Howard County Police have not yet ruled out filing charges in the June 25 death of a 23-month-old Ellicott City girl, who was left for about nine hours in a car parked in front of her home.

Police have said the tragedy was "likely" accidental.

Police spokeswoman Sherry Llewellyn said this week investigators are waiting to receive a full report from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore before making a final determination. The girls' mother inadvertently left the small girl unattended in her car seat June 25 between about 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., police said.

The mother eventually saw the child was still in the car and a neighbor called 911, Llewellyn said. Paramedics pronounced the girl dead at the scene.

Police would not release the identity of the child or the mother, but said the mother was "very distraught" when the child was discovered in the car.

Police have said June 25 "was not a typical morning for the parent," but have declined to elaborate.

-- Luke Broadwater

Council OKs affordable housing development

The County Council unanimously approved a new affordable housing development, appointed a committee to study pay for future council members and re-appointed the county Planning Board chairman to another term at their July 6 meeting.

The council approved the Enterprise Housing Corporation's purchase and redevelopment of the Sierra Woods apartment complex, 8712 Airybrink Lane, in Columbia. Enterprise applied for state financing, which requires the council's approval in order to move forward.

Enterprise plans to make 142 of the 158 total apartments available to low-income residents, defined as people making up to 60 percent of the Baltimore area median income. Company officials said they plan to make about $5 million worth of renovations to the complex.

The council also approved the appointment of seven members to the county's Compensation Review Committee, which is required to set the pay rate for the County Council that will be elected in November 2010. The commission must make its decision no later than Dec. 15.

The commission is also asked to recommend to the County Council an appropriate salary for the next county executive.

Council members currently make $53,892 annually, except for the chairperson, who makes an extra $1,000. The county executive makes $158,675.

The council also approved the five-year re-appointment of David Grabowski to the county Planning Board. Grabowski, the current chairman, was appointed to fill the seat of a vacating board member in January 2005.

Members, who receive no salary but are paid for expenses, are appointed by the county executive and confirmed by the council. They serve in an advisory role over certain development plans and have final decision-making authority on others.

-- Derek Simmonsen

Animal cruelty charged after cats found in freezer

Howard County Animal Control has filed nine animal cruelty citations against an Elkridge woman after finding two dead cats in her freezer, as well as 28 live cats and a guinea pig elsewhere in the Keeton Road home.

County police officers responded to the home July 1 at the request of a neighbor, who told police the residents had not been seen for several days and there was an odor coming from the house.

In the house, police found 17 adult cats, 11 kittens and a guinea pig, as well as the two dead cats in the freezer, police said.

Caroline Harrison, 42, of the 8000 block of Keeton Road, was cited with nine counts of animal cruelty on July 8. Each of the civil counts carries a $100 fine, according to Deborah Baracco, administrator of Howard County Animal Control.

The animals were taken to a veterinarian for evaluation and 10 of the cats were kept for further observation. The county could return a small number of cats back to the home, but the rest will likely be put up for adoption, police said.

-- Mike Santa Rita, Derek Simmonsen

HCC makes 'Great College to Work For' annual list

Howard Community College was the only community college in Maryland to be named a 2009 "Great College to Work For" by the Chronicle of Higher Education.

The college was one of 150 schools in the United States, and one of only nine community colleges, to win the honor.

"We have such exceptional faculty and staff here that lead to our goal of student success -- I believe it's not the place but the people who inhabit the place that really make a difference," Dr. Kate Hetherington, president of Howard Community College, said.

"We emphasize the institutional policies, focusing on professional development programs, work-life balance, and communication. I think the fact there's a lot of communication between staff and faculty really helped us," she said.

The Chronicle of Higher Education surveyed more than 41,000 employees nationwide to determine the award-winners. A random sampling of the 1,525 HCC faculty and staff completed the survey in March and April of 2009.

-- Heather Carney

Man gets 25-year sentence for Clarksville robbery

A 32-year-old Baltimore man was sentenced to 25 years in prison this week for an armed robbery at a Clarksville bank in 2007 that was followed by a high-speed chase on Route 32.

Antoine Desmond Skipwith, 32, pleaded guilty in March to armed robbery, use of a handgun during the commission of a felony, unlawful taking of a motor vehicle and attempting to elude a uniformed police officer, for a robbery that occurred at the Citizens National Bank on Clarksville Square Drive Sept. 15, 2007, according to Wayne Kirwan, a spokesman for the Howard County state's attorney.

On July 7, Howard County Circuit Court Judge Dennis Sweeney sentenced Skipwith to 25 years in prison, according to Kirwan.

The robbery occurred at about 5:15 p.m. as two employees of Clarksville Car Wash attempted to make a deposit at the bank, according to prosecutors. Skipwith pulled into the exit lane of the deposit box in a stolen car and pistol-whipped one of the two employees, taking the money from him, according to prosecutors.

A Howard police officer chased the vehicle, which veered into a ditch on Route 32, police said. The occupants fled the vehicle but were later apprehended.

Skipwith was an escapee from the Baltimore City Correctional Center at the time of the incident, according to Howard police.

-- Mike Santa Rita

County taking applications for housing program

The county's Department of Housing and Community Development is taking applications for its moderate income housing program.

The program offers new homes for purchase and rental properties to families that qualify for the program. The application deadline is July 31.

Applicants must have a household income that is less than 80 percent of the Howard County median, or about $81,000 for a family of four. Two-bedroom condos begin at about $136,000 while three-bedroom townhouses cost around $216,000.

The costs may vary depending on the size and amenities of the home or apartment. Enrollment periods for MIHU properties are held quarterly and the next lottery drawing to award homes to applicants is planned for August.

For more information, go to www.howardcountymd.gov or call 410-313-6318.

-- Derek Simmonsen

Election board members to honor five-day furlough

The Howard County election board is taking a five-day voluntary furlough in solidarity with other state and county employees.

Board member Raymond Rankin suggested the idea and the board approved it at a Jan 22 meeting. The money will be deducted from the board members' first paycheck of the 2010 fiscal year, which began July 1, according to Guy Mickley, deputy director of the Howard County Board of Elections.

The money, which amounts to about half of the members' paycheck, will remain in the county budget, he said.

Elections workers, who are state employees, had to take from three to five furlough days, depending on how much money they made, Mickley said. All employees took a furlough day after Christmas and New Year's Day and some took additional days before the end of the fiscal year on June 30, he said.

-- Derek Simmonsen

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