Howard County police announced a review of the 86 registered sex offenders in the county found all had complied with a requirement to report their latest addresses and other information to authorities.

Police conducted the review in the last week of May and made their report public June 6.

It included ensuring that the 86 people who are listed on the county's sex offender registry were living at the addresses they had reported to police, had provided accurate employment information to authorities and reported their information twice annually, police spokeswoman Cpl. Jennifer Reidy-Hall said.

Police attributed the universal compliance to routine checks made throughout the year. Police added a detective dedicated to sex offender compliance to the county department in 2007.

The Howard County sex offender registry can be found at www.hcpd.org.

-- Mike Santa Rita

Man gets jail time for 2007 boating death

A Baltimore man has been sentenced to six months in prison following a guilty plea last month to charges of negligent manslaughter by vessel.

William Spittel, 52, of Baltimore, was sentenced by Judge Robert Cahill Jr. in Baltimore County Circuit Court in connection with the death of Michael Schott, 33, of Ellicott City, said Assistant Baltimore County State's Attorney Allan Webster.

Schott was killed Aug. 4 last year when he was thrown from Spittel's boat after it collided with a marker on the Back River near the Chesapeake Bay in Baltimore County, Maryland Natural Resources Police said at the time.

Schott was thrown from Spittel's boat when it struck a large metal channel marker that was driven into the ground. Schott died of head trauma complicated by drowning, Maryland Natural Resources Police said.

Cahill sentenced Spittel to six months in prison on May 30, Webster said. Cahill also ordered Spittel to perform six months probation following his sentence, pay a $2,500 fine and perform 250 hours of community service, Webster said.

Residents seek relief during sizzling days

With the arrival of intense heat earlier this week, construction superintendent Tom Reynolds delivered the following message to his crew: "Don't try to fight it."

Reynolds, whose G.C. Rainbow Construction crew was working at the site of a new fire station in West Friendship, told his workers that if they felt flush, they should rest in the shade before retreating to an air-conditioned trailer on the site.

"The worst thing you can do is bring a guy in from 90-degree heat into 50-degree heat. It'll actually shock them," he said. "I tell them: 'Get into the shade on your own, man. Don't try to fight it.' "

As temperatures crawled into the mid-90s on June 10, people throughout Howard County sought refuge in the shade and other cool environments, and tried to keep hydrated.

The National Weather Service issued a heat advisory for the county and surrounding region on June 9 and 10. Forecasters expected the heat wave to break during the evening of June 10 and issued a severe thunderstorm watch for the area that afternoon.

On June 10, temperatures reached 94 degrees at Baltimore Washington International Airport at 1:54 p.m., said Jared Klein, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Two people were treated for heat-related illnesses at Howard County General Hospital, hospital spokeswoman Mary Patton said at 2:30 p.m. Ambulances operated by the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services responded to three heat-related calls, department spokesman Bill Mould said.

Around the county, people said they exercised caution in dealing with the heat.

While some county residents sought refuge at the mall or county libraries, others chose to take a dip in a pool.

user comments (0)