Police, Toys for Tots support Laurel family who lost house to fire

Police, Toys for Tots support Laurel family

who lost house to fire

Anne Arundel police and Toys for Tots teamed up to bring some holiday cheer to a Laurel family that lost their home earlier in the month.

On Monday, Dec. 20, the Anne Arundel County Fire Department responded to a call of a fire at a home on the 3300 block of Wye Mills South in Laurel at about 3 p.m.

The house was fully engulfed, according to the department, and damage was estimated at $200,000. A family of two adults and three children were displaced by the fire and assisted by the Red Cross.

MLK Jr. Awards dinner

to be held Jan. 13

The 29th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Awards Dinner will be held at 6 p.m Jan. 13 at La Fountaine Bleue in Glen Burnie.

The event will honor 10 local civil and human rights activists along with a keynote speech by the Rev. Kevin W. Cosby. Cosby gave the eulogy at Muhammad Ali's funeral. He has served as senior pastor at St. Stephens Church in Louisville, Kentucky, since 1979.

The Martin Luther King Jr. Awards Dinner was founded in 1988 by then Alderman Carl Snowden to pay homage to King by honoring those who "have helped keep his legacy alive," according to a news release on the event.

Here is the list of people to be honored Jan. 13:

*Annapolis Fire Department Deputy Chief Kevin Simmons: He will be honored for his 35-year commitment to the Annapolis Fire Department and for his role as chair of the Diversity Committee of the Metropolitan Council of Fire Chiefs.

*Patience Schenck: A retired teacher who works to educate whites about white privilege. She founded Working Group on Racism within the Baltimore Quakers Yearly Meeting.

*Dr. Alyson L. Hall: Hall is being recognized for her commitment to minority health care in Anne Arundel County.

*Anne Arundel County Police Chief Timothy J. Altomare: He is being honored for his return to community policing, re-instituing outreach units, youth activity programs and faith-based partnerships in long underserved communities of color in the county.

*State Senator Joan Carter Conway: Her work has helped citizens receive better mental health care and health insurance.

*Alderman Kenneth A. Kirby, D-Ward 6: Kirby co-founded the Concerned Black Males of Annapolis, and his award acknowledges his community involvement to the Anne Arundel County public school system among other work.

*Terry Patton: The principal of Franklin Square Elementary/Middle School in Baltimore is being honored for her work as an educator and her push to reduce absenteeism at schools.

*Midshipman First Class Megan Rosenberger: Rosenberger has been involved in outreach projects, including Harvest for the Hungry and also has been involved with environmental issues.

*Alicia A. Smooth: The lead mentor for the Michael Jones Mentoring Group is being recognized for her in youth mentorship activities in Anne Arundel County and Baltimore City.

*Annapolis police sergeant James C. Spearman Jr.: The officer is being honored for his 31-year law enforcement career and his charity work in the community.