OCFD Promotions
Derrick Simpson
OCEAN CITY — The Ocean Fire Department has announced the promotions of Lieutenant Derrick Simpson and Lieutenant David Peterson to battalion chief.
David Peterson
Simpson started with Ocean City Fire Department in May of 1999 as a part-time Firefighter/EMT and was hired full-time as a Firefighter/Paramedic in February of 2006. Simpson has served in a variety of roles including overseeing the department’s SCBA Maintenance Program. Effective April 13, Simpson will command ‘A’ Shift and oversee fire operations and response. Simpson lives in Berlin with his wife Shannon and three daughters.
Peterson was hired with the department as a part-time Firefighter/EMT in 1993. In November of 2000, he was hired as a full-time Firefighter/Paramedic. Peterson has been the
commander of the department’s Dive Team for the last five years and oversees nearly 20 public safety divers. Beginning May 11, Peterson will command ‘D’ Shift and oversee equipment and fleet operations. Peterson lives in Berlin with his wife Dawn.
“We would like to congratulate Battalion Chief Simpson and Battalion Chief Peterson on their well-deserved promotion,” said Fire Chief Richie Bowers. “We thank them for their continued service to the residents and visitors of Ocean City and Worcester County.”
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Services Facilities Cleaned
SALISBURY – Paul Davis Restoration of the Delmarva Peninsula, a leading provider of fire and water damage clean up and restoration services, is helping to keep local fire departments and first responders safe.
In the midst of COVID-19, the restoration franchise office will deep clean and apply disinfectants to municipal and volunteer service facilities in Wicomico and Worcester county including the Salisbury Fire Department headquarters. The company is offering the treatments to Sussex County and beyond with a goal to help as many firefighters and first responders as possible.
Frank Willing, Paul Davis’ local office owners and his team of technicians have donated time, expertise, labor and supplies to the efforts to give back and help keep communities safe.
“We follow the Paul Davis social purpose credo as defined by the desire to do good while doing good work,” said Willing. “Since the COVID-19 crisis now escalates in Maryland, Governor Larry Hogan has issued a Stay at Home Order. We have general concerns about keeping people healthy and will continue to help contain the spread of the disease.”
The in-kind service initiative aligns with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) efforts to work with partners around the globe to expedite the development and availability of medical products to stop the outbreak.
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Hospital To Get Proceeds
REHOBOTH BEACH — On Saturday, April 18, SoDel Concepts’ restaurants will raise funds for the Beebe Healthcare COVID-19 Relief Fund, which was organized by the Beebe Medical Foundation to support Beebe health care workers on the frontline of the pandemic.
During the state of emergency due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, SoDel Concepts has offered takeout at 11 of its 12 restaurants. Online ordering and payment are available at each location.
“For everyone’s safety, we’ve strongly encouraged contactless curbside pickup,” said Scott Kammerer, president of SoDel Concepts.
On April 18, 100% of the sales will go to the foundation. The community can donate directly by visiting beebehealthcare.org/donate-funds-covid-19-relief.
“The doctors, nurses and other health care providers are doing a remarkable job of caring for our community in this crisis, and we are committed to their wellbeing and safety,” Kammerer said. “We want to help them get the resources they need to continue the fight.”
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Charity Offers Donation
OCEAN CITY — Swim Ocean City Director Corey Davis donated $500 to Rosenfeld’s Jewish Deli in Ocean City to help with the restaurant’s 50% discounts to medical staff, grocery store workers and postal service employees.
“I wanted to do something for the people who are taken for granted at times and the backbone of the community,” said Davis. “They give up so much of their personal life so everyone else can have a better quality of living. These are the individuals that give a lot more than they receive and are often under appreciated.”
Rosenfeld’s is a traditional, kosher-style, full service Jewish deli restaurant. While Rosenfeld’s has always provided discounts to firemen, first responders and military personnel, owner Warren Rosenfeld wanted to extend this discount to help feed medical professionals on the front line who are in close contact with COVID-19 patients every day.
“Offering the medical professionals the 50% discount was the right thing to do. It gives them an incentive to buy food that they otherwise might not buy. It lets us do a really good thing for the community, recognizing the people right now that are truly on the front lines,” said Rosenfeld.
Swim Ocean City is a local non-profit organization that raises funds for research and awareness of traumatic brain injuries and promotes the positive effects that sports have on the brain and body. Every summer in July, Swim Ocean City hosts Ocean Games — an open water swim competition — to help raise funds. Unfortunately, this year Ocean Games was cancelled due to COVID-19.
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Yacht Club Sets Record
BERLIN — The Ocean Pines Yacht Club on Sunday shattered its own records for delivery and carryout sales.
On Easter Sunday, the Yacht Club sold 281 family meals. Designed to feed a family of four, that means the Yacht Club fed more than 1,100 people in a single day.
Because of state mandates related to COVID-19, the restaurant temporarily moved to delivery and carryout only, on March 18. After a modest start, sales have grown each week and hit a new peak over the holiday weekend.
Ralph DeAngelus, cofounder of the Matt Ortt Companies that runs the Yacht Club, said Easter Sunday was especially gratifying.
“It was a grueling day, but the Matt Ortt management team hung in there and is immensely proud, not only of this accomplishment, but of the whole three weeks of delivery service,” DeAngelus said.
Along with setting sales records, the Ortt Companies have also made it a point to give back to the community. On Easter Sunday, the Yacht Club donated and delivered family meals to the night shift working at the Atlantic General Hospital Emergency Room.
Additionally, he said all tips received since March 18 would go to hourly staff laid off because of COVID-19.
“Our goal from day one has been to acquire $10,000 dollars in tips to give to the staff on their first day back to work,” he said. “We can’t wait to see the look on their faces when they walk through the door on their first day of work and we hand each one of them an envelope with the tip money that we earned from all these deliveries.
“We want them to know how much we appreciate and missed them, and we think this will be a great start to their summer,” DeAngelus continued. “We are absolutely confident we will hit our goal of $10,000, as the Ocean Pines residents have been so very generous.”
The Yacht Club is currently open for delivery and carryout from Wednesday through Sunday from 4-8 p.m. Orders may be made starting at 3:30 p.m. each day.
To order, call 410-641-7501 or order online at http://toasttab.com/ocean-pines-yacht-club. A special menu for delivery and carryout service is available at https://www.opyachtclub.com/restaurant-menu.
“The greetings we get from Ocean Pines residents when we arrive at their door with these family meals has been heartwarming to say the least,” DeAngelus said. “Everyone has been so appreciative and generous that it has made all this work truly rewarding.
DeAngelus added, “We have our fingers crossed that this ends over the next couple of weeks and things get back to normal in May. We talk everyday of how much we can’t wait to see a filled-up deck with Great Train Robbery on stage, the tiki bar pumping out drinks, and people eating outside and dancing in the moonlight. It’s coming. We can feel it.”
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Salisbury Property Sold
SALISBURY — Tonney Insley and Chris Peek recently settled on 924 W. Isabella Street.
Peek brought the buyer, a trucking company that plans to use the property to run their daily operations. Tonney had the property listed for sale for just over three months before it sold.
Betsy Cottingham, the seller, said, “the transaction with Tonney was quick and easy.”
The property was initially purchased by Cottingham as an investment back in 2013. Over the years, it has been occupied by several small businesses, but when it became vacant at the end of 2019, Cottingham decided it was time to sell.
Peek had a perfect buyer who operates a small trucking company. The property and building suited all their needs and the settlement actually happened before initially planned. The buyer said, “Our agent, Chris Peek, did an excellent job for us and we will use him and SVN Miller in the future.”