Oak Hill

It's two weeks into spring, but the winter sports season is still going for three area basketball teams. The No. 2 St. Frances boys and the No. 1 Seton Keough and No. 2 St. Frances girls will polish off their seasons with appearances in the ESPN Rise National High School Invitational this weekend at Georgetown Prep's Hanley Center. St. Frances is one of only two schools with boys and girls in the tournament; the other is Virginia's Oak Hill. Jerome Shelton, the Panthers' athletic director and girls basketball coach, welcomed the chance to play in such a high-profile event, the first of its kind.

Officials in Maryland and the District of Columbia have agreed to disagree over the future of an often-troubled juvenile facility in Anne Arundel County that houses district delinquents. In a "satisfactory division of agreement" statement issued last night, the disputing parties said the district government will move forward with construction of a new Oak Hill facility near the existing one on a 40-acre section of a federally owned site adjacent to Fort Meade. Though Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin has long fought to relocate the detention center into the district, the Maryland Democrat characterized yesterday's "agreement" as a partial victory because Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty is now willing to cooperate with federal and state officials about the disposition of the remaining 848 acres of the property.

Three teen-agers with a wire-cutter ripped through the razor-wire fence of a District of Columbia jail near Laurel yesterday, sparking complaints from neighbors who oppose a proposal to build a second jail nearby.Minutes after the escape at 8: 37 a.m., police caught one of the youths, who was snagged and bleeding in the 12-foot-high double-fence surrounding the 188-bed Oak Hill Youth Detention Facility on Route 198, officials said.Guards ran down a second youth in the woods nearby and handcuffed a third near Route 32, said U.S. Park Police, who helped district jail guards in the chase.

George Leach, a 6-foot-10 center from Charlotte, N.C., was expected at Maryland last night for an official recruiting visit. He has pared his options to the Terps and Indiana and is expected to announce his choice early next week."

EMMITSBURG -- The last time Melvin Whitaker Jr. played in a competitive basketball game, he blocked 11 shots to set a record for the Capital Classic. That was in April 1995 and Whitaker, a senior and a McDonald's All-American at Oak Hill Academy, thought his next significant game would be that fall as a member of the team at the University of Virginia.Today, nearly four years later, the 6-foot-10 center from Raleigh, N.C., gets to play again as a 22-year-old freshman for Mount St. Mary's.

After years of paying fines because of the condition of Oak Hill, the maximum security youth jail near Laurel, juvenile justice officials in the District of Columbia say they are getting serious about fixing up the place.They are painting, have hired a chef, and are adding 45 guards and counselors, social workers, clerks and a drug-sniffing dog as part of their plan to make the jail livable.But even those changes are designed only to improve basic standards at the 16-acre compound, which is part of a larger federal tract at Route 198 and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway near the National Security Agency, while District officials decide what to do about it.They say they want a new, state-of-the-art jail for youths, but aren't sure whether to build it on the 1,000 acres that the District acquired from Fort Meade in 1923.

After years of paying fines because of the condition of Oak Hill, the maximum security youth jail near Laurel, juvenile justice officials in the District of Columbia say they are getting serious about fixing up the place.They are painting, have hired a chef, and are adding 45 guards and counselors, social workers, clerks and a drug-sniffing dog as part of their plan to make the jail livable.But even those changes are designed only to improve basic standards at the 16-acre compound, which is part of a larger federal tract at Route 198 and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway near the National Security Agency, while District officials decide what to do about it.They say they want a new, state-of-the-art jail for youths, but aren't sure whether to build it on the 1,000 acres that the District acquired from Fort Meade in 1923.

Navy Fireman Jason C. Ferguson and his shipmates have been awarded the Navy Unit Commendation for supporting the search and recovery efforts of TWA Flight 800 while assigned to the USS Oak Hill.The Oak Hill is a dock landing ship that was called on to assist the National Transportation Safety Board to recover crash victims and wreckage of the plane.The award commends the ship and its crew for flawless and safe work in a professional manner.A 1994 graduate of Westminster High School, Ferguson joined the Navy in July 1995.

The Rev. James Edward Thomas had a simple way of communicating with troubled youths at the Oak Hill center in Laurel. He would sit them down, look them straight in the eye and listen to them."

For St. John's at Prospect Hall from Frederick, the mix of good inside and outside basketball proved the winning recipe nTC against the No. 1 team in the country last night.Joe Fowlkes scored 21 points -- 15 on three-pointers -- and Nate James added 19 points with 12 rebounds to help St. John's at Prospect Hall, ranked fifth in the nation by USA Today, defeat No. 1 Oak Hill (Va.), 65-46, in the championship game of the Charm City Classic's Northwest Bracket before a crowd of 3,200 Loyola College.

College basketball O'Neill, former interim coach at Arizona, takes over at USC Kevin O'Neill returned to the college ranks Saturday when he was announced as Southern California's basketball coach, taking over from Tim Floyd. Floyd suddenly resigned June 9 amid allegations that he paid to have O.J. Mayo delivered to the Trojans. O'Neill, 52, a defense-oriented coach, was an assistant this season with Mayo's NBA, the Memphis Grizzlies. O'Neill led the Toronto Raptors to a 33-49 record in 2004 and had stints with the New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers.

ROCKVILLE -Seton Keough and St. Frances were the top two girls basketball teams in the Baltimore metro area this season, and in Saturday's inaugural ESPN RISE National High School Invitational, the Gators and Panthers showed they can also compete with some of the best programs in the nation. In the first game, No. 4 seed St. Frances led No. 1 seed Riverdale Baptist for more than three quarters before the Crusaders made a late run and escaped with a 57-51 victory at Georgetown Prep's Hanley Center.

It's two weeks into spring, but the winter sports season is still going for three area basketball teams. The No. 2 St. Frances boys and the No. 1 Seton Keough and No. 2 St. Frances girls will polish off their seasons with appearances in the ESPN Rise National High School Invitational this weekend at Georgetown Prep's Hanley Center. St. Frances is one of only two schools with boys and girls in the tournament; the other is Virginia's Oak Hill. Jerome Shelton, the Panthers' athletic director and girls basketball coach, welcomed the chance to play in such a high-profile event, the first of its kind.

1.9 Seconds by which Loyola's John Davenport broke his home track's record in the 500 meters last week. His record: 69.0 seconds. 4 Oak Hill (Va.) girls basketball players who are 6 feet 3 or taller. Still, Western stayed close before losing, 59-53, at Saturday's Breezy Bishop Showcase. 8 Three-pointers scored by Lake Clifton's Jason Sharp in Saturday's 65-47 win over Woodlawn at the City College Alumni Mixer.

Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold yesterday urged the state attorney general to halt the District of Columbia's construction of a $42 million juvenile detention center in Laurel, arguing that the city did not get state permission to proceed. Noting the conclusion of his legal staff, Leopold said in a news release that the District of Columbia is prohibited from rebuilding Oak Hill Youth Center without written consent from the secretary of juvenile services, and that could be grounds to sue. Construction on the 888-acre wooded tract just south of Fort Meade began in September.

Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin told Anne Arundel County government, civic and business leaders yesterday that he has not abandoned hope of moving the District of Columbia's juvenile detention center to the city, even as D.C. officials push for reconstruction near the existing site abutting Fort Meade. In the closed-door meeting at the Maryland City fire station, according to several people who attended, Cardin said he is soliciting the help of the O'Malley administration and congressional colleagues to revive his stalled legislation to eject the Oak Hill Youth Center from the 888-acre site in Laurel and split the land between Anne Arundel County and the National Security Agency.

Officials in Maryland and the District of Columbia have agreed to disagree over the future of an often-troubled juvenile facility in Anne Arundel County that houses district delinquents. In a "satisfactory division of agreement" statement issued last night, the disputing parties said the district government will move forward with construction of a new Oak Hill facility near the existing one on a 40-acre section of a federally owned site adjacent to Fort Meade. Though Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin has long fought to relocate the detention center into the district, the Maryland Democrat characterized yesterday's "agreement" as a partial victory because Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty is now willing to cooperate with federal and state officials about the disposition of the remaining 848 acres of the property.

Anne Arundel County's chief executive said he was surprised to learn yesterday that work is imminent on a new 60-bed District of Columbia facility for delinquents near the site of its troubled Oak Hill juvenile prison in Laurel - despite a U.S. Senate proposal that would move it to Washington. County Executive John R. Leopold was to meet with Washington Mayor Adrian M. Fenty to discuss the future use of the land when he learned of the new 60-bed building to be constructed. It will replace the decrepit 200-bed building on the other side of the nearly 900-acre parcel.

Within a day of the introduction of congressional legislation to close the crumbling Oak Hill Youth Center near Fort Meade, key Anne Arundel County officials are calling for using half of the valuable property as a West County regional park. County Executive John R. Leopold said he also supports some form of development component on the nearly 900 acres controlled by the District of Columbia. "A regional park would be a positive and attractive use of the property," said Leopold, who took steps last month to capture two other large parcels of open space for parkland, He said that would be "the lion's share of that property, leaving open the option over a small portion for other uses."

With a higher-ranking post in Congress and the support of Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin reintroduced legislation yesterday to close the Oak Hill Youth Center in Laurel. Under the legislation, Anne Arundel County and the National Security Agency would split the 900-acre parcel adjacent to Fort Meade and controlled by the District of Columbia. Land on the northern side of the Little Patuxent River would be used as a security buffer abutting the Army post, and the southern side would be designated mostly for parkland.