Jarrettsville

The National Weather Service has confirmed that a tornado touched down, damaging several homes and sending a gazebo up onto a roof , in Jarrettsville during the storms that passed through the Baltimore metro area Friday evening . "An EF-0 tornado with maximum winds of 80 miles per hour caused tree and minor roofing damage Friday evening between 7:07 p.m. and 7:12 p.m.," the National Weather Service said in a statement Monday afternoon. The path of the tornado stretched 1.2 miles, according to the statement.

The National Weather Service has recorded two reports of damage in Harford County from storms that moved through the Baltimore metro area Friday evening. Just after 7 p.m., a 911 caller reported downed trees and powerlines along a 100-foot wide path near Salem Church and Cox roads in Jarrettsville. About the same time, a gazebo was reported damaged near the intersection of Route 23 and Salem Church Road. A tornado has not been confirmed, but the damage is in an area that was under a tornado warning at the time of the reports, said National Weather Service meteorologist Stephen Konarik in Sterling, Va. The weather service will investigate the damage and any photographic evidence to determine whether a tornado occured, he said.

Three people were taken to area hospitals Wednesday after they were injured in separate accidents in Harford County. In the first accident, a 54-year-old man, a painter, was hurt in a fall from a ladder in the 3600 block of My Ladys View Court near Jarrettsville around 11:15 a.m. Wednesday, according to Rich Gardiner, spokesman for the Harford County Volunteer Fire & EMS Association. He had no further detail on the incident; however, monitored Harford County emergency radio broadcasts said the man was being flown by Maryland State Police Medevac to a regional trauma center.

Enthusiastic crews from BB&T's Madonna and Upper Crossroads branches worked tirelessly July 25 to plant new gardens at both the Jarrettsville and Fallston libraries as part of their annual Lighthouse Project. BB&T's Lighthouse Project encourages employees to get outside of the office and give back, improving the communities they serve and making them better places to work and live. According to their website, during the first three years of BB&T's Lighthouse Project, employees nationwide have donated more than 150,000 volunteer hours to local charities and touched the lives of more than 5 million people in 25 states.

To Phoenix-area residents, it's simply "dead man's curve" - a twisting section of Jarrettsville Pike that lies at the bottom of a steep hill near a meandering stream, where mature trees block the line of sight in both directions. Four yellow signs warn of dangers: the sharp curve, the steep grade, crossing deer and an upcoming school bus stop. But drivers often ignore the signs and speed down the hill, say those who live and work in the area. "If it was on flat ground, it wouldn't be an issue, but because of that hill, people have some speed and they just don't know what's coming," said Bob Thompson, who co-owns Lothorian Pools at the bottom of the hill, just beyond the curve.

A 51-year-old Harford County woman died in a one-car accident Sunday evening on Jarrettsville Pike in Monkton. It was the second fatal accident and the fourth death on the same rural roadway in two days. Sherry Ann Baquol of the 2100 block of Baldwin Mill Road in Fallston was pronounced dead at 8:34 p.m. at the scene in the 14000 block of Jarrettsville Pike, police said. She was driving a 1995 Saab north, when the car left the road, struck a stone wall, uprooted several fence posts and hit a utility pole, police said.

Three people were killed Friday after a car lost control on a curve and crashed into a milk truck in Phoenix, Baltimore County police said. A Volkswagen Jetta was traveling northbound on Jarrettsville Pike when it crossed the center line into the path of the truck, police said. The Jetta overturned on its left side. The truck struck a tree and remained upright, but its tanker turned on its left side, police said. The crash occurred at 6:09 a.m. in the 12600 block of Jarrettsville Pike, just north of the intersection with Dulaney Valley Road.

As of 9 a.m. Friday, Jarrettsville Pike was closed near Dulaney Valley Road in Baltimore County, due to an accident that resulted in two deaths. Accidents were slowing traffic at Route 24 southbound at Edgewood Road in Harford County and Route 36 at Schucks Road in Harford County. A disabled vehicle was blocking traffic on I-95 northbound at the Fort McHenry Tunnel. Charles Street is closed from Centre Street to Read Street for the Flower Mart, as well as portions of Madison Street and Mount Vernon Place near Charles Street.

It's long been known that one surefire way to draw a crowd in Harford County is to hold a vintage car and hot rod rally and show. Saturday was no exception. Under bright blue skies, scores of beautiful cars and hundreds of people converged on Jarrett's Field in Jarrettsville for Romancing the Chrome, a show put together by the Harford County Public Library and the Jarrettsville Lions Club. The show was organized to help promote the exhibit "Cars: A Harford County Love Affair" that opened April 12 at the Jarrettsville library and runs through May 19. The show also provided a perfect prelude to the annual Night Out at the Jarrettsville Library that evening which featured an appearance by Earl Swift, author of "The Big Roads," a history of the interstate highway system.

Editor:  Thank you, Harford County, for joining Oak Grove Baptist Church in our second annual Women's Conference held March 31.  With over 200 in attendance, we enjoyed the Bible lessons and accounts shared by our speakers, Laurie DeYoung, WPOC morning DJ, and Erika Clark, veteran and advocate for women and children. We especially want to thank the following businesses in Bel Air that provided gift donations for door prizes: Angles Hair Team, Bertucci's Italian Restaurant, Cheveux Salon and Day Spa, Christopher Matthew's Christian Store, Creative Design Salon and Spa, Mrs. Flowers Inc, Liberatore's Ristorante, Tasti-D-Lite and TCBY.  Additionally, these businesses from around Harford and Cecil counties provided gift donations for door prizes: Box Hill Pizzeria-Abingdon, Edible Arrangements-Abingdon, Eleven Courses-Lutherville, Freedom Hills Therapeutic Riding Program-Port Deposit, Geneva Golf Course-Street, Klein's Shop Rite-Forest Hill, Mary Kay via Joyce Waller and Twin Silos Restaurant-Street.