Wicomico : State's attorney
Ruark takes leave after his arrest
After a drunken driving arrest Friday, Wicomico County State's Attorney Davis Ruark says he's taking a leave of absence. Ruark, who apologized after the arrest and called it "a tremendous error in judgment," told WBOC-TV in Salisbury that he's going away for 30 to 40 days.
Officers began following Ruark in Ocean City on Friday night after getting a 911 call about someone driving erratically on Route 90. Police say he was pulled over when officers saw him speeding and crossing the center line. Police say Ruark failed field sobriety tests and that a breath test showed he had a blood-alcohol concentration greater than 0.08 percent, Maryland's legal threshold for drunken driving.
Associated Press
Anne Arundel
: House fires
No one injured in pair of blazes
A pair of fires yesterday in Anne Arundel County caused significant damage to homes but no injuries, according to officials.
A two-alarm fire at 2709 Bradbury Court was reported at 12:17 p.m. and caused $375,000 in damage. It took firefighters about 45 minutes to extinguish the flames. The fire appears to be accidental, said Capt. Harry Steiner.
Another two-alarm fire, in the 1500 block of Marlborough Court, was reported at 1:44 p.m. Fire officials blamed the fire on animals nesting in a chimney. The home was deemed a total loss.
Two other townhouses in the complex were also damaged. The unit below sustained water damage estimated at $240,000. A third unit sustained $80,000 in damage.
Allison Connolly
Washington
: Hagerstown
Man killed in ATV crash in New York
A Hagerstown man was killed and another man was hospitalized with head injuries after their all-terrain vehicle flipped in a field in rural eastern New York.
A delivery driver saw the overturned ATV and men lying nearby about noon Friday in Salem, N.Y. According to police, neither was wearing a helmet, and the driver, Richard J. Gamache, 24, of Hagerstown, died from massive head trauma. The passenger, Alexander E. Daniel, 25, of Anaheim, Calif., was taken to a hospital.
The investigation showed the four-wheeler became airborne and overturned.
Associated Press
Allegany
: Cumberland
Investigation starts on airplane crash
Crews from the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board have begun a preliminary investigation at the site near Cumberland where a small plane crashed.
A Civil Air Patrol aircraft found the single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza on Friday afternoon in a wooded area about three miles northeast of Cumberland Regional Airport.
The pilot of the plane was last heard from Thursday night as he was preparing to land at the airport. Airport officials say veteran pilot Dave Summerfield of Rawlings and property developer Rob Kessel of Cumberland were killed in the crash.
Associated Press
Baltimore County
: Marshy Point
Popsicle Plunge set for Saturday
Marshy Point Nature Center will hold its second annual Popsicle Plunge at 2 p.m. Saturday in the waters of the Hammerman area of Gunpowder Falls State Park.
The day will feature food, games and family activities for registered plungers and their sponsors. The first 200 registrants will receive a Popsicle Plunge hooded sweat shirt or an environmentally friendly organic cotton long-sleeve T-shirt.
Information: 410-887-2817.
Park school
Panel to discuss world health care
The Park School will hold a panel discussion on international health care at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday that will focus on the work of Dr. Paul Farmer, the subject of Tracy Kidder's Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World.
Panelists will include Vincent DeMarco of Maryland Citizens' Health Initiative; Dr. Peter L. Beilenson, Howard County health officer; Jason Sharp, a social worker with Baltimore Health Systems; and Robert Roswell, who just returned from Haiti.
The school is at 2425 Old Court Road.
Information: 410-339-4126.