Archives

Truck Route Limits Approved

SNOW HILL – A new truck route ordinance has been passed in Worcester County despite the vocal protests of one commissioner. At the Nov. 16 meetnig, the issue of possible road damage by truck traffic on several county roads, including Cyprus, New Bridge, Hillman, Dun Swamp, and Tulls Corner, was brought to the commission’s attention. Commissioner Merrill Lockfaw, who was not a member of the commission at that time, wrote a letter describing the problem and asking for assistance in...READ MORE

Recess Could Soon Be Mandatory In County Schools

SNOW HILL – The question of whether or not recess will become mandatory in Worcester County schools is still up in the air. At the Board of Education’s Dec. 7 Budget Public Input Session, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Jon Andes introduced a proposed revision to a policy that would require all elementary level schools, grades pre-k through fifth, to have daily recess. However, because several members of the board were absent and others wished for more time to review the proposal, the...READ MORE

Mayor Convinces Council To Keep Police Commission

OCEAN CITY – The tables turned at this week’s Mayor and City Council, as the minority of the council flipped over to become the majority vote and won in favor to keep the police commission in place. A charter amendment resolution was before the council this week to abolish the police commission and to eliminate the requirement that any diminishment of the powers and duties of the mayor be submitted to a referendum of the voters, which is contrary to state law. This does not abolish...READ MORE

One Bid Received For Beach Photo Franchise

OCEAN CITY – Beach photography businesses didn’t take the bait set by the Mayor and City Council in lowering the minimal bid as only one bidder stepped forward to seek the franchise. Toward the end of last October, the Mayor and City Council voted to decrease the minimum bid for beach photography franchises on Ocean City’s beaches, in an effort to help the hurting industry. Patrick McLaughlin of United Beach Photo Inc. owned the franchise at that time and presented to the...READ MORE

School Board Hears Public’s Hopes For Next Budget

NEWARK – The Worcester County Board of Education held a Public Budget Input Meeting on Tuesday concerning next year’s budget. Representatives from the 14 county public schools addressed the board, making specific, case-based requests for each location. Additionally, several presentations were made outlining the county’s economic and academic status to the public. Superintendent of Schools Dr. Jon Andes led a power point presentation summarizing Worcester County’s success...READ MORE

Worcester Planners Discuss Water Resources, Solar Energy

BERLIN – Alternative energy and water resources were the main issues at a Worcester County Planning Commission meeting last Thursday. Both propositions were in the preliminary stages and several sessions are expected before they can be finalized. However, even at the draft stage, they were still able to generate questions and concerns amongst commission members. A draft of the Water Resource Element (WRE) was presented via slideshow to the assembly. The draft included a large amount of...READ MORE

A Warm And Fuzzy Start For County Commissioners

SNOW HILL – For the first time in four years, new faces presided over the Worcester County Commissioners meeting on Tuesday. Newcomers Merrill Lockfaw and Madison Bunting joined the five returning commissioners at the assembly and all seven were sworn in while a packed room looked on. After being sworn in, the commissioners were joined by their families for pictures, briefly, before returning to the dais. A vote for the next president and vice president of the commission ended predictably...READ MORE

A Warm And Fuzzy Start For County Commissioners

SNOW HILL – For the first time in four years, new faces presided over the Worcester County Commissioners meeting on Tuesday. Newcomers Merrill Lockfaw and Madison Bunting joined the five returning commissioners at the assembly and all seven were sworn in while a packed room looked on. After being sworn in, the commissioners were joined by their families for pictures, briefly, before returning to the dais. A vote for the next president and vice president of the commission ended predictably...READ MORE

Retiree Questions Joe Hall On Pension Position

OCEAN CITY – A citizen questioned Councilman Joe Hall’s responsibility and position as a trustee on the pension committee during this week’s Mayor and City Council meeting. Tom Kane spoke to the Mayor and City Council during the comments from the citizen’s portion of this week’s meeting. Kane is retired from the town’s fire department, contributing 32 years of service to Ocean City. He also served as the elected person representative for public safety...READ MORE

Resort Bus Pass Jumps To $3, Hike Might Generate $500K

OCEAN CITY – The Mayor and City Council exemplified a united front that the public hasn’t seen in awhile at this week’s meeting when it unanimously increased Ocean City’s bus fare a dollar for its all-day pass. According to Public Works Director Hal Adkins, more than a decade ago Ocean City’s bus fare was as low as 75 cents. At that time, ridership of the town’s transportation system was around 1.2 million and the revenue reached up to $900,000. On May 1,...READ MORE

Easter Weekend Dates Result In Parking Change

r OCEAN CITY – After realizing a holiday fell later in the calendar year than usual in 2011, the Mayor and Council altered the starting date for the start of the paid parking season this week. A few months ago, the Mayor and City Council voted to set paid parking dates in Ocean City to begin Good Friday of each year and to end the third Sunday of October. The date of Good Friday was chosen because the ordinance prior to the recent change stated paid parking to begin April 1. It was...READ MORE

Md. Probe Finds LCB Broke Law Multiple Times

OCEAN CITY — The list of charges were as unprecedented as perhaps the evidence was damning, but the findings of the Comptroller of Maryland’s eight-month investigation of the Liquor Control Board for Worcester County revealed that it had, in fact, broken the law on a number of occasions. On Wednesday, Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot ended months of speculations and accusations with the release of his office’s probe of the county’s quasi governmental monopoly which...READ MORE

Christmas Gift Thief Arrested

BERLIN – A local man was arrested on burglary and theft charges this week after breaking into a residence in the southern end of Worcester County and stealing thousands of dollars worth of wrapped Christmas presents. On Tuesday, Worcester County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to a reported residential burglary on Critcher Rd. in Pocomoke. The investigation revealed a suspect or suspects had gained entry to the residence by prying open an exterior door and left the area after...READ MORE

Crack Dealer Sentenced To 10 Years

SNOW HILL – A local man, one of dozens rounded up this summer during area law enforcement’s renewed battle to rid Berlin’s neighborhoods of open-air drug dealing, pleaded guilty last week in Worcester County Circuit Court to distribution of crack cocaine and was sentenced to 10 years in jail. Terrance Lee Purnell, Sr., 42, of Berlin, appeared in Circuit Court last Thursday to face numerous charges related to his arrest in March for selling cocaine and marijuana to undercover...READ MORE

Five Years For Shooting Incident

SNOW HILL – A Berlin man arrested in June on attempted murder charges after being identified as the suspect in a shooting incident outside the American Legion in March pleaded guilty last week in Circuit Court to reckless endangerment and was sentenced to five years in jail. On March 26, two shots were fired from a handgun at an unidentified victim during an incident outside the American Legion in Berlin. Five days later on April 2, Berlin Police officers, assisted by the Worcester County...READ MORE

Suspect Connected To Pines, Willards Armed Robberies

OCEAN PINES – A Berlin man along with three other suspects were arrested on armed robbery, assault and other serious charges this week after area police were able to connect them to a pair of hold-ups at convenience stores in Ocean Pines and Willards. Last Thursday, Worcester County Bureau of Investigation (WCBI) detectives and deputies from the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office responded to the Shore Stop convenience store on Route 589 near Ocean Pines for a reported armed robbery....READ MORE

Berlin Weighs Options For Electric Supply

BERLIN – The Berlin Utility Commission (BUC) met with the Mayor and Council Wednesday to discuss the future of Berlin’s energy supply. Dwight Davis, Vice President of Financial and Strategic Services at Booth and Associates Inc, addressed the BUC and the council on the possibility of joining PJM Interconnection, a regional transmission organization that handles electricity supply. Before further delving into PJM, the council took a brief look at the current power situation. This year...READ MORE

Sheriff Mason Takes Oath, Outlines Goals, Initiatives

BERLIN – Long-time Worcester County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Reggie Mason this week was officially sworn in as the new sheriff after a successful election last month and is now preparing for a smooth transition for the department. Mason and new Chief Deputy Dale Smack were officially sworn in during a special ceremony in Snow Hill on Monday and the new sheriff has hit the ground running. His overall goal is maintaining the continuity of his predecessor, Sheriff Chuck Martin, who held...READ MORE

Woman’s Body Found In Canal

OCEAN CITY – Tragedy struck the resort area this week when a popular local woman was found deceased in a bayside canal near 94th Street early Tuesday morning. Around 1 a.m. on Tuesday, Ocean City Police responded to the area of 94th Street for a report of a barking dog. OCPD officers arrived on the scene and located the deceased body of an adult female, later identified as Julie Ann Eade, 59, of Ocean City, in a nearby canal. Eade’s remains have been sent to the Office of the Chief...READ MORE