Miss Maryland

ELDERSBURG - Madeleine Johnson, 15, an honor roll student at Liberty High School, will compete in the Miss Maryland Teen USA pageant Oct. 29-30 at the Marriott Bethesda Conference Center. Johnson has been a varsity cheerleader for two years, is a member of Liberty's magic and varsity clubs and is a recipient of the President's Academic Achievement Award. She recently contracted to model for the January/February issue of Inside Cheerleading magazine and will travel to Atlanta.

Dirty, used oil promises to bring some badly needed jobs to Baltimore, one recycling company says. But energy-saving light fixtures aren't proving to be the growth business that another company thought they were — at least not yet. FCC Environmental, a Houston-based company, recently announced plans to build a $50 million plant in Fairfield to recycle used motor oil, hiring 30 people to reclaim a waste normally burned in industrial boilers....

Mary Leona Gage, the 1957 Miss Maryland pageant winner who was Miss USA for only a day before officials stripped her of her title because she was a married mother of two, has died in Los Angeles at 71. A son, Robert Kaminer, told the Associated Press Saturday that Gage died of heart failure at a Sherman Oaks hospital Tuesday. Gage was the only Marylander ever selected as Miss USA. And, like beauty-pageant contestants Vanessa Williams and Carrie Prejean decades later, she became famous after a pageant scandal.

Cecil County Elkton Woman dies of injuries from fire An Elkton woman died yesterday of injuries she suffered during a fire at her home Wednesday. The state fire marshal's office says Kathie Wilson, 54, died yesterday morning at the burn unit at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. It started in a sofa in the living room of Wilson's mobile home. Neighbors found Wilson lying on her kitchen floor after the fire broke out early Wednesday.

A former Miss Maryland and spokeswoman for state agencies is the new special assistant to County Executive John R. Leopold, with her responsibilities including communications, media and policy, he announced yesterday. Marina Harrison, 26, began her job Monday. She will represent Leopold in the community and produce the weekly TV show Anne Arundel County Week in Review on public access Channel 98. Her salary is $70,000. A 1999 graduate of Meade High School, she served as the student member of the school board her senior year, and graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park.

State landscapes and landmarks are the subjects of a new exhibit at Slayton House Gallery. Maryland Wanderings features watercolors and photographs by Bonita Glaser, Audrey Hopkins and Natalie Harvey. Maryland Wanderings opens today and runs through June 9 at Slayton House Gallery. There will be a reception with live music 3 p.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. The gallery is at Wilde Lake Village Green in Columbia. Hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Fridays and 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays. For more information, call 410-730-3987.

Kimberly Lechlider, 19, of Laytonsville was named Miss Maryland Agriculture 2006 in a competition Friday night at the State Fair in Timonium. Lechlider, a 2005 graduate of Damascus High School who attends the University of Maryland, College Park, earned a $9,000 scholarship along with the title. She was selected from among 23 contestants. As Miss Maryland Agriculture, she will meet with fairgoers and award prizes at the fair, which runs through Sept. 4. In addition, Lechlider, who is an active member of the Montgomery County 4-H Program, Damascus Livestock Club and Montgomery County Agriculture Fair, will participate in a variety of activities associated with Maryland agriculture throughout the year.

Three weeks of primping, praying and preparing came down to lights, camera, action last night as the Miss USA 2006 pageant aired live from 1st Mariner Arena, and 51 hopeful contestants were narrowed to one lucky winner - Tara Elizabeth Conner, Miss Kentucky. "I think the stars were in my favor tonight," said Conner, 20, adding that her confidence and strength likely impressed the judges. Conner, the first Miss USA from Kentucky, also said she was proud to "represent the South." Her crown was assured when the hosts announced that her lone remaining rival, California's Tamiko Nash, 26, was first runner-up.