Articles

Some Berlin Citizens Seeking More Transparency

BERLIN -- Upset over current affairs in Berlin, a group of citizens, led by Councilwoman Lisa Hall, are looking to encourage other residents to get more involved in the town. Mayor Gee Williams, while agreeing that more residents need to become involved in government, called the group’s criticisms “frivolous” and believes Lisa Hall is motivated by personal reasons. Lisa Hall and her husband, Bill Hall, and citizen Donald Bunting issued a public call this week to Berlin...READ MORE

Poll Supports Turbines Off OC

OCEAN CITY -- A new poll released last week reveals a strong majority of Marylanders want to see offshore wind power developed off the coast of Ocean City, even if it means paying more on their monthly electric bill to develop the resource. During the last General Assembly session, Gov. Martin O’Malley introduced his Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Act of 2011, a plan that includes the development of a vast offshore wind turbine roughly 10 miles off the coast of Ocean City. Currently, as...READ MORE

Salisbury Councilwoman Begins Petition Drive

SALISBURY -- After a controversial change to the city’s charter last week, Councilwoman Laura Mitchell has taken it upon herself to open the matter up to public opinion. Mitchell is starting a petition to referendum, which would challenge last week’s charter change. The council majority voted 5-2 to amend the city’s charter, placing access to legal counsel directly under the council’s authority instead of the mayor’s, where it traditionally has resided. Mitchell,...READ MORE

Wicomico School Board Request Resent To Delegation

OCEAN CITY – Wicomico County Council members decided this week to re-send their initial request to the state delegation concerning an elected school board. On Tuesday morning, the council debated whether they should suggest the delegation include the option of a fully elected school board or hybrid on the ballot. Several public comment sessions have been held to collect a consensus on the county’s opinion of whether the school board should be elected or remain appointed by the...READ MORE

County Schools Superintendent Andes Will Retire Next Year

SNOW HILL -- After he completes his 16th year serving as Worcester County’s Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Jon Andes will retire next June. “Jon Andes has been a tremendous asset for our school system,” said Board of Education President Bob Hulburd. “He understands that we shouldn’t be defined by who we are today. Instead, as students and educators, we should be defined by what we will become tomorrow.” Andes announced his retirement during the board...READ MORE

State’s Approval Of Snow Hill School Plan Could Be In Jeopardy

SNOW HILL -- Under pressure from the state level, the Worcester County Board of Education vented fears Tuesday that delaying renovation on Snow Hill High School (SHHS) might mean big setbacks when funding for the project eventually becomes available from the county. “It is unique to have a project this long,” said Assistant Superintendent for Administration Edward Barber. Renovating SHHS has been on the table for years but was delayed in favor of renovating Pocomoke High School...READ MORE

Zoning Amortization, Other Changes Sought In Salisbury

SALISBURY -- Fearing stagnation, Mayor Jim Ireton is calling for strong measures in addressing the city’s ongoing non-conforming use issues. “Amortization is the only way we’re going to say this issue doesn’t exist anymore,” he told the City Council Monday. “… But if we don’t take the big step then I think we’re always going to be mired down.” Ireton’s plan for amortization would mean gradually giving properties found to be...READ MORE

Congressional Redistricting Plan Leaves Shore Intact

BERLIN -- State lawmakers this week approved Gov. Martin O’Malley’s submitted redistricting map for congressional districts in Maryland, but already there appear to be challenges to the plan forthcoming that could settle the issue in the court system. Based on the population changes that came out of the 2010 U.S. Census, the state of Maryland is in the process of redrawing the boundaries of its eight congressional election districts. Because the state’s primary election has...READ MORE

Company Nixes Explosive Testing On County Land

SNOW HILL -- Deterred by public outcry, Hardwire CEO George Tunis decided Tuesday to withdraw his company’s request to use county-owned property in Newark to test explosives. However, Tunis criticized those members of the community who he believes overreacted and exaggerated the issue. “During this process, I have been surprised by a few specific individual’s public display of sensationalism and engineering ignorance,” wrote Tunis in a letter to the Worcester County...READ MORE

Ethics Changes Worry Wicomico

SALISBURY – Wicomico County Council members are concerned that new state requirements on county ethic laws are too intrusive. County Attorney Edward Baker explained that a revision of the county’s ethics law comes as a result of state legislation requiring all counties and municipalities to revamp their ethics law to make it consistent with the state law. “Some of the counties are beginning to express concern because of the additional requirements,” he said. As Baker...READ MORE

707 Owner’s Death Probe Continues

WEST OCEAN CITY -- The investigation into the death of a West Ocean City bar owner following an altercation outside his establishment earlier this month remains open while law enforcement and prosecutors await the final report from the state Medical Examiner’s Office. Around 2:23 a.m. on Oct. 6, a Worcester County Sheriff’s deputy was dispatched to the 707 Sports Bar and Grille in reference to a disturbance complaint. The deputy arrived and met with a Maryland State Police trooper,...READ MORE

Restitution Totals Ordered For Area Condo Associations

SNOW HILL -- In what will likely bring some measure of closure in the case against a Berlin businessman convicted in August of a theft scheme during which he bilked several area condo associations out of hundreds of thousands of dollars, a restitution hearing was held this week resulting in a plan to pay the victims back. In April, a Worcester County grand jury indicted William W. Scott, president of Scott and Associates, a local accounting and property management firm, on six counts of theft...READ MORE

Beach Horseback Riding Concept Discussed

OCEAN CITY – At this week’s Mayor and Council meeting, officials discussed providing horseback riding on the beach during the off-season. Councilman Brent Ashley said “this is going to sound a little different” but brought up a tip he picked up from Wildwood, N.J. He suggested Ocean City begin offering horseback riding on the beach during the off-season as a way to increase revenue. From speaking with Mayor Ernie Troiano of Wildwood, N.J., Ashley said the resort is...READ MORE

Worcester Judge Denies Killer’s Bid For New Trial

SNOW HILL -- A Pennsylvania man sentenced to 25 years in prison for repeatedly running over his elderly mother on a rural road in northern Worcester County in August 2010 will remain behind bars after a Circuit Court judge this week denied his motion for a new trial and a motion to modify or reduce his sentence. Last March, a Worcester County jury found Steven Frederick Molin, 59, of Darby, Pa., guilty of second-degree murder in the death of his elderly mother, Emily Belle Molin, 85. In June,...READ MORE

Manager Search Estimated To Take At Least 4 Months

OCEAN CITY – The city is expecting at least a four-month wait before a new city manager comes on board, as the selection process was reviewed during this week’s Mayor and City Council meeting. Human Resources Director Wayne Evans presented the Mayor and City Council with a document outlining the search process for a new city manager. It was broken up into two different components, an internal search and accomplishing an agreement with an executive search firm for a national...READ MORE

Guardrail Project Will Cause Route 90 Closures

OCEAN CITY -- Motorists accessing Route 90 heading into Ocean City over the next two months or so can expect detours and delays as State Highway Administration (SHA) officials this week announced a significant two-phase guardrail replacement project is set to get underway. SHA officials this week announced the first of two phases of guardrail replacement along Route 90 from Route 113 to Coastal Highway is expected to begin Sunday. The first phase includes removing and replacing all existing...READ MORE

Berlin Opts To Repave Washington St.

BERLIN -- Due to the condition of the sewer line underneath it, Washington St. will only be getting a mild facelift this fall instead of the extensive reworking town officials considered earlier this month. “We can’t guarantee the sewer [under Washington St.] won’t have a failure tomorrow,” Water Resource Director Jane Kreiter told the Berlin Mayor and Council last Tuesday. During a council meeting earlier this month, Kreiter was asked to send a camera through the sewer...READ MORE

Worcester County Approves Substance Ban

SNOW HILL -- Following in the steps of Ocean City, the Worcester County Commissioners decided Tuesday to ban several “cannabimimetic agents and hallucinogenic chemical substances” including the controversial K-2. With innocuous aliases like “Mr. Nice Guy” and “Spice,” large amounts of K-2 began popping up on the Boardwalk and in Ocean City stores last summer. “The worst part of all is that it’s being marketed to our kids,” said county...READ MORE

Berlin Council Rejects Tax Abatement Request

BERLIN -- A local business owner had his request for a tax abetment denied by the Berlin Mayor and Council last week after they decided it would set a precedent they don’t want to follow. The council did, however, offer to attempt to come up with more creative solutions to the applicant’s problem. John Derrickson, owner of Derrickson Enterprises, came before the council hoping to have taxes he agreed on earlier, when his economic outlook wasn’t as bleak, loosened. “Things...READ MORE

Dear Prudence Benefit A Success

BERLIN -- Earlier this month, the “Dear Prudence” benefit brought in hundreds of guests and thousands of dollars in donations, according to organizers. “It was a full house all night long,” said organizer Jacki Johnson. Taking place Saturday, Oct. 8, “Dear Prudence” included dinner, entertainment and auctions. “It was a crazy busy day,” said Johnson. Prudence Sanders, whom the event was held for, agreed with Johnson. “It turned out...READ MORE

Salisbury Eyes Transition To Purchase Cards

SALISBURY -- With big savings expected, Salisbury is looking to transition from traditional paper-based purchase orders to an electronic format. The City Council is considering replacing some paper checks with Purchase cards (P-cards), which are a kind of charge card for city employees. As of now, the plan is to use the cards only for orders of $999.99 or less. According to Salisbury Assistant Director of Internal Services-Procurement Division Catrice Parsons, roughly $9 million worth of city...READ MORE

Vote Makes ALOC 50-Year Lease Official

OCEAN CITY – The Mayor and City Council wrapped up some business this week as they voted to approve a few ordinances that have been in the works for the last month or so, including the final vote to move forward in Ocean City’s new Art League of Ocean City building. The ordinance on second reading this week has been on the wish list for the Art League of Ocean City (ALOC) for 20 years now and it passed in a vote of 5-2, with Council members Brent Ashley and Margaret Pillas in...READ MORE

Worcester Ranks Fifth In Irene Damage

BERLIN -- Verisk Analytics, a leading national risk assessor, this week released a report on the preliminary estimate of insured property damage by county for Hurricane Irene in late August, and somewhat surprisingly, Worcester County was ranked fifth in the country. The Verisk Catastrophe Index supplies highly detailed insured property loss estimates, by county and line of business, after catastrophes. The Verisk Catastrophe Index estimate for Hurricane Irene was prepared for the District of...READ MORE

Resort Jeweler Closing OC Store After Three Decades

OCEAN CITY – After 33 years of service, Liljenquist and Beckstead Jewelers located in the Gold Coast Mall regretfully announced this month it’s closing. The family business began in 1979 when it was founded by college buddies and business partners Tom Liljenquist and Sid Beckstead. Before Liljenquist and Beckstead came along, they opened their first store on the Ocean City Boardwalk, the Jewel Box. At one time, the two ran five businesses in Ocean City at one time. “They were...READ MORE