SNOW HILL – Worcester County citizens must wait until the comprehensive rezoning is completed before airing their views on the draft commercial building design guidelines, county elected officials decided last week.The County Commissioners had previously talked of setting a public hearing on the commercial design standards for November.The design guidelines are closely tied to the… Read more »

SNOW HILL – Less than two weeks after a visiting Worcester County Circuit Court judge ruled against the Worcester County Board of Education in a $1.3 million-plus lawsuit filed last year by a private contractor replaced mid-way through the construction of the new Ocean City Elementary School over two years ago, the defeated defendants have… Read more »

OCEAN CITY – A growing trend in Ocean City elections appears to be for voters to leave some slots blank on their ballot boxes, raising the question if this small town election is being influenced at all by the votes that weren’t cast.In Tuesday’s election, a record low percentage of voters, 23.5 percent, showed up… Read more »

OCEAN CITY – Harsh accusations by a 23-year-old resort woman were directed at the Ocean City Police Department this week, raising questions about how much a role the department should play in the personal lives of its officers.Resident Brandie Plumb claims that her girlfriend, an 11-year veteran to the OCPD, was slapped with a “No… Read more »

SNOW HILL – The official vote by the County Commissioners to go ahead with the purchase of the former Tyson chicken plant administration building to be transformed into the new Berlin senior center was unanimous Tuesday.The county had already signed a contract to purchase the property before the formal vote and set a settlement date… Read more »

BERLIN – An independent report on the potential economic impact of slots in Maryland released last week reveals the state might be overestimating the amount of revenue derived from the five sites identified in the referendum including Worcester, where the state’s Department of Legislative Services (DLS) expects the 2,500 machines to generate as much as… Read more »

NEWARK – The number of English Language Learner (ELL) students in Worcester County public schools has nearly tripled since 2001.“The population continues to grow,” said Diane Stulz, who runs the ELL program for the Worcester County Board of Education. “We went up by 10.4 percent over last year.”Worcester County schools teach 233 ELL students currently,… Read more »

BERLIN – Convicted killer Erika Sifrit, who along with her husband Benjamin, brutally murdered and dismembered a Virginia couple vacationing in Ocean City on Memorial Day weekend in 2002, will get another day in court after the Frederick County Circuit Court where she was tried and convicted agreed this week to schedule hearings on her… Read more »

NEWARK – Unofficial high school assessment scores (HSA) show that the first graduating class to face the HSA requirement to get their diplomas has improved passing scores.“These are unofficial scores. They are still embargoed by the state,” said Stephanie Zanich, in charge of testing and assessments for the Worcester County Board of Education, at the… Read more »

OCEAN CITY – An Ocean City man arrested last month in connection with a rash of vending machine break-ins in the downtown area and was later linked to a series of other thefts and burglaries throughout the resort dating back to early June pleaded guilty this week in District Court to one count of felony… Read more »