SNOW HILL – A retirement benefits trust projected to earn 7.5 percent in interest is earning less than 1 percent right now, but Treasurer Harold Higgins reassured county elected officials this week that the trust will perform as planned when completely set-up.Three years ago, a state mandate called for substantial yearly contributions from Worcester County… Read more »

SNOW HILL – The number of rabid animals found in Worcester County this year continues to increase, with an additional 11 rabid animals confirmed since late September.“Recently, we passed the 50 mark. We have identified 50 rabid animals. Mostly raccoons, foxes, an opossum and a couple of cats along the way,” County Commissioner Judy Boggs… Read more »

SNOW HILL – A multi-million dollar civil suit filed in August 2008 by two high-ranking staffers in Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon’s office and a state official against an Ocean City pizza store and its corporate partners was settled out of court earlier this month.Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon’s Chief of Staff Demaune Millard, along with Deputy… Read more »

OCEAN CITY – A former Ocean City pharmacist convicted in August on conspiracy to commit bank fraud charges got his wish somewhat this week when a federal judge sentenced him to three years of supervised release including a period of home detention and ordered him to pay restitution.When former Ocean City pharmacist Joel Swartz appeared… Read more »

 WEST OCEAN CITY – A local man with a checkered past was arrested and charged last week with several serious offenses from first-degree assault, false imprisonment and numerous sex offenses after an incident in West Ocean City earlier this month.On Nov. 2, a Worcester County Sheriff’s Deputy was dispatched to an area on Route 611… Read more »

SNOW HILL – Duck boat tours will not be leaving from the West Ocean City boat ramp, the Worcester County Commissioners decided this week, after the state made clear that letting a commercial operation use the public boat ramp would endanger hundreds of thousands in federal funds.That means Paradise Watersports owners Tyler and Logan Barnes’… Read more »

ASSATEAGUE – Last week’s storm that lashed the mid-Atlantic coast with a fury not seen in recent years did not spare Assateague Island, where state and federal officials this week were assessing the damage and picking up the pieces, including thousands of old tires that broke loose from a decades-old artificial reef and washed ashore.Major… Read more »

BERLIN- After receiving millions in grants that reduced wastewater capacity fees substantially, the town of Berlin hopes to reduce those fees again by requesting more grant funds to bankroll spray irrigation infrastructure for the new spray disposal facility in Newark.The town of Berlin was awarded $8 million in grants this fall, about half the money… Read more »

OCEAN CITY—In the briefs this week, the town secured the company that handles the grandiose tent setup from the town’s major festivals, the Board of Zoning Appeals officially got their new members, and the town boasts its social networking skills.Tent Contract Secured Until 2012City Council voted to extend the current contract for three years to… Read more »

OCEAN CITY- After an untimely fire that resulted in critical damages to the town’s current equipment, the Ocean City Council voted to replace the emergency dispatching system on Tuesday.Emergency Services Director Joe Theobald came to City Hall on Tuesday afternoon to ask for emergency funds totaling just over $22,000 to replace all six of the… Read more »