North County High

On school days, Daniel Fluharty arrives at North County High School between 5:30 a.m. and 5:45 a.m. At 6 a.m., he opens his cafe, and teachers start trickling in. "We have an actual teachers' lounge, but this is more calming," said Mike Paczkowski, a social studies teacher who regularly enjoys coffee and a few minutes of conversation in the cafe before school starts. North County has always sold coffee and other treats at its school store, but at the beginning of this school year, Fluharty, chairman of the school's business department, converted the space to a convivial cafe, called the Knight's Nook, and added a travel information center that's run by students.

Ryan Callahan's 100 rushing yards were his fewest in a game this season, but he scored four touchdowns to lead No. 13 Old Mill to a 37-8 rout of visiting North County in the Class 4A East regional semifinals last night. It was the 22nd consecutive game in which Callahan has rushed for 100 yards or more and the 25th time in his 33-game career. He came into the game with 1,595 yards rushing and now has an Anne Arundel County career rushing record of 4,895 yards. Callahan's four touchdowns gave him 30 for the season and 83 in his career, three shy of the state record shared by two players.

Anne Arundel Woman admits stealing from bank A bank teller manager from Odenton pleaded guilty in federal court in Greenbelt Tuesday to embezzling more than $35,000 from the Wachovia Bank in Laurel. Theresa Williamson, 40, began working at the bank in 2002, according to court documents. Over two years, she transferred nearly $36,000 from a vault to her checking account, prosecutors said. The transactions generally involved between $1,000 and $2,000 each. She would create a "miscellaneous cash out ticket" to balance the bank's records, documents say. Because the bank rarely audited the vault, the crime was not discovered until Sept.

A North County High School junior has become one of the first in the nation to reach the top ranks of college-bound students on the new SAT. Nathan L. Giles, 16, of Linthicum discovered last week that he'd scored a perfect 2,400 on the new SAT administered in March. He is one of five students in Maryland and 107 nationwide to achieve the score. "I pretty much didn't believe it," Giles said. "I figured I would wait for the paper in case they made a mistake." The College Board, which administers the college entrance exam, changed its format this year, adding an essay and other components to the standard lineup of math and verbal multiple-choice sections.

After a series of weapons-related incidents at North County High School, school system officials and parents have begun to debate publicly several safety issues, including campus security and the impact of students from other districts who illegally attend county schools. Last month at the Glen Burnie school, a 17-year-old girl attempted to stab another student, two students brought knives on campus in separate instances, and another brought an unloaded BB gun. School officials say they have stepped up security measures and communication with students in an attempt to address safety and discipline concerns.

Contest will let students conduct mock council meeting Area high school students will participate in this year's "County Executive/County Councilperson for a Day" and model government program. Eight selected juniors will conduct a mock County Council meeting on March 15 before a regularly scheduled one. The contest is open to all 11th-grade public and private school students living in the county. Entrants must submit a one-page essay describing what they would hope to accomplish if given the chance to serve as county executive or as a County Council member.

C. Milton Wright High School won second place at the Maryland State Regional cheerleading competition yesterday. More than 1,500 people watched Wright and Aberdeen High School battle it out against 14 varsity cheerleading teams for the state title at the Harford County Technical High School. North County High School placed first in the competition, followed by C. Milton Wright, which won the Harford County winter cheerleading competition Feb. 1. "We had an awesome day," Wright coach Debbie Baker said yesterday.

Classes at North County High School in Glen Burnie were canceled yesterday because of a bomb threat that turned out to be groundless, authorities said. Students were evacuated to the football stadium after the threat was phoned in at 7:40 a.m., about 20 minutes into the school day, said Jane Beckett-Donohue, a school system spokeswoman. Authorities could not identify the caller. Officials decided to shut down the school about 10:30 a.m. after police bomb-sniffing dogs detected a suspicious scent emanating from a locker.

Value City of Glen Burnie, the American Cancer Society and Phi Beta Sigma will sponsor a Cancer Awareness Day observance from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. The Cancer Awareness Day event is part of the American Cancer Society's collaboration with the fraternity's national project, Sigma's Waging War Against Cancer. The event is open to the public. Value City is at 7700 Ritchie Highway, Glen Burnie. Information: Phi Beta Sigma, 410-669-8683; or Value City, 410- 553-6500. People Honored: Donald Smith of Glen Burnie was honored by the Maryland Transportation Authority for his outstanding job performance last year.

2 students charged with bringing gun to North County High Two freshmen at North County High School in Glen Burnie were charged yesterday with bringing a handgun to school, Anne Arundel County police said. It was the second such incident this month in the county. Police said a 14-year-old female student showed a loaded .38-caliber revolver to several other students at North County High yesterday morning. The students reported the incident to administrators, who called police. The girl told officers that her 15-year-old boyfriend had given her the gun "for protection" after he had a dispute with other students, said police spokesman Charles Ravenell.