Baltimore County

Vote for your independence To the editor: Spoil me! I lived in Baltimore County for a number of years. Before each election, the candidates printed resumes that gave their educational background, a family profile, civilian occupation, public office experience and a summary of their position on the major issues. These resumes were then mailed or hand delivered to all registered voters. Prior to the meeting of the General Assembly, the senators or delegates sent surveys to determine the consensus of voter attitudes on the issues before the General Assembly.

On Tuesday, Aug. 29, The Herald-Mail held an online chat with Greg Bannon, a candidate for Washington County state's attorney. What follows is an edited transcript of that session. Our next guest will be Jerry Joyce, also a state's attorney candidate, on Wednesday, Sept. 6, at 1 p.m. Questions or comments can be submitted before and during the chat, by sending an e-mail to: onlinechat@herald-mail.com Ruth: I have read that you have concerns with the state's attorney's budget, specifically concerning raises and benefits for the employees.

Sharon Lorraine Stouffer and James Christopher Kelly were married Saturday, April 1, 2000, at Hagerstown City Park. The bride is the daughter of the late Daisy Elgin and Lawrence Metz. The bridegroom is the son of Genevieve Remele and the late John Kelly. The bride is a graduate of South Hagerstown High School. She is employed by Merkle Response Services in Hagerstown. The bridegroom is a graduate of Allegany High School in Cumberland, Md. He is employed in maintenance by Hadley Farms in Smithsburg.

Baltimore County Police this week took into custody a 41-year-old Hagerstown woman who was wanted on a warrant charging her with child abduction, Maryland State Police said. While investigating a child sexual assault case involving the woman's 9-year-old daughter on Tuesday, police discovered the Baltimore County Police Family Crimes Unit had a warrant against the woman, police said. The girl's father had been granted custody of the daughter by the court, police said. The woman had picked up her daughter at a Baltimore County school without permission at the end of the first day of school and brought the child to the Hagerstown area, police alleged.

Washington County Schools Deputy Superintendent Theresa Flak said Thursday she has applied for a job as superintendent of Baltimore County Schools. Flak is the local school system's second in command. Hired as assistant superintendent for instruction July 1, 1997, she oversees curriculum for all schools and assists Schools Superintendent Herman G. Bartlett Jr. The Washington County Board of Education in September gave Flak a promotion that changed her job description, salary and title.

In July, members of a work group created as a result of a measure that passed the Maryland General Assembly earlier this year will start looking at ways to get more information about pesticide use in the state. This group - which will consist of two senators and two delegates, and representatives of various interested parties such as the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the Maryland Farm Bureau - was created to find out if there are any existing gaps in data about pesticide use in the state and decide whether there is a need to create a reporting program for pesticide users such as farmers.

martinsburg@herald-mail.com Most of the customers at the nightclub were men. Most of the women were naked. Women seductively shed their clothes to thumping music, stepping and whirling on a long runway stage - they were the show. A mostly male audience drank it in with their eyes and with help from the bar. A spring Saturday night was flowing into Sunday morning in Berkeley County, W.Va., where strip bars draw cheers from customers and jeers from government officials who want to stop them from spreading.