4th of July Event List for East Baltimore Co


Independence Day events are back after many were canceled in 2020.
Here is a list of parades, fireworks and festivals in eastern Baltimore County over this weekend. If we missed any, please email us at eastbaltco@gmail.com

Friday, July 2 to Sunday, July 4
Dundalk Heritage Fair
Heritage Park
2717 Playfield Street, Dundalk MD, 21222
The Heritage Fair will include music, food, beer garden, rides, games and arts and crafts. Tickets are $10 per person and children under 12 are free.
Time: Friday, July 2, 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Saturday, July 3 noon to 10 p.m.
Sunday, July 4 noon to 10 p.m.

Saturday, July 3
PARADE-Dundalk Independence Day Parade
The 87th Annual Parade will start in the Logan Village Shopping Center to the Dundalk Shopping Center and End on Liberty Parkway.
Time: 8:15 p.m.

PARADE-Kingsville, Maryland Independence Day Parade
The Kingsville Parade begins at Kingsville Volunteer Fire Department, processing down Bradshaw Rd to Jerusalem Rd, ending at St Paul’s Lutheran Church
Time: 10:50 a.m.

FIREWORKS-Wilson Point
On a barge off of Wilson Point
Middle River, Maryland 21220
Time: 9:10 p.m.
Rain date: None

Monday, July 5
FIREWORKS-Dundalk—Grange Elementary School
2000 Church Road
Dundalk, Maryland 21222
Time: 9:15 p.m.
Rain date: July 6

The Fullerton Fireworks were canceled for the second year in a row but the committee is hopeful for a 2022 return.

BCPS Teacher Honored for Stock Market Game


Gerri Otto, a social studies resource teacher for Baltimore County Public Schools, was honored with the Elementary School Teacher Award during the eighth annual Maryland Financial Education and Capability Awards ceremony, held virtually on May 5.

The awards program is presented by the CASH (Creating Assets, Savings, and Hope) Campaign of Maryland, Maryland Council on Economic Education, and Maryland State Department of Education.

Otto, who is a resident of eastern Baltimore County. was recognized for bringing the Stock Market Game to many BCPS schools and for co-writing K-3 curriculum for personal finance to be implemented countywide. Seventeen elementary, middle, and high schools are participating in the Stock Market Game this school year. The personal finance curriculum was used during the 2020-2021 school year for Grade 3. BCPS intends to pilot the curriculum for Kindergarten to Grade 2 during the 2021-2022 school year. Topics covered by the curriculum include economic wants and needs, goods and services, savings and spending, resources, decision making, markets, income, jobs, opportunity cost, spending plans, and charitable donations.

For her honor, Otto receives a $1,000 financial award made possible by the Maryland Society of Accounting and Tax Professionals and the Woodside Foundation. CSX was the title sponsor of the virtual event with SECU as the presenting sponsor.

Because no ceremony was held last year (due to COVID-19), the 2020 winners who were announced last year also were honored during this year’s virtual event. Among them was 2020 Elementary School Teacher Award winner Florence Falatko of Cromwell Valley Elementary Magnet School.

“As an organization focused on supporting the education community, the Maryland Council on Economic Education is proud to celebrate the educators who are being recognized this year for their excellence and innovation in teaching critical personal finance skills,” said Julie Weaver, executive director of the Maryland Council on Economic Education. “This has been a year like no other, and the economic impact of the pandemic has shown us the importance of financial preparedness for families and communities. We applaud these teachers for impacting not only their students, but in many cases their students’ families as well.”

Independence Day Parades Returning to Kingsville & Dundalk


It appears the 4th of July will return to some normalcy as Dundalk and Kingsville will hold their annual Independence Day parades again.

Kingsville canceled its parade in 2020 as a result of COVID-19 and Dundalk altered its parade into a caravan parade around the Dundalk area. Both will be back, but will return on Saturday, July 3 to avoid a conflict with early morning church services.

“Your Dundalk Independence Day Parade is so excited to have our traditional Parade this year we can not wait,” said a statement on the Dundalk Independence Day Parade Facebook page.

Members of the Dundalk parade committee held a Easter Bunny Parade on April 3. This will mark the 86th year of the Dundalk Independence Day Parade.

There has been no official statement on the Kingsville Independence Day Parade social media page, but Councilman David Marks attended the group’s meeting and released a statement.

“The Kingsville Independence Day Parade will return! I was pleased to join community leaders last night who are planning the event, scheduled for Saturday, July 3rd,” Marks said on Wednesday, April 28.

The Dundalk Independence Day Parade is looking for donations.

Not all events are back to normal for July 4th. The Fullerton Fireworks canceled its firework display for the second year in a row. There has been no official decision on the Heritage Fair or the Dundalk Fireworks. A virtual Heritage Fair was held in 2020.

Driver Dies in Kingsville Crash From Sunday


One of the drivers involved in a multi-vehicle crash that occurred on Sunday, March 14 has died. The accident happened along Belair Road just south of Bradshaw Road in Kingsville Sunday, March 14.

The driver has been identified as 27-year-old Kyra Miller of Baltimore. Miller was traveling southbound on Belair Road around 2:30 p.m. when investigators say she traveled into the northbound lane striking a vehicle head on; the impact forced the second vehicle backwards striking a third car.

Miller was transported to Shock Trauma. The driver of the vehicle Miller struck and the passengers in that second vehicle were transported to Johns Hopkins Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The driver of the third vehicle also suffered non-life threatening injuries.

According to investigators, the passenger in Miller’s car fled the scene. Officers later located the man and placed him under arrest on an open warrant.

Man Dies from Injuries in Kingsville Crash


A 61-year-old man died on Friday following a motorcycle accident that occurred in October 2020. The accident happened along New Cut Road in Kingsville near Harford Road.

Paul Blankenship sustained a traumatic brain injury after he traveled off the road and lost control of the Harley Davidson he was riding. Blankenship was found unconscious but breathing at the scene of the crash. Due to his injury, Blankenship was in and out of the hospital over the past four months.

He died while in hospice care on Feb
12. According to the medical examiner, Blankenship had been drinking and was impaired at the time of the crash.

Arrests Made in Kingsville Political Incident


Baltimore County police released more information about the incident in 11000 block of Cedar Lane in Kingsville on Saturday.

The preliminary investigation revealed that the victims, adult males, drove past the intersection of Cedar Lane and Mt. Vista Road with a political campaign sign in the back of their truck while the suspect put up a political campaign sign on his property.

The victim honked his horn several times at the suspect. The suspect picked up a shotgun and discharged it as they drove by. The victims drove to a safe location and called police. No one was injured and the truck was not damaged.

Douglas Edward Kuhn (50) of the 11000 block of Cedar Lane, 21087 was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree assault, two counts of second-degree assault and various other charges.

He is being held at the Baltimore County Detention Center on a no bail status pending a bail review hearing.

Gun Shots Fired at Election Volunteers


Councilman David Marks reported that two Republican volunteers had gun shots fired at them as they were placing election signs in Kingsville, MD on Saturday afternoon, Oct. 17.

“Neal Houk and his son Bradley Lang were fired upon while driving to their next spot as they put up election signs in Kingsville, near Mount Vista Road and Cedar Lane,” Marks said.

Neither were hurt. Lang is a member of the Baltimore County Republican Central Committee and Marks reported a suspect was detained and questioned by police.

Mark said this incident was unexpectable.

“We are not used to this type of violence in our area, where Democratic and Republican elected officials tend to collaborate on local issues and respectfully disagree where there is a difference of opinion, ” Mark said in a statement.

“Freedom of expression belongs to all, and all should practice it without fear.”

Maryland Reports Positive Health Metrics Compared to Other States


Five weeks after the state entered Stage Two of recovery, Maryland’s key COVID-19 health metrics continue to trend in a positive direction. The statewide positivity rate has fallen to a new low of 4.34%, and ICU beds have dropped to their lowest level since March 30. State health officials continue to monitor the spikes and outbreaks in neighboring states, as well as the rising positivity rate among young people.

“Maryland continues to be much better positioned than most states in America because of our long term-testing strategy and strategic stockpile of test kits, but we are calling on local leaders to continue doing their part to expand testing efforts—particularly in Anne Arundel County, which is lagging behind all the rest of our most populous jurisdictions,” said Governor Hogan. “Fortunately, our numbers continue trending in a positive direction while infection rates in states all across the country, and those surrounding our state border, are spiking. We are concerned that the positivity rate among Marylanders under 35 is now 84% higher than the rate for Marylanders 35 and older, making it more important than ever for all Marylanders to remain vigilant, wear face coverings, wash their hands, and practice physical distancing.”

Statewide Positivity Rate Falls to New Low of 4.34%. The state’s seven-day average positivity rate has fallen to a new low of 4.34%—down nearly 84% from its peak on April 17—and the daily positivity rate is 4.64%.
• States in our region continue to see spikes and outbreaks, with Virginia experiencing a 6.83% positivity rate over the last week.
• The state is closely monitoring the situation in Queen Anne’s County, which has experienced a 225% increase in its positivity rate since June 30, and now has the state’s highest positivity rate at 7.67%.
Hospitalizations Fall to 385, ICU Beds at Lowest Level Since March 30. Current total COVID-19 hospitalizations have fallen to 385, with 122 ICU beds in use—the lowest level of ICU bed use since March 30.
Nearly 775,000 COVID-19 Tests, 10.3% of Population Tested. In total, Maryland has now conducted 774,693 COVID-19 tests, including 13,298 tests over the last 24 hours. 621,603 Marylanders have now been tested for COVID-19—representing 10.3% of the state’s population.
Positivity Rate Higher For Marylanders Under 35. In keeping with trends states are seeing across the country, the positivity rate among Marylanders under 35 (6.33%) is 84% higher than the positivity rate for Marylanders age 35 and older (3.44%).
Anne Arundel Lags In Testing Among Most Populous Jurisdictions. Among Maryland’s most populous jurisdictions, all except for Anne Arundel County are at or close to the goal of testing 10% of the population. The state has offered an unlimited amount of tests to any jurisdiction that needs them.
• Baltimore City: 12.3% of population tested
• Prince George’s: 10.7%
• Baltimore Co.: 10.6%
• Montgomery: 10.2%
• Howard: 9.8%
• Anne Arundel: 8.5%
220+ COVID Testing Sites Statewide. To further increase convenience and accessibility at COVID-19 testing sites, the Maryland Department of Health and local partners are now providing patients with the ability to schedule their own appointments online at more sites.
• Patients can schedule their own appointments at the Columbia VEIP, Pimlico Race Course, and Baltimore Convention Center testing sites by visiting coronavirus.maryland.gov and clicking on the “Testing” tab.
• Although an appointment is strongly encouraged, the Pimlico Race Course and Baltimore Convention Center testing sites continue to accommodate walk-up patients. No doctor’s order is required at these sites.
• Both the Glen Burnie VEIP and Six Flags America theme park offer no-appointment, drive-thru testing. Both sites operate on Wednesdays and Fridays from 8 a.m. to noon
For more information about testing sites in Maryland, visit coronavirus.maryland.gov and click on the “Testing” tab.