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A 16-year-old boy was killed late Friday night in a head-on automobile collision on Eastern Avenue in Essex. Scott Andrew Zacot of the 7100 block of Cunning Circle was pronounced dead at the scene after his eastbound 1985 Honda Civic collided with a 1991 Nissan near the intersection of Brinkshan Road. The two occupants of the Nissan, Jason Robert Ochlech, 21, and Joseph Aaron Ochlech, 22, of the 700 block of Oliver Beach Road in Baltimore were taken to Maryland Shock Trauma Center. Information on their conditions was unavailable last night.

With the status of linebacker Ray Lewis undetermined for the 2000 season, the Ravens have begun contemplating options that include replacing Lewis with a veteran when the free-agency period opens Feb. 11, or possibly moving starting weak-side linebacker Jamie Sharper to the middle. Ravens officials declined to comment yesterday about any issue concerning Lewis, who was charged with first-degree murder Monday night in connection with two stabbing deaths earlier that morning after Super Bowl parties in Atlanta.

For all its wealth, Howard County invests little of its money in treatment- programs for the increasing number of heroin addicts who have few places to turn for help. In a county where the median family income is the highest in the state and it is common for homeowners to pay more than $200,000 for a house on a quarter-acre lot, there are no county-sponsored inpatient treatment centers or methadone clinics. In Howard, 342 heroin addicts sought help last year at state-certified treatment centers.

FireWinfield: Firefighters assisted Howard County at 4: 13 p.m. Tuesday, responding to a six-alarm building fire on Main Street in Ellicott City. Time out was unavailable.

In years past, Christopher Overman found school to be an emotional challenge. But now, he's having the school-year opening of his 14-year-old life.Chris is enrolled this year in the just-opened Kennedy Krieger High School for students with learning, emotional, behavioral and physical disabilities."

In a furious fund-raising finish to the mayoral primary, newly filed campaign reports show the amount contributed to the top candidates is pushing $2 million, with business leaders now crossing over to donate to more than one candidate in the tight race.City Councilman Martin J. O'Malley appears to have been active in the period covered by the report -- Aug. 11 through Aug. 29 -- the last filing before the Sept. 14 primary. O'Malley's campaign has brought in $251,000 in the past three weeks, bringing his total to $695,450 since he entered the race June 22, campaign reports show.

Baltimore's broken court system can be repaired, but the real solution to unclogging the system lies in drug treatment programs, according to the coordinator of a group trying to reform the justice system. John Henry Lewin Jr. of the city's Criminal Justice Coordinating Council told legislators, justice officials and the lieutenant governor in a report this week that drug treatment is the best way to solve the court crisis. The council was formed in the winter after four murder suspects and other criminal defendants were set free because of trial delays.

JONESBORO, Ga. -- Just before he was sentenced to life in prison for a rape he did not commit, Calvin Johnson Jr. told the judge that his moment of redemption would come."

Almost every weekday, book-toting children spill from a procession of minivans pulling up to an office building in the heart of Columbia. School has been out for hours, but not for pupils at this bustling Sylvan Learning Center.Similar scenes are repeated across Maryland and the country at thousands of for-profit tutoring sites, from high-achieving Howard County to inner-city Baltimore.Locally and nationally, a rapidly growing number of parents are seeking the help of private tutors for their children, mainly in reading and other basic skills.

Touring Randallstown Elementary School yesterday, Baltimore County school board members came to two conclusions: They would prefer to replace the county's oldest elementary, but a $6.7 million renovation plan will be OK."I think the repairs will work out pretty well," said board member Michael P. Kennedy. "It's not perfect, but I think it will fix almost all of the problems."The board's tour came as a plan proposed last month by County Executive C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger appears to have quieted a community campaign for a replacement building to be built for Randallstown.