Articles

Beach Patrol Captain To Start 38th Summer On Beach

OCEAN CITY •€' When Ocean City Beach Patrol Captain Melbourne 'Butch' Arbin leads his new recruits and returning lifeguards in the annual moment of prayer on Saturday near Somerset Street on the Boardwalk, it will mark the beginning of his 38th summer in Ocean City. Tomorrow marks the first day that the Ocean City Beach Patrol will get back on their wooden perches overlooking the cool waters of the Atlantic, and Arbin says they are not only well prepared but also extremely excited for...READ MORE

Mathias Officially Files For Senate Seat

BERLIN - Ending months of speculation, Delegate James Mathias this week officially filed for election to the Senate seat in District 38, which includes all of Worcester County, Somerset County and a portion of Wicomico County. Unofficially, Mathias, former mayor of Ocean City, has made no secret of his intention to seek the District 38 Senate seat since Republican Senator Lowell Stoltzfus, who held the position for nearly two decades, announced last year he would not seek re-election. Mathias...READ MORE

N.Y. Bike Group Crowd Estimates Hover Around 2K

OCEAN CITY •€' Some concern surfaced this week with rumors that tens of thousands of African-Americans motorcycle enthusiasts were going to be roaring through the streets of Ocean City on an already packed holiday weekend. One simple phone call, however, put a wrench in the rampant rumor mill as a more credible number of bikers headed down for their second annual event, is more like 2,000 and not 20,000, according to event organizers. 'I'm not really sure where those numbers are coming...READ MORE

Petition Seeks Endangered Listing For Bluefin Tuna

OCEAN CITY - Prompted in part by the ongoing oil spill catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico and its potential devastating effects on the species' spawning grounds, a national environmental group this week filed a formal petition seeking Endangered Species Act protections for Atlantic bluefin tuna, a staple of the resort area's vast recreational fishery. The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) on Monday filed a formal scientific petition to protect Atlantic bluefin tuna under the Endangered...READ MORE

Trio Of Weekends Launch Ocean City's Season

OCEAN CITY •€' Memorial Day used to be the official kickoff to the summer season in Ocean City, but this year, it's just one of three busy weekends scheduled in succession to help blast the resort into the summer of 2010. Local businesses are hoping that three is the magic number this year as a trifecta of events (last week's gigantic Cruisin' weekend, the present Memorial Day weekend and next week's 3rd Annual OC Air Show) will help get the summer off and running in the right direction...READ MORE

Alleged Internet Pirate Cleared

SNOW HILL - A Gambrills, Md. man accused last year of pirating Internet service for several condominium buildings in Ocean City was found not guilty of the charges this week in District Court, but the civil case against him filed by the alleged victim, Comcast of Eastern Shore, continues to plod along. In March 2009, Comcast filed suit in U.S. District Court seeking thousands of dollars in lost compensation and other damages against Frank Clark, 47, of Gambrills, and his fictitious company...READ MORE

Ben Tate Day Celebration On Tap For Summer

BERLIN - Ben Tate's professional football future lies with the Houston Texans, but the second round draft pick will be back in Berlin to celebrate his accomplishments with the people of his home county on July 17. Tate, a native of Berlin, was a standout running back at Stephen Decatur and Snow Hill High schools. He still holds the Maryland state high school record for most rushing yards in a single season with 2,879 yards in 2004. Tate fielded scholarship offers from several schools during his...READ MORE

Canale's New Trial Bid Denied

BERLIN - An Ocean City man, serving a 10-year sentence for manslaughter in the baseball bat beating death of another local man in May 2008, will not get a shot at a new trial or a reconsideration of his sentence after the state's Court of Special Appeals last week issued an opinion upholding the judgment of the Worcester County Circuit Court. In November 2008, a Worcester County jury found Dominic Canale, now 23, of Ocean City, guilty of manslaughter in the death of Michael Harry Mitchell at a...READ MORE

Citizens Start Petition Over Barking Dogs

BERLIN - Barking dogs are not going away, and supporters of more regulation of canine noise nuisances say they will keep on fighting, despite the recent rejection of a barking dogs ordinance by elected officials. Last week, several citizens went down to Snow Hill to speak in favor of the barking dog law that would have imposed fines on the owners of chronically barking canines. Other people wrote letters or assembled petitions. Despite this support, four of the seven Worcester County...READ MORE

correction

Editor:    Last week's article, 'County Decides Against Barking Dog Law', incorrectly identified a man who barked while leaving the Worcester County Commissioners meeting as Bud Himes. The man who barked is named Jack Davis. The article incorrectly named Budd Heim as Bud Himes. The article also incorrectly attributed quotes by Shirley Aydelotte to Beverly Rae Lynch. The Dispatch regrets the errors.  ...READ MORE

County Schools Off Hook For Contractor Legal Fees

SNOW HILL - A visiting Worcester County Circuit Court judge last week denied Beka Industries' effort to collect over $72,000 in legal fees and expenses from the Worcester County Board of Education after a failed attempt by the latter to counter-sue the private contractor. The Board of Education claimed another minor victory of sorts last week in its ongoing legal battle with Beka Industries when visiting Circuit Court Judge Sidney S. Campen denied the contractor's bid to seek over $72,000 in...READ MORE

Court Upholds Snow Hill Assault Conviction On Appeal

SNOW HILL - The Maryland Court of Special Appeals last week upheld a Worcester County Circuit Court judgment on a Virginia man convicted of second-degree assault and sentenced to one year in jail for his role in a scuffle with his ex-girlfriend's mother in her Snow Hill apartment in 2008. In January 2009, Terrence Richard Justice, 28, of Temperanceville, Va., was found guilty of second-degree assault in Worcester County Circuit Court and was sentenced to one year in jail. Justice appealed the...READ MORE

Fed Review Of Oil Disaster's Impact On OC Eyed

OCEAN CITY - With the ongoing oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico passing the one-month mark last week, Maryland Sen. Barbara Mikulski this week fired off a letter to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) officials, calling for a federal review of the potential impact on Ocean City, the Chesapeake and other coastal areas in Maryland. On April 20, the high-tech Deepwater Horizon oilrig in the gulf exploded, killing 11 crewmembers before eventually collapsing off the coast of...READ MORE

Hospitality Workshops Planned

OCEAN CITY - The Economic Development Committee, the Ocean City Hotel-Motel-Restaurant Association, the Greater Ocean City Chamber of Commerce and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore Hospitality Training Institute are presenting a series of workshops on Tuesday, June 8. With so many destinations competing for vacationers' discretionary income, it is crucial that Ocean City businesses deliver the best guest service possible. Therefore, these workshops have been designed to 'train the...READ MORE

Local Man's Cause Of Death Remains A Mystery

OCEAN CITY - The human skeletal remains discovered on the beach in late April were positively identified as those of a missing Selbyville man late last week, providing some measure of closure for family and friends, but it now appears investigators might never be able to solve the mystery surrounding the disappearance. Late last Friday, the Maryland Medical Examiner's Office confirmed the skeletal remains found washed up on a wide swath of beach in south Ocean City belonged to Greg Forte, 29,...READ MORE

Pay Study To Lead Summer Talks At City Hall

OCEAN CITY •€' This week, as the Mayor and Council enjoyed a respite from their scheduled weekly meetings, City Manager Dennis Dare was putting the finishing touches on a salary study that is expected to be one of the main political talking points in what could be a rather quiet summer at City Hall. Historically, after the Mayor and Council passes the annual budget, the focus shifts from lengthy debates about things that could affect the way the town operates, to just merely operating the...READ MORE

Planet Maze Still Evolving 15 Years After Opening

T.K. Dickerson Staff Writer OCEAN CITY - Outside of the brightly colored building that is home to Planet Maze on 33rd Street in Ocean City, there are several sets of tiny handprints set in to the sidewalk, labeled with the year 1995. This was the year that the Thalers, Albrights, and Gordons (all with children around the age of 3) realized that there were almost no places in Ocean City for kids to have birthday parties, and they decided to change that. Now, 15 years later, the children who left...READ MORE

Restaurant Week Returns Sunday

OCEAN CITY - Sunday, May 30 through Sunday, June 6 marks Ocean City's culinary adventure, Restaurant Week. This eight-day promotion will encourage visitors and locals alike to try the finest restaurants and revisit their tried and true favorites. Guests can indulge on the best fare Ocean City has to offer from a special price fixed three-course menu for $30, and/or a two-course menu for $20 (tax, gratuity and alcohol not included). Long known as a great spot for sun, surf and sand, Ocean City's...READ MORE

Surf Shop Gets New Neighbor

OCEAN CITY •€' If you miss Mad Hatters, you should get in line and check out Crazy 8's, Ocean City's newest midtown lunch spot. With 32,000 different options from their 'build your own deli sandwich', you may never have to have the same thing twice, although early reviews are indicating a few instant favorites just a couple months into operations. If you ask any proprietor of a local business how they got into business, you might be surprised at how the whole thing came about, and Eugene...READ MORE

Tourism Advertising Doubled By Commissioners

BERLIN - While much of the discussion at Tuesday's final Worcester County budget work session was a formality, controversy emerged over the tourism advertising budget and the elimination of 15 take-home vehicles for county government staff. The tourism budget, in the proposed fiscal year 2011 county budget saw its advertising spending doubled from $150,000 to $300,000. One Worcester County Commissioner, Bobby Cowger, said he was having a tough time with an additional $150,000 for tourism...READ MORE

Two Arrested in Cocaine Bust

BERLIN - Two Berlin men were arrested last week on numerous drug distribution charges after a search and seizure were executed at three separate locations in town resulting in one of the most significant cocaine busts in recent Worcester County history. The Worcester County Sheriff's Office criminal enforcement team recently concluded a 10-month cocaine distribution investigation in the Berlin area. On April 26, as a result of the investigation, a Worcester County grand jury indicted...READ MORE