Indian Head

Indian Head Naval Surface Warfare Center in Charles County has been targeted for priority cleanup of acids, solvents, explosives and other toxic substances that contaminate the old proving ground and nearby Mattawoman Creek.The Environmental Protection Agency last week placed Indian Head on its National Priorities List for cleanup under the federal Superfund law. Cleanup of stream sediments tainted with silver and lead is planned; the Navy already is removing mercury-contaminated soil.Traces of mercury have been detected in fish in the creek near Indian Head, though the levels are well below what is considered hazardous for humans or fish.

Sara L.J. Highby, a retired Charles County public school educator, died Friday at Union Memorial Hospital of complications from a stroke. The former longtime Pomonkey, Charles County, resident was 90. Sara Louise Jameson, the daughter of a chemist and a homemaker, was born in Parlin, N.J., and raised in Charles County, where she graduated in 1935 from Henry E. Lackey High School in Indian Head. She earned a bachelor's degree in music in 1939 from Western Maryland College, now McDaniel College, and a master's degree in education from the University of Maryland.

The Indian Head naval facility in Charles County has been recommended to be added to the nation's burgeoning list of environmental cleanup sites, but a Navy spokeswoman said it poses no danger to the public.Christina Adams, spokeswoman for the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Indian Head, said the cleanup would remove elements -- ranging from mercury and silver to various solvents -- used to make explosives and propellants.The materials are found in traces on the 3,500-acre facility, she said.

On Tuesday, June 9, 2009 JOSEPH H. MORTON, of Bryans Road, MD. Husband of Havannah S. Morton; father of Ava Jo Morton and Marcia M. Gutrick. Also surviving are son-in-law C. Bobby Gutrick, grandchildren Adriana and Alexys Gutrick and Phillip Watson; brother Richard J. Marbray and a host of relatives and friends. Viewing Tuesday, June 16, 9 A.M. to 10 A.M. at Metropolitan United Methodist Church, 3385 Metropolitan Church Road, Indian Head, MD 20640. Service 11 A.M. Interment Maryland Veterans Cemetery, Cheltenham, MD. Arrangements by Thornton Funeral Home, Indian Head, MD. In lieu of flowers contributions may be made to the Joseph H. Morton Memorial Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 714, Bryans Road, MD, 20616.

An enormous explosion lighted up the sky and set off a fire at a naval munitions base in Charles County, causing damage but no injuries, authorities said.The incident occurred about 10:25 p.m. in one of 1,600 buildings at the Indian Head Division of the Naval Surface Warfare Center -- many of which are used for the storage of explosive materials, said Chris Adams, a spokeswoman for the base.Details were sketchy about the size of the explosion and how it was caused, she said."It appears to be limited to one storage facility.

Former Taneytown City Manager Joseph A. Mangini Jr. is now supervising the municipal affairs of a city in Charles County.On Friday, Mr. Mangini completed his first week of work in Indian Head, a city on the Potomac River in the Washington metropolitan area."

On Tuesday, June 9, 2009 JOSEPH H. MORTON, of Bryans Road, MD. Husband of Havannah S. Morton; father of Ava Jo Morton and Marcia M. Gutrick. Also surviving are son-in-law C. Bobby Gutrick, grandchildren Adriana and Alexys Gutrick and Phillip Watson; brother Richard J. Marbray and a host of relatives and friends. Viewing Tuesday, June 16, 9 A.M. to 10 A.M. at Metropolitan United Methodist Church, 3385 Metropolitan Church Road, Indian Head, MD 20640. Service 11 A.M. Interment Maryland Veterans Cemetery, Cheltenham, MD. Arrangements by Thornton Funeral Home, Indian Head, MD. In lieu of flowers contributions may be made to the Joseph H. Morton Memorial Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 714, Bryans Road, MD, 20616.

Sara L.J. Highby, a retired Charles County public school educator, died Friday at Union Memorial Hospital of complications from a stroke. The former longtime Pomonkey, Charles County, resident was 90. Sara Louise Jameson, the daughter of a chemist and a homemaker, was born in Parlin, N.J., and raised in Charles County, where she graduated in 1935 from Henry E. Lackey High School in Indian Head. She earned a bachelor's degree in music in 1939 from Western Maryland College, now McDaniel College, and a master's degree in education from the University of Maryland.

Bracing for the announcement of a list of military bases to be closed or reduced, state officials believe that Maryland could come out with a net gain in jobs because of the war on terror. But they fear the Defense Department might close or realign the Indian Head Naval Surface Warfare Center in Charles County, whose functions could be absorbed by a larger facility. "We don't believe that Indian Head is on a closure list, but we're very much concerned about pieces coming and going," said J. Michael Hayes, a retired Marine Corps general who heads the office of military and federal affairs in the state Department of Business and Economic Development.

INDIAN HEAD - Crime scene analysts have finished combing through much of the 10-acre site where devastating arson fires burned 26 high-priced homes this week, but lead investigators said yesterday that they have not determined a motive and have no suspects. "The investigation is only 72 hours old. There's a lot of people to talk to, a lot of avenues to go down," said FBI Special Agent Kevin Perkins during an afternoon briefing. Deputy State Fire Marshal W. Faron Taylor said "any potential source of evidence is being thoroughly analyzed."

Jury deliberations will continue this morning in the trial of Patrick S. Walsh, who is accused of conspiring with a tight-knit group of friends to set one of the largest residential arson fires in state history. In closing arguments yesterday in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, prosecutors and Walsh's defense attorney disagreed over how to view the evidence against the 21-year-old race car enthusiast from Fort Washington. Assistant U.S. Attorney Donna Sanger said Walsh long planned to use the arsons in the Hunters Brooke development in Charles County to showcase the power of his group of friends known as The Family.

The state agreed yesterday to give Charles County 50 acres that local officials hope to turn into a high-tech research hub that will create jobs and secure the U.S. Navy's presence there for years to come. The land would be used for an energetics laboratory, which would develop explosives and propellants in partnership with the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Indian Head. Wayne Cooper, president of the county Board of Commissioners, said the facility could spin off dozens of businesses.

Bracing for the announcement of a list of military bases to be closed or reduced, state officials believe that Maryland could come out with a net gain in jobs because of the war on terror. But they fear the Defense Department might close or realign the Indian Head Naval Surface Warfare Center in Charles County, whose functions could be absorbed by a larger facility. "We don't believe that Indian Head is on a closure list, but we're very much concerned about pieces coming and going," said J. Michael Hayes, a retired Marine Corps general who heads the office of military and federal affairs in the state Department of Business and Economic Development.

A security guard hired to watch over an upscale housing development under construction in Southern Maryland was arrested yesterday and charged with setting fires that damaged or destroyed 26 houses there, the U.S. attorney's office said. Waldorf resident Aaron Lee Speed, 21, an employee of Security Services of America, was charged with arson in the fires Dec. 6 that caused $10 million damage at the Hunters Brooke development in Indian Head in Charles County. Speed, described as someone who wanted to be a firefighter, is scheduled to appear this morning in federal court in Greenbelt.

INDIAN HEAD - Crime scene analysts have finished combing through much of the 10-acre site where devastating arson fires burned 26 high-priced homes this week, but lead investigators said yesterday that they have not determined a motive and have no suspects. "The investigation is only 72 hours old. There's a lot of people to talk to, a lot of avenues to go down," said FBI Special Agent Kevin Perkins during an afternoon briefing. Deputy State Fire Marshal W. Faron Taylor said "any potential source of evidence is being thoroughly analyzed."

Bill Koppes has an idea that may produce more entertaining Fourth of July celebrations - a molecule that could eliminate the heavy smoke that sometimes obscures brilliant fireworks displays. A summer evening filled with Ohhhs and Ahhhhs is a long way from the laboratory cluttered with beakers and bottles of chemicals where Koppes works at the Indian Head division of the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Charles County. Defense researchers in Maryland and state officials are hoping to bridge that gap. They are trying to use Koppes' idea and others developed in the 57 federal research laboratories located across Maryland to spark increased commercial payoffs in the state from all of that research.

Bill Koppes has an idea that may produce more entertaining Fourth of July celebrations - a molecule that could eliminate the heavy smoke that sometimes obscures brilliant fireworks displays. A summer evening filled with Ohhhs and Ahhhhs is a long way from the laboratory cluttered with beakers and bottles of chemicals where Koppes works at the Indian Head division of the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Charles County. Defense researchers in Maryland and state officials are hoping to bridge that gap. They are trying to use Koppes' idea and others developed in the 57 federal research laboratories located across Maryland to spark increased commercial payoffs in the state from all of that research.

The state agreed yesterday to give Charles County 50 acres that local officials hope to turn into a high-tech research hub that will create jobs and secure the U.S. Navy's presence there for years to come. The land would be used for an energetics laboratory, which would develop explosives and propellants in partnership with the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Indian Head. Wayne Cooper, president of the county Board of Commissioners, said the facility could spin off dozens of businesses.

Indian Head Naval Surface Warfare Center in Charles County has been targeted for priority cleanup of acids, solvents, explosives and other toxic substances that contaminate the old proving ground and nearby Mattawoman Creek.The Environmental Protection Agency last week placed Indian Head on its National Priorities List for cleanup under the federal Superfund law. Cleanup of stream sediments tainted with silver and lead is planned; the Navy already is removing mercury-contaminated soil.Traces of mercury have been detected in fish in the creek near Indian Head, though the levels are well below what is considered hazardous for humans or fish.

The Indian Head naval facility in Charles County has been recommended to be added to the nation's burgeoning list of environmental cleanup sites, but a Navy spokeswoman said it poses no danger to the public.Christina Adams, spokeswoman for the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Indian Head, said the cleanup would remove elements -- ranging from mercury and silver to various solvents -- used to make explosives and propellants.The materials are found in traces on the 3,500-acre facility, she said.