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Bike Week Plans To Spread Out To Six Shore Sites

OCEAN CITY - 'This year we ride,' is the theme that aptly sums up the driving force behind the new Delmarva Bike Week itinerary, with the traditional anchor location at Ocean Downs out and six different locations across Delmarva in for the 2008 motorcycle event. Delmarva Bike Week, typically the banner event for the fall season in the resort, will be held from Sept. 11-14 this year, but with a unique twist. Delmarva Bike Week started in 2001 and was held in Whaleyville for two years before...READ MORE

Biker Recovering From Crash Through Vehicle's Back Window

OCEAN CITY - A New Jersey biker is in stable condition this week after a bizarre multi-vehicle accident on Wednesday morning on Coastal Highway that sent him flying through the back window of a vehicle in front of him. Shortly before noon on Wednesday, Ocean City police responded to a four-vehicle collision on Coastal Highway at 67th Street. The investigation revealed traffic was stopped and waiting for the light to change in the southbound lanes of Coastal Highway. Liam Canavan, 29, of...READ MORE

Md. Officials Oppose Lifting Offshore Oil Drilling Ban

OCEAN CITY - With the price at the pump steadily rising, the debate over a decades-long moratorium on offshore drilling for oil along the nation's coastlines, including right here in Maryland, has intensified in recent weeks, but state elected officials are clearly of one mind when it comes to lifting the prohibition. Last week, President Bush along with GOP presidential candidate John McCain called for ending the moratorium on offshore drilling for oil and natural gas that has been in place for...READ MORE

Play It Safe Eyes Another Record Year

OCEAN CITY - Rising gas prices may be affecting some vacationers this year, but it certainly didn't deter thousands of senior weekers from flocking to the resort, with over 13,000 turning out this year for the planned Play It Safe events. Play It Safe events occur each year during the month of June, providing fun, alcohol-free events for the recent high-school graduates to participate in. The mission of Play It Safe has remained the same throughout the years - 'encourage high school graduates to...READ MORE

Berlin Named To State's Expanding Main Street Program

BERLIN - In his first visit to Berlin this week, Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley announced the historic town's return to the Maryland Main Street program to an enthusiastic crowd before the Atlantic Hotel. Before making the announcement, O'Malley, visiting Worcester County for the Maryland Municipal League convention in Ocean City, walked through town with interim Mayor Gee Williams, stopping in local shops to speak to shopkeepers, as Williams described the history of the town. Twenty-five...READ MORE

OC Beach Patrol Ready For Peak Season

OCEAN CITY - With the Fourth of July just around the corner and the ocean warming up just in time for the holiday crowds and the true start of summer, the Ocean City Beach Patrol is pulling out all the stops in preparation, from a week long re-certification process to pulling out extra stands and personnel for the busy holiday weekend. The Fourth of July is typically a banner holiday in the resort town, with families and beachgoers pouring in to enjoy sun, fun and fireworks. With the Fourth...READ MORE

OC Security Guard Saves Child's Life With Infant CPR

OCEAN CITY - A local security guard became a hero of sorts last Thursday evening, when he played a major role in saving the life of a seven-week-old infant that was rushed into his office. Barry Pryor, security guard at the Sea Watch Condominiums on 115th Street, was in the midst of a typical night at work last Thursday evening when a pair of renters rushed into the office, holding their infant. 'They ran the baby down to the office, they were in hysterics,' recalled Pryor. Rightly so, the...READ MORE

School Board Defends Overrun In Face Of Criticism

NEWARK - While the Worcester County Commissioners claimed that they had not been told about the school system cost overruns at last Tuesday's meeting, Superintendent of Schools Jon Andes said this week that the commissioners were informed in writing of the excess costs in November and again in the school board budget this spring. 'We sent the County Commissioners a letter in November stating we anticipated these areas would be over budget,' Andes said. Several commissioners criticized the Board...READ MORE

Teen With Tragic Local Link Runs Into More Trouble

SNOW HILL - The tragic story of a then 18-year-old Pennsylvania high school graduate Benjamin Walter, who struck and killed another recent graduate on Coastal Highway in June 2005, took another turn last week when Walter was sentenced to four months of jail time for violating the terms of his probation with a second DUI arrest in his home state. On June 15, 2005, Walter struck and killed Justin Scheftel, another recent high school graduate in Ocean City for the annual Senior Week ritual, as...READ MORE

33rd Street Property Rezoned

OCEAN CITY - Property located on 33rd Street and Coastal Highway was officially rezoned from residential to commercial last week, as the City Council voted unanimously to make the change. At a public hearing in early April regarding the parcel, the Planning and Zoning Commission agreed that the property should be rezoned, making a favorable recommendation to the Mayor and Council to rezone the area from R-2 residential to LC-1 commercial. Zoning Administrator Blaine Smith explained the...READ MORE

Berlin Alters Fuel Policy

BERLIN - Berlin will monitor its fuel consumption more closely under a new town vehicle fuel conservation policy. The Berlin Mayor and Council discussed the new fuel policy and two other new personnel policies for Berlin employees at the second June meeting on Wednesday night. The meeting was pushed back two days, instead of being held on the usual Monday, to allow elected officials to attend the Maryland Municipal League Convention in Ocean City. The council extended the job return period for...READ MORE

Berlin Visioning Meeting Targets East Residents

BERLIN - The second citizen visioning meeting for the new Berlin Comprehensive Plan will be held on July 23 at the Flower St. Multi-Purpose Building. The meeting 'will help us to be a little more in tune with that neighborhood,' said Tim Bourcier, the planning consultant writing the new Berlin Comprehensive Plan. Census information shows that Berlin is 33 percent African American, and Bourcier said the town needs to hear from that segment of society. 'They generally don't come out and give input...READ MORE

GIS Provides New View Of Berlin

BERLIN - A new set of maps generated by GIS (Geographic Information Systems) graduate student Jim Garrity for his Master's degree will allow Berlin to use mapping data in a way it never has before. 'You have a lot of data not being used already sitting in storage,' Garrity reported to the Berlin Mayor Council this week. Garrity, a Master's degree student in GIS and Public Administration and a planner for Worcester County, sat down with staff this winter to determine what the town needs from a...READ MORE

Man Sentenced In Fed Racketeering Case

BERLIN - A Snow Hill man, who was one of dozens rounded up in a federal sting operation in Worcester County and across the Lower Shore last September for providing hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to undercover federal agents for illegal green cards and tax abatements, was sentenced this week in U.S. District Court to four years in jail. Mohammed Ijaz, 43, of Snow Hill, this week entered a plea arrangement with federal prosecutors resulting in four years in prison followed by three...READ MORE

New Child Seat Law Near

BERLIN - Larger and older children in Maryland not currently required to be secured in a child safety seat or booster seat will be required to do so starting Monday when a change in state law goes into effect. Currently, state law requires children to use safety seats until they reach age six and/or weigh 40 pounds. However, a new state law goes into effect on Monday, June 30, raising the minimum standards to children eight years old or younger, unless they are at least 4'9' tall or weigh 60...READ MORE

OC Air Show Eyes Changes Including Weekend Dates

OCEAN CITY - The first annual OC Air Show may have wrapped up earlier this month, but planning for the second annual OC Air Show is already underway, with plans for a weekend show in the works.  The OC Air Show was approved in January and put together in just a few months' time through the efforts of Ocean City Special Events Coordinator John Sullivan and event organizer Bryan Lilley of Bryan Lilley, Inc. Due to competing air shows and the novice-nature of the OC Air Show, a weekend show...READ MORE

OC's Inlet Surfing Beach Still Working

OCEAN CITY - As the beaches fill with visitors and the surfers search for an open space to catch a few waves, the success of the Inlet surfing beach continues to grow as the program enters its second year, reported Beach Patrol Captain Butch Arbin this week. The Inlet surfing beach was officially set aside last year when the Ocean City Mayor and Council approved a one-year pilot program for the creation of a surfing-only beach at the Inlet extending northward from the jetty about 200 yards. The...READ MORE

OC's May Bus Ridership Soars

OCEAN CITY - The Town of Ocean City bus service experienced a dramatic increase in ridership in May, transporting a total of 318,501 passengers. This marked an increase of 13.35 percent over May of 2007. "We are very pleased to see more passengers taking advantage of this convenient service," said George Thornes, Ocean City Transportation Superintendent. The 13.35-percent increase in May ridership meant buses carried over 42,500 more passengers during the month verses the same time...READ MORE

School's Now In For Some

OCEAN CITY - School may be out for summer in Worcester County, but that doesn't mean hundreds of students across the county won't be working overtime for a few weeks over the next couple months to improve their skills and enjoy a few of the programs offered through the Worcester County Summer Academy. Summer school often carries with it a negative connotation, evoking images of weeks of remedial math and English while the rest of the students enjoy their freedom. Such is not the case, however,...READ MORE

Water's Sodium Levels Could Be Cause For Concern

BERLIN - Recently released 2007 water quality reports for two major and two smaller Worcester County service areas show low levels of contaminants and enough sodium to concern those on low-salt regimens. Ocean Pines, Mystic Harbour, Assateague Pointe and Edgewater Acres/Nantucket Point service areas all showed sodium levels at least double that recommended for people on salt-restricted diets. Medical advice calls for salt-restricted patients to drink water with less than 20 parts per million...READ MORE

With Holiday Approaching, Fireworks Warning Issued

OCEAN CITY - With the Fourth of July celebration just around the corner, local fire officials this week reminded residents and visitors to the area of the dangers associated with private fireworks. The Ocean City Fire Marshal's Office this week took advantage of the occasion of the Fourth of July to reiterate its policies on fireworks from public safety and enforcement standpoints. Ocean City ordinances differ somewhat from state law and even what is allowed in Worcester County at-large. For...READ MORE

Work To Begin On Methane Gas Plant

NEWARK - A partnership between Worcester County and the private sector to convert decomposing trash into a renewable energy source will come to fruition early next month when the ribbon is cut on a methane power plant at the county's central landfill in Newark. County officials partnered with Baltimore-based Curtis Engine, a major regional power solutions generation company, on the development of the methane gas-to-electric power conversion plant. The concept is to convert methane gas created by...READ MORE