Samaritan

MOUNT GERIZIM, Israeli-Occupied West Bank -- The chants abruptly ended and flashing knives slit the throats of 40 sheep. Then, the gathered Samaritans reached into the blood to smear their faces, a red badge to prove they still survive after 3,000 years.The sacrifice last Sunday on this Nablus mountain, where Samaritans believe Adam met Eve and Abraham readied to kill Isaac, marked the start of Passover for the ancient sect.The violent nature of the old ceremony contrasts with the quiet adaptability of modern Samaritans that has helped them survive in a land torn by hatreds.

Good Samaritan Hospital yesterday agreed to join two other hospitals in the Helix Health System, creating the largest hospital network in the state after Johns Hopkins and paving the way for the group to develop a full range of medical services.In addition to Good Samaritan, Helix includes Union Memorial Hospital and Franklin Square Medical Center, and a panoply of businesses and services ranging from apartments for the elderly to rehabilitation beds.The new system, which would have estimated 1994 revenues of $420 million, serves an area covering the northern and eastern parts of Baltimore and Baltimore County, Harford County and the southern portion of Cecil County.

Sometimes I feel like the desk sergeant who's always answering the phone. (Ring) Yeah. You want to report what? A good Samaritan? What's your name, ma'am? Deborah Bradford. OK, what happened?You were on I-95 southbound from the city. You got a flat. You had your 2 1/2 -year-old son, Christopher, with you. You pulled over and called for help on your CB. A guy pulled behind you in a truck. He got out and fixed your tire in the freezing cold. You offered him five bucks, but he turned it down.

There was once a Samaritan traveling the road from Jerusalem to Jericho who found someone lying by the highway, badly beaten and left for dead.Samaritans were good neighbors and noted for social responsibility, unlike priests and Levites and others who minded their own business and avoided getting involved. So when the Samaritan came across this victim of violent crime lying by the roadside he knew exactly what to do: He starting wringing his hands.''Do I have a strong personal interest in helping this stranger?

A 30-year-old Shady Side man was robbed of his 1971 Mercury on Sunday by a man who said his car had broken down and asked for a ride, then claimed he had a gun and demanded the car, county police said yesterday.David Alfred Patton of the 5400 block of Shady Side Road was getting gas at the Paceway store in the 5500 block of Muddycreek Road at 8:30 p.m. when the man approached him and asked for a ride.Mr. Patton agreed. But during the ride, the man told him he had a gun and demanded the car. After Mr. Patton stopped the car and got out, the man drove off.Store manager robbed while making depositThe manager of an Annapolis convenience store was robbed of his bank deposit bags early Thursday morning, county police reported.

Celebrating the 25th anniversary of its opening, Good Samaritan Hospital announced plans to improve health care for the needy in its Northeast Baltimore area and donated $1.5 million to the Johns Hopkins medical school to endow a chair in physical medicine and rehabilitation.The money for both comes from Good Samaritan's endowment created 74 years ago with a bequest from department store owner Thomas O'Neill to build a hospital reserving 20 free private beds for "people of moderate circumstances."

A Good Samaritan who stopped to help a stranded motorist on the Baltimore Beltway near the Baltimore-Annapolis Boulevard exit early yesterday was pistol-whipped and robbed of $260, county police said.According to police, Michael A. Brendel, 24, pulled over to help the motorist about 1 a.m. As Mr. Brendel, of the 2700 block of Wilkens Avenue, connected jumper cables to the battery of his car, the motorist smacked him with a gun and demanded his money.Mr. Brendel gave him the money and the motorist got back into his car -- a dark-colored Ford Thunderbird -- and drove west.

A Guilford man has been indicted by a Howard County grand jury on nine charges in connection with an attempted rape Aug. 31 that police said was thwarted by three Good Samaritans who subdued the attacker until officers arrived.Thurman Alexander Moore, 47, was indicted on charges of first-degree sexual offense, assault with intent to rape, daytime housebreaking, assault, battery, and two counts each of third-degree sexual assault and perverted sexual practices.The indictment by grand jury Thursday transfers Moore's case from Howard District Court to the county's Circuit Court.

The concept of the Good Samaritan often seems on a par with Chessie the Bay Creature: You've heard of the character but believe it is a figment of someone's imagination.Too often, a neighbor's concerns are not our own. We shrink from getting involved even when our help is needed. Alienation is so widespread it may well be a national psychic wound.Then an item arises that suggests hope. A Guilford woman last Tuesday was rescued from an attacker who had entered her home in mid-afternoon and threatened to rape her and kill her infant.