Arundel Digest

Body found in backyard pool

PASADENA - The body of a man was found floating in a pool behind a home in the Lakeshore Park community last night, county police said.

A relative of the man, 58, told officers he had not seen him in about a week. At about 8:15 p.m., the man was found dead in the pool in the 8200 block of Bodkin Avenue.

Police said at this point nothing appears suspicious about the death. The man, who has not been identified, was taken to the Medical Examiner in Baltimore, where an autopsy will be performed to determine the cause of death.

Fighter jets trained over capital region

Washington, D.C. - County residents who were awakened by the sound of fighter jets overhead late Tuesday night were hearing a military exercise conducted by the North Aerospace Defence Command and Federal Aviation Administration, military officials said.

Called Falcon Virgo, the exercise comprises training flights designed to test NORAD's intercept and identification operations. Air Force F-16s and Coast Guard helicopters were used, a NORAD news release stated.

Such exercises have been conducted, usually between midnight and 3 a.m., since Sept. 11, 2001 said Mike Strickler, an Air Force spokesman. They're conducted once a month at that time to avoid the region's heavy, daily air traffic.

This month's were scheduled to last for about three days, or until all training requirements were met. For more information, visit www.norad.mil.

Man falls from van onto Interstate 97

CROWNSVILLE - A 37-year-old man was critically injured last night when he fell from a moving vehicle on southbound Interstate 97, county Fire Department officials said.

An ambulance was called to the interstate near the exit for Crownsville Road shortly before 8 p.m. for an injured person, said Division Chief Michael Cox, a county Fire Department spokesman. There, they learned the man had fallen from a van onto the roadway.

State police identified him as George Barksdale, and he was flown to Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore with life-threatening injuries, Chief Cox said. He was listed in serious but stable condition this morning, shock trauma officials said.

State police are investigating.

'Pip and Zastrow' goes to Hollywood

Annapolis - The documentary "Pip and Zastrow: An American Friendship" heads to Los Angeles this week where it has been accepted as a feature film in the American Black Film Festival.

"To be part of such a prestigious festival just shows that 'Pip & Zastrow' is a film that is not just about Annapolis, it resonates everywhere in America," said film co-producer, Janice Hayes-Williams.

And Zastrow Simms, one of the subjects of the film that explores his relationship with former Annapolis Mayor Roger "Pip" Moyer, is headed to the red carpet too.

"I'm going from Glenwood (hi-rise) to Hollywood," Mr. Simms said before leaving town yesterday with co-producers Jerry Janiszewski and Ms. Hayes-Williams.

Mr. Simms, who's never been to Los Angeles, is looking forward to the festival.

"I'm limping now," said Mr. Simms, who uses a cane, "but when I hit the red carpet, I'll have a brand new walk and a brand new talk."

He said he is sorry that his old friend Pip Moyer, who suffers from Parkinson's Disease, won't make the trip, but he will be proud to represent him.

- From staff reports