Unnatural

What does it say about our society when the sports and national news headlines as well as social media are all saturated with reports of a professional athlete's sexual orientation ("NBA player Jason Collins coming out is a defining moment in sports," April 29)? Who really cares? What kind of people care about someone's choice of partners? I don't understand why anyone chooses to tell the world that they prefer one sex over the other. That is a personal choice and only people with too much time on their hands or an unnatural desire to know about everyone else's private business will feel the need to know this information.

* Elmer Kelsey, 74, of Ellicott City, retired:No. You're dealingwith my generation. No. I think it's unnatural. I don't think it's amedical matter. It's a criminal matter. It's a matter of intent. It's a matter of motive.

Dear Mr. Azrael: My neighbor several years ago filled in a low area on their property, changing the contour so that rainwater now drains onto my property. Much of the fill was being pushed past the property line. I dug a drainage ditch along my side of the property line to divert water back where it formerly drained. I did this to stop erosion of the bank between us, which was created 60 years ago by a previous owner, and was not a problem until [my neighbor] filled the low areas of their property.

A former Glenwood Middle School teacher accused of paying a 15-year-old boy to perform sex acts in March was indicted Thursday by a Howard County grand jury.Klaude Krannebitter, 35, of Baltimore was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor and engaging in an unnatural and perverted sex act.He was released in March on a $10,000 bond, officials said.Pub Date: 5/09/99

A 25-year-old Westminster man was detained on $25,000 bond Thursday after he was charged in an indictment with child sex abuse involving his girlfriend's son. David Olin Stinson was charged with three counts each of second-, third- and fourth-degree sex offense and unnatural or perverted practice, and with one count of assault, Westminster police said. Mr. Stinson was arrested after the Carroll grand jury returned an indictment Wednesday. Investigators allege that the sex acts occurred over the past two to three years, beginning when the boy was 12 years old.

"We need to understand what circumstances led to this incident," said an archdiocese spokesman ("Archdiocese investigating priest: He's suspended indefinitely after arrest on charges of indecent exposure," Jan. 24). Celibacy, that unnatural restriction, is forced on clergymen by the male-dominated Vatican. That's what led to these circumstances. Until the Catholic Church understands that it must change, these circumstances will lead other clergy to expose the church to embarrassment as a result of their natural desires.

A Frederick AIDS activist infected with the human immunodeficiency virus has been indicted on charges of sexually abusing a 9-year-old girl, authorities said yesterday.Lloyd Eugene Biggus, 39, was indicted by a Frederick County grand jury on charges including sodomy, unnatural and perverted practices and first-degree assault, Assistant State's Attorney Lindell Angel said.Biggus recently resigned from the People With AIDS Committee of Maryland, a Frederick-based organization he co-founded, according to acting President Stephanie Schwartzbeck.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a class action lawsuit yesterday in Baltimore Circuit Court challenging the constitutionality of a Maryland law that criminalizes sexual relations between people of the same gender.The suit, filed on behalf of five Maryland residents, targets the state's "unnatural or perverted sexual practices" statute.The law, passed in 1916, makes it a felony for lesbians and gay men to engage in oral sex and attaches penalties of up to $1,000 or 10 years in prison.

Question: Can I use the ash from wood stove pellets on my plants? My friends say the glue that holds the pellets together is unnatural and unsafe to use. Answer: If the pellet particles are bound together by lignin, a natural component of wood, as is commonly done, then they should be safe to use. Check the label on the pellet bag. If the label does not answer your question about pellet composition, then contact the manufacturer to...

A 20-year decline in male circumcision has cost the country $2 billion in medical costs that could have been prevented, Johns Hopkins researchers say in a study released Monday. In what is believed to be the first look at the economic impact of male circumcision on the health care system, the Hopkins scientists say that boys who are not circumcised are more prone to sexually transmitted diseases and other health problems over a lifetime that are costly to treat. "The economic evidence is backing up what we already know medically," said Dr. Aaron Tobian, a Hopkins health epidemiologist and pathologist and senior researcher on the study.