In Baltimore City
Off-duty officer fatally shoots man in robbery attempt
An off-duty Baltimore police officer shot and killed an unidentified man early yesterday during an attempted robbery in Reservoir Hill, the department reported.
Officer Althaniel Dailey, 39, who joined the department in February, had just driven with his brother to a house in the 800 block of Lennox St. to pick up a friend when two men suddenly appeared in the darkness, police said.
One of the men put a gun to the brother's head in an apparent robbery attempt, according to police. Dailey pulled out his service weapon, and the gunman ran away, police said.
But, police said, the other man pulled out a handgun, and Dailey responded by firing five shots, hitting and killing the unidentified man. One of the bullets was found lodged in the man's handgun, police said.
Scouts to hold ceremony at home of fire victims
A Baltimore Boy Scout organization will hold a ceremony tomorrow at the Dawson family home in East Baltimore in memory of the two adults and five children who died in an arson fire that police believe was set in retaliation for the family's stance against neighborhood drug dealing.
About 30 Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts from Roots of Scouting Inc. are expected to participate in the observance scheduled for 2:30 p.m. at Preston and Eden streets.
Roots of Scouting is urging the city to build a permanent memorial at the spot and to proclaim Oct. 16 -- the date of the fire -- as "Dawson Family Day." The Scouts service will serve as the launch for a petition drive supporting the memorial and proclamation effort.
Thanksgiving Parade to affect traffic tomorrow
With Baltimore's annual Thanksgiving Parade scheduled on Pratt Street for 11 a.m. tomorrow, portions of several downtown thoroughfares will be temporarily closed, the city Office of Transportation announced.
Affected from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. are Camden Street, between Russell and Howard streets, and Eutaw Street between Camden and Lombard streets; and from 10:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Pratt between Paca and President streets.
The parade begins at Pratt and Eutaw, and disbands at President.
Students to perform 'Annie Get Your Gun'
The Irving Berlin musical Annie Get Your Gun will be performed tonight through Sunday at Roland Park Country School, 5204 Roland Ave.
The cast includes students from Roland Park, Gilman School and Towson University, and will be performed at 7:30 p.m. today and tomorrow and 2 p.m. Sunday in the school's Sinex Theater. The show is open to the public, with tickets priced at $10 for adults and $7 for children.
"This year, we wanted to do a traditional and well-known Broadway musical with a strong female lead and cast," said director Scott Susong. "Annie Oakley was a great role model who overcame adult illiteracy and succeeded in a male-dominated society, so Annie Get Your Gun fit all of our criteria."
In Baltimore County
Nursing assistant pleads guilty in patient abuse
TOWSON -- A nursing assistant pleaded guilty yesterday in the county Circuit Court to abuse of a vulnerable adult for striking an 81-year-old patient at the Randallstown nursing home where she had been employed, the Maryland attorney general's office announced.
Betty Costley, 61, working at Chapel Hill Nursing Center, was supposed to be assisting the female patient, who has dementia, suffers from congestive heart failure and needs a wheelchair. She struggled with the patient, and struck her with force sufficient to leave a welt on her face and lift one of the chair's wheels off the floor, according to a statement of facts presented in court.
Costley was given a three-year suspended sentence and three years of probation by Judge John Grason Turnbull II. The case was prosecuted by the attorney general's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, which has authority in abuse and neglect cases in facilities receiving Medicaid funds.
Police search for suspect in robbery of florist shop
ROSEDALE -- Baltimore County police are searching for a suspect in a robbery of a florist shop last week.
The man approached a clerk at Ashley Florist in the 6200 block of Kenwood Ave. on Nov. 13, asking about flowers. He then demanded money from the register and left with an undisclosed amount of cash, police said.
Anyone with information is asked to call 410-276-2020 or Crime Stoppers at 410-276-8888.
Recycle home electronics at transit agency lot
WHITE MARSH -- Baltimore County residents can drop off unwanted home electronics equipment for recycling from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. tomorrow at the Maryland Transit Administration park-and-ride lot off Honeygo Boulevard, near IKEA.
Items that will be accepted include computers, monitors, printers, keyboards, scanners, televisions and videocassette recorders. No materials will be accepted from businesses or institutions.
County residents are asked to bring a current photo identification. Information: 410-887-2000.
Sandalwood Elementary honors pupil for slogan
ESSEX -- The Sandalwood Elementary School PTA honored yesterday a fourth-grader who developed a new motto for the school.
Rebecca Batchelor's slogan --"Sandalwood Elementary: The Leaders of Tomorrow Learning Today" -- was selected by a vote of the student body.
The motto was one of a dozen submitted by pupils last year. This month, 516 pupils cast ballots on three finalists, selecting Rebecca's submission by a wide margin.
From staff reports