the 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany.