Madison

Apropos of the Ku Klux Klan's re-appearance in the news, with its request for a parade permit in Elkton, we found of interest an explanation for Klan membership in this letter to the editor published in the winter 1992 issue of Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History, which is a publication of the Indiana Historical Society:"The reminiscences in the Winter 1991 Traces entitled 'H.L. Mencken and the Indiana Genii,' and 'A Gentleman of the Press in Skirts: Janet Flanner and the New Yorker,' bring back a plethora of memories."

Madison Straw hasn't been at Deep Run Elementary School in Elkridge since last spring, but her presence still is felt. The fourth-grader, who has leukemia, will undergo a bone marrow transplant next month. Meanwhile, a benefit concert is being held for her Wednesday at Ten Oaks Ballroom in Clarksville. Madison's mother, Cindy Straw, has brought in signs and postcards advertising the event, and tickets are being sold in the main office. The concert, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., will feature such well-known local musicians as "blues and boogie pianist/saxophonist" Deanna Bogart, the Columbia Jazz Band, Blue Funk, the indie-folk-rock-pop band Private Eleanor and others.

The first phase of Harlem Park's redevelopment is complete with the opening of Harlem Gardens Apartments in West Baltimore. The four-story, 94-unit apartment building for senior citizens contains laundry rooms, a library, secured entry, two doctor's offices and the only pharmacy in the area. A cafe is also planned. "It's nice," said Laura Madison, 67, who in January was one of the first tenants to move into the complex. Madison considers herself the den mother of the partially filled building, helping other residents with their dishes and scolding neighbors for not properly disposing of their garbage.

A Baltimore Circuit Court jury has convicted a 32-year-old man of a sex offense but failed to reach a unanimous verdict on murder, kidnapping and rape charges against him.The defendant, John Anthony Jones, faces a maximum prison sentence of 10 years after being convicted on a third-degree sex offense.But the jury could not reach a verdict on the most serious charges, which would have given Jones, if convicted, a sentence of at least two life terms. The jury made its decision last night after deliberating for four days.

WASHINGTON -- Amid extraordinarily bitter and raucous proceedings, the federal investigator who examined the failed Arkansas savings and loan with ties to President Clinton told a House committee yesterday that there was a "concerted effort to obstruct, hamper and manipulate" her probe by top government officials.Testifying at the Banking and Financial Services Committee's Whitewater hearings, Jean Lewis, a criminal investigator with the Kansas City office of the Resolution Trust Corp., said she uncovered "rampant bank fraud" when she examined Madison Guaranty Savings and Loan.

Dressed up in her pink jumper with matching hair clips, Madison squirmed in her mom's lap, slid off, danced around - hardly the decorum expected in a courtroom. But when her moment in the limelight before the judge arrived, the 3-year-old was asleep. Reginald Gregory of Bowie stood with Madison draped on his shoulder and his wife by his side, as a judge told him he was officially Madison's dad. "I adore Madison," Gregory, 37, said afterward. He had married Madison's mother, Jenn, 30, in March.

MADISON, Wis. - The college student whose faked abduction led to a huge manhunt shown live around the country avoided jail yesterday by pleading guilty to two misdemeanor charges and accepting a sentence of three years' probation. She will have to pay partial restitution, perform community service and continue therapy. If she meets all the conditions, her convictions would be expunged. Audrey Seiler's appearance in Dane County Circuit Court was the first time she has been seen publicly since she was found in a Madison swamp in March.

IT'S THE phone call you don't want to get, from the person you don't like to hear from. Perched in front of my living room window for 80 minutes, I anxiously waited for Madison's bus to arrive. The phone interrupted my worries. The assistant principal, whom I've known for years, identified herself by first and last name as well as her position. I knew there was trouble. "Is Madison home yet?" "No," I stammered. "Is everything all right?" "There's been an accident," she continued. "All the children are fine, but there is a significant delay.

Hundreds of spectators lined Pratt Street yesterday morning for Baltimore's Thanksgiving parade, a tradition-rich event that kicks off the holiday season. And no one seemed disappointed. The parade, which ran from Eutaw to President streets, featured all kinds of participants, including City Council President Sheila Dixon and Miss Carroll County Pre-Teen, Lauren Anderson. The Oriole Bird, equestrian units, police officers on motorcycles, the Black Rose Twirlers of Hanover, Pa., and a handful of people clad in turkey costumes also took part in the festivities.

Getting to know each other is not something that many mothers and preteen daughters spend time doing.But clinical psychologist Lynda Madison learned that many really would like to do just that."