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Parker Plant Depot Offers Items For Every Season

PITTSVILLE – Parker Plant Depot is 77 acres of family fun providing a relaxing environment as well as year-round merchandise suited for any season. “The farm had been in the family for almost 200 years,” said owner Tom Bell. “I take a lot of pride in this because it’s not only a business but there’s a lot of heritage here. The Parkers were kind of like pillars for the community of Pittsville. We are very proud of the property and very proud of our...READ MORE

Most Recent Renovation Makes For A Roomier Buxy’s

OCEAN CITY -- One of the resort area’s most well-known restaurants and bars is getting a little bigger. Construction on an addition to Buxy’s Salty Dog Saloon on 28th Street is expected to be complete this week. Owner Doug “Buxy” Buxbaum explained that the extra room will mostly be used to display merchandise and as a waiting area, though there will be some general expansion as well. “It gives us the opportunity to open the kitchen up,” he said. The addition...READ MORE

Ashley Planning Own Gas Giveaway Promotion

OCEAN CITY – Councilman Brent Ashley is carrying on the free gas giveaway in attempts to continue the promotion of Ocean City and to express the town’s appreciation for its visitors. Ashley, the voice behind the free gas giveaway promotion, released a news release on Tuesday morning that was titled “There Will Be Free Gas in Ocean City, Maryland This Summer”, despite the council’s vote to eliminate the free gas promotion last week. The gas promotion was first...READ MORE

Resort Council Unanimously Approves FY12 Budget

OCEAN CITY – The fiscal year 2012’s budget passed in a unanimous vote during Monday evening’s Mayor and City Council meeting after being delayed in recent weeks. “I’m glad we passed the budget and we were able to hold the tax rate at .395 cents, and really that’s because of the work the council has done over the past three and half years to cut back on expenses and to re-size our government and re-evaluate and re-organize how we do things in Ocean City,”...READ MORE

Dew Tour Details Worked Out For OC Stop

OCEAN CITY – The Dew Tour will be here in less than a month and it will be set up under the night sky to prevent any impact on the town’s normal activities. A few weeks ago, Dew Tour representatives and city officials and staff met to hammer out some of the details and concerns surrounding the major event. “I think everybody would agree that we have made significant progress over the past three weeks,” Dew Tour Special Event Coordinator Chris Prybylo said during Monday...READ MORE

Task Force To Tackle Downtown Vacant Properties

Task Force To Tackle Downtown Vacant Properties SALISBURY -- Salisbury Mayor Jim Ireton, Jr. this week announced the launch of a pilot program to stimulate the revitalization of several downtown properties. Ireton has formed a Downtown Task Force to work with selected property owners with the objective of making their properties more marketable and more attractive to prospective tenants or buyers. At the outset, the task force will meet with the owners of several businesses, all on Main Street,...READ MORE

Council Votes Again To Spike Golf Co-Op Plan

OCEAN CITY – Two promotions, a free gas giveaway and a golf co-op, were created to endorse Ocean City as a destination but both have now reached a dead end less than a month after being approved. Councilman Brent Ashley requested this week to withdrawal his two-part motion, which was set to activate a free gas giveaway and golf co-op marketing plan. “My understanding is I made one motion for two promotions that was eventually turned down so that killed both of my wishes,” he...READ MORE

Missing Girl Sought in Resort

OCEAN CITY- Ocean City Police this week continue to search for a teen reported missing earlier this month in Baltimore County who is believed to have traveled at some point to the resort for Senior Week. According to Baltimore County Police, Kirsten L. Ratliff, 16, of Perry Hall, was reported missing by her father shortly before 8 p.m. on June 9. Ratliff had apparently had a dispute with her father, with whom she was living, and ran away. When she did not return, he father reported her missing...READ MORE

Council Votes Again To Spike Golf Co-Op Plan

OCEAN CITY – Two promotions, a free gas giveaway and a golf co-op, were created to endorse Ocean City as a destination but both have now reached a dead end less than a month after being approved. Councilman Brent Ashley requested this week to withdrawal his two-part motion, which was set to activate a free gas giveaway and golf co-op marketing plan. “My understanding is I made one motion for two promotions that was eventually turned down so that killed both of my wishes,” he...READ MORE

County Leery of State Planning Initiative

SNOW HILL- A state move to regulate development has Worcester County officials drawing battle lines. “I think it is fair to say that the more we read, the more we become concerned,” said Director of Review and Permitting Ed Tudor in a memo to the County Commissioners. Tudor explained that “PlanMaryland” as the initiative is being called, “comes perilously close to an outright intrusion into local planning and zoning autonomy.” County Commissioner Virgil...READ MORE

County Council Bucks Up for Failing Perdue Stadium Systems

County Council Bucks Up for Failing Perdue Stadium Systems Shawn J. Soper News Editor SALISBURY- On the day of one of the most important events ever at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium, Wicomico officials on Tuesday learned the facility is starting to show its age and needs a major overhaul of its heating and air conditioning systems. On Tuesday morning, just hours before Perdue Stadium was set to host the 2011 South Atlantic League All-Star Game, the Wicomico County Council received a request for a...READ MORE

Worcester School Board Approves Budget Amid Fears for FY2012

SNOW HILL- Even though the Worcester County Board of Education (BoE) just officially accepted their budget this week, representatives are already looking to next year with trepidation. “There is nothing left to cut in the future except programs and services,” said School Superintendent Dr. Jon Andes. “Programs and services in education mean our people. With 81-cents of every dollar going into our classrooms, we would no longer be able to insulate our children from the impact of...READ MORE

Wallops Launch Should Be Visible Across Resort Area, East Coast

OCEAN CITY- Local residents and visitors to the area could get a Fourth of July fireworks preview next week when NASA’s Wallops Island Flight Facility on the Virginia coast just south of Assateague makes a significant rocket launch expected to be visible across much of the Eastern seaboard. Wallops is scheduled to launch a U.S. Air Force Minotaur 1 rocket carrying a critical Department of Defense Operationally Responsive Space office (ORS-1) satellite next Tuesday, June 28, between 8:30...READ MORE

Wild Chase Ends In Worcester

BERLIN- Two Baltimore men were arrested on numerous charges including assaulting a police officer after a high-speed chase through three counties last Friday that began with a traffic stop in Cambridge and ended in a ditch along Friendship Rd. in Berlin. A little before 11 p.m. last Friday, Wicomico County Sheriff’s Deputies received a report from Dorchester County about a high-speed vehicle pursuit heading east on Route 50. According to police reports, a silver Acura, driven by Vernon A....READ MORE

Alleged Boardwalk Scam Targets Teen

OCEAN CITY -- Ocean City Police this week are urging visitors to be aware of an alleged scam carried out on as many as three occasions at one Boardwalk store and possibly others. While it remains uncertain just how many naïve young people got caught up in the alleged scam at a Boardwalk clothing store during Senior Week, at least one Pennsylvania teen and possibly two others were allegedly victimized. Lorraine Lee of Royersford, Pa. this week said her daughter, who was in Ocean City...READ MORE

Buskers Bounced from North Division Street

OCEAN CITY- A street performer accused the Ocean City Mayor and Council of retaliation this week as they passed an ordinance to restrict performance of any kind on the Boardwalk at North Division Street due to the street’s key role as an emergency access point. The ordinance prohibits, “exercise or perform such activity or display in any area of the Boardwalk other than within the area encompassed within the extended boundaries of the street ends, except for the area encompassed...READ MORE

Study for Wind Farm at Landfill Approved

Study for Wind Farm at Landfill Approved SNOW HILL- Worcester County might have up to a dozen windmills added to its skyline by 2013. County Commissioners gave National Wind, LLC the go ahead to begin a feasibility study this summer to determine whether or not wind speeds are sufficient for a wind farm to be built on top of the Newark Landfill. “I consider this a very preliminary request,” said Patrick Pelstring, the Co-Chair of National Wind. Pelstring told the commission that his...READ MORE

Council Considers Teleconferencing

SALISBURY- Advances in technology have the Salisbury City Council considering the use of electronic teleconferencing during meetings. With video chat programs like Skype and its equivalents widely available to the public, the boundary between physically being in a location and communicating with that location are shrinking. While the council has required members wishing to take part in discussion to be in the room in the past, they are now considering allowing conference calls and steaming video...READ MORE

Smoke From N.C. Wildfire Drifts Across Worcester

BERLIN- The heavy, acrid smoke that arrived across much of Worcester County this week drifted north from a massive wildfire in North Carolina. By mid-day on Wednesday, much of Worcester County was socked in with heavy smoke and a strong, acrid odor stemming from an active wildfire in Dare County, N.C. hundred of miles away. Smoke from the North Carolina wildfire traveled up the Eastern Shore of Maryland and into Worcester, prompting dozens of calls to the County Fire Marshal’s Office from...READ MORE

Resort Council Unanimously Approves FY12 Budget

OCEAN CITY – The fiscal year 2012’s budget passed in a unanimous vote during Monday evening’s Mayor and City Council meeting after being delayed in recent weeks. “I’m glad we passed the budget and we were able to hold the tax rate at .395 cents, and really that’s because of the work the council has done over the past three and half years to cut back on expenses and to re-size our government and re-evaluate and re-organize how we do things in Ocean City,”...READ MORE

Salisbury Woman Faces 20 Years for Check, Credit Card Fraud

SALISBURY- A Salisbury woman this week pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to mail fraud and aggravated identity theft after scamming dozens of victims and as many as 13 financial institutions in a check and credit card scam dating back to last spring and summer. Carla Nicole Koester, 38, of Salisbury, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court on Tuesday to mail fraud and aggravated theft and now faces as many as 20 years in prison. According to her plea agreement, Koester stole checks and credit...READ MORE

Ashley Planning Own Gas Giveaway Promotion

OCEAN CITY – Councilman Brent Ashley is carrying on the free gas giveaway in attempts to continue the promotion of Ocean City and to express the town’s appreciation for its visitors. Ashley, the voice behind the free gas giveaway promotion, released a news release on Tuesday morning that was titled “There Will Be Free Gas in Ocean City, Maryland This Summer”, despite the council’s vote to eliminate the free gas promotion last week. The gas promotion was first...READ MORE

Septic Task Force Members Named

BERLIN- Worcester County and the Lower Eastern Shore will be represented on Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley’s task force to study septic system pollution and its impact on the Chesapeake and Coastal Bays, the roster of which was announced this week. Shortly after the Maryland General Assembly session ended in April, O’Malley announced the formation of a task force to study the impact of septic system pollution on the state’s imperiled waterways. During the 2011,...READ MORE

Boat Slip Plan Nears Approval

OCEAN CITY- Controversial plans to extend a pier and add eight new boat slips in a highly congested area of the Little Assawoman Bay appear to be heading for approval by the state’s Board of Public Works despite continued concerns raised by a neighboring homeowner’s association about increased danger on the waterway. About two years ago, the Portofino townhouse community in a little sliver of Worcester County cut off from Ocean City by Delaware along the Little Assawoman Bay just...READ MORE

Health Department Late Fees Debated

SNOW HILL- The decision to change late fees on pool and food service applications has been delayed by one month at the request of the Worcester County Health Department (WCHD). In that time, the WCHD will conduct a cost analysis survey which could lead to the reduction of late fees with a possible increase to base application fees. “I really don’t know what the magic number is,” said Health Officer Debbie Goeller at a County Commissioner meeting Tuesday. Goeller explained that...READ MORE

County Approves Cost-Saving Measures to Offset Solid Waste Losses

SNOW HILL- While a number of options were discussed, the Worcester County Commissioners this week decided to table the debate over yard waste disposal at tipping stations until this fall, but did unanimously pass 11 other money-saving policies suggested by Enterprise Fund Controller Jennifer Savage, all meant to combat the high operating costs of the County’s Solid Waste Division. “We’re trying to serve the homeowner,” said Savage. Solid waste has long been an...READ MORE

Bay Bridge Toll Hike Hearing Set

BERLIN- State Transportation officials announced this week a public hearing to allow local residents to weigh in on a proposal to double the tolls on the William Preston Lane Memorial Bridge, or Chesapeake Bay Bridge, will be held at Stephen Decatur Middle School on July 14. Earlier this month, the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) formally proposed a plan to increase rates at toll facilities across the state including the Bay Bridge. According to the proposal, the toll at the Bay Bridge...READ MORE

Wicomico Debates Housing Payments

SALISBURY- An ongoing dispute over which Wicomico Housing Authority residences should make payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT) payments to the county and which should make similar payments to the various towns including Salisbury essentially ended this week after considerable debate when officials realized there was no hammer for collecting the payments at all. The federally subsidized Housing Authority owns and operates 109 housing units in Wicomico, 19 of which are in the county at large with...READ MORE

Code Amended to Define Parking for Outdoor Dining

OCEAN CITY –The Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously on an amendment to the code concerning the definition of outdoor dining and how it comes into play with an establishment’s required parking. The commission has been in the process of deliberating how far local businesses can construct outdoor dining until the offered seating takes a toll on the parking spaces provided. The code in the past has exempt parking requirements from outdoor dining areas provided. A couple of...READ MORE

Salisbury Agrees to Adopt Ocean City’s Basic Towing Fee Schedule

SALISBURY- A frustrating delay on setting police tow fees was narrowly avoided when the Salisbury City Council voted to mirror Ocean City rates, despite having already agreed to table the issue. With the adoption of Ocean City police tow fees, a standard tow will be $125. Service calls for things like a jumpstart or gasoline that don’t involve a tow will cost $65. Additionally, a $35 per-day abandoned vehicle fee that isn’t on Ocean City’s books was added. The desire to change...READ MORE

Boardwalk Aerial Tram Plan Withdrawn

OCEAN CITY –Ocean City Skyline is considering proposing an aerial tram to sweep along the skyline of the boardwalk but its presentation was put on hold in order to take more time to work out the details. A proposal for an aerial tram ride adjacent to Ocean City’s Boardwalk was scheduled to be presented to the Mayor and City Council this week. “The people that were proposing it made the decision to withdrawal it,” City Clerk Kathy Mathias said on Tuesday. “There are...READ MORE

Drunk Boating Enforcement Stepped Up

OCEAN CITY- With summer hitting its stride and activities on and around the water in Maryland picking up, local, state and federal law enforcement agencies are stepping up drinking and boating patrols as part of national initiative against the often deadly practice. All weekend, starting today through Sunday, the Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) will participate in Operation Dry Water, a nationally-coordinated program to raise awareness about the dangerous use of alcohol in a boating...READ MORE

WOC Man Sentenced in Child Porn Case

WEST OCEAN CITY- A West Ocean City man, convicted in March on federal child pornography possession charges, was sentenced last week in U.S. District Court to 10 years in prison followed by a lifetime of supervision upon his release. U.S. District Court Judge William Nickerson last Thursday sentenced Lawrence Franklin King III, 41, of Ocean City, to 10 years in jail followed by supervised release for life for possession of child pornography. King, a convicted sex offender living in West Ocean...READ MORE