ANNAPOLIS – One of the many casualties in the 2008 Maryland General Assembly Session was a bill that would add Worcester County to the list of counties that permit slot machines in service clubs and fraternal organizations.House Bill 1008, introduced by Delegates James Mathias and Norm Conway, both D-38B, would have allowed limited slot machine… Read more »

BERLIN – In the company of 350 colleagues and community leaders at the 21st Teacher of the Year Banquet in Ocean City, Amy Gallagher, an eighth-grade social studies teacher at Stephen Decatur Middle School for the last six years, learned that she had earned the 2008 Worcester County Teacher of the Year title. Gallagher’s understanding… Read more »

SNOW HILL – Worcester County schools want another $8.3 million more than the actual budget from fiscal year 2008, the current school year, for fiscal year 2009 (FY09).The Worcester County Board of Education presented their FY09 budget request to the Worcester County Commissioners Tuesday In total, the school system is asking for $77.8 million in… Read more »

OCEAN CITY – A reported incident involving an alleged gunman threatening himself and others at an Ocean City hotel this week turned out to be a false alarm, but not before resort police mobilized for the potentially dangerous situation.Around lunchtime on Wednesday, resort police got a call from a distraught woman from Baltimore reporting her… Read more »

OCEAN CITY – The City Council approved the replacement of the Amber Waves Condominium deck this week, despite its obstruction of a town alleyway.William Bunt, president of the Amber Waves Condominium Association, located between 39th and 40th streets, pitched the request to the council this week, explaining that while the deck does obstruct the alley,… Read more »

SNOW HILL – The new Mystic Harbor wastewater plant will be built on the current site, the Worcester County Commissioners decided this week after hearing from staff on an alternate site nearby.The unimproved parcel west of the current Mystic Harbor sewer plant that was proposed as an alternate site for the new facility is made… Read more »

ANNAPOLIS – Sweeping changes in the state’s critical areas laws approved by the General Assembly last week could have implications in Worcester, but the intent of bill is directed more to other coastal areas of the state where existing laws are always adhered to.Nearly a quarter of a century ago, state lawmakers passed a stringent… Read more »

SNOW HILL – Three Worcester County towns and one community asked for over $7 million in specific budget requests from the County Commissioners this week.Berlin asked for $2.2 million; Snow Hill is seeking $2.7 million; Pocomoke City requested $2.1 million; and Ocean Pines is looking for $400,000. Ocean City postponed making its presentation until April… Read more »

OCEAN CITY – Tom Heiderman, owner of The Hobbit Restaurant, finally got the answer he was looking for this week, as he returned to the City Council for a third time, seeking permission for partial occupancy of his restaurant in the Rivendell building. Heiderman approached the City Council last month in hopes of gaining permission… Read more »

OCEAN CITY – Town employees will be seeing some changes in their medical insurance coverage, after a unanimous decision by the City Council this week to approve changes that aim to save the town money.Two years ago, the City Council approved the switch from the town’s long-time health insurance carrier, United Healthcare, to Carefirst Blue… Read more »