Joppa

A Virginia man is being held at the Harford County Detention Center in Bel Air after he was arrested and charged in connection with the armed robbery of a Joppa convenience store Tuesday evening, Maryland State Police said. Andrew Martin Javoroski, 22, of the 16000 block of Sheffield Lane in Dumfries, Va., is charged with first- and second-degree assault, robbery, armed robbery, unlawful taking of a motor vehicle, unauthorized removal of property and theft between $10,000 and $100,000, according to Maryland online court records.

The Van Lunen Center for Executive Management in Christian Schools at Calvin College has announced its 2013-2014 fellows and among them is John Petrey, head of Mountain Christian in Joppa. The list includes educators from 22 schools across the United States and Canada. The Fellows program is designed for school heads who seek professional development in their work as administrators of faith-based schools. The majority of participant expenses are covered by the Van Lunen Center, including cost of instruction, airfare, lodging, meals, coaching and access to topic experts.

A Joppa resident surprised a man and a woman burglarizing his home Sunday, and a neighbor then chased the burglar, who dropped what had been taken from the home before getting away, the Harford County Sheriff's Office reported. Sheriff's deputies responded to the home in the 2600 block of Greenspring Avenue West at 12:08 p.m. Sunday for a report of breaking and entering in progress. Upon arrival, they met the homeowner, Walter Verbus, 72, who told them he came home and interrupted a man burglarizing the home, according to a media release from Eddie Hopkins, spokesman for the sheriff's office.

It's been cause for celebration for some in the Joppa area for a couple of weeks, or least since the Harford County government announced that it had abandoned its controversial plans to build a trash transfer station in the community. At the most recent Joppa Community Council meeting, there were congratulations all around after the county government announced it had reached an agreement with Baltimore County to allow Harford County trash to be taken to White Marsh. That agreement eliminates the need for a trash transfer station to be built on the former 22-acre Plecker property on Route 7 near its intersection with Route 152. Harford County Councilman Dion Guthrie received the most praise from the group for the work he did on behalf of his home community to fight the proposal.

The Van Lunen Center for Executive Management in Christian Schools at Calvin College has announced its 2013-2014 fellows and among them is John Petrey, head of Mountain Christian in Joppa. The list includes educators from 22 schools across the United States and Canada. The Fellows program is designed for school heads who seek professional development in their work as administrators of faith-based schools. The majority of participant expenses are covered by the Van Lunen Center, including cost of instruction, airfare, lodging, meals, coaching and access to topic experts.

The Harford County Sheriff's Office is asking the public's help in finding a Joppa man who has been missing since Friday. Kujoe Bonsafo Agyei-Kodie was last seen on Friday, May 25, at about 5:30 a.m. near his residence in the 500 block of Terrapin Terrace in Joppa, according to a sheriff's office news release. Agyei-Kodie is a 37-year old black man. He is 5 feet, 6 inches tall, weighs about 170 pounds and has black hair, brown eyes and a tribal mark scar on his left cheek.

A veteran Maryland State Police Trooper assigned to the Bel Air Barrack was injured after he crashed his cruiser during a high speed chase in the Joppa area of Harford County early Friday morning, state police said. The injuries sustained by Senior Trooper Jon Sawa were not life threatening. According to a state police news release, during the early morning hours of Friday, Sawa initiated a traffic stop of a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt on southbound Route 152 (Mountain Road) near Stockton Road.

Kacie Bawiec has been scribbling stories in notebooks since she was in the third grade. And just two weeks ago, the 15-year-old teenager published her first novel, "Silver Dagger. " The fantasy manuscript, which Kacie wrote when she was in the eighth grade, was picked up last year by Tate Publishing, a small, family-owned Christian-based publishing house that specializes in emerging authors. In its 198 pages, "Silver Dagger" is full of evil spirits, ghostly possession and magical weapons, such as the eponymous blade with its jewel-encrusted hilt, which materializes when Bawiec's characters are enraged.

Taken from the pages of The Aegis dated Thursday, Dec. 7, 1961: Harford County officials were up in arms over the Maryland State Roads Commission's decision a half century ago this week to eliminate the interchanges at Routes 155 in Havre de Grace and Route 152 in Joppa from their plans for a Northeastern Expressway. Harford County had a strong supporter in then Comptroller Louis M. Goldstein. Mr. Gold stein stated, "Are you working for the taxpayers of Maryland or the investment houses of New York?"

Allen Case, a founder of Case-Mason Inc. in Joppa, collapsed and died Dec. 15 as he was leaving his office to pursue one of his favorite pastimes -- goose-hunting on the Eastern Shore.Mr. Case, 64, of Warren Manor Court in Cockeysville drove himself to Fallston General Hospital complaining of a headache and was taken to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where he died of a brain aneurysm.As an organ donor, Mr. Case helped three other patients.A native of Quincy, Mass., Mr. Case was a 1945 graduate of the St. Paul's School for Boys and then attended the Johns Hopkins University, where he joined the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity.

Editor: On Sept. 12, 2011 the Administration of Harford County dropped a bombshell in Joppa with news of a plan to dump, then transport all the county's trash here on a two-lane Route 7 facility. Councilman Dion Guthrie has successfully led the outrage of the Joppa citizens against the use of this poorly situated and overly expensive site. The Plecker property was bought by the county after it sat idle and for sale for years with no takers. With no appraisal, top dollar was paid.

In the imaginary "Big Book of Cliches," Harford County Councilman Joe Woods has made a good case in recent days to have his face next to the entry for the phrase, "Talk is cheap. " Speaking last week at a regular meeting of the Fallston Community Council, the councilman expressed a strong willingness for Harford County to take on the State of Maryland over a requirement that the county levy a per-property fee to pay for stormwater management. The subject of the stormwater fee, because of its many flaws, has been critiqued at some length on this page.

Harford County sheriff's deputies chased a suspect who fled an armed robbery at a liquor store in the Bel Air area on Friday afternoon and later crashed his vehicle on Route 40 in the Joppa area. The suspect, since identified only as a black male, rolled over a white SUV several times after clipping another vehicle turning at Route 40 and Pine Avenue, Eddie Hopkins, a spokesperson for the Harford County Sheriff's Office said. Hopkins said shortly after 4 p.m. that details about the crime and the ensuing chase are still being gathered.

Donna Jean Dean, of Joppa, has announced the engagement of her daughter, Jacklyn Rose Hendrix, to James F. Baumgardner of Lancaster, Pa., son of Larry and Doris Baumgardner and father of Sophie Baumgardner. The bride-to-be is a graduate of Harford Technical High School and Harford Community College and is working on her bachelor's degree. The prospective groom served in the U.S. Marine Corps and worked in security. He is attending Barber School. A September wedding is planned.

A Baltimore man whom police say appeared to be under the influence of alcohol was hit by a car and killed as he walked along Philadelphia Road in Joppa late Tuesday evening. The accident happened around 8 p.m. on Philadelphia Road (Route 7) between Mountain Road (Route 152) and Clayton Road, according to a Maryland State Police press release. Troopers said Jack Franklin Watson, 61, of the 2000 block of Frames Road in Baltimore, was walking in the westbound traffic lane of Philadelphia Road east of Mountain Road, wearing dark, non-reflective clothing, according to the release.

A strong odor of marijuana in a Joppa home where Harford County sheriff's deputies had responded to settle a domestic dispute on Sunday has led to the arrests of a young couple and the seizure of about eight pounds of marijuana, the Harford County Sheriff's Office said Thursday. Deputies responded to the home in the 800 block of Chatfield Road about 12:15 p.m. for a report of a verbal altercation between Michael Allen Brandt, 26, and Julia Michele Leonard, 24, the sheriff's office said.

A mother and her two-year-old child escaped injury Saturday afternoon when a tree fell on their SUV in the 2800 block of Clayton Road in Joppa. "Nobody was injured," a sergeant with the Southern Precinct of the Harford County Sheriff's Office said Saturday evening. The mother was backing her Ford Explorer out of a driveway onto Clayton Road when the trunk of a gum tree across the street fell and smashed the vehicle. The incident happened while it was still a sunny day before a powerful line of thunderstorms ripped across Harford County.

Harford Del. Pat McDonough, along with volunteer firefighters and community groups, will host the annual flag-waving remembrance tribute to the victims and families of 9/11 in Joppa Tuesday on the 11th anniversary of the national tragedy. Flag waving event is open to the public and will take place from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on the Route 152 overpass at I- 95. There will be plenty of free parking at the park and ride on Mountain Road (Route 152). This year the firefighters from the Joppa Magnolia Volunteer Fire Company participating in the flag waving will be seen with a restored 1958 Ward La France fire truck.

Editor: I am writing in response to an apparent dust-up over the use of rap lyrics on a t-shirt at Joppatowne High School. Unfortunately, I did not see the original letter to the editor on this subject, but I can comment on the mother-educator response. It disturbs me to read that a parent and educator would actually condone the use of this particular rap song, or any part of it in a school setting. This so called song contains foul language and atrocious grammar from start to finish as well as the use of the controversial "N" word; though in the so-called acceptable context we have been duped to believe is "artistic expression.

To the members of the Maryland General Assembly who voted for the gas tax increase ("House approves increase in gas tax," March 23), we have a few words. Boo! Hiss! How could you go along with the governor's wishes? He's not a king, you know. When gas prices increase, so will the prices of so many things: food, clothing, etc. This will put an added burden on so many people. How could you allow such a thing? Shame on you! Carolyn and Charles Hicks, Joppa Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts