Archives

Fatal Accident Raises Concern About Route 113

BERLIN - A Berlin man was struck and killed by a car Saturday evening while trying to cross Rt. 113, prompting calls from the community for a lower speed limit on the Berlin section of highway. Harry Eckman, 48, tried to cross the busy highway at roughly 7 p.m. Saturday evening, choosing to cross near Franklin Ave. but away from the intersection in a badly lit area, while wearing dark clothes, according to the Berlin Police Department. A 1998 Chrysler then struck him.  Responding police...READ MORE

Residents Give Up Hope Of Pines Getting Slots Money

OCEAN PINES - A group of Ocean Pines residents who attempted to pursue potential slots revenue for the community, despite the Ocean Pines Association (OPA) Board of Directors decision to back off, have concluded that there is little chance of getting the slots law changed to funnel part of the revenues to Ocean Pines. Roseann Bridgman, Norm Katz, Dan Stachurski, Sharyn O'Hare and Joe Reynolds met with Delegate Jim Mathias last weekend to explore alternatives now that the OPA Board has stepped...READ MORE

Resort Wants More Ads On Cable TV

OCEAN CITY -With the 2008 summer season approaching, Public Works and the Mayor and City Council sat down this week to discuss the locally focused media campaign for bus service for 2008. Public Works Director Hal Adkins appeared before the Mayor and Council this week, requesting the annual allocation of roughly $50,000, to be used to contract with Independent Media. The 'Ride the Bus' campaign is addressed each year in an effort to educate visitors about the availability of Ocean City's bus...READ MORE

Two Sex Shop Ordinances Near Council Approval

OCEAN CITY - Discussions surrounding sexually oriented businesses appear to be coming to a close as the Mayor and City Council moves one step closer to passing ordinances outlining the zoning and licensing of sexually oriented businesses. City Solicitor Guy Ayres presented the Mayor and Council with two ordinances at a work session of the Mayor and Council this week, and if all goes well, both ordinances will be passed on first reading Monday night. Sexually oriented business has been an...READ MORE

'Mr. Coates' Remembered As Attorney, Coach And 'Mentor'

BERLIN - Berlin and all of Worcester County lost a patriarch this week when Raymond Davis Coates, Sr. passed away on Sunday at the Coastal Hospice at the Lake in Salisbury at the age of 79. Coates touched thousands of lives in his native Berlin and throughout Worcester County as a prominent attorney and, perhaps, more importantly, a coach and mentor. He founded the Berlin Little League in the 1950s and is credited for bringing organized football to Worcester County. He was also a former head...READ MORE

Mathias Wants County, OC To Discuss Tax Differential

OCEAN CITY - With no action from the county on Ocean City's request for support on the tax differential, the Ocean City Mayor and Council has asked Delegate Jim Mathias to go ahead with the legislation without the county's support. The town sent the letter Tuesday. 'That was a parallel path to follow for legislation,' said Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan. 'We'd certainly like to sit down with the County Commissioners.' Mathias said Wednesday he would not submit the legislation until the town and...READ MORE

OC Gives Support To Proposed County Eco-Park

OCEAN CITY -'Adventure with a coat check,' could become a new slogan for Ocean City tourism as the concept of an eco-park gains strength and eco-tourism moves to the forefront in the resort area. The Ocean City Mayor and City Council gave unanimous support to the concept of an eco-park this week, shedding light on an under-utilized segment of tourism in the area - eco-tourism. Jim Rapp, director of Delmarva Low-Impact Tourism Experiences (DLITE), presented the Mayor and Council with the...READ MORE

Prosecutor Reflects On Murderer's Early Walk

BERLIN - The perpetrator of one of the most heinous crimes in Ocean City history, Jermaine Wright, who in 1995 lured a young girl in the resort for Senior Week into his car before ultimately murdering her and discarding her body near a country road, gets released from prison next week, years before expected and decades earlier than he would have if not for a life sentence overturned on legal issues. Wright will walk out of prison next Friday a free man after serving roughly seven years of a...READ MORE

Smoke-Free Md. Starts Today

OCEAN CITY - Restaurants and bars in Ocean City and across Maryland are completely smoke-free starting today with the arrival of the effective date of legislation passed last year to prohibit smoking in all indoor public places with few exceptions. Many businesses throughout the area this week scrubbed the last vestiges of smoking from their establishments, discarded or stowed ashtrays and made other arrangements for the arrival of the smoking ban across the state. Others who...READ MORE

Berlin Designing Lower Capacity Wastewater Plant

BERLIN - Despite a professed desire to ask for more sewer capacity, the town of Berlin is going ahead with work on the lower capacity wastewater plant. 'My understanding is we're proceeding with the .75 million gallons per day (mgd),' said Berlin Administrative Director Linda Bambary this week. Town representatives informed the Worcester County Commissioners of their need for more sewer sooner in mid-January, but have not yet made a formal request for a reconsideration of capacity. Bambary...READ MORE

Bridge Shuttle Bus Keeping Busy

WEST OCEAN CITY - In the first 10 days of the Route 50 bridge closure, a county-sponsored shuttle bus moved 1,309 people between Ocean City and West Ocean City. 'That is just astonishing,' said County Commissioner Bud Church, who also serves as president of the Tri-County Council (TCC), which operates Shore Transit, the county's public transportation effort founded to get residents to work. The county is picking up the $1,100-a-day price tag for the service, which enables people to get to work...READ MORE

New Assateague Visitors Center Work Initiated

ASSATEAGUE - Amid much fanfare and long speeches by state and federal lawmakers, ground was officially broken on Monday for the long-awaited Barrier Island Visitors Center on Assateague Island. Retired U.S. Senator Paul Sarbanes, along with his successor Sen. Ben Cardin and Congressman Wayne Gilchrest, were among the dignitaries on hand on Monday for the official ground-breaking ceremony for the new 10,000 square-foot visitors center at the entrance to state park not far from the new University...READ MORE

OC Chamber Tracking Bills Of Local Importance

BERLIN - With the deadline for introducing new bills rapidly approaching, state lawmakers this week continued to flood the hoppers on both sides of the aisle as several bills of local import were introduced. Today, Feb. 1, is the Senate introduction date and the last day to introduce new legislation on the House side arrives next Friday. Bills introduced after those dates are sent to the rules committee of each chamber and then must be referred to a standing committee for consideration. Several...READ MORE

Ocean City Again Requests Large Bus Loan From Md.

OCEAN CITY - Ocean City will be gaining assistance from Maryland once again in 2008 through the seasonal borrowing of articulating transit buses. George Thornes, Transportation Superintendent, came before the Mayor and City Council this week seeking approval for the annual request of the articulating transit buses. Each year Ocean City's Transportation Department makes the request for additional buses during the season in an effort to accommodate the inevitable influx of people that come to...READ MORE

Ocean City Bulkhead Repair Plan Pitched

OCEAN CITY - The Mayor and Council will hold a public hearing in the near future in an effort to resolve issues surrounding the on-going efforts to repair the bulkhead along South Ocean Drive. City Engineer Terry McGean presented the proposal for a public hearing at a work session of the Mayor and City Council this week in an effort to move forward with the bulkhead permit process that has reached a stalemate in past months. The South Ocean Drive bulkhead, which runs about 1,000 feet in length...READ MORE

Ocean City Council News Briefs

OCEAN CITY - At a work session of the Mayor and City Council this week, a variety of issues were discussed. The following is a brief look at some of the happenings at City Hall this week. Request For Purchase Of Gas Monitoring Equipment The Ocean City Volunteer Fire Company (OCVFC) appeared before the Mayor and Council this week with a request for the sole source purchase of gas monitoring equipment. OCVFC President James Jester made the request for 12 industrial scientific MX6 gas monitors...READ MORE

Rape Conviction Results In 40-Year Prison Sentence

SNOW HILL - A Berlin man convicted in December on first-degree rape charges was sentenced last week in Worcester County Circuit Court to 40 years in jail. Preston Lewis Whaley, Jr., 43, of Berlin was convicted in December on first-degree rape and first-degree assault charges for an incident dating back to August, which was just the latest in a long and sordid pattern of abuse on the victim, who was his girlfriend and mother of his child. Back in Circuit Court last Thursday, Whaley was sentenced...READ MORE