Committee vets first draft, hears from dept. heads (Jan. 9, 2020) Work on the Ocean Pines Association’s budget for the next fiscal year got underway in earnest on Monday, when the budget and finance committee received presentations from the individual departments. Those presentations, Committee Chairmen Dick Keiling said, provided the committee with raw information about… Read more »
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Berlin Restaurant Week, Jan. 13-19
By Morgan Pilz, Staff Writer (Jan. 9, 2020) Thirteen businesses will offer special meal prices for the fourth annual Berlin Restaurant Week, which will run from Monday, Jan. 13 to Sunday, Jan. 19. Cam Bunting, Berlin Restaurant Week founder and owner of Bunting Realty, came up with the idea after experiencing one in Bethesda, Maryland,… Read more »
Heron Park nears ‘all-clear’ signal
By Morgan Pilz, Staff Writer Grounds expected to open by next council session, says town administrator (Jan. 30, 2020) Berlin Town Administrator Jeff Fleetwood expressed confidence that Heron Park will be able to reopen by the next mayor and town council meeting when he gave his report on the park during Monday’s meeting. Fleetwood told… Read more »
OP Aquatics Angel Tree collects record haul
(Jan. 2, 2020) Bolstered by unexpected donations from American Legion Boggs Disharoon Auxiliary Unit #123 in Berlin, the Ocean Pines Aquatics Angel Tree program last week donated gifts so 10 children from four families would have wrapped presents tucked under the tree on Christmas morning. Operations Director Colby Phillips said the holiday charity endeavor, now… Read more »
Berlin mayor, council goals focus on repairing finances
Restoring wastewater fund, building community center also make list for 2020 By Rachel Ravina, Staff Writer (Jan. 2, 2020) Finances, infrastructure and policy goals are top priorities that Berlin’s elected officials hope to tackle this year. “First and foremost to get the finances in order. That’s absolutely priority one,” said Councilman Troy Purnell. Despite a tumultuous… Read more »
Operation Warm gives coats to Wor. children
By Rachel Ravina, Staff Writer (Jan. 2, 2020) More than 400 Worcester County public school students received a new winter coat last month as part of Operation Warm, an initiative sponsored by area firefighters to provide outerwear to children in need. Sean Sullivan, a firefighter paramedic for the Ocean Pines Fire Department, said the Worcester County… Read more »
Wolf intends to focus environmental efforts
(Jan. 2, 2020) OPA Environmental & Natural Assets Committee Chairman Ken Wolf, freshly reinstated to the post in October, hopes to focus the group work this year on establishing achievable benchmarks for long-standing goals. “The real concern that I had is that we were trying to do a lot of good things and we weren’t… Read more »
Janasek, Perrone, Rogers win board seats
(Dec. 26, 2019) Of seven candidates vying for a trio of open seats during the Ocean Pine Association Board of Directors 2019 election, the top vote totals were compiled by Tom Janasek, Larry Perrone and Camilla Rogers, who joined the board in August. Garnering the top total to serve a three-year term was Janasek at… Read more »
Year in Review 2019: Heron Park chemical spill: space still closed
By Rachel Ravina, Staff Writer (Dec. 26, 2019) The spill of sodium hydroxide at Heron Park this year turned out to burn more than the grass around it — it was projected to burn through more than $280,000 by the time the cleanup of the caustic chemical could be completed. The park, previously known as Berlin… Read more »
OP sees major financial turnaround
(Dec. 26, 2019) After Ocean Pines Association members started the year with a proposed increase to annual assessment charges from soon-to-be-departed General Manager John Bailey, the subsequent leadership upheaval handed the reins to current General Manager John Viola, who employed expertise from existing personnel to produce profitable budget figures while continuing to erase prior fiscal… Read more »