Arundel Digest | Maryland Gazette (HometownGlenBurnie.com)

GLEN BURNIE - A 22-year-old man was charged with drug possession and other offenses Thursday after county police intercepted thousands of dollars worth of Oxycontin pills being delivered to his apartment.

Detectives were called to a sorting facility to investigate a package with "indicators" that drugs were inside. A drug dog sniffed the parcel and gave a positive alert.

Police got a search warrant and opened the package. Inside, they found a medium-sized bag containing 320 Oxycontin pills with a street value of more than $20,000.

The package was closed and delivered to the Glen Burnie man addressed on the box. After it was delivered, police arrested the man at the apartment.

Christopher Kunze, of Ridgewater Court, was charged with possession with intent to distribute Oxycontin and possession of Oxycontin, police said. He is being held at Jennifer Road Detention Center in Parole on $100,000 bond.

Veteran police captain retires

PASADENA - Capt. Robert Johnson, the longest-serving member of the county Police Department, has retired as commander of the Eastern District Station.

He retired May 1, nearly a year after being appointed commander during a promotion ceremony at the Chesapeake Arts Center. Lt. Tom Wheeler will serve as acting captain of the Eastern District until a new commander is appointed.

The Eastern District, with headquarters at 3700 Mountain Road, stretches from Pasadena to Sandy Point and includes parts of Glen Burnie and Millersville, as well as the communities of Severna Park and Arnold.

Capt. Johnson served 40 years in Northern, Eastern and Western districts during his career and was chosen as police officer of the year in 2005 by the West County Chamber of Commerce.

He has a bachelor's degree in police science from the University of Maryland, plus a graduate degree and a certificate in police science and police administration from the University of Baltimore. He also attended the Police Executive Leadership Forum at Johns Hopkins University.

Late last year, he launched the Breaking and Entering Strike team to fight the spike in breaking and entering and street robbery incidents throughout the Eastern District.

BWI Airport holds emergency drill

LINTHICUM - The Maryland Aviation Administration will conduct a large-scale emergency drill at BWI Airport today starting at 9 a.m.

The planning exercise allows for the MAA and other agencies to prepare for an actual emergency at the BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport.

Rescue vehicles will be heading to BWI for the drill. The Maryland Transportation Authority Police and representatives from supporting local and state agencies will also take part in the full-scale exercise.

2 county schools win PTA honors

PASADENA - The Bodkin Elementary Parent Teacher Association has received the National PTA's National Unit Achievement Award for growing its membership and getting parents more involved this school year.

The Meade High School PTA also received the award. Both PTAs will be honored at this year's national PTA convention from June 20-23 in San Diego.

To qualify for the honor, a PTA or Parent Teacher Student Association chapter must meet four different requirements. They must obtain a 5 percent net increase in membership, or have at least one PTA member per student. They must also sponsor at least one program or project that increases parent involvement.

PTAs must conduct at least one program that increased parents' awareness of issues that affect student achievement or school success, and they must participate in the state PTA's convention or another state-sponsored event.

Meeting all four requirements is tough, said Anita Owens, president of the Anne Arundel County Council of PTAs.

"The fact that both these local units met all four requirements is wonderful," she said.

Provinces facing water rate hikes

SEVERN - The Provinces Civic Association will meet Monday to discuss a proposed 93.41 percent water rate hike from the private company that operates the community's water utilities.

Utilities Inc., which took over operation of water lines from the developer of the subdivision, proposed the increases earlier this year.

Association leaders hope to enlist members of the Provinces Community Association and residents of nearby Sandridge and Ridgefield to actively oppose the increase.

The civic association plans to petition the state Public Service Commission, which oversees some public utilities.

The meeting will take place at 7 p.m. in the meeting room at Arundel Mills mall, near the Anne Arundel Community College building and behind the blue wall near the mall food court.

Schools evacuated after explosion

MILLERSVILLE - Students and faculty were evacuated from Old Mill High School and the middle and elementary schools Thursday morning after an acetylene tank sparked a small explosion and fire in the cafeteria that serves all three schools, county Fire Department and school system officials said.

At about 10:10 a.m., workers were doing maintenance in the kitchen of the school, at 610 Patriot Lane, when a hose broke off of a tank, causing a small flash of fire, said Bob Mosier, a school systems spokesman.

As a precaution, students and staff were escorted from the building. They were outside for less than an hour and returned safely to class after final clearance from the fire marshal, Mr. Mosier said.

One worker suffered a small flash burn to his arm and refused treatment, said Lt. Frank Fennell, a county Fire Department spokesman.

The county Health Department was called to the school to examine any food that might have been contaminated by a fire extinguisher, Lt. Fennell said.

Fire kills one dog, another survives

PASADENA - A fire broke out in the basement of a Pasadena duplex Tuesday night, killing a dog and displacing residents of the home, county Fire Department officials said.

Another dog, trapped in the home, survived the blaze.

Firefighters were called to the 8000 block of Round Table Court about 8:40 p.m., said Lt. Frank Fennell, a county Fire Department spokesman. When firefighters arrived, they saw heavy smoke coming from the second floor of the home, and flames shooting from the back.

It took 35 firefighters about 40 minutes to get the blaze under control.

The residents of the duplex were not home during the fire, Lt. Fennell said. But two dogs were inside.

Firefighters found one of the dogs alive in a crate that was buried under debris near the basement, where investigators said the fire originated. The cause is under investigation, he said.

The second dog did not survive the blaze, Lt. Fennell said. It was found under a bed on the second floor and had died of smoke inhalation.

The fire caused about $60,000 in damages to the home and its contents, Lt. Fennell said.