Oak Hill

Three juvenile offenders who escaped from the District of Columbia's Oak Hill/Forest Haven youth detention complex near Laurel yesterday afternoon were recaptured within two hours, U.S. Park Police said, though another remained at large.It is unclear why the youths, whom Park Police said were from Oak Hill, the maximum-security part of the facility, were able to walk away from Forest Haven, which is minimum-security.U.S. Rep. Steny H. Hoyer, D-Md., criticized district officials for not acting in accordance with an early warning agreement to notify community officials about escapes.

In early August, four juvenile offenders fled in a friend's car from a halfway house operated by the District of Columbia at Forest Haven off Route 198 near Maryland City. But no oneinformed local officials.That shouldn't happen again under an agreement reached yesterday between District of Columbia authorities and civic leaders from Jessup, Laurel and Maryland City.District officials said they would add Forest Haven to an agreement drafted last March to cover the Oak Hill Youth Detention center, a maximum-security youth prison next door.

West Anne Arundel County residents were angered yesterday to learn that a teen-ager who shot six people at a District of Columbia swimming pool last year and another accused of a double murder were among four who walked away Tuesday from a minimum security youth center near Laurel.The four, who were taken to Forest Haven for an educational program, were recaptured later Tuesday."They're not supposed to be in that facility," fumed Ray Smallwood, president of the Maryland City Civic Association.

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.

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.

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.

The schedule for next weekend's girls basketball Beast of the East Showcase has been revised after a few teams dropped out. The event features some of the best local teams -- Archbishop Spalding, Aberdeen, Digital Harbor, Fallston, McDonogh, Roland Park, St. Vincent Pallotti, South River, Meade and host St. Frances -- as well as teams from Virginia, Pennsylvania, Washington, New York, New Jersey and Colorado. Following is the revised schedule: Beast of the East Showcase Friday, Dec. 9 At St. Frances Meade vs. Woodlawn, 5 Aberdeen vs. Peddie, NJ, 6:45 MATHS vs. Oak Hill, Va., 8:15 Riverdale Baptist vs. Regis Jesuit, Col., 9:45 At Carmelo Anthony Center Hill School, Pa. vs. Princeton Day, 6:30 Coolidge, DC vs. West Branch, Va., 8 Germantown Academy, Pa.  vs. Grassfield, Va., 9:30 Saturday, Dec. 10 At St. Frances Elizabeth Seton vs. Grassfield, Va., 8:30 a.m. Archbishop Carroll, D.C. vs. Damascus, Va., 10 a.m. Holy Cross vs. Robert E. Lee, Va., 11:30 a.m. Forest Park, Va. vs. St. John's-CP, 1 Frederick vs. Regis Jesuit, Col., 2:30 Oak Hill, Va. vs. H.D. Woodson, D.C., 4 Digital Harbor vs. Riverdale Baptist, 5:30 At Carmelo Anthony Center MATHS vs. Hill School, Pa., 9 a.m. South River vs. John Carroll, 11 a.m. City vs. West Branch, Va., 1 Fallston vs. Princeton Day, 3 National Christian vs. Peddie,...

The Breezy Bishop Schowcase has a new name and a new location, but the girls basketball competition should be just as fierce in the Beast of the East Showcase scheduled for the second weekend in December at St. Frances and at the Carmelo Anthony Youth Development Center. This year's event features 44 teams, mostly from Maryland, Virginia, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania, competing in 33 games over three days. Among the top local teams participating: Archbishop Spalding, Aberdeen, Digital Harbor, McDonogh, Roland Park, St. Vincent Pallotti, South River, Meade and host St. Frances.

A record four Baltimore-area players have been selected for the Capital Classic All-Star Game on April 7 at the University of Maryland's Cole Field House.Kevin Simpson of Southern-Baltimore, The Sun's Baltimore City/County Player of the Year; Cardinal Gibbons' Steve Wojciechowski, and Dunbar's Norman Nolan and Rodney Elliott are among members of the Capital All-Stars, a squad oftop Maryland, Virginia and Washington players who will play the U.S. All-Stars.The U.S. All-Stars -- a selection of top high school players from around the country -- will feature Jerod Ward, a 6-foot-9 forward from Clinton, Miss.

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.