Stony Creek

Anne Arundel County officials are negotiating to buy 120 acres of waterfront property that would link two other wooded tracts and create a regional 200-acre North County park on Stony Creek.The resulting park on the Marley Neck peninsula would be slightly smaller than the 240-acre Downs Memorial Park in Pasadena. It would preserve a green wedge on the rapidly developing peninsula and offer a refuge in the mostly paved-over Glen Burnie-North County area.The site for the unnamed park has about a half-mile of waterfront on Big Burley Cove and Stony Creek.

Anne Arundel County officials have recovered the body of a 48-year-old man who jumped from a boat into Stony Creek on Saturday and never resurfaced. Charles Ryder, 48, of Glen Burnie, was found at about 12:30 p.m. Sunday after authorities said the man jumped Saturday from a moving Sea Ray vessel on Stony Creek at around 5:15 p.m. Officials from several agencies searched for Ryder in the water on Saturday, but could not recover him by nightfall. Diving teams with the Anne Arundel County Fire Department and the Department of Natural Resources Police began searching for the man early Sunday morning, said Sgt. Brian Albert, a spokesman for Natural Resources Police.

Two boaters in Stony Creek discovered the body of a Severna Park man who was thrown from a speedboat Sunday and drowned, Natural Resources Police said yesterday.The boaters found the body of Mark C. Linton, 38, about 7 a.m. yesterday floating in the mouth of Stony Creek.Linton was thrown from a 23-foot Scarab speedboat shortly after 8 p.m. when the boat bounced through the wake of a passing cabin cruiser at about 70 mph, said police spokesman Richard McIntire.Police and U.S. Coast Guard crews had searched Sunday night and Monday for the man's body.

Two men were injured and one remained missing Saturday night after two separate boating incidents in Anne Arundel County. Passersby picked up two men whose boat had overturned near Thomas Point shortly before 5:30 p.m. Saturday, said Sgt. Brian Albert, a spokesman for the Department of Natural Resources Police. The two men, ages 32 and 39, were taken to a nearby U.S. Coast Guard station, he said. The older man was flown to Maryland Shock Trauma Center with life-threatening injuries.

Anne Arundel County officials are moving ahead with plans to buy waterfront property for a 200-acre North County park on Stony Creek and hope to have a deal within six months.County officials opened negotiations last year with landowner David Heckendorf to buy 120 acres that would be linked with two other strips of land the county owns to create Stony Creek Park. That configuration of properties would give the new park about a half-mile of waterfront property on Big Burley Cove and Stony Creek.

Mount Pleasant Beach residents hope the thousands of clams nestled in the silt beneath neighbor Dan Anthony's pier herald a healthier Stony Creek.Anthony, who has lived on the creek 33 years, said he first noticed the brackish-water clams -- which are half the size of commercially harvested clams -- a year ago.Now, large beds are clearly visible several feet below the green algae-tinted water."

The county has blocked construction of a 120-slip marina on Stony Creek that has already received state and federal permits.County officials say the 3-acre site, where Sterling Homes Inc hopes to build a marina for residents in the Stoney Beach community, does not have the zoning needed for a commercial facility.The developer disagrees. Sterling Leppo, owner of Sterlin Homes, said the County Council rezoned the property from commercial to residential use after he purchased it and had begun construction.

Anne Arundel County officials have recovered the body of a 48-year-old man who jumped from a boat into Stony Creek on Saturday and never resurfaced. Charles Ryder, 48, of Glen Burnie, was found at about 12:30 p.m. Sunday after authorities said the man jumped Saturday from a moving Sea Ray vessel on Stony Creek at around 5:15 p.m. Officials from several agencies searched for Ryder in the water on Saturday, but could not recover him by nightfall. Diving teams with the Anne Arundel County Fire Department and the Department of Natural Resources Police began searching for the man early Sunday morning, said Sgt. Brian Albert, a spokesman for Natural Resources Police.

THERE WAS A TIME around the turn of the century, when Curtis, Rock and Stony creeks were "crowded throughout their length with little resorts much frequented in season," according to a contemporary report.On hot and lazy summer days, competing steamboats ferried city dwellers from Baltimore to those beaches. Revelers came to have a good time -- carrying baskets of sandwiches, cold chicken and deviled eggs.We all know what has happened since: The Curtis Bay area became a base for chemical industry.

A Pasadena woman remained in critical condition yesterday afternoon after a boating collision in Stony Creek near Fort Smallwood Road in Pasadena. Sharon L. Martin, 46, was riding a personal watercraft about 8 p.m. Friday when it collided with a 38-foot powerboat. The four people on the power boat were uninjured, said Sgt. Ken Turner, spokesman for the Maryland Natural Resources Police. Martin was in critical condition yesterday at Maryland Shock Trauma Center. The accident remains under investigation, said Turner, adding that several witnesses were interviewed yesterday.

Michael A. Markowski, a retired longshoreman and longtime Anne Arundel County resident, died April 2 of chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder at Harbor Hospital. He was 83. Mr. Markowski, the son of Polish immigrant parents, was born one of 12 in Baltimore and raised in Locust Point, where he attended Our Lady of Good Counsel parochial school. He was 17 when he enlisted in the Navy in 1944. Discharged a year later, he returned to Baltimore. He worked for more than 40 years as a longshoreman until retiring in 1992.

A Pasadena woman remained in critical condition yesterday afternoon after a boating collision in Stony Creek near Fort Smallwood Road in Pasadena. Sharon L. Martin, 46, was riding a personal watercraft about 8 p.m. Friday when it collided with a 38-foot powerboat. The four people on the power boat were uninjured, said Sgt. Ken Turner, spokesman for the Maryland Natural Resources Police. Martin was in critical condition yesterday at Maryland Shock Trauma Center. The accident remains under investigation, said Turner, adding that several witnesses were interviewed yesterday.

The fireboat in Stony Creek was a bit like having a fire station in your back yard, according to some Riviera Beach residents. It was ideal when there was an emergency, but not so appealing when there wasn't. Deciding the boat was more of a safety liability than an asset, the Sunset Beach Improvement Association asked the Riviera Beach Volunteer Fire Company to remove it this season, which has happened. The volunteer company still has a boat in Rock Creek, which is a good location from which to send out rescue operations and fight fires on boats in the Patapsco River.

People who live in communities along the creeks and rivers of northern Anne Arundel County all share a passion for the water. But a spreading dispute over use of one creek shows that homeowners love their waterfront lives for different reasons.The Riviera Beach Community Improvement Association has asked the state to impose a 6-knot speed limit, about 6.9 mph, on part of Stony Creek, a favorite area for water-skiers and boaters. Association members say that wakes and waves from the water activity are major contributors to beach erosion.

THE CALENDAR KEEPS filling with local events with something to delight every member of the family.Tonight, two events are geared toward younger shoppers.The auxiliary of Lake Shore Volunteer Fire Company is sponsoring a Santa's Craft Fair from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the fire hall, 4498 Mountain Road.Hand-crafted gifts suitable for youngsters to give to family and friends will be on sale. Free gift wrapping is included.Santa will be there for visits, and the kitchen will be open for shoppers to purchase food and refreshments.

A brief in yesterday's edition of The Sun in Anne Arundel gave two dates for a birthday party that The Friends of Pam Beidle are throwing for the 1st District County Council candidate. The party will be Sunday.The Sun regrets the error.Friends of Pam Beidle set birthday celebrationThe Friends of Pam Beidle are putting on an All-American Birthday Celebration in honor of the 1st District County Council candidate's birthday on Friday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.Beidle's birthday is Friday. The party will be held at the Benson Hammond House, 7101 Aviation Blvd.

Dr. George W. Cox Jr., retired professor of secondary education at Towson State University, died April 12 of heart failure at the Collington Episcopal Life Care Community in Mitchellville.Dr. Cox, who was 78 and moved from Wiltondale to the retirement community 2 1/2 years ago, retired in 1979 after joining the Towson faculty in 1963. He taught for three yearsafter his official retirement.A memorial service will be held May 11 at 1 p.m. in the Calvary Baptist Church, 120 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Towson, to which he belonged.

Anne Arundel County officials are negotiating to buy 120 acres of waterfront property that would link two other wooded tracts and create a regional, 200-acre North County park on Stony Creek. The resulting park on the Mdly developing peninsula and offer a refuge in the mostly paved-over Glen Burnie-North County area.The site for the unnamed park has about a half-mile of waterfront on Big Burley Cove and Stony Creek. The chance to buy large waterfront properties is slim everywhere in the county, but especially in North County.