March 23, 2007

Buckingham Student Wins New Bike For Work on MSA Test

Showing off the new bike he won for his diligent work on the MSA test is Buckingham Elementary School student TyAire Brown. ...READ MORE

What's Your Sign?

ARIES (March 21 to April 19): Be careful about doing someone a favor when you don't know the full story behind the request. Don't rely on someone's unsubstantiated assurances. Insist on all the facts before you act. TAURUS (April 20 to May 20): That workplace problem still needs your attention before you can finally close the book on it. Meanwhile, a long-anticipated reunion gets closer to becoming a happy reality. GEMINI (May 21 to June 20): You might be demanding more from others than they...READ MORE

Suspended Sentences In Home Invasion

  Suspended Sentences In Home Invasion SNOW HILL - A Berlin man and a Whaleyville man accused of invading a home in Bishopville, threatening the resident and stealing her money last August pleaded guilty last week to malicious destruction of property and were each sentenced to 90 days in jail, all of which was suspended in favor of fines, restitution to the victim and probation. Last Aug. 15, Maryland State Police troopers responded to a residence in Bishopville for a reported home...READ MORE

We Remember Those Who Have Pasted

Jane S. Straughan BERLIN - Jane S. Straughan, 93, of Fenwick Island and Silver Spring, Md., died Monday March 12, 2007 at Berlin Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. Born in Washington , DC she was the daughter of the late Charles W. and Minnie Wineheimer Sincell. She became a pioneer in women's aviation. She learned to fly at Queen's Chapel Airport in Hyattsville, Md. and obtained her commercial pilot's license in 1938. She was the only woman to work in the aviation department at ERCO...READ MORE

Between The Lines

  This Maryland General Assembly session finally started to heat up this week with some movement on some bills of consequence. On the local front, this year's session has been uneventful for the most part. However, it's often said the last month is the only time worth paying attention to with the legislature. That seems to be true this year. Perhaps the most high-profile measure being considered by the legislature is the state smoking ban. It may not be the one with the biggest impact on...READ MORE

Editorial

Market Will Determine Sex Shop's Success A sex shop has opened in Ocean City, prompting reactions ranging from outrage to yawns, and only time will tell whether this business is here to stay. Most of those up in arms are folks living and doing business in the north Ocean City area. It's understandable for the other businesses in the shopping store to have a problem with a store named SexStyle opening up in the location with the most visibility from the highway. Rather than being upset with the...READ MORE

Voices From The Readers

Parents Need To Think About Kids Editor: I just want to publicly announce my frustration with some parents in the area. What kind of sensible parent brings their children to a smoky bar? I don't feel right handing parents kids' menus and crayons and then watching their kids have a side of Marlboros with their food. What is so wrong about eating in the non-smoking section with your kids? Are you too selfish or lazy to walk over to the bar and satisfy your meaningless nicotine habit?...READ MORE

The Bubble

'Backpedaling towards Family Fun' Risk takers don't think that things will end badly until after the fact. This is probably why memorable events in our history, whether stupendous or stupid, occur because ballsy exhibitionists or social thrill seekers aren't afraid of the 'post-risk press conference.' 'Dylan is saddled with a quite horrible backing dominated by syrupy strings, amplified guitar and organ•€¦..The monotonous melody line and Dylan's expressionless intoning...READ MORE

The Insider

Today you can cross the Atlantic Ocean in a couple of hours and it means nothing. Does anyone really have to get across the ocean in a couple of hours? What could possibly be that important? Crossing the big pond was a lot more fun when it took several days aboard one of the major luxury lines. That was, and is, the only way to get to the other side. First class all the way and days of leisure to enjoy the adventure. The work got done, the duties were performed and the pace was easy. The same...READ MORE

Best Beats On The Beach

  Assateague Island Oasis: 410-629-1492, Rt. 611; Every Friday & Saturday: Patrick McAllorum. Bahama mamas: 410-289-0291, Call for entertainment. Blue Ox & Babe's Lounge: 410-250-6440, 127th St. & Coastal Hwy.; Call for entertainment. Buxy's Salty Dog: 410-289-0973, 28th St. & Coastal Hwy.; Friday, March 23: DJ BK; Saturday, March 24: Pirate Radio. Coins: 410-289-3100, 28th St. Plaza; Call for entertainment. Fager's Island: 410-524-5500, 60th St. in the Bay; Deck:...READ MORE

OC's Somerset Street Changes Clear First Hurdle

OCEAN CITY - Less then a month after the Ocean City Development Corporation (OCDC) approached the Mayor and City Council with its new recommendations for the Somerset Street Plaza, it has succeeded in getting all of them approved on their first formal readings. The recommendations first surfaced during a work session back on Feb. 27 and were tabled for further discussion since there were quite a bit of regulations to be looked at. They resurfaced again last week on March 13 and became...READ MORE

OP Community Center Referendum Date Set

OCEAN PINES - The new Ocean Pines Community Center referendum question will be sent out April 18, the Ocean Pines Board of Directors decided Wednesday. 'It's in the hands of the populace,' said Ocean Pines Association President Glenn Duffy. 'Everyone I speak to is in favor. We'll have to wait and see.' Ocean Pines property owners will vote on this ballot question: 'Do you approve the Ocean Pines Association continuing construction of the new Ocean Pines Community Center at a cost...READ MORE

OCPD, Comcast Team Up To Create Information DVD

OCEAN CITY - It's coming down to the wire for high school seniors throughout the country as another school year comes to a close. With high school behind them, many seniors take advantage of the early summer season and flock to vacation spots all along the eastern shore, especially Ocean City where an estimated 100,000 seniors will hit the sand in June. In response to the popularity of Ocean City among young adults, the Ocean City Police Department recently partnered with...READ MORE

School Board Sends $87M Budget To Commissioners

NEWARK - The Worcester County Board of Education on Tuesday night unanimously adopted the school system's proposed operating budget for fiscal year 2008, which comes to around $87.3 million when all sources of revenue are added in, and will submit the document to the County Commissioners for approval next month. The total proposed budget of $87.3 million includes a requested total county allocation of around $70.7 million from Worcester County with the balance coming from the state in...READ MORE

Report Finds Coastal Bays Water Quality Degrading

SNOW HILL - Water quality in the coastal bays is getting worse, not better, reported Dave Goshorn of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Dave Blazer of the Maryland Coastal Bays Program (MCBP) to the Worcester County Commissioners Tuesday. 'We have a lot of red flags going off,' said Dave Blazer, director of MCBP. Monthly water quality monitoring of the Atlantic Coastal Bays has shown a leveling off of improvement and even a decline in quality in some places,...READ MORE

State Green Fund Gets Overhaul, Includes Bays

ANNAPOLIS - The controversial Chesapeake Bay Green Fund, criticized in Worcester because it would charge local citizens to help clean up the Chesapeake Bay without returning any money to the local Atlantic coastal bays, underwent a major transformation late yesterday including a change in the name to the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Coastal Bays Green Fund. The bill as initially submitted basically established an onerous new fee based on the amount of impervious surface created by...READ MORE

Adult Video Shop Owners Unfazed By Critics

OCEAN CITY - Facing an onslaught of criticism in the recent week from town officials, residents and neighboring businesses alike, Ocean City's newest retail shop, SexStyle, wasted no time hunkering down and opening its doors for business. It was Friday when the adult boutique, located at the 137th Street Bayview Shopping Plaza and specializing in DVDs, toys, books and lingerie for patrons 18 years of age or older, warmed up its neon glowing open signs, immediately catching the eye of...READ MORE

Award-Winning Journalist Talks Smart Growth

BERLIN - The Worcester County Commissioners' vision of a rural county dotted with self-contained communities was reinforced at the Tuesday's smart growth presentation by Pulitzer prize winning journalist Tom Hylton. 'In a way, I'm kind of wondering why I'm down here because you're doing all the right things,' said Hylton. Hylton described driving through Salisbury on Route 13, calling the area a 'junkscape.' 'When I crossed the border to Worcester County the clouds parted,' he...READ MORE

Berlin Residents See Varying PCA Charges

BERLIN - Some Berlin residents and town staff are looking forward to their April electric bill, when the reduced PCA charge takes effect. The town has received a multitude of complaints over high electric bills, with high PCA charges, in recent weeks. PCA, or power cost adjustment, charges result from a gap between the fixed rate and the actual cost of the electricity used the previous year. The town still owes $367,000 in power revenue shortfall. The current PCA rate is $58.11...READ MORE

Citizens Stage Silent Vigil For Peace In Berlin

BERLIN - Military veterans and longtime activists came together in front of the Atlantic Hotel in Berlin Monday night on the fourth anniversary of the Iraq war to hold a vigil for peace. 'We were here when they started the war,' said Navy veteran Don Ward, who served on a fast attack submarine, the Nautilus, in the 1960s. 'That's why we're coming back.' Other veterans echoed the same sentiments. 'We want peace,' said Dick Weaver, a veteran of the Air Force. About 30 people gathered...READ MORE

Comcast Updates Council On Latest Improvements, Changes

OCEAN CITY - In the digital age, staying informed about the world around you is an easy task but it would not be so much if it was not for those who provide the services that bring the information to area households ever day. Comcast of Delmarva, Ocean City's provider of cable television, high-speed Internet and telephone service, has been providing its services to the area for years now. At the Mayor and City Council open session Monday night, R. Thomas Worley, the area director of...READ MORE

House OKs Dredge Ban; Insurance Bill Dies

ANNAPOLIS - Several bills of local importance started to finally move in the General Assembly this week as the session rolled into the homestretch, including the death of a bill that would have prevented big insurance carriers such as Allstate from pulling out of coastal areas in the state, and new life for a bill that would prevent hydraulic dredging for clams and oysters in the Atlantic coastal bays. After several weeks of hearings and posturing, the session heated up this week with...READ MORE

Nine-Year Sentence Ordered In Two-State Burglary Spree

SNOW HILL - A Selbyville, Del. man arrested last August in connection with a string of burglaries in Maryland and Delaware pleaded guilty last week in Worcester County Circuit Court to one count each of first- and fourth-degree burglary and was sentenced to a total of nine years in jail. Gary Jefferson Smith, 43, of Selbyville, was arrested last August in Salisbury after detectives there connected him to a string of break-ins in Sussex County, Del. and Worcester and Wicomico counties...READ MORE

OC Room Tax Figure Expected TO Break $10M

OCEAN CITY - Almost a quarter of the new year has already passed but when it comes to the yearly cycle based around the town's budget, it's a over halfway through the fiscal year. At the Mayor and City Council meeting on Monday, Finance Administrator Martha Bennett gave a presentation to the council updating it on the town's finances. Currently the town faces a projected deficit of $1.5 million but is expected to lower to it to approximately $500,000 by fiscal year's end, an amount...READ MORE

Berlin Flooding Report Delayed Till Next Month

BERLIN - The final stormwater management report by the Army Corps of Engineers expected at any time has been pushed back another month. 'It's been delayed because of staff shortages on their end. We're now expected to get the draft in April,' said Berlin Administrative Director Linda Bambary. The town will hold an informal work session, Bambary said, to go over the report. The final draft will be due at the end of the month. Ongoing flooding problems in the town prompted the...READ MORE

Berlin, Developers Could Team Up For Comp. Plan Help

BERLIN - The town of Berlin may seek expert help in writing the new comprehensive plan, after a presentation by a nationally known expert caught the attention of a Town Council member and local developers might help foot the bill. At the Berlin Planning Commission meeting this month, Stacey Weisner, Berlin's Superintendent of Planning and Zoning, who has written the draft plan, floated the possibility of engaging the services of Dhiru Thadani of Ayers Saint Gross (ASG), who spoke before...READ MORE

Coastal Highway Flooding Questioned Again

OCEAN CITY - April's showers, making an appearance in March this year, dropped quite a bit of rain on the resort in a period of a couple days recently, giving reason for concerned residents to question the city's powers regarding what it can do with the problem of flooding on Coastal Highway after these deluges. During the part of the Mayor and City Council's open session Monday night when citizens are allowed to make comments, local resident Herb Pawlukewicz approached the microphone...READ MORE

County Shuffles 10-Year Capital Project List

SNOW HILL - With $388 million worth of projects listed in Worcester County's 10-year capital improvement plan, the County Commissioners decided to push back some items to follow a more realistic timeline. 'You have Pocomoke and Snow Hill [high schools] lined up in the same year. That's not going to happen,' said Commissioner Virgil Shockley. Commissioner Judy Boggs, agreed, saying, 'Not only is it physically doing the schools, it's how much can we afford to pay and we can't afford to...READ MORE

Maryland Smoking Ban Clears House, Senate Committees

ANNAPOLIS - A statewide smoking ban in Maryland appears to be as close to done deal as it ever has this week after committees in the House and Senate approved the Clean Air Act of 2007, which, if approved by the entire General Assembly, would make bars, restaurants and other public places across the state completely smoke free. The effort to make all Maryland bars and restaurants smoke free has gained momentum in recent years, but has failed each year because the legislation could not...READ MORE

NMFS Considers Pushing Back Circle Hook Mandate

OCEAN CITY - The required use of fish-friendly circle hooks in big offshore tournaments such as the annual White Marlin Open in Ocean City could be suspended for a year while National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) officials reconsider the federal regulations that went into effect on Jan. 1. NMFS officials last year adopted new regulations requiring the use of circle hooks in Atlantic billfish tournaments such as the White Marlin Open in an effort to curb mortality rates for the...READ MORE

Ocean City Looks To Discuss ADA Lawsuit Specifics

OCEAN CITY - Resort attorneys last week categorically denied nearly every facet of a civil suit filed against Ocean City in February, citing a laundry list of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) non-compliance infractions, but the formal answer to the suit does not signal unwillingness on the part of the town to address the issues. The suit filed in February on behalf of four individual plaintiffs, each with varying degrees of disability and access issues, along with the...READ MORE