Tragedy

Editor: I am a resident of Cedarday Drive. I just read your article in The Aegis on-line. I believe that you only have one side of the story and should spend some time and understand our concerns. The county government including Mr. Craig have not been interested in listening to our viewpoint. In fact, his secretary told one of my neighbors that he did not want to talk to "those people!" It seems as though this project is going to go through despite the outcome of the meeting on the 21st.

Twenty-six years ago this month, Roma Foti's daughter, 23-year-old Nina Schack, was one of four crew members who lost their lives when the Pride of Baltimore, a replica of a 19th century sailing vessel, sank in a sudden storm in the Bermuda Triangle. Foti has always found comfort, she says, knowing that a memorial to the lost stood in Rash Field on the Inner Harbor. That's why she felt so let down last fall when she visited the site and saw it was in disrepair. Two panels bearing the names of the dead were four inches out of alignment, a corner was chipped off the facing, and two large cracks bisected a granite base nearby.

It was with great sadness that I saw the photos in The Sun of hunters posing triumphantly next to the carcasses of the animals that they had shot and killed in Africa ("Africa calls adventurous hunters," Jan. 29). Included in the photos were a dead water buffalo, lion, nyala, oryx and elephant. Isn't there a way for people to derive enjoyment from these magnificent animals' existence without causing their often painful demise? In Africa, there are safaris that offer tourists the opportunity to photograph wildlife in preserves and parks in their natural habitat.

News Roundup •••• “Halo 4” got a November 6th release date, announced in completely subtle fashion through a 10-minute spot on “Conan.” Details of the gameplay have already started to surface. To make you feel especially old, it will have been 11 years since the original “Halo” came out. [ Team Coco ] •••• Bethesda released the debut trailer for Arkane Studios' new first-person action game “Dishonored.” Based on the cinematic clip, it definitely looks like a must-play.

The temporary Berger Cookie shortage got us thinking. The temporary shortage of Berger Cookies on store shelves, reported by Mary Carole McCauley, got us thinking about other cookies. The Berger is, of course, is a brand name, but what would you call the style of cookie that a Berger is? It's not what I would call a chocolate top, but what is it? It's tempting to compare it to the Oreo, a brand name that has come to stand in for a style of cookie. But there is a readily available style name -- sandwich creme -- that describes the Oreo and many other similar cookies on the market.

In Steve Kilar's article "Families, neighbors mourn lives cut short" (Jun 15) about the deaths of teenage friends Courtney Angeles and Emerald Smith after they were struck by a hit-and-run driver, he states "Outside Courtney's home, mostly young mourners smoked cigarettes to calm their nerves. " There is no medical proof that cigarette smoking in young teens calms nerves. Implying this may cut other young teens' lives short, though. And trust me, they won't be dying calmly. G.P. Webb

It's been something of a puzzlement as to why there wasn't a barrier to divide traffic going in either direction on the Bel Air Bypass even before the November 2008 collision that took the life of a mother and her 8-year-old son. It would have made a lot of sense to have put a barrier in place years ago when the Hickory Bypass was tacked onto the northern end of the Bel Air Bypass. At that time, and even after the 2008 tragedy, word from the state was there wasn't enough room for such a barrier.

What a tragedy that has occurred in Norway, all because someone sees no value in "multiculturalism," a word that is defined also by religious tolerance and racial equality. This makes me reflect upon our own country and some of the racial comments I encounter from individuals and the divisive rhetoric I hear on our airways. Fortunately, we are a country founded on the principles of equality for all, and these rights are protected by our Constitution and enforced by the court of law. It has taken time to assimilate the many ethnic groups within our society and right the wrongs (some by war)

Texas Rangers star outfielder Josh Hamilton played his part in a custom almost as old as the game itself Thursday night in Arlington, Texas. He tossed a souvenir ball into the stands after a batter hit a foul ball. Shannon Stone, 39, who came to Rangers Ballpark with his 6-year-old son, stuck out his glove and reached for the ball, only to fall about 20 feet and suffer fatal injuries. The second-inning incident left the Rangers shaken. Friday, Rangers president Nolan Ryan, a Hall of Fame pitcher, said he saw no reason to discontinue the tradition of tossing a ball into the stands.

One Halloween, when singer Robin Gibbens was 6 or 7, he couldn't decide whether he wanted to be disco icon Andy Gibb or KISS guitarist Ace Frehley. In a move that would later prove prophetic, Gibbens opted to be both. "I ended up making my dad buy me an Andy Gibb and an Ace Frehley costume," Gibbens said. "I went out that year with Ace Frehley's outfit and an Andy Gibb mask ... Ace Gibb." These days, Gibbens is still mixing hard rock and disco, albeit in a more kitschy way. Gibbens is the lead singer of Tragedy, the world's premier all-metal Bee Gees tribute band.

For some of us, the pain of the dual tragedies of Yeardley Love and George Huguely is intensified by the fact that both children are so familiar to us. Raise your hand if you have spent any part of your child's life caught in the lacrosse whirlwind that sweeps through Maryland each spring. And summer. And fall ball. And the winter indoor league. It is something that ordinary civilians might not comprehend (though ballet parents or horse show parents might sympathize). Lacrosse can be a toxic mix of parental ambition and peer pressure.

Ken and Kristen Sheely have experienced a parent's ultimate tragedy: the loss of a child. Now, through a fledgling non-profit organization, they hope to educate young athletes about brain trauma injuries and possibly spare other families from the pain and suffering the Germantown couple endured last year. Derek Sheely was a 22-year-old honor student and a captain of Frostburg State's football team who collapsed in late August after sustaining a blow to the head in practice. He died six days later of severe head trauma.

It was with great sadness that I saw the photos in The Sun of hunters posing triumphantly next to the carcasses of the animals that they had shot and killed in Africa ("Africa calls adventurous hunters," Jan. 29). Included in the photos were a dead water buffalo, lion, nyala, oryx and elephant. Isn't there a way for people to derive enjoyment from these magnificent animals' existence without causing their often painful demise? In Africa, there are safaris that offer tourists the opportunity to photograph wildlife in preserves and parks in their natural habitat.

If it takes the proverbial village to raise a child, it takes that same village to protect the elderly. Where was Mary Hines' village from July 2011, when her electricity was turned off, until her body was discovered, stabbed, in her burning rowhouse on Jan. 5, 2012? The 84-year old retired teacher was found murdered in a burning house and left for firefighters to clean up the ashes of her human tragedy. If the financially burdened widow were as beloved and as respected by family, neighbors and church leaders as has been reported, did this "village" observe her darkened home and her inability to refrigerate and cook nutritious meals for seven months without a twinge of guilt?

The circumstances that led to the arrest of Robert Richardson III on charges of killing his father were tragic ("No bail for Bel Air teen accused of patricide," Jan. 12). Although many details have yet to be revealed, this clearly was a family struggling with a multitude of social issues in addition to the tragic loss of a mother and wife. As an educator, what I find the most perplexing and disturbing is the fact that the Harford County Sheriff's Department were called to this residence 12 times in recent years, and not one report was made to Child Protective Services.

Each week, we bring you a Q&A with a Ravens player, coach or team executive to help you learn a little more about the team. Today's guest is inside linebacker Albert McClellan. How does it feel to go from undrafted rookie in 2010 to starter against the 49ers on Thanksgiving night? It's like a dream come true. I'm still dreaming right now. I'm not settled with where I am now, but I'm happy and blessed to be where I am now. College career [at Marshall] was great, but unfortunately, I wasn't drafted, so that was a bummer.

Jewish leaders are not unaware of the irony of homeless Baltimoreans congregating at the site of the Holocaust Memorial, despite the discomfort it causes some visitors. As Rabbi Murray Saltzman put it, during the time of the Warsaw Ghetto, the Jewish people were homeless. Moreover, here is a monument to the human tragedy of the Nazi murder of 6 million Jews in Europe, visited daily by the city's most disadvantaged citizens, flotsam of a modern human tragedy of disregard in an economy which has no use for them.

What is happening in these times in the upper reaches of power in Mexico can rightly be described as tragedy. A president lauded not too long ago as the most innovative and successful in decades is today in exile, his brother charged with complicity in the murder of the former husband of his sister, his successor bitterly estranged, investigations continuing into the assassination of his first choice for the presidency, the economy in shambles and armed...

The Penn State student rioters who overturned a TV truck and reacted so angrily at Wednesday night's firing of Coach Joe Paterno picked the wrong villain. The media did not take down their longtime coach, the winningest in college football history. It was the alleged actions of former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, who is accused of molesting at least eight boys between 1994 and 1999, and those at the university who failed to take appropriate action when those claims were brought to their attention.