The expansion of steel was never something I gave a lot of thought to until a trip to Denmark in the summer of 2006. Similar to the type of summer Europe is experiencing this year, there was a major heat wave underway while we were there.
As a result, we were informed when we were taking a train from one part of the country to another to expect significant delays. I learned then steel tracks expand in periods of prolonged intense heat, resulting in the trains not being able to travel at their typical speeds. Therefore, a three-hour train ride became a six-hour train ride since the train’s traveling speed was essentially cut in half.
I was thinking about that trip as I edited a story Thursday about emergency overnight repairs being done to the Route 50 Bridge. State Highway Administration crews were called to the span after the drawbridge became stuck last week. The repairs, conducted overnight Monday, involved steel trimming and cutting to allow the drawspan to close.
“The work was primarily steel trimming,” said SHA District Community Liaison Bob Rager. “I know that sounds alarming, but it’s actually fairly common for old drawbridges and swing spans to move a little over time due to normal wear and tear. This can lead to binding, especially on hot days when the steel expands … we wanted to create a little more space between the bascule spans.”
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Normally the six-year anniversary of a tragedy would not be newsworthy, but it was so this week because a new scholarship was created to recognize the lives of Tom Geoghegan, Jr. and Joshua Adickes, who passed away in a plane crash off Ocean City’s coast on June 30, 2013.
During a private memorial gathering to remember the event and the lives lost, friends and family announced the creation of the Josh and Tommy Memorial Scholarship, which will offer money to graduates of the Ocean City Seasonal Police Academy who want to further their education and training in the field of law enforcement.
Of the announcement, Geoghegan’s mother, Maureen Geoghegan, said, “This announcement means so much to my family because it allows for the memory of their lives and accomplishments to continue to have an impact on the community that they so loved. I know that Tommy would be so touched by the efforts of the Ocean City police and fire departments to honor him and Josh this way, but more importantly, he would be so thrilled that this scholarship will benefit those seasonal officers who wish to live a life of law enforcement. A life in law enforcement is a special calling and it is one that Tommy especially loved.”
For her part, Adickes’ mother, Jerry Adickes, added, “Josh’s family is so proud to be associated with this scholarship. Josh loved his job and Ocean City. He would be thrilled to know that officers will be aided with their education in his name. Working that first summer in Ocean City was a perfect way to launch his career.”
While those close to these men will likely never get over the grief they feel for their sudden loss, there should be comfort in knowing their names are living on and might make a difference in their chosen field of work.
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Every week I look back to see what was making news one year ago. Some of the headlines I found in the issue dated July 6, 2018 were Boardwalk Fumes Worry Business Owners, Citizens; Golfer Pulled Couple From Burning Plane; 296 Geese Removed From Pines Community, Euthanized By USDA; Injunction, If Granted, Would Permit Topless Women; Fireworks Music Tweaked After Patriotic Concerns; Plans For Hotel Near West OC Harbor Advance; Local Siblings Launch Offshore Balloon Round Up; Boardwalk’s Next Security Project Phase Far Exceeds Estimate; Inlet Gridlock Ensues Once Again After Fireworks; Fourth Of July Drowning Off Assateague; Berlin’s New Library To Open Next Week; and Berlin To Welcome Independent Book Store This Fall.
In the issue one year ago was also an editorial about the shooting at The Capital newspaper in Annapolis that killed five. In the year since the massacre, approximately $180,000 has been raised through a scholarship created by the newspaper’s parent company, Tribune Publishing, and administered by the Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County. The scholarship was created to offer an award annually for students pursuing a degree in journalism based on an application essay. One of the scholarship recipients who received approximately $2,000 for use in college at the University of Maryland’s College of Journalism. Of the award and her essay, Sophomore Taylor Dove was quoted in the paper saying, “I talked about remembering the day of the shooting at the Capital Gazette. It made me want to be a better journalist. I wanted to use the scholarship to cover my financial basis for the school year.”
That’s yet another example of making a positive out of a negative.
