The Baltimore Sun from Baltimore, Maryland • Page B3

The Sun Tuesday, July 8, 2003: Page 3b BALTIMORE CITYCOUNTY 'We want to develop youngsters who will be positive social advocates for change. CityCounty Digest Tisha Edwards, head of school for the academy ALGERINA PERNA SUN STAFF PHOTOS a.m. July 16 is free. Those who want to speak or ask a question at that meeting can learn how to register at www.aoa.gov. Registration costs for the rest of the conference start at a one-day fee of $215.

Other types of admissions are available. Fee information: www.n4a.org2003 Conf2003confgeneral info. cfmconfcosts. In Baltimore County Police identify pedestrian killed in US. 40 crash CATONSVILLE County police released yesterday the name of the man killed Sunday when he was struck on U.S.

40 in Catonsville by a car whose driver told officers he had dozed off at the wheel. Police said Alan Tyrone McCottry, 48, of no fixed address was walking in the 6500 block of Baltimore National Pike about 3:30 p.m. when he was struck by an eastbound 2003 Honda Civic driven by Gus Angelo Geppi, 80, of the 300 block of Lambeth Road in Catonsville. McCottry was thrown through the car's windshield and died at the scene. Police said Geppi was treated at Maryland Shock Trauma Center for an arm injury.

The county state's attorney's office is reviewing the accident. Workshops for homebuyers scheduled this month, next EASTPOINT Eastside Community Development Corp. will hold workshops for home-buyers who would like to participate in the Baltimore County Settlement Expense Program and the low-interest mortgage program offered by the state through the Community Development Administration. Workshops will be held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

tomorrow, July 17 and 23, and Aug. 6 and 13 in the development corporation conference room, Suite 302, Atrium Offices at Eastpoint Mall, 7835 Eastern Ave. Homebuyers must attend one workshop to qualify for the programs. Reservations are required. Information and registration: 410-282-9100.

Reisterstown Kiwanis Club In Baltimore City Mayor, councilman endorse each other's bids for re-election Mayor Martin O'Malley and City Councilman Keiffer J. Mitchell Jr. endorsed each other's re-election yesterday, praising each other for a commitment to diversity and equality. During a news conference at Charles and Eager streets in Mount Vernon, O'Malley held Mitchell's 1-year-old son, Jack, while standing beside the councilman's wife, Nicole. "I believe Keiffer Mitchell has been one of the most committed, hard-working council members we've had in several years," O'Malley said.

"And he knows that there is more that unites us than divides us." Mitchell, a former history teacher elected to represent the council's 4th District on the west side in 1995, is up against eight opponents seeking to represent the new 11th District, which includes part of the west side, downtown and Federal Hill. "At this time and place in our city's history, we must look beyond skin color to what's best for our city," Mitchell said in endorsing O'Malley. 2 days after being struck by car, girl, 7, dies A 7-year-old girl who had been in critical condition since being struck by a car Saturday near her West Baltimore home, died yesterday afternoon at Maryland Shock Trauma Center, police said. D'Anndra McDougald and her 13 -year-old brother had been holding hands and were about to cross the street in the 3900 block of Edmondson Ave. about 7:15 p.m.

when she broke from his grasp and ran into the path of a westbound car, said Officer James Fowler of the traffic investigation section. The girl suffered multiple injuries and had been on life support, Fowler said. No charges have been placed against the driver, but the accident remains under investigation, he said. Phelicia Parker, 14, who will attend the new Baltimore Freedom Academy in the fall, closes her eyes and falls back during a trust-building exercise. The 85 students who will attend the academy took part in a session at the Park School in Baltimore County.

Building leaders and trust School: The 85 pioneering freshmen of a new city public school spend a day getting to know one another with team-building exercises. By Tanika White SUN STAFF Students who will attend the academy try to move in synchronization, helped by camp leaders during an exercise. school. "The goal isn't to graduate a hundred lawyers," Edwards said. "We want to develop youngsters who will be positive social advocates for change.

We want them to have a deep sense of ownership and responsibility for themselves and their community." No matter what jobs the students choose after graduation, Edwards said, "the hope is that they will take to that profession a sense of social responsibility. Whether they are doctors or engineers, they will have that closeness to community." At the end of the day, the students said they at least felt closer to one another. "At first I didn't know any of them," said Dawayne Ferguson, 14, who would have attended Southwestern High School. "But after we did the games, we all got to know each other and we all started talking and stuff." That was the point, organizers said. "Trust and communication, that's really, really crucial out here," said Liz Baker, a teacher at the Park School, where the challenge course was held.

"It's really important for them to break through some of their barriers and know that they can rely on each other. Hopefully, that will translate into other areas of their lives." Conference on aging to offer giving county funds for park REISTERSTOWN The Ki free town meeting July 16 New York City. The academy will have strict standards for behavior and attendance. Both schools were created to give Baltimore families options for high school and to provide a rigorous academic environment for students who want to go to college but might not have met the standards for the selective citywide high schools. The Freedom Academy will be known for its small class sizes, project-based learning, community outings and nontraditional approaches to instruction, such as using law students to help teach classes, said Tisha Edwards, the academy's head of wanis Club of Reisterstown will present Baltimore County with a check for $56,000 today to build a Kiwanis Family Area at Reisterstown Regional Park.

The area will consist of a playground, a pavilion and two scoreboards. Baltimore County Executive James T. Smith Jr. is to accept the check at 5 p.m. at the park, on Mitchell Drive.

In the event of rain, the presentation will take place at the Reisterstown United Methodist Church fellowship hall, 246 Main St. From staff reports At the Baltimore Freedom Academy, a new public high school opening this fall, the goal is to develop future leaders. So it was a fitting experiment yesterday when 85 of the school's incoming freshmen gathered on the muddy grounds of a local private school for a day of climbing, hoisting, balancing, hiking and sweating with some strategizing, brainstorming and bonding tossed in. "I swear, y'all better catch me," Phelicia Parker warned as she closed her eyes, folded her arms across her chest and prepared to fall backward into a tight "trust circle" of classmates she had just met strangers she had been told to depend on to catch her. As she fell back and forth like a Weeble Wobble her nervous giggles revealing pastel-colored braces Phelicia was showing herself to be exactly what the new, innovative school is looking for.

She was the first one to volunteer for the day's first trust-building game. She encouraged others to dive right in after her. And she did it all with enthusiasm. "I try to push everybody in a right way, not in a bad way," said Phelicia, 14, who would have attended Dunbar High School this fall but instead chose the untested Freedom Academy for the challenge it will offer. A conference and trade show on aging from Saturday to July 16 will feature a free town meeting open to the public.

The event, sponsored by the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging, will be held at the Renaissance Harborplace Hotel, It will feature presentations on topics that affect older people, including transportation, voluntarism and caregiv-ing. A fee will be charged for most of the conference, but the Administration on Aging town meeting from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 "I want to be somebody," she said. That's music to the ears of school organizers, most of them from the University of Maryland's schools of law and social work, who think each of the 100 pioneering freshmen is "somebody." The school's theme is law, leadership and social advocacy. And determination like Pheli-cia's will set the tone for classes, said Khalilah Harris, the school's director of advancement.

"Baltimore Freedom Academy is about the community," Harris said. "We're serious about that." With backing from the nonprofit Fund for Educational Excellence, the school plans to eventually enroll 400 students. It is one of two innovative high schools that are to open in September under a partnership between the school system and local and national foundations. The other, New Era Academy, will be run by Replications an educational nonprofit group that oversees eight schools in Police Four critically injured in SUV accident on 1-95 Crash near Joppa causes 2 hours of traffic backups By Laura Barnhardt 9 SUN STAFF 7 I illllWI II III Joppa Old Mountain Rd. 40 Harford Co.

Map area MILE I I SUN STAFF Southeastern District Shooting: Dante McCoy, 28, was standing in the 1400 block of Millikin Court about 8 p.m. Sunday when an unknown assailant shot him in the lower back then fled. McCoy was treated at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Shooting: Allen Brandon, 18, was in an alley behind the 600 block of N. Kenwood Ave.

about 1:25 p.m. Sunday when a man stepped from a van and shot him in the back. He was treated at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Southern District Burglary: Nearly 140 cartons of cigarettes valued at $5,300 were reported stolen Sunday from Hilltop Market in the 600 block of Cherry Hill Road. Baltimore County Garrison Precinct Burglary: Video games and $3,000 were stolen over the weekend from a house in the 100 block of Owings Gate Court.

White Marsh Precinct Vandalism: Someone armed with a handgun fired shots into a house in the 7100 block of Willowdale Ave. and into two cars parked nearby about 2:30 a.m. Sunday. Towson Precinct Theft: Someone entered a house in the 1500 block of Jeffers Road over the weekend and stole a watch valued at $10,500. Richard Irwin Police Blotter is a sampling of crimes from police reports in Baltimore City and Baltimore County.

Baltimore City Northern District Arrest: Michael Pinder, 20, of no fixed address was arrested yesterday at the office of his probation supervisor in the 5200 block of York Road by members of the Warrant Apprehension Task Force on a charge of attempted murder in the shooting June 11 of Dejuan Venable, 19, in the 3700 block of Old York Road. Pinder is being held at Central Booking and Intake Center. Northwestern District Shooting: About 3:30 a.m. yesterday, police responding to a report of a shooting in the 3600 block of Reisterstown Road found Martin D. Francis, 40, of the 6400 block of Jonas Way in Woodlawn sitting on the curb and bleeding from a bullet wound to the right foot.

He was treated at Sinai Hospital. Eastern District Shooting: Bernard McCormick, 24, of the 1200 block of Wood-bourne Ave. was standing in the 700 block of N. Streeper St. about 1:35 a.m.

yesterday when an unknown assailant shot him in the side of the head. McCormick was in critical condition last night at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Four people were critically injured when their sport utility vehicle overturned on northbound Interstate 95 near Joppa yesterday morning, backing up traffic for more than two hours, state police said. It was unclear why the driver of the 1996 Toyota 4Runner lost control of the vehicle, which flipped over on the shoulder of the highway near Mountain Road in Harford County about 5:50 a.m., said Lt. Nick Paros, commander of the JFK Highway barracks.

The driver, Evenlin Aviles, 39, of New York City, and three of the four passengers in the SUV were flown to Maryland Shock Trauma Center. Aviles was listed in critical condition yesterday, a hospital spokeswoman said. Tamra Lopez, 23, whose address was unknown, a 13-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl also were in critical condition at Shock Trauma. The fourth passenger, Sanya Santiago, 39, whose address also was unknown, was taken by ambulance to Upper Chesapeake Medical Center with less serious injuries, police said. A hospital spokeswoman, citing federal privacy laws, declined to provide JOHN MAKELY SUN STAFF Baltimore police Detective Michael Johnson (left) and Officer M.D.

Clanton bag evidence near where a body was found. Body found in West Baltimore alley information about the woman's condition. Even though all lanes of the highway were reopened shortly after the accident, commuters and vacationers returning home late from the Fourth of July weekend were delayed in both directions. Paros said traffic was still backed up for several miles at 8 a.m. A preliminary police report did not indicate whether the driver and passengers were wearing seatbelts.

But Paros said investigators would be looking at whether seatbelt use, speed or other factors contributed to the severity of the accident. "We've only just begun the investigation," he said. A partially decomposed body wrapped in a plastic garbage bag was found in a grocery cart yesterday in a West Baltimore alley, police said. A passer-by noticed a foot sticking out of the bag in the 1200 block of Vincent St. and called police about 1 p.m., authorities said.

Police said they were not sure of the cause of death or the sex of the victim. An autopsy is scheduled for today. Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Michael Johnson of the homicide unit at 410-396-2100..