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Blizzard Causes Accident, Closes Route 113

BERLIN - Wednesday's blizzard and associated white-out conditions caused a multi-vehicle pile-up on Route 113 just south of Berlin, sending five unidentified victims to the hospital. Shortly after noon on Wednesday, during the latest severe winter storm with white-out conditions, a domino-effect pile-up occurred on southbound Route 113 just south of Berlin. According to Worcester County Sheriff's Department Public Information Officer Sgt. Ed Schreier, blinding conditions on the highway caused a...READ MORE

Death Penalty Sought In Fatal Kidnapping Case

OCEAN CITY - A Salisbury man accused of kidnapping and killing an 11-year-old girl in late December was formally indicted on first-degree murder charges this week by a Wicomico County grand jury, one day after asking for a jury trial for an unrelated case in Ocean City District Court. On Tuesday, Wicomico County State's Attorney Davis Ruark announced a grand jury had formally indicted Thomas James Leggs, 30, on first-degree murder charges for the death of 11-year-old Sarah Haley Foxwell, whose...READ MORE

Flashing Lights A Surprise To OC Officials, Motorists

OCEAN CITY •€' The few motorists that ventured out into the frozen tundra of Ocean City last weekend perhaps noticed a blinking reminder of winter's past. Local residents may have thought that recent blizzard conditions throughout the peninsula had knocked the resort back in time a few years, as traffic signals were flashing and essentially offline throughout last weekend. Up until several years ago, many of the town's traffic signals went to the blinking yellow signal in the winter months,...READ MORE

OC Eyes Additional Boardwalk Bike Hour On Weekends

OCEAN CITY •€' Don Enste of Dandy Don's Bike Shop thought that the extended hour for bicycles on the Boardwalk went well enough last year to ask for an additional hour on the weekends. For the second time in a year, the Mayor and City Council unanimously agreed with Enste. The Mayor and City Council voted to extend the hours in which bicycles will be allowed on the Boardwalk (until 11 a.m., seven days a week in the summer), and despite the fact that the official change is contingent upon...READ MORE

School Closures Pose Challenges For All Involved

BERLIN - With at least four more school days lost this week and a decision still pending on today as of late yesterday, Worcester County's public schools have now gone well beyond their allotted inclement weather days, pushing the end of the year closer to the end of June. County schools were closed on Monday and Tuesday because of the aftermath of the major winter storm that struck the region last weekend. The second major storm in five days, and the third in two weeks, was then closing in on...READ MORE

Ad Firm Plans Official Campaign Unveiling In March

OCEAN CITY •€' In hopes of coordinating the town's advertising strategies with the business community's, the tourism department has announced that it will hold an official ad campaign kickoff this year. Tourism Director Deb Turk told the Tourism Commission last week that MGH Advertising plans to unveil the town's official marketing plan on March 16 at 1 p.m. at the Roland E. Powell Convention Center, which marks the first time that the town will show the campaign prior to the season. 'In...READ MORE

Bishopville Pond Project Issues Resolved

SNOW HILL - The Bishopville Pond improvement project will proceed as planned with the continued support of the County Commissioners. The county's support for the long-awaited pond improvement project was recently in jeopardy after county staff received some citizen concerns over potential future flooding onto private property bordering the improved pond after the improvements are made. Project coordinators at the Maryland Coastal Bays Program (MCBP) said that post-improvement flooding fears at...READ MORE

Century Bike Event Looks For Revival In Berlin

BERLIN - Berlin will play host to the beginning and end of the renewed Viewtrail Century Bike event this June, first held six years ago and now due to be revived. 'We're looking to bring that back,' said fitness event organizer Chris Klebe. The 100-mile bike event will be part of a three event weekend including the Assateague Assault sprint triathlon and the Ocean City 5 kilometer run, all during the weekend of June 19. Klebe received permission from the Berlin Mayor and Council Monday night to...READ MORE

County Planners Sign Off On Berlin's New Spray Site

BERLIN - The next step in establishing a new spray irrigation site for Berlin's expanded wastewater treatment plant has been achieved, after the Worcester County Planning Commission gave the project a favorable recommendation last week. Berlin's second spray irrigation site in Newark is compatible with the Worcester County Comprehensive Plan, the Planning Commission has concluded. Two years ago, the Worcester County Commissioners granted the town of Berlin permission to expand its wastewater...READ MORE

Decatur Farm Residents Seek Berlin Plow Service

BERLIN - Recent heavy snows have once again brought attention to the patchwork nature of town services in newer developments, after a request this week by a local townhouse development for town of Berlin snow plow service. Town services on private roads have gotten much attention in the last year after residents in some newer developments requested town garbage pick up in lieu of paying private contractors for the service.  Kristy Clark, president of the Stephen Decatur Farm townhouse...READ MORE

Feds Adjust Sea Bass Quotas, Not Season's Length

OCEAN CITY - Federal fisheries officials this week announced an increase in the black sea bass quota throughout the mid-Atlantic including Ocean City for 2010, but the emergency action did not make any adjustments to the length of the season, which could be limited from May to September. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) Fisheries Service officials on Tuesday announced it had taken emergency action to increase the black sea bass quota for 2010 by as much as 61 percent. As a...READ MORE

Local Man Gets 7 Years For Felony Theft

SNOW HILL - An Ocean City man, who years ago befriended a female companion and earned her trust before embarking on a theft scheme involving her credit cards and personal checks to the tune of over $10,000, was found guilty last week in Circuit Court to felony theft scheme and was sentenced to seven years in jail. Roughly between September and December 2008, Michael A. Mason, 46, of Ocean City, began a pattern of theft related to the use of credit cards and personal checks belonging to a female...READ MORE

Local Man Mysteriously Disappears

FENWICK ISLAND - A search continued yesterday for a local man who went missing late Tuesday night in Fenwick Island after last being seen leaving a party, as Delaware law enforcement agencies coordinated with volunteers to comb the area. Gregory R. Forte, 29, of Selbyville, was last seen around 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday in the area of South Carolina Ave. and the beach in Fenwick Island. Forte, a popular local and soccer coach with ties to area youth programs, was reportedly at a party at a...READ MORE

Md. Grant Boosts Berlin Facade Program

BERLIN - A Maryland state grant for community enhancements will infuse $150,000 into the Berlin Main Street Program's façade improvement efforts. The Community Legacy grant from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development to the Berlin Main Street Program totals $75,000. Funding from the local business community will match that $75,000 dollar for dollar, making sure at least $150,000 total is spent for façade improvements on downtown Berlin commercial buildings. The funding...READ MORE

OC Cleared In Open Meeting Complaint

OCEAN CITY - The Maryland Open Meeting Compliance Board, an arm of the state Attorney General's Office, has ruled in favor of Ocean City on a complaint filed by a private citizen with a long track record of similar complaints, finding the Mayor and Council did not violate a closed session law when it allegedly discussed bids for the resort's advertising contract last September. According to the complaint filed by Ocean City resident Joseph H. Potter, the Mayor and Council met in closed session...READ MORE

Ocean City News In Brief

OCEAN CITY •€' In the brief this week, the town opted to save some money by allowing the town's tax bill to be handled by the county, the Fire Marshal's Office was approved for some costly new equipment via grant money and several beach stand franchise bids came in a little below last year's numbers. Town Remits Billing To County The Ocean City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to allow Worcester County to collect property taxes and handle the paperwork involved in the annual billing...READ MORE

Police Sergeant Not Willing To Accept Ruling

OCEAN CITY - Apparently unsatisfied with the outcome of his case, an Ocean City Police Department sergeant last week filed an appeal in his civil suit against the town and its police department alleging he was bypassed for promotion to lieutenant when he was called into active service for the U.S. Coast Guard following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorists attacks. In November 2008, OCPD Sgt. William Bunting filed a civil suit against the town and its police department alleging he was by-passed for...READ MORE

Repairs Needed To Sewer Clarifier Will Cost $77,000

OCEAN CITY •€' Now that the town's main secondary wastewater clarifier has been fixed, it appears that the other two are in need of repair as well. The condition of the town's 29-year-old secondary wastewater clarifiers came into question again this week, as officials told the Mayor and City Council that both the center and the south secondary clarifiers were found to be in disrepair and needed immediate attention. Last fall, the town's north secondary clarifier underwent substantial...READ MORE

Tax Credits For Homebuyers Can Lead To Big Savings

By Elizabeth Gregory Special To The Dispatch OCEAN CITY - On Nov. 6, 2009, President Obama signed into law the 'Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009.' This new law extends and generally liberalizes the tax credit for first-time homebuyers, making it a more flexible tax-saving tool. It also includes some crackdowns designed to prevent abuse of the credit. Before the new law was enacted, the homebuyer credit was only available for qualifying first-time home purchases after...READ MORE