April 30, 2010

We Remember Those We Have Lost

Jessie Lee Sturgis GIRDLETREE - Jessie Lee Sturgis, age 58, died, Wednesday, April 21, 2010 at his home in Snow Hill. Born in Salisbury, he was the son of Maisie Taylor Sturgis Collins and the late Reese Sturgis. Sturgis was employed for 29 years with Kelly Foods in Berlin where he worked as a supervisor. He was a member of the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah Witness in Berlin. He is survived by his wife, Linda Shockley Sturgis; four sons, Shawn Sturgis of Georgetown, Del., Irvin Sturgis of Baltimore,...READ MORE

Chicken, Potatoes Robbery

OCEAN CITY - A Salisbury man was arrested on robbery and theft charges last week after allegedly threatening a convenience store clerk if she didn't give him fried chicken and potatoes. Last Friday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer on a routine business check at the Royal Farms store on 83rd Street was approached by a female employee who told the officer about an incident the night before. The employee told the officer two males came into the store a little before 9 p.m. on...READ MORE

OC Elementary Students Place in Essay Contest

Third and fourth grade students from Ocean City Elementary were invited to enter the annual Americanism Essay Contest sponsored by the American Legion Post #166. Ocean City Elementary's first place winner was John Ford from Faith Murray's fourth grade class. In second place was Evan Marlowe from Kirsten Danisavich's fourth grade class, and third place winner is Eric Rimel from Danisavich's class.  The theme of the contest was "What is my Patriotic Role as a U.S. Citizen?"...READ MORE

Maryland Economics Challenge Winners

Stephen Decatur High School Principal Louis Taylor poses with recent winners of the Maryland Economics Challenge sponsored by the Maryland Council on Economic Education. Students, from left, are Seniors Garrett Allbritton, James Pack, Caroline Howard, and sophomore Michael Musiani. ...READ MORE

Worcester Prep Senior Places First in Poetry Competition

Worcester Preparatory School Senior Austin Coates placed first in the Poetry Out Loud Maryland Regional Competition held earlier this year at the Dorcester Center for the Arts in Cambridge. She is pictured above with her teacher Dana Schaefer. ...READ MORE

Area 6th Grader Wins Big at Regional Gymnastics Meet

Ross Dickerson, a Grade 6 student at Worcester Prep, was honored as the State of Maryland Level 6 Men's first place gymnast in rings, high bar, and all-around at a recent regional meet. He is part of the Twisters Gymnastics team. ...READ MORE

Fatherhood Adventures

A certain amount of crying is inevitable around the house with two kids under 2 years old. Some days there are little to no tears shed, even by us parents, but there are other days when my kids' water works go into overtime. My reaction to these meltdown moments has changed over time. The fact is most bouts of crying have little to no impact on me any longer. That was not always the case, and I am quite certain my gradual hair color change can be attributed to the early days of parenthood when...READ MORE

Who's Playing When and Where Musically Speaking

707 Sports Bar & Grille 410-213-9507 12702 Old Bridge Road, West OC Friday, April 30: Tranzfusion Every Saturday: Karaoke With Hey Mick Buxy's Salty Dog 410-289-0973 28th St. & Coastal Hwy. Friday, April 30: Bands of Summer-Groundscore, Tommy McGee & Broken Coast Saturday, May 1: Pompous Pie Carousel Resort Hotel & Condominiums 410-524-1000 On the beach, 118th St. Every Friday: DJ Rupe, 6-9 p.m. Clarion Hotel 410-524-3535 10100 Coastal Hwy.  Ocean Club: Friday, April...READ MORE

People in Society

Snapshots of Those Lending A Helping Hand Throughout the Community ...READ MORE

Faces in Places

A spotlight on the local and regional bar and restaurant scene ...READ MORE

Thoughts From The Publisher's Desk

There was a time when budget talks were as boring as they come around here. It was once mundane and predictable, particularly when property values were booming to unrealistic levels, governments were flush with cash and there was little reason to question every line item in a department budget, but now that financial strain is the norm these negotiations are fascinating for those of us who like watching politics at work. The fact is most government budgets were plush with pork for years. Too...READ MORE

Voices From The Readers

Editor's Note: The outrage over Ocean City eliminating its recycling program and expanding its current waste-to-energy policy has dominated these pages for the last few weeks. This week, we decided to forgo our weekly editorial to allow for viewpoints to be expressed. For those keeping track, including this week's letters, there have been 11 letters to the editor published opposing the town's decision and not one citizen has penned a letter of support. Editor. Lose Rodney, Focus On Quality Of...READ MORE

Study Underway To ID Bones Found On Beach

OCEAN CITY - There were more questions than answers late yesterday as Ocean City police continued to attempt to unravel the mystery surrounding skeletal remains found on the beach near the high tide line starting Wednesday afternoon. Shortly before 2 p.m. on Wednesday, police responded to the beach at North Division Street in reference to a citizen's report of the discovery of possible skeletal remains. Throughout the afternoon and into Wednesday evening, resort police canvassed the beach in the...READ MORE

Friday, April 30--Board Approves New Liquor Licenses

SNOW HILL - A historic West Ocean City motel and resort was awarded a new liquor license for its latest endeavor, and a handful of other pieces of business were dispensed with last week at the Worcester County Board of License Commissioners' April meeting. Francis Scott Key Family Resort owners Jim and Annemarie Dickerson were successful in acquiring a Class B, seven-day beer and wine license for the newest addition to the complex along Route 50 in West Ocean City. Route 50 Signature Burgers,...READ MORE

Friday, April 30--Commercial Recycling Near In Berlin

BERLIN - Commercial recycling could begin for Main Street businesses within four to six weeks. Berlin's Main Street Program is paying for a 30-yard recycling container to be stationed behind The Globe near the current dumpsters, said Grow Berlin Green Director Steve Farr at Monday night's Berlin Mayor and Council meeting. County staff will pick up the recycling container and take it to the county recycling center at the county landfill in Newark to handle the recyclables. Organizers are...READ MORE

Friday, April 30--NAACP Branch President Steps Down

SNOW HILL - Ed Lee has not decided quite what his future holds after stepping down from the NAACP presidency, but he knows his future will include working for the community. Lee stepped down as president of the Worcester County chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) last week. Lee said he plans to stay involved in local government and advocating for the minority population, but he said he was not prepared to disclose any specifics as far as what those...READ MORE

Friday, April 30--Resort Road Races Set New Participant Records

OCEAN CITY - The 6th Annual Ocean City Half-Marathon and 5K races were a huge hit last week with a record number of participants, a beautiful course and a narrow window of near-perfect weather. The blustery, drizzly conditions that prevailed for much of last weekend in the resort area held on long enough for a few hours on Saturday morning for the running of the annual half-marathon and 5K races produced by OC Tri-Running. The event began six years ago as a full marathon, but was shortened to a...READ MORE

Council Realizes Error With Favored Bridge Option

OCEAN CITY •€' It took a 3-D presentation from the State Highway Administration (SHA) to show the Mayor and City Council that they fancied options 5A and 5C for the future aesthetic of the Route 50 Bridge. On Feb. 27, 2009, the City Council voted 5-2, with council members Jim Hall and Margaret Pillas in opposition, to give their proverbial blessing to the SHA's most costly option for a bridge rebuild: the $400 million option 4 that called for a 45-foot fixed span bridge and create an...READ MORE

Iguana Man Causes A Stir In Ocean City

OCEAN CITY •€' After receiving some odd complaints about a man and his reptile on the Ocean City Boardwalk, the City Council will now be debating at a future work session the definition of domesticated versus undomesticated animals, and what types of animals are allowed to be walking the resort's streets. Councilwoman Margaret Pillas brought up a complaint that she had received about a gentleman walking his large iguana on the Ocean City Boardwalk and as a result, scaring some...READ MORE

Joe Hall Says Ocean City Spending Can Be Cut Further

OCEAN CITY •€' As the first week of budget hearings wraps up, it seems that City Manager Dennis Dare's 'rightsizing' mantra has been replaced with Councilman Joe Hall's outspoken desires to 'cut until it hurts.' As each line item in the proposed FY 2011 budget gets placed under the proverbial microscope and each town department comes before the Mayor and Council to present their already lean budget proposals for the next year, Hall has seemingly chimed in on almost every department and has...READ MORE

Local Landmark Earns Hall Of Honor

OCEAN CITY - The local restaurant community was well represented at this week's Restaurant Association of Maryland (RAM) 'Stars of the Industry' annual gala in Baltimore, with perhaps the town's most famous establishment adding another feather to its well-decorated cap. RAM's annual gala, held at Martin's West in Baltimore, recognizes some of the top establishments from every corner of the state in several categories and, as usual, Ocean City was well represented. Although none of the local...READ MORE

Mayor Concerned Over Lack Of Capital Project Funding

OCEAN CITY •€' Hitting or perhaps lowering the tax rate might be the immediate goal for the Mayor and City Council, but Mayor Rick Meehan said that they shouldn't forget about the town's long-term needs as well. Meehan said this week that if the council finds additional money to trim from the town's FY 2011 budget, it might want to consider putting a little of it to the side into a fund dedicated to capital projects, thus keeping the constant yield tax rate at the proposed 40.5 cents per...READ MORE

Arson Ruled In Ocean Pines Home Fire

OCEAN PINES - An Ocean Pines woman is in critical condition in a Baltimore hospital this week after allegedly setting her own residence on fire early Monday afternoon. Around 1 p.m. on Monday, Ocean Pines Emergency Services were alerted for an ambulance call for a reported drug overdose. While en route, Ocean Pines emergency services were advised the occupant of the residence, later identified as Roslyn Smith, had overdosed on medication and had threatened to burn her house down. First-arriving...READ MORE

Berlin Clean Up Efforts Successful

BERLIN - The recent clean up of Hudson Branch in Berlin yielded over 18 tons of trash, staff reported this week. Town staff and volunteers from local green groups and state agencies recently spent three days cleaning up the littered waterway, which has long been used as an unauthorized and illegal dump site, staff reported at the Monday night Berlin Mayor and Council meeting. The work, cleaning up 400 feet of stream, took three days, said Berlin Public Works Director Mike Gibbons. The multi-day...READ MORE

Berlin Council Okays Water Rate Hike

BERLIN - Water rates in Berlin will go up over the next four years, but consumers will not see much of a difference in their bill. The Berlin Mayor and Council passed the water rate increase at Monday night's town council meeting. 'Over a period of four years the total increase is $3 a month,' said Berlin Mayor Gee Williams. The water system's operating and maintenance costs are currently running at a deficit. 'We can't run a deficit indefinitely. It's temporary,' Williams said. 'This will bring...READ MORE

Bridge Removal Irks Berlin Residents

BERLIN - A pedestrian bridge over a drainage ditch in the Henry's Green area will be rebuilt, Berlin Mayor Gee Williams said this week. The property owner to make way for stormwater improvements removed the bridge, linking Henry's Mill and Henry's Green, recently. That move was much to the consternation of the neighborhood. 'The bridge will be replaced but we have to determine at what height •€¦ we're not talking months. We want to get this resolved soon,' Williams said. Berlin does want to...READ MORE

Lynch Seek Eyesore Crackdown

BERLIN - The town of Berlin will explore ordinances to regulate how long unused houses are allowed to sit unoccupied and boarded up. At this week's Mayor and Cuncil meeting, Councilwoman Paula Lynch raised questions over a house that has been boarded up for almost a decade after the death of the owner. Under current town laws, houses may remain boarded up essentially forever, said attorney Dave Gaskill, as long as the outside and the yard are maintained. Staff has discussed changing the...READ MORE

Mock Accident Sends Message To Decatur Students

BERLIN - With the prom next weekend and graduation activities not far behind, Stephen Decatur students got a harsh, first-hand look at the reality of the danger of drinking and driving and poor decision-making with a dramatic mock accident in front of the school yesterday morning. In a program repeated each year just before prom week, Decatur seniors were called to a parking lot in front of the Berlin school around 8:30 a.m. What they found was a demolished car with a couple of their classmates,...READ MORE

New Regs Allow Berlin To Handle Stormwater Issues

BERLIN - With the passage Monday night of Berlin's new regulations, control of stormwater handling now lies with the town and not Worcester County. 'We take care of the streets. We take care of the sidewalks. We take care of water and wastewater, and we take care of electricity. Why not stormwater? That's where so many problems still arise and have a negative effect on our environment,' said Berlin Mayor Gee Williams. Councilman Dean Burrell agreed that the town should control stormwater...READ MORE

OC Council Lauds Fire Chief For Increasing Efficiency

OCEAN CITY •€' Ocean City Fire Chief Chris Larmore said that his department has gotten done in two years what some people said couldn't be done in six. As a result, the council applauded the efforts of the '$1-a-year-chief', and even quipped that it might be time to give him a raise. As the career and volunteer fire department in Ocean City closes in on its two-year anniversary next month, the memory of the harsh battle to get the merger of the two entities in place still lingers to those...READ MORE

Ocean City News In Brief

OCEAN CITY •€' In the brief this week, two issues slipped through the Police Commission level and found their way onto the City Council's agenda and were quickly tabled, the council mulled its options on what to do with a few more taxi medallions and the town wants a downtown property owner to start a cleanup effort. 2 Issues Tabled By Council For Further Discussion Councilman Jim Hall wasn't sure how two items ended up on the council's Tuesday work session agenda, and when they came up, he...READ MORE

Sex Offense Probe Leads To Charges

OCEAN CITY - A Baltimore man was taken into custody this week after detectives charged him last week with child sex crimes dating to 2008. Last week, the Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) concluded a month-long child sex offense investigation stemming from a referral from the Worcester County Department of Social Services (WCDSS). Detectives, working in conjunction with the WCDSS, concluded during the spring of 2008, the suspect, identified as James Sean Bennett, 42, of Baltimore, came to...READ MORE

Truck Driver Passes Out, Collides With Condo Building

OCEAN CITY - In a bizarre accident in Ocean City this week, an elderly man apparently lost consciousness and then control of a large commercial dump truck he was driving, striking another vehicle stopped at an intersection before crashing into a first-floor condominium unit. Around 8:45 a.m. on Tuesday, Ocean City Police and the Ocean City Fire Department responded to a reported collision involving a dump truck and a condominium building on 65th Street. The preliminary investigation revealed the...READ MORE

Things I Like

When karma shows itself Ivy growing up and around a column My kids sleeping in on the weekends When those huge Route 50 signs actually say something Those old bikes with banana seats An empty trash can Smell of a new book Memories of weighing fish at the old Paul's Tackle Shop These final shows of 'Lost' Seagulls singing in the distance Passionate letters to the editor ...READ MORE

Post-Recession Bond Strategy Deserves Fresh Look

OCEAN CITY - With the economy continuing to show signs of growth, a dreaded "double-dip" recession is looking increasingly unlikely, says Martin Mauro, Fixed Income Strategist at BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research. As a result, even the most conservative investors may need to consider that the bond strategies that saw them through the recession •€' particularly the flight to the safety of U.S. Treasury bonds •€' could be due for a review. Not...READ MORE

A Week In Business

Registration Earned OCEAN PINES - Main Street Consulting/Main Street Wealth Management has announced that Dennis R. Hudson, managing director, has received the Series 24 Securities Registration, which is required for registration as a General Securities Principal and qualifies Hudson to potentially supervise the activities of registered representatives. Study Honors Hospital SALISBURY - An independent study of women's care at nearly 5,000 hospitals found Peninsula Regional Medical Center to be...READ MORE

What's Your Sign?

ARIES (March 21 to April 19): The Lamb is usually excited about taking on a new challenge. But if that's a touch of doubt you're feeling, maybe it's you telling yourself to go slow on this until you learn more about it. TAURUS (April 20 to May 20): Accepting new commitments when you haven't yet finished the batch on hand could be a bit rash. Better to ease up on the new ones until you get further along with your current lot. GEMINI (May 21 to June 20): Reward yourself for what's sure to be a...READ MORE

Kiwanis Holds Annual Italian Dinner Scholarship Fundraiser

The Kiwanis Club of Greater Ocean Pines-Ocean City recently held its annual Italian Dinner Scholarship Fundraiser at DeNovo's Trattoria in Ocean Pines. Pictured, from left, are CaliAnne Tilley, Simmi Chawla, and Bethany Sauter, three members of the Stephen Decatur Key Club, who are Kiwanians at the high school level, and volunteered their services to help make the dinner a success ...READ MORE

Sussex Tech High School Student Wins OC/Berlin Optimist Club Essay Contest

Andrew Bell of Seaford, Del. wrote the winning essay in the Ocean City/Berlin Optimist Club contest and the Maryland/South Delaware District of Optimist International contest. A student at Sussex Tech High School, Bell won a $2,500 college scholarship. He also won $300 at the local level. In addition to Bell, local winners were second place, Jake Emche of Worcester Prep, and third place, Michelle Wangel of Stephan Decatur High School. Pictured, from left, Lew Frey, club vice president; Bell; Bob...READ MORE

Arbor Day Celebration at Northside Park

The Ocean City Beautification Committee joins Mayor Rick Meehan at this year's Arbor Day ceremony Friday at Northside Park. The town received the designation of Tree City USA for the 22nd year, along with the Maryland PLANT Community Award, which the town has received the past 18 years. ...READ MORE

Little League Coach Elected To Berlin Wall of Fame

During the Berlin Little League Baseball Annual Parade and Opening Ceremonies, Coach Ron Bireley was inducted into the Berlin Wall of Fame for his ongoing 34 years of volunteer active service to the Berlin Little League Baseball. Bireley is pictured with Mayor Gee Williams and League President 'Nornie' Bunting. ...READ MORE

OC/Berlin Rotary Club Members Open Their Homes for Italian Exchange Student

Rotary International Group Study Exchange Program members from Italy were recently entertained by Ocean City/Berlin Rotary Club members at the home of Debbie and Ken Bates in West Ocean City. Pictured, from left, are Katia Mastroianni, Gianluca Carnevale, Club President Margo Jones, Rotary International Group Team Leader Giancarlo Moretti, Silvia Maroni, Rotary Club District Governor Elect Don Hackett and Riccardo Pela. ...READ MORE