Eastern Baltimore County News
The children found deceased during a traffic stop in Middle River on Wednesday night have been identified as 7-year-old Joshlyn Johnson and 5-year-old Larry O’Neil.
“Tonight, the entire Baltimore County Police Department grieves with the community over the unspeakable deaths of two innocent children,” Baltimore County Police Chief Melissa Hyatt said. “The investigation into this atrocious crime will not stop until those responsible are brought to justice.”
Just after 11 p.m. on July 28, 2021, officers from the Essex precinct conducted a traffic stop on Eastern Boulevard near Wagners Lane in Bowleys Quarters in Middle River.
During the stop, officers discovered the bodies of two deceased children.
The deceased minors were transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. The driver of the vehicle was taken into custody. Baltimore County detectives continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding this incident.
The aunt of the children was arrested and charged in this case.
Baltimore County Public Schools released a statement this morning that requires universal masking for students, staff, and visitors in schools for the Fall of the 2021-22 school year.
BCPS sent out a twit, that “local leaders support universal masking in BCPS Schools and on school buses.”
Fifth County Councilman David Marks responded that he was not consulted about this decision and is upset he found out about the mandate on social media.
“Let me be very clear. This ‘local leader’ was never informed about another BCPS mask mandate. I found about it on Twitter,” Mark said.
“Over the past 16 months, the County Council and other units of government worked collaboratively to address public health concerns. Collaboration does not mean learning about an edict like this on social media.”
BCPS Board of Education Vice Chair Julie Henn said that operational decisions such as mask mandates are made by the Superintendent’s office but she was not expecting an announcement on a decision about masking until the special Board meeting for Aug. 3.
“The Board has neither discussed nor taken a position on universal masks. While individual Board members had opportunities to share input on masks, we have not discussed masking or other health and safety concerns around opening as a group. And there are many,” Henn said.
“We need to keep our schools open for safe, in-person instruction. But we also need to discuss what that means and what that looks like for all our learners. One size does not fit all”
Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS) will require universal masking for students, staff, and visitors in schools for the Fall of the 2021-22 school year. The current federal order for masks to be worn on school buses will continue.
The Board of Education of Baltimore County will conduct a special meeting on Aug. 3 at 10 a.m. to update the Board and community on universal masking in Baltimore County Public Schools. More information about the special board meeting is forthcoming.
“Nothing is more important than the health and safety of our students, families, and employees,” said BCPS Superintendent Dr. Darryl L. Williams. “Unfortunately, the pandemic continues to impact our community. Universal masking is an important part of our multifaceted approach to mitigate the spread of COVID while keeping schools open for in-person learning.”
“I fully support Dr. Williams’ decision to protect Team BCPS students, staff, and visitors by adopting the latest mask recommendations from the CDC,” said Makeda Scott, chair of the Board of Education of Baltimore County. “As this crisis evolves, what matters most is that we continue to prioritize in-person learning by providing appropriate health and safety guidelines that respond to the latest conditions. I also join leaders across the county in encouraging all citizens aged 12 and over to get vaccinated as soon as possible.”
“We want our children REVVed up (ready, excited, vigilant and vaccinated) for the new school year,” said Dr. Gregory Wm. Branch, Baltimore County Health Officer. “Requiring masks is an extra layer of protection for our students, teachers and their families.”
“Protecting the health and well-being of our children and educators is a top priority, especially as we approach the beginning of a new school year. With our youngest children not yet able to be vaccinated and with the growing spread of the Delta variant, it’s critically important we take steps to minimize the spread of Covid-19,” said Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski. “I applaud the decision by BCPS to adopt the CDC’s latest recommendations, and I encourage every County resident who is eligible to receive a vaccine to do so as soon as possible.”
National experts, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), have recently updated their mask guidelines due to surges in COVID infections and hospitalizations across the nation, as well as a plateau in vaccinations.
The BCPS COVID-19 webpage links to the BCPS data dashboard and related information. Updates are provided as available.
The Baltimore County COVID-19 Vaccine Hub provides access to vaccine appointments, as well as free testing and vaccine statistics and information.
Bridge Now Set to Open October
The Joppa Road Bridge near Honeygo Elementary School in Perry Hall has been closed since January.
Baltimore County Councilman David Marks shared an email from the Deputy Director of the Department of Public Works and Transportation about the Joppa Road bridge, and why it is taking so long.
According to the email, the Joppa Road Bridge is now scheduled to reopen in October
“Councilman Marks,
I’ve had a lot of internal conversations with DPWT on the bridge that is currently closed on Joppa Road by Honeygo Elementary School. The bridge was closed in January 2021 because the center portion of the bridge had delaminated (the concrete outer cover was coming loose from the structure) and it was determined the structure in the center could no longer carry the minimum moving load of typical cars/truck traffic.
“The center portion of the bridge was built around 1920, the ends around 1940. The County had no existing plans on the structural design. Once the bridge was closed, the County was able to deconstruct the outer concrete in order to see the structure and re-engineer from there. This also required surveys and testing. That re-engineering has been going on behind the scenes and is not easily viewable by the public.
“When the bridge was closed the best case scenario on timeline was released publicly. In hindsight the DPWT team should have put float in the schedule to allow for unforeseen conditions.
“Attached are two images that help highlight the technical design complications with this bridge that were not evident until the testing, which couldn’t be done until the bridge was closed.
“Typical Bridge 210727” – note the 2 straight tension rods that are marked on the plan. These create even/equal sections of structure between them for the whole length of the bridge. This makes for a copy and paste for the design engineer once they design 1 section.
“Joppa Road Bridge B0545- 210727” – note the quantity of ‘dashed lines’ these are the tension rods needed for the geometry of the Joppa Road bridge due to the ‘kink’ circled on the plans. This means each of these rods needed a design and each section between rods needs a design, there is very little copy
/paste. This took longer to engineer before the plans can be given to a pre-caster to form the bridge sections.
“In order to expedite, this the design was done in house, instead of adding time for proposals from design firms, procurement of contracts, this saved at least 3 months. The plans are finishing up today and being released to the on-call precast contractor. The contractor needs to have the materials made, delivered and installed.
“Given the significant design effort that was unknown at the time of bridge closure the new timeline is reopening of the bridge in October 2021. The Countys website is being updated to reflect this information.
“Thanks for your patience and concern for the safety of our roads!”
Mark said he is frustrated with the ongoing process of this bridge and the delays to reopen.
“I recognize this is a major inconvenience for motorists. My parents live a half-mile from this bridge,” Marks said.
“While there are special circumstances that make this a difficult bridge to reconstruct, it’s unacceptable that the county did not recognize these structural issues earlier.”
The Watersedge Fall Festival is back.
This year’s event will be held Friday Sept. 10 , Saturday Sept. 11 and Sunday Sept. 12 at Watersedge Park in Dundalk.
Russ Amusements will have their beautiful rides and games back for another great festival. There will be live music all 3 days and a car show to be held Saturday, Sept. 11 from 10 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. There will be multiple food vendors on site serving delicious food and treats
Advance ride passes will be available for purchase in July.
The Baltimore County Police Department will hold a Community Hiring Event at the CCBC Essex Campus in Rosedale on Saturday, Aug. 14 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m
This will give everyone a chance to speak with officers about career opportunities and apply on site.
Learn more about available jobs at Baltimore County Police Department.
The fall sports season begins Aug. 11 in Baltimore County Public Schools, and BCPS is asking all students to register now for autumn athletics participation.
The fall season was a shorten season played in the spring after COVID numbers were too high last fall.
“I encourage all students to consider participating in interscholastic athletics,” said BCPS Superintendent Dr. Darryl L. Williams. “Competing in sports is a great way to make friends, stay physically and mentally healthy, and strengthen discipline.”
“We are extremely excited about the return of our traditional fall athletic season on August 11,” said Michael Sye, BCPS coordinator of athletics. “Our athletic directors, and coaches are looking forward to our student athletes returning and taking part in our interscholastic program.”
The BCPS high school fall athletics season will begin on Wednesday, Aug. 11, but online registration is open now for allied soccer, badminton, cheerleading, cross country, field hockey, football, golf, soccer, and volleyball.
The middle school fall athletics season will begin on Monday, Sept. 13. Online registration information for badminton and cross country is available now.
For all BCPS athletics, students must meet eligibility requirements and have a valid pre-participation physical. Questions should be directed to school athletic directors.
Athletics will continue to follow the BCPS mitigation plan in the 2021-22 school year. At this time, all athletes are eligible and strongly encouraged to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Find an updated list of providers and pre-register for an appointment near you at COVID-19 Vaccination Clinics in Maryland. We continue to work with our health partners to examine practices to keep all students safe.
If you purchased a Maryland Lottery Scratch-off ticket in Dundalk or a Bonus Match 5 ticket in Edgemere last week, check your tickets. You have might have won either $100,000 or $50,000.
The Maryland Lottery announced their weekly winners on Monday and two winners came from the Dundalk/Edgemere area.
The first winner was a $100,000 Scratch-off ticket sold at the Merritt Shell Gas Station at 1521 Merritt Blvd. This was one of five statewide $100,000 winners.
The second local prize was a $50,000 Bonus Match 5 sold at Ben’s House of Spirit, 7000 North Point Rd. in Edgemere. This $50,000 winner was unclaimed as today.
For more information on these winners and all of the winner statewide for the week ending July 25, please go to to the MD Lottery website.
A golf tournament will be held as a fundraiser for the Wise Avenue Volunteer Fire Company in Dundalk.
The event will be held Monday September 27th at the Sparrows Point Country Club. Registration and a Continental Breakfast starts at 8 a.m. The Shotgun Start is set for 9 a.m.
The cost is $125 per person. Prizes will be given out.
For more information, contact Tracy Geho at 443-938-1658 or Tayvone Jackson at 410-814-9862.
