Landfill Site

Harford County Executive Eileen M. Rehrmann wants employees of the county Sheriff's Office, who are state employees, to be on the county merit pay system.She says that will eliminate concerns over job security every four years when the sheriff is up for re-election.Rehrmann has asked the county's seven state legislators to draft a law in the upcoming General Assembly session to make the change.The executive provided the legislators with a working draft.LANDFILL COMPLAINTSThree members of the Harford County Council, acting as a subcommittee of the Harford Board of Health, will look into citizens' complaints about the county-owned Scarboro Landfill.

The Department of Public Works has scheduled a meeting on the closed Carrs Mill landfill at 7:30 p.m. May 25 in the cafeteria at Glenwood Middle School, 2680 Route 97.The meeting is an effort by the department to keep the public informed about the drum removal, contents testing, cleanup and remediation plan for the landfill.Carrs Mill is a former landfill site on Carrs Mill Road in western Howard County where about 840 drums of toxic material have been excavated during ground water investigations.

The Department of Public Works has scheduled a meeting about the closed Carrs Mill landfill at 7:30 p.m. today in the cafeteria at Glenwood Middle School, 2680 Route 97.The meeting is an effort by the department to keep the public informed about the drum removal, contents testing and cleanup for the landfill.About 840 drums of toxic material have been excavated during ground water investigations at the former landfill site on Carrs Mill Road in western Howard County.At the meeting, GeoTrans Inc., the county's environmental consultant, will present its conclusions about the site.

A plan to improve the New Cut Road landfill could lead to less contamination and a new ballpark site, according to Bureau of Environmental Services officials.The proposal -- aired at a public forum last month -- included adding protection for ground water and a new gas flare to burn off contaminants at the 40-acre landfill, said John O'Hara, chief of the bureau.The ground water remediation system would add a layer of protection to "minimize the amount of rainfall that percolates and enters the waste," O'Hara said.

While struggling to make the Millersville Landfill comply with stateenvironmental laws, county officials are considering closing the Sudley facility in South County."

The mayor of Westminster plans to spend part of his vacation next week touring a trash composting facility in Sevier County, Tenn.W. Benjamin Brown said at a news conference yesterday that he will videotape the composting facility and show "taped highlights of the process" at the county mayors' meeting Aug. 4.The Brown family plans to vacation at Lake Gaston, Va. Mr. Brown said he will get mileage reimbursement from the city for the distance from Lake Gaston...

Arbor Day 2012 will be recognized by Harford on Friday at 9 a.m. at the Harford Waste Disposal Center (Scarboro Landfill) at 3135 Scarboro Road in Street. The Arbor Day festivities will consist of tree plantings, displays, demonstrations, exhibits, refreshments and a free tree for all who attend. The goal is to plant 1,200 tree seedlings at the Scarboro Landfill site. The Arbor Day 2012 activities mark Harford County earning the Tree City USA award from the National Arbor Day Foundation for the ninth consecutive year.

A Baltimore District judge has levied a $50,000 penalty against a city excavating company and its owner for illegal dumping, the state attorney general and environmental officials reported yesterday.Judge Charlotte M. Cooksey on Thursday ordered M. Edward Suddreth of Glen Burnie and Patapsco Excavating Inc. to perform $50,000 worth of community service projects for dumping construction debris at a landfill in the 600 block of Patapsco Ave.Cooksey suspended a 12-month sentence and a $50,000 fine and instead ordered Suddreth and the company to complete beautification projects during three years of probation.

Joy of teaching marred by disruptive youngsters I am a retired federal accountant who recently joined Anne Arundel County's substitute teacher force. I have enjoyed a fondness for teaching, and since my federal retirement several years ago, I have had considerable experience tutoring elementary school youngsters, principally in mathematics. For my efforts at Rockledge Elementary School, in Bowie, I have been amply rewarded. In June of 1996, I was recognized by that school with a Mentor Extraordinaire Award for my outstanding service both as a mentor and tutor.

Bowing to intense opposition, a Cecil County zoning board has rejected a rubble landfill near Perryville on property owned in part by state Sen. Walter M. Baker and his son.The Cecil Board of Zoning Appeals, in a 3-0 vote Wednesday, denied a special exception needed to build the rubble fill on a 225-acre parcel at Interstate 95 and Route 275.Nearly 600 opponents attended a hearing last week on the project, and several hundred people attended a hearing Wednesday.Cecil...