Looks like Baltimore City crime is coming to Baltimore County. Sad to see a nice neighborhood like Overlea go down the dumps.

I bet you its some how related to drugs,,,( the sale there of),,

I also left that area about 8 years ago after I was held up while simply walking for exercise with my sister-in-law. The most astounding fact from my case (at that time) was that we were held up by 3 teenage girls! We are in the process of trying to find a safer area to live that won't break the bank as we are starting to see the "telltale" signs of an area in decline in our current neighborhood. Sad. I grew up here.

For the most part the area around Fullerton Elementary is quiet. With the shooting, this should not come as a surprise when residents in the area have repeatedly reported drug dealing and nothing gets done. Speaking of the school, there are many students enrolled in this school that do not live in the boundaries therefore should not be attending Fullerton Elementary. Another problem is the Overlea Football. I would like to know who is officially in charge of this program.
Apparently, they do not live in the immediate area. The area is completely trashed each and every day/night there is football practice or games. Very sad that these irresponsible parents litter our neighborhood and teach their children the same skill. I truly wish that they would put an end to the football so that our community does not look like the county dumping grounds when the Escalades and Lincolns roll out after each game. There are plenty of trash bins to use but this is too difficult of a task for most. There seems to be a rise in "incidents" in the immediate area when football season is in, school playgrounds trashed and vandalized, etc. Yet this continues.

I agree too. I notice how the area around school is left after any rec program leaves the area. Mostly the football program. Trash everywhere!

I live on this street, and saw the ridiculous commotion unfold. It's the same few people that cause the problems, over...and over...and over. One Big Day could not have said it better. I have contacted Parks & Recs and the athletic assoc NUMEROUS times over the past 8 years or so regarding these issues, even providing license plate numbers of the people I see dump trash out of their car as they come and go from football, and I'm ALWAYS told nothing can be done. I had even contacted local officials a few years ago, I received no reply from either of Klausmiers officers, and the reply a received from a rep of Bartenfelder's was so generic I was insulted. There is one very small group of people who are causing problems in the neighborhood, but the football issues are ongoing and escalating.

Maybe a petition would work to eliminate Overlea Football. Most people in the Fullerton Elementary area take great pride in their homes and work hard to maintain their properties but have become so discouraged with the problems that are caused by the recreation councils football program. The majority of the children in this football program are not from this area and come in from the city. Most of the children in the area have moved out of the Overlea recreation to Perry Hall rec or White Marsh rec and with good reasons. Disorganization definitely is a huge problem but their are other concerns as well. It is truly sad to see that our own children have to leave their area rec council and move further out to another one due to the behavior of others. As always responsible people are penalized due to the irresponsibility of others. If the people in charge would actually do their job and rectify the situation instead of turning a blind eye maybe something would change. Again, perhaps a petition is the way to go here. Any ideas ?

I live in Overlea and am sad to hear of Fullerton residents moving out of the area because of neighborhood problems. It is very hard to fight the "powers that be" but there must be some way to take action and stand up for our communities. I have seen many schools and neighborhoods taken over because people just moved out. Unfortunately as one person wrote, it is deteriorating where she lives now. There is no perfect place any more. I have lived in Overlea all of my 64 years and I am not moving. We have problems too (drugs, trash, irresponsible landlords, crime, etc.) but we have tried to stand and fight. The Overlea Community Association has helped to rectify some of our problems and more voices carry more weight. I do not know if you are in the OCA boundary, but I hope that some of you will band together and fight for your neighborhood. It is not easy but it is worth it!

We are down for it, my husband spends more time cleaning up other people's trash than maintaining our yard! I've even reported an instance a few years ago- to Sue Cormack, in which the football visitor littered our front yard with their mail...so I could tell her the name and address, and the disinterest was disgusting. I honestly thought we were the only ones feeling this way, since everyone acts as if I'm a bother when I complain. And its doubly irritating that they take up ALL of the parking, so people without driveways (but with groceries, kids & briefcases to carry) have to park blocks away. It's all just courtesy, which most people seem to be lacking.

I too moved from the area, to provide a better/safer life for my kids and family, but I was born and raised there...I will help to organize and return to the area to support those who are still dealing with the areas problems...I know many people and contacts up through the system and I bet we can fight and win...it will take a large group effort though...someone please get the ball rolling and send out an email address to start the conversations...I am willing to call or attend a meeting in person to help get this off the ground...thanks

Check out http://linover.org/ This is the community improvement association for the Linover (Fullerton) Area. The next community general meeting is at Kenwood Presbyterian Church on Oct 16, 2012 at 7:00pm. Please attend and show your concern and see how you can get involved in OUR community.

Join us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LinoverImprovementAssociation or follow us on twitter @LinoverAssoc.

I have been reading your comments and would just like to weigh in here. First of all, my grandson plays football for Overlea-Fullerton and I have NEVER seen any of the kids or parents leave any trash around either during or after games and practice. In fact, the coaches and parents go out of their way to police the area and clean up from the drinks and snacks provided to the boys. This sounds to me like just another attempt to dismantle the athletic programs at Overlea-Fullerton. These boys take pride in their program and even went to the playoffs. Instead of putting them down we need to support them more. They are overlooked by the county and the parks director. So instead of jumping on that bandwagon, why not come out to a home game and support them - get involved. I was born and raised in this area and moved back and am proud to have my grandson play for both the Overlea-Fullerton football and lacrosse programs and will do anything I can to keep these programs viable.

I still have family in that area and I don't believe the neighbor is unsafe. As for the football program, I have been to games and watch practice and I have never seen parents leave trash behind. Instead of putting the programs down, which help kids and may just keep them out of trouble, why not add my programs or sports. I have been told that Susan Cormack doesn't want the kid programs/sports at the rec center. The people of Linover/Overlea/Fullerton need to band together and go after the real eye sore in that community and that's Ms. Cormack.