Articles

New Pollution Prevention Plan Targets OC’s Downtown First

OCEAN CITY – A summer intern in the Environmental Engineering Department impressed the Mayor and City Council this week after she and Environmental Engineer Gail Blazer presented a plan to help prevent the polluting issues involved in the downtown area. Blazer and student intern Leslie Hurley presented a Pollution Prevention and Habitat Enhancement Plan this week. Hurley grew up in Ocean City and now attends Southern Methodist University where she studies environmental engineering and...READ MORE

Resort Trash Dumpers Beware

OCEAN CITY -- With the hope of stemming an ongoing problem, the City Council agreed this week to increase the fine for illegally dumping trash in Ocean City. City Manager Dennis Dare said one of the benefits to living in Ocean City is trash collection is paid for through resident, property owner and business owner taxes. Taxpayers save money through this avenue by not being charged by the state’s private collection firms. “It costs us probably more than $100 per ton and we do 35,000...READ MORE

Casino Revenues Figures Confirm Summer Spike

BERLIN- While it should come as no surprise, given the 300,000-plus visitors to the resort area for much of the month, the July numbers for the Casino at Ocean Downs spiked up considerably after months of modest incremental gains. The Casino at Ocean Downs grossed just over $5.3 million in July, up substantially from the $3.8 million reported for June, representing the first real peak in what had been a slow, steady ascent since the facility opened in January. Each month since the casino opened...READ MORE

Huey Memorial Coming To Ocean City Airport Soon

OCEAN CITY – A historical Huey helicopter has arrived to its new home, the Ocean City Municipal Airport, where it will be put on display for all to see. According to the Ocean City Aviation Association (OCAA), the Huey Memorial will represent more than the Vietnam War. The display is in honor of all who has served in the United States Armed Forces. OCAA member Tom Oneto said the Huey helicopters were in service for almost 50 years before the fleet was retired this past July. The Huey...READ MORE

Group Rallying For Childhood Friend

FRANKFORD, Del. -- After learning that multiple organ transplants will be needed to save the life of one of their childhood friends, a group of past and current Sussex County residents are rallying the community with a fundraiser to help pay for the operations and subsequent aftercare. Prudence Sanders, 36, was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes 25 years ago. “It’s something she’s lived with her whole life,” said Jackie Johnson, a longtime friend and one of the organizers...READ MORE

Sales Tax Free Holiday Week Returns With Mixed Expectations

OCEAN CITY -- Maryland is once again planning on hosting a Sales Tax Free Holiday Aug. 14-20, but opinions vary amongst retailers as to just how much business the event has delivered in years past. The holiday, which has been hosted sporadically over the last few years, offers consumers in Maryland one week without the standard 6 percent sales tax on most clothing and footwear priced up to $100. The goal of the event is to attract shoppers who might otherwise head to surrounding states like...READ MORE

Salisbury Mayor Vetoes Cable Channel Move

SALISBURY -- The ongoing debate over proposed funding cuts to the public access cable channel that televises public meetings in Salisbury and Wicomico County reached a crescendo this week when Mayor James Ireton, Jr. on Wednesday vetoed an earlier vote by the City Council two days earlier. On Monday, the Salisbury Council approved on second reading an ordinance changing the formula for the city’s annual appropriation to the cable channel PAC 14, which televises their meetings and the...READ MORE

Slots In Worcester Clubs Thriving

OCEAN CITY -- While the revenue numbers for the Casino at Ocean Downs continue to climb, the slot machines in the various service clubs and fraternal organizations have kept pace and exceeded expectations in many cases. After three unsuccessful tries in the General Assembly, state lawmakers this spring passed a bill adding Worcester County to the list of eight other Eastern Shore counties that allow a limited number of slot machines in service clubs and fraternal organizations in an effort to...READ MORE

Council Approves Boardwalk Lumber, Contractor Bids

OCEAN CITY – City Engineer Terry McGean followed up with the Mayor and City Council on the reconstruction of the Boardwalk this week and in one sweep received three votes of approval concerning lumber and contracting. Two weeks ago, the council discussed Boardwalk lumber and awarded the low bidder, Grasmick Lumber, the bid to supply conventional treated southern yellow pine for phase one of construction. Phase one of reconstruction includes the Inlet to Somerset Street, and 15th to 27th...READ MORE

Settlement Inked In Stent Case

SALISBURY -- Peninsula Regional Medical Center (PRMC) this week agreed to pay $1.8 million to settle allegations it was aware of, but failed to take action against, a cardiologist convicted late last month on health care fraud charges after performing over 100 unnecessary cardiac stent procedures on patients. In July, a federal jury convicted John R. McLean, 59, of Salisbury, on six counts of healthcare fraud over a four-year period from 2003 to 2007 during which he submitted insurance claims...READ MORE

Annual Breast Cancer Campaign Now Underway

OCEAN CITY -- The American Cancer Society (ACS) launched this year’s Pink Ribbon Classic at the Beach, a months-long series of events aimed toward raising awareness for breast cancer, with a Making Strides Against Breast Cancer breakfast on Wednesday morning. Founded by Judy Johnson-Schoelkopf and Nancy Dofflemyer, the Pink Ribbon Classic has existed in some form for the past 15 years, according to ACS Community Manager Kathy Decker. “It started with the golf tournament,” said...READ MORE

Retired Destroyer Sunk Off Coast

OCEAN CITY -- Shortly after 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, the retired Navy destroyer U.S.S. Arthur W. Radford slipped quietly beneath the surface of the ocean just about 30 miles off the coast of Ocean City to its final resting place as part of a vast artificial reef system, ending weeks and months of anticipation and reefing madness. The Radford’s sinking had been postponed several times over the last few months for a variety of reasons and the old vessel created a delay of its own on...READ MORE

Hampton Inn Set For Midtown Ocean City

OCEAN CITY -- Preliminary construction work on a Hampton Inn & Suites on 44th Street in Ocean City has begun with developers already eying next Memorial Day for a potential grand opening. “The piling is in,” said property owner Rick Laws. “The foundation is going in this week.” Plans for the hotel have been in the works for a long time, according to Laws. However, a sluggish economy made securing capital for the project tricky. “It was difficult getting...READ MORE

County Addresses Violations

SNOW HILL -- Worcester County officials this week defended reported violations pertaining to the Riddle Farm wastewater treatment plant published by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) in an effort to be proactive in resolving the issues. Earlier this year, MDE advised the County Commissioners the discharge permit for the Riddle Farm wastewater treatment plant had been violated because some of the required monitoring and well sampling between 2007 and 2009 had not been completed....READ MORE

Housing Authority Wins Award

SALISBURY -- The Wicomico County Housing Authority (WCHA) enjoyed a busy week last week with the appointment of a new board member and the announcement of a significant national award. Wicomico County Executive Richard M. Pollitt, Jr. last week announced the appointment of Mark S. Thompson to the WCHA. Thompson has served in a wide range of community volunteer positions, most recently as chair of the Wicomico County Board of Education. Pollitt announced the appointment in conjunction with the...READ MORE

Reservoir Clean-Up Underway

SALISBURY -- Salisbury officials this week announced the cleaning of the city park’s water treatment plant is underway. The cleaning of the reservoir at the city park is taking place this week. There are dumpsters on site to contain the material removed from the reservoir until it can be removed permanently. The cleaning takes place every three years at the city’s underground reservoir. City officials warned the area could be an eyesore for a few days until the cleaning is completed....READ MORE

Va. Smoke Inundates Resort Area

BERLIN -- Worcester officials this week advised the public the heavy, acrid smoke that drifted over the area mid-week was the result of a fire covering 2,500 acres in the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia. The Worcester County Fire Marshal’s Office this week reported the smoke and other conditions that arrived across much of the resort area on Tuesday afternoon was a direct result of the ongoing fire at the national wildlife refuge in Virginia and that conditions...READ MORE

Rescue Swimmers Make Ocean Save

OCEAN CITY -- Ocean City Fire Department rescue swimmers pulled an unidentified and unconscious swimmer from the surf last Friday morning before the Ocean City Beach Patrol took their stands for the day. Around 9:15 a.m. last Friday, the Ocean City Fire Department was dispatched to the beach at 61st Street for a reported water rescue. Ocean City Communications received a 911 call stating a body was floating in the ocean and a private citizen was attempting a rescue. The investigation revealed a...READ MORE

Ocean City Okays Immediate K2 Ban

OCEAN CITY – The drug K2 is to become illegal by early next week as the Mayor and City Council, as well as the county, moves swiftly to ban the product.  “On the Boardwalk this summer, it has come to our attention that there is a product being sold, K2, it has various different names,” Police Chief Bernadette DiPino said. “It is a synthetic chemically enhanced herbal substance.” DiPino explained that it is sold in the form of incense and is paired up with the...READ MORE

New Twists On Tap For Berlin Peach Festival

BERLIN -- The 3rd Annual Berlin Peach Festival will be held on Sunday, Aug. 14, from noon-6 p.m., on the grounds of the Calvin B. Taylor House Museum. Admission is free. The festival, winner of the Lower Eastern Shore Heritage Council Outstanding Event for 2010, promises to be bigger and better in 2011, full of old-fashioned fun for all ages. New among the displays, demonstrations and sales tables are performances by Twisters Gymnastics and Cheerleading and by Smith Island storyteller Janice...READ MORE

OC Runway Project Not Affected By FAA Issues

OCEAN CITY -- Last week’s shutdown and subsequent restoration of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will not have any bearing on a planned runway rehabilitation project at the Ocean City Municipal Airport, but the project is being expedited to avoid potentially losing the federal funding. Thousands of FAA workers and tens of thousands of construction workers across the country were put out of work during a recent two-week partial shutdown of the federal agency that ended last...READ MORE

Berlin Prepping For Weekend Full Of Special Events

BERLIN -- Peaches, baseball and open air painting have Berlin gearing up for an All-American summer weekend. Stretching from Friday through Sunday, the town of Berlin will be hosting a marathon of four events: the 3rd Annual Peach Festival, a sidewalk sale, a “Paint Berlin” plein air painting contest and the first ever Berlin All-Stars Little League Championship Parade. The parade, which will begin at 11 a.m. Sunday on Tripoli St, is meant to celebrate the 9-10-year-old Berlin...READ MORE

Body Recovered Day After Boat Fall

OCEAN CITY -- Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) early last Sunday morning recovered the body of an Arbutus man who fell off a pontoon boat in Assawoman Bay the night before and drowned. Around 7:30 p.m., Jordan Craig Hock, 23, fell off the bow of a 24-foot pontoon boat in the Assawoman Bay in the area of 126th Street while the vessel was underway. According to the NRP investigation, Robert Stanley Holmes, 53, of Landsdowne, Md., was operating the vessel at the time. Holmes and the other...READ MORE

Osborn Leads Westside Grill Through First Summer

OCEAN CITY – Adam Osborn, the owner of West Ocean City’s newest addition, Osborns Westside Grill, is working on making the place his own as he takes a little and gives a little. Osborn previously operated Carrabba’s Italian Grill for 13 years. He said almost a year ago he was given the opportunity to create his own restaurant, and he jumped at the chance. “The neat thing is to watch this grow,” Osborn said. “It is no different than a plant … it’s a...READ MORE

Junior Achievement Eyes Worcester Students

BERLIN -- A new program is aiming to give students in Worcester County a chance to develop business and financial management skills at an early age. Junior Achievement of the Eastern Shore (JA) is a non-profit organization whose three main goals are to promote workforce readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy in young adults. “It’s real skills that they [students] need,” said JA President Jayme Weeg. Weeg explained that JA lessons begin with a volunteer visiting a...READ MORE

52 Years Later, Frontier Town Still Evolving

WEST OCEAN CITY -- Put on your hat, hitch up your wagon and step back in time as Frontier Town celebrates its 52nd season with new additions and great specials. Originally built as a Wild West Show in 1959, Frontier Town has since expanded into one of the country's top family campground and entertainment centers. "Back in the 50's and 60's when part of the Wild West Show involved horsemen, they would travel in horse trailers, put the horses out to pasture and then sleep in the trailer. They...READ MORE

Bank Foundation Boosts Zoo Campaign

The Bank of America Charitable Foundation recently presented a $25,000 check to the Salisbury Zoo for its ongoing $3 million capital campaign. Pictured, back from left, are Ryan Kirby, managing director downtown Salisbury Office, Merrill Lynch; city Administrator John Pick; Keith Zickar, Senior Vice President, Small Business Banking Manager for Maryland; and Salisbury Mayor Jim Ireton. Front, from left, are Salisbury Zoo Commission President Ron Alessi; JP DuBuque; Joel Hamilton; Monty Sayler,...READ MORE