Arundel Digest

Dog taken during SUV theft recovered

ANNAPOLIS - County police found a dog Saturday that had been in the back of an SUV when it was stolen from a city gas station Wednesday, police said.

The dog's owner, a 22-year-old man, told police he was at the Exxon station in the 1000 block of Forest Drive at about 5:30 p.m. He filled up his gas tank, then went into the service center to buy a drink, leaving the doors to his gray 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee unlocked.

From inside the service center, the victim saw someone get into his car and drive off with his 9-month-old dog, police said.

At about 8 a.m. Saturday, county police in Northern District spotted the dog at Nursery Road and Central Avenue in Linthicum. Animal Control officers took the dog into custody until the owner was able to retrieve it.

The SUV is still missing. The car thief was as an older-looking, cleanshaven white man who was wearing a hooded blue flannel jacket and blue jeans, police said.

City police survey residents' opinions

ANNAPOLIS - The city Police Department is asking residents for their views on services it provides in a new online survey.

The survey is an opportunity for citizens to express their thoughts on the services provided by police and their overall feelings on crime in Annapolis.

It asks whether the survey-taker has had interaction with police, and how timely and professional the officer or officers were, as well as whether they believe crime has been reduced in the city.

The survey will be available until Nov. 21. Residents may access it by visiting www.annapolis.gov/police and clicking on the link that says "online survey."

Truck dumps ash from power plants

PASADENA - A truck leaving the Constellation Energy power plants dumped bottom ash on Fort Smallwood Road last week, tying up traffic for about an hour.

Kevin Thornton, spokesman for Constellation, said the driver accidentally raised his bed and dropped a quarter of an inch of ash over 50 feet on Thursday.

Bottom ash is a coarse byproduct of the coal-fired power plants in Pasadena, Brandon Shores and Wagner Point. It falls to the bottom of boilers and is removed. Fly ash, which is very light, exits along with hot gases.

The driver, a contractor and not a Constellation employee, accidentally raised the dump bed of his truck after leaving the plant complex, spilling the ash on the road, Thornton said.

"Either he knew what he did and got scared or he didn't know what he'd done," Thornton said. "He kept going."

Someone alerted county police. Constellation cleaned up the ash and washed any remaining residue into their retention ponds.

Thornton said the Maryland Department of the Environment determined there was no public health impact. He said the driver will not be contracted again.

County Executive John R. Leopold recently cited ash truck traffic in asking Gov. Martin O'Malley to delay state action on a request to build a fly ash landfill just across the county line in Baltimore.

- From staff reports