Van Gilder

Abingdon man charged with child abduction An Abingdon man was arrested Wednesday at Bel Air Middle School and has been charged with one count of child abduction. He is being held without bond, Harford County authorities said. Gary Linwood Williams, 24, was seen in the school parking lot around dismissal time with a 12-year-old sixth-grader, schools spokesman Donald R. Morrison said. Morrison said Williams had befriended the youngster that afternoon. Williams, who is accused of trying to sign the pupil out at school dismissal, was taken to the school office, where Bel Air police arrested him, Morrison said.

Firm to conduct gas burn tomorrow Aero Energy, a petroleum distribution company in Havre de Grace, will conduct a controlled burn of propane gas from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. tomorrow at its plant at 1751 Pulaski Highway. The county Environmental Health Department said it has issued the necessary permits. The company is removing a 30,000-gallon storage tank from service for maintenance and inspection. Although the liquid propane has been removed, residual vapor must be burned off to make the tank safe for mechanics, company officials said.

Twenty-five crime fighters from Anne Arundel County will be honored tomorrow by the lieutenant governor at the 20th annual Governor's Crime Prevention Awards.They will join 169 other Marylanders who will be honored at a luncheon in Baltimore for their efforts to prevent crime. Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend will present the awards."New partnerships between police and citizen crime-prevention efforts are key reasons why Maryland's crime rate continues to drop," Townsend said. "Our greatest victories against crime and the fear of crime are when police and community organizations come together to reclaim their neighborhoods."

Ending an eight-month legal standoff, Havre de Grace's police chief has agreed to take an $87,000 severance package and resign -- while any complaints against him remained secret.The town has asked the Maryland State Police to assign one of its senior supervisory officers to run the department until a replacement is found for Chief William L. Lamphere, Mayor Gunther D. Hirsch said at a news conference yesterday."The file has been closed and the investigation sealed," the mayor said, adding that the secrecy was the town's idea and not part of the settlement.

Darrell E. Putman, a former Army Green Beret and conservative Republican who turned to marijuana for medicinal purposes to treat his cancer, died Wednesday of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma at University of Maryland Medical Center. He was 49.In the final months of his life, Mr. Putman became an advocate for legalizing marijuana for medicinal use. He smoked the drug to regain his appetite and gain weight in preparation for cancer treatment, and wanted other patients to reap its benefits."He said, `If I ever left a legacy, it will be to try to get this passed for other patients,' " said his brother, Wayne E. Putman of Frederick.

The Harford County NAACP said yesterday it has filed two federal lawsuits charging the towns of Havre de Grace and Aberdeen and their police departments with civil rights violations. The organization seeks $34 million in damages. "We anticipate we will win," Janice Grant, president of Harford's chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said at a news conference in Bel Air. "It's important because we want the community to be aware that the NAACP functions as a civil rights organization," she said.

The winner of the Kelly Cup in Patterson Park yesterday was determined by a rarity in bicycle racing - an early breakaway that stayed away as Aaron Olson led a remarkable sweep of four of the top five places by members of the Colavita Olive Oil/Sutter Home team. Just as most of the top riders in America came to the line, a thunderstorm rumbled to life with pelting rain and howling wind that scattered most of the hundreds of spectators who had been enjoying a sunny day filled with races in a variety of categories, one for riders as young as 10, another for those over 60. But they don't call off bicycle races for anything this side of snow and ice, so the whistle blew and 125 professional riders cycled off for 40 laps of the increasingly slick one-mile circuit of the East Baltimore park.

As Annapolis attracts more tourists, petty crime in Maryland's sailing capital and quaint, historic downtown also has increased -- nearly tripling since 1988. That has left officials in this marketing and public-image-conscious city with a dilemma: How do you tell tourists to be more careful without scaring them away? "It's kind of like saying, `Drink Coca-Cola but drink too much of it and it could rot your teeth,' " said Thomas W. Roskelly, city spokesman. "That's not how you promote a product.

The purpose of today's seventh annual BikeJam is to celebrate cycling, but those competing are looking forward to more than the festivities. Held in Patterson Park, BikeJam's Kelly Cup race acts as Stage 1 in the biggest week in U.S. Cycling. For male professional cyclists, the Jam leads into next week's Wachovia Series races in Trenton, N.J., and Lancaster, Pa., which culminate in the pinnacle of the racing season, the Wachovia USPRO Championship on June 5. Ben Brooks, an Australian who rides for Jelly Belly-PoolGel, is using the Kelly Cup as a dress rehearsal for the upcoming road races.