BISHOPVILLE – Crop disease soybean rust has been found for the first time in the state of Maryland in a sentinel field in northern Worcester County, but experts say the disease should not affect the 2008 soybean crop.“It happened at the very end of the growing season, and in fact frost had already damaged the… Read more »

WEST OCEAN CITY – The Worcester County Humane Society in West Ocean City fell victim to a burglary this week when an unknown suspect or suspects broke into a storage facility and a van on the property and wiped out the facility’s supply of pet food and other goods.Worcester County Humane Society staffer Kristy Haley… Read more »

SNOW HILL – Methane gas is building up at the capped Berlin landfill facility, but the concentrations are small and not harmful, county staff said this week.“It’s not heading to the west,” said Public Works Director John Tustin. “It’s not migrating toward the community.”The two exceedences detected have migrated closer to the southwestern property line,… Read more »

SNOW HILL – An overview of how the draft rezoning implements provisions of the 2006 Worcester County Comprehensive Plan has essentially provided a preview of the provisions of the anxiously awaited rezoning ordinance.The rewritten zoning and subdivision codes, which are necessary to implement the 31-month old plan, have not yet been released to the public…. Read more »

OCEAN CITY – Private usage of alternate energy sources, namely small wind turbines, could become a reality in Ocean City by next year.Ocean City Planner Jesse Houston brought an ordinance before the Planning and Zoning Commission Wednesday, outlining guidelines and regulations for the permitted usage of small wind turbines as an accessory source of power… Read more »

SNOW HILL – Pre-trial posturing in the first-degree murder case against a man charged in the beating death of a Berlin teen in May continued last week in a motions hearing.Worcester County Circuit Court Judge Theodore Eschenberg last Friday ruled favorably on several pre-trial motions in the first-degree murder case against Dominic Richard Canale, 22,… Read more »

SNOW HILL – The man accused in the stabbing death of a West Ocean City woman in April was found guilty of first-degree murder this week in Worcester County Circuit Court and likely faces life in prison.Roberto Antonio Murillo, 29, of West Ocean City, formally entered a plea of not guilty on Monday, but agreed… Read more »

OCEAN CITY – Joe Hall may have had to shake off first meeting jitters after a two-year absence, but he stayed true to his promise to attempt to cut costs in his first official work session back in City Hall.Hall, who was elected last week after losing a bid for re-election in 2006, ran on… Read more »

OCEAN CITY – The new City Council grinded the Ocean City machine to a temporary halt on Tuesday, suspending all capital improvement projects pending further review.A list of all capital improvement projects will be brought to the Mayor and City Council by City Manager Dennis Dare and other town officials in upcoming weeks, in order… Read more »

Young Students Show Political AwarenessOCEAN CITY – What could a kid possibly know about the complexity of issues facing voters on Tuesday? The answer might just be “more than you think.”It’s been said that kids soak up the world around them like little sponges. If that’s true, The Dispatch wondered what area kids have “soaked… Read more »