The Daily Record News Summaries: June 24, 2008

Daily Record, The (Baltimore), Jun 24, 2008

French utility taps Optelecom

Optelecom-NKF Inc., of Germantown, which designs and manufactures communications products that transport data, video and audio over the Internet and fiber optic cables, announced what it called a "major contract" award by Electricite de France, of Paris, a government-owned electricity company that is one of the largest in Europe. The multiyear contract extends to 2011. The value was not disclosed. EDF will deploy Optelecom-NKF's Siqura surveillance system, which combines Internet-based video encoding, networking and storage of over 4,000 DVD-quality video streams, to enhance EDF's infrastructure security.

DNR counting waterbirds

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources is sponsoring a census of colonial waterbirds in the coastal bays. The count of herons, egrets and other birds helps experts assess efforts to protect wildlife habitat in the region. Maryland Coastal Bays Director Dave Wilson said some varieties of birds choose only a few areas for their nests. He said a single ill-timed storm, such as the May coastal storm, can wipe out a nesting ground and threaten the next generation.

James C. Holman, 61

Services were held Saturday for James C. Holman, a partner at Whiteford, Taylor & Preston in Baltimore, who died of congestive heart failure on June 16. Holman, 61, had been at Whiteford for nearly 30 years. A former president of the Board of Family and Children's Services of Central Maryland, Holman remained active in the organization until his death. In lieu of flowers, the family requested donations to Family and Children's Services at 4623 Falls Road, Baltimore 21209-4914. Born in Springfield, Mo., Holman received his J.D. from Vanderbilt University in 1971 and an LL.M. from George Washington University in 1974. He served in the Army at Fort Holabird, clerked in the Tax Court in Washington, D.C., and practiced law in Kansas City, Mo., before joining Whiteford in 1979. He is survived by his sister, Eleanor Sigmon; her two children, Linda Roxberg and James W. Sigmon Jr.; and six great nieces.

Train-horn thieves arrested

Cumberland police say three teenagers were caught stealing signal horns from freight trains because they were using two-way radios to carry out their raid. Police say a citizen who was monitoring a radio frequency early Friday morning overheard the suspects discussing the thefts at the nearby CSX yards on East Offutt Street. The citizen contacted police, who began monitoring the radio channel and responded to the rail yard. An officer found two of the teenagers in a parked car. Police contacted the third via radio and arrested him as he tried to flee the area. Two 17-year-olds from Keyser, W. Va., and a 16-year-old from LaVale, are charged with felony theft and have been released to their parents. Police say the signal horns are worth about $500.