Articles

Officials Frown On OC Beach Movies Proposal

OCEAN CITY - The Movies on the Beach proposal found few supporters this week as several town officials gathered at the monthly Recreation and Parks meeting to weigh in on the proposal. The police department, the beach patrol, public works, the City Council, and the Recreation and Parks Department were all represented at Tuesday's meeting. The council had requested that all the key players gather to discuss the logistics of the Movies on the Beach proposal. Last month, Rob Herting of Sunset...READ MORE

DNR Wants No Part Of Proposed Boathenge Project

OCEAN CITY - This week the Boathenge project hit a major roadblock on its path to completion after the much-awaited response from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) resounded with a firm 'no' to the project's feasibility. Joe Kroart III, owner of the Ocean Gallery on the Boardwalk, came before the Mayor and Council in August to present the idea that had been generating discussion among residents and locals for months. The Boathenge idea was inspired by Stonehenge, the prehistoric...READ MORE

OC Considered As Finish Line For Bike Race

OCEAN CITY - The internationally known Race Across America bicycle competition could be re-routing its finishing line to the beaches of Ocean City next year for their annual race from coast to coast. Although other locations are being looked at, Ocean City is one of the destinations being considered for the finishing city in the over 3,000-mile bicycle tour across the country. Ocean City Public Relations Director Donna Abbott presented the idea to the Tourism Commission at last Thursday's...READ MORE

Ocean City Dog Park Eyes October Opening

OCEAN CITY - The Ocean City Dog Playground is nearing completion, and dog owners will soon be able to purchase their membership passes for the official dog park. At a Recreation and Parks meeting this week, the progress of the dog park was discussed, along with final decisions on membership prices. Recreation and Parks Director Tom Shuster explained that although crews had hit some minor roadblocks recently with storm water drainage, they are hopeful that the dog park will be open by the end of...READ MORE

County Planning Body Seeks Moratorium On Rezonings

SNOW HILL - With no significant progress made on the comprehensive rezoning, the Worcester County Planning Commission will request that county elected officials declare a moratorium on further individual rezonings until the larger work is complete. The comprehensive rezoning, an overhaul of county zoning codes and maps, is a required element of the new Comprehensive Plan, adopted 18 months ago. The County Commissioners formally directed staff to begin working on the comprehensive rezoning in...READ MORE

Family Files Civil Suit Against Teen In OC Accident

SNOW HILL - The family of an Easton man struck and killed by a vehicle while crossing Coastal Highway in June have filed a wrongful death civil suit against the driver, a 19-year-old Pennsylvania man, seeking $1.75 million in damages, but are still seeking justice in the form of some sort of criminal charges against the driver. Shortly before 2 a.m. on June 17, Tyler Adams, 21, of Easton, and a friend, Dale Blankenship, 21, also of Easton, attempted to cross Coastal Highway between 32nd and 33rd...READ MORE

Local Company Offers To House Developmental Center

SNOW HILL - Only a week after the Worcester County Developmental Center (WCDC) building burned down, the organization has regrouped, found new space, and been pledged $10,000 in matching funds from a local non-profit. Director June Walker and staff wasted no time after last Tuesday's disastrous fire, finding alternative space within a day due the generosity of Royal Plus, Inc. 'It was Royal Plus that came to me and said we've got a facility. Let's look to see if we can't help to get you open,'...READ MORE

Tourism Summit Planned To Flush Out Future Direction

OCEAN CITY - While most agree Ocean City needs to take steps to increase its tourism marketing budget in an increasingly competitive market, not all agree on how the money should be best spent, but a Tourism Summit scheduled for next month in the resort could go a long way in determining a future course of action. The Tourism Summit, co-sponsored by the town's official Office of Tourism, the Ocean City Chamber of Commerce and the Ocean City Hotel-Motel-Restaurant Association (OCHMRA), will...READ MORE

Armed Robber Sentenced To 18 Months In Jail

SNOW HILL - A Finksburg, Md. man arrested in April for his part in a pair of armed robberies in the resort, pleaded guilty last week to attempted armed robbery and was sentenced to eight years in jail, all of which but 18 months was suspended. Matthew Balaz-Ogle, 19, was in Circuit Court in Snow Hill last Tuesday facing a slew of charges against him for his part in two armed robberies in Ocean City on the same night in April. Balaz-Ogle was arrested on April 22 along with two other accomplices...READ MORE

Assateague, OC Beach Cleanups Set For Saturday

OCEAN CITY - In an effort to turn the tide against trash and debris along area beaches and riverbanks, Delmarva Power is partnering with environmental, civic and business organizations throughout the region and sponsoring the 21st Annual Coastal Cleanup this fall. Volunteers are needed to remove trash from 76 beach and riverbank locations throughout Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and New Jersey. Most cleanups will occur on Saturday, Sept. 15, while others will take place on other dates in...READ MORE

Berlin Man Sentenced To 30 Years In Child Porn Case

BBERLIN - A Berlin man was sentenced to 30 years in prison without the possibility of parole in U.S. District Court on Wednesday for sexually exploiting a minor to produce child pornography, bringing closure to a case that originated in Berlin and traveled all the way around the world to Australia and back. Roderick Gene Parks, 42, of Berlin, in June pleaded guilty in federal court to sexually exploiting a minor to produce child pornography after a complaint filed in Australia back in November...READ MORE

Berlin Tables Front-Yard Parking Ban

BERLIN - Motorists who park vehicles on the front lawn got a reprieve Monday night when an ordinance prohibiting front yard parking was put aside for more study by the Berlin Town Council. Although the public hearing this week attracted only two speakers, both with questions on the ordinance but neither vehemently against the regulation, the council saw issues in the ordinance that precluded passage. Under the ordinance, motor vehicles must be 'parked on a designated driveway or parking pad...READ MORE

Council Suggests Changes To Station Design Renderings

OCEAN CITY - The City Council unanimously approved the conceptual renderings of the Jamestown Rd. wastewater pumping station improvements at Tuesday's work session after contributing further ideas and opinions on what the final product should be. Public Works Director Hal Adkins came before the Mayor and Council on Tuesday to present them with the conceptual renderings of the improvements that will be made on the pumping station located on the corner of Jamestown Rd. and Coastal Highway. On...READ MORE

Emergency Fund Established To Help Nonprofit

NEWARK - The Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore has established a 'Worcester County Developmental Center Emergency Fund' to assist the nonprofit organization in getting back in operation as soon as possible. The Foundation will match the first $10,000 in donations to the emergency fund from citizens, businesses and organizations on Maryland's Eastern Shore. The Worcester County Developmental Center's day program facility was destroyed by fire earlier this month.  All money collected...READ MORE

Local Man Reportedly Drowns While Fishing

OCEAN CITY - An Ocean City man, well known around the resort community, drowned last Saturday night while fishing at a popular beach and public park at the foot of Old Bridge Rd. and Sinepuxent Bay in West Ocean City. Robert Nickel, 55, of Ocean City, was recovered in the Sinepuxent Bay near the end of Old Bridge Rd. in an area fondly called Stinky Beach last Saturday evening. Nickel was reportedly fishing at the time when he entered the water and either slipped off the rocks and into the...READ MORE

Planners OK Project's Spray Irrigation

PSNOW HILL - The massive Summerfield project in Snow Hill plans to make the small town the second municipality in Worcester County to use spray irrigation to dispose of treated sewage. The Worcester County Planning Commission gave the notion its stamp of approval last week, voting to give the idea a favorable recommendation. The County Commissioners must next approve an amendment to the county water and sewer plan. Berlin is the only town or community in Worcester County to use spray irrigation...READ MORE

Planning Consultants To Guide Berlin

BERLIN - The growing town of Berlin will have some assistance from consultants on planning issues currently before the town, specifically help on wastewater plant financing and site plan reviews, the Mayor and Council decided Monday. Berlin's elected officials voted to hire the Wye River Group to work on the financing for the town's share of the new wastewater treatment proposal, which is set to involve an unusual, perhaps groundbreaking, public-private partnership between the town of Berlin and...READ MORE

Rackliffe House Awarded Matching Grant

BERLIN - The preservation of Worcester County's 1752 bayside plantation house has been recognized with a timely grant from the France-Merrick Foundation of Baltimore. The 'challenge match' is being funded to double the amount of donations being received from the local community •€' up to the maximum figure of the award. Nearly a terminal case of neglect and old age, the manor house structure is being restored by the Rackliffe House Trust, a private non-profit foundation that has entered a...READ MORE

Ray McLaughlin Called 'A Living Legacy'

OCEAN CITY - Ocean City and the entire surrounding area lost one of its greatest assets this week when long-time public servant and Air Force hero Ray Paul McLaughlin passed away at age 90 at the Harrison Senior Living facility in Snow Hill. McLaughlin was a selfless public servant in the resort area who touched thousands of lives through his involvement with countless charitable organizations and fraternal societies during the latter phase of his life in Ocean City following a distinguished...READ MORE

Sunset Park Events A Success, Organizers Say

OCEAN CITY - Sunset Park capped off its first season of special events and entertainment on Labor Day, bringing a successful first season to a close and leaving the town hopeful for another year of value entertainment. Sunset Park, located downtown on South Division Street on the bayside, has joined the ranks of the town's parks available to the public. Sunset Park is adjacent to US Coast Guard Station and across from the downtown OC Transit Station. With panoramic views of the Atlantic Ocean,...READ MORE

Vacant Lots In Snug Harbor To Wait On Sewer

SNOW HILL - Nine months after signing a petition asking for sewer service to undeveloped properties in Snug Harbor, property owners got a discouraging response from the County Commissioners, who said last week that the empty lots in Snug Harbor would have to wait for 'another day.' The 53 existing houses in Snug Harbor are in the final stages of hooking up to the Assateage Pointe wastewater treatment system after a years-long saga seeking funding and capacity. The 13 homes not yet attached to...READ MORE