Last week, federal officials concluded an investigation into a vast multi-million dollar cigarette smuggling operation with raids on two locations in and around the resort area, including the West Ocean City homes of residents Basel Ramadan, 42, who is being called the “boss” of the enterprise, and Samir Ramadan, 40, who is Basel Ramadan’s brother and has been called the “enterprise treasurer.” Federal officials also raided the Ramadan’s offices over the Subway restaurant they own at Sunset Drive near 26th Street in Ocean City on the same day.

At the Ramadan’s West Ocean City homes in the Oyster Harbor community, $1.4 million in large black bags was recovered, along with 20,000 cartons of untaxed cigarettes. Also seized were numerous vehicles and other property belonging to the Ramadans. The Ramadans allegedly conducted the vast cigarette smuggling operation out of their Ocean City properties, but 14 other co-conspirators, from transporters to distributors to resellers, were also rounded up at locations all over the mid-Atlantic region.

According to the New York Attorney General’s Office, the Ramadans and their co-conspirators allegedly funneled thousands of cartons of untaxed smokes and millions of dollars in ill-gotten revenue through Ocean City and Worcester County from a wholesaler in Virginia to a distribution warehouse in Delaware, from whence the illegal, untaxed cigarettes were distributed to retail outlets all over New York City and upstate.

On May 13, a New York grand jury handed down formal indictments against the Ramadans and their alleged 14 co-conspirators. As of yesterday, 15 suspects had been arrested including the Ramadan brothers, but a 16th suspect had fled the country to an unknown location in the Middle East, according to a New York Attorney General’s Office spokesperson. Eleven of the arrested suspects were arraigned in New York last week, while the two Ramadan brothers were just extradited to New York on Wednesday from the Worcester County Jail, where they had been held since last the raids and subsequent arrests last week.

“They were brought from Worcester County to New York yesterday [Wednesday], more specifically to Brooklyn and they were picked up by our officers,” said New York Attorney General’s Office Press Secretary Melissa Grace yesterday. “They’ve been processed and they are expected to appear before a judge for arraignment at any time now.”

Grace said the Ramadan brothers remained in custody in Maryland from the time of last Wednesday’s raids until this Wednesday, but did not fight extradition, which helped streamline the process.

“These two waived extradition,” she said. “They are entitled under law to fight extradition, but that makes everything certainly more complicated.”

Eleven of the alleged co-conspirators have already been arraigned and some were released on relatively high bonds, depending on the extent of their alleged involvement in the conspiracy. Grace said she was not certain if the judge would allow a bond for the Ramadan brothers, but because of their alleged leadership in the smuggling ring, it was likely they would be remanded to the New York Department of Corrections.

“It’s important to remember these are only allegations at this point and we have to work through the process, but we’re very confident in our position,” she said. “I don’t know what our position is for bonding out for these two, but because they have been identified as the leaders, I would think they would be remanded.”

Last week, there were not so subtle references to a possible link between the co-conspirators and known terrorist groups, fueling speculation much of the millions of dollars in proceeds from the illegal enterprise could be ending up in the hands of terrorists, but a firm link has not been established. At a press conference last week, New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said there were concerns about the possible connections.

“The association of some of the suspects in this case to the Ari Halbestram’s killer, the Blind Sheik and a top Hamas official concerns us,” said Kelly. “While it hasn’t been established yet where the illicit proceeds ended up, we’re concerned because similar schemes have been used in the past to help fund terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah.”

An N.Y. Attorney General’s Office source said the investigation is ongoing on several fronts and every possibility is being explored.

The 300-plus page grand jury indictment includes 244 total counts and another 243 “pattern acts,” which attempt to establish the pattern of the operation over several years. Also included in the indictment are numerous “overt acts,” which include recorded phone conversations and movements of the alleged co-conspirators.

According to the indictment, the Ramadans were successful for a long time in disguising the illicit proceeds and funneled about $55 million through local banking institutions. That money allowed them to continue to finance the purchase of thousands of cartons of cigarettes from Virginia wholesaler Cooper Booth Inc.

“The Ramadans also furthered the untaxed cigarette distribution business by concealing and disguising the true nature of the illicit proceeds of that business by depositing a portion of the proceeds that the distributors used to pay for the cigarettes into small local financial institutions in the Ocean City area and used that money to purchase additional cigarettes for sale from Cooper Booth,” the indictment reads.

Although the brothers’ exact business ownership in the Ocean City area is murky at best, due to another Ramadan family also being local proprietors, tax records indicate vast holdings through various limited liability corporations, or LLCs.

When the news of the raids and the subsequent arrests came to light last week, there was an instant knee-jerk reaction from many in the community that somehow all or most Muslim-owned businesses in the area were likely connected, but that has proven to be unfounded, according to authorities, and many local Muslim-owned businesses are on the up and up.

The Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) officials this week urged the public not to rush to judgment about all Muslim-owned businesses in and around the resort area.

“Obviously, in our system of justice, everyone if presumed innocent,” said CAIR Director Ibrahim Hooper. “We just have to let this run its course through the process and see where it leads. It would be un-American for anyone to generalize based on the ethnicity and religious beliefs of a handful of defendants and hold that against an entire faith-based community. We are urging citizens not to rush to judgment and deflect their angst on otherwise innocent people.”

The somewhat historic mixed-use, income generating property will be sold via a one-day Internet-based auction by the Max Spann Real Estate and Auction Company beginning Wednesday, June 19 at 1 p.m. and concluding at the same time on the next day, Thursday, June 20. The entire auction will be conducted online and there will previews to provide potential buyers with a tour held on May 29, June 7 and June 14.

The property includes 27 year-round cottages along with eight apartment units and the large restaurant facility currently home to the Station 7 Bar and Grill. For decades, the site housed the old Villanova bar and for years hosted the 707 Bar and Grill. The new ownership opened Station 7 on the site last fall. The 27 year-round cottages, eight additional apartments and the restaurant were all completely renovated in recent years.

Max Spann officials said the property has a remarkable occupancy rate of 98 percent and there is space on the site for the construction of additional units. According to analysis, the annual net operating income for the entire property is in excess of $300,000 and its close proximity to all West Ocean City has to offer and Ocean City and the beaches and Boardwalk less than a mile away add to the property’s value.

“For investors, the West Ocean City property is the definition of a rare opportunity,” said Max Spann, Jr., president of the auction firm of the same name. “It’s a proven income producer, in immaculate condition and a little more than a stone’s throw away from one of the world’s most beloved boardwalks. A complex like this one doesn’t become available very often.”

Also offered for sale by Max Spann during the same on-line auction on the same two days in June will be a retail pad along the ever-growing Route 50 commercial corridor in West Ocean City. The retail pad is located immediately adjacent to the Applebee’s and Chick-Fil-A restaurants along the north side of Route 50 just across the bridge from Ocean City.

Additional information, including a property information package complete with rental rolls, leases and income and expense reports is available by calling 888-299-1438, or by visiting www.maxspann.com.

Teresa Owens, emergency services director for Worcester, will be retiring next month after 35 years with the county. Upon her departure, Emergency Services Assistant Director Fred Webster will step in.

Owens has been with Worcester County Emergency Services (WCES) since 1978, becoming director 18 years later when the County Commission promoted her to the top spot in 1996. During her tenure, Owens has served as the county’s emergency management director and on the Emergency Number Systems Board (ENSB) and the Governor’s Emergency Management Advisory Council (GEMAC), both governor-appointed state board positions.

As WCES director, Owens leads the 911 Communications Center and the Information Technology Division while coordinating disaster planning, response and recovery, and any other emergency fields.

Commission President Bud Church commended Owens this week on her quick-footedness during emergencies and ability to immediately adapt no matter the disaster.

“That’s a very tough department and a huge amount of responsibility. You can go from a very quiet day to a hurricane when everything is cracking and everything you do is scrutinized,” he said. “You never know what’s going to be needed and she had handled all of it as a true professional.”

One of the high marks of Owens career was WCES’ designation as one of only 17 jurisdictions in the nation charged with developing an “interoperability network.” That network makes it possible for emergency responders from different agencies to stay in communication while managing emergencies.

Owens is also the current project manager for the Maryland Eastern Shore Interoperability Network while also managing the State Homeland Security Grant Programs.

“She’s going to be missed but she’s earned a right and the privilege to enjoy her retirement,” said Church. “I think she deserves that; she’s gone far and above with 35 years of service to the county … She is leaving us in good hands with Fred. Fred knows all of the ins and outs of being the emergency services department head.”

Webster will be ascending to Owens’ position after her retirement becomes effective in late June. While he doesn’t have as many years with the county as Owens, Webster will be bringing in many years of varied experience.

On April 10, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed suit in federal court on behalf of violinist William Hassay, Jr. challenging Ocean City’s noise ordinance, specifically recent changes to it, is an attempt to silence musicians. In the suit filed against the Mayor and Council and acting-Police Chief Michael Colbert, the ACLU alleges the enforcement of the town’s 30-foot noise ordinance on the Boardwalk infringes on Hassay’s, and other performers’ fundamental right under the First Amendment to engage freedom of speech and expression in a public forum.

“I come to you this evening as a spokesman for a group of Boardwalk performers,” Ocean City street performer Milton Dean said. “We want to let you know that we are in support of the city … and backing the noise ordinance. We do not agree with this frivolous lawsuit this one performer has brought against the city and in the end it can only be a detriment to us street performers.”

According to Dean, he and his fellow street performers expect the police to notify them when their act becomes too loud.

“We don’t see where this infringes on our rights whatsoever,” he said. “We want to know how we can help you with this … we are here to add uniqueness to the city. People come here and see us and it adds to the whole experience of being on the Boardwalk in Ocean City alone with the smell of the popcorn and the cotton candy, and it needs to work not only to benefit the city but to benefit us, and we would just like to know what we can do to help. We are behind you.”

“This keeps it even for everybody and everybody gets a chance to be seen without one person dominating,” Pillas said.

Mayor Rick Meehan referred to the noise ordinance as a common sense approach established for all to be successful on the Boardwalk, street performers and merchants alike.

According to City Solicitor Guy Ayres, the hearing is scheduled for June 10 at the U.S. District Court in Baltimore.

“I would like to have some witnesses to testify during that trial on behalf of the city … I would also like to have some shop owners if possible,” Ayres said. Dean agreed to do so.

Last year, the council approved an ordinance setting the acceptable limit on noise in any form on the Boardwalk to 30 feet The ACLU filed suit in federal court challenging what it asserts is an unconstitutional noise ordinance that has been silencing musicians. According to the civil suit, on two separate occasions last June, Hassay was threatened by Ocean City police officers with citations for violations of the noise ordinance while playing his violin. As a result of the alleged coercion, Hassay stopped playing and suffered financially.

Those standards have been phased in over the last year with the expectation that they will be fully implemented by the end of the 2013-2014 school year. While the board was satisfied with how the county has interacted with CCSS, several residents criticized the standards and claimed the school is is sacrificing educational autonomy to the federal government.

According to Stephanie Zanich, director of Tests and Assessments for Worcester County Public Schools, CCSS is a “list of skills that we expect students to know to be successful.” There has been some controversy over the standards as they were developed over the last few years. Opponents have argued that the federal government will be yanking control of education away from the states and counties.

However, Zanich told the board Tuesday that while the standards may be nationally controlled, local classroom autonomy will remain.

“It is important to note that our curriculum is a locally developed curriculum and it provides that autonomy for school systems, teachers and schools to develop it and then incorporate it into their day-to-day instruction,” she said.

Educators have been enthusiastic about the process because the board has made sure to include them at every point, added Zanich.

“We have built teacher buy-in. When I’ve worked with the teachers, they are supportive of what we are doing because we’ve included them in professional development and decision making,” she said.

“I’m here to destroy the myth because what you had this morning was a myth,” John Abent told the Board of Education.

Referring to CCSS as a “Trojan horse,” Abent insisted that locally controlled curriculum will be an illusion under Common Core.

“If I control the standards and I control the assessments, I control the curriculum,” he said.

Resident Grant Helvey warned the board that, in his opinion, they have taken a leap before looking by agreeing to adopt the standards back in August 2010. He gave a hypothetical scenario where he offered the Board of Education $472 million in funding with the condition that it would have to accept his curriculum without reviewing it.

“I wonder if you would sign a contract to accept my $472 million. Would you take that and then implement a curriculum in the future based on those unknowns?” Helvey asked.

By adopting CCSS, Helvey predicted that Worcester will run into trouble in the future in the form of unexpected requirements or costs.

“You’re learning about it today and the train has already left the station and is well on its way,” he said.

After several more similar comments from other residents, Board of Education President Bob Rothermel pointed out Worcester did have a good picture of what the standards would mean when it agreed to it in 2010 and that an incredible amount of study and planning has been devoted to understanding it.

“They know it’s going to work and they know it’s the best for our students,” she said.

Zanich underlined that CCSS is only the “foundation on which we build our curriculum” and the county will maintain flexibility in the classroom. While the concerns of residents were noted, Rothermel made it clear that the board still plans to fully implement Common Core by the end of the next school year.

After the council approved the release of closed session minutes from March 18, it was confirmed the majority of the County Council had begun to question whether Councilman Bob Culver could secure confidential information.

“I would like to make a motion that after the adjournment of the legislative session we enter into a closed session to discuss council personnel issues,” Councilman John Hall said, and Councilwoman Stevie Prettyman second the motion.

Following a closed session discussion on March 18, Culver immediately felt under attack and stated he knew nothing of a council personnel issue to be deliberated.

“I am not in favor of anymore secret meetings if I can avoid it,” he said. “I will be honest with you. I think this county has had enough of closed door meetings. We need to be out and show everybody what is going on.”

Hall stood behind his motion and responded because it is a personnel issue it is required to be discussed behind closed doors.

Councilwoman Sheree Sample-Hughes asserted Culver knew the subject matter to be discussed because it was first brought up in a prior budget session but quickly realized the motion was not what she thought.

“This is a council person,” Joe Holloway put out on the table as the other council members wondered if the issue came down to a certain council person or support staff.

Culver asked for an answer to which Hall responded he would not further discuss the reasoning behind his motion in public.

Due to Culver’s disagreement with the motion, Council President Matt Holloway called for a roll call vote that resulted in himself, Hall, Prettyman and Sample-Hughes in favor and Council members Gail Bartkovich, Joe Holloway and Culver opposed.

The March 18 closed session minutes revealed council members debating the ousting of Culver after he reportedly divulged private legal information regarding the State’s Attorney office lease bid process.

In the end, the majority of the council felt the discussion in itself was sufficient as a private reprimand and it was left at that until this week’s council meeting when the issue was discussed privately.

Since 1994, a local, state and federal partnership has operated and maintained the Atlantic Coast of Maryland Storm Protection Project, more commonly referred to as beach replenishment. The project includes beach renourishment every four years during which sand is pumped from offshore shoals onto the resorts beaches to maintain their width and fortify the vast dune system that runs from the end of the Boardwalk at 27th Street to the Delaware line.

While beach replenishment is conducted every four years, there are often times when the federal Army Corps of Engineers must do periodic emergency replenishment after significant storms cause erosion. Such is the case after Hurricane Sandy pummeled the Ocean City beaches last fall. The Army Corps of Engineers this fall will likely combine needed emergency repairs with the regularly scheduled four-year replenishment.

The state of Maryland, Worcester County and Ocean City have a long-term 50-year written partnership with the Army Corps of Engineers to perform periodic beach replenishment as needed to maintain adequate storm protection for the billions of dollars in real estate along the beachfront. The Corps pays about 53 percent of the cost of maintaining the program, with Ocean City, Worcester County and the state of Maryland sharing the remaining balance.

With Ocean City nearly 20 years into the 50-year partnership, a line item in the Water Resources Development Act under debate by Congress includes an extension of 15 years for the federal share of beach replenishment in Ocean City and similar coast communities all over the country. However, Senator Tom Colburn (R-OK) last week introduced an amendment to the act that would eliminate the 15-year extension for beach replenishment. Mikulski quickly lashed out at the proposed amendment and rallied the votes needed to defeat it.

“In my state of Maryland, we have a very successful beach renourishment project along the Atlantic Coast in Ocean City,” she said. “Ocean City is the beach destination for many in the mid-Atlantic region.  The purpose of this Army Corps of Engineers project is not to protect a recreational beach, but to provide hurricane protection for citizens and for the billions of dollars in public and private infrastructure.”

Mikulski extolled the vast economic benefits of extending the beach replenishment program in Ocean City and in other communities around the nation.

“Since its completion, the project has repeatedly demonstrated its value by preventing more than $240 million in damages,” she said. “Most recently, this project successfully protected the residents of Ocean City and Worcester County from Super Storm Sandy.” 

Colburn’s amendment would have blocked an additional 15-year extension of federal support for beach replenishment programs, including the Atlantic Coast of Maryland Storm Protection Project. However, Mikulski was able to rally her colleagues to get the majority vote she needed to defeat it.

Between April 26 and May 14, Berlin Police received several reports of burglaries and thefts from residences in the town. Through the course of the investigation, police were able to develop several suspects. Last Tuesday, Berlin Police, with the assistance of the Worcester County Bureau of Investigation (WCBI), were able to secure a search-and-seizure warrant for a residence on Baker Street and arrested James Hughlett, 61, of Berlin.

Through further investigation, officers were able to obtain an arrest warrant for Kate Hughlett, 23, of Berlin, who was located last Wednesday and arrested. James Hughlett has been charged with two counts of first-degree burglary and three counts of theft. Kate Hughlett was charged with two counts of first-degree burglary and four counts of theft.

This week, WCBI officials announced through a release they were looking for other residents who might have been victimized by the burglary spree and urged citizens to survey their personal belongings and report what, if anything, they are missing. In a separate action, WCBI delivered notes to residents throughout Berlin this week informing them of the robbery spree allegedly carried out by the Hughletts and urging them to take stock of their belongings to see if they could have been victimized.

“The Berlin Police Department and the Worcester County Bureau of Investigation are investigating numerous burglaries to residences in your area,” the letter delivered to residents’ mailboxes on Wednesday reads. “Due to the nature of the burglaries, investigators are requesting that you conduct a check of any jewelry or personal electronics that you have in your residence in order to discover additional victims.”

Berlin Police Chief Arnold Downing said this week the most recent burglaries in the town allegedly carried out by the Hughletts were crimes of opportunity.

“There were four burglaries that were reported and two more connected to the Hughletts that were reported after the fact,” he said. “In every one of these cases, the doors or windows were unlocked. They would walk the streets and see a house that looked unsecure. That’s how simplistic they were.”

Anyone who believes they might have been victimized during the latest burglary spree is urged to contact WCBI at 443-783-0444.

Contrary to initial reports, it is not believed that the Hughletts were connected to a spree of similar burglaries carried out in Berlin last spring. Downing said this week that investigation remains open and a suspect, or person of interest, has been identified, although no formal charges have been filed.

A change in Maryland law that took effect on Jan. 1 allows law enforcement officers in Ocean City and across the state to issue criminal citations instead of arrests. The intent is to streamline the booking process and keep officers on the street instead of spending hours filling out paperwork and processing defendants charged with certain simple offenses that traditionally have been arrestable offenses.

While the change has been in effect for months, perhaps nowhere in Maryland will it be tested more than in Ocean City in the coming weeks when thousands of high school seniors, college students and summer workers descend on the resort. With them comes a traditional spike in the number of low-level crimes.

Crimes that used to result in an overnight stay in jail, complete with booking, fingerprinting and the issuing of charging documents, will now result in many cases in a citation issued at the scene if officers are satisfied certain conditions are met. That’s not to say OCPD officers are simply going to be writing tickets all summer instead of making arrests.

“The legislature attempted to streamline the charging process for certain types of crimes and certain eligible offenses, with the key word there being eligible,” OCPD Public Information Officer Mike Levy said. “Once a suspect is in our custody, he or she can be issued a criminal citation under certain circumstances. For example, we have to make certain we’re satisfied with the identity evidence. In other words, we have to make sure they are who they say they are. We also have to reasonably believe the defendant will comply with the conditions of the citation. We also have to be sure that releasing a defendant at the scene on a citation will not pose a threat to public safety.”

Levy said there are several “eligible” charges for a citation instead of an arrest and the officers will make a determination on the scene.

“This really isn’t black and white,” he said. “There is a lot of discretion involved, but our officers will always base their decisions on public safety. Does this person pose a threat to public safety if we allow him or her to walk away with a citation? Whatever decision is made will still count as an arrest, but the intent is to keep officers on the road to handle calls for service and reduce the cost to the court system.”

Even if a citation is issued, however, the defendant still faces much of the same court processes as an actual arrest. For example, the defendant will have to appear for a preliminary inquiry at the later date, at which time a trial date will be set. Some, including attorney Brian Clark, who grew up in Ocean City and maintains an office in the resort and in Rockville, have raised concerns that defendants issued citations might not take their cases as seriously as they would if they had actually been arrested and spent time in jail.

“The bigger issue, which could cause confusion, backlogs and disarray with the June Bugs is the fact they won’t be transported, booked, fingerprinted and taken to the Ocean City jail for an overnight stay and have to bond out and see a commissioner like they’ve been doing here in Ocean City and statewide forever,” said Clark this week. “So the O.C. jail should see far less people in them in June as most who are just charged with pot or disorderly conduct have to be issued a citation.”

Clark voiced concern young defendants issued citations for certain eligible charges will not understand the gravity of the cases against them and the possible repercussions.

“The confusion could be that the kid charged must still understand that it’s a jailable offense and they still have to appear in court at preliminary inquiry and for a court date to face the charges,” he said. “It is not a payable citation. The fact that the kid won’t be arrested or booked will or could lead many to not take the charge as seriously as in years past and a conviction for drug possession will seriously harm their career and job prospects.”

Clark said the intent of the law change is to streamline the booking and court processes, but it might end up having the opposite effect.

“The state legislature changed this law to save money and lessen the number of people spending the night or day in jail on marijuana possession,” he said. “I think it could seriously lead to a large number of out-of-state residents who fail to appear in court and are issued bench warrants, or they show up unprepared and don’t realize it’s serious and jailable.”

Levy acknowledged the jury is still out so to speak on the potential for an increase in failure to appear cases and bench warrants for out-of-state defendants who were issued a citation instead of being arrested. However, he said OCPD officers will have broad discretion on when to issue a citation or make an arrest and a judgment of a defendant’s likelihood to comply with the citation’s conditions will be factor.

Levy said one of the main considerations for a citation versus an arrest is an assurance the lower level offense is the only one the defendant can or should be charged with at the time.

“For example, if we catch a kid smoking pot, we can issue a citation,” he said. “However, if a search incident to the arrest reveals cocaine, heroin or ecstasy, for example, that takes it to the next level and a citation is no longer appropriate and an arrest will be made.”

Levy also presented another example for disorderly conduct or trespassing where the actions of the defendants after the police arrive would likely determine a citation or an arrest.

“If there is a fight outside a bar, and we intervene and the combatants have calmed down and agreed to go their separate ways and the issue is resolved, citations might be appropriate in those cases,” he said. “However, if the situation is not resolved and there appears to be signs it might escalate, in other words one or both of the combatants says they’re going to come after the other one later, then arrests are appropriate in those instances.”

With thousands of young people descending on the resort in the next few weeks and the associated spike in minor crimes, such as simple possession and disorderly conduct, there will be ample opportunity to see how it plays out eventually.

“Of course, those are concerns voiced by many and we’ll have to monitor that when we get a large enough sample size of citations issued and court appearances,” said Levy. “We’re going to try to process these individuals right at the scene and we soon might have the technology to do that remotely in terms of booking and fingerprinting suspects.”

Another issue raised by attorney Clark is the absence of charging documents and narratives traditionally issued to defendants upon their release from jail. The documents carefully outline why an arrest was affected, what the officer said, what the defendants said and, in some cases, what witnesses said. Those documents will still be prepared, but won’t be immediately available to defendants issued citations at the scene.

“Clients will be less likely to be able to know exactly what evidence they have,” said Clark. “This fact leads me to believe that the system could clog up. Unfortunately, being put in jail for a few hours and having everything explained to a defendant as they sober up has a way of focusing these kids to take care of their case.”

If awarded and accepted, the grant would require a 25-percent match from Salisbury, an expensive prospect that made a few City Council members uneasy.

“We’re asking to hire three officers after much consultation with finance,” SPD Chief Barbara Duncan told the council Monday. “This is what the city can afford. Most of that is coming, from my understanding, from collection of delinquent property taxes.”

The COPS grant would provide 75 percent of the funding for the three officers’ salaries and benefits for three years. The cost to the city during that period would be $257,720. The terms of the COPS grant require that the officers hired be retained by the city for at least one more year after the grant has been paid. The cost to the city for that fourth year would be $513,583.

“We would be using those three individuals to further our community policing initiatives,” she told the council.

Councilwoman Terry Cohen took the same view and pointed out that the number the city has discussed for a full SPD would be about 120 officers with the agency currently only having around 90.

“We have astronomically high calls per officer in this town,” said Cohen. “I mean it just blows away any other comparable town in terms of demand.”

Because of things like its Safe Streets program and a continued police crackdown, Salisbury’s crime rate has seen some measurable improvements, Cohen continued. However, she felt that sometimes it does just boil down to the number of bodies on the streets and that if the SPD doesn’t have enough officers then the city runs the risk of higher crime rates.

“We’ve had some creeping up in some of the areas of our crime rate. We’ve got to get that number down. And it is a significant issue for development, growth and business in this town to make it a safe place,” Cohen said. “It’s one of the few things that I think is truly … an investment that gets a return.”

Many on the council agreed that SPD could use more officers. However, Councilwoman Laura Mitchell had some qualms about looking to the collection of delinquent property taxes as a steady source of revenue that could pay for the city’s end of the grant. She highlighted that the taxes have already been budgeted in both this and the next fiscal year. Additionally, the actual collection of that money is currently under the projected revenue.

“So essentially the money is already spent and it looks to me like we’re trying to spend it twice,” said Mitchell.

Council President Jake Day acknowledged the point but stated that he only felt the city administration was alluding to an area where funding could possibly be drawn. If the city wins and accepts the COPS grant, revenue could potentially come from any source. This concerned Councilwoman Shanie Shields, who wondered if the grant might result in a tax hike and if so if all of that money would be going directly to the SPD.

“If we increase the taxes, I do think that some of the public or even some of the employees of our city don’t want to see it go to one department,” she said. “That causes problems; that causes morale problems. So we have to be careful about that. If citizens wanted it all to go to police what are you saying about the other employees of your city? That they don’t matter?”

It was Shields’ opinion that directing funding to SPD for the new officers would slight other city departments who work just as hard.

“You have to be fair across the board. Whether you like it or not you have to be fair,” she said.

With the crime rates, Shields said that she doesn’t believe that Salisbury suffers from unusual activity. Instead, she chalked it up to “the times that we are living in across the country.”

“The city of Salisbury is not abnormal in having these problems. But we cannot shoot down the morale of the rest of our employees,” said Shields. “If we find the money, we are also going to have to find the money to take care of the rest of our departments and that’s reality.”

Cohen reiterated that Salisbury officers receive far more calls for service than is typical for a municipality of its size.

“This isn’t about choosing one department over another when we’re talking about personnel … but I don’t know about any other department that needs another 30 people to meet the demand on it,” she said. “Our officers are handling an outrageous number of calls every single day.”

The council voted unanimously to give Duncan permission to at least apply for the COPS grant with the understanding that even if it should be awarded Salisbury might have to pass on it this year depending on how the budget shapes up in June.

On Monday evening, City Manager David Recor presented the Town of Ocean City’s proposed Operating Budget for Fiscal Year 2014 in ordinance form on first reading.

The budget was broken down into the following categories, starting with the General Fund in the amount of about $77 million. The Enterprise Funds include $7.4 million in water, $12.6 million in wastewater, $9.7 million in transportation, $6.9 million for the convention center, $1.4 million for the airport and $2.1 million for the golf course. Internal Service funds include $1.8 million for information technology, $5.2 million for the service center, $2.2 million for the vehicle trust and $2.2 million for risk management. There is $16 million dedicated for Pension and OPEB Trust and $2.5 million for capital projects. The budget totals almost $147.7 million.

Developing and finalizing the proposed operating budget for FY14 required a great deal of collaboration and cooperation from all Town departments, according to Record. During the city manager’s initial budget review, original department funding requests were reduced by more than $4.2 million, including $3 million in personnel and operating expenditures, plus an additional $1.2 million in proposed new vehicle purchases.

Following the presentation of the Preliminary Operating Budget on April 9, the following changes were made to further reduce a budget gap; several additional paid parking locations were established, weekend rates at the Inlet Parking Lot were increased, ambulance fees were increased, the third shift bus service was eliminated during the winter months and operating hours at the skate park were reduced (although later overturned).

Also, projected surplus monies in the destination advertising budget were identified to offset the rising costs of in‐kind services provided to the growing number of large private/special events held in Ocean City. Plus, city staff further reduced other department expenditures by more than $250,000.

These reductions totaled about $1.2 million, which is equal to $.0144 off the preliminary tax rate. The final reductions to the original department budget requests total nearly $5.5 million.

According to Recor, each year the town begins the budget process by utilizing comprehensive trend analysis to project revenues and estimate expenditures to fund current programs and services with the existing workforce.

This year staff projected $42.1 million in revenue through property taxes, $15.6 million in other taxes, $3.9 million in licenses and permits, $4.4 million in revenue from other agencies, $9.4 million in charges for current services, $735,000 in fines and forfeitures, $414,000 in other revenue and $247,000 in prior year reserves, which totals about $77 million.

The FY14 Projected Revenue for Property Taxes is based on the Constant Yield tax rate of $0.462 plus a penny per $100 of assessed valuation of real property. The penny added derived from a decision the former council made last year to reduce the proposed tax rate by a penny that ended up saving the average taxpayer about $20 a year.

Recor pointed out the additional penny above constant yield will generate an additional $850,500 in property tax revenue for FY14. In addition, projected revenue from corporate and personal property is based on a rate of $1.29 per $100 of assessed valuation.

Recor reported rising costs of personnel, maintenance agreement obligations and equipment replacement needs resulted in increased expenditures for providing the same level of service as last year. In addition, new policy decisions and the desire to enhance and expand levels of service affect and cause the need for additional resources in the annual budget.

The estimated expenditure are as follows; $3.9 million for general government, $33.2 million for public safety, $4.9 million for general public works/beach maintenance, $5.6 million for sanitation and waste removal, $4.9 million for highways and streets, $6.8 million for economic development and tourism, $7.4 million for culture and recreation and $5.3 million in debt service, which totals about $72 million.

This is followed by transfers from the transportation fund of $1.7 million, the airport fund of $235,000, the convention center of $1.3 million and $1.4 million for capital projects, which brings the final total to about $77 million.

Recor highlighted a few items within the budget, such as it includes six new positions in the fire department at a cost of $292,000. The overall cost for public safety increased by $151,000 over the previous fiscal year.

In mid-April, the Mayor and City Council ratified contracts with the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) and International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) collective bargaining units that provided wage adjustments for the first time in five years. However, as a result of attrition, overall salary and benefit costs, the police department budget decreased by nearly $60,000 even after factoring in wage adjustments for raises.

An equivalent average wage adjustment for all general employees has been included in the proposed Operating Budget. The cost of the wage adjustment for all affected town employees totals $924,508.

Recor added, the existing Public Safety Employees Pension Trust Plan was closed in 2011 but the FOP collective bargaining unit negotiated to restructure the Defined Benefit (DB) Pension benefits for new members effective July 1, 2013.

According to the actuarial analysis performed by Cavanaugh Macdonald Consulting, LLC, the restructured DB negotiated by the FOP, i.e., age 55 with 25 years of service, reduces the town’s Normal Cost, which is the underlying cost of the DB Plan, from 10.61 percent to 8.04 percent representing a 2.57 percent Normal Cost savings.

Recor included, following the adoption of the Operating Budget for Fiscal Year 2014, the Mayor and City Council will review and update the town’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP). The CIP identifies a schedule of planned physical improvements over the next five years and as well as financing sources for capital projects over the entire period.

For FY14, $817,000 has been included for roof replacements at the Public Safety Building and the 65th Street Garage however the city anticipates bonding the improvements. In addition, $1.4 million in “Pay As You Go” funding for street paving has been identified. Almost $1.2 million of this total was funded through a combination of parking fee revenue, casino revenue and State Highway User Fees.

A Fund Balance transfer in the amount of $247,000 accounts for the difference. Limiting the Fund Balance transfer that amount will maintain the Fund Balance at the Mayor and City Council’s specified goal of 15 percent of the previous year General Fund expenditures.

“With projections showing limited revenue growth, operating budgets will continue to be tight in the foreseeable future. While a challenging situation, I am confident that our prudent fiscal practices and strategic budgeting approach positions us well for the new fiscal year. Although a few service level reductions were necessary, the town will continue to provide visitors and residents with the high level of service for which the town is known,” Recor said

Councilwoman Mary Knight made a motion to accept the ordinance to adopt the FY14 Budget. A vote made earlier in the meeting to reverse the council’s decision to reduce the operating hours of the skate park in the off-season will be reflected in the budget when it returns to the council in second reading, which will be an additional expense of $21,000 to be subtracted from fund balance.

“Our spending priorities are out of whack,” Councilman Brent Ashley said. “The council proposed to cut skate park hours, eliminate bus service and to chase revenue streams from proposed controversial sources that will cost both the taxpayer and tourist more money, cause much ill will with our neighbors and I believe will result in less people visiting Ocean City.”

Ashley furthered the proposed new paid parking areas, including municipal lots, has been estimated to bring in almost $153,000, yet the council voted to spend $165,000 out of fund balance to begin the design process for a new beach patrol headquarters totaled to cost $2 million.

Also, Public Works has estimated $40 million in needed road maintenance to prevent roadways from deteriorating and eventually failing, but the council voted to reduce road maintenance funding from $2 million to $1.2 million.

Ashley added, despite the success of the City’s 401(a) employee pension plan, the council’s decision to have the FOP return to the old DB Plan costs more in current expense and adds more to the city’s long term debt.

“We have great employees and I although I favor the bonus type of wage increase, I wasn’t opposed to a moderate step increase this year,” he said.

According to Ashley, most local government is giving wage increases in the 2-percent range. The Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that for the period ending March 2013, wage and salaries for state and local government employees increased 1 percent.

“I can’t find any [governmental bodies] that are proposing increases in the 5-percent to 20-percent range that are proposed in this budget,” he said.

With no other comments, the council voted 5-2 to approve the budget in first reading with Ashley and Councilwoman Margaret Pillas opposed.

In 2006, Bishopville resident Robbie Whittington-Joyce, who was born and raised in the area and graduated from then-Worcester Country School, was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor called anaplastic astrocytoma after suffering a seizure while driving with her young daughter on Route 54 in Fenwick.

After seven years of surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation, steroid treatments and physical therapy, Whittington-Joyce has not fully recovered and likely won’t because her rare tumor is inoperable, but the tumor has not grown and the demon cells have not changed, giving her some semblance of normalcy and a spirit of hope as she continues to defy the odds.

“After the diagnosis, I was told there really wasn’t anything more to do,” she said this week. “The tumor is inoperable and there was no prognosis for me. I’m sure they didn’t think I’d still be here seven years later.”

Whittington-Joyce still gets an MRI twice a year and her tumor has at least stabilized, if not shrunk, and she continues to plod along in life as a wife and mother of two, which is a challenge for most even without an inoperable tumor in their head. She still walks with a cane and has a little drop-step condition, which she likens to a bad connection between a switch on the wall and an electric light at the other end of the circuit.

Despite her disability, she is now preparing to take on one of the biggest challenges of her post-diagnosis life. Whittington-Joyce is part of a team of individuals with the same rare brain tumor preparing for the New York Brain Tumor Walk on Governor’s Island on June 15. Through her connections and weekly conference calls with other victims of the same rare tumor, Whittington-Joyce is now part of a team formed by former New York Jets cheerleader Jaclyn Sabol, who is organizing the June 15 walk in New York. The walk’s main sponsor and beneficiary is the National Brain Tumor Society and the funds raised during the event will help increase awareness and support research.

Whittington-Joyce has been training every week on an anti-gravity treadmill at Atlantic Physical Therapy in preparation for the June 15 walk. Although the progress has often been slow and painstaking, she has no doubt she will be ready to tackle the 3.1-mile walk next month. This week, she completed half of a mile in 17 minutes on the treadmill and she continues to make strides, literally, to her goal.

“I still struggle every day, but I don’t have any choice,” she said. “I’m going to do the best I can and I’m confident I’ll make the 3.1 miles. There is no cure and it’s not going to go away, but I’m trying to help other people with the same thing. Frankly, I feel lucky I’m still here and I want to give back in some way to those who are going through the same thing.”

Whittington-Joyce has indeed been somewhat lucky through all of the seizures, car accidents and treatments, but more importantly, her perseverance and will to go on have driven her to the point where she’s ready to tackle the long walk in New York.

On Jan. 30, 2006, Whittington-Joyce was driving on Route 54 in Fenwick with her then-2-year-old daughter when she felt like her vehicle had been struck on the side by a large truck. She was temporarily blinded and could not hear, although she does remember hearing car horns blowing and people yelling as she continued on barely conscious for a couple hundred yards. Her vehicle ultimately jumped a curb and struck a palm tree stump before coming to rest.

Whittington-Joyce said she felt at the time like she had had a stroke. Paramedics arrived and asked her numerous questions to determine the extent of her stroke before taking her to the hospital. She was initially diagnosed as having had a focal motor seizure and she had a second seizure on a gurney in the hospital before undergoing testing. A CAT scan was performed after which the doctor delivered the life-changing news.

“The doctor came in and told me matter of factly that I had a brain tumor,” she said. “There was no candy-coating it and no leading up to it. It was the weirdest thing.”

Whittington was put on anti-seizure medication and saw a neurosurgeon in Salisbury who confirmed the initial diagnosis. She then sought a second opinion at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore and the news was no better. On Feb. 10, less than two weeks after the seizure on Route 54, she had a craniotomy. The surgery and the resulting pathology report confirmed Whittington-Joyce’s tumor was malignant and inoperable.

An oncologist decided the best course of action was chemotherapy and radiation to at least control the growth of the tumor. She also saw a neurologist because of the repeated seizures and was on several medications related to the seizures along with the chemo and radiation. She was also placed on a hard core steroid that affected her in many ways and recalled looking at the medication with trepidation.

As if she hadn’t endured enough, in August 2009, Whittington-Joyce was driving on a rural road in Bishopville late at night when she suffered another seizure and rolled her Jeep before ending up suspended from her seatbelt upside down in a corn field. Hours passed before someone noticed the Jeep had left the roadway and entered the field.

“It was pouring down rain and I was hanging upside down by my seatbelt in a cornfield for three hours,” she said. “As a result, my whole right side was paralyzed, but at least I didn’t die. Through treatment, I started to get some of things on my right side back, but I was in a wheelchair and had to teach myself everything all over again, even the simplest things like how to eat. I used a walker for years and now I have progressed to using a cane.”

Seven years later, Whittington-Joyce has progressed from hospital bed to wheelchair to walker to cane and is now preparing for the latest challenge in a long series of challenges that would deflate a less willful and persistent individual with the 3.1 mile walk in New York in June. She is accepting donations and sponsorships in her name and on behalf of her team, the Jac Pac, for Jaclyn Sabol. Donation arrangements can be made at www.braintumorcommunity.org, or by emailing Robbie directly at rajoyce65@gmail.com.  

Around 11:20 p.m. on Monday, Ocean City Police observed a vehicle being driven erratically in the area of 74th Street and attempted to pull it over for further investigation. The driver, identified as Shawn Josef Martin, 29, turned into a parking garage at 77th Street and sped through the garage at a high rate of speed before exiting and striking a bush.

OCPD officers attempted to stop Martin numerous times, but he continued to flee, driving through several stop signs at a dangerously high rate of speed. Martin then reportedly turned back onto Coastal Highway and crossed four lanes of traffic, losing control of the vehicle at one point and nearly hitting the median, according to police reports. Martin then turned east onto 79th Street, drove onto the sidewalk and struck a street sign, causing his vehicle to stop.

Martin then exited the vehicle and attempted to flee on foot, but was taken into custody a short time later. During the subsequent investigation, OCPD officers allegedly confirmed their suspicion about Martin’s level of intoxication and he was charged with driving while impaired by alcohol. He was also issued nearly 50 citations for various traffic charges including reckless and negligent driving. At least 12 of the citations require Martin to appear in court.

Martin was taken before a District Court Commissioner and was ordered to be held on a $25,000 bond. He was released on Tuesday after posting the bond.

National Aquarium Animal Rescue Team leader Jennifer Dittmar was at hand for the release. It was a proud moment for her team, she said, because the rescues don’t always have a happy ending.

“It’s always a great experience to be able to rehab them because a lot of times they come in in really bad condition. We don’t intervene unless they’re in really bad condition,” said Dittmar.

Sodapop was in just such a condition back in February when he showed up at the National Aquarium rehabilitation facilities “emaciated, with a severe respiratory infection, and cuts and scrapes on his face and hips,” according to Dittmar.

During his three months under the care of the aquarium, Sodapop recovered nicely, putting away an average of eight pounds of fish per day as well as twice daily oral antibiotics for his infection. Upon his release, Sodapop was up to a respectable 53 pounds.

While Sodapop was a resounding success, Dittmar warned that people need to be careful and conscious with the planet’s fragile wildlife.

“A lot of times we put these animals in this position in one way or another just putting pressure on their ecosystems, so it’s great to be able to give back and get them back out there,” she said.

While the weather at Sodapop’s farewell was a little dreary, it couldn’t suppress the enthusiasm of the large crowd that had walked out on the beach to see him off, including many students who were on Assateague for field trips. According to Dittmar, it was the perfect time to let the harbor seal back into the water.

“It’s a lot of work and by the time we release them they’re really ready to go,” she said. “The last few days he’s had a lot of energy and that’s when you really know that they’re ready to get back out there. It’s a great feeling.”

The National Aquarium’s Animal Rescue program has been active since 1991 and has cared for and released nearly 100 animals in that time. The team responds to “stranded marine mammals and sea turtles” all around Delmarva.

The rescue program is part of the Northeast Stranding Network (NERS) through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The National Aquarium is one of several cooperative linked facilities across the nation that performs marine mammal and sea turtle rescue and rehabilitation.

“We will be there to kick off Memorial Day weekend with AAA to talk about how many people plan on hitting the road this year,” Mayor Rick Meehan said at the conclusion of the Mayor and Council meeting on Monday evening as he looked forward to the AAA conference the next day. “The state will be there to kick off the Walk Smart! campaign that is quite an extensive campaign … it addresses so many different things in Ocean City. The state has gone far and beyond to address this issue and to keep the people who do come to Ocean City safe while they are here.”

According to State Highway Administration (SHA), Ocean City becomes one of Maryland’s largest cities during the summer months with a population that changes each and every weekend. Last year two pedestrians were killed in Ocean City and another 13 were injured, a marked increase compared to 2011 when there were no pedestrian fatalities and eight people injured.

A partnership has been formed between the Town of Ocean City, Ocean City Police Department, SHA, other local businesses and agencies to create the Walk Smart! campaign that will complement ongoing engineering and enforcement efforts to keep Ocean City residents and visitors safe this summer.

“Our visitors love Ocean City because we are a safe and fun, family resort, and we want to keep it that way,” said Meehan. “We are asking visitors to walk smart in Ocean City, by using marked crosswalks and crossing with the signal.”

The Walk Smart! campaign features the Maryland crab dressed as a lifeguard who teaches the importance of roadway basics in a beach-friendly, family-fun tone. His Save Yourself! message teaches personal responsibility and directs people to use crosswalks, follow signals and exercise general street smarts.

Crab the Lifeguard will be featured on Ocean City transit buses, plane banners, boat billboard messages, roadside billboards and television and radio public service announcements, according to SHA.

The Walk Smart! campaign will provide constant, consistent messaging all summer long. In addition to outdoor advertising, the campaign includes communicating safety messages to high school seniors prior to Senior Week as well as Ocean City’s late night crowd. Walk Smart! teams will also be distributing street smart tips cards along Coastal Highway.

Tips included in the literature are cross at and within marked crosswalks; look, pay attention, then cross; follow all traffic signals signs and marking; use the sidewalk; do not cross in the street; and wear light-colored or reflective clothing at night so drivers can see you.

When driving stop for all pedestrians in crosswalks, which is a Maryland law, slow down, watch for pedestrians and yield to pedestrians when turning and keep your eyes on the road. It’s illegal to text and use hand held devices while driving. Stay alert and avoid all distractions, and share the road with bicycles and give three feet of space when passing.

“For Maryland families, a vacation to Ocean City is a treasured summer ritual,” said Gov. Martin O’Malley. “As the crowds swell during the summer months, we must all remain vigilant to ensure drivers and pedestrians along OC roadways are safe. This strategic campaign is a partnership to safeguard the lives of vacationers, visitors and residents of Maryland’s family-friendly beach resort.”

The AAA summer travel press conference is held along the Kent Island shoreline, which thousands of drivers will cross in their travel to shore destinations. While SHA is focused on helping people arrive at the beach safely through initiatives such as 511, emergency traffic patrols and live traffic monitoring, the campaign goal is to keep visitors safe while in Ocean City, so they arrive safely home again. For tips for parents of children, senior week bound teens and others, visit www.ocwalksmart.com.

Owners Steve Hagen and Kevin Frey started Indian River Seafood Company in 2010 and opened their first restaurant, Off the Hook, in Bethany Beach that year.

One year later, the company opened its second restaurant, Just Hooked, in Fenwick Island, and as the company took on a second location and catering they found the need to add a commissary/seafood market. Off the Hook Market opened last July besides the restaurant in Bethany.

Following a trend moving south, the company has now opened a third restaurant in Ocean City on 80th Street and Coastal Highway adjacent to South Moon Under.

Hagen explained the opportunity to open another restaurant came around Thanksgiving of last year, and negotiations took place until the deal was signed in early February, and renovations immediately began

The space has become lighter and open with a white and pale blue paint pallet, accenting the dark wood beams and floor. The restaurant took on a coastal design theme presenting the work of local artists on the walls. The kitchen and bathrooms were transformed with new fixtures and appliances.

Hooked seats about 220 guests with downstairs, upstairs and outdoor seating offered. There are three bars with one on each floor and outside. There is also an abundance of parking in the rear of the building as the restaurant has at least 50-plus parking spaces between the front and back of the building.

Hooked will continue the company’s tradition with the farm to plate mentality for lunch and dinner, sourcing local artisans, farmers and watermen.

“It is a new menu,” Hagen said. “I feel like it is one of the best menus we have put out in our company, and we have started a new cocktail and wine program here that we are really excited about.”

Hooked has released its signature cocktail list, or as Hagen puts it “farm fresh cocktails.”

“We have done a great job on the food. Our plates are very clean and the things we are bringing to the table are very fresh. Its fundamental-based cooking in a very fun tasteful way,” he said. “I think the thing we were lacking was more creativity on the cocktail end and more variety on the wine end.”

There is not a single specialty cocktail on the menu that is not processed and commissary on the premises. Besides squeezing their own lemons and oranges for their freshly made Hooked Lemonade and Orange Crush, the restaurant has taken it to the next level by pickling and infusing cocktail ingredients. For example, fresh strawberries, blueberries, cherries and heirloom tomatoes are pickled and to be served in the one-of-kind concoctions like the Blueberry Pie, Uptown Pig and Smokey Mater.

A cocktail Hagen was sure to point out was the Return to Youth, a grown up chocolate banana milkshake with 360 Double Chocolate Vodka, banana liquor, banana chocolate milk, with a banana dust rim served up.

“It is amazing … it is just ridiculous,” he said. “You can see it. The proof is in the pudding when you come in here. Every bar has our infusions up on the rack … we are taking a lot of pride in it.”

Hooked’s wine list has been extended offering more variety when it comes to wines by the glass and by the bottle. It includes 11 white wines and 10 red wines by the glass, plus a selection of at least 45 bottles of wine that were all thoroughly researched before hand selected.

The food menu is different but follows the company’s concept of staying in taste with the season. The expected and popular entrees of pan roasted chicken, local crab cake, filet mignon, seared scallops, salmon, mahi and tuna remain but the menu has been left open ended to include at least three to four specials a night.

“We are always sourcing things, such as black sea bass is huge around here, something that is local and tasty, like tog, sheepshead, or rockfish,” Hagen said of items that pop up in the local market. “Matt [Cornelius, managing partner and executive chef] and I have been playing around in the kitchen since we opened Off the Hook years ago … and people have become familiar with our chalkboards.”

Each location has a chalkboard displayed presenting that day’s special whether it be an appetizer to an entrée.

In the week Hooked has been open, the kinks are being worked out between getting comfortable in the new space to training new employees.

“I feel like we are ready, and there is no better time to be ready then for Memorial Day weekend,” Hagen said. “We are excited to have the success that we have had in such a short period of time, and I think the addition of this place lends itself into becoming something really special. It is a gorgeous location … we are happy to be here and part of what Ocean City has going on.”

Since the intersection reopened in 2006 after a major reconstruction project by the State Highway Administration (SHA), there have been about 60 accidents reported at the crossroads including multiple fatal accidents, the last coming in December when a Snow Hill man was killed after colliding with a vehicle attempting to cross the median. Worcester County officials implored SHA for a major reconfiguration of the deadly intersection, including a potential future overpass or at the very least, a traffic signal in the interim.

SHA responded with a number of possible solutions including a flashing yellow warning signal, rumble strips and “look again” signs advising motorists to check and recheck before crossing the intersection. When those traffic-calming devices failed to reduce the carnage, SHA opted to install “J-turns” at the intersection in an effort to prevent motorists from attempting to cross the lanes of traffic to the opposite side.

During an annual transportation meeting with the Worcester County Commissioners in October, SHA officials acknowledged changes were needed, but said a recent traffic study revealed a traffic signal was not warranted. However, after a public hearing late last year, SHA reversed its position after it became apparent a signal was needed despite lower than required traffic volumes because of the unique configuration of the intersection.

After years of accidents and months of often heated debate, the traffic signal has been installed and went live with Wednesday. Senator Jim Mathias (D-38), who worked with the county and SHA to help bring a traffic signal to the often deadly intersection, praised the partners and shareholders for making the light become a reality.

“I appreciate the will of the citizens, Worcester County Commissioners and SHA for understanding the urgent need for this traffic signal, which will save lives and reduce injuries to motorists,” he said this week. “The new traffic signal underscores the importance of working together as a team to accomplish big goals.”

Worcester County Commissioner Virgil Shockley, a school bus driver who also represents the Snow Hill area, has been the staunchest advocate for a traffic signal at the intersection of Routes 113 and 12 after personally witnessing several accidents at the crossroads after it was reconfigured in 2006. Shockley often took SHA officials to task at different meetings over the years for failing to recognize the need for change, but his tone was reconciliatory this week.

“The citizens of Snow Hill and surrounding areas are very thankful for the new traffic signal at the intersection,” he said. “Hopefully, this will create a safe condition at the U.S. 113-12 intersection.”

For their part, SHA officials were pleased with the ultimate decision to install a permanent traffic signal at the intersection and responded to the will of the people and the county’s elected officials.

“We are proud of our partnership with our community leaders and elected officials to move this project forward,” said District Engineer Donnie Drewer. “Safety is SHA’s number one priority and converting the existing flashing beacon to a full-color traffic signal is a tremendous step forward in improving safety along U.S. 113 in Snow Hill. We also need drivers to do their part and obey all basic rules of the road.”

On Tuesday, SHA officials were expected to place the new signal on a flashing mode, including a flashing yellow on Route 113 and a flashing red on Route 12, for the first 24 hours. SHA officials earlier this week placed temporary dynamic message signs to alert motorists of the new traffic signal. A full green-yellow-red signal at the intersection went live on Wednesday.

SHA crews installed permanent advanced warning signs with flashing beacons along Route 113 on the approaches to Route 12 to alert motorists when the signal is about to turn red and provide drivers with a chance to slow down when approaching the intersection. According to SHA’s most recent traffic study, roughly 8,000 vehicles pass through the intersection each day.

The galleria, in keeping with the theme of bringing in a variety of artists, will feature the work of six "artists to watch" in the future. The talented group consists of artists who previously studied with Professor Jinchul Kim at Salisbury University. Many of them went on to receive their Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degrees and some no longer live in the area. Their artwork is powerful, dynamic and explores current social themes. The artists featured for this show will be Chris Hill, Jordan Koehler, Christy Jones, Nick Dobrodey, Leah Lewman and Evan Fitzgerald, the son of well-known artist Kevin Fitzgerald who recently completed his MFA degree at James Madison University.

Throughout June, the main gallery will feature a mixed media show by local and regional artists, many of whom are Art League members. Mixed media is a term that is used when a variety of mediums are combined to form one piece of art. Examples of mixed media can include painting and collage, pen and pastel, and watercolor and acrylic. Mixed media has become popular as artists continue to break down the walls of traditional artwork.

To even further enhance this celebration of the arts, during the month of June, the Brown Box Theatre Group will perform "The Nina Variations", a modern classic play based on Checkov’s "The Seagull". The Nina Variations is a fast paced romantic entanglement of characters and it has gotten rave reviews where it was playing in Boston.

The performance is directed by Brown Box Theatre group co-founder Kyler Taustin, a bright young actor and director who is an Ocean City native and is committed to bringing live theatre to Ocean City. The performances, slated as an intimate night of the arts, will take place in the main gallery area. Seating is limited to 50 seats per show. There will be performances on Saturday, June 8, Sunday, June 9, Monday, June 10 and Tuesday, June 11. Doors open at 6:30 for gallery viewing and performances start at 7:30. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at www.brownboxtheatre.org

The artist in residence for June is watercolorist Gerilyn Gaskill, a rising star in the field of watercolor. She has a passion for capturing the beauty of Delmarva’s varied scenery. Even though she got a late start in the career of professional fine arts, she now completes a painting a day or pretty close. When she’s not painting, she is teaching others to paint. Gaskill volunteers a great deal of time educating youths in the arts.

Tinsel Hughes will also be joining the gallery as a resident artist in Studio A with her lovely oil paintings, watercolor portraits and sculptures. Tinsel’s work is well collected in the area and has won many awards. She is a member of the Art League of Ocean City, Oil Painters of America, and the Baltimore Watercolor Society. She was also one of the original founding partners of Gallery One located in Ocean View, Del.

The spotlight artist for June is Nancy Katz, who will be showing her beautiful watercolors and acrylic painting. In addition, studio artists Faith Lord, Dorothy Harrison Braun and Potter Erik Hertz will also be creating and selling their artwork in their studios.

The June exhibit opens Friday, June 7 with an opening reception from 5-7 p.m. and hors d’oeuvres provided by Galaxy 66. The exhibit will run through the month of June.

The gallery and artist studios at the Ocean City Center for the Arts are open daily 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“We teach suicide prevention first aid,” said Kim Klump, whose fund operates the Worcester County Youth Suicide Awareness and Prevention Program. “But real suicide prevention should start before it is a crisis, by treating depression when it first appears.”

Suicide rates in Worcester County, among people of all ages, have historically been higher than both state and national rates.

“Like any other disease, depression, when diagnosed early, can be treated more effectively. The treatment will pay dividends for the rest of one’s life,” Klump continued.

Dr. Kenneth Widra, a psychiatrist in Atlantic General Hospital’s Behavioral Health Department, will speak along with counselor Paul Ganster, LCSW-C about recognizing, understanding and treating depression in young people.

Joann Bailey, program director for the suicide prevention program, will talk about the signs of suicide and the steps that anyone can take to save a life.

“Teens develop at his/her own pace. Genetics and environment frequently play a role in their acceptance by peers,” Ganster said. “Teens dealing with depression may feel isolated and unaccepted by their families and their peers. When you combine normal adolescent development with depression, peer problems, family problems and academic problems, a teen can be overwhelmed and not know where to turn.”

For more information about the event, visit www.jessespaddle.org (News and Announcements tab) or call Joann Bailey at 443-614-7992.

The five-course program has made big strides in only a few months, according to organizers, including developing industry partnerships and reducing the electric bill at WTHS.

According to Renewable Energy Instructor Ed Stough, the five courses included in the program are Renewable Energy and Green Technology, Solar Photovoltaic, Solar Thermal, Wind and Other Energy Systems, Bio-fuels and Bio-Mass.

“Students enrolled in the Renewable Energy and Green Technology course this spring have been charged with the task of auditing our school to find ways to reduce energy consumption,” wrote Stough in a memo to the board. “They have looked at the different areas of energy usage and given suggestions for cost savings measures.”

That course has been more than just an academic exercise, added Stough, with student suggestions actually leading to a lower energy bill.

“As of right now, we’ve reduced the electric bill in the building by 7.5 percent,” he said. “Without a doubt, if we get done with the recommendations, we’ll hit over 10 percent.”

WTHS student Luke Warrington shared some of his group’s progress with the board. Because of the program, changes were made to how electronics are powered down as well as how bright lights are in the building.

The other four courses are in the same “green technology” vein as Renewable Energy but expand the program in other alternative energy directions. Solar Photovoltaic will go into the different kinds of solar power systems that produce electricity while Solar Thermal will explain how heat is generated through solar power.

Wind and Other Energy Systems “covers using wind, geo-thermal, hydro, and other sources to produce electricity,” said Stough. The final course, Bio-fuels and Bio-mass, takes a look at the potential for crops and plants to replace fossil fuels as a source of clean energy.

The success of the program has attracted interest from the alternative energy industry as well as other educators.

“We are pleased that the Renewable Energy program has generated both higher education and industry interest. Worcester Technical High School and Wor-Wic Community College have partnered in an articulation agreement,” Stough told the board. “Del-Tech has also shown an interest in articulation. Salisbury University has asked for our course syllabi and program outline in order to consider starting a Renewable Energy Engineering program at the graduate level.”

Additionally, Paradise Energies, Flexera and Choptank Electric are “on board as industry partners,” according to Stough.

“The nicest thing is we are not going out and selling this. People are calling us,” he said.

According to Stough, WTHS is the first in Maryland to participate in the Renewable Energy STEM Academy at the high school level and is one of the first 10 to do so in the entire country. The early achievements have even, coincidently, caught the eye of a technical high school in Worcester, Mass., which has reached out to form a partnership next year with WTHS.

During a budget wrap-up on April 19, the Mayor and City Council voted to have the skate park operate through the summer during its normal hours, which is open seven days a week during daylight. The changes proposed begin the Tuesday after Labor Day weekend when it would continue to be open on weekends, holidays and all Worcester County school days off only, as well as shut down completely during the months of January and February. The reduction in hours will save the town approximately $21,000.

Since then a petition has surfaced online in support of keeping the park open during its normal hours in the off-season. Also, during a Mayor and City Council meeting on May 6, many skate park advocates turned out to voice their support to keep the park open. By the end of that meeting, the council voted to form a skate park committee of stakeholders and members of the local skateboard community along with town officials to come up with some sort of compromise but the skate park’s reduction in hours remained in the proposed budget.

During Monday’s Mayor and City Council, Mike Durkin, 17, returned to the podium as the first speaker of what looked like many to voice their support for the skate park. Durkin had started the online petition that had received 483 signatures as of Tuesday morning.

“Last time you were here we heard you loud and clear. The mayor is forming a committee to work on the skate park, and I think everybody was happy when they left the meeting that day,” Council President Lloyd Martin said before Durkin could get a full sentence out. “I don’t want to discourage anyone else from speaking, but I think it is something we need to look at.”

Durkin agreed forming a committee is a step in the right direction but felt a study on the usage of the park should be conducted while keeping the funding to remain open in the off-season in the proposed budget.

Councilman Brent Ashley pointed out the appropriation of $14,333 in the proposed budget for the Cricket Center is left in question since the appropriation was based on a matching grant by Worcester County.

“It is my understanding that the County Commissioners declined any new appropriation for this group,” he said. “This would leave us with $14,333 in our budget with no appropriation for the funds.”

At that time Council Secretary Mary Knight looked over a list of other cuts the council had made to close the budget gap.

“This summer … we have advanced booking more than we did in July and August of last year so we are up, and this year is going to be a pivotal year for us where we will have a lot of new visitors. Something like painting a solid waste truck for $20,000 gives people the opinion and the idea that Ocean City is flourishing and doing well but when I look at this list, you just can’t say we have $14,000 let’s put it here. We have to make a decision,” she said.

“If I was a betting woman, I would bet right now the skate park is going to be open but we will be able to at least substantiate that,” she said.

Ashley countered the cuts Knight listed were material items, and the reduction in the skate park’s operation is going to directly affect the kids.

“You say that and you want to take money away from a child advocacy center that takes care of neglected and abused children,” Martin said. “The Cricket Center helps put away and prosecute cases of child abuse. Thirty-nine percent of the cases prosecuted in the county come from Ocean City, and you want to take that away.”

Mayor Rick Meehan stepped in and suggested keeping the funding for the Ocean Bowl’s normal hours of operation in the proposed budget, have the committee meet over the summer and conduct a study on the year-long usage of the skate park, and return to the council with a recommendation.

“Looking at this young man and the people in the audience, I have to agree they would have more faith in government if it was left in and then discussed rather than taken out and discussed,” he said. “So I would support putting it in but not at the expense of the Cricket Center.”

Ashley made a motion to appropriate $21,000 in the new budget to have the Ocean Bowl operate its normal hours during the off-season and continue with the formation of skate park committee to conduct a study. The council voted 5-0 to approve with Councilman Dennis Dare and Knight abstaining because they wanted to wait until after the proposed budget was presented a few items down on the agenda.

A couple hours later, the fiscal year 2014 budget was approved on first reading. There was no motion made to remove the appropriated funds for the Cricket Center.

At the beginning of this week’s Mayor and City Council meeting, Ocean Place Condominium Association President Mac Balkcom and condominium owner Michael Feen addressed the legislative body over the continuous concerns associated with the town installing paid parking on 146th Street.  

During a budget wrap-up session last month, the Mayor and City Council voted to install new paid parking to select streets in town to bring in alternative revenues to help close a budget gap and lower the proposed tax rate. Since then Ocean Place owners have attended Mayor and City Council meetings every week and have sent countless emails airing their grievances with the decision.

Ocean Place sits on a full ocean block between 145th and 146th streets, and each condo is allocated one to two parking spaces in the building’s parking lot depending on the unit’s number of bedrooms.

The council has reasoned, with the street being on the state line and the north row of parking already paid parking operated by Fenwick Island, Ocean City is missing out on potential revenue when the south side of the street fills up first with Fenwick Island visitors and out-of-state day trippers who choose to park for free. Also, there is free parking one street over on 145th Street for Ocean Place visitors to use instead, the council has countered when faced with opposition.

On Monday evening, Feen distributed a summary of concerns outlined by the Ocean Place Board of Directors President Ron Deacon, who was absent during the meeting.

Ocean Place has requested the council reverse the plan to implement paid parking on 146th Street because it discriminates against a specific group of taxpayers and residents of Ocean City.

Ocean Place owners have argued 146th Street offers 40 parking spaces compared to 60-plus spaces on other ocean block streets, and there are other streets in Ocean City with residences on only one side and commercial or empty lots on the other, yet those streets were not chosen.

Deacon furthered Ocean Place residents and visitors are not the only patrons to use 146th Street for parking. Econolodge, which also sits between 145th and 146th streets on Coastal Hwy., sends their guests and employees to that area to park when the hotel’s own lot becomes full. Once the paid parking is installed, patrons will have to pay $25.50 to park there from 7 a.m. to midnight per day.

“For 30-plus years, we have managed our parking situation with the help of available spaces on 145th and 146th.  Some of our residents must park on 145th or 146th because there are not sufficient spaces in our lot. There may be empty spaces but they can only be used for the unit they correspond to,” Deacon said.

Deacon asserted the council’s decision was based on assumptions, not supported by facts and hard data and therefore incorrect. He had asked City Clerk Kelly Allmond to send him a cost benefit analysis and criteria used to select streets for paid parking, and received projected revenue numbers but not an analysis of alternatives, leading to his assumption there is none.

Throughout the entire process, the condominium building’s largest grievance with the council was the decision was made without consulting with Ocean Place condo owners first and felt it was not a transparent decision.

According to Deacon, the owners understand the city’s need for revenue and believe there are ways of obtaining revenue through paid parking without treating residents unfairly. He asked the council to convene a committee to study potential parking in a rational and comprehensive way, setting criteria for measuring success in both the amount of revenue collected and fairness, to come up with a master plan for parking in Ocean City.

“What I would like to propose before you go ahead with the imposition of paid parking on any streets is that a committee is formed and that they come up with a master plan and substantial way forward that includes the people, and include the stakeholders that you see,” Feen said.

Off the bat, Councilman Brent Ashley made a motion to have Mayor Rick Meehan form a parking committee while the city has a parking feasibility study and a cross benefit analysis conducted to create a master plan for parking in Ocean City.

“This is just the beginning, and to keep bothering people and get everybody upset, I just don’t see it,” Ashley said.

Councilwoman Margaret Pillas acknowledged the subject of paid parking has always been a hot topic in Ocean City, but the proposal to conduct a study is a costly proposition.

Councilman Joe Mitrecic pointed out if the council’s decision to install paid parking on the proposed streets is postponed that will be at least a $115,000 hole in the fiscal year 2014 budget, which was up for first reading later on the agenda that evening. Meters at 146th St. alone will bring an estimated $24,000 in new revenue.

“The cost analysis and the feasibility and everything these gentleman are asking for doesn’t come out of a committee,” Mitrecic said. “It comes out of a parking study done by an independent contractor that somebody has to pay.”

According to Councilman Dennis Dare, the former city manager, the city pays $4 million a year for Ocean City’s beach between replenishment, beach patrol and maintenance.

“That is $4 million that 30,000 taxpayers pay … but meanwhile everybody that lives across the bridges doesn’t pay Ocean City taxes, comes into the town and uses the beach for free,” Dare said. “The parking meters are a way for them to participate in what they’re enjoying.”

Dare added 146th Street was not being singled out as 49th Street was also chosen to have paid parking and has similar characteristics, such as both have paid parking to the north and both streets have residential development to the south with required parking.

“This is an issue that has come up far too many times … it goes further than just a committee,” Mayor Rick Meehan interjected. “My suggestion would be to remand this to the city manager, have him meet with the staff … and figure out exactly what it is we need to do.”

Meehan added if City Manager David Recor’s recommendation is to proceed to hire a consultant over the matter than the city would begin a RFP process at that time.

Ashley agreed with the mayor’s compromise and withdrew his motion to form a parking committee. He made a motion to remand the issue to Recor and the council voted unanimously to approve.

Later in the evening an ordinance approached the Mayor and City Council to establish paid parking on the east side of the Public Safety Building parking lot between 65th and 66th streets from 5 p.m. to 7 a.m. on Monday through Friday, except for holidays and all Saturdays and Sundays. The ordinance also added meters to the City Hall parking lot from 5 p.m. until 7 a.m. on Monday through Friday, except on holidays and all Saturdays and Sundays. Additionally, the meters will be added from 7 a.m. until midnight on the west side of Philadelphia Avenue between North Division and South 1st streets, 49th Street on the ocean block, 131st Street between Coastal Hwy. and Sinepuxent Ave. and 146th Street on the ocean block.

Coming in at $444,739, the Worcester County Sheriff Office’s Plan 3 would include the hiring of nine new deputies, seven of which would be part-time with the remaining two full-time. A $125,000 federal grant would lower the $444,739 to an end total of $319,739. After the first year, Sheriff Reggie Mason only anticipates salary costs, further dropping the annual expense in the second year and beyond to about $210,000. The first two proposals had come in at $1.7 million and $596,000, respectively.

The original plan would have provided the most coverage with 13 full-time deputies. The second proposal would have trimmed costs by hiring part-time deputies with less equipment costs. Another option would have brought municipal police into the equation and paid local departments to station officers at schools. Those plans, however, are considered expensive, prompting Mason to come up with the alternative he discussed this week.

“With the current budget restraints our county faces, I have been asked if I could come up with a plan less expensive than the two previously submitted,” wrote Mason in a letter to the commission. “I now submit Plan 3, that I feel will work for all; keeping safety first, as well as cost less.”

Mason was the first to admit, however, that he wasn’t entirely satisfied with only hiring nine new officers, the majority of which being part-time, when the original expectation was for 13 new deputies. But he told the commission that it had room to grow and was the best his office could do with the county’s repeated requests to lower the cost.

Under Plan 3, only Showell Elementary and Ocean City Elementary schools would receive their own officers who would patrol the buildings during school hours. A single deputy would be split between Worcester Technical High School and the Board of Education building, another deputy would cover Stephen Decatur High and Middle schools, and yet another would be responsible for Berlin Intermediate and Buckingham Elementary schools.

Both Snow Hill and Pocomoke would only have one deputy each to serve all of their community’s schools meaning that one officer would cover Snow Hill Elementary, Middle and High schools, while the final part-time deputy would rotate between Pocomoke Elementary, Middle, and High schools. The two full-time deputies would serve as floaters who would fill in at schools when their primary officer has rotated to another building. One full-time deputy would manage the northern end of Worcester while the second is charged with the south end.

“For the deputies that have more than one school to cover when leaving one school to check on their other schools, the full time deputy will come in to fill those voids until the part time deputy assigned returns,” Mason submitted.

Finally, Plan 3 would call for the promotion of Sgt. Michael Bowen to lieutenant. Bowen would manage the program and also serve as a floating officer in the southern section.

Like Mason, Superintendent of Schools Jerry Wilson told the commissioners that he considered Plan 3 more of a starting point than an end solution.

“What this plan does is it gets us started. It doesn’t mean that we’re limited to this plan for the long-range but it does begin somewhere,” he said.

Even with the rotations and filler deputies, Commissioner Virgil Shockley pointed out southern Worcester would have gaps in service with four officers expected to provide security to six different schools. Commissioner Merrill Lockfaw believed the plan was not fair for Pocomoke and Snow Hill.

“It’s still not a level playing field. I think that all life is precious whether it be in Snow Hill, Ocean City, wherever,” he told Mason. “And I don’t think that this plan is being equal to the south-end of the county.”

Shockley offered his own version of a security plan that he estimated would cost $572,000 after applying a federal grant. That would provide for two full-time deputies and nine part-timers.

“If we’re going to do this, we need to do it right and do everything we can to do it right the first time out,” he said.

No decision was made this week, but the commission did appoint Lockfaw and Shockley to a committee to review security options with Mason. As it stands, $604,000 has been set aside in this year’s budget for school security officers. Shockley called the four plans that did come in under that cost “viable” and said they were all still on the table.

A decision needs to happen soon, Mason told the commission, because training must begin immediately if Worcester wants to have officers in place at schools before the next school year begins at the end of August.

According to former director Linda Ayres, “Argand lamps were an 18th-century innovation, patented in the 1780s by a Swiss scientist living in England, Aime Argand. His invention was the first basic change in lamps in hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Argand lamps were prized because they were cleaner than regular oil lamps – they did not smoke – they gave off more light than candles, and their wicks did not need to be trimmed as often. They were more expensive than other oil lamps, so they were first used by the upper classes (George Washington and Thomas Jefferson both had them). It wasn’t until about 1850 that the middle class had access to the lamps. After the 1860s, kerosene lamps replaced Argand. The lamps used whale oil at first, then vegetable oils. The fuel reservoir was above the burner and used the law of gravity to distribute it. The hollow wick in the glass chimneys allowed for ample air circulation.”

Ayres added, “The museum's lamp was made around 1835. Each burner on this example is labeled ‘Lewis Veron & Co./Philadelphia.’ Veron was a fancy goods retailer in Philadelphia in the 19th century. Thomas Messenger and Sons of England was the likely maker of the lamp. Veron often sold his lamps in Philadelphia. Gilded details include classical wreaths, lion masks, and acanthus leaves. The glass has been replaced with museum-quality reproductions.”

The Argand lamp is just one of many Arcadia Questers’ contributions to the Calvin B. Taylor House Museum. The organization's continued support has enabled the Board of Directors to furnish the historic house with period appropriate pieces, helping move closer to its goal of presenting visitors with an historically accurate view of a local 1800s home.

Additional Questers’ donations include several period candlesticks, a specially made floorcloth for the small front sitting room and an 1832 lithograph of “Andrew Jackson: At the Hermitage 1832”, which adorns the museum’s dining room.

In addition to the vast array of wine offerings, there will be several vendors offering an array of International cuisine. Additionally, there will be several arts and craft vendors and several micro-brewed beers for purchase. Popular local recording artists, including “Bird Dog and The Road Kings”, will provide music conducive to relaxation during the days of the festival.

While strolling from winery to winery with your complimentary Wine Fest tasting glass that you will receive upon entering, you can mingle with your friends while sipping fine wine, marveling at the fine arts and crafts along the way and still enjoy the live entertainment with our “Stage on the Bay” setting. Bring your chair or blanket and enjoy the entertainment.

Tickets for the festival are $25 (general admission) at the gate. The cost includes a commemorative wine glass and sample coupons. For those who don’t drink, general admission includes commemorative wine glass and unlimited soft drinks from the designated driver location. Guests from 13- to 20-year-old are $15 and must be accompanied by a parent. Children under 12 years of age admitted free. No one under 21 years of age is admitted without a parent.

The BLC approved several liquor license applications for new and existing businesses on Wednesday, but two requests were sent back to the drawing board for clerical errors on the official documents. For example, de Lazy Lizard sought and was approved for a liquor license for a new brew pub of the same name at the site of the old Melvin’s Steakhouse on the corner of 1st Street and Philadelphia Ave. not far from the original location.

However, when a second application for yet a third de Lazy Lizard on the Boardwalk was presented, it was revealed the owners and management had mistakenly said they did not have any prior underage drinking violations on the record. The original de Lazy Lizard has had two underage sales violations dating back about two years and has since implemented stringent ID checking procedures resulting in no new violations, but on the application for the new Boardwalk location, the owners had mistakenly checked the “no” box on the underage sale violation question.

As a result, the application process was halted and the restaurant owners will have to file an amended application for a later hearing. Unfortunately, the BLC hearings are held just once a month and the deadline for getting on the June agenda has already passed.

“Basically, we have a false statement,” said BLC attorney Tom Coates. “I think the board should close this application process and they can reapply in the future. I believe in this case it was a clerical error, but in the past, the Board has closed the application hearing.”

A short time later, a similar situation unfolded with the application for a liquor license transfer for the Pit-and-Pub on 28th Street. The managing partners were hoping to transfer the pub’s liquor license into their names when a similar error in the application was uncovered.

When one of the prospective license holders, Steve Hoffman, was telling the board about his vast restaurant management experience in the resort area, he mentioned that he had been listed as the resident agent of, ironically, the original de Lazy Lizard, when the establishment had incurred the underage sales violations. Unfortunately, the Pit and Pub partners had checked the “no” box on the application about prior violations. Again, the Pit and Pub partners will have to return with an amended application.

“We know you guys and we’re sure you’ll do a great job, but what you need to understand is that the most important instrument we get is this application,” said BLC Chairman William Esham, Jr. “We have to depend on the truth and honest answers because two-thirds of the people that come before us, we don’t know.”

In other BLC news from Wednesday, the board approved a liquor license transfer for the Shrimp Boat on Route 611 in West Ocean City and also approved a liquor license for the new Sandy Bottoms on the south end of the Boardwalk at a location most recently known as Davey Jones’ Locker. The site for years housed a Burger King on the Boardwalk.

The BLC also approved a new liquor license for the Duck Dive, a new establishment near the Boardwalk at 4th Street, and a transfer of an existing liquor license for Rita’s World of Wine, Beer and Spirits, which is moving to a new location in the same Pennington Commons shopping center near Ocean Pines where it currently exists. In addition, the BLC approved a new liquor license for the Longboard Café, a new establishment on 67th Street.

The BLC also reviewed a handful of underage sales violations dating back to March 16, or St. Patrick’s Day weekend and the same date as the Ocean City St. Patrick’s Day Parade. In one instance, Shenanigans Irish Pub on the Boardwalk was issued a citation when an undercover female OCPD officer, who was underage, was allowed in the establishment on its busiest weekend of the year. Owner Greg Shockley pointed out the restaurant is not yet officially opened for the season on St. Patrick’s Day weekend and relies on temporary help and family and friends to supplement its staff needs.

Shockley explained the restaurant’s policy on the holiday weekend is to have doormen card individuals at every entrance and issue Shenanigan’s specific wristbands, but the system broke down in an least one instance and the undercover officer was allowed in.

The same undercover OCPD officer managed to get into the new Ky West bar near 56th Street on March 16. In that case, the manager had a doorman carding individuals and issuing wristbands during the day when the parade was going on, but had dismissed the doorman later in the day when the undercover officer entered the establishment. Yet another establishment, Peaky’s rooftop bar on 139th Street was also nabbed by the same undercover OCPD officer on the hectic St. Patrick’s Day weekend. In each case, the violations resulted in a letter of reprimand in the establishment’s files, but no fines or other sanctions.

On May 25, K-Coast Surf Shop on 35th Street and Coastal Highway will be hosting Guinness World Record holder and big wave surfing icon, Garrett McNamara, for an autograph signing from 3-5 p.m. followed by a demonstration by McNamara’s sponsor, WaveJet Propulsion, across the highway on the beach.

McNamara is an American professional big wave surfer and extreme waterman best known of late for breaking the world record in January by surfing a 100-foot wave off the coast of Nazaré, Portugal.

Ocean City will be a stop during the 2013 WaveJet Summer Experience Tour this weekend. According to WaveJet Propulsion, WaveJet is a patented personal water propulsion system designed for use in a range of personal watercraft including surfboards and stand-up paddle boards, lifeguard rescue boards, body boards and more.

The WaveJet System includes board, wireless wrist controller and the patented WaveJet Power Pod, which uses renewable, rechargeable lithium ion batteries, and provides 20 pounds of thrust. The pod is powered through a wireless wrist controller that utilizes Seatooth technology and recharges into any electrical outlet in just three hours. WaveJet technology also features an electronic dismount, so that if the rider falls off the watercraft, the power is cut.

“So for guys like Garrett that surf these big waves they have a little extra push besides the arms paddle power, so they are pretty high tech, pretty advanced and new, and they are doing the demo so people can check them out,” K-Coast Surf Shop Director of Marketing Mike Williams said.

Williams added the WaveJet tour will be partnering McNamara with Life Rolls On founder Jesse Billauer, who was surfing competitively by the age of 11. By the mid-90's, Surfer magazine had named him one of the Top 100 up-and-coming surfers of the world.

In March 1996, while surfing, Billauer was hit by the crest of a wave and flew headfirst into a shallow sandbar. At the hospital, it was determined that he had suffered a complete spinal cord injury and was now a quadriplegic.

“With the WaveJet he can go out and still surf … it allows him to get up and surf even though he is paralyzed,” Williams said. “So there are local people that are interested in that, that have disabilities … and hopefully this will encourage them to get out there.”

Ocean City may not be known for its big waves but it becoming known for having world-class athletes stopping by, Williams furthered.

“This is a cool opportunity for young surfers to older surfers, or people who may have a disability. It will be a good experience to come out and meet Garrett as an inspirational person by conquering his own fears and breaking boundaries. Anybody can go out and surf. You don’t have to be a world-class professional guy to go out and have fun,” he said. “It should be a pretty cool event. We have had a lot of really strong feedback so far. I have a feeling it is going to be an enormous turnout, especially for Memorial Day.”

The collection hangs in the Teacher Education and Technology Center and includes works by W. Robert Tolley, Beebe M. Winterbottom, Paul Lockhart, Myrna C. McGrath, Patrick Henry, Sarah Kagan and Lynne Lockhart. Artists of the Eastern Shore provides a legacy of artistic interpretations of life on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. It features artists who live on the shore and whose artwork highlights some element of regional life.

The eighth gift is the original painting Eastern Shore Blues by Caroline County artist Janet Taylor Melfa Baker.

“A collection of paintings focusing on Eastern Shore traditions would not be complete without representation from the famous blue crab, and Eastern Shore Blues fulfills this need through the meticulous attention to detail achieved by Baker,” said Meekins. “Eastern Shore Blues depicts a realistic dockside interpretation of the familiar ‘bushel of blues.’ Baker's painting of this facet of our Eastern Shore heritage is a perfect fit for the collection, as is her interest in this familiar scene from life on the Shore.”

Baker has proven herself as a versatile artist. Her eclectic portfolio includes graphic design, lettering and screen painting, as well as paintings. She is accomplished in several mediums such as oils, acrylics, pastels and pen and inks, and utilizes a variety of painting surfaces such as wood, stone and oyster shells, in addition to the more traditional canvas.

Examples of her versatility include hand-lettering a 32-foot-by-15-foot banner that was flown over Oriole Park at Camden Yards on opening day for the Baltimore Orioles and reviving the old folk art technique of screen painting.

Designing gemstone jewelry is another art form Baker has explored in recent years. Using gemstones that are cut and polished by her lapidary artist husband, James Baker, she designs imaginative, one-of-a-kind selections. Her recent focus has been on the bounty of the Eastern Shore waters, including detailed realistic renderings of the Shore’s famous blue crabs and oysters.

“It is a privilege to capture the beauty that surrounds us on the Shore and share it in a painting,” she said.

In addition to artistically enhancing the TETC, the Artists of the Eastern Shore collection provides students with a unique artistic glimpse of the landscapes that surround them as they live and pursue their academic endeavors at SU. The Meekins’ gift will continue over the next year, with additions to the collection planned for the fall and spring semesters.

Artists work with university representatives to determine an artistic rendering that meets the goals of the collection and best exemplifies the work of the artist. Artists are paid an honorarium for their work, funded by the Meekins family. When complete, the collection is scheduled to feature 10 artists on the Shore whose work best exemplifies the area.

The next painting in the series will be completed by Deborah Coffin Kennedy, who will explore the area’s agricultural bounty through her rendering of a roadside produce stand. Kennedy’s work is expected to be presented in late summer or early fall.

The final artist to be featured in the collection is Alane Ortega of Quarter Creek in Deal Island, Md. Ortega is a mosaic artist who creates small functional accessories and decorative two-dimensional wall art. Her creations often are familiar Shore images.

Her contribution to the collection will feature a mosaic of a sailboat regatta uniquely created using tiles from Caruthers Hall, which once housed SU’s demonstration school. It is scheduled to be presented in late fall.

The market will be open every Saturday in White Horse Park, located inside the North Gate at 239 Ocean Parkway, starting Saturday, May 25 of Memorial Day weekend.

Vendors’ products will include fresh produce, cut flowers, vegetable plants, herbs, baked goods, cut flowers and a variety of organic items and specialty vendors whose merchandise include products such as honey, jellies and jams, pet treats, meats, peaches, butter, cheese, ice cream, berries, milk and yogurt.

Ocean Pines Association hopes the market will give the residents and visitors of Ocean Pines the opportunity to stock their fridge with fresh, high quality local food and farm products without venturing across or onto Route 589 into summer time traffic.

Around 11:35 a.m. on Saturday, a marked OCPD vehicle with two officers inside was traveling south on Coastal Highway in stop-and-go traffic near 84th Street. A commercial vehicle, described as a “Bethany Resort Furnishings” box truck failed to stop, causing the truck to strike the rear of the marked police vehicle. The collision caused a chain reaction accident involving a total of four vehicles.

The two officers inside, who have not been identified, were treated at the scene by Ocean City EMS and were transported to Atlantic General Hospital for injuries not believed to be life threatening. Both officers have since been released from the hospital, but will not return to duty for several days. The police vehicle involved sustained a significant amount of damage and has been taken out of service.

The three other vehicles involved were not significantly damaged and could be driven from the scene. No other injuries were reported as a result of the collision.

The driver of the box truck, identified as John Clifton Truitt, 33, of Salisbury, has been charged with failing to control speed to avoid a collision, negligent driving and failing to have a valid medical certificate, which is a commercial driver code violation.

Director of Free Shakespeare at the Beach and local talent, Kyler Taustin will take the helm to bring to life this relentless twist on Chekov’s modern classic, The Seagull.

The new Ocean City Center for the Arts on 94th Street will host the Nina Variations on June 8-11 at 7:30 p.m.

The Nina Variations explores a relationship cursed by unrequited and complicated love in 42 variations of how the love story of Nina and Treplev could have ended. Dietz pits these lovers’ vibrant wit and soaring passions against one another in a fast-paced tour de force of romantic entanglement.

Since its foundation in 2009, Brown Box Theatre Project has been producing quality theatre up and down the East Coast, including venues in Boston, New York, Maryland, and Delaware. This season marks the expansion of the company’s presence on the shore. The Nina Variations will be the first of three productions touring the area followed by the 3rd Annual Free Shakespeare at the Beach: A Midsummer Night’s Dream and a new work, Ashes, by British playwright, Ali Muriel.

The Swim Guide smart phone app will allow people to find safe beaches and swimming areas to recreate and enjoy their waterways in one easy place. The new, free, smart phone app is available from the App Store, Google Play or www.theswimguide.org.

“The focus of this weekend’s launch of the Swim Guide - Worcester County is to encourage citizens to celebrate the right to clean, swimmable waters and to promote the importance of the Clean Water Act, established in 1972, in protecting our local waterways,” said Assateague Coastkeeper Kathy Phillips.

Provided and managed by member groups within Waterkeeper Alliance, a network of 207 water protection groups worldwide, the Swim Guide helps the user locate the closest, cleanest beach, get directions, view photos and determine if the water is safe for swimming. The Swim Guide also allows the user to share the whole adventure with their friends and family on social networks.

“We are blessed with ocean beaches that are not heavily impacted by stormwater runoff,” said Phillips. “In fact, Ocean City and Assateague Island are nationally ranked each year with some of the cleanest, safest swimming beaches in the country. However, I’m often asked if the creeks and bays are safe to swim in, especially after a heavy rainfall. The Swim Guide provides a free, easy to use way for swimmers and surfers to see the most recent bacteria data for all their favorite bathing beaches or for waterways they use for direct contact watersports like kayaking and SUP paddling. Swim Guide-Worcester County will help them make informed decisions about whether to swim, paddle or go jetskiing.”

The Swim Guide utilizes water quality monitoring data from government authorities and other organizations conducting routine testing to determine the water quality at nearly 5,000 beaches across North America. Local testing locations in Ocean City, on Assateague Island, and in the Coastal Bays waterways are updated weekly during the swimming season by Worcester County, the National Park Service and Assateague Coastal Trust – Memorial Day through Labor Day.

More information on the Swim Guide, and app download instructions, can be found at www.theswimguide.org. Worcester County data will be posted on the app each Friday throughout the summer until Labor Day weekend.

The “web-based e-learning platform” is part of a new push to instill financial skills in young adults that can be taken out of the classroom and applied to the real world.

“Teaching fiscal responsibility to young adults has always been a big part of the bank’s community involvement,” said Bank of Ocean City President and CEO Wayne Benson. “Educating our youth to make intelligent financial decisions on their own sets a solid foundation on which they can build upon their lifetime.”

According to EverFi’s website, the company uses “the latest in new media technologies” like 3-D gaming, social networking, and adaptive-pathing, to encourage the understanding of finance and economics. The EverFi platform promises “interactive financial management” that can be taken from the screen out into the street.

“The [students] who participated really enjoyed it,” said Bank of Ocean City Assistant Vice President Earl Conley. “Instead of having a teacher up there just writing on a blackboard, you actually go in … It’s very interactive. They start everything from opening a bank account to going through and paying for college, your car and your house. It’s a pretty neat program.”

SDHS Junior Brittany Wellman agreed with Conley and said that the practical information covered by the course was a lot more than she expected to find in an economics class.

“It’s an online course that teaches you all about economics: banking, investing, consumer fraud, college and all of that,” explained Wellman. “It’s more like things that you’ll need to know, not just for the classroom but what you’ll actually use outside.”

Brittany Wellman was joined in the course by her sister, Brooke, both of whom were satisfied with the course.

The online class consists of six hours of “programming aimed at teaching, assessing and certifying students in a variety of financial topics including credit scores, insurance, credit cards, student loans, mortgages, taxes, stocks, savings, 401k’s and other critical concepts,” according to a release from the Bank of Ocean City. Completion of the course results in the issuance of a Certification in Financial Literacy, which EverFi called a “powerful tool” in college applications or resumes.

Bank of Ocean City plans to continue to offer the web-based program in years to come, which Conley said should give local students an edge as state requirements continue to tighten.

“The state requirements are probably going to get a little bit stricter each year so this at least covers far above and beyond what the restrictions are,” he stated.

Conley described the bank’s relationship with SDHS as a “really good fit” and one the bank will continue in the future. The bank will be providing EverFi free-of-charge to the school and Bank of Ocean City is the first bank in the state to move forward with the EverFi course.

“BOC has entered into a long-term deal with SDHS and pays the fee of $4,000 annually for the product, which fulfills the school’s financial literacy requirements as mandated by the government,” said Conley.

About a dozen graduates were awarded their certificates of completion Monday. Several of the first-year members, including the Wellman sisters, expressed in interest in entering finance or banking professionally.