March 19, 2010

Faces in Places

A spotlight on the local and regional bar and restaurant scene ...READ MORE

Worcester's Sanchez Navy Bound

BERLIN- Worcester Prep soccer standout Martin Sanchez last week committed to the U.S. Naval Academy and will take his game to Annapolis next year. Sanchez, who was named the Mallards' most valuable player after a stellar senior season last fall, has accepted an appointment to the Naval Academy and will play soccer for the Middies next year. The standout defender and prolific scorer said this week he is excited about the opportunity to play Division I soccer at Navy in the Patriot League, which...READ MORE

Former Seahawk Named Conference Player of Week

BERLIN- Former Stephen Decatur softball standout Shae Nottingham is already making her mark at the next level at Washington College, collecting the Centennial Conference Player of the Week award last week as a freshman after leading the Shorewomen to a quick 4-0 start early in the season. Nottingham, who plays both first base and outfield at Washington College as a freshmen this spring, went 8-14 during the four-game winning streak to start the season and also led her new team in hits with eight...READ MORE

Decatur Lacrosse Feature Intro'd

BERLIN- The Stephen Decatur boys' varsity lacrosse team gets its regular season underway next week and two local businesses will sponsor a Player of the Week award each week during the regular season with a new feature in The Dispatch. The Bliss Salon and Spa in West Ocean City and WOC Fitness each week will spotlight a Player of the Week on the sports pages of the Dispatch with a combined $500 donation to the Decatur lacrosse program. The coaches will pick a player of the week at the conclusion...READ MORE

Seahawks Fall in State Semifinals

BERLIN- Perhaps it was the huge crowd or the bright lights at the Comcast Center on the campus of the University of Maryland, but Stephen Decatur's boys' varsity basketball team got off to a slow start and never recovered last week in the state Final Four, falling to eventual champion Milford Mill, 69-41. Playing on the big stage in the state Class 3A semifinals last Thursday, the Seahawks struggled out of the gate, scoring just four points in the first quarter. It could have been nerves...READ MORE

Purse Thrower Arrested

BERLIN - A Berlin woman was arrested on disorderly conduct and resisting arrest charges last week after a pair of incidents during which she threw her purse at a police car and later an ambulance. Around 12:17 p.m. last Wednesday, Berlin police received several complaints about a female suspect throwing her purse at passing vehicles near the health department. One of the vehicles, a Life Star ambulance, was not damaged. When police arrived on the scene, they found a woman, later identified as...READ MORE

Inlet Parking Fee Hike OK'd

OCEAN CITY •€' After letting the opportunity slip through their hands last year, the Mayor and City Council were poised to not make the same mistake twice on Monday. It took about a minute and a half for the council to unanimously pass the new Hugh T. Cropper Inlet Parking Lot rates through first reading, and in those 90 seconds, the town now sits one reading away from an additional $550,000 in revenue, according to City Engineer Terry McGean. The ordinance will establish new fees for...READ MORE

Friday, March 19--County Land Preservation Buys In Jeopardy

SNOW HILL - Funding for two land preservation projects might have to come from elsewhere, the Worcester County Commissioners decided this week. More than 400 acres of Holly Grove Swamp, on the way to preservation in perpetuity, still faces serious funding obstacles. The purchase of the Ayres Creek-Holly Grove Swamp Phase II project has been assigned $1,375,000 from the federal Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program. However, that funding must be matched by some other source. Part of the...READ MORE

Friday, March 19--Dredging Plans Delayed While Site For Dumping Sought

SNOW HILL - Plans to dredge the channel from the Ocean City Inlet to the West Ocean City Harbor and the harbor turning basins will have to wait until Worcester County staff identifies a suitable site for the dredge spoil. The Federal Navigation Project calls for the dredging of a 10-foot deep and 150-foot wide channel in the bottom of Assawoman Bay from the Inlet to the head of the West Ocean City commercial harbor. The dredging project also includes the turning basins in the harbor. The work...READ MORE

Friday, March 19--State's Fund Grab Will Not Impact Beach Replenishment

OCEAN CITY •€' The town won a small battle this week in convincing the state of Maryland that it was in the Ocean City's best interest to collect interest. When the state expressed its desire to drain almost $3.4 million from a beach replenishment fund, Ocean City argued that it not only needed, but also had the right, to get more than just a proverbial 'IOU' in return. Simply put, the town and the county argued that if the state had to take money out of the beach replenishment fund to...READ MORE

Friday, March 19--Voting Opens For Online Summer Travel Reporter

BERLIN - Thirty-four applicants have applied for Host Our Coast, an online contest created to select a summer travel journalist. Delmarva Low-Impact Tourism Experiences (DLITE) is looking for the perfect person to Host Our Coast, exploring Delmarva's beaches and bays this summer, and reporting back daily with online videos, photos, and blog posts. The lucky winner will receive $15,000 to play on Delmarva's coast all summer and is provided living accommodations at local hotels, bed and...READ MORE

Thoughts From The Publisher's Desk

With little discussion, the Ocean City Mayor and Council approved an increase to the parking rates at the Inlet lot. Once the lot begins to charge on April 15 through the week before Memorial Day, it will cost $1.50 an hour; from the Thursday before Memorial Day through Labor Day, it will cost $2.50 an hour; and from after Labor Day through Oct. 15, it will return to $1.50 per hour. This makes the fees flat throughout the week, no matter the time of year, rather than last year's $1.50 an hour...READ MORE

Voices From The Readers

Clarifying Airport Issues Editor: After reading last week's 'grab your seat belts', I have finally decided to break my silence and respond to some of this nonsense regarding the Ocean City airport and its history. It seems to me that Mr. Moran and others have expressed opinions and offered insight into something they know nothing about and admittedly have never used. Please indulge me as I state my qualifications to write on the subject. I was born and raised in Ocean City well over 50 years...READ MORE

County Has Opportunity To Let Light Shine

Congratulations to County Commissioners Louise Gulyas and Virgil Shockley for doing the right thing this week. They were right to vote against a measure giving the commissioners further abilities to decide matters privately. Unfortunately, the majority of the commissioners outnumbered Gulyas and Shockley, and all the other folks who actually think government policy and operational decisions should be made and debated in public by elected officials. An ordinance approved this week said, 'The...READ MORE

Citizens Seek More Light On Commissioners Dealings

SNOW HILL - Citizens called for transparency in county government this week during a public hearing on a law that would allow the Worcester County Commissioners to consolidate, eliminate or reorganize county departments behind closed doors. Speakers also called for public comment at commissioner meetings and for the meetings to be recorded and broadcast. Most county officials tried to cast the debate in the light of protecting county workers from having personnel issues aired in public....READ MORE

First OC Wind Turbine Eyed

OCEAN CITY •€' The first wind turbine in Ocean City could end up on the roof of one of its most historic properties, and even more ironically, be visible from the famous Boardwalk. Eleven months after the Mayor and City Council passed an ordinance that would allow wind turbines to be installed in the resort as a conditional use, the Planning and Zoning Commission was poised to hear its first case, only to see the item pulled from the agenda. Zoning Administrator Blaine Smith told the...READ MORE

Ocean City Looks To Save County Tourism Grant

OCEAN CITY •€' Mayor Rick Meehan will be challenging the request of Lisa Challenger in a new letter to the County Commissioners this week. Mayor Rick Meehan is penning another letter to the commissioners, and once again it concerns grant money, this time the $270,000 annually earmarked for the resort, which Challenger requested to be used for the county last week. The expected backlash from town officials was not necessarily harsh, but it certainly was both consistent with what would be the...READ MORE

Ship Strike, Illness To Blame For Whale's Death

OCEAN CITY - It appears a boat strike likely caused the death of the 27-foot, 10-ton juvenile humpback whale that washed up on the beach last Saturday afternoon, although there is evidence illness contributed to its demise. The sub-adult female humpback washed up on the beach in Ocean City around 5th Street last Saturday afternoon, causing quite a stir among Boardwalk and beach-goers along with pre-St. Patrick's Day revelers in the area. The heavy surf and high tides lingering from a mid-week...READ MORE

State Plans Another Look At Summer Flounder Regs

OCEAN CITY - One day after less than agreeable summer flounder regulations for the waters in and around the resort area for 2010 were informally announced, state fisheries officials did an about face yesterday and reconsidered the proposal. On Wednesday, Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Coastal Bays Fisheries Program Manager Carrie Kennedy sent out a blitz email to area fishermen and stakeholders suggesting the DNR fisheries service had made an informal decision on the proposed...READ MORE

Berlin Responders Recognized For Heroic Actions

SNOW HILL - A baker's dozen of local firefighters, emergency service providers and law enforcement officers were commended this week for their combined efforts to save a Berlin man from his burning home back in October. The County Commissioners on Tuesday honored 10 Berlin Fire Department firefighters and emergency services personnel, along with one Berlin Police Department officer, one Ocean Pines Fire Department paramedic and a Worcester County Sheriff's Deputy for saving the life of Berlin...READ MORE

Berlin Spray Irrigation Site Approved

SNOW HILL - Berlin's new spray irrigation site in the Newark area was given the go ahead by the County Commissioners this week, despite the efforts of several neighbors of the site who it could harm them or their livelihoods. Berlin went before the commissioners on Tuesday afternoon to apply for a water and sewer plan amendment, a necessary step before other permits can be sought, for a spray irrigation operation on the Newark property it has bought for that purpose on Five Mile Branch Rd.,...READ MORE

County Needs To Find $4.9M To Balance Budget

SNOW HILL - After a series of internal cost-saving measures were executed, nearly $5 million must still be cut from the requested Worcester County fiscal year 2011 budget to bring expenditures in line with revenues. The total of all budget requests from county government departments and the Worcester County public school system is $165.6 million. The county expects to take in $160.7 million in revenue from all sources in the next fiscal year, leaving a $4.9 million gap between what has been...READ MORE

Court Agrees To Extension In OC Scallop Boat Lawsuit

OCEAN CITY - Faced with the deadline of serving summonses to the defendants and the risk of having the window to proceed with the case close on him, a local commercial scallop boat owner, whose vessel became grounded off the coast of the resort in September 2006 last week, successfully petitioned the court for an extension to either track down his attorney or secure new counsel. Local fisherman Douglas Kelly, owner of the 'Mighty Duck,' the commercial scallop vessel that grounded in a storm off...READ MORE

OC Man To Serve 8 Years For Botched Bank Robbery

SALISBURY - An Ocean City man arrested last August on armed robbery charges after passing a note to a teller at a Salisbury bank threatening to 'blow up' the institution, was found guilty this week to attempted armed robbery and was sentenced to 20 years in jail, all of which was suspended but eight years. Around 10:30 a.m. last Aug. 4, an unidentified man entered a PNC Bank branch in Salisbury and passed a note to a teller demanding money. According to police reports, the suspect did not...READ MORE

OC Project Clears Hurdle

OCEAN CITY •€' There may still be some uncertainty to what it will eventually look like after redevelopment, but the Planning and Zoning Commission has a clearer vision to what the 45th street village will not look like in the future. The plan for the midtown shopping center became a little bit clearer on Tuesday, as the commission voted to rezone the property back to an SC-1 (Shopping Center District) and a LC-1 (Licensed Commercial) and abandon the overlay district zoning that the site...READ MORE

Ocean City News In Brief

OCEAN CITY •€' In the brief this week, a land swap could be on the horizon between Delmarva Power and the town of Ocean City, the Lone Ranger will be able to bring his gun and trusty horse Silver to the resort's library branch and the construction of an airport hangar is not the sure thing it looked like last week. Land Swap Could Lead To More Uptown Parking A conversation between officials and Delmarva Power could eventually lead to a land swap, paving the way for even more uptown...READ MORE

Resort Zoning Change Input Sought

OCEAN CITY •€' Mayor Rick Meehan said that when it comes to development, 'more is not always better', but when it comes to public input, he would be content with even the slightest bit. The City Council held off on a vote to amend Chapter 110 entitled •€˜Zoning', which deals with residential development in commercial zones, as it was concerned the public had little idea of how the substantial changes to the ordinance would impact almost 2,400 properties. Simply put, in efforts to...READ MORE

School Intersection Study Near

BERLIN - Citing concerns about the safety of Seahawk Road in the area of two public schools, Worcester County Board of Education members this week agreed to explore options and alternatives for the often-snarled thoroughfare. For years, Seahawk Road, which runs past both Stephen Decatur High and Stephen Decatur Middle schools, has been a trouble spot, particularly during morning and afternoon commute times or when there are major events at either of the two schools. With development anticipated...READ MORE

Schools Seek Snow Day Waiver

NEWARK - Worcester County School Board members this week approved a request for a waiver of five school days lost to inclement weather this winter, which, if approved, would put the closing date for the end of the year back at its original June 15 target. With sunny skies and balmy temperatures reaching the mid 60s this week, memories of the three back-to-back major snowstorms a month ago are fading to distant memory, but local school officials are still trying to recover from the storms that...READ MORE

Seal Returns To Ocean After Bizarre Road Trip

BERLIN - While the deceased whale that washed up on the beach in Ocean City last Saturday afternoon was met with sorrow, another marine mammal stranding with an unusual twist a day later had a happy ending. Around 9 p.m. on Sunday, Worcester County Sheriff's deputies responded to a rather unusual call about a live seal on the side of Big Mill Pond Rd. near Stockton in the southern end of Worcester County several miles from the ocean. The seal had made its way from the ocean into the Chincoteague...READ MORE

WOC Residents Seek Barking Dog Remedies

SNOW HILL - The owners of chronically barking dogs in residential areas in Worcester County may face fines or other sanctions in the future if they do not control their canine companions. A small group of West Ocean City residents asked the Worcester County Commissioners this week to create legal measures to deal with owners who allow their dogs to bark incessantly. The seven neighbors requesting the addition to the ordinance wrote to the commissioners this month and described their problem as a...READ MORE

Worcester Jury Finds Cambridge Man Guilty

SNOW HILL - After four days of testimony in a high-profile murder case dating back to 2004, moved from Cambridge after an appeals court overturned an earlier conviction, a Worcester County jury deliberated for six hours last Friday before finding the defendant guilty of first-degree murder. The trial of Richard Lavonte Blanks, 42, of Cambridge, began in earnest last Tuesday with last-minute motions and jury selection. In 2006, a Dorchester County jury found Blanks guilty of first-degree murder...READ MORE

Who's Playing When and Where Musically Speaking

Buxy's Salty Dog 410-289-0973 28th St. & Coastal Hwy. Friday, March 19: TBA Saturday, March 20: TBA Carousel Resort Hotel & Condominiums 410-524-1000 On the beach, 118th St. Every Friday: DJ Rupe, 7-9 p.m. Clarion Hotel 410-524-3535 10100 Coastal Hwy.   Ocean Club: Friday, March 19 & Saturday, March 20: First Class Dr.Unks Bar & Grille 410-213-7775 , 9636 Stephen Decatur Hwy., West OC Friday, March 19: Blake Haley Fager's Island 410-524-5500 60th St. in the Bay Deck:...READ MORE

People in Society

Snapshots of Those Lending a Helping Hand Throughout the Community ...READ MORE

Things I Like

A nice day when the forecast said otherwise Great sports movie, like 'Hoosiers' Fried oysters Hearing bagpipes in the distance Playing trucks with my son When Maryland is in the big tourney Books about local history Wave watching at the Inlet during a storm A liberating change Flying out of Salisbury Driving along Old Ocean City Road ...READ MORE

A Week In Business

AGH Plans Insurance Event BERILN - On Thursday, April 1, Atlantic General Hospital is hosting an open enrollment event for uninsured Marylanders to learn more about health coverage options and help them fill out the forms. Atlantic General joins other hospitals in this statewide initiative, coordinated by the Maryland Hospital Association, which is designed to get more Marylanders access to care. 'While our politicians in Washington are trying to restructure healthcare to provide coverage for...READ MORE

What's Your Sign?

ARIES (March 21 to April 19): A pesky health problem should clear up soon. Meanwhile, travel -- both for personal as well as for business reasons -- is strong in the Aries aspect this week, and well into the next. TAURUS (April 20 to May 20): Look for Bovines to be on the move this week, whether it's traveling for fun or for business. Other "moves" include workplace adjustments and, for some, relationship changes. GEMINI (May 21 to June 20): Geminis who have just gone through a hectic...READ MORE

Getting Credit For Small Businesses

OCEAN CITY - Despite the critical role that small-business loans play in helping companies survive and grow, they were few and far between in 2009. Last year, U.S. bank lending experienced its steepest drop since World War II, with the volume of loans falling 7.5% from 2008. The reasons for the decrease were numerous. With the recession still rearing its ugly head, not only did fewer borrowers meet banks' minimum lending guidelines, but fewer were applying for loans in the first place. And...READ MORE

Ravens Roost Plans Annual Golf Tourney

The Ravens Roost #44, Ocean City, is preparing for its annual Scholarship Golf Tournament on June 4 at 9 a.m., at the Ocean Pines Country Club. Registration forms are available at www.ravensroost44.com or by calling Marc Grimes at 302-222-0159. This year's scholarship recipients will be graduates of Stephen Decatur High, Indian River High and Worcester Preparatory Schools. Above, Colts legend Tom Matte, center, pays a surprise visit to Ravens Roost #44's March meeting.  Joining...READ MORE

Decatur Middle School Hosts History Day Competition

Stephen Decatur Middle School hosted a Lower Shore History Day competition, a qualifying round for Maryland History Day to be held at University of Maryland Baltimore County on April 24. Winners at the Maryland History Day competition move on to National History Day at University of Maryland College Park in June. The theme of this year's competition was 'Innovation in History:  Impact and Change.'  Above, Emma Ditzel and Taylor Black display the ribbons they won for their Group Exhibit...READ MORE

Rotary Club Donates Literacy Gift to Showell Elementary

Ocean City/Berlin Rotary Service Projects Director Tom Bickerstaff delivered 120 dictionaries for third grade students at Showell Elementary School. Students Jack Rosenberg, Isabella Yeager, and Rachel Haskill, along with Vice Principal Aaron Dale, accepted the generous literacy gift. The Rotarian gift allows each student to have a dictionary in their backpack to complete homework assignments. ...READ MORE

BIS Student Earns Poetry Award

Worcester County Garden Club has announced Addison Cook from Berlin Intermediate School was the first place winner in the Central Atlantic Region Poetry Award. She is pictured with Club Past President Marion Novack and President Mary Lou Scott. ...READ MORE

Kiwanis of OP/OC Welcomes Guest Speaker

The Kiwanis Club of Greater Ocean Pines-Ocean City heard from Wayne Littleton, director of the Believe in Tomorrow Children's Foundation, at its March meeting. Littleton, left, is pictured with Club President Dan Peletier. Since 1986, Believe In Tomorrow has provided over 300,000 overnight accommodations, helping families stay together in the midst of a medical crisis. ...READ MORE

SDHS Seniors Prepare For Mock Trial Competition

Stephen Decatur High School seniors Taylor Sloan, left, and Elyssia Cardenas, right, practice for their upcoming Mock Trial competition with advisor Emily Bullock. During competition, the team simulates either the defense or the prosecution in a fabricated court case that includes multiple witnesses. The Decatur team has defeated all of its shore opponents this year. Submitted Photos ...READ MORE

Worcester Prep Art National Honor Society

Members recently inducted into the Art National Honor Society at Worcester Preparatory School are, front from left, Olivia Wilgus, Brittany Flurer, Christina Vosters, Madison Kyger, Austin Coates and Polly Macnab; and back, Nick Shea, Kevin Clayland, Martin Sanchez, Duncan McIntosh, James Moses, John Lewis, Ben Mumford, Will Moore, Christopher Nichols, Wesley Scott and Benjamin Zito. ...READ MORE

Local Student Visits Manatee Viewing Center in Florida

J.C. Wood, a kindergarten student at Showell Elementary, visited the Manatee Viewing Center in Apollo Beach, Fla. last week. He learned about the manatees' habitat and the importance of never touching a "sea cow", since they are an endangered species. ...READ MORE

SDHS Senior Named National Merit Finalist

Stephen Decatur High School senior Bonnie Eisenman, center, was recently named a National Merit Finalist, a distinction given only to the individuals who earn a PSAT score in the top one percent of the country. Eisenman plans to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the fall. She is pictured with Senior Guidance Counselor Betsy Williams and Principal Lou Taylor. ...READ MORE

OC Elementary Students Practice Readers Theater Scripts

Third grade students from Mrs. Carolyn Mitrecic's class at Ocean City Elementary School practice reading their Readers Theater scripts. Pictured from the left are Jack Remmell, Chad Fischer, Shiran Lazarovich, and Tara Fischer. ...READ MORE

Showell Elementary Use Manipulatives For Arithmetic

Showell Elementary third grade mathematicians Rachel Haskell, Ivy Stearn and Wynter Frost use manipulatives like the red cubes pictured to make sets that help them learn multiplication and division. ...READ MORE

Fatherhood Adventures

It's all going by too fast for me. When I first became a dad, the most common piece of advice I received was something along the lines of, •€˜enjoy it while it lasts because they grow up so fast.' I heard it so many times I admit to growing a bit weary of the expression. At the time, when sleepless nights dominated life with a newborn, the problem was I did not understand it. Now, with one son 22 months old and another 4 months old, I get what those wise folks were talking about. Life is...READ MORE

We Remember Those We Have Lost

Jacqueline Kay Peterson BERLIN - Jacqueline Kay Peterson, age 66, died Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at Atlantic General Hospital in Berlin. Born in York, Pa., she was the daughter of the late Earl and Mary Catherine Newcomer. She is survived by her husband, John M. Peterson. Peterson had worked in sales as a decorator with Sears and was a devoted wife, mother and homemaker. She was a member of Alcoholics Anonymous Friendship Group and St. Peters Lutheran Church. Along with her husband, she is...READ MORE

Arts In The Area

Scenes From the Local World of Art ...READ MORE