Articles

NEW FOR THURSDAY: Process Behind School Delay Decisions Detailed

NEWARK -- With a continued pattern of thick, early morning fog this week, Worcester County Public Schools were delayed Wednesday and today, but not Tuesday, prompting questions about the process and what factors into the decision. On Tuesday, thick fog blanketed much of the county in the early morning hours, but Worcester’s public schools reported on time. On Wednesday, similar conditions prevailed and the start of the school day was delayed for two hours. This morning, fog was barely...READ MORE

NEW FOR WEDNESDAY: Beach Bikini Parade Proposed For North OC

OCEAN CITY – Thousands of visitors in bikinis could be marching along the north end of Ocean City’s beach this summer if a proposed bikini parade comes to fruition. As proposed, the idea behind it would be to break the current Guinness World Record while simultaneously enhancing tourism for the northern part of the resort. According to Councilman Brent Ashley, bikini parades have been conducted around the world at such locales as San Diego, Las Vegas, Cayman Islands, Gold Coast of...READ MORE

NEW FOR TUESDAY: Decatur Principal To Leave School, Accept Board Post

NEWARK -- At today’s Worcester County Board of Education meeting, Stephen Decatur High School Principal Louis H. Taylor was named to succeed Ed Barber as the Assistant Superintendent for Administration, effective July 1, 2012. Barber is retiring on June 30 after serving 17 years with Worcester County Public Schools and a total of 36 years in education. Taylor was appointed by Superintendent Dr. Jon Andes, who is also retiring on June 30. “Lou Taylor is an exceptional educational...READ MORE

NEW FOR TUESDAY: Group Outlines Downtown Plans Including More Weekly Concerts

OCEAN CITY – The Ocean City Development Corporation (OCDC) has been in existence for 13 years and through its assistance a considerable amount of improvement has been made to the downtown area. The OCDC has grown to 11 committees and volunteers have chalked up 7,500 volunteer hours since 2000. This year the OCDC absorbed the Boardwalk Development Association, which added 30 additional new members. To date, OCDC has played a role in 120 façade programs, including 18 just in the past...READ MORE

NEW FOR MONDAY: Missing Man Found In Assawoman Bay

OCEAN CITY -- The body of an Ocean City man, who went missing after capsizing a canoe in the Assawoman Bay near Fenwick Island in the early morning hours of March 2, was found in the bay near Ocean City on Saturday. Nicholas R. Townsend, 23, was last seen around 4 a.m. on March 2 while canoeing with a second man, Matthew Bullen, 20, of Fenwick, in the Assawoman Bay. The canoe, later reported to have been stolen, capsized in the bay and Bullen was able to make it to shore, but Townsend was not...READ MORE

NEW FOR FRIDAY: Kathy Mathias Chemo Bill Nears Passage

OCEAN CITY -- The Kathleen A. Mathias Chemotherapy Parity Act of 2012 has sailed through the Senate and is expected to breeze through the House of Delegates soon. The act, named after Mathias, a beloved Ocean City resident who lost her battle with cancer last August, aims to level the playing field for insurance coverage for both the intravenous and oral forms of chemotherapy. Last month, State Senator Catherine Pugh (D-40), with co-sponsorship by 25 other state senators including Sen. Jim...READ MORE

Schools Super Seeks Raises For All County Employees

SNOW HILL -- In anticipation of a difficult budget season, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Jon Andes appealed to the Worcester County Commissioners this week to draft a fiscal year 2013 budget where all county employees receive a raise, the first in three years. “I’m asking you, pleading with you, begging you to find some way, somehow, to give all employees a pay raise,” Andes told the commission Tuesday. The remark came at the tail end of Andes’ defense of the next fiscal...READ MORE

Wallops Launching Five Rockets In Five Minutes Tonight

WALLOPS -- Residents and visitors could see a rare spectacle across the sky late tonight and early tomorrow morning as NASA’s Wallops Island Flight Facility plans to launch five suborbital rockets within a span of five minutes as part of a jet stream wind study. With a little cooperation from the weather and a resolution of some minor technical issues, Wallops officials are expected to launch five suborbital rockets within a span of about five minutes late tonight or early tomorrow...READ MORE

Change In Fireworks Provider Splits City Council

OCEAN CITY – This summer’s 4th of July fireworks displays were in question this week with the City Council deciding to go in a different direction with providers. Recreation and Parks Director Tom Shuster explained that the Independence Day fireworks bids were opened on Feb. 14 and set at a budget amount of $62,500. Since then, city staff has narrowed it down to the lowest bid offered by American Fireworks of Hudson, Ohio submitted in the amount of $20,000 for each of Ocean...READ MORE

Berlin B&B Wants To Host Events

BERLIN -- Bed and Breakfasts in Berlin might become a lot more than a place to sleep and grab an omelet if a proposal that received a favorable recommendation from the Planning Commission this week eventually becomes law. Representing the new Waystead Inn, located on Harrison Avenue, attorney Mark Cropper put forth an application to expand the activities that would be acceptable. As the code currently stands, the only allowed uses for a Bed and Breakfast are for sleeping and serving a morning...READ MORE

Salisbury News In Brief

SALISBURY – The City Council’s agenda this week was brief but the following items were discussed and approved. New Crosswalk Near SU Planned A resolution accepting the gift of $4,879 for a mid-block pedestrian crosswalk on Milford Street was approved by the City Council. City Administrator John Pick explained that during a recent review the Public Works Department noted that there were a number of students jaywalking on Milford Street between Wayne Street and Route 13 and felt that...READ MORE

Resort About To Transition To Coca-Cola

OCEAN CITY – The Recreation and Parks Department gave an update this week on the progress in creating a relationship with Coca-Cola as well as increasing participants in their sports programs. Ocean City Recreation and Parks Director Tom Shuster began with saying the relationship between the town and its new beverage franchise holder, Coca-Cola, is off to a good start. He has begun to work directly with the new partners to ensure a smooth transition from Pepsi to Coca-Cola and their...READ MORE

Berlin Council To Decide Height Issue

BERLIN -- After deadlocking the Berlin Planning Commission, a developer hoping to loosen the town’s height limit restrictions for houses will be taking his case directly to the Mayor and Council. Last month, developer Bob Purcell approached the commission looking for support in his bid to have Berlin’s residential height limit expanded beyond the current 30-foot cap. He was told to put a specific text amendment together and returned this week with a compromise. Instead of asking that...READ MORE

County Proposal Would Group Advertising Dollars

SNOW HILL -- Though a lucrative restructuring of tourism funds could mean up to $60,000 in new grants for Worcester County, at least one County Commissioner is afraid the move would mean excessive interference with towns and municipalities if it comes to pass. “We’re not in the business of micromanaging,” said Commissioner Louise Gulyas during a budget work session Tuesday. Gulyas’ reaction came in response to a proposal by Tourism Director Lisa Challenger to group...READ MORE

Search Continues For Missing OC Man

OCEAN CITY -- The search continues this week for an Ocean City man who went missing after reportedly capsizing a canoe in the Assawoman Bay near Fenwick Island in the early morning hours of March 2. Nicholas R. Townsend, 23, was last seen around 4 a.m. on March 2 while canoeing with a second man, Matthew Bullen, 20, of Fenwick Island, in the Assawoman Bay. The canoe, later reported to have been stolen, capsized in the bay and Bullen was able to make to shore, according to reports, but Townsend...READ MORE

Pilot Program Targets Pedestrians In Ocean City

OCEAN CITY -- On the eve of the biggest early season weekend of the year in Ocean City, State Highway Administration (SHA) officials this week embarked on a new initiative to improve pedestrian safety in the resort. Just days before the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade, SHA officials on Wednesday began installing thermoplastic pedestrian sidewalk markings at a handful of the trouble spot intersections in the resort. The new black and yellow markings were installed this week at the 19th,...READ MORE

New Charges In Baby Ava Case

OCEAN CITY -- The proverbial other shoe dropped late last week for a local man now facing 11 additional charges, including two counts of causing a life-threatening injury by motor vehicle while impaired by a controlled dangerous substance, after plowing into the back of a passenger vehicle on Coastal Highway in mid-December. The Worcester County State’s Attorney’s Office last Friday charged Andre Kaczynski, 48, of Ocean Pines, with 11 new counts including two counts of causing a...READ MORE

Freeman Stage Releases Schedule

SELBYVILLE, Del. – The Joshua M. Freeman Foundation has announced that The Freeman Stage at Bayside is set to celebrate its fifth season of bringing arts and entertainment to Sussex County. The Freeman Stage has attracted an average of 25,000 audience members each year in its first four seasons with a diverse offering of dance, theatre, live music and children’s performances. The Stage has partnered to present over 200 different performing artists, which include both local and...READ MORE

Assateague Welcomes New Filly

ASSATEAGUE -- Spring seems to be showing signs of new life everywhere, including on Assateague Island. A new wild horse foal was born into the herd at Assateague Island on Friday March 9. A young filly, with pinto coloration showing mostly white hair with brown patches was born to 8-year-old mare April Star (also known by the alpha numeric name N2BHS-C). The gangly long-legged newborn has been seen by many park visitors enjoying Assateague Island within the past week. She is one of the 114...READ MORE

School Officials Clarify Homework Pass Misconception

BERLIN -- After admitting murky language in a Buckingham Elementary School (BES) event flyer may have confused parents, Principal Roger Pacella wrote an apology letter this week and sought to set to rest any worries that schools are pressuring or coercing parents to support this year’s Worcester County Board of Education budget. “Please know that we believe that it should be a parent’s choice as to whether or not they would like to directly communicate with County Commissioners...READ MORE

Guilty Plea In Rape Case Results In 30-Year Sentence

SNOW HILL -- A Florida man charged with the brutal beating and rape of a woman in Ocean City on Memorial Day weekend in 2008 pleaded guilty this week in Worcester County Circuit Court to first-degree rape and was sentenced to 30 years in jail. Lorenzo Ivan Garcia-Moreno, 25, on Tuesday pleaded guilty to first-degree rape in the attack on a woman in a parking lot on 49th Street adjacent to a popular resort nightclub on May 24, 2008 and was sentenced to five more years than prosecutors were...READ MORE

Salisbury Planning Redistricting Public Forums

SALISBURY – With public forums scheduled into next month, the Salisbury City Council will be hearing the public’s input on how election districts should be altered. In November, Mayor Jim Ireton proposed a few different plans on how to make adjustments to the boundaries of the city’s election districts due to an increase in population. Based on the results of the Census, the population has grown to 30,607 in the last 10 years and minorities make up 44 percent of the...READ MORE

Berlin Might Seek Consultant For Architectural Guidelines

BERLIN -- Looking to implement some kind of architectural guidelines for future developers in Berlin, the Mayor and Council agreed Monday to consider bringing in professional help to draft the codes. But first the Planning Commission and Historic District Commission (HDC) are being asked to decide exactly what a consultant should focus on. “We can’t have it open ended,” said Town Administrator Tony Carson. “We need to tell them what we want.” Carson suggested that...READ MORE

Going Bald For A Cause In Pittsville

PITTSVILLE -- Heads are going bare in the name of charity this weekend when the Delmarva Emerald Society hosts its 2nd Annual St. Baldrick’s Foundation head-shaving on Saturday. “It just struck my eye,” said Emerald Society President James Jester in reference to St. Baldrick’s unique approach to raising money and awareness for childhood cancer, which involves volunteers raising donations while shaving their hair. Since its origin, the foundation has spread and formed new...READ MORE

OC’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade Returns Saturday

OCEAN CITY – This weekend will be the largest St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Ocean City’s history, and event organizers reflected this week on how the day has grown over the years. The 31st Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Festival, sponsored by the Delmarva Irish-American Club (DIAC), returns to the streets of Ocean City on Saturday, March 17. “It starts at high noon and we’re never late,” said parade organizer Buck Mann. Mann said that the parade first...READ MORE

eCruisers Eyes Return To Ocean City Streets

OCEAN CITY – Five years after initially being approved for Ocean City, the eCruisers service is once again asking for the right to advertise on its vehicles in the hopes of returning to Ocean City. In 2007, the Mayor and City Council approved eCruisers, a shuttle service that features six-passenger Global Electric Motorcars traveling from east to west in the downtown area to transport people to and from the beach and other destinations, embracing the environmentally-friendly vehicles. The...READ MORE

Bill Rolig Fondly Remembered

SNOW HILL -- On Tuesday, just two days after his 55th birthday, Bill Rolig, a Snow Hill resident with a passion for art, music and family, succumbed to his two-year battle with prostate cancer.Back in 2010, the lower shore community rallied to support Rolig, who was shockingly diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. Two separate benefits at The Globe in Berlin and at Seacrets in Ocean City hosted pack houses as residents turned out to raise thousands of dollars for Rolig’s...READ MORE

Charitable Souls Campaign Honorees Announced

BERLIN -- The honorees for the 2012 Charitable Souls campaign were announced this week. They include Cathy Bassett, Gloria Carr, Ed Colbert, Alexis Dashield, Linda Dearing, Arnold Downing, Mary Ferry, Jim Flaig, Frank Gatley, Veronica Gatley, Bill Gibbs, Sierra Hall, Michael James, Jean Keagle, Bob Kelly, Becky Kelly, Audrey Killen, Kimberly Majus, Buck Mann, Daryl McCready & SonRise Church, Linda Pepper, Ginny Reister, Susan Runk, Michelle Schachter, Judy Johnson Schoellkopf, Christine...READ MORE

February Casino Figures Up From Year Ago

BERLIN -- The February figures for the Casino at Ocean Downs were released last week, revealing an increase over the prior month and an increase in revenue from the same month in 2011. The Casino at Ocean Downs generated just over $3.5 million in February, up slightly from the $3.1 million generated in January. Last February, the second month of its existence, the casino generated $3.1 million. The casino’s average daily gross per machine also increased to $152.02 in February, up from the...READ MORE

Ocean City Boardwalk Safety Initiatives Discussed

OCEAN CITY – Department heads returned this week to City Hall with responses to suggestions made a few months ago on ways to increase safety on the Boardwalk. In December, Boardwalk property owner Jerry Greenspan briefed City Council members on safety concerns on the Boardwalk. A meeting had been held previously where a number of Boardwalk property owners gathered to discuss Boardwalk safety and came up with a few suggestions. The suggestions made included improving the lighting on the...READ MORE

Ocean City Truck Clips Utility Pole Near Bridge

OCEAN CITY -- Traffic in and around the Harry Kelley Bridge area was snarled for much of the day on Wednesday after a town of Ocean City truck struck a utility pole at the base of the span. Around 8:20 a.m. on Wednesday, an Ocean City wastewater department truck attempting to head west over the Route 50 Bridge from southbound Philadelphia Ave. cut the turn too close and struck a utility pole, snapping it off near the ground. The collision left the utility pole dangling and downed power lines...READ MORE

County Drops Fed Grant Effort After Company Bails

BERLIN -- Three weeks after securing the Worcester County Commission’s support to apply for the fourth round of U.S. Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant funding, a major stakeholder backed out, causing the county to drop its application. “Tyson has chosen to withdraw their support for the TIGER IV grant application,” said Worcester Director of Economic Development Bill Badger. Badger visited the Berlin Mayor and Council Monday to break the news,...READ MORE

Air Show To Expand Flyovers To North OC

OCEAN CITY -- Resort business leaders this week got an update on the 2012 Ocean City Air Show, including a plan to extend many of the show’s flyovers to the north end of town. Ocean City Air Show Director of Sponsorship and Hospitality Sales Steven Webster on Monday morning presented an update to the Ocean City Economic Development Committee (EDC) on the 2012 event set for June 9-10 in Ocean City. Among other things, Webster confirmed the signature act for 2012 will again be the U.S. Air...READ MORE

Community Fast Underway, Culminates With Worship Service


BERLIN — Daryl McCready admits he was intrigued and personally challenged when his fellow pastor friend and accountability partner talked about fasting. Bryan Pugner, pastor of The Worship Center, an Assemblies Of God Church, in Berlin, had spoken several times about how he had fasted for 21 days during the first 21 days of the year. Pugner even considered writing a booklet about it. McCready, founder and pastor of SonRise Church, also in Berlin, felt God "placed it on his heart to...READ MORE

Annual HealthFest Features Dawes

SALISBURY -- Peninsula Regional Medical Center and the Wicomico County Board of Education have announced three-time United States Olympic gymnast, gold medalist and health advocate Dominique Dawes will serve as the guest speaker at HealthFest: An event for all ages, on Saturday, March 31. This year’s event, a showcase of healthy exhibits and health screenings, is free and open to the public at James M. Bennett High School on College Avenue in Salisbury. HealthFest: An event for all ages...READ MORE

Real Housewives Group Aims To Help Coastal Hospice

OCEAN CITY -- While they may call themselves “Real Housewives,” a group of Worcester County women only have charitable aims. “We’re the good housewives … we’re the giving housewives,” joked Real Housewives of Worcester County (RHWC) member Stephanie Meehan in reference to the less than altruistic tendencies of the casts of Bravo’s popular “Real Housewives” series. Formed three years ago as a charitable outlet for a group of longtime...READ MORE