Utility Pole

In Baltimore CountyElectricity restored to Chase homes after car crashes into poleCHASE -- Electrical power was to have been restored by late last night to the remainder of 1,500 Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. customers here after a car struck a utility pole yesterday afternoon, said a spokeswoman for the utility.Nancy Caplan, of BGE, said the car struck a utility pole in the 12800 block of Sand Dollar Way near Harewood Road about 3: 30 p.m., knocking out a feeder distribution line. Work crews had to install a new pole and rewire the pole.

PoliceWestminster: A resident of Ridge Road in Finksburg told police Sunday that someone stole a cellular telephone from his vehicle while it was parked at the 140 Village Shopping Center. The loss was estimated at $250.FireWestminster: Firefighters responded at 6: 10 p.m. Wednesday to a utility-pole fire at South Center and East Green streets. Units were out 24 minutes.

The 19-year-old son of Gov. Parris N. Glendening was arrested early yesterday on drunken driving charges after his car struck a utility pole near College Park and he failed three sobriety tests, Prince George's County police said.Raymond H. Glendening was charged with driving while intoxicated and driving under the influence of alcohol, police said. A DWI conviction carries a maximum penalty of a year in jail and a $1,000 fine, while a conviction for driving under the influence could mean up to two months in jail and a $500 fine.

An administrative law judge suspended yesterday the driver's license of Gov. Parris N. Glendening's son, who refused to take a chemical test after his arrest on drunken driving charges in June.The decision prohibits Raymond Glendening, 19, from driving for 120 days, a typical penalty for a first-time offender who refuses to take a Breathalyzer test, according to officials at the state Motor Vehicle Administration. Glendening's license was confiscated at the completion of yesterday's hearing in Beltsville, and the suspension began immediately.

In Baltimore County18-year-old killed when car runs off road, hits utility polePERRY HALL -- One man was killed and a second injured in a single-car accident late Monday, county police said.Shawn E. Polston, 18, of the first block of Chapel Towne Road was killed when the 1992 Chevy Cavalier he was driving east in the 3700 block of E. Joppa Road left the road and hit a utility pole. Matthew Walters, 19, of the first block of Arlen Court was a passenger in the Cavalier and was taken to Maryland Shock Trauma Center, police said.

An infant in a stroller and her mother were killed in Essex yesterday afternoon when a station wagon jumped a curb and crushed them against a utility pole as they waited to cross a busy highway, state police reported.A second woman who was also waiting to cross Route 702 at Middleborough Road suffered serious head injuries, said Lt. Raymond Grissett, commander of the Golden Ring barracks.Police said three occupants of the station wagon -- which had been hit by a sport utility vehicle before striking the pedestrians -- suffered minor injuries.

In Baltimore CountyMinnick elected to chair county's House delegationANNAPOLIS -- Joseph J. "Sonny" Minnick, a Dundalk Democrat, has been elected chairman of the 27-member Baltimore County House delegation in Annapolis.James E. Malone Jr., whose district includes parts of Baltimore and Howard counties, was elected vice chairman, and Katherine Klausmeier, who represents parts of Perry Hall, White Marsh and Baltimore City, was elected secretary. The votes were unanimous.Hereford High exams pushed back because of ice stormHEREFORD -- Last week's ice storm has caused semester exams at Hereford High School to be delayed until Thursday.

A computer analyst for the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund was killed yesterday when he lost control of his car while passing another vehicle on Dogwood Road in Woodlawn and crashed into a utility pole, Baltimore County police said.Officer Roy Jarrell said George William Archie, 49, of the 9700 block of Slalom Run Drive in Woodstock was driving a 1986 Porsche 911 west in the 7400 block of Dogwood Road about 4: 12 p.m. when his auto crossed the double-yellow line while passing another vehicle.

A Baltimore man was sentenced yesterday to seven years in prison with all but 90 days suspended for the auto manslaughter death of his girlfriend in 1996.Circuit Court Judge Francis M. Arnold said he was uncomfortable with a plea arrangement for such a short sentence to be served at the Carroll County Detention Center.Arnold said he wanted assurances that members of the family of Katherine Louise Caltrider, 24, of the 3800 block of Littlestown Pike, agreed that the defendant, David C. King Jr., 22, of Freeland in northern Baltimore County, should not receive a longer period of incarceration.

An 18-year-old Calvert County man died yesterday morning in Lothian after he lost control of his car and struck a utility pole, county police said.Police said Bruce Joseph Brown of Huntingtown died at the scene after his 1985 Chevy Camaro struck the utility pole just before 5: 15 a.m.Brown was northbound on Southern Maryland Boulevard north of Lower Pindell Road when his car veered to the left, police said.Police said he steered sharply to the right, lost control and struck the pole on the driver's side.

The problem:: A smelly utility pole languished in Patterson Park. The backstory:: John Lundquist noticed a utility pole lying in the park across the street from his Ellwood Avenue home, as well as several others on Linwood Avenue, in July. The poles on Linwood disappeared after a few weeks, but "this one across the street just sat and sat and sat." He called 311 to report it. He spotted a tag on the pole indicating that it belonged to Baltimore Gas and Electric Co., so he also called the utility.

Boy, 15, killed when bike is hit by van A 15-year-old Reisterstown-area boy was killed yesterday afternoon when he drove his dirt bike into the path of a van in the street at the end of his driveway, Baltimore County police said. Connor Richard Kohls was riding a Yamaha 125cc dirt bike up and down the lengthy driveway of his home in the 13000 block of Dover Road near Tufton Springs Lane when he entered Dover Road and was struck by a northbound Ford Econoline van about 3:30 p.m., said Sgt. Robert Czawlytko of the county police crash team.

The Q: Kathleen Chance wants to put an above-ground pool in the back of her Baltimore home, but she says that utility lines droop dangerously low through her yard. "The electrical line has been this way for 40 years and has prevented us from doing anything with our backyard," Chance said. "We have tried over the years to get this wire moved, but have failed. And not only does that electrical line cross over the backyard to the utility pole, but we also have four other wires that cross our backyard to that same pole from our neighbors' yards."

Two children and three adults were injured yesterday after two vehicles collided at a Northwest Baltimore intersection while one of them was being followed by police for a traffic violation. One of the vehicles caught fire after it struck a utility pole, police said. Names of the injured were not available. About 5 p.m., at Gwynn Oak and Ferndale avenues in Howard Park, a van and an Audi, which was being followed by police, crashed, and one of them struck a parked vehicle. One vehicle caught fire after hitting a utility pole, and firefighters quickly extinguished the flames.

THE PROBLEM // A Hampden resident says a nearby business doesn't get enough deliveries to warrant a truck-loading zone out front. THE BACKSTORY // Bill Fields said he has been puzzled by a truck-loading zone outside a building on Chestnut Avenue in Hampden since he moved to the neighborhood in 2003. The signs reserve spaces in front of a building on the 3400 block of Chestnut for truck loading between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., but Fields said he has never seen deliveries being made there. "I see nothing taken in. I see nothing taken out," he said.

THE PROBLEM // A utility pole damaged in a car accident remained in place with a cable power box dangling from it for more than a year, even though a utility company had installed a new pole nearby. THE BACKSTORY // Catonsville resident Denise Stanco wrote to Watchdog with a perplexing problem she observed on North Rolling Road at Altavue Avenue, near Catonsville Community Park. A utility pole there was cracked, the result of a car accident more than a year ago. But even though a replacement pole had been installed, the damaged pole was still in place.

An 85-year-old New Windsor woman died yesterday after losing control of her sport utility vehicle and slamming into a utility pole, police said. Maryland State Police at the Westminster barracks identified the woman as Zelma Lorraine Adler. Adler was driving west on Medford Road near Stone Chapel Road about 1:45 p.m. when she lost control of her Honda CR-V, according to police. She drove onto the shoulder, veered back on to the road, then veered off again. The car then flipped onto the driver's side and hit the pole, police said.

A man stormed into a Harford County manufacturing plant yesterday in search of his estranged wife, chased her down and stabbed her along with three other people, the county sheriff's office said. The man, described as a former employee of the Harford Duracool facility on the outskirts of Aberdeen, fled the business after the stabbings, police said. Having crashed the truck he was driving, police said, the suspect commandeered another vehicle before being arrested a short time later. Nine people were hurt in the incident, authorities said.

Career criminal ruling means a 30-year term A 30-year-old Baltimore man received a 30-year prison sentence yesterday in federal court after a judge ruled he was an armed career criminal who also distributed illegal drugs. U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett also sentenced Larry Johnson, to serve three years of supervised release. The suspect was convicted at trial of possession with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine, use of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense and unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted person.

Two people were killed last night when the vehicle they were in struck a utility pole near Sparrows Point Country Club in southeastern Baltimore County, police said. Both were pronounced dead at the scene. Their names were withheld pending notification of family members, police said. Police said the vehicle was traveling in the 8600 block of Wise Ave. shortly after 10 p.m. when for an unknown reason it left the road near Country Club Road and crashed into a utility pole. The impact, authorities said, caused one of the occupants to be thrown from the vehicle, and the vehicle was torn apart after striking the pole.