Quality Control

Browns: Agreed to two-year contract with DT Darius Holland. Chargers: Signed OT Vaughn Parker to five-year contract. CB Charles Dimry retired. Re-signed LS David Binn to two-year contract. Chiefs: Re-signed S Jerome Woods to five-year contract. Named G Will Shields franchise player. Giants: Named Mike Pope tight ends coach. Jaguars: Re-signed LB Lonnie Marts. Promoted quality control coach John McNulty to receivers coach. Jets: Tendered contract offers to DT Jason Ferguson, K John Hall, S Chris Hayes, RB-KR Leon Johnson, FB Jerald Sowell, FS Omar Stoutmire and WR Dedric Ward.

An outdoor fireplace used to be a luxury experienced mostly by the kind of folks who could afford to have a Mercedes in the driveway and designer clothes in the closet.No more. The ambience and romance of outdoor fireplaces have become available to the masses as well as the classes thanks to the chimenea. This handmade portable fireplace with potbelly and chimney was originally used in Mexico as a bread oven until the trendies rediscovered it. Prices typically range from $70 to $350."They are the hottest thing since color TV," says Aradio Zambrano, president of Rustic House stores in Florida.

BaseballDevil Rays: Agreed to terms with P Eddie Gaillard and former Orioles minor-leaguer 3B Scott McClain.Diamondbacks: Invited following to spring training as nonroster players: P Nick Bierbrodt, P Rich Batchelor, P Dan Carlson, P Frank Castillo, P Fernando Hernandez, P John Patterson, P Brad Penney, P Matt Ruebel, P Neil Weber, C Rod Barahas, C Marcus Hanel, C Ramsey Koeyers, C Izzy Molina, IF Desi Wilson, former Orioles OF Pete Incaviglia and OF...

Russell Gearhart Hutter, former quality control manager for Westinghouse Electric Corp. and decorated World War II veteran, died Thursday of cancer at his Catonsville home. He was 78.Mr. Hutter went to work as the quality control manager for Westinghouse in 1959 at the company's plant in Linthicum. He retired in 1985. Earlier, he had worked as an engineer with Baltimore Gas and Electric Co., Bendix-Frieze Corp. and Proctor Electric Co.In addition, he taught courses in quality control at Catonsville Community College and published numerous articles on the subject in technical journals.

Black & Decker Corp. has tapped a General Electric Co. executive to head a corporate effort to improve product quality and save money by slashing waste.Towson-based Black & Decker said yesterday that GE's Carl C. Liebert has been named to the newly created position of vice president/Six Sigma. He will join the company Nov. 1 and will report directly to Nolan D. Archibald, chairman and chief executive officer of Black & Decker.Liebert, who has been at GE for 25 years, was most recentlygeneral manager of the conglomerate's super-abrasives business.

WASHINGTON -- In the hierarchy of American occupations, it falls somewhere between hamburger flipper and truck driver.With a median income of $260 per week and meager, if any, benefits, the average child-care worker toils in an industry widely viewed as requiring few skills and minimal training, little continuity and scant oversight.But those who teach and care for small children will have their day at the White House today as President Clinton convenes the first-of-its-kind child-care meeting.

BALTIMORE COUNTY officials and residents of Randallstown, Catonsville and Loreley have reason to be angry at the state for going behind their backs and considering proposals for private, for-profit methadone clinics in their communities.Several years ago, after a major uproar over such facilities in Dundalk and Essex, the Maryland Alcohol and Drug Abuse Administration promised that no licenses for for-profit methadone clinics -- which are subject to state and federal regulation but require no county authorization -- would be issued without local support.

BaseballRotary Club: Gave Branch Rickey Award to Dodgers OF Brett Butler for excellence in community involvement.Cardinals: Named Mark Grater pitching coach for short-season Single-A New Jersey.Giants: Agreed to terms with IF Bill Mueller and P Dan Carlson. Invited following nonroster players to major-league camp: P Lee Hancock, P Rich Rodriguez, P John Johnstone, C Damon Berryhill, C Rich Rowland, IF Chris Martin, IF David McCarty, IF Eddie Zosky, OF Darrin Jackson, OF Dax Jones and OF Kevin Roberson.

Mason-Dixon Bancshares declares $.125 dividendThe board of directors of Mason-Dixon Bancshares Inc., parent company of Carroll County Bank and Trust Co., has declared a dividend of $.125 per share.The dividend is payable March 15 to stockholders of record as of March 8.The company's 1995 annual report will be available March 21. The annual stockholder's meeting will be held at 10 a.m. April 20 at Wakefield Valley Golf and Conference Center.Names in the newsHerb Weller of Taneytown has been promoted to quality control supervisor at Lehigh Portland Cement Co. His responsibilities include quality control for all raw materials and the manufacture of all cement products.