Stranded

People from all but 10 vehicles that were stranded overnight on snowy roads in Frederick County had been rescued by 2 p.m., the director of Frederick County fire and rescue services said. The last 10 cars are believed to be abandoned, based on initial information, "but we're going to make sure we get to all 10 to verify that's the case," said Tom Owens, director of Frederick County's fire and rescue services. With high winds and whiteout conditions forcing state and county plows to stop running, about 39 cars were stuck on Frederick roads, Owens said.

If you were hoping to escape the misery of Sandy's looming impact on the Mid-Atlantic, it's too late. Major air, rail and bus carriers have canceled most trips into Tuesday. Delta Airlines offered the last scheduled flights out of town Monday morning from Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport, where most airlines have canceled service for the rest of today. BWI officials said late Sunday that it would offer a "very" limited number of flights on Monday. Southwest Airlines suspended service at the airport effective at 10 p.m. Sunday night.

Airline passengers have been willing to put up with an awful lot in recent years. Squished-in seating, roulette wheel pricing, delayed or lost baggage, protracted security screening based on the latest terrorists' crackpot scheme - all were tolerated because to get someplace far away fast, there is no alternative to flying. But holding passengers hostage aboard planes stranded on tarmacs for as long as 10 hours - as though they were just so much cargo - exposed a level of insensitivity to human needs that cannot be excused.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -  There was plenty of blame to go around after the Orioles' 2-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night, but very little of it could be placed on right-hander Tommy Hunter. Yes, Hunter's biggest problem this season has been his inability to keep the ball in the park. But Hunter pitched well against the Rays, falling just one out short of a quality start. He made two mistakes, a pair of solo home runs that - combined with the Orioles' continued struggles with runners in scoring position - proved to be the difference before an announced 18,410 at Tropicana Field.

Their chances were many.Their rewards . . . too few.For the host Towson Generals, stranding seven runners in scoring position in the final five innings yesterday against Elkton proved to be a luxury they couldn't afford.After scoring two runs in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings, the Generals allowed three runs in the ninth and went on to lose their Class 2A, North Region final, 5-2."We just couldn't get the big breaks," said Towson coach Paul Becker, whose team left the bases loaded in the fifth and seventh, and two runners on in the sixth against Elks starter Stefanie Birney.

After being stranded aboard their cargo ship in the Baltimore harbor since July 14, at least 14 Yugoslav sailors decided to head back to their war-torn country today.The other half of the crew was scheduled to stay with the ship, the Dormitor, to help maintain the vessel, according to Rep. Helen Delich Bentley, R-2nd."They grew tired of waiting to see if the court appeal would free them and their ship," Mrs. Bentley said. "They were very anxious, they felt like prisoners."The frustration and anxiety they felt was understandable, Mrs. Bentley said.

A year-old harp seal, found stranded on Assateague Island at least 500 miles south of its natural habitat, was in critical condition yesterday at the National Aquarium.T. David Schofield, a senior mammalogist at the aquarium, said the seal was found Monday, weighing 76 pounds -- about 35 pounds below normal -- and was dehydrated and possibly stricken with parasites. Its condition has improved only slightly since it was found, he said."We're watching this animal closely," Mr. Schofield said.

A Baltimore man was robbed shortly after midnight yesterday after offering to help a man who appeared to be a stranded motorist in Ellicott City, according to Howard County police.The 53-year-old victim told police he was flagged down in the 5600 block of Waterloo Road. He got out of his car and was confronted by the man who demanded money and punched the victim in the face, police said.The robber fled in a small black car with an undetermined amount of cash, police said.Pub Date: 3/24/98

A young male harbor seal stranded this week on a Virginia beach was fighting for his life today at the National Aquarium in Baltimore.The 45-pound animal was reported to be in guarded condition, suffering from pneumonia, malnutrition and worms."

"We can't all be heroes because somebody has to sit on the curb and clap as they go by."-- Will RogersToday, we clap for what one reader calls our "highway angels."In a world where communities grow impersonal, where political campaigns seek to capitalize on our fears, where crime forces us to barricade our doors, it's time to applaud those daily acts of decency we often take for granted.Hail, the Good Samaritan.Each year, hundreds of thousands of motorists break down on Maryland roads.No definitive statistics are kept on the subject but the American Automobile Association averages about 200,000 emergency service calls a year -- and that doesn't include the Washington suburbs.

As long as the General Assembly's top leaders are planning a special session to pick up the state's budget where last they left it, here's another item to add to the agenda: No MTA fare hike unless it's part of a broader agenda to revive the financially-depleted Transportation Trust Fund. Little noticed in all the debate in Annapolis over spending cuts and new taxes was an instruction added to what's known as the BRFA (the Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act), the bill that each year accompanies the budget, that requires the Maryland Transit Administration to raise fares on bus, light rail and subway services every two years to meet a 35 percent farebox recovery rate and keep up with the Consumer Price Index.

On March 12, my wife and I entered Catonsville, via Frederick Road, traveling east to a doctor appointment at 4 p.m. Suddenly, our car was enveloped in a cloud of steam coming from the engine, forcing us to stop on the side of the road. An urgent call to AAA assured us that assistance would arrive in 30-45 minutes. Some 15-20 minutes later, as I was examining the engine, a gentleman, approaching from behind, tapped me on my shoulder to ask the nature of our problem. I assumed he was the AAA service contractor.

The first time Rain Pryor visited the intimate Strand Theater, she knew she was in the right place. "I thought, 'It smells like theater. I'm home,'" says the actress, comedian, writer and musician who has just been named artistic director of the Strand. This 55-seat venue, part of the artistically bustling Station North district, was founded in 2008 by Jayme Kilburn to showcase women - performers, directors, writers, designers. Pryor, who relocated to Baltimore from Los Angeles about five years ago, only recently became acquainted with the theater, but she seems thoroughly comfortable there already.

Two men were given life sentences Tuesday for their roles in the May 2010 kidnapping and rape of a woman who was stranded in downtown Baltimore and seeking help, prosecutors said. Jerome Lee, 29, and Jamal Richards, 28, were convicted by Baltimore juries in November. On May 22, 2010, the men were driving when they saw a woman on North Eutaw Street seeking assistance and they offered to drive her home, according to a statement from the Baltimore City State's Attorney's Office.

As a daily commuter who rides the Maryland Transit Administration's #11 bus northbound in the morning and southbound in the evening, I have to wonder: Could there be a more unreliable organization than the MTA? I have certainly never encountered one. The MTA must put forth a more significant effort to try to keep bus, train and light rail running on schedule than current results reflect. Two months ago, when I waited at a stop for two full hours while as many as four scheduled buses were no-shows, I called customer service - which offered absolutely no help.

The Orioles won't finish the season with a sweep of their perennial bullies, but they still have a chance to make October intolerable for Red Sox Nation. Paced by four homers, including the first two of rookie catcher Ryan Lavarnway's career, Boston beat the Orioles, 8-7, on Tuesday, remaining tied in the American League wild-card race with the Tampa Bay Rays, who beat the visiting New York Yankees, 5-3. With one game left in the 2011 season, Boston needs a win Wednesday and a Rays loss to avoid a one-game playoff Thursday afternoon in St. Petersburg, Fla. The reverse would send the big-money Red Sox home without the playoffs for the second consecutive season.

A blind harbor seal rescued a decade ago from a beach stranding has taken up residence at the National Aquarium's outdoor pool in Baltimore, accompanied by the pup she gave birth to in June.The story of the blind seal, named Clarisse, illustrates a problem facing aquariums across the country -- finding homes for the large number of seals that are found stranded and injured or ailing.Although only seven stranded seals have been tended so far in the National Aquarium's marine mammal hospital, the New England Aquarium has been helping out with hundreds of seals found stranded each year and providing medical care for many of them.

A military humvee, the workhorse of Desert Storm, came in handy in some very different conditions in Western Maryland.Two National Guard soldiers cruised Interstate 70 during the height of Saturday's blizzard, picking up stranded motorists in white-out conditions. Sergeants Randy Hope and Michael Freushour set out from Hagerstown and motored along at 10 mph, making their way toward Frederick.The guardsmen first came upon what looked like a massive accident on the westbound lanes near Myersville just after it occurred about 1 p.m."

After seeing a Saturday night movie, my wife and I had come out of The Charles and were headed for the parking lot. At the corner of Charles Street and Lanvale, coming directly at us, was a good-looking man of about 35. "Uh, oh," I thought. And sure enough, he stopped us and started talking. He said he was embarrassed and hated to do this, but he'd had some bad luck. Could we help him out? Like most people, we have had several such encounters. The most memorable was a few years back, in a parking lot after the end of a concert on the Green in New Haven.

Stefanie and Steve Taylor left their Anne Arundel County home by car with their two children a couple of days before Christmas and headed to Connecticut to celebrate the holiday with family. They planned to spend Christmas with Stefanie's 71-year-old mother and other family in Redding, Conn., and then head home to Arnold on Sunday, well-rested and ready to return to their office jobs in Baltimore on Monday. Then the blizzard hit. "We just want to get out of here," Stefanie Taylor said Monday over the phone from her mother's home.