County hasn't the money for teacher raises, Smith says
Baltimore County Executive James T. Smith Jr. responded yesterday to the more than 530 teachers who have contacted his office to encourage him to include money in his budget for raises for schools employees, thanking them for their hard work but explaining the difficult economic situation facing the county.
"It would be very easy for me to suggest ... that there is a possibility that the current fiscal situation will turn around in time for us to re-evaluate cost-of-living increases for teachers, firefighters, police officers, correctional officers and general government county employees this year," he wrote in a letter to the teachers. "It would be easy, but it would be dishonest. Nothing on the horizon suggests such an economic rebound in the short term."
The county school board's budget request for the fiscal year that begins July 1 includes about $12 million for longevity and step increases for some teachers and $7 million to cover increased health costs for education department employees, but no money for an across-the-board raise.
Cheryl Bost, president of the Teachers Association of Baltimore County, has said that without those raises, hundreds of teachers will receive no increase, and some will take pay cuts after paying more toward their pensions and health care.
Region
: Weather
Storm with rain, wind hits in area
The leading edge of a storm packing heavy rains and winds drenched part of lower Carroll County last night, making driving difficult. No damage or injuries were reported.
The National Weather Service at Sterling, Va., said the Baltimore metropolitan area was expected to receive up to 3 inches of rain overnight before the storm, which traveled east at 40 mph, makes way for lower temperatures and clearing skies, said Richard Winther, a NWS meteorologist.
Winther said flood warnings for the eastern portion of the storm were canceled, but that warnings of high water were to remain in effect for the western edge of the storm until daybreak.
In Western Maryland, heavy rains raised concerns about possible flooding in Cumberland, Frostburg, LaVale, Lonaconing and Westernport, Winther said.
Richard Irwin
Baltimore County
: District Court
Woman convicted of animal cruelty
A former dog groomer who spent more than 60 days in jail for causing the death of a client's poodle was convicted yesterday in Baltimore County District Court of animal cruelty in a case stemming from injuries to another dog.
Celeste A. Rainone, 53, of Shrewsbury, Pa., agreed to withdraw her appeal of the previous convictions for animal cruelty and animal mutilation as part of a plea agreement reached by her attorney and prosecutors.
As a result, Rainone must serve three years of probation in the prior case. The terms of her probation required her to surrender her grooming license. She had served more than 60 days of a 90-day jail sentence.
Rainone was convicted yesterday of injuring a Maltese that returned from the groomer limping and with urine, feces and blood in his fur.
Jennifer McMenamin
Planning Board
Tomorrow's meeting has been canceled
The Baltimore County Planning Board has canceled its meeting for tomorrow. The next scheduled meeting is March 20. The board's hearing on 2nd District zoning requests will be held as scheduled at 7 p.m. tomorrow at Pikesville Senior High School.
Information: 410-887-3495.
Harford County
: Bel Air
Vandals hit home, shopping center
For the fourth consecutive weekend, vandals in Harford County have set fires and detonated firebombs, authorities said. An aerosol can was tossed at a ground transformer at Marketplace Shopping Center in Bel Air on Saturday evening, authorities said. The same night, vandals set ornamental grass on fire on the front lawn of a home on Camelot Drive.
Mary Gail Hare
Baltimore
: Barclay
Man who died called hit-and-run victim
A man found fatally injured in the middle of a Barclay intersection Sunday was the victim of a hit-and-run driver, police said yesterday. An autopsy Monday indicated that the massive upper-left torso injuries suffered by Don Holman, 40, of the 500 block of Edgewood St., were the result of being hit by a vehicle, said Agent Donny Moses, a police spokesman.
Anyone with information about the vehicle is asked to call Traffic Officer Richard McCarthy at 410-396-2606.
Richard Irwin