Tail

Charles Joseph "Jeff" Croghan, a World War II B-24 tail gunner who later became a Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Co. supervisor, died Mondayof liver failure at Stella Maris Hospice in Timonium. He was 84. Mr. Croghan was born in Baltimore and raised on McElderry Street. He was a 1942 graduate of Polytechnic Institute. He was drafted into the Army Air Forces in 1943, and after being trained as a gunner, he joined the 450th Bombardment Group of the 15th Air Force at Manduria, Italy. He was a tail gunner aboard Satan's Gal, a B-24 Liberator bomber, whose crew consisted of four officers and six enlisted men, and he flew on 50 missions over Nazi-occupied Europe from the base in Manduria.

In Baltimore's long history of hosting traveling theater productions, it's possible that a cast has never been so delighted to pull into town as the one that arrived, with a yelp, this week. Has a performer ever literally jumped for joy and bounded down the steps of a tour bus? Has anyone actually quivered in anticipation, shaking from head to tail? And, in the storied shadow of the Hippodrome, has an artist, in oblivious contentment, ever relieved himself right on the cold, wet sidewalk?

The abundance of deer around Baltimore's Loch Raven Reservoir is no mere nuisance. It has damaged the forest, wiping out habitat for other species and threatening the region's drinking water supply. Under those circumstances, limited hunting on the city-owned property is not only a reasonable but also an overdue decision. Authorities in Baltimore and Baltimore County plan to allow seasonal bowhunting on the northern portions of Loch Raven beginning in mid-September and then employ licensed professional deer hunters to conduct a closely supervised and targeted harvest of animals in the southern areas early next year.

Here were the facts: Subject had fled in panic two days earlier. Unresponsive to repeated calls. Known to fear men - and Styrofoam packing peanuts. No question, it was a case for Laura Totis and her trusty sidekick, Chewy, she of the neon sense of smell. If these pros couldn't solve this case, maybe no one could. Pet detective and German shepherd pulled into a Reisterstown cul-de-sac at the back end of dusk.

While Tiger Woods' quest for a Grand Slam was nipped in the bud by South African Trevor Immelman at the Masters, a much more quiet supremacy continued elsewhere in the golf world. Lorena Ochoa, the 26-year-old Mexican superstar, was lapping the field at the Corona Championship in Morelia, Mexico. She won the tournament at 25-under-par - 11 strokes better than the second-place finisher. It also qualified her for the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame, although she can't be inducted until she has been on the tour for 10 years - which for her would happen in 2012.

OH, God, I'm so excited. I'm getting a new tail!" These were the first words out of the mouth of the lovely Sierra Boggess when I met the star of Broadway's big hit, The Little Mermaid, at the Disney offices on Manhattan's Seventh Avenue. Miss Boggess is a true child of show biz. She was a skating phenom as a kid -- Dainty June on ice -- and was plucked from the lavish Las Vegas production of Phantom of the Opera to become the star of Mermaid. She is not, despite her experience, a tough cookie, just ... appetizingly chewy.

A Baltimore group dedicated to rescuing abused and abandoned dogs and cats has been selected to foster three pit bulls formerly housed at kennels in rural Virginia owned by suspended NFL quarterback Michael Vick, who was convicted of federal dogfighting charges. The dogs have been taken to Maryland and are being housed with various "foster families," according to members of Recycled Love Inc., a volunteer nonprofit organization. The locations of the dogs are not being made public for fear that someone interested in having a "Vick dog" might steal them.

Why did players on defense like Terrell Suggs and Ray Lewis continue to talk trash when the Ravens were getting their tails handed to them? Stanley Because they're childish. Here the Ravens were getting beaten 35-0, and Suggs does a dance after sacking Ben Roethlisberger. I understand football is an emotional game. I don't mind the spikes and the end zone dances. I can even take the trash talking, especially when a team is playing well. But the Ravens were getting their butts kicked. The old-time Steelers and the announcers were joking all over them, and the Ravens kept giving them more ammunition.

Patricia Eikenberg Veterinary technician Advanced Veterinary Complex, Reisterstown Salary --$23,000 Age --48 Years on the job --10 How she got started --Immediately out of high school, Eikenberg went to work as a secretary. Looking for a job change, she decided in 1998 to go back to school to become a veterinary technician. She graduated from the Community College of Baltimore County's Essex campus. As part of the process to become registered by the state, Eikenberg passed the Veterinary Technician National Examination in 2004.

FINKSBURG -- The start of one of Maryland's most popular hunting seasons gave state wildlife managers their first look at the effects of a deadly virus on the white-tailed deer population. Biologists were at taxidermy and butcher shops yesterday for the first day of the two-day-early muzzleloader season to look at the health of deer and to ask hunters whether they have seen signs of epizootic hemorrhagic disease, a naturally occurring outbreak that happens every year on the East Coast.