Articles

NEW FOR THURSDAY: Quick Response, AED Credited With Saving Local Surfer's Life

OCEAN CITY -- A popular local man is on the mend and headed for surgery after finishing a heat in a surf contest Sunday before going into cardiac arrest and collapsing on the judges’ stand, thanks in large part to the quick actions of resort lifeguards and Ocean City paramedics. Last Sunday, popular local surfer George Smith, 67, had just competed in a heat during a contest at Malibu’s when he collapsed on the judge’s stand while eating a slice of pizza, the victim of an...READ MORE

NEW FOR THURSDAY: OC Fire Department Rescue Swimmers Saved Two Last Night

OCEAN CITY -- Continuing a rash of recent near tragic incidents involving swimmers heading into the ocean after the Ocean City Beach Patrol (OCBP) has signed off for the day, two individuals were rescued by an Ocean City Fire Department rescue swimmer around 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday at 16th Street. Every summer there are incidents involving swimmers in distress in the ocean after the OCBP’s regular hours, but this season has seen a spike in the number of near tragic incidents including at...READ MORE

NEW FOR WEDNESDAY: Alleged Drunk Driver Strikes Cop With Vehicle, Flees Scene

OCEAN CITY -- A Pennsylvania man was arrested on first-degree assault and a slew of other charges last night when he was pulled over on suspicion of driving while intoxicated and allegedly ran over a police officer before touching off a wild chase. Shortly before 11 p.m. on Tuesday, an Ocean City police officer on bicycle patrol in the downtown area observed a Jeep Cherokee driven by Corey John Martini, 20, of Wickhaven, Pa., make a wide right turn from Philadelphia Ave. onto 8th Street,...READ MORE

NEW FOR WEDNESDAY: Grassroots Effort Seeks Tweaks To Skateboard, Surfing Beach Laws

OCEAN CITY – Modernizing the town’s law regarding the use of body boards on the beach last week was viewed as one step forward by the younger generation in town as residents look to organize and return to City Hall later this year to address other archaic laws prohibiting skateboarding and restricting surfer access. “We just want to bring back the beach town that we all grew up in,” said Jenny Carven, co-owner of Ish Boutique. “The beater [body board] ban was just...READ MORE

NEW FOR TUESDAY: Private Citizens, Lieutenant Rescue After-Hours Swimmers

OCEAN CITY -- One young woman remains in critical condition today and two others have been treated and released after an incident last Friday during which they went into the ocean after being advised not to by the Ocean City Beach Patrol and were rescued by a pair of private citizens and an off-duty ranking lifeguard. Around 6 p.m. last Friday, Ocean City Communications received a call regarding swimmers in distress in the ocean around 90th Street. As Ocean City Police officers arrived on the...READ MORE

Council Rules Out Closing Off Popular Shortcut Alley

OCEAN CITY – An alleyway in Little Salisbury has raised safety concerns for residents in the area as vehicles have found it a convenient way to avoid Coastal Highway. City Engineer Terry McGean has been researching modifications to Seabay Drive between 86th Street and Bering Road. The complaints are due to excess traffic cutting through the Seabay and the Wine Rack parking lot to get to the light at 85th Street. More specifically, in May, Tim Covell of Seabay Drive made a complaint over...READ MORE

Costs To Oust Former City Manager Top $252K

OCEAN CITY -- Removing former City Manager Dennis Dare from office last fall has resulted in town government having to spend in excess of $252,000 to compensate him and land his replacement, according to city records.On July 9, after much debate among City Council members and the media, The Dispatch filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to determine the exact expenses associated with last year’s decision to remove Dare as city manager. Dare was with the city for 29 years, 21 of...READ MORE

Repeat Drug Dealer To Serve 14 Years

OCEAN CITY -- A local man, arrested last August on drug distribution charges after making several narcotics deals with Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) detectives at different locations around West Ocean City, pleaded guilty last week to distribution of cocaine and was sentenced to 14 years in jail as part of the repeat offender program. Early in 2011, OCPD narcotics officers were sworn in as fully vested law enforcement officials giving them full police powers outside town limits. Last...READ MORE

Mandatory Sprinkler Law Delayed

SNOW HILL -- Worcester County received two small pieces of good news this week, at least from the County Commissioners’ perspective. The first piece of good news that came to the commission was the revelation that the state will not force mandatory sprinkler systems into newly built county homes for several years. “Basically it’s backed off now until 2015,” said Director of Development Review and Permitting Ed Tudor. Last year, the commission had voted to exclude...READ MORE

Wicomico OKs State Court Grants

SALISBURY -- The Wicomico County Council this week approved a pair of state grants for various court-related programs after receiving assurances the county would not be responsible for funding the programs if the grants cease to exist in the future. On Tuesday, the Wicomico County Council approved a pair of resolutions authorizing County Executive Rick Pollitt, Jr. to accept a grant totaling $142,094 from the state’s Department of Family Administration to support Wicomico’s family...READ MORE

Major Changes In New Wicomico District Map

SALISBURY -- The Wicomico County Council this week got a report on the proposed redistricting plan for the five council member districts, which appears to meet the population requirements while preserving a minority-majority District 1. Members of the Redistricting Committee presented their proposed version of the plan to the County Council on Tuesday. Every 10 years, the council district boundaries are revised based on population changes revealed by the U.S. Census. The committee was charged...READ MORE

OC Police Make Arrests In Recent Fake Money Cases

OCEAN CITY -- Several arrests have been made in a recent rash of counterfeiting in the resort, thanks in large part to a more vigilant and better educated workforce. “ … We are fortunate to not only have fantastic detectives who have been working around the clock to solve these cases, but even more so, we are lucky to have vigilant employees who, in several circumstances, thwarted additional crimes by recognizing the counterfeit currency before it was passed,” said Ocean City...READ MORE

Resort Adopts New Absentee Vote Policy

OCEAN CITY – The city has adopted the state’s “No Excuse” policy when it comes to applying for an absentee ballot. City Clerk Kelly Allmond continued a discussion at this week’s meeting that started last year when Councilwoman Margaret Pillas asked for a discussion on simplifying the absentee ballot process for municipal voters. Last November Allmond advised the council that the state adopted the “No Excuse” policy for absentee voting and presented the...READ MORE

Gallant Effort Made To Save Stranded Dolphin

ASSATEAGUE -- A dolphin that beached itself on Assateague last Sunday did not survive the trip to the National Aquarium in Baltimore for potential rehabilitation, despite a massive public-private effort to save the creature. When local resident Adam Carson and his family and friends headed down to the Wedge at Assateague last Sunday on his pontoon boat for a little recreational boating, they didn’t anticipate finding themselves in the middle of a Herculean effort to save a dolphin that had...READ MORE

Banner Plane Pilot Killed In Crash

BERLIN -- A single-engine banner plane crashed near a pond in the middle of a defunct golf course in Berlin yesterday mid-morning, killing the as-yet-unidentified pilot. Just before 11 a.m. on Thursday, emergency crews responded to a reported plane crash in a remote area of the old Beach Club golf course in Berlin, which has been closed for several years. The preliminary investigation revealed the single-engine banner plane, the same planes that fly advertising messages over the resort area,...READ MORE

County Schools Superintendent Outlines Immediate Initiatives

SNOW HILL -- Dr. Jerry Wilson officially took part in his first Worcester County Board of Education meeting this week, presenting the board with his Superintendent Entry Plan, which briefly outlines his plans and goals for the immediate future. “The first [step] is gathering information,” Wilson told the Board of Education. Since coming to Worcester earlier this summer, Wilson explained that he’s been busy meeting with community leaders and educators to try to develop a general...READ MORE

Tourism Report Outlines Marketing Expenses, Results

OCEAN CITY – A tourism report given last week proved that taxpayer dollars are hard at work spreading the word about Ocean City. Tourism Director Donna Abbott presented a report on the “OC Tourism Campaign” running through May and June. “Our Summer of Thanks campaign is in full swing,” Abbott said. Rodney the Lifeguard commercial spots have been airing in key theater markets, Baltimore, Washington, DC, HLLY (Harrisburg, Lancaster, Lebanon, York, Pa.), Philadelphia,...READ MORE

OC Union Petition Successful

OCEAN CITY – The general employees of Ocean City have earned a spot on this fall’s ballot as voters will decide their right to collective bargaining in the next general election in November. According to City Clerk Kelly Allmond, on June 28 Gregory DeMarco of the Ocean City Employee Coalition served the City Clerk’s Office with a petition entitled “Petition for Town of Ocean City Charter Amendment for Fair and Equal Representation Rights For The General Employees of the...READ MORE

Election Board Addresses OC Voter Discrepancies

OCEAN CITY – A councilman’s questions regarding the county’s role in keeping up with the number of municipal registered voters were answered this week. Earlier this month, Councilman Brent Ashley brought up a fluctuation in the number of registered voters. Ashley reported that the figures in the Certified Annual Financial Report (CAFR) for registered voters differ for most years from the information that City Clerk Kelly Allmond supplied to the Mayor and City Council...READ MORE

County Stands Firmly Against Aquaculture Project

SNOW HILL -- After a public information session on a proposed shellfish aquaculture operation near South Point failed to ease the worries of some state and county officials last week, the Worcester County Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to continue their opposition of the project. “I received four or five phone calls after the meeting from people still with some concerns, mainly over liability,” said Commission President Bud Church. In the pipeline for nearly three years, the...READ MORE

Worcester Students Offered $15.3M In Scholarships

SNOW HILL -- With $15,372,407 offered in scholarships to graduating Worcester County high school seniors this year, Coordinator of Instruction Dr. Donna Main revealed this week the county school system broke its previous record. “Our students were offered the record breaking figure of $15 million,” Main told the Board of Education Tuesday. The former record was set in 2009, with $14,325,135. While most totals have hovered around $12 million since 2006, this year’s numbers...READ MORE

Wild Chase, Assault Nets 10 Years

OCEAN CITY -- A Pennsylvania man arrested last July after an incident that began with an attempted drug sale to an undercover Ocean City police officer on the Boardwalk was sentenced last week to 10 years in jail. Around 1:47 a.m. last July 16, Ocean City narcotics detectives, assisted by undercover and plainclothes officers, attempted to arrest Michael Joseph McGovern, 30, of Williamsport, Pa., for selling marijuana and ecstasy to an undercover detective. During the arrest, McGovern fled from...READ MORE

Ocean City Revises Body Board Policy After Backlash

OCEAN CITY – City Council chambers resembled a day on the beach this week as surfers, parents and kids crowded the room awaiting the Mayor and City Council’s decision regarding “boogie boards.” Last week, after receiving numerous complaints about the increased use of large body boards, those 42 inches or longer, and their perceived threat on the safety of the general public in the ocean, the Ocean City Beach Patrol began enforcing a ban on the product. The use of...READ MORE

OC Police’s Request To Add More Tasers Okayed

OCEAN CITY – The resort’s latest crime fighting tool, Tasers, has proven to be safe and effective, according to the Ocean City Police Department (OCPD). Last February, the Mayor and City Council approved the OCPD’s Taser X2 Program, which is a pilot program to have trained officers carry the Electronic Control Device (ECD) while on duty. According to the Chief of Police Bernadette DiPino, to date there has been a total 19 Taser “displays”. This is when the ECD is...READ MORE

New La Ha In Ocean Pines Adds Live Entertainment

OCEAN CITY – La Hacienda at the South Gate of Ocean Pines has filled a void in the area by offering a piece of Ocean City nostalgia on the main land. After eight years of searching for the perfect second location for La Hacienda, owner Bill Herbst opened his Ocean Pines location last November. Approaching La Hacienda on Route 589 it’s impossible not to notice a tropical atmosphere of a deck bar and seating sitting over top a lake. “It is a nice quiet place,” Herbst said...READ MORE

Local Author’s First Book A 12-Year Labor Of Love

BERLIN -- Twelve years in the making, local author Susan Tejada recently released, “In Search of Sacco and Vanzetti,” a true crime story of one of Massachusetts’ most brutal multiple murders.   Originally hailing from Providence, R.I., Tejada and her husband Rey have owned a home in West Ocean City near Assateague Island since the early 1980s. Tejada explained that while she loves Worcester County, New England has always had a special place in her heart, which is why she...READ MORE

State Defends Route 50 Paving Project’s Timing

BERLIN -- Questions arose this week over the timing of the ongoing Route 50 repaving project during the height of the summer season, but State Highway Administration (SHA) officials said Wednesday there were fiscal reasons for the start of the project and the work should be completed by the middle of next week. Throughout much of the summer thus far, SHA crews have been working on an extensive repaving project along a seven-mile stretch of eastbound Route 50 from just west of Berlin to the...READ MORE

Student-Organized Program Aims To Reach Peers

BERLIN -- Sometimes, in order to understand a high school student you need to be a high school student. At least that’s the approach Stephen Decatur High School (SDHS) rising senior Calvin Garrison is taking with his “Acts of Kindness” program. “It’s really an outlet for students to come visit if they need someone to talk to,” said Garrison, who founded the program during the 2011-2012 school year, in addition to participating in eight other clubs. Beginning...READ MORE

Local Body Boarder Makes East Coast History

OCEAN CITY – An Ocean City local did this month what he had never done before -- secured a place in the Hawaiian U.S. Pro Tour body boarding contest’s finals. The United States Bodyboarding Association’s (USBA) Pro Tour just held its stop in Hawaii for the Sandy Beach Pro on July 7-8 where local Brian Stoehr placed fourth in the contest, leaving him ranked third overall, as he heads to the final contest, Jenks Pro, at Jenkinson’s Beach, N.J., on Sept. 1. “This is...READ MORE

J/R’s North Adds Drive Thru

OCEAN CITY – Jack is back in action at J/R’s Ribs uptown as the restaurant has completed a makeover that includes the addition of a drive-thru window service. Last year at this time J/R’s Ribs on 131st Street in Ocean City was celebrating the return of its creator Jack Hubberman as he regained the reigns and vowed to return the restaurant to its original recipes along with making a few modernizing changes. In 1980, Hubberman opened J/R’s Ribs on 62nd Street and four years...READ MORE

Worcester Will Fund $100K For Proposed Movie If OC Does, Too

SNOW HILL -- Ocean City got one step closer to returning to the silver screen Tuesday when the Worcester County Commission voted to contribute $100,000 toward funding the movie, “Ping Pong Summer”, on the condition that Ocean City is willing to pay an equal amount. County Tourism Director Lisa Challenger pitched the funding opportunity to the commissioners this week. She reminded them of the powerful and positive impact Hollywood has had on the area in the past. “We’re...READ MORE