Mangle

Dorothy D. Mangle, Carroll County schools' longtime director of elementary education, was promoted to assistant superintendent for instruction yesterday, the first time a woman has entered the top tier of school administration.The school board appointed Mangle as one of two assistant superintendents. Vernon Smith was promoted last month to assistant superintendent for administration."Dottie represents the kind of leadership style we [value] -- an aggressive and enthusiastic approach," said Superintendent William Hyde, in recommending her for the post yesterday.

It was one of those loud thumps that made Paul Cross think the boys had knocked over the television. His girlfriend instinctively knew otherwise. Peering out of her bedroom window late at night onto Route 99, Donna West saw orange flames leaping from a mangled pickup truck. "Paul, there's a car on fire in our front yard," she said. Cross laced up his sneakers and ran to the scene -- a decision that would save the 18-year-old driver's life. Cross found Eric Jason O'Brien Jr. of Woodstock unconscious, his torso dangling from his burning 1987 Ford F-150 at Route 99 and Raleigh Tavern Lane.

Carroll County's assistant superintendent for instruction, Dorothy "Dottie" Mangle, will retire this summer after 30 years as a teacher and administrator in county schools. Her retirement will end a five-decades-long string of first days of school for Mangle, who has been "going to school full time" since her mother signed her up for preschool at age 3. "I will have to find something to do the first day of school this year because when I see those yellow school buses on the road, I'm sure I'll be inclined to follow them somewhere, anywhere, to whatever school they're going to," the 52-year-old said in jest.

Congratulations, Renny Harlin. You've successfully exorcised all the horror out of The Exorcist. Exorcist: The Beginning, a prequel to William Friedkin's 1973 masterpiece of horror both psychological and physical, fills in the backstory - as if that were really necessary! - of Father Merrin and how he first encountered the demon Pazuzu. The first film, you'll recall, opens in East Africa with Merrin (Max von Sydow) at an archaeological dig, searching for something mysterious and nefarious.

Soft-spoken and petite, Althea Miller does not at first glance seem to be a likely candidate for lightning rod of controversy.But no small amount of her 16-year tenure as principal of Mount Airy Elementary School has been spent at the center of hot debate over sex education, asbestos and Halloween.Mrs. Miller announced this month that she will retire in June after a 29-year career in Carroll County schools.The controversial issues were not unique to Mount Airy Elementary, but the close-knit community seemed to pay more attention to what went on in their school, said Dorothy Mangle, director of elementary education.

Attention Kmart shoppers: Don't wait until the back-to-school ad runs in your newspaper before registering your children for school.That kind of last-minute action plays havoc with administrators who are trying to make sure they have enough teachers and aides in the right places, said Dorothy Mangle, director of elementary education for Carroll County schools.Every August, without fail, principals report a surge in school enrollment the week after Kmart runs its back-to-school newspaper insert, she said.

Children who lag behind in reading skills in kindergarten and first grade will be getting extra one-on-one help starting this spring through a $250,000 federal grant just awarded to Carroll County schools.The money will be used to provide daily tutoring for 15 to 20 minutes for pupils who are in the lowest 25 percent of the class in reading skills."We wanted to advance those lowest-performing children, so they can exit first grade as competent and confident readers," said Dorothy Mangle, director of elementary education.

Children who lag behind in reading skills in kindergarten and first grade will be getting extra one-on-one help, starting this spring, through a $250,000 federal grant awarded to Carroll County schools.The money will be used to provide daily tutoring for 15 to 20 minutes for pupils who are in the lowest 25 percent of the class in reading skills."We wanted to advance those lowest-performing children, so they can exit first grade as competent and confident readers," said Dorothy Mangle, director of elementary education.

The gap widened this year between the SAT scores of Carroll students who took rigorous courses and those who did not, according to school administrators, who released county and school averages yesterday for the graduating classes of 1999.The countywide average SAT score for 1999 dropped five points from last year. That could be caused by any of "15 or 20" reasons -- including pure chance, said Dorothy Mangle, assistant superintendent.The combined average for the verbal and math portions of the college aptitude test is 1038.

At least four Westminster High School students who say they left a party last month as soon as they realized alcohol was present have been reinstated in their extracurricular activities, after a successful appeal to the county school administration.But a number of other student appeals were denied, if the students had lingered at the party before making an attempt to leave, said Dorothy Mangle, the assistant superintendent who heard about 20 appeals and mailed decisions to students Friday afternoon.

Carroll County's assistant superintendent for instruction, Dorothy "Dottie" Mangle, will retire this summer after 30 years as a teacher and administrator in county schools. Her retirement will end a five-decades-long string of first days of school for Mangle, who has been "going to school full time" since her mother signed her up for preschool at age 3. "I will have to find something to do the first day of school this year because when I see those yellow school buses on the road, I'm sure I'll be inclined to follow them somewhere, anywhere, to whatever school they're going to," the 52-year-old said in jest.

EVERY DAY brings new evidence of the breakdown of Maryland's criminal justice system. Nothing short of a fundamental overhaul will do when the court system in the state's biggest city moves from one paralysis to another, the probation machinery is broken and criminals walk free even after committing heinous crimes. Two years ago in an editorial called "Getting Away with Murder," we urged top public officials to end this officially sanctioned miscarriage of justice. Our repeated appeals fell on deaf ears.

Hundreds of Carroll County third-graders will come home from school on March 21 with jars of food and, farmers hope, a better understanding of where that food comes from. To mark National Agriculture Day, 13 county elementary schools will watch local farmers and agricultural extension agents demonstrate how milk gets from farm to cereal bowl, or how a crop farm is the first step in the production of everything from bread to hamburgers to baseballs. "My focus when I go to the classroom will be bread," said Jean Knill, information officer for the Carroll County Farm Bureau, which offered the program to Carroll County's 21 elementary schools, 13 of which accepted.

A Baltimore public works employee was dragged into a jammed asphalt-patching truck yesterday morning in Mill Hill, then became stuck for two hours as workers struggled to free his mangled body.Eric Williams, 27, was in critical condition last night at Maryland Shock Trauma Center after he tried to clear a chute that sucks in asphalt, then spits it out for patching potholes. He was on a crew working in the 2600 block of Dulaney St. as part of Operation Benedict, a three-day neighborhood cleanup by city agencies.

LONDON -- British authorities ordered a public inquiry into yesterday's fiery collision of two packed trains that killed 26 people, injured about 160 and shook an already beleaguered railroad industry.Mangled and charred cars were overturned, and a plume of black smoke hovered over the scene as the morning rush hour was transformed into a life-and-death struggle with rescuers attempting to free passengers.A temporary morgue was established at the accident site, two miles west of London's Paddington Station.

The gap widened this year between the SAT scores of Carroll students who took rigorous courses and those who did not, according to school administrators, who released county and school averages yesterday for the graduating classes of 1999.The countywide average SAT score for 1999 dropped five points from last year. That could be caused by any of "15 or 20" reasons -- including pure chance, said Dorothy Mangle, assistant superintendent.The combined average for the verbal and math portions of the college aptitude test is 1038.

Although Carroll schools have some of the highest reading scores on statewide tests, some children are starting school lacking the most basic reading skills required to become proficient readers.Using money from a federal grant awarded to Carroll schools in January, teachers have begun a systemwide effort to prevent at-risk readers from falling behind in critical learning years.Teachers have identified beginning readers who need extra help and have provided those students with one-on-one tutors.

Every Monday, Dorothy D. Mangle picks up the telephone and calls each of the 16 county elementary schools.Even though the next schoolyear is months away, the director of elementary schools is trying toget a grasp of the number of kindergarten pupils who will enter Carroll classrooms in September.Parents with children in the school system have been sent kindergarten information forms to fill out and return to schools."We tryto keep a tab on the numbers," Mangle said. "We need to get a feel for the number of kids we will have next fall.

At least four Westminster High School students who say they left a party last month as soon as they realized alcohol was present have been reinstated in their extracurricular activities, after a successful appeal to the county school administration.But a number of other student appeals were denied, if the students had lingered at the party before making an attempt to leave, said Dorothy Mangle, the assistant superintendent who heard about 20 appeals and mailed decisions to students Friday afternoon.

As Carroll County schools begin the second year of a system-wide initiative to help struggling beginning readers, teachers are finding that a greater number of students will need extra help."