September 10, 2010

Adventures In Fatherhood

Carson rarely cries but when he does it causes a stir. Last Sunday was a special occasion for our 10-month-old - his christening day. As adorable and angelic as he looked, Carson seemed to be a bit off on this day, particularly during the actual baptism ceremony itself. Tears filled his eyes on a number of occasions, which is newsworthy because days often go by without one crying session from him. Although he could change at any time, Carson, thus far, has proven to have a mellow personality and...READ MORE

We Remember Those We Have Lost

Roland Henry Carey, Jr. BERLIN - Roland Henry Carey, Jr., age 84, died Thursday, Sept. 2, 2010 at Coastal Hospice at the Lake in Salisbury. Born in Berlin, he was the son of the late Roland Henry Carey, Sr. and Anna Hastings Carey. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Geraldine Truitt Carey and is survived by his second wife, Betty J. Carey.•€¨Carey was a World War II Army Veteran having served in 1st Platoon - Company C, 7th Battalion in Germany. He had worked for the Adkins Co. for...READ MORE

Details Emerge In Bizarre Homicide

BERLIN - More details emerged this week in the case against a Pennsylvania man charged with first-degree murder after allegedly running over his elderly mother several times on Carey Rd. in Berlin late last Tuesday night, including a reported dispute over two pieces of property changing hands between them. Steven Frederick Molin, 58, of Darby, Pa., remained behind bars this week, charged with first- and second-degree murder and manslaughter in the death of his mother, Emily Belle Molin, 85, also...READ MORE

Arson Suspect Arrested

Arson Suspect Arrested WEST OCEAN CITY - A Snow Hill man with a history of mischief in West Ocean City was arrested on first-degree arson and other charges last week after the Worcester County Fire Marshal's Office was able to connect him to an April 11 residential fire on Keyser Point Rd. Ocean City firefighters responded to a reported fire at a residence on Keyser Point Rd. A neighbor reported the fire. First-arriving units reported heavy fire showing from the rear of the single-story...READ MORE

Where To Eat Around Town

West Ocean City- Berlin Ocean Pines 707 Sports bar & grille 12702 Old Bridge Road (Route 707), West Ocean City , 410-213-9507 We may have changed hands, but we are still the same locally known Sports Bar in West Ocean City, and yes we are open everyday 11a.m.-2 a.m. Everything on our menu is made to order from our Homemade Soups, Salads,  new and improved Crab Dip, Mussels, the only place that serves the 'Full Wing' Quesadillas, 1/2 lb. Burgers, Crab cakes, Fresh cut Steaks, Fresh...READ MORE

Who's Playing Where And When

707 Sports Bar & Grille 410-213-9507 12702 Old Bridge Road, West OC Friday, Sept. 10: 7 Days Wasted Every Saturday: Karaoke with Hey Mick Thursday, Sept. 16: Hot Line Rock Buxy's Salty Dog 410-289-0973 , 28th St. & Coastal Hwy. Friday, Sept. 10: TBA Saturday, Sept. 11: Pompous Pie Wednesday, Sept. 15: DJ JJ Thursday, Sept 16: DJ Wax Caribbean bar & Grill Just off the boards on 2nd St. Friday, Sept. 10: TBA, 1-5 p.m.; Pompous Pie, 7:30-11:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 11: Moodswingers, 1-5...READ MORE

Things To Do Around The Area

Sept. 10-11: AGH Thrift Shop's $8 Bag Full Sale Continues 10 a.m.-4 p.m., AGH Thrift Shop, Old Ocean City Rd., in the Sav-A-Lot shopping center. Special sale on all summer clothing. Customers can fill a bag with clothes for only $8 a bag.   Sept. 10: Patriot's Day Fashion Show 10:30 a.m., doors open; 11:15 a.m., program begins; Clarion Hotel. Sponsored by the Republican Wo-men of Worcester County. Three lo-cal women will be honored for their service to the community. Fashions by Lady...READ MORE

Thoughts From The Publisher's Desk

The angst over laser pointers seems to have gone statewide and will almost certainly be addressed by the General Assembly next year. Green laser pointers were this summer's fad item, and the Ocean City Mayor and Council worked quickly to outlaw them. It was reported as many as 30,000 laser pointers were sold on the Boardwalk in Ocean City this summer (at an average price of $40 each, making it a million-dollar industry). Public safety concerns led the council to enact a strict emergency...READ MORE

2010 Primary Election Endorsements

2010 Primary Election Endorsements The Dispatch offers a series of endorsements in advance of the primary election, which will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 14. We take this duty of giving readers our recommendations seriously and looked at the big picture in making these suggestions, which are not to be confused with predictions. State Senate - District 38 Democrat: Jim Mathias, current House 38B delegate, gets the easy nod for his elected office qualifications, legislative experience and moderate...READ MORE

Some Views On The News

Some Views On The News Editor: Let's be frank. This Ocean City Mayor and Council are a joke. I hope everyone votes new. Goofy could be more fair. Let me point out some recent happenings and you can decide yourself. The city manager, who is not voted for by the public, makes an easy $200,000 plus a year with salary and benefits, but we can't afford to recycle. We legally take someone's land, 65th Street Slide and Ride, that they had worked their entire lives for and didn't care that we were also...READ MORE

Another Bridge Accident In OC

OCEAN CITY - Labor Day weekend traffic leaving the resort was snarled for a couple of hours on Monday by a two-car head-on collision on the Route 90 Bridge close to its intersection with Coastal Highway, marking at least the third serious accident on one of the main access points to Ocean City this summer. Around noon on Monday, an unidentified driver heading westbound on Route 90 near its intersection with Coastal Highway drifted into the eastbound lane and collided nearly head-on with another...READ MORE

County Hopeful Dismisses Smear Tactics

BERLIN - Potentially damaging rumors concerning District 4 county commissioner hopeful Tommy Tucker's work and business history are just not true, the candidate said this week. Tucker was principal of Stephen Decatur High School (SDHS) from 1987 to 1991. Recent reports have it that Tucker had to resign from SDHS after being caught changing his son's grades in order to earn a college scholarship. 'That rumor has persisted,' Tucker said this week. The story is not true, Tucker said. Tucker, a...READ MORE

Horizons Restaurant Honored With Wine Spectator Award

OCEAN CITY - Horizons Oceanfront Restaurant, the main dining room in the Clarion Resort Fontainebleau Hotel, was honored this year by The Wine Spectator magazine, considered the most well-read and internationally respected magazine for those who love wine. For the past 14 years, Horizons' wine list has received the 'Award of Excellence' in recognition for its well-chosen selection of quality producers and thematic match to the menu in both price and style. This year, Horizons Oceanfront...READ MORE

Pregnancy Center Eyes Berlin Opening

BERLIN - Mari Quillen has passion and faith and she's blending both of these elements together to make a dream a reality. Quillen is the founder and executive director of the Shirley Grace Pregnancy Center, located at 10226 Old Ocean City Blvd in Berlin. Quillen and her five-member Board of Directors welcome the community to explore the new non-profit organization on Saturday, Sept. 18 from 2-4 p.m. during an open house and ribbon cutting ceremony. Quillen believes her calling is to help women...READ MORE

Council OKs $18M Bond Sale For Projects

OCEAN CITY - Signaling a renewed dedication to securing Ocean City's infrastructure future, the Mayor and Council on Monday quietly approved the sale of $18.1 million in bonds to finance the ongoing expansion and renovation of the convention center and other major public works projects. The council voted 6-1 on Monday to approve the $18.1 million bond sale with Councilwoman Margaret Pillas the lone dissenter. Pillas reinforced her earlier objection to a portion of the bond sale used to finance...READ MORE

County Approves Temporary Fix For Pines Emergency

SNOW HILL - Public sewer might be on the way for the Route 589 business area after the total failure of the Pines Plaza septic system, which will require at least a temporary connection to a public wastewater plant. 'It appears at this juncture the system will not be able to be rehabilitated,' said Ed Tudor, director of the Development Review and Permitting Department. In a memo, Bob Mitchell, county environmental programs administrator, called the Pines Plaza situation 'a bona fide health and...READ MORE

Dead Body Found Behind Nightclub

OCEAN CITY - Resort police this week are still waiting on a state medical examiner's report on the cause of death of a Pennsylvania man found unconscious in an area between buildings in the area of 17th Street early Tuesday morning. Around 3 a.m. on Tuesday, the Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) responded to the area of 17th Street and Coastal Highway roughly in the area known as the Party Block nightclub complex in reference to an unknown male individual found unconscious and possibly not...READ MORE

Despite Earl's Near Miss, OC Was Prepared

OCEAN CITY - After days of intense hype, Hurricane Earl breezed by Ocean City nearly unnoticed last Friday, but much was going on behind the scenes to ensure the resort was prepared for the first major storm of the late summer and fall season. At start of the regular City Council meeting on Tuesday, Mayor Rick Meehan read a proclamation designating September as National Preparedness Month in the resort. Ironically, the proclamation was made just days after Ocean City had its first real brush...READ MORE

Former NAACP Branch Chair Aims To Improve Representation

BERLIN - Longtime local NAACP head Eddie Lee wants to take over as Worcester County Commissioner for District 2 because, he said, residents need a more responsive and involved commissioner. The District 2 Worcester County Commissioner race will be effectively decided by the Sept. 14 Democratic primary, with either Lee or incumbent Commissioner Jim Purnell gaining the district's commissioner seat for the next four years. No Republican candidate emerged this year to seek the District 2 seat. The...READ MORE

Former NAACP Branch Chair Aims To Improve Representation

BERLIN - Longtime local NAACP head Eddie Lee wants to take over as Worcester County Commissioner for District 2 because, he said, residents need a more responsive and involved commissioner. The District 2 Worcester County Commissioner race will be effectively decided by the Sept. 14 Democratic primary, with either Lee or incumbent Commissioner Jim Purnell gaining the district's commissioner seat for the next four years. No Republican candidate emerged this year to seek the District 2 seat. The...READ MORE

Incumbent Purnell Seeking Fifth Term As Commissioner

BERLIN - Longtime incumbent Worcester County Commissioner Jim Purnell faces challenger Eddie Lee in the District 2 Democratic primary, which will determine who serves as the county representative of the district. With no Republican opposition, the victor in the primary will only need to gain more votes than any write-in candidates to take the commissioner seat in the general election. With four terms as Worcester County Commissioner for District 2, first minority-majority district commissioner...READ MORE

Overdue Boaters Rescued Off Coast

Shawn J. Soper News Editor OCEAN CITY - On what was already a busy day for the U.S. Coast Guard in the Ocean City area, two local fishermen, reported long overdue after not returning to port at the designated time, were rescued well offshore after there vessel experience engine problems. On Tuesday, Coast Guard Station Ocean City received a call from a woman reporting her husband and a friend had left for a fishing trip around 4:15 a.m. and had still not returned. The woman told Coast Guard...READ MORE

Tragedy Sparks Speed Study Along County Road

SNOW HILL - The recent traffic death of a local dog on Peerless Rd. has raised questions about speeding cars and prompted a speed study on that street. The Worcester County Commissioners agreed to the Peerless Rd. speed study on Tuesday at their general meeting, before making a final decision on adding speed limit signs or increasing traffic enforcement on the street. A resident of Peerless Rd., whose dog was recently killed by a speeding car on the street, has asked Worcester County to post...READ MORE

University To Study Ocean City Drainage

OCEAN CITY - Ocean City has a serious flooding problem that could cost millions of dollars to rectify, resort business owners learned this week during a presentation from a University of Maryland researcher heading up a study of the town's aging stormwater management infrastructure over the next several months. Ocean City Economic Development Committee (EDC) members heard a presentation from Joanne Throwe, a researcher with the University of Maryland Environmental Finance Center, about the...READ MORE

District 38B Delegate Candidates Profiled

BERLIN - The seven candidates for the two local seats in the House of Delegates were recently asked to respond in writing to a questionnaire from The Dispatch. Incumbent Norm Conway is joined in the Democratic primary by candidates Bernard John Hayden and Gee Williams, while Republicans hopefuls include A. Kaye Kenney, Mike McDermott, Marty Pusey and Joe Schanno. The top two vote getters from each party will advance to the General Election in November. Conway, 68, is a retired educator who has...READ MORE

Labor Day Riots In Ocean City Recalled 50 Years Later

OCEAN CITY - Fifty years ago this week, Ocean City experienced one of the darkest chapters in its history when thousands rioted on Labor Day weekend in protest of the arrest of a U.S. Marine at a Boardwalk amusement center at the height of a summer-long police crackdown on teen drinking and 'rowdyism' in the resort. On Sept. 4, 1960, an estimated 2,500 rioting teens stormed City Hall and the police station on Dorchester Street and battled with police and firefighters in an ugly scene that lasted...READ MORE

Missing Swimmer's Body Located Off Coast, 10 Days Later

OCEAN CITY - The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Maryland confirmed this week the body found 16 miles off the coast of Ocean City on Monday afternoon was that of a Washington, D.C. man caught in a rip current and reported missing in late August. Around 2 p.m. on Monday, the U.S. Coast Guard notified the Ocean City Police Department a private boat had located the deceased body of an unknown individual floating in the ocean. The Coast Guard responded to the area and recovered the body and...READ MORE

Nine Primary Candidates Talk Area Issues At Forum

BERLIN - A second candidate's forum, sponsored by the Assateague Coastal Trust, attracted nine Worcester County Commissioner candidates, who answered questions in front of a small crowd at Berlin Intermediate School Tuesday. Candidates in attendance included Democrat Eddie Lee, District 3 challenger; District 4 Democratic incumbent Commissioner Virgil Shockley and Democratic challenger Tommy Tucker; District 5 incumbent Commissioner Judy Boggs, a Republican; District 5 Democratic challenger John...READ MORE

Summer Provides Reason For Guarded Optimism

OCEAN CITY - While the jury is still out for the most part and there is a good chunk of summer-like weekends on the calendar this month, Ocean City business leaders this week started tearing into some of the early numbers on the 2010 season and their general feeling appears to be one of 'guarded optimism'. At their first meeting following the hectic summer months, the town's Economic Development Committee (EDC) members asked Ocean City Hotel-Motel-Restaurant Association Executive Director Susan...READ MORE

A Week In Business

Leading Sales Associate Named OCEAN CITY - Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Greater Baltimore announced that Daniel Clayland, an associate broker with the company's Ocean City/104th Street office, was recognized as a leading sales associate nationally. Clayland was among NRT's top 1,000 sales associates in the first and second quarters of 2010. NRT is the parent company of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. To put this achievement in perspective, the top 1,000 NRT sales associates...READ MORE

Open Houses This Week

WEST OCEAN CITY Sailor's Watch Golf Course Road Daily 10-4 3BR/3.5BA New Construction Luxury Townhouses Only 4 Left Coldwell Banker 410-524-6111 OCEAN CITY The Meridian Open Daily Oceanfront Residences 60th Street New Construction Dan Clayland Coldwell Banker 410-520-0072 OCEAN CITY Bella Vista Two Models Open Daily 10-4 2&3BR Bayside Condos 45th Street Coldwell Banker 410-524-6111 OCEAN CITY Belmont Towers Boardwalk & Talbot Street Daily 11-4 New 2&3BR Condos/THs Kevin Decker The...READ MORE

Bank of OC donates to Worcester County Development Center

Bank of Ocean City donated $330 to Worcester County Developmental Center from its Casual Day efforts.  Bank of Ocean City employees participate in Casual Fridays twice a month in an effort to raise funds for various organizations. The bank matches employee funds raised and is also currently helping fund the new construction of the Worcester County Developmental Center in Newark. During the check presentation ceremony are, from left, Dot Simpson of Bank of Ocean City; June Walker, WCDC...READ MORE

Transportation for Medical Services

There's a service provided in Worcester County known as Interfaith Caregivers, which assists those in need of transportation for medical services. Reverend David Herr operates the service and is also a member and chaplain of the Kiwanis Club of Greater Ocean Pines-Ocean City and chaplain for the club. Above, Herr, left, is shown accepting a $500 donation from Kiwanis President Dan Peletier.  ...READ MORE

Carousel Resort Sponsors Fall Golf Classic

Carousel Resort Hotel and Condominiums has again extended a $10,000 title sponsorship to Atlantic General Hospital for the annual Fall Golf Classic. This is the 11th consecutive year that the Carousel has sponsored the tournament, benefiting the Atlantic General Hospital Foundation. Pictured, from left, are Michael James, member of the AGH Board of Directors and managing partner of Carousel Resort Hotels and Condominiums; Michael Franklin, president and CEO of Atlantic General Hospital; and...READ MORE

Renew the Zoo Campaign Gains Support

The Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore has donated $10,000 from the Bobbi Biron Fund to the Salisbury Zoo's Renew the Zoo campaign. Pictured, from left, are Ron Alessi, Zoo Commission Chairman; Salisbury Mayor Jim Ireton; Marty Neat, Renew the Zoo General Campaign Chairman; Spicer Bell, executive director of Community Foundation; Zoo Director Joel Hamilton; Tony Sarbanes, Renew the Zoo Committee, J. P. Dubuque and Debbie Abbott, Renew the Zoo Committee; and...READ MORE

Crafter of the Month Named

Betty Lou Bowman was recently honored as the September Crafter of Month by the Pine'eer Craft Club. She is shown displaying her famous pepper jelly and handmade pine cone ornaments.  Her items are on display and available for purchase at the Pine'eer Craft and Gift Shop, located in White Horse Park, Ocean Pines, every Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ...READ MORE

What's Your Sign?

ARIES (March 21 to April 19): Careful, Lamb. Taking on too many tasks at one time can cause you to create more snarls each time you try to work your way through the tangled mass. Best to handle one job at a time. TAURUS (April 20 to May 20): Making bold moves is what Bovines do. But the best moves are made with lots of data to provide backup just in case you charge into an unexpected complication. A new relationship shows promise. GEMINI (May 21 to June 20): Sharing credit for a job well done is...READ MORE

Things I Like

Avocado in a salad Jeff Bridges in 'Crazy Hearts' Labor Day weekend Sweet tea and ice in a big glass Slow cooking food on the grill Wearing a suit for a happy occasion Days spent goofing around with my kids The speed of a new computer A silly message on a bib My son's bright red hair and blue eyes Netflix arrivals•€¨ ...READ MORE

Faces in Places

A Spotlight On the Local And Regional Bar Scene ...READ MORE

People In Society

Highlighting People In the Area Giving A Helping Hand ...READ MORE

Arts in the Area

A spotlight on the local art scene ...READ MORE