“The family stated that Mr. Flanagan was killed Sunday, July 21, [1968] while flying a mission over the DMZ when his aircraft was hit by hostile ground fire. Mr. Flanagan had been in Vietnam since May after his reserve unit in the Air Force was called up for active duty in January. He is believed to be the first guardsman called to duty during the period to have died in action in Vietnam.

“A spokesman for the D.C. Air National Guard based at Andrews Air Force Base said Col. Flanagan had been assigned to train replacement pilots at Myrtle Beach, S.C. His duties, the spokesman said, required him to make brief trips to Vietnam, and two months ago, he volunteered to stay there to do combat missions.”

He was flying an F-100 “Super Sabre” jet fighter when he died. A note on the Washington, D.C. Vietnam Memorial “Virtual Wall” website reports, “A Super Sabre and its pilot was lost during a mission to destroy an anti-aircraft gun position on the South Vietnamese-Laos border, in the hill country 25 miles southwest of Hue.”

“LtCol Flanagan was making his first strafing pass from 3000 feet when his aircraft was hit by ground fire and dived into the ground near the target. The pilot may have been wounded by the anti-aircraft fire as he did not eject. LtCol Flanagan was a member of the District of Columbia ANG [Air National Guard] [and] had volunteered for service [in Vietnam] …”

An undated Carroll Sun newspaper file clipping reported he joined the Air Force in 1951 and flew combat missions in the Korean War. Flanagan “belonged to the 113th Tactical Fighter Squadron of the District of Columbia Air National Guard that was called to active duty Jan. 27, 1968 during the Pueblo crisis,” said the Carroll Sun.

Flanagan was born on April 8, 1930, and raised in Westminster. He attended Westminster High School “before going to Charlotte Hall Military Academy, graduating in 1947,” reported the Carroll Sun.

According to an article in the Carroll County Times in May 1989, “Previous to his service in Vietnam … Before his reserve unit was reactivated, Flanagan was a lawyer with the legal firm of Cable and McDaniel in Westminster. He had practiced law since 1960 when he graduated from the University of Maryland law school.”

The Carroll Sun article reported, “He was the past secretary of the Maryland Bar Association and a member of the Westminster Rotary Club.”

Local historian Jay Graybeal authored an article in the Carroll County Times on June 20, 1999, that Flanagan had “Trained as a fighter pilot, he flew combat missions during the Korean War and also flew during the Berlin Airlift in 1961…”

According to oral tradition, right before Flanagan reported to Vietnam, his family had decided to purchase a home on Willis Street.

Flanagan’s remains were never recovered. He is forever remembered on the black granite memorial that is the centerpiece of the Carroll County Vietnam Memorial Park. His name can also be found etched on Panel 51W Line 025, on the granite Vietnam Memorial, in Washington, D.C.

You can also pay your respects to Flanagan, and everyone who lost their lives in Vietnam, this October at The Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall. According to the Babylon Vault Co. website, the Traveling Wall will be at the New Windsor Fire Department Carnival Grounds, 101 High St., New Windsor, from Oct. 9-13. The wall and exhibits will remain open around the clock from 6 p.m., Oct. 9 to 11 a.m., Oct. 13, providing the opportunity to visit during early morning and overnight hours when there are fewer visitors.

The Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall is a 3/5th scale replica of the original in D.C. standing over 6 feet tall, spanning 300 feet end to end, according to Babylon Vault. The wall honors the more than 58,000 names of the men and women of the armed forces who served and lost their lives in Vietnam.

Inscribed on the wall includes the names of 18 Carroll Countians who were killed in action serving in the Vietnam War, according to the Babylon Vault media release.

“Of the 18 KIA, Sherman E. Flanagan Jr. from Westminster is still missing in action. We also had one POW from the war. Peter “Eddie” Drabic, Army, was taken as Prisoner of War while on patrol in the jungles in South Vietnam on Sept. 24, 1968, and was held until his release on March 16, 1973, spending 1,635 days in captivity. We will have the panel numbers available for those wishing to do a rubbing from the wall of our hometown heroes,” the release said.

Flanagan was a family friend. It has been said that service members die twice, once when they are killed in action and once when their name is spoken for the last time. A portion of this discussion has been published before — and hopefully will be republished again in the future. May we never forget his service and sacrifice for our country, and forever hold him in our hearts.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster. His Time Flies column appears every Sunday. Email him at kevindayhoff@gmail.com.

The crash happened shortly after 2 a.m. on Maryland Route 97 near Humbert Schoolhouse Road. A 2016 GMC Canyon traveling northbound crossed the center line for unknown reasons and collided head-on with a 2011 Ford E-350 van, according to a preliminary investigation.

The driver of the Ford van, who has not yet been identified pending notification of next of kin, was pronounced dead at the scene by Carroll County emergency medical personnel. He was the sole occupant of the vehicle, state police said.

The GMC Canyon driver, identified as 36-year-old Christopher Wolf of New Oxford, Pennsylvania, was transported to York Hospital for treatment of injuries sustained in the crash. Wolf was the sole occupant of the vehicle and his condition was not disclosed.

Authorities say charges are pending the outcome of the investigation as the cause of the crash remains under review.

The Maryland State Police Crash Team responded to assist with the investigation.

Have a news tip? Contact Todd Karpovich at tkarpovich@baltsun.com or on X as @ToddKarpovich.

The community garden began its first planting season in May. Founder Jennifer Lleras said produce grown there is donated to those in need.

Lleras said a group of regular weekly volunteers helps at the garden, and she hopes to have more organizations volunteer there. That would help her tackle a long project wish list, which includes building a shed, implementing a rainwater collection system, creating an area for composting, and installing a sign and seating areas.

“I’m looking for more opportunities to get bigger groups of people involved,” Lleras said. “There are some bigger projects that we have in mind, but we just don’t have the funding or the amount of volunteers needed to really get behind those projects.”

Boys & Girls Clubs of Carroll County’s marketing director Erin Bishop said the Kahlert Leadership Academy is a weeklong summer academy for middle- and high-school students that teaches participants about how to be positive community leaders.

“Our youth had the chance to work side by side, get their hands dirty, and see the difference they can make when they give back,” Bishop said. “That’s what real leadership is all about.”

Have a news tip? Contact Kat Mauser at kmauser@baltsun.com.

Carroll County deputies will start serving the ICE warrants, which allow them to hold a suspect for up to two days, on Aug. 1. The agreement with ICE only affects detainees in the county’s detention center; it does not mean that deputies will actively go out in the community to serve the ICE warrants.

According to the agreement the county signed with ICE earlier this year, the Sheriff’s Office is “expected to pursue to completion all criminal charges that caused the alien to be taken into custody and over which it has jurisdiction. ICE will assume custody of an alien only after said individual has been released from [the Sheriff’s Office] custody.”

In the wake of a national outcry about President Donald Trump’s stepped-up deportation efforts and the way they’re being carried out, activists in Carroll County have been rallying every Monday night in front of county offices in Westminster.

DeWees called critics of the program “incredibly naive,” in a Maryland Matters article this week, saying: “This is a jail-based model. We are not running around looking for people that ICE wants.”

DeWees also “said the program isn’t discriminatory, as each person’s immigration status is checked, regardless of who they are,” according to Maryland Matters.

The rallies are now in their fifth week, and have drawn about 15 to 25 people each time.

“It’s growing every week,” said Natalie Sanchez, who has lived in Eldersburg for more than 20 years and helped organize a local group called Carroll County Immigrant Rights Defense.

A petition urging Carroll County Sheriff Jim DeWees to end the ICE agreement has more than 550 signatures, and notes: “Carroll County residents’ politics are varied, but we are united in our desire to keep an inhumane, illegal, and weaponized immigration system out of our county. We have seen how ICE agents violated Elsy Berrios’ rights in our community… Under any circumstances, we do not support local cooperation with ICE or 287(g) agreements, which have been shown to be racist and dangerous for communities. Under the current presidential administration, cooperation with ICE and implementation of 287(g) agreements amount to local facilitation of and complicity with illegal and inhumane orders.”

Berrios, 52, was arrested on March 31 by ICE officers while driving herself, her daughter and another woman to work at a Carroll County clothing manufacturer, local law enforcement and her lawyer said. Her daughter, Karen Cruz Berrios, took video of the arrest from the passenger seat. Officers refused to show her a warrant for her arrest despite her requests, video of the arrest shows.

When Berrios refused to get out of the car without evidence of a warrant, officers broke her car window, letting shattered glass fall on Berrios and into the car. After she stepped out of the car, they arrested her and took her to ICE’s Baltimore holding facility.

The petition was created by Indivisible Carroll County, a chapter of a grassroots progressive movement seeking “to resist the Trump agenda.”

The 287(g) agreement can be canceled any time, although the federal agency requests a 90-day notice. The agreement notes that the participating local law enforcement “personnel are bound by all Federal civil rights law,  regulations, and guidance relating to non-discrimination.”

CASA said it has implemented a “Know Your Rights” campaign, and has training available for anyone concerned about ICE activities in their community.

“Carroll residents are voicing their distrust and opposition to 287(g),” said Ninfa Amador-Hernandez, policy manager for immigrant advocacy group CASA, on Friday.

She explained that one of the main reasons is “the ability for flagrant civil-rights violations,” which she said have been seen in Latino communities in adjacent Frederick County.

With Carroll’s 287(g) agreement becoming active Aug. 1, she said, the group will continue to monitor the county “for any civil rights violations.”

Sanchez said DeWees doubled down on his commitment to the program when he met with the immigrant-rights group in April.

Commissioner Kenneth Kiler also declined to take up the group’s request to bring up the 287(g) agreement at an upcoming county meeting.

“While we would love for the sheriff to listen to the community and actually cancel the agreement, unfortunately we don’t think that’s actually going to happen,” Sanchez said. She said the group will continue to let their elected officials know about residents’ opposition, and support their immigrant neighbors.

Have a news tip? Contact Bryna Zumer at bzumer@baltsun.com, or on X as @brynazumer. 

The weeklong fair will be open through Aug. 1 in Westminster. It will have livestock shows every evening, live music most nights, air-conditioned exhibit halls to showcase projects from 4-H and FFA members, rides and — new this year — carnival games such as ring toss and axe throwing, as well as a bumblebee ride.

Carroll County Fair Board’s Vice Chairperson Bradley Thomas said the fair will also hold its “big-ticket item,” the annual demolition derby, on Aug. 2 — a day after the fair’s conclusion. The 4-H and FFA livestock sale, which Thomas said is a draw for many business owners and community members, will take place at 5 p.m. on Aug. 1.

“The most important thing, in my mind, is seeing these 4-Hers that have exhibited these projects that they’ve worked on hard over the course of the years,” said Thomas, who participated in 4-H for 12 years when he was a child. “Whether it be a woodworking project or a lamb that they’ve raised and are showing, seeing them get their ribbons and the smile on their face with that is incredible.”

Carroll County’s fair is free to attend, with a $5 fee for parking after 2 p.m. Children’s Day is set for Tuesday, with family-friendly activities such as magic shows, touch-a-truck — during which visitors can see and touch large trucks and equipment — and games for all ages throughout the day.

The fair’s popular Cake Auction, with prize-winning treats made by 4-H and FFA kids up for bids, will be Wednesday at 7 p.m. In 2024, the grand champion cake sold for $10,000. Thomas said the money made from this auction goes back to the fair to help it continue each year.

“The fair really provides a way for the community to come together and pay attention to the agricultural industry that is so important to Carroll County and to Maryland,” Thomas said. “The program really instills a lot of important values into our kids and teaches them a lot of life lessons that that stick with them forever.”

For a full schedule and more information about the fair, go to its website.

Have a news tip? Contact K. Mauser at kmauser@baltsun.com.

The District 5 seat will be left vacant starting Aug. 1, when Rothstein will begin his new position leading the Maryland Department of Veterans and Military Families.

The central committee will accept applications through Aug. 2 for candidates interested in filling the final 17 months of Rothstein’s term.

All seats on the Board of County Commissioners are up for election in 2026.

Republican Alan Grasley is the only candidate who has filed to be on the 2026 ballot for the District 5 seat. He said he’s notified the central committee of his interest in filling the vacancy and plans to apply now that guidelines have been released.

All applicants must be 21 years old, have resided in Carroll County for at least a year and in District 5 for at least six months, and be a registered Republican. Applicants must submit a resume, two letters of reference and any additional application materials to ccrccapplication@gmail.com by 11:59 p.m. on Aug. 2. They must also fill out a questionnaire after application materials are submitted to be considered for the seat.

The central committee expects to submit a candidate to Gov. Wes Moore within 30 days of Rothstein’s departure, Chair Mercedes Moebuis said. Moore will then have 15 days to appoint a candidate.

Any public comments related to the application or its applicants can be submitted to carrollmdrepublicans@gmail.com.

“I am proud to move on to this new position,” Rothstein said. “I believe that the CCRCC will do their due diligence in recommending a candidate.”

Have a news tip? Contact K. Mauser at kmauser@baltsun.com.

The company announced its Westminster location will hold a grand opening at 9 a.m. on July 30 in the Westminster Crossing West shopping center. It’s taking over the former Gavigan’s Furniture space.

New York Times-bestselling romance novelist B.K. Borison, who is based in Baltimore, will be on hand for the ribbon-cutting and will sign books.

The 20,000 square-foot store’s design will “marry the best traditions of independent bookselling with the resources of the historic chain,” the company said in a news release.

It will include a B&N Cafe, books and a range of toys, games, paper and gift items.

“The enthusiastic response from the community has been very encouraging, and our Westminster booksellers have been hard at work preparing a bookstore curated with their new customers in mind,” James Daunt, CEO of Barnes & Noble, said in a statement.

Barnes & Noble is opening seven new bookstores nationwide in July, as part of an ambitious corporate strategy.

The company expects to open more than 60 new bookstores this year, and opened more stores last year than it had in the decade between 2009 and 2019, according to the news release.

Barnes & Noble remodeled its two Baltimore County stores in White Marsh and Pikesville in recent years, and also downsized the Pikesville store, moving it across the street.

Stores in Bel Air and Ellicott City are among those that retain the company’s previous 1990s-style format.

The past decade has seen big changes for Barnes & Noble locally, as the company closed its high-profile, longtime stores at Towson Circle and at the Power Plant in the Inner Harbor. It also opened a new location in The Mall in Columbia.

Have a news tip? Contact Bryna Zumer at bzumer@baltsun.com, or on X as @brynazumer. 

Jay Landsman Jr., announced this week he will take on three-term Sheriff Jim DeWees in the 2026 Republican primary.

Landsman is a 26-year veteran of the Baltimore County Police Department, most prominently as commander of the Towson precinct, and comes from a family focused on law enforcement.

He is the son of Jay Landsman Sr., who was featured on HBO’s “The Wire” in the early 2000s and inspired “Law & Order” character John Munch.

“Dad is like Obi-Wan Kenobi in policing, and that’s the way it is,” the candidate joked, referring to the “Star Wars” Jedi Master. “He has seen a lot of stuff.”

After retiring from Baltimore County police in 2021, the younger Landsman, who will turn 50 this fall, was an administrative services manager with Westminster Police Department, but realized “after three months, this is not something I am going to be happy doing 10, 15 years.”

He returned to Baltimore County to work for Towson University police, and left recently to pursue the Carroll sheriff job.

Even while working as a sergeant for Baltimore County and eventually as commander, “I always had that interest in the political process,” he said.

Landsman said Monday he has thought about a political post for a while, and was eager to give residents a choice in the election. He has lived in the Westminster area with his wife and two children since 1998.

“Contested elections are good for democracy,” he said. “It gives the community a choice. It drives voter turnout.”

His family’s work in police and fire departments goes back generations. His grandfather,  Lt. Charles “Buck” Pfaff, was killed in a fire-truck accident on Park Heights Avenue in 1949.

Regarding taking on DeWees, Landsman said: “The sheriff’s been in there 12 years. When you are in there, addressing crime and public safety, you don’t want to be stuck in the status quo, but a fresh perspective is good in a county that’s growing rapidly.”

He said it’s important to focus on residents’ issues with traffic, in light of new development, and to address “bleed-over” crime from neighboring jurisdictions, including Pennsylvania. That especially means juvenile crime, of which he saw a lot during his time in Towson, Landsman said.

“That juvenile crime situation is what’s going to drive crime in the future,” he said. “They are going to be tomorrow’s violent offenders, and it’s up to us to find that solution, build the model” so young offenders will face effective consequences.

Candidates have until Feb. 24 to file to run in the 2026 primary election in Maryland.

Have a news tip? Contact Bryna Zumer at bzumer@baltsun.com, or on X as @brynazumer. 

Little G’s Diner has built up a lot of hype on social media and will hold a grand opening Saturday in the North Side Business Center on Main Street, previously home to the well-known Hampstead Diner.

The new restaurant is “a community-driven revival of Hampstead’s diner legacy,” owners Christopher and Katie Coil said in a news release.

The “Little G” in the diner’s name is their son, Grayson, who is set to cut the ribbon on the new establishment at 10 a.m. on Saturday, at 1365 N. Main St.

Area residents might recognize Grayson from “Mason and Grayson’s Lemonade Stand,” which has set up at community events and festivals.

The family’s KC Elite Hospitality, LLC, business has been running Bebo’s Mac Shack, a food truck focused on mac and cheese, in the Westminster area — along with the lemonade stands and catering.

Grayson did a menu reveal for Little G’s Diner on Facebook, showcasing specials such as “juicy smash burgers,” “hearty breakfasts,” “delightful sandwiches,” “homemade soups,” “sweet treats for the little ones” and more.

Little G’s will serve breakfast all day, and offer lunch dishes in “a cozy and nostalgic setting,” according to the news release.

Have a news tip? Contact Bryna Zumer at bzumer@baltsun.com, or on X as @brynazumer . 

An adjunct professor at McDaniel and Carroll Community colleges, Hugendubler, 33, flew to Culver City, California on May 8 to film the last episode of this season at Sony Pictures Studio. The episode is scheduled to air at 7 p.m., Friday on FOX45 WBFF.

In addition to his day jobs, Hugendubler said he’s been a trivia enthusiast for about 10 years, and became a trivia host and writer for Charm City Trivia during the pandemic.

Being on the show was an “out-of-body experience” for Hugendubler, who lives in Charles Village said he’s proud to represent Baltimore on the show. He can’t disclose the results of his show until it airs, he added.

“If you asked me under oath to recall the experience, I probably still wouldn’t remember about 80% of it just because of how intense it was,” he said. “It’s been a really interesting experience.”

Applying contestants for Jeopardy! must first take and pass its ‘anytime test,’ which gives contestants fifteen seconds to answer each of 50 questions, according to its website.

Hugendubler said it’s not disclosed to the public how well applicants must perform on this initial test to move forward with the application, but said test-takers must do “pretty well” with such a high number of applicants nationwide. If the test is passed and an applicant moves forward, Hugendubler said they must then complete another test via Zoom and participate in an interview to be considered for the show.

Hugendubler was notified March 20, about six weeks before filming, that he would be participating in an episode of “Jeopardy!” this season, he said. He had to take a week off from teaching to participate on the show, which was filmed on the same day as four other episodes in the season.

“It was fun,” he said. “It’s a very intense experience, because they do five episodes in one day. I was the last episode of the season, so it was like a lot of sitting and waiting.”

Trivia has been one of Hugendubler’s interests since high school, he said, where he was “volunteered into a trivia competition” in his sophomore year and won. His love for trivia took flight when he was getting his master’s degree in music at Johns Hopkins University.

Hugendubler had a library job during which he would often play the trivia game Sporcle, and that’s how he found his love for trivia. He used games as well as flashcards he made to study in the weeks leading up to his “Jeopardy!” debut. Hosting weekly trivia at Johns Hopkins’ HomeSlyce, Mt. Vernon’s HomeSlyce and The Brass Tap through Charm City Trivia also helped him prepare, he said.

“I’m honestly surprised that people like were so excited when they found out I was going to be on the show, or that they cared at all,” he said. “It’s been cool to try to represent Baltimore.”

Have a news tip? Contact K. Mauser at kmauser@baltsun.com.