The following stories have been hand-selected by the Assignment Desk at News4:
OFFICIALS: THIS IS NOT A FLOOD
Water gushed for hours Friday from a broken 6-foot-wide water main in Dundalk, flooding the communities of Turner Station, Logan Village and Water's Edge, swamping a shopping center, washing out a main road to the southeastern Baltimore County peninsula and stranding dozens inside and outside their homes. No injuries or deaths were immediately reported, but the Baltimore County Fire Department reported that two people were transported to the hospital with "minor complaints." Emergency crews used boats to rescue a few "people who went out in the water, which we asked them not to do," said Baltimore County Executive James T. Smith Jr. Dozens of homes were believed to have flooded basements, as water crested at heights reaching car door handles before flow stopped about 6:30 p.m., two hours after the pipe broke under a knoll between Dundalk Avenue and Broening Highway. A section of Broening Highway near the point of the break collapsed, and the highway was closed from the entrance to the Dundalk Marine Terminal south to Interstate 695. State Highway Administration officials said that section will remain closed until the road is repaired, which might take between two and four weeks.
(BALTIMORE SUN)
CITIZENS ARMED WITH RADAR GUNS
Residents fed up with speeders whipping through their neighborhood will now be able to do something about it. In Leesburg, police are teaching concerned residents how to operate a radar gun. "We're not out encouraging any traffic vigilantism," Leesburg Police Lt. Jeff Dube says. "The citizens are not authorized to make traffic stops, to flag people over. They're not issuing citations. They're just there to monitor speed. "Neighbors will work in pairs, with one person operating a radar gun while the other writes down the license plate. "The operator and their partner will record the vehicle description, write down their tag number and how fast they were going, and return the log sheet to us and that's when we'll send out the warning letters," Dube says. A warning letter will be sent to the driver notifying them that a radar caught them and asking them to obey speed laws. If the speeding continues, "we'll send out officers to actually run radar and write citations, if necessary," Dube says.
(WTOP)
SWINE FLU VACCINES DELIVERED IN OCTOBER
Vaccine for the H1N1 influenza pandemic will be distributed on a three-day turnaround time from four regional warehouses around the country next month. The vaccine deliveries, expected to equal 20 million doses a week by the end of October, will be distributed among 90,000 immunization "providers," including health departments, hospitals, clinics, doctors' offices and pharmacies. Those were among the details unveiled Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as part of the federal government's increasingly complex response to the pandemic of H1N1 influenza, also known as swine flu. "This is a huge logistical process. There's not [going to be] a sudden appearance of vaccine in 90,000 refrigerators around the country," said Jay Butler, an epidemiologist who leads the CDC's task force on the vaccine.
(WASHINGTON POST)
QUADRUPLE HOMICIDE NEAR LONGWOOD UNIVERSITY
The deaths of four people whose bodies were found yesterday in a home near the Longwood University campus were being investigated as a quadruple homicide. Prince Edward County Commonwealth’s Attorney James R. Ennis confirmed that the bodies were found about 3:10 p.m. in the home at 505 First Ave. Police were seeking a suspect, 20-year-old Richard Alden Samuel McCorsky III. Ennis said McCorsky is charged with murder, robbery and grand larceny. The prosecutor said McCorsky was described as armed and dangerous, and he asked that anyone with information on his whereabouts call Farmville police at (434) 392-3332. The identities of the victims and the cause of death were not available immediately. Farmville police and state police were investigating the deaths. Tim Pierson, vice president for student affairs at Longwood, last night sent an e-mail to the campus community. He said the school is awaiting confirmation of the victims’ identities. “As we learn more details of the investigation, we shall keep you informed,“ the e-mail said. The note urged students to remain vigilant and monitor local news outlets for updated information. Richard Samuel Alden McCorsky. McCorsky is a W/M, 5’ 9” tall 205 lbs and has red hair and a small gotee on his chin.
(RICHMOND-TIMES DISPATCH)
