The Star-Democrat from Easton, Maryland • Page 3

Friday, October 18, 1991 The Star-Democrat Page 3A Maryland State review Budget bill threatens teacher salaries Dependent Children program. The percentage cut will be even greater for 24,000 people in the general public assistance program, which provides benefits to people who are physically or mentally unable to work. Payments will fall 11.7 percent for a single recipient, dropping from $205 a month to $181. Fred Puddester, deputy budget secretary, said the health department will decide how the cuts will be carried out. There could be an overall cut' to all treatment or i i i receive welfare grants and use state services.

The first to feel the pain will be more than 1,500 state who will lose their jobs Nov. 1. Other cuts affecting welfare recipients, drug treatment programs, youth service bureaus and county governments will be phased in over the next two or three months, budget officials said Thursday. The cuts in welfare grants will show up in checks that will be mailed out in December. Aid will be cut about 7 percent for the 216,000 people getting benefits under the Aid to Families with ANNAPOLIS AP) A bill cutting the state budget by $80 million will allow county' governments and school boards to reduce teacher salaries, the attorney general said Thursday.

The law passed by the legislature last week gave county officials power for the first time to mandate cuts in school budgets during a budget year. The power was granted for this year only to help counties make up for the cuts in local aid that have now reached about $180 million. The bill prohibits teacher layoffs unless they are specifically authorized under contracts between unions and school boards. Also, cuts cannot be made in instructional materials. Gov.

William Donald Schaefer planned to sign the bill Friday despite protests from school officials, teachers and student groups. The law, with its $80 million in spending reductions, is part of a plan to reduce this year's budget by about $450 million. The reductions are needed to make up for a slump in revenues and avoid a deficit when the fiscal year ends next June 30. The budget cuts will directly affect hundreds of thousands of Maryland-ers who draw state paychecks, uie iieai ui ucparuucui tuuiu ucuuc to eliminate programs which are less effective, he said. reports decrease in 3rd quarter earnings TOWSON (AP) Black Decker reported Thursday that earnings fell 47 percent to $9.7 million in the third quarter, a drop the toolmaker blamed on sluggish domestic sales.

Net earnings dropped to 16 cents per share, compared to 30 cents a share or $18.2 million in the third quarter of 1990, the company said. Revenues were $1.1 billion for the quarter, compared to $1.3 billion for same period last year. 1 "The most significant factor affecting our results this year has been the recession in our largest market, the United States," said Nolan Archibald, chairman and chief executive officer. "Most of our domestic operations continued to be hampered during the third quarter by a lack of any significant improvement in construction and related industries and a weak retail environment." Archibald said lower interest rates have helped the company lower interest expense. Black Decker stock, which had been as high as 19s! recently on the New York Stock Exchange, was down $1 at 16Vi Thursday.

"Business is tough out there. That's clear from weir figures and it is a problem," said Katherine Stults, an analyst with Dean Witter Reynolds in New York. "But keep in mind, the last quarter they were down 55 percent, and the quarter before that was 59 percent. In that sense you can say 47 percent is trending up a little." Archibald said the company would be advertising aggressively during the fourth quarter to promote sales of new and gift-oriented products, but did not see any evidence of an improvement in industrial and resi- dential construction or in housing turnover, which tends to boost sales. The company also declared a regular quarterly dividend of 10 cents per share.

1 '11 hXZ Vr 44 Laurel man charges sex abuse TOWSON AP) A Laurel man has filed suit against a church and a former minister, claiming that he was sexually abused over a six-year period beginning when he was 12. "I stand here before you today because I couldn't do it 20 years ago," Daniel Swartz said after filing suit in Baltimore County Circuit Court on Wednesday. "I didn't know how and I didn't know I had the right I didn't think anyone would believe me." Swartz, 36, filed the suit against Kenneth B. Wyatt of Frederick and the United Church of Christ. Wyatt resigned from his church last month after admitting he sexually molested Swartz when he was a minor.

Soon after hi mother died in 1966, the new minister at the United Church of Christ in Eldersburg came to counsel the family, Swartz said. He said Wyatt befriended him and encouraged him to join the church youth group. When he was 12, the minister invited him to his home to play chess after a youth group bowling outing. "We ended up on the floor. He was fondling me, he sodomized me," Swartz said.

"There was nobody I could speak to." Jaif escapee gets 8 years CUMBERLAND (AP) A jail escapee who fled to Canada with a female prison guard was sentenced to eight years in prison by an Allegany County judge. Circuit Judge Gary G. Leasure said Wednesday that Edgar Eugene Kerns 31, of Gerrardstown, W.Va., is to serve the time after completing previous sentences totaling six years. Kerns pleaded innocent and was tried by the court on a statement of facts read to the court by Allegany County State's Attorney Lawrence V. Kelly.

Kerns was in the county jail awaiting disposition on other cases when he and another inmate escaped in Aug. 29, 1990. The other inmate, James Vernon Barnes, 36, formerly of Romney, W.Va., also was sentenced to eight years in prison for escaping. Police said the inmates were released by former correctional officer Sandra Kay Beeman, who was sentenced in May to five years in prison for her role in the escape. Baltimore drops from rankings BALTIMORE (AP) Civic leaders were suprised by the city's quick slide from Fortune magazine's ranking of the top 10 best cities in which to do business.

Baltimore was ranked fifth as rececenOy as 1989, but the city was well down the list in several categories this year 24th out of 50 cities for access to quality labor and 36th for its business attitude. Susan Eliasberg, vice president of marketing for the Baltimore Development said she was surprised the magazine would give the city's business attitude such a low ranking. "I think we have a very strong pro-business attitude throughout the community," Ms. Eliasberg said. Teacher charged with littering ANNAPOLIS (AP) A teacher was charged with littering after he refused to remove two posters from a fence surrounding the governor's mansion during a protest on budget cuts, according to court records.

Robert 44, of Garabrills, was charged with -fitteringjfo property and failing to obey a police order. "The arrest never would have taken place if the gentleman had simply cooperated as others did," said Frank Traynor, press secretary for Gov. William Donald Schaefer. Traynor said the arrest had nothing to do with the messages on the signs. McDonald on Thursday denied putting up the signs.

Photo by Ted Mathiu Take It easy L. Jones casts for catfish on the Choptank River in Denton on He caught two in the nwrning, then came back in the afternoon and caught three more. Sewage remains a threat to Chesapeake lot of "We feel there's been a and progress in the last two years; for at least four months in 1989. In Maryland, 27 of the state's 47 major publicly owned wastewater facilities exceeded limits four; or more months during 1989, the foundation's report said. EPA and state officials promised to make improvements after an EPA inspector general's report in 1989 accused state and federal governments in the bay region of lax enforcement.

The report released Thursday calls for more aggressive enforcement and stricter pollution limits. often lack adequate controls on nutrients and toxic pollutants," said Ann Powers, the foundation's vice president and general counsel, in a statement released with the report. "As a result, even if plants were in compliance with their permits, bay waters would still be in danger," she said. Maryland Department of the Environment officials, however, said the report was based on the performance of sewage plants in 1989 and did not take into account changes made since then. we don think it fair to just ignore that," said Jeffrey Rein, the department's director of community sewerage.

1 More plants are now required to remove nutrients and toxins and compliance with regulations has increased, he said. The foundation said 36 percent of the municipal sewage plants in the three states that discharge 1 million gallons or more of wastewater per day violated their pollution limits ANNAPOLIS (AP) Many municipal sewage treatments in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia routinely exceed state pollution limits, hampering efforts to clean up the Chesapeake Bay, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation reported Thursday. The report reviewed the performance of 160 large sewage plants in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation said many plants exceed state discharge limits, which are not as stringent as they should be in the first place. Many plants do not even have limits on the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus they can discharge, even though the nutrients are primarily responsible for water-quality problems.

"Treatment plant permits in Maryland, Virginia and, Pennsylvama garden center folly FALL IS -FOR PLANDM(G TREES SHRUBS LAWNS BULBS HOLLAND BULBS jj ST. MICHAELS 2 Friday Saturday 9 lgl Roast Tenderloin $1 1 .90 SEjjFpg Beef with Sauce Bearnaise 1 jj ON THE HARBOUR. ST. MICHAELS Sp1 NOTICE Hand-Knotted Oriental Rugs Plant Now For Spring Color Thousands to choose Tblips, Daffodils, Crocus. Hyacinths and much more 1 I LIQUIDATION SALE Effective October 1st we will be liquidating all our existing inventory of hand-knotted rugs.

We will continue to selpur fine quality machine-made rugs. All hand-knotted rugs will be marked doitin am 2 locations to serve you Rt. 50 in Easton 822-1451 Mod Sat 8:30 am 6:30 pm Sun 9:30 am 5:00 pm Business 404 in Denton 479-3103 Mod Sat 9:00 am 5:30 pm Sun 9:30 am 5:00 pm Open 7 days a week Every Tuesday is Senior Citizen Day Receive 10 off Reg. Price SALE Many Nursery Items Reduced Upto50 Off SflD and more if 1 All Persian, Russian, Pakistani, Romanian, Indian, Turkish, Afghany Shop Early Tuesday, October 1st for Best Selection Grand Opening of Hilly's Trim a TVee Shop November 1 3 Easton Store Special Event Saturday November 2 at 2 P.M. Heritage and Snow Village Open House with representatives from Dept.56 Raffles, Free Giveaways, Refreshments If Floors by Paul Meredith Oriental Kin's Carpets 1006 S.

Washington Easton 822-7766.