MaGerk's in Bel Air Supports Nonprofits

Every Wednesday the business plans to give a different nonprofit organization a slice of the night's sales.

Giving to charity may be as easy as grabbing a meal — at least on Wednesday nights in Bel Air. This week MaGerk's Pub & Grill, located at 120 S Bond Street, kicked off its Nonprofit Nights. According to a release from the business, those who dine between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Wednesdays will contribute to a nonprofit organization. Every week a different organization will benefit from the restaurant's 10 percent kickback on that night, according to the release. "We look forward to working with our local community to help raise awareness and funds for these great causes," Bridget Lloyd, managing partner of the Pub, said in the release. The event began this week with dinner sales benefiting the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation. "'Think Globally…

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LETTER: Teachers, School Board Negotiations Ongoing

Randy Cerveny, President of Harford County Education Association, calls for good faith negotiations

The Public School Labor Relations Board ruled that Harford County Public Schools was negotiating in bad faith with the Harford County Education Association, or HCEA, according to a letter to the editor from the HCEA president. Randy Cerveny, president of HCEA, submitted a letter to the editor Wednesday urging parents and community members to reach out to the Harford County Board of Education to encourage good faith negotiations. Below is the unedited letter he sent to Patch. To the editor: Harford County’s students and teachers deserve better than this. The teachers of Harford County have been in negotiations with Harford County Public Schools (HCPS) since November 2010 for their contract, which began in July 2011. On April 2, 2012, the …

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Heather

5:39 pm on Thursday, April 19, 2012

John W... here's a thought, since you're so convinced that teaching is a cushy job, get your teaching certificate. That is of course assuming you already have your BS or BA. Just remember that once you do that you not only have to teach 10 months a year but you are also REQUIRED to work on your Masters Degree and pay out of pocket for it up front and only be partially reimbursed. Also, be …   more ›

LETTER: 'Apalled' By Low Voter Turnouts

Bel Air resident Michael Blum expresses frustration over low voter turnouts in a letter to the editor.

TO THE EDITOR: I am constantly appalled a low voter turnouts. It's a symbol or symptom of something but I'm not sure what -- complacency? Self-satisfaction? Diffidence? Insouciance? Abandonment? Lack of hope? Civilizational discontent? Surely people aren't so comfortable and happy with today's elected governments as to simply sit back and let a very very small few determine who is in office! When one considers the blood that was shed to GET the right to vote, and the decades it took to EXTEND that right to citizens of every race and both sexes, one would at least expect that pretty much every eligible person would exercise that precious right every time possible. I believe that I have never missed a single primary or general election …

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Letter to the Editor

Del. James: Higher Education, Closer To Home

Del. Mary-Dulany James offers a letter to her constituents.

From Del. Mary-Dulany James: ——— Dear Friend, One of the bills I am sponsoring, HB 1381, recently passed with a vote of 133-1 in the House of Delegates. This bill will help establish “2+2” buildings in my district. In keeping with Modern Democrats’ ideals of smarter more efficient government, these building are designed to give students with geographic limitations the ability to complete an Associate’s Degree in two years at a local community college and then proceed on to spending another two years in partnership with an accredited institution in order to attain their Bachelor’s Degree—all from the convenience of their local community. After all, why should students be put at a disadvantage based on where they live? This is just one way …

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Fallston Teen, John Carroll Student Succumbs To Lymphoma

Xavia Pirozzi, age 16, passed away March 21.

Family, friends and classmates are in mourning after Xavia Kieran Borys Pirozzi died of lymphoma last week. She was 16. Pirozzi passed away March 21 after a six-month battle with lymphoma, according to Explore Harford. The Fallston teen was laid to rest Monday. In honor of the John Carroll School sophomore, her classmates wore her favorite color, purple, on Thursday and Friday, according to student newspaper The Patriot. Purple accessories such as socks, hair ribbons and shirts without designs underneath the uniform were permitted. The school was closed Monday for the funeral mass. According to The Patriot's story, students led by freshman Amanda Brennan, used a Facebook group to coordinate wearing purple. This was Xavia's second bout with…

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More Than 100 Rally For Religious Freedom

A Havre de Grace woman organized the Rally for Religious Freedom that took place in Havre de Grace Friday afternoon.

With three days and an abundance of passion, Paula Hoppel of Havre de Grace made Bel Air part of nationwide Rallies for Religious Freedom. "I am amazed. I had no idea what to expect, but I was thinking we'd get at least 50 people but I think we tripled that," Hoppel said. Hoppel said she was passionate about standing up against the new law, known as the HHS mandate, that requires employers, including religious institutions, to provide contraceptives to employees through their health care plans. The Department of Health and Human Services stated that the new rule "Ensures that women with health insurance coverage will have access to the full range" of all "FDA-approved forms of contraception." Hoppel learned the nearest rally location to …

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Brandon

1:45 pm on Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Drug testing is an attempt to find out if the potential employee is or might breaking the law. As far as I know contraception is not illegal...yet. This is a false corollary.   more ›

LETTER: Gahler Declines Meeting With Sheriff

Jeffrey Gahler says Sheriff L. Jesse Bane should discuss staffing levels with the public.

Jeffrey Gahler submitted a letter to local media in recent weeks criticizing comments about staffing levels made by the current sheriff. Gahler, a Republican who lost the race for Harford County sheriff by less than a 3 percent margin in 2010, contends Sheriff L. Jesse Bane presented false information about the ratio of deputies to the population. Bane responded by talking with Patch and writing his own letter to the editor. In his responses, Bane said the numbers do not reflect all sworn officers, but rather the numbers the sheriff's office alone has to police the county. Gahler submitted a second letter on the topic in response to Bane's comments. In Bane's letter, he extends an invitation to discuss the matter with Gahler. In Gahler's …

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Letter to the Editor

Harford Hotel Manager: Bring On The Tax

One Harford County hotel manager voices support for a hotel tax.

See the PDF file for a letter to the editor from Claire Kauserud, director of sales at the Homewood Suites in Bel Air. Kauserud is in support of a potential hotel tax for Harford County. TELL US: What's your take on the tax? Leave a comment.

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LETTER: Sheriff Defends His Comments on Staffing

Sheriff L. Jesse Bane submitted a letter to the editor in response to criticism from Jeffrey Gahler, 2010 GOP candidate for sheriff.

  Sheriff L. Jesse Bane spoke with Patch last week addressing questions on Harford County Sheriff's Office staffing raised by the 2010 Republican candidate for sheriff. Jeffrey Gahler, who lost the race for Harford County sheriff by less than a 3 percent margin in 2010, sent a letter to local media last week, criticizing Sheriff Bane's recent comments about staffing levels. Gahler said Bane misled the public by supplying lower ratios of deputies per 1,000 citizens. On Friday, Bane told Patch that the ratio of .8 deputies to 1,000 citizens is accurate and reflects the number of deputies available to police the county when correctional officers and those staffing Harford County courts are taken out of the equation. Bane has since submitted …

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