Top 5 Stories: Lightning, Open House, Londontowne Assault

No. 1—

A 45-year-old man suffered serious, but not life-threatening injuries on July 7 after two other men repeatedly punched him near the intersection of Delmar Road and Shore Drive, police said. 

“Investigation revealed that two male suspects punched the victim and continued to do so while he was on the ground,” said a police spokesman. “Both suspects fled the scene in a vehicle with a female acquaintance.”

No. 2—

The National Education Association reports that nearly one-third of all school-aged children are affected by bullying on a monthly basis—a statistic that Edgewater’s Joe Van Deuren has committed his life to changing.

Now, as the leader of Balanced Life Skills Martial Arts in Annapolis, Van Deuren is developing a systematic and almost scientific way of combating bullying and sharing it with the community in weekly workshops.

His work in the community has led residents to call him “a local gem.”

No. 3—

State Highway Administration officials and the plans for changes at five major intersections faced a challenge from south county residents during a special open house meeting Thursday night at the Deale Library.

The SHA announced its plans to add left turn lanes along five Route 2 intersections in south county from Harwood Drive to Mt. Harmony Road in Calvert County. However, since the announcement, south county residents have rallied to show their disapproval of the SHA’s plan. The open house meeting served as an opportunity for both sides to present their case with those directly affected by the plan.

See the details of the .

No. 4—           

A south county man and four others from his wildlife firefighting crew saved the life of an unconscious motorist while battling forest fires in northwestern Virginia on July 3.

According to a release by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Deale resident and Anne Arundel County firefighter Stephen E. Stanton provided a woman with roadside emergency medical care that ultimately saved her life.

Stanton, a former Woodland Beach volunteer firefighter, and the others were returning from a full day of firefighting when they came across a nonresponsive woman lying on the road near a smoking car.

No. 5—

Lightning from Wednesday night's storm turned a 100-year-old tree into something that looked like a candy cane. David McKeever, a Davidsonville resident who was at home on Lee’s Lane, compared the noise he heard inside the house to a .50-caliber rifle being shot off inside his living room.

Check out Patch’s up-close look at the tree and what kind of damage it caused during Wednesday night’s storm.