Ridge Road

Two teen-agers in critical condition after car accident Two teen-agers remained in critical condition yesterday at Maryland Shock Trauma Center after suffering injuries in an accident Wednesday afternoon near Taylorsville, authorities said. The accident occurred about 3 p.m. when a 1997 Dodge Stratus traveling west on Sams Creek Road crossed Route 27 (Ridge Road) and entered the path of a 1995 Ford F150 pickup truck traveling north, police said. The driver of the car, Johnathan Thomas Stapleton, 18, of the 3100 block of Cardinal Drive, was in critical condition at the trauma center, a spokeswoman said.

I RECEIVED A LOT of feedback about a column that appeared two weeks ago. Bill Perigo, a retired Howard County police officer, offered some insight into Laura Strott's complaints, which appeared in the column Dec. 10 about the intersection of Vollmerhausen and Guilford roads. "I get a kick out of people who say things like, `I dare you to find anyone driving below 50 mph,'" he said. "I dare her to find anyone traveling 50 mph without using ... [some] speed-measuring device. No one can judge speed based on appearance, and ... on a road like Vollmerhausen" which "has a lot of hills and curves, visual perception of speed is deceptive.

ELLICOTT CITY'S David Towle, who believes that "next to the weather, traffic is the best thing to gripe about," responds to comments made in last week's column about the dual right of way at signaled intersections on U.S. 40: "I know what George Spence means. In addition to the problems caused by the dual right-of-way arrangement there is another, and also potentially dangerous, situation at the Ridge Road/U.S. 40 intersection. However, this one is caused by drivers, not the traffic signals.

WHILE THE problems at the intersection of Ridge Road and U.S. 40 and the adjacent entwined interchange with U.S. 29 have raised some concern among Howard drivers, that's not the only area on U.S. 40 to spark comment. George Spence of Ellicott City pointed out another. "Although I'm not 100 percent sure of this, since I can't be in two places at once, I'm pretty sure the traffic light at the intersection of 40 and Rogers Avenue gives two sets of people the right of way at once. People who are eastbound on 40 have a green arrow to make a left turn or U-turn, and people coming from the north on Rogers Avenue have a right turn arrow simultaneously.

OVER THE past month or two, I've received more nominations for additions to the list of Howard County's worst places to drive. U.S. 40 figures prominently on this list. According to David Towle of Ellicott City, the exit from northbound U.S. 29 to Ridge Road is "made worse by those who seem to position themselves in the middle of the road and wait to turn onto Ridge Road toward U.S. 40. Therefore, those that might want to turn right onto Ridge Road from the exit must wait and add to the backup.

Concerned about the prospect of 25 homes on an 8-acre site outside Westminster, residents are lobbying City Hall to prevent development of the property. About 50 people - mostly residents of Chase and Bond streets, Ridgeview Drive and Ridge Road - showed up at the Common Council's meeting Monday to raise concerns about a local company's proposal to develop the so-called Arnold property into a subdivision. "It's going to add more traffic volume to already swollen roads," said Thomas C. Bethune, a Westmoreland Street resident who lives a block from the parcel.

The Howard County Council tentatively approved nearly all of County Executive James N. Robey's proposed $97.1 million capital budget yesterday, but held back on several projects some members wanted to examine more closely. While Councilman Allan H. Kittleman pondered the $2.5 million road proposed for a 25-acre county government office complex in Ellicott City and member Mary C. Lorsung considered using $400,000 in trash collection fees to pay half the cost of a new tax billing system, Chairman C. Vernon Gray knew exactly what he wanted.

A 16-year-old driver collided with a car driven by a Howard County police detective yesterday afternoon in Ellicott City, Howard County police said. The detective, Bernadette Giroux, was turning left at a stop sign at Ellicott Center Drive and Ridge Road about 1 p.m. when her department-issued 1999 Chevrolet Malibu was struck by a 1994 Chevrolet Corsica, which was traveling north on Ridge Road, police said. Giroux, 41, a 12-year veteran of the force, was taken to Howard County General Hospital for evaluation and released, police said.

In Baltimore County Woman, 44, found slain in apartment in Middle River MIDDLE RIVER - Baltimore County homicide detectives are investigating the death of a Middle River woman who was strangled in her apartment during the weekend. Jesse Mae Lovick, 44, of the 1600 block of Gail Road was found by a neighbor in her apartment about 1 a.m. Sunday, said Cpl. Vickie Warehime, a police spokeswoman. Lovick was last seen alive about 1 a.m. Saturday, police said. The apartment showed no signs of forced entry or ransacking, Warehime said.

The crime report is a sampling of crimes in Howard County compiled from police. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 410-313-3700. Clarksville Clarksville Pike: 13300 block. Someone stole a lawn tractor from a shed behind a home April 8. East Columbia Tamar Drive: 8800 block, Long Reach. Someone broke a window to a home March 30 and stole a microwave oven. Stevens Forest Road: 5700 block, Kings Contrivance. Someone stole a van, jewelry, cash, collectible coins and silver from a home April 7. Cradlerock Way: 7100 block, Kings Contrivance.