Articles

NEW FOR THURSDAY: As Election Nears Finish Line, Councilman Seeks To Clarify Opponents’ ‘Disinformation’

OCEAN CITY -- Vying for his second term in Tuesday’s election, Councilman Doug Cymek is hoping voters return him to office as well as his allies who he thinks will return communication and leadership to the council. In an interview this week, Cymek talked about the vast differences between his first two years on the council (2008-2010) and the last two (2010-2012) when government was led by a different council majority. Along with the philosophical differences, Cymek addressed the absence...READ MORE

NEW FOR THURSDAY: Assateague Storm Update: ‘The Island Survived … But There Is Considerable Damage’

ASSATEAGUE -- Assateague Island was slowly coming back to life, at least from a human standpoint, yesterday after Hurricane Sandy made her presence felt early this week, but the barrier island, like most coastal areas, took a good beating. Two days after the last vestiges of Sandy cleared out of the area, the Assateague Island State Park reopened for visitors yesterday morning on a limited basis, while the Assateague Island National Seashore remained closed. The National Seashore was expected to...READ MORE

NEW FOR WEDNESDAY: Army Corps Finds Beach Fared ‘Better Than Expected’

OCEAN CITY – The sea wall on the Boardwalk, along with other storm protection measures, did better in Ocean City than the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ expected. On Tuesday Baltimore District commander Col. Trey Jordan visited Ocean City to conduct a preliminary assessment of the Atlantic Coast of Maryland Shoreline Protection Project, or beach replenishment, following Hurricane Sandy. “The Corp of Engineers is interested in public safety and all of our projects like this are...READ MORE

NEW FOR TUESDAY: Bayfront Resident Fires At Boat To Protect Home

OCEAN CITY -- It’s always a tragic event when a property owner has to resort to gunfire to defend his or her home. Luckily, this time the threat came in the form of an unmanned boat propelled by storm surge. During Hurricane Sandy on Monday, Eden Roc Hotel owner Bill Salvatore found himself faced with an incredibly unusual situation: a roughly 30-foot boat hurtling toward his home. According to Salvatore, who lives on Marlin Drive off 21st Street, concerned neighbors called him Monday...READ MORE

NEW FOR TUESDAY: Mayor Calls Ocean City ‘Very Fortunate’

OCEAN CITY – Ocean City is in the process of assessing damaged done by Hurricane Sandy as Ocean City returns to business one step at a time. “I think we are very fortunate,” Mayor Rick Meehan said at this morning’s press conference. “We have our team out there right now doing a damage assessment. We have our partners, State Highway Administration, and other agencies helping us with that. We are trying to get things open back up as quickly as possible and I think we...READ MORE

NEW FOR FRIDAY: Ocean City Keeping Close Eye On Sandy, Nor’easter Effects

OCEAN CITY -- As Hurricane Sandy continues to plod north today, Ocean City and the entire mid-Atlantic region continue to be in the bulls eye for most landfall projections, likely sometime Sunday or early Monday. The rare late October hurricane on Friday continued to move north of the southeast U.S. coast on Friday morning and is heading to a likely landfall somewhere between Ocean City and Cape Cod although many projections have it coming ashore right over the mid-Atlantic region. The storm,...READ MORE

Ad Agency Reviews ‘Summer Of Thanks’ Campaign

OCEAN CITY – Ocean City’s tourism department and its partners are looking for ideas on Ocean City’s marketing campaign for next summer. This week the Ocean City Hotel-Motel-Restaurant Association held its season-wrap up meeting with its members and Ocean City’s advertising firm, MGH. OCHMRA Executive Director Susan Jones said this summer the trends confirmed visitors are booking short-term stays and are continuing to look for the value and deals. “They want the best...READ MORE

Berlin Presented Sustainable Award

BERLIN -- Though initially announced last spring, it wasn’t until this week that Berlin officially received the first ever Sustainable Maryland Certified Award (SMC). This isn’t just the first time that Berlin has won the award; it is the first time that any of the 157 municipalities in the state have been certified sustainable by the relatively new SMC. After receiving the award, which was presented by Joanne Throwe, Director of the University of Maryland Environmental Finance...READ MORE

Area’s Fall Restaurant Week Concludes On Sunday

OCEAN CITY – The fall season’s Restaurant Week is nearing its end in the Ocean City area and area operators are reporting it has turned out to be a win-win for them and their customers. Restaurant Week began on Oct. 14 and runs through Sunday, Oct. 28. The event began in Ocean City in the spring season of 2007 and the fall season event started being offered in 2010. Restaurant Week is a nation-wide campaign but in Ocean City it’s used as a tool to give chefs and restaurants to...READ MORE

Vick’s Flat Tire In Berlin Gives Local Kids A Thrill

BERLIN -- Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick made an unscheduled pit stop in Berlin late last week after getting a flat tire on Route 113 on his way to Virginia and provided a brief thrill for dozens of local young athletes while he waited for a repair. Vick was with his wife and two girls late last Friday afternoon when he got a flat tire on his Lexus SUV on Route 113 in Berlin. Fortunately for the Vicks, the flat tire occurred across the street from John’s Auto Body and the NFL...READ MORE

Berlin Mulls Parking Solutions

BERLIN -- In a case of what several officials call a “good problem” to have, parking scarcity in Berlin went under the lens this month after a proposal to re-locate the town’s farmers market to increase parking was quickly dismissed in a wave of public backlash. Though the market will be staying put for the time being, worries over parking persist with the town turning to lot sharing as a short-term remedy and the addition of new parking spaces likely in the near future. Mayor...READ MORE

BES Invites Parents To See After-School Academy Programs

BERLIN -- Through the use of interactive technology and devices meant to make abstract concepts easier to understand, Buckingham Elementary School (BES) is taking a hands-on approach to After-School Academies (ASAs). As part of National Light on Afterschool month, BES showcased its academies to the media and parents this week. During the event, parents were able to sit and participate with second-, third- and fourth-grade reading and math after-school programs. While each academy varies in what...READ MORE

Testimony Concludes In Hudson Farm Case; Judge May Rule In December

BERLIN -- After three years of legal posturing and 10 days after the trial began, testimony wrapped up on Wednesday in the landmark civil suit filed against a Berlin farm family and Perdue over alleged pollution violations dating back to 2009. Testimony ended Wednesday in the civil trial pitting a New York-based environmental watchdog group against Berlin’s Hudson Farm and Perdue, but it could be several weeks before U.S. District Court Judge William Nickerson hands down a ruling in the...READ MORE

Ping-Pong Summer Filming Wraps This Weekend

OCEAN CITY -- After a little over a month at locations all over the Ocean City area, the shooting of the independent film Ping-Pong Summer is expected to wrap up this weekend. In September, the coming-of-age film, set in Ocean City in the mid-1980s, started shooting at locations all over the resort area. The film’s plot involves a teenager vacationing in Ocean City with his family when he discovers a love of ping-pong and rap music. The film’s leading stars include Susan Sarandon,...READ MORE

OC Carriage Rides Become A Reality

OCEAN CITY – If the first weekend was any indication, the operator of the horse and carriage rides in downtown Ocean City looks forward to a successful first season. Randy Davis of R and B Ranch located in Salisbury first proposed horse and carriage rides on the Boardwalk in Ocean City last May and Mayor and City Council granted final approval in September. Horse and carriage rides will run from Oct. 19 to April 14 on the weekends with the pick-up location near Thrashers French Fries in...READ MORE

OC Police Officers Honored For Heroic Actions

OCEAN CITY -- The Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) this week announced several officers have been recognized with commendations for their actions during several serious incidents and arrests throughout 2012. Each year, the OCPD meets to review the performance of its sworn personnel along with its civilian personnel and issues commendations and recognitions. This week, several officers were recognized for their actions in 2012. Sgt. Dennis Eade was recognized with a Silver Star, awarded to any...READ MORE

Ping-Pong Summer Filming Wraps This Weekend

OCEAN CITY -- After a little over a month at locations all over the Ocean City area, the shooting of the independent film Ping-Pong Summer is expected to wrap up this weekend. In September, the coming-of-age film, set in Ocean City in the mid-1980s, started shooting at locations all over the resort area. The film’s plot involves a teenager vacationing in Ocean City with his family when he discovers a love of ping-pong and rap music. The film’s leading stars include Susan Sarandon,...READ MORE

Concerns Over Resort’s Loud Events Continue

OCEAN CITY – The extreme rumble associated with recent vehicular-centered events in Ocean City continue to raise concerns from private citizens and public officials. At last week’s Mayor and Council meeting, Ocean City resident Elle Diegelmann made suggestions in controlling the noise in residential neighborhoods caused by the visiting vehicles in town for Cruisin, Bike Week, Corvette weekend and the Volkswagon (VW) events. “For whatever its worth, I just want to go on record...READ MORE

Berlin Flooding Fixes Estimated To Cost $8.3M

BERLIN -- After a year of investigating Berlin’s stormwater issues, the University of Maryland Environmental Finance Center (UMEFC) recommended this week the town establish “dedicated funding” to tackle problems through a new stormwater utility. “It is very important to generate adequate revenue for this,” UMEFC Director Joanne Throwe told the council. Last year, UMEFC offered to conduct the stormwater evaluation for free in the belief that what it found in the town...READ MORE

Council Approves Treatment Plant Change Orders

SALISBURY – With the Wastewater Treatment Plant Drain Pump Station’s latest mishap still on the minds of many, the City Council approved a number of contract change orders this week in hopes to make some improvements at the facility. There were a list of approvals the City Council were presented with during the awarding of bids portion of the legislative session on Monday evening. Each had to do with the Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) Drain Pump Station. First, Assistant Director...READ MORE

Md. Transportation Officials Update County On Initiatives

SNOW HILL -- Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) representatives paid a visit last week to the Worcester County Commissioners to deliver an update on everything from statewide flight and shipping patterns to local transit and pedestrian safety efforts. MDOT Acting Secretary Darrell Mobley started the proceedings by addressing the elephant in the room: funding. He called funding “a critical challenge” for all transportation efforts in Maryland. Even with a recent bump in...READ MORE

Importance Of After-School Academies Confirmed

SNOW HILL -- With continued funding still an uncertainty, educators behind this year’s After School Academies briefed the Worcester County Board of Education last week on recent successes and the importance of the programs. While academies vary by school, there is a county-wide focus on the fields of Science, Technology, Education, and Mathematics (STEM). There is also an equal interest in helping struggling students keep pace with their peers, as evidenced by Snow Hill Middle...READ MORE

Salisbury, State Formalize Bike Path Details

SALISBURY – The Salisbury City Council worked on a couple of Memorandum of Understandings with the State of Maryland involving bicycle paths and the inmate work crews. The first resolution on the table was for the City of Salisbury to authorize Mayor Jim Ireton to sign an amendment to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the Northeast Collector Bike Path Phase II of Pedestrian-and-Bicycle-Faculties Improvements. According to the resolution, the Maryland State Highway Administration...READ MORE

Public Agencies Offer Halloween Safety Reminders

OCEAN CITY – As witches and goblins prepare to hit the streets this Halloween, local public safety departments are sending out friendly warnings and reminders to keep it fun and safe. The Ocean City Fire Department (OCFD) reminds the public that when choosing a costume, stay away from billowing or long, trailing fabric. If you are making your own costume, choose material that won't easily ignite if it comes into contact with heat or flame. It is safest to use a flashlight or...READ MORE

Ocean City Strategic Plan Process Begins

OCEAN CITY -- With early work starting this week on the city’s new strategic plan initiative, City Manager David Recor made it clear it will not be another endeavor that ends up on a shelf alongside other costly studies and reports. In an interview in May, after officially accepting the job as the resort’s new city manager, Recor said his immediate goal will be to build consensus on the divided council and maintained it could occur during the drafting of a strategic plan that would...READ MORE

‘Silver Sizzle Revue’ Eyes Resort

OCEAN CITY -- If you are looking for an evening full of fun and entertainment, then next month’s “Silver Sizzle Revue” is for you. With live performances at the Ocean City Convention Center on Nov. 8-11, “Silver Sizzles” is 90 minutes of glitzy and glamorous Vegas style revue. Featuring former Radio City Music Hall Rockettes, the eight-person cast provides a splendid mix of dynamic songs, thrilling dance performances and hilarious comedy. With lots of costumes and...READ MORE

Council’s Inaction May Jeopardize Skate Park Grant

SALISBURY -- Complaints that the Salisbury City Council and the public were left out of the loop in applying for a grant for a new skate park, as well as the desire for a better location, continued this week with the City Council still divided during their second work session discussing the issue. However, as some feared, the grant givers have expressed unease with Salisbury’s hesitation to accept more than $250,000 in funding. Offered by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the...READ MORE

Ocean City’s Winterfest Of Lights Kicks Off Nov. 15

OCEAN CITY -- The Town of Ocean City will be a bit brighter beginning Nov. 15, when the Winterfest of Lights celebrates its 20th year illuminating Northside Park. Named a prestigious Top 100 Event for 2011 by American Bus Association and voted “Maryland’s Finest Holiday Tradition” by Maryland Life Magazine, Winterfest of Lights is a winter paradise for the whole family to enjoy. The Winterfest Express takes guests on a ride through a mile-long animated wonderland of dazzling...READ MORE

Worcester Authorities Make Large Heron Bust

OCEAN PINES -- Two Ocean Pines residents were arrested on heroin distribution and other charges last week after a months-long investigation into the trafficking of the drug in the north end of Worcester resulted in the largest heroin bust in recent history in the county. Over the last several months, the Worcester County Criminal Enforcement Team, in partnership with the Ocean City Police Narcotics Unit, has been conducting several joint heroin investigations in the north end of the county....READ MORE

Local Woman Relishing ‘Second Chance At Life’

OCEAN CITY – Using an alternative approach of meditation in healing herself after two heart surgeries to avoid cardiac death, Chrissy Ehrhart-Knight finds herself back to her everyday life only weeks later. In the summer of 2011 Ehrhart-Knight, 37, of Berlin was diagnosed with Lyme’s Disease and in the months following she began to experience a number of symptoms, such as being excessively tired. Doctors couldn’t figure out was wrong. Her young age and symptoms of fatigue did...READ MORE

Farmers Market Relocation Delayed Due To Protests

BERLIN -- Extraordinary opposition from vendors at Berlin’s Farmers Market sidelined a potential re-location of the event, at least for the next few months. However, when agreeing to allow the market to remain in downtown Berlin, town officials made it clear that they are expecting more cooperation and communication between the Chamber of Commerce and the market in the future. Earlier this month, the Berlin Chamber of Commerce, at the request of the Mayor and Council, submitted a proposal...READ MORE

Engagements

Parker-Morris BERLIN -- Cristi and Steve Graham of Bishopville and Mark and Lori Parker of York, Pa. announce the engagement of their daughter Katelyn Marie Parker to Richard Allen Morris of Red Lion, Pa., son of Charles Wilmore Morris and James and Linda Dawson. The bride-to-be is a 2010 graduate of Stephen Decatur High School and a graduate from Yorktowne Business Institute. She is currently working as a Pastry Chef at the Regents Glen Country Club in York, Pa. The groom to be is a 2004...READ MORE

Berlin Pregnancy Center Transitions To Further Help Community

OCEAN CITY – The Shirley Grace Pregnancy Center is officially a pregnancy medical center now offering ultrasounds along with many other free services to keep women informed and healthy before, during and beyond pregnancy. The Shirley Grace Pregnancy Center is a non-profit organization that provides free and confidential services, such as pregnancy tests, education on fetal development, abortion and adoption, options counseling, poor prenatal diagnosis support, material assistance,...READ MORE

Beach Maze Returns This Weekend

OCEAN CITY -- The free family Halloween fun continues this weekend with the giant Halloween Beach Maze and a race the likes of which Ocean City has never seen before. The “Halloween Beach Maze” kicked off last weekend and attracted more than 5,000 people on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 20-21. It returns on Oct. 27-28, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. each day. Experience a “pleasant” scream as you meander the sands of the giant beach maze. Wicked witches, pirates of the sand, scary...READ MORE

In Interview, Knight Calls Council Majority’s Conservative Claims ‘Ridiculous’, Explains Why She Will Not Take Union Position

OCEAN CITY -- If re-elected on Nov. 6, Councilwoman Mary Knight wants to restore “decorum” to Mayor and Council meetings and bring back the town’s subcommittees that were abolished two years ago. Knight was first elected in 2006 and served the remainder of Mayor Rick Meehan’s council term when he became mayor. She was re-elected in 2008 and is seeking her third term next month. In an interview this week, Knight, the only female in the 10-person council field vying for the...READ MORE