Jackie Wang, of Ellicott City, was arrested Tuesday at his home after police identified him as a suspect via digital forensics, according to the Howard County Police Department. He is being held without bail at the Howard County Detention Center, police said.

Wang was hired in 2024 to work as an assistant in the St. John’s Parish Day School after-school and summer camp programs, according to a statement from the school. The independent day school located next to St. John’s Episcopal Church provides education programming for children 3 years old through fifth grade.

The school placed Wang on administrative leave immediately after a detective arrived at the school Tuesday to notify officials of the arrest, the school said. After learning of the charges via the Howard County State’s Attorney, the school terminated Wang’s employment.

Police said there are no indications that Wang recorded any of the child pornography he possessed. A detective told St. John’s Parish Day School that the materials did not involve anyone in the school community, according to the school’s statement.

“Mr. Wang successfully completed all pre-employment background checks and had no prior allegations of misconduct against him,” the school said.

According to charging documents, Howard Police assigned a detective to the case in November 2024 after receiving a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. A detective found five video files of child sex abuse materials, which included young boys undressed and performing sexual acts. The uploads were tracked to IP addresses owned by Verizon Fios, leading the detective to subpoena the company for subscriber information. An address was provided in November 2024, then police completed visual surveillance and determined that Wang lived in the home with two others.

Police executed a search and seizure warrant Tuesday at Wang’s home. Police said Wang told detectives he had received child sex abuse material through the online platform Discord and police found a USB drive with five images and five videos of male and female children about 4 to 12 years old. One video also included a teenage boy about the age of 15 to 17 years old, under the mattress in Wang’s room, according to charging documents.

The school said it quickly notified its community of the arrest and has provided resources to parents about how to speak with their children about the topic, urging them to report suspected misconduct to local authorities.

Police said that in digital cases like this one, it often takes months to identify email addresses and IP addresses.

“Search warrants must be issued for all accounts and devices and it is common for detectives to wait months for the data,” they said in a statement. “Then investigators have to go through thousands of pieces of digital information, which often leads to additional search warrants and another waiting period for responses. Detectives can only apply for charges once they have firmly established probable cause.”

The investigation is ongoing, police said.

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Goldstein bought his home with schools as the primary consideration, planning ahead for the education his then 3-year-old daughter would receive. But with looming redistricting options that could shift her to schools in Columbia and away from her friends, his family’s plans have been thrown off, even raising questions about moving to another county.

“It’s hard to even hide from her, like she’s overhearing the talks and she’s wondering, so do I have to go to a different school? Why would it happen? This is my school, like I belong there, you know, I’m a Centennial Elementary Dolphin, like she really loves it,” Goldstein said. “And I don’t even know how to explain it to her if she ever had to switch schools. It’s just absolutely crazy.”

Some students at Centennial Lane Elementary School might be shifted to Longfellow Elementary School in Columbia under plans for boundary readjustments presented by Howard County Public School System officials. To adjust feeds to middle and high schools, those reassigned would also be shifted to Harper’s Choice or Wilde Lake Middle and Wilde Lake High.

The redistricting for the 2026-2027 school year comes as two elementary schools, Centennial Lane and Bryant Woods, are expected to reach about 118% and 150% capacity, respectively, by Fall 2025. As the school system looks to shift students out of Centennial Lane, the options also move students from some neighborhoods in Columbia to Clemens Crossing, Running Brook or Swanfield elementary schools to alleviate overcrowding in Bryant Woods.

Parents in the Centennial community are “outraged” by the proposed redistricting scenarios, Goldstein said. It’s upsetting to see children’s welfare disregarded, as students who live close enough to walk to Burleigh Manor Middle and Centennial High might end up with lengthy bus rides to the Columbia schools, he said. The school system should hold current redistricting plans, he said, and look for alternative solutions.

“The school is probably really the connecting point for most people. There are people with very different cultural backgrounds, who let their children interact, play together, they’re all Americans now, they were all born here, and this is something that is really ridiculous to rip apart,” said Goldstein, who’s seen the strength of the community as an immigrant.

A group of parents formed the Alliance for Neighborhood Schools, also seeking alternative solutions to avoid splitting up the Centennial community. The group formed to bring parents together, looking at data, facts and policy to figure out how to best address overcrowding in schools, said Shirley Nan, a Centennial Lane Elementary parent and member of the group.

One of the group’s goals is to have the school system investigate shifting pre-K classes out of overcrowded schools like Centennial Lane Elementary as an alternative option to redistricting, gaining more than 1,200 signatures on a petition for the “sensible and fiscally responsible alternative.” The group supports pre-K and is rooting for the school system’s young learners, Nan said, but HCPSS must be realistic while strategically thinking about how to balance capacity to make the program successful.

“So I think what we’re asking them to do is choose, you know, minimum disruption to students, right? That should be the number one priority versus what’s convenient for HCPSS,” said Daniel Diep, a member of the group.

Along with an examination of pre-K classes, the group would like school officials to also consider the use of portable classrooms that  could at least offer a temporary solution, Nan said. Some attendance areas that would be shifted include mostly uninhabited land, creating isolated “attendance islands” of students separated from their community, another concern of the group.

But HCPSS officials said removing the pre-K classes at Centennial Elementary won’t fully relieve the overcrowding, and with requirements in the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, all elementary schools will need to have pre-K. There’s a deficit in space for kindergarten, Superintendent Bill Barnes said during Thursday’s meeting, and the renovation of the Faulkner Ridge Center won’t help as it only serves 3-year-olds. If Blueprint requirements were to change to allow 4-year-olds at Faulkner Ridge, then it could relieve about 11 to 13 classrooms, Barnes said.

“And, you know, so that’s an unknown right now, in terms of, well, it’s a known, but unless the known has changed, that’s not the solution we’re looking for there. But we’ll absolutely model on that and we’ll consider what we need to live with small feeds and give those solutions to the board and many, many, many other iterations for sure,” Barnes said.

Some Board of Education members advocated against shifting pre-K, sharing the strengths of allowing kids to attend the program at their home school. Several members also shared the same concerns of community members about busing students who’d normally walk and the attendance areas of open land, seeking more creative solutions. Board member Meg Ricks, who represents the Centennial area, said there is no scenario she’d vote for if it means busing walkers to different schools.

The alliance was thankful for the board’s support and hopes to see more creative solutions to handle capacity issues. Members will keep advocating for options that don’t add a cost or disrupt the community they’ve grown close to.

“So I think there’s plenty of things we want to and we can and we will advocate (for) moving forward, all the way through November. So we’ll keep engaged in the process and we’re just hoping the school system is listening as we go along,” Nan said.

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Cheering and chanting protesters, some holding signs, called for walkers not to be bused to new schools, communities to stay together and “common sense” solutions.

The boundary review process for the 2026-2027 school year was initiated after a vote by the board in February, which was later updated to add Longfellow Elementary School to the scope of schools that included Bryant Woods, Centennial Lane, Running Brook, Swansfield and Clemens Crossing elementary schools; Wilde Lake, Harper’s Choice, and Burleigh Manor middle schools; and Wilde Lake and Centennial high schools.

At the center of the boundary review process are Centennial Lane and Bryant Woods elementary schools, which are projected to reach, respectively, about 118% and 150% capacity by 2035. Bryant Woods, situated near the growing Columbia Town Center, had previously been redistricted for the 2020-2021 school year.

Howard County Public School System staff presented three scenarios to the board for consideration, all of which reassign some elementary students from Centennial Lane in Ellicott City to Longfellow in Columbia. Those students impacted will be reassigned to Harpers Choice or Wilde Lake Middle and Wilde Lake High School, causing some who’d normally walk to Burleigh Manor Middle and Centennial High to be bused to the schools in Columbia.

“In these instances, we elected to include sort of certain areas being reassigned and creating bus riders from areas that currently walk to their school as a trade-off to avoiding small feeds,” said Tim Rogers, manager of school planning for HCPSS.

Bena Zeng, who lives right across the crosswalk from the high school, said it’s upsetting, fiscally irresponsible and unsustainable to have her children and others waiting for buses when they can see a school across the street.

Another resident who lives within walking distance of the school, Yaye Essayas, called the scenarios “pretty Draconian.”

“My kids learn how to ride a bike at the high school, we go play basketball at the high school, and neighbors, neighborhoods, kids get together and play there. The plan is very sad, and hopefully they’ll come to their senses and make some changes,” Essayas said.

The proposed scenarios violate school system policy regarding redistricting, student health and wellbeing and sustainability, Cindy LaFollette said. The options also defy the community’s desire to preserve walkability, she said.

Scenario 1

The first scenario would reassign students in neighborhoods along Maryland Route 108 and Homewood Road, along Old Annapolis Road, and Centennial Lake to Longfellow, bringing the capacity at Centennial Lane down to about 102%. The Harper’s Forest Apartments in Columbia would be reassigned to Swansfield.

To address the capacity at Bryant Woods, the Jerry’s Drive and Woodleigh neighborhoods along Owen Brown Road would be reassigned to Clemens Crossing, as well as small pockets along Watch Chain Way and the southern end of Sunny Spring Lane. The Columbia Town Center area would be reassigned to Running Brook, while students in apartments at College Square, Bluffs at Hawthorn, and Eaves Columbia would move to Swansfield.

Those students shifted out of Centennial Lane Elementary will be assigned to Wilde Lake middle and high schools. A total of about 427 would face reassignment with this scenario, including about 78 walkers to Centennial High who’d be bused to Wilde Lake and at most 10 walkers to Burleigh Manor Middle who’d be bused to Harper’s Choice Middle.

Scenario 2

The second scenario, which affects about 429 students, would reassign the same neighborhoods to lower the capacity utilization at Bryant Woods, but changes the neighborhoods that would be reassigned out of Centennial Lane. A neighborhood including Century Drive, Carillon Drive, and Cross Country Drive along Centennial Lane would be redistricted to Longfellow, bringing the capacity at Centennial Lane to about 100% within a 10-year range. The impacted students would also be reassigned to Harpers Choice Middle and Wilde Lake High, according to the report.

Scenario 3

A noncontiguous boundary would be created for Bryant Woods in the third scenario, shifting mostly the same neighborhoods in Columbia, except it would reassign the Merriweather District to Swansfield. The scenario reassigns the fewest students, about 267, and brings Bryant Woods and nearby elementary schools within or below the capacity goal for the next 10 years.

However, scenario three would leave Centennial Lane at 107% capacity, causing the school to potentially need redistricting again. Students in neighborhoods around Centennial Lake, Route 108, and Homewood Road would be reassigned to Longfellow.

Feedback survey

A survey is open to collect feedback that will be considered as the superintendent develops his recommendation, which is set to be presented in September. Residents can also attend meetings on July 21, July 30 and Aug. 7. The school board will hold public hearings and work sessions following the superintendent’s recommendation before voting on a plan in November.

The school system will work through models for solutions and several iterations of redistricting plans, Superintendent Bill Barnes said. Regardless of the final decision, emotions will be high and students will have anxiety, he said, but school staff will work to support students.

“Any time we’re dislocating or disrupting communities, it is not to be taken lightly,” Barnes said. “And this is not about numbers, these are people.”

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“Early care is not a luxury. … It’s a necessity for families to build assets, grow their wages and reach true self-sufficiency, resulting in stronger communities and a more viable community that will continue to grow,” CAC President Tracy Broccolino said at a news conference at the Dasher Green Early Childhood Education Center.

The Community Action Council, Howard County’s anti-poverty organization, has been the sole Head Start provider in the county since 1979. For decades, the organization has helped children ages 3 to 5 and their families by providing early education, assigned social workers, access to its food bank and other services. Since 2013, the organization has educated nearly 4,100 children, Broccolino said.

The community has also shown a need for infant and toddler care, Broccolino said, which often rivals the cost of housing. With the grant, the CAC can now provide care from birth to 2 years of age through Early Head Start, which includes formula, diapers, nutrition and other services. The organization is going through the enrollment process and will open its doors to the younger students in late August, Broccolino said. The hiring process to staff the new service with educators is also underway.

Early Head Start will be available for 2-year-olds at the Bauder Education Center and for infants, toddlers and 2-year-olds at the Children’s Learning Center at Howard Community College, Erin Adelsberger, director of education for the CAC, said. The classrooms operate for the full day, year-round, Adelsberger said.

“We’re not just preparing children for kindergarten, but we’re helping families build a future that they deserve, and we get to make a little Howard County history while we do it,” Adelsberger said.

Not only does Head Start help children, but it also uplifts families and parents who can build a career and contribute further to the economy, Broccolino said. The government’s investment isn’t just for individuals, she said, but for the whole community. It’s an investment that “brings calm, brings peace, brings stability” to the whole community, County Executive Calvin Ball said.

“As we look to the future and continue to build an inclusive economy in Howard County, affordable and accessible childcare will be at the center,” Ball said.

After applying for the grant in January, Broccolino said it feels like “we can finally exhale” now that it’s been received. Head Start programs nationwide faced uncertainty with several cuts to grants made by the federal government, but the CAC was able to be awarded the grant in early July. However, the organization had been developing contingency plans in case funding wasn’t received, Broccolino said.

“To be able to know that we have been awarded this grant is a statement of confidence from our federal partners and from the community at large, knowing that CAC of Howard County is an organization that can be counted on to meet community needs and is a reliable partner,” Broccolino said in an interview.

Lola Tanimowo counted on CAC enrolling her daughters in the Head Start programs. As she went back to school to receive certifications through Howard Community College to build on her bachelor’s degree from her home country, the program helped her be able to reach her career goals. Now, she serves as a Head Start Policy Council Chair and as a board member for the CAC while informing other parents about the programs. The grant will help parents navigate life and work while experiencing personal growth, she said.

“But I’m just thankful that I’m being here, being a parent, being a student, for programs like this, it has become easy for me. So, thank you for letting me live my dream and letting my kids live their dream,” Tanimowo said to a small crowd.

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In February, the board voted to begin the boundary review process for schools in the Columbia and Ellicott City areas that are below 90% or above 110% capacity. Longfellow Elementary School was mistakenly left off the list of schools included in the process, prompting the board to vote again in April to correct the error.

Centennial Lane and Bryant Woods elementary schools, which are projected to be at about 118% and 150% capacity by 2035, respectively, are at the center of the redistricting process as the school system looks to shift students to neighboring schools. The boundary review also includes Running Brook, Swansfield and Clemens Crossing elementary schools. Wilde Lake, Harper’s Choice and Burleigh Manor middle schools, and Wilde Lake and Centennial high schools are included to adjust feeds from elementary schools.

The scenarios to be presented Thursday represent the “initial stage of scenario testing and refinement,” an HCPSS report stated. The report couldn’t include all possibilities for boundary adjustment, but it includes three options to reduce enrollment at Centennial Lane and Bryant Woods by shifting students to Clemens Crossing, Longfellow, Running Brook and Swansfield elementary schools. Some students reassigned from Centennial Lane Elementary will be shifted to either Wilde Lake or Harpers Choice middle schools and Wilde Lake High.

More information about the scenarios will be on the school system’s website by next week following the meeting. Community members can attend meetings July 21, July 30 and Aug. 7  to gather more information, provide feedback and answer questions. A survey will open for individuals to provide more feedback that will be considered when building the superintendent’s recommendation for a redistricting plan.

The superintendent is slated to present a Proposed Attendance Area Adjustment Plan in September, with opportunities for public comment and work sessions with the board held through September and November. The board will decide on a final plan for implementation in the 2026-2027 school year in November.

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This districts, some through contracted bus companies, will receive funding through the Maryland Electric School Bus Grant Program for the purchase of buses, training, charging infrastructure and other related items, according to a Maryland Energy Administration news release.

“Budgets are often tight, and any way you can trim your costs is really welcome. But I think the other part of it is one that has real clear both environmental and especially public health benefits, right, like why wouldn’t we send our kids to school on the cleanest option available?” said Tim Zink, director of marketing and communications for the Maryland Energy Administration.

The program received $17 million in funding from what Gov. Wes Moore called a $90 million “down payment” toward reaching the state’s climate goals, announced in February 2024.

Most of the Maryland Energy Administration’s programs are funded by the Strategic Energy Investment Fund, Zink said. The “SEIF” receives monies from alternative compliance payments made by utility companies that haven’t met certain goals for renewable energy and the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which collects payments from utility companies for their emissions.

With the more than $12 million reported through fiscal 2025 in the program, there will be some funding left over to continue the program next year, Zink said. However, it is unclear whether the program will continue to be funded on a recurring basis.

The Maryland Energy Administration received nine applications for the grant program, Diego Lopez, section chief of clean transportation for the energy administration, said. From those applications, Baltimore, Howard, Kent, Frederick, Prince George’s, and Washington counties were awarded funding. Chesapeake Charter, a private fleet operator, was also awarded funding to electrify its fleet.

The school districts that weren’t chosen to receive funding could not be confirmed.

Each school district is at a different level of implementing electric school buses, Lopez said. The applications were assessed by reviewers who looked at each applicant’s situation, shifting funding to around the three areas of interest — planning, charging infrastructure and buses — based on the circumstances.

About five or six applicants already had “tons of plans,” some charging infrastructure or electric school buses, Lopez said, so they could be moved out of the first area of interest. For example, Baltimore and Frederick counties are “ahead of the pack,” Lopez said, so it was anticipated that those districts were more ready to use the piece of funding available for training technicians.

Washington County was awarded a small amount of funding to assess the feasibility of implementing electric buses, while Kent County will receive funding to go through plans and training to deploy its first electric fleet. Counties with plans, like Prince George’s and Baltimore, received funding to expand current fleets and charging networks, while Howard County was awarded funding to “meet the county’s diverse needs,” according to the news release. The Maryland Energy Administration doesn’t “play favorites” or award extra funding to certain districts, but underserved communities can qualify for an additional $500,000, Lopez said.

“We definitely learned a lot about still some of the challenges and barriers. There are definitely going to be challenges to implementing any technology, but I feel like this is such a large step in the right direction,” Lopez said.

A total of 53 electric buses will be able to be purchased through the funding awarded this year, reducing emissions by an estimated 9,000 tons of carbon dioxide. Costs for schools are reduced, too, as electric buses are cheaper to run and maintain, Zink said.

When purchasing buses, the Maryland Energy Administration will pay for most of the difference in cost between a diesel and an electric bus, Lopez said. Then the school district will have to pay the remaining amount.

But there is money available for the purchase of electric buses and other opportunities through initiatives from various stakeholders that school districts often don’t take full advantage of, Lopez said. Utility companies may offer funding for chargers or electric vehicle incentive rates, he said, while the Maryland Department of the Environment has funding available for buses.

Anytime there is a new program, there’s a “test,” Zink said. But despite the financial strain on all agencies, when a program sees success and positive feedback, the energy administration will take whatever steps are needed to ensure it remains strong.

“Here we are, meeting each of the school districts where they were and just helping them move forward regardless of where they were,” Zink said. “That’s pretty neat.”

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In the past week, the Historic Ellicott City area has received more than 5 inches of rain. This is the third time since July 9 that the county has closed Main Street in Ellicott City due to threats of flooding. On Sunday, the county reported over 3 inches of rain in three hours. There was no flooding or damage reported to Main Street or Historic Ellicott City on Sunday.

According to the National Weather Service, rainfall rates could reach 2-3 inches per hour in the region Monday, and Howard County will be under a flood watch through midnight.

In Historic Ellicott City, county officials announced parking restrictions along Main Street from Ellicott Mills Drive to the Patapsco River bridge at the Howard County and Baltimore County line and along Maryland Avenue. Parking Lot D behind the Howard County Welcome Center and Parking Lot E off Court Avenue behind Phoenix Upper Main are closed.

“Proactive, temporary road closures help ensure public safety by limiting the number of vehicles and individuals in the flood-prone area,” said Safa Hira, a Howard County spokesperson. “During this Flood Watch, Howard County has activated its Emergency Operations Command (EOC) to monitor the weather and respond quickly to safety concerns.”

Kevin Witt, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said the flood warnings are because slow-moving thunderstorms are producing heavy rain exacerbated by levels of high humidity. Showers and storms “feed off” the humidity and intensify, he said.

While higher dew points or humidity are normal for the summer, and showers and storms are typical for May through July, Witt said that the past few days have not been normal. Showers and rain are expected through this week; flooding is a possibility if humidity remains high and storms form, he said.

“What doesn’t seem normal about it is we’ve gotten consecutive days of a lot of places getting hit over and over again,” Witt said. “That’s the unusual part.”

The precautionary measures this week come after historic flooding in 2011, 2016 and 2018 killed three people and left behind massive destruction in the town situated in a valley next to the Patapsco River. Its geography paired with decades of development that lacked proper stormwater management set the scene for exacerbated flooding, experts have said.

In December 2018, County Executive Calvin Ball released the Ellicott City Safe and Sound plan, which consists of seven projects for flood mitigation to enhance safety and protect the area. In addition to the five water retention ponds and two water conveyance projects included in the plan, an outdoor tone alert system, warning signage, and enhanced stream inspection and debris clearing have been implemented.

But Howard County Council Chair Liz Walsh criticized the current flood mitigation strategy, citing insufficient action. Walsh was critical of the current flood precaution because it “only has flood works in one of three sub watersheds.” The Tiber Branch, Hudson Branch and New Cut Branch tributaries all converge and empty into the Patapsco River at the bottom of the hill where shops and businesses are located on Main Street.

All of the work that has been done to mitigate floods in Ellicott City has only been done in the Hudson sub watershed, she said.

“We’ve known of these risks and the causes of these risks and the contributions to these risks, and we continue to act as though it’s not a big deal,” Walsh said. “And then we have weeks like this. It’s upsetting.”

There’s been too many close calls in too few days, she added.

“We don’t have the resources we need to deal with it,” Walsh said. “So everyone down there’s at risk.”

Have a news tip? Contact Kiersten Hacker at khacker@baltsun.com or @KierstenHacker on X. Contact April Santana at asantana@baltsun.com or at 443-834-7525.

Attorneys for Chris Siperko, the landowner who built the track, and neighbors who oppose it, must submit written summaries of the case to the board. Each attorney will have 10 minutes to provide oral arguments when the board reconvenes for deliberations at the end of the month. The board will discuss the merits of the case and “hope to render a verdict at that point,” followed by a written decision and order, said Gene Ryan, chair of the board.

Thursday’s session was a continuation of a nearly seven-hour hearing June 26. That hearing followed another long day of testimony on June 5, when the board unanimously decided that the track could be considered an athletic field, giving it jurisdiction to hear the case.

The track has been at the center of a months-long controversy between Siperko and concerned neighbors.

Siperko built the go-kart track on his 11-acre property for his 11-year-old son, Achilles, who dreams of becoming a racecar driver. Siperko said he built the track so his son could practice at home instead of traveling to Florida for training. He invested about $100,000 into the 1.5-mile asphalt track, but did so without receiving permits from the county or the Maryland Department of the Environment.

The Howard County Department of Planning and Zoning inspected the site in January 2024, about a month after complaints were filed, and found that it violated zoning and subdivision regulations, according to Lynda Eisenberg, the department’s director. Siperko was issued a citation and paid a fine for grading without a permit, his attorney Sang Oh said. He filed a conditional use application for the track to address another citation.

In March, Howard County Hearing Examiner Katherine L. Taylor dismissed the case, citing a lack of jurisdiction to hear the petition. Siperko and his attorney appealed the decision, sending the case to the Board of Appeals.

The conditional use plan would move a portion of the track to ensure a 100-foot buffer from other properties, Robert Vogel, a civil engineer with the firm that designed the track, had testified. Vogel said they will work with the Maryland Department of the Environment to restore any wetlands, acknowledging that the current track may have affected them.

If a conditional use is approved, there will be a regulatory process, and both a site development plan and an environmental concept plan will be created, Oh has said.

“While I do admire the love a parent has for their child to succeed in life’s dreams, ambitions and goals, it should not be done in a manner that has violated Howard County codes of laws for zoning and planning,” neighbor Judy Radas said during the hearing Thursday.

As the hours of testimony grew, frustration permeated exchanges with subtle tension. Neighbors shared concerns about environmental impacts with the runoff down the slope of the land, microplastics from tires penetrating the ground and nearby stream, and the noise and view of the track in their quiet neighborhood. Some shared worries about their property values decreasing, and another questioned the example that could be set for other property owners if the appeal is granted.

“I generally believe that a property owner has the right to do whatever they want on their property. However, when that starts to impact my right to enjoy my property, that is not acceptable any longer,” said neighbor Kelly Rudden, who is concerned about the noise from the track that can be heard from her home office.

The Board of Appeals will reconvene for deliberations at 9 a.m. July 31, with a verdict expected that day. Either party can appeal the decision issued to the circuit court.

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Ruth Naomi Thorp, a Catonsville native living in Glen Burnie, was found strangled in an Econo Lodge on U.S. Route 1 in Elkridge on April 14, 1982. The 21-year-old checked into the motel with a man police classify as a known acquaintance.

Cpl. Wade Zufall, a detective who now leads the police department’s cold case unit, said Thorp attended school that morning. A young mother, she was working toward earning a GED.

“She was doing what any young person would do back then, that maybe left school early, they wanted to go and get their high school diploma and better themselves for their family, and maybe to get a better job and things like that,” Zufall said.

In 2019, after Thorp’s daughter called the department seeking updates on the case, Zufall began working it as his first case since joining the unit. He noted that Thorp was killed 17 days apart from another victim in a Columbia cold case, Laney Lee “Linda” McGadney, which he thought was “strange.”

Zufall began working through the cases together, looking for similarities. Albert Jacob Hartje Jr. was identified as a suspect in the McGadney case, and after examining potential links to Thorp’s killing, evidence pointed to Hartje as a suspect in Thorp’s case as well, Zufall said.

Hartje was raised in New Jersey before his family moved to Riverdale, Maryland, Zufall said. He lived in Columbia from 1980 to 1983, where he worked installing flooring. He had served time in prison in the 1970s, Zufall said. Then, in 1983, Hartje committed two armed robberies in New York, for which he served time in Rikers Island until 1994. Hartje worked as a contractor at a concrete plant in Harrisonburg, Virginia, following his sentence, where police located him in 2021.

Police spoke with Hartje about the investigation, but Zufall said he could not comment further. Hartje died in 2021.

“Right now, obviously the evidence does point to him obviously being involved in her murder in 1982, but the evidence that we have in the case just indicates that he didn’t act alone either,” Zufall said.

Physical evidence from the scene shows “there was at least one additional suspect,” Zufall said. Zufall said police developed a sketch of a man based on a description given by an employee who interacted with him; however, it is unclear whether the sketch depicts Hartje or another suspect.

McGadney’s case is labeled “solved” on the police department’s website. A Laurel man, Howard Jackson Bradberry Jr., was charged with rape and murder in that case, and Zufall said police are still working to determine whether Bradberry can be linked to Thorp’s case.

Zufall speaks with Thorp’s brother and mother, who still lives in the Catonsville area, a few times a month to catch up, he said.

“So, obviously she has hope that, you know, we can finish up this case and identify who the second person was that was involved in Ruth’s murder,” Zufall said.

The police are seeking information regarding friends, co-workers or other individuals who may have known Hartje, Zufall said. The reward for information in any Howard County cold case is up to $30,000.

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“I think the Democratic Party, you know, needs fighters, fighters that are willing to stand up and champion our values,” Handley said. “And I think that’s me.”

The 40-year-old Ellicott City resident said he was motivated to run in the face of changes at the federal level, and because it isn’t often that the council has an open seat. Council Chair Liz Walsh currently represents District 1, and said she plans to make a formal announcement this month about her future political plans.

“I think that the only positive, progressive reforms that can happen right now are going to be at the local and state level,” Handley said. “And the Democratic Party needs people who are willing to stand up to this administration, who have strong values, who aren’t bought and sold, and who are going to push back and fight and not fold.”

Should he win the seat, Handley said he plans to focus on fully funding the Howard County Public School System, protecting vulnerable and green spaces, and making the county an affordable place to live for the middle and working classes.

Handley served in the U.S. Army and has been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. He now works as an assistant attorney general with the Maryland Office of the Attorney General. The ability to think like a lawyer and apply the hard work and resiliency he learned as an officer in the Army has equipped Handley to serve on the council, he said.

Handley has also been president of the Ellicott City and Western Howard County Democratic Club, volunteering to help elect Democrats in the county.

Handley is using public financing for his campaign through the Citizens’ Election Fund, which offers matching county funds for candidates who meet certain requirements. He said he supports the program because it “requires the right amount of community engagement” and limits the influence of special interest groups.

One other candidate has declared an intention to run for the District 1 seat, Democrat Kevin Chin. No candidates for District 1 had officially filed paperwork with the state Board of Elections, as of July 9. The district includes Ellicott City, Dorsey’s Search, Elkridge and Hanover.

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