Articles

NEW FOR THURSDAY: Season’s First White Marlin Sets New OC Record

OCEAN CITY -- The first white marlin of the year was caught and released off the coast of Ocean City last Sunday morning, marking the earliest date ever for the annual milestone, which beat last year’s previous record by two days. Last Sunday, the Clubb family on the Chain Reaction II out of Sunset Marina in West Ocean City was fishing for tuna in about 65 fathoms, or about 400 feet of water, in an area between the Poor Man’s and Baltimore canyons, when an unexpected visitor made its...READ MORE

NEW FOR WEDNESDAY: Downtown Carriage Rides Coming To Ocean City

OCEAN CITY – Horse and carriage rides will add to downtown Ocean City’s ambiance during the off-season this year. Randy Davis of R & B Ranch operates horse and carriage rides in the town of Berlin and other locations. Last night, he approached the Ocean City Mayor and City Council requesting to conduct horse and carriage rides in downtown Ocean City. Davis believes the operation will add entertainment for tourists and locals during the off season. “I have been doing this...READ MORE

NEW FOR WEDNESDAY: Resort Police Increase Presence After Home Burglaries

OCEAN CITY – Residents in the north end of Ocean City have been alarmed this month as a series of burglaries have taken place in the area. Residents, particularly in the Caine Woods residential community, may have noticed an increase in police presence since a number of burglaries occurred last week. It all started on May 20 when two burglaries were reported on Fiesta Road in Caine Woods, followed by another on the same street on May 23. On May 24, a burglary was reported on South Surf...READ MORE

NEW FOR TUESDAY: Pedestrian Killed On Coastal Highway by Drunk Driver; Big Flag Wave Pictures; Memorial Day Weekend Crowd Estimates

Shawn J. Soper News Editor OCEAN CITY -- The holiday weekend in the resort was marred in part by tragedy when a pedestrian was struck and killed by an alleged drunk driver early Monday. Around 1:20 a.m. on Monday, Ocean City Police responded to the area of 54th Street and Coastal Highway for a reported hit-and-run accident involving a pedestrian. The investigation revealed the pedestrian, later identified as Matthew Jude Cheswick, was attempting to cross Coastal Highway from east to west when he...READ MORE

Terrapin Blitz Set For June 9-10

BERLIN -- Maryland Coastal Bays Program (MCBP) is partnering with the Terrapin Work Group, composed of terrapin researchers and managers in  Maryland, in looking for volunteers to participate in the 2nd Annual Diamondback Terrapin Blitz on June 9-10. Rain date will be the following weekend. The Diamondback Terrapin may be Maryland’s state reptile and the mascot for the University of Maryland, but its current population status in the coastal bays is poorly understood.  In an...READ MORE

City Council Shaves Penny Off Proposed Tax Rate

OCEAN CITY – The Mayor and City Council cast their final vote on Monday to adopt the Fiscal Year 2013 budget, including a one-cent decrease from the proposed property tax rate, which will save the average taxpayer $20 but cost the town $863,000. A couple of weeks ago, the budget reached first reading with a tax rate set at the constant yield rate of 0.4685 per $100 of assessed valuation of real property. Councilman Joe Hall made a motion to amend the budget and reduce the tax rate by one...READ MORE

Ashley To Lead Medical Transport Service

OCEAN CITY – Councilman Brent Ashley has announced he is going to volunteer to fill some large shoes. “Since the passing last February of Mr. Bob Melvin, the Bob Melvin MEDTRN program has been without an advocate,” Ashley said. “While I could never fill Mr. Melvin’s shoes nor match his commitment or enthusiasm, I believe it is vitally important that the MEDTRN program continue to provide this necessary and much deserved service for those in our community that need...READ MORE

County Cuts $851K From School Board Budget

SNOW HILL -- The Worcester County Commissioners met Tuesday in their final budget work session before the plan is set to be voted on June 5. Some of the most important decisions made during that meeting included the following. Pension Shift Figures Finalized The exact cost of the long dreaded teacher pension shift has been factored into the budget. Coming in at $1,271,561, the cost of the shift for the first year has been added to the Board of Education section of the budget. Originally,...READ MORE

Officials Bothered By Performer’s Impact On Business

OCEAN CITY – Busker issues continue this week as a complaint was filed against a spray paint artist after fumes carried into a Boardwalk restaurant and is now being investigated as a health hazard. At the conclusion of Monday night’s Mayor and City Council meeting, Council President Jim Hall reported an incident he heard on the police scanner earlier that day. A Boardwalk restaurant filed a complaint with the Ocean City Police Department over spray paint fumes produced from a street...READ MORE

Freeman Stage Launches Summer Series Saturday

SELBYVILLE – The Freeman Stage at Bayside will kick off the summer with an exciting performance of Cirque Montage on Saturday, May 26. The show is free for all and starts at 7 p.m. Cirque Montage creates a whimsical world of animated characters that defy the perception of what is possible. The acts weave together in a collage of traditional cutting edge circus arts. Comedy comes in the form of the candid Ringmaster who is shadowed by a mischievous red featherless bird named Raven in search...READ MORE

Berlin Plans First Bridal Stroll During Second Friday

BERLIN – The first step down the aisle in downtown Berlin for the community’s first-ever “Bridal Stroll” will begin at the Second Friday Art Stroll on June 8 from 5-8 p.m. Participating businesses will be showcasing their special wedding offerings with creative and artistically inspired displays. Already some Berlin businesses have donated over $1,300 in gifts for a “wedding basket” to be given away during the event. Eleven businesses have donated gifts for...READ MORE

Split Commission Plans Tax Hike, Employee Raises

SNOW HILL -- Employees of Worcester County will likely be seeing their first raise in three years this budget cycle while the property tax rate is set to increase 7 cents. However, neither event is guaranteed as the county budget still has to pass a final vote June 5. Though the tax hike has been considered by many on the commission and the community a forgone conclusion in a year filled with increasing financial demands from the state, both decisions left the County Commission divided. The...READ MORE

Art Shell Golf Classic June 13

PRINCESS ANNE -- Former Redskins quarterback Doug Williams, the first and only black player in his position to win a Super Bowl (1988), joins the roster of sports celebrities participating in the 2012 Art Shell UMES Celebrity Golf Classic on June 13. The first tee off begins at 8 a.m. at Great Hope Golf Course in Westover, Md. As in past events, Shell, a pro football Hall-of-Famer and University of Maryland Eastern Shore alumnus, has enlisted the help of former athletes willing to lend a hand in...READ MORE

Panel To Study Expanded Gambling

BERLIN -- As expected, Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley and the state Senate and House leadership this week announced a special work group has been formed to study an expansion of gambling at Maryland’s casinos, including Ocean Downs to table games, in advance of another special General Assembly session on the issue as soon as early July. The work group, which will meet for the first time on June 1, is expected to make recommendations to the General Assembly on possible legislation to...READ MORE

Route 50 Collision Sends Truck Into Ditch

BERLIN -- Traffic was snarled along Route 50 in West Ocean City Wednesday afternoon when an eastbound dump truck collided with a passenger car and veered off into a ditch, spilling much of its cargo on the side of the road. Around midday on Wednesday, a dump truck carrying a large cargo of sand and soil was heading east on Route 50 approaching the intersection with Route 611 when it collided with a passenger vehicle driven by a local man, who was reportedly attempting to make a left turn onto...READ MORE

Sifrit Double Murder Case Recalled 10 Years Later

OCEAN CITY – “Murder is rarely pretty or pleasant, and in this case particularly, it was gruesome and grotesque.” That's how former Worcester County State's Attorney Joel Todd described the brutal murder of a Virginia couple in a north-end Ocean City penthouse condominium on Memorial Day weekend 10 years ago in his opening statement in the trial of one of the murderers. The victims were lured to the Rainbow Condominium by a married couple they had met earlier in the evening and...READ MORE

Fager’s Island Surf Swap, Paddle Board Race June 3

OCEAN CITY -- Paddle board and surf enthusiasts will not want to miss the Fager’s Island Surf Swap and Paddle Board Race Sunday, June 3 at Fager’s Island Restaurant on 60th Street and the bay. Anyone who would like to sell their used surf, kayak or paddle boards and equipment are encouraged to bring their wares to sell, for free, to this annual swap meet. Several surf shops and watersport related businesses will be participating in this event as well. This year the surf swap will...READ MORE

Wicomico Tourism Leaders Honorec

SALISBURY -- Wicomico Tourism recognized its strongest supporters during the annual Tourism Awards reception and ceremony this month.  “Several area businesses and individuals go above and beyond in encouraging the growth of tourism in our area. From providing cash sponsorships for signature events to placing a ‘Welcome Visitors’ message on business marquees, the work of Wicomico Tourism is perpetuated through the support it receives by the community,” said Tourism...READ MORE

Students Send Sports Equipment To Guatamala Village

OCEAN CITY -- Underprivileged children in Pasajoc, a small village in Guatamala, have been given the opportunity to enjoy sports that have never been available to them before, thanks in large part of students at several local schools. Under the direction of the National Alliance for Youth Sports (NAYS), the Sammy Wilkinson Memorial Foundation’s Global Gear Drive, an effort to collect new and used sporting goods from in and around the resort area to send to less fortunate children around...READ MORE

Route 54, IR Bridge Projects Wrapped Up

FENWICK -- For the first time in several years, all major routes to the resort areas through Delaware, including the controversial Route 54, will be free of construction heading into Memorial Day weekend. According to officials from the Department of Transportation (DelDOT), motorists will have a much easier time accessing the resort areas in Delaware this season. There will be no lane closures, or major construction on any of the major beach routes in Sussex County. Major work on the vital...READ MORE

OC Lions Club Still Helping Others After 65 Years

OCEAN CITY – The Ocean City Lions Club has a long history to be proud of as members celebrate their 65th Anniversary this month. On Nov. 30, 1931 the Berlin Lions Club merged with the Ocean City Lions Club and six years later the two clubs separated. On May 14, 1947, 38 men became the first members of the Ocean City Lions Club. The charter group represented a cross-section of business and enterprise in the community and since that first day, the club has grown not only in the number of...READ MORE

OC Employee Recovering After Scooter Accident

OCEAN CITY -- A popular local man is slowly healing this week after suffering critical injuries when struck by a vehicle on Coastal Highway while riding a scooter last Friday. Around 2:45 p.m., police responded to the area of 45th Street and Coastal Highway for a reported motor vehicle accident involving a scooter. When officers arrived on the scene, they observed the operator of the scooter, later identified as long-time city employee and local youth lacrosse volunteer Dave Quilter, unconscious...READ MORE

New Product Withstands Storm Winds, Saves Energy

OCEAN CITY – Not even a piece of wood flying at 60 mph can crash through a hurricane protection product demonstrated last week, let alone crack it. Last Tuesday, at Bob Holtzman’s Window Tint & More in Berlin, a new product was demonstrated in its ability to withstand up to Category 5 hurricane force wind and debris. “It’s probably the strongest form of hurricane protection on the market today,” Evolution Hurricane Shutters, LLC CEI John Sortore said. Sortore...READ MORE

Horse Named After Dedicated Volunteer

BERLIN -- There’s a new jewel roaming the dunes and marshes of Assateague Island -- a wild horse by the name of Sapphire. The wild horse was recently given the new name in remembrance of JoAnne Donovan, a long-time volunteer with the park’s Pony Patrol who died unexpectedly on Nov. 25, 2011. The naming coincides with the beginning of another summer of activity by Pony Patrol volunteers. “JoAnne was a committed member of the Pony Patrol and a real asset to the park,” said...READ MORE

Former OC Cop, Councilman Loses Battle With Illness

OCEAN CITY -- The resort community lost a familiar face last week with the passing of a long-time Ocean City police officer and former City Councilman Jay Hancock after a lengthy illness. Hancock served as an Ocean City police officer for over three decades from May 1971 until his retirement in October 2002. He then served one term on the Ocean City Council from 2004 to 2008. Hancock served the OCPD in several capacities during his 31-year career with the department. Early in his career, he was...READ MORE

‘Amazing’ Cruisin Weekend Reported In Resort

OCEAN CITY – Figures prove that last weekend’s 22nd Annual Cruisin Ocean City event had the most visitors in town in the past three years, although the congestion would have you guessing there was much more. According to demoflush figures, which are estimates based on wastewater flow, there were close to 191,000 people in town this past weekend. In 2011 there was a little less at about 190,500. This year’s figures are the highest since 2009 when there were about 230,700 people...READ MORE

Salisbury Bike Lane Project Awaits Grant Funding

SALISBURY -- Good news for cyclists in Salisbury: the Mayor and Council learned Monday that plans for city bike lanes are nearing completion and just waiting on word over grant funding. “The sky is the limit,” said Matt Drew, executive vice president of AWB Engineers. “This thing can be as big as we want it to be.” Drew came before the council this week as the representative of a group of private citizens pursuing grant funding to install bike lanes throughout Salisbury....READ MORE

Salisbury Looking To Pick Up Five Tax Sale Properties

SALISBURY -- Hoping to bring properties in limbo back onto the tax roll, the Salisbury City Council agreed this week to focus on purchasing five properties at next month’s tax sale. The price tag for all five is expected to be $122,000. “Eventually, once we acquire these properties, the money would come back into the city,” said City Administrator John Pick. While the five properties were not named, officials said that all of them have the potential to be turned around and...READ MORE

MDE Issues Two Local Violation Notices

OCEAN CITY -- Two separate entities were cited last week by state environmental officials for allegedly allowing harmful toxins to enter the coastal bays.The Assateague Coastal Trust (ACT) this week announced Assateague Coastkeeper Kathy Phillips recently discovered two pollution threats to the coastal bays while on routine patrol in the watershed including one at a West Ocean City outlet complex and another at a north Ocean City condominium.The first incident occurred on April 28 when Phillips...READ MORE

Wicomico Withdraws State Waiver Request

SALISBURY -- As expected, Wicomico officials this week withdrew its request for a waiver of the state’s Maintenance of Effort (MoE) after state lawmakers last week approved a budget saving the county from an expected $14 increase in the level of funding to public schools. State law requires counties across Maryland to maintain at least level funding from the prior year for their public school systems under the MoE program. For Wicomico, achieving Maintenance of Effort this year would have...READ MORE

Church Opposition Limits Berlin Restaurant’s Alcohol License

SNOW HILL --  This month’s Board of License Commissioners (BLC) meeting saw the approval of seven new alcohol licenses, though one will be coming with conditions due to the protests of a Berlin church. Two Berlin restaurants, each slated to open next month and both owned by Ernest Gerardi, received seven-day beer, wine and liquor licenses last week. While the hearing for the Siculi restaurant proceeded without a hiccup, the license for Paco’s Tex-Mex and Beyond met some pushback...READ MORE

Report Finds Sea Grasses Declining In Coastal Bays

OCEAN CITY -- A report released this week revealed vital underwater sea grasses in Maryland’s coastal bays decreased by an average of 35 percent in the last year, including losses exceeding 90 percent in many areas near Ocean City. The report, released by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR), in partnership with the Maryland Coastal Bays Program, the Virginia Institute of Marine Scientists and the National Park Service, showed underwater grasses dropped from 13,863 acres in...READ MORE

New OC Convenience Store Plans OK’d

OCEAN CITY – Coastal Highway at 52nd Street will be getting a major upgrade, as the City Council on Monday granted approval of a new Goose Creek convenience store and Subway restaurant. This week’s vote comes after a favorable recommendation last month from the Ocean City Planning and Zoning Commission for a major reworking of the site, formerly Anderson Exxon Service Station and Towing. In March, the Planning and Zoning Commission conducted a public hearing regarding the conditional...READ MORE

County Announces New Superintendent

BERLIN -- The Worcester County Board of Education has appointed Dr. Jerry Wilson as Superintendent of Schools, pending certification approval by the Maryland State Department of Education. Wilson will assume the position on July 1. “I am excited to be given the opportunity to serve as Superintendent in Worcester County, an outstanding school district renowned for high levels of performance,” said Wilson. “My wife Liz and I are looking forward to meeting the educational...READ MORE

Berlin’s Small Business Success Touted

BERLIN -- Representatives from Maryland Capital Enterprises (MCE) stopped by Berlin Wednesday for a tour of small businesses and to touch base with established and potential small business owners. “Since the start of this decade, small business has created 95% of all new jobs,” said MCE Executive Director Hayley Gallagher. “Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and this week we are reaching out to thank them for that important role.” Mayor Gee Williams and...READ MORE