Year: 2019

BCPS Accepting Applications to Fill Vacant School Board Seat


Would you like to serve on the BCPS Board of Education?

The Baltimore County School Board Nominating Commission will be accepting applications beginning Thursday, Jan. 2, 2020, for the Board’s vacant at-large seat. The individual selected for this seat will fill the remaining vacated term, which ends December 2022. This is the seat that was vacanted after the passing of BCPS Board member Roger Hayden in October.

Following the 2014 and 2017 Maryland General Assembly sessions, the composition and selection of the Board of Education of Baltimore County changed. Beginning in 2018, the Board became a hybrid Board by including both appointed and elected members. Seven members of the school board are elected, while four members of the Board are appointed by the governor. The Baltimore County School Board Nominating Commission has the task of selecting nominees to recommend to the governor for the four at-large positions.

“Now, our task is to select two nominees to recommend to the governor for appointment for the one at-large seat,” said Commission Chairman Aaron Plymouth. “All interested Baltimore County residents are urged to submit applications.”

Candidate interviews are scheduled for:
• Tuesday, February 18, 2020 – 6 to 9:30 p.m.
• Monday, February 24, 2020 – 6 to 9:30 p.m.

The application will be posted on the Baltimore County Public Schools’ website as of Thursday, Jan. 2, 2020. Applications will be accepted through Friday, Jan. 31, 2020.

Applications can be mailed to the Baltimore County School Board Nominating Commission, c/o Tracy Gover, 6901 N. Charles Street, Towson, MD 21204.

Early Morning Homicide Reported in Rosedale’s Fontana Village


Police are investigating a homicide following an early morning call for a stabbing in Fontana Village in Rosedale.

Officers responded to the unit block of Capella Court in Rosedale on Dec. 19 at 6:32 a.m. where they located the victim, an adult man, lying unconscious in the parking lot with traumatic injuries. Medics transported the man to Franklin Square Hospital where he was pronounced deceased.

The body of the victim will be transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to determine cause and manner of death. Detectives from the Baltimore County Police Homicide Unit are on scene and ask anyone who may have additional information to call 410-307-2020. Callers may remain anonymous.

Marks Honors The Seven Courts Citizens on Patrol as Citizens of the Year


Councilman David Marks honored the Seven Courts Citizens on Patrol [COP]as his Fifth District Citizens of the Year. The group started this year after there were calls from the residents to decrease levels of crime in the Seven Oaks community of Perry Hall.

Members of that COP include: Shawn & Shannon King and Brian McCully.

“This neighborhood watch program has made an extraordinary difference for a densely-populated part of Perry Hall,” Mark said about the group.

Marks started his Fifth District Citizens of the Year back in 2011 as he honors, outstanding volunteers and community leaders in his Fifth Councilmanic District.

Police Looking for Answers After Parkville Murder of Tavon Marshall


Police are continuing to investigate the shooting death of Tavon Marshall on Nov. 26, just two days before Thanksgiving, and are hoping the public can help.

Detectives believe that Tavon (pictured above) had just arrived home to the 3500 block of Fieldcreek Way in a neighborhood just south of the intersection of Upton Road and Kintore Drive in Parkville. It appears that Tavon was shot just after he exited his car around 9:42 p.m. as he was found lying in the parking lot near his vehicle after the shots rang out.

Police believe that Tavon was the intended target of this shooting and suspect that the shooter was in the neighborhood waiting for him to arrive home. Anyone who may have seen a person or vehicle that was out of the ordinary in the neighborhood before the shooting took place is asked to contact police with information. Police added that it was very cold that evening, only around 40 degrees and windy, so it would have been unusual for someone to be hanging around outside without a clear purpose.

Police are also asking anyone who recognizes Tavon or has any additional information about him to contact police. Call 410-307-2020 to reach Homicide investigators. Callers may remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward when submitting tips through Metro Crime Stoppers.

Parkville High’s Orogo Named Finalist in Black History Month Essay Competition


Trisha Orogo of Parkville High School is one of four Baltimore County Public Schools students who has been named a finalists in the 32nd Annual “Champions of Courage” Black History Month Essay Competition presented by M&T Bank. Orogo will appear this winter, along with 16 other Baltimore-area student finalists, on FOX 45, The CW Baltimore, and MyTV Baltimore saluting their personal heroes.

According to a BCPS press release, more than 2,500 entries were received this year from public and private schools throughout the Baltimore area. The competition challenged students, Grades 6 through 12, to write brief essays saluting their personal “Champions of Courage,” positive role models who share the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

In addition to sharing their essays on the air during January and February, the finalists will be presented with $100 prizes at an awards breakfast on Saturday, Feb. 1, at Martin’s West. At the breakfast, the top three essayists will be announced and will be presented with additional awards, including cash prizes for their schools.

Police Report Murder Reported in Hawthrone


Baltimore County Police responded to the unit block of S. Hawthorne Road in Middle River for a check location call on Sunday, Dec. 15 around 1:53 a.m.

Responding officers found a man, Antonio Hudgins (18), suffering trauma to the body. Medics responded to the scene and pronounced Hudgins deceased.

Baltimore County Police Homicide Detectives are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding this incident.

Police Report Shooting on English Oak Road in Parkville


Baltimore County Police were dispatched to a local hospital in reference to a gunshot wound on Saturday, Dec. 14 at 7:30 p.m.

Investigation revealed that an adult male, 26, suffered trauma to the body in the 6600 block of English Oak Road in Parkville and drove himself to an area hospital. Baltimore County Police Violent Crimes Detectives are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding this incident.

Anyone with information should contact the Baltimore County Violent Crimes Unit by calling 410-307-2020. Callers may remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward when submitting tips through Metro Crime Stoppers.

Police Make Arrest in September Dundalk Shooting


The Baltimore County Police Homicide Unit has made an arrest in the September shooting of a woman on Fairview Avenue in Dundalk.
Ricky Raheem Charles (29) of the 3600 block of Lyndale Avenue, 21213 is charged with the first degree murder of Melissa West on September 21 following what is believed to have been a road rage incident.
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Charles is held without bail pending a bail review hearing.

The woman shot and killed in Dundalk on Sept. 21 is identified as Melissa Lynn West (30) of the 500 block of Fairview Avenue, 21224.

Ravens Announce Parkville’s Payne as Coach of the Year


In the middle of their beat down of the New York Jets, the Baltimore Ravens announced at halftime of their game that Parkville High Football Coach Justin Payne was named as their High School Coach of the Year.

Payne coached the Parkville Knights to a 9-0 regular season after a 3-7 season in 2018. Parkville also won two playoff games before losing in the 4A state Quarterfinals last month.

According to the MPSSAA record book, Parkville had not won a playoff game in football until this year. They defeated Wheaton 49-0 and Einstein High 48-7 in the first two rounds before losing to Old Mill in the quarters 34-13.

Payne is a social studies teacher at Parkville.

Police Report a Shooting in Double Rock Park in Parkville


Baltimore County Police are investigating an overnight shooting in Double Rock Park after the victim walked into an area hospital for treatment.

Police were alerted to a victim suffering from a gunshot wound at the hospital around 3:17 a.m. on Dec. 11.

The victim advised the shooting occurred at Double Rock Park in the 8200 block of Glen Road, 21234.

Detectives from the Baltimore County Police Violent Crimes Unit are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the shooting. Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 410-307-2020.