HoCo Schools Stop Seasonal Flu Shots

From HoCo schools:

Dear Parents of Elementary School Children,

In early August you received a letter with the details of the Howard County Health Department's plans to hold multiple seasonal flu vaccination clinics for elementary school-aged children. Unfortunately local health officers have recently been informed by Maryland State Secretary of Health John Colmers that the state is suspending the School FluMist® Program due to distribution challenges with the seasonal flu vaccine.

Cancellations of school and health department clinics for seasonal influenza vaccinations are occurring statewide. As a result, Howard County’s after-school flu clinic scheduled for October 8 for elementary school-aged children is cancelled as well. To date, the FluMist® administration was held in 16 of our 39 elementary schools.

At this time, it is unclear if or when the vaccine will be available. County health officials encourage parents to contact their primary care providers and local pharmacies regarding vaccine availability. Although these services may come at a cost, they feel that this vaccination is the best way to prevent the seasonal flu.

The H1N1 vaccine is now being distributed to state health departments. Information about the H1N1 vaccine administration in Howard County will be shared as soon as county health officials have the vaccine and have finalized a vaccination schedule.

Additional information is available by calling Kristine Holmes, R.N., School FluMist® Coordinator at 410-313-7528. Thank you for your understanding.


Donna Heller, RN, MHSA, CSN

HCPSS Health Services Coordinator

Suspect Found Dead In HoCo Jail

Several media outlets are reporting that the Columbia man charged with killing a woman found in a Baltimore manhole was found dead himself in his Howard jail cell.

From ExploreHoward:

Victor Hernandez Cruz, 40, of the 9000 block of Lambskin Lane,had been charged with first- and second-degree murder and first- and second-degree assault in the killing of Elda Ardorno Vasquez, 28, of no known address, a Baltimore police spokesman said Monday.

Staff at the Baltimore Central Booking and Intake Center in Baltimore found Cruz unresponsive in his jail cell at about 8 p.m. Monday, said Mark Vernarelli, a spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. Cruz was found unconscious only a few minutes after guards had checked on him and found no problems, the spokesman said.

Cruz was transported to Johns Hopkins Hospital where he was pronounced dead, Vernarelli said. No foul play is suspected, the spokesman said, but the DPSCS is investigating the death and the state medical examiner is doing an autopsy.

Law Enforcement's Social Network

Talk about the power of networking.

WaPo has an interesting story today about two men accused of stealing jewelry in a string of heists during real estate open houses across suburban Maryland and Northern Virginia. Police said they finally caught up with the pair after one agent grew suspicious of the men and "alerted the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors, which put out a bulletin giving a description of the suspects and warning thousands of agents about the activity."

Two weeks later, agent Jim Bryant was holding an open house in McLean when he saw two men who fit the description pull up and quickly exit their car, he said. The men split up when they walked in the door, and Bryant said he decided to write down their vehicle's license plate number.

When they saw what Bryant was doing, they left. Bryant then e-mailed Alexandria police Detective Daniel Plank, who checked the license plate number and came up with Palmer's name.

Plank then searched a regional pawnshop database and learned that Palmer had been pawning large amounts of jewelry. Plank visited one of the pawnshops in Howard County and the owner recognized photos of Palmer and Goldstein, Plank said.

So, when an agent in Baltimore called police Sunday after seeing suspicious activity and remembering the bulletin about the thefts, officers knew to check the suspects' pockets. Then, it was easy for authorities to piece together the case, Plank said.


Easy maybe, but an example of the growing power of our interconnectedness. A regional alert from the Realtors group. A run through a license plate database. An e-mail sent from an agent in McLean to a detective in Alexandria. A check of a pawnshop database. Archived photos of the suspects. And a regional police bulletin that led police in Baltimore to know to check a suspicious person's pockets.

Man Charged In Missing Woman's Death

From ABC 2 news:

Elda Vasquez has been missing for nearly two years. The 28-year-old lived in Columbia, where she worked at two restaurants. In January 2008, her colleagues reported her missing after she failed to show up to work.

Now, the mystery has apparently been solved. Charging documents filed in Baltimore City say her decomposed body was found in a Verizon manhole by a crew in Northeast Baltimore on Friday.

On Sunday, police charged her boyfriend, Victor Hernandez Cruz, of Columbia, with first and second degree murder and assault.

The charging document says Vasquez called police to report that she was assaulted by Cruz about a month before her disappearance. She said she was grabbed, struck in the head, and he attempted to drag her into the woods.

From WBAL 11:

Vasquez, whose family is from Mexico, is survived by two children ages 10 and 15.

The mother of two worked seven days a week at two jobs -- Eggspectation, where she met Cruz, and at a Red Robin restaurant in Columbia where she was a line cook.

Sneak Peak At HCPSSTV

The school system's streaming TV page is live on the Internet and can be found here.

Here's a link to one of the system's original productions, "Arts a la Carte," in an episode featuring the Wilde Lake wind ensemble.

The site promises coverage of board meetings and other educational programming such as SAT primers and "Math Man."

HoCo Schools Offer Streaming TV

At least we think they are, though for the life of us we could not find a link on the page mentioned in this release. (Nor did the link mentioned in an earlier HoCo Gov release help). We will update when we figure it out. UPDATE: Search no more. Site found here.

In the meantime, we are clearing some space on the TiVo.

From HoCo Public Schools:

The Howard County Public School System's television station, HCPSS TV, has expanded its reach with a new online presence that allows for web broadcast of school board meetings and on-demand viewing of board meetings and other HCPSS TV programming. The site, which can be accessed from the school system's homepage at www.hcpss.org, grew out of the work of a Task Force on Television Services convened two years ago.

The HCPSS TV web presence is hosted by Granicus Incorporated and is robust enough to archive HCPSS TV's five original cable television series, as well as instructional and educational videos, media for teachers and staff, and special seasonal presentations such as the Howard County Spelling Bee and high school graduations.

The first live broadcast of a Board of Education meeting via the Internet will take place on October 8 beginning at 4:00pm. In addition to real-time streaming of all Board of Education meetings on the Web, all future meetings will be available on demand to the public. The technology provided by Granicus allows the public to easily select and view a segment of any meeting at anytime by simply typing in a keyword or clicking on a particular agenda item.

Other information, such as the monthly HCPSS TV program guide, upcoming television events, and press releases are also available on the site.

The New Rules Of The Road

The Sun offers a rundown of new laws going into effect today, including a ban on texting while driving. The state also plans to begin using cameras to catch speeders in the Interstate 95 work zone near the future Intercounty Connector interchange.

State Highway Administrator Neil J. Pedersen said speed cameras would be up and running at the site today, issuing warnings to violators who go more than 12 mph above the posted speed limit. The law grants a 30-day warning period before $40 fines can be imposed.

The ICC site is one of three large-project work zones where the state is initially deploying speed cameras. The others are at the Beltway and Charles Street, the site of a bridge replacement project, and the express toll lane project on Interstate 95 between I-895 and White Marsh Boulevard.

WaPo, meanwhile, offers its own take on new laws, including changes in requirements for teenagers seeking a license.

Teenagers must spend nine months driving with a learner's permit, instead of six, before becoming eligible for a provisional license.

The minimum age for receiving a full license becomes 18, and cellphone use while driving is banned until drivers reach that age. Parents also are able to have a teenager's learner's permit or provisional license revoked.