Berlin, Ocean Pines News Worcester County Bayside Gazette
Options range from painful to stretching out payments By Rachel Ravina, Staff Writer (April 18, 2019) Budget discussions continued Monday evening as the Berlin mayor and council tackled the utility fund budget. Finance Director Natalie Saleh said the overall utility budget for fiscal year 2020 consists of $9.1 million, down $2 million, or 18 percent, from… Read more »
By Rachel Ravina, Staff Writer (April 18, 2019) The electric department of Berlin kept busy early Monday morning after storms came through the area and knocked out power in several neighborhoods. Electric Utility Director Tim Lawrence said about 600 customers were without power from 4:30-6:30 a.m. “That [storm] was nasty,” said Councilman Troy Purnell of the… Read more »
By Morgan Pilz, Staff Writer (April 18, 2019) Although Slobodan Trendic resigned from the Ocean Pines Board of Directors last week, he is not getting out of community politics. This week he said he wants to “make Ocean Pines great again” with a town hall meeting at the Ocean Pines Library on Monday. Elected in… Read more »
By Rachel Ravina, Staff Writer (April 18, 2019) Reducing flooding is the point of the Graham Avenue Submerged Gravel Wetland Project, which town officials explained to residents at a meeting last Thursday at the Berlin Activities Depot. Presentations to the audience came from the Town of Berlin, the Maryland Coastal Bays Program and E.A. Engineering, Science,… Read more »
By Rachel Ravina, Staff Writer (April 18, 2019) Town of Berlin employees can expect to see a change in health insurance providers from United Health Care to Carefirst Blue Cross, assuming the mayor and council take the advice of the town’s broker, Deeley Insurance Group. In addition to reevaluating United Health Care’s terms and costs, town… Read more »
By Rachel Ravina, Staff Writer (April 18, 2019) Several Berlin town officials seemed pleased with the idea of the Worcester County Department of Recreation and Parks’ proposition to purchase the Berlin Lions Club park property to preserve it for that purpose. “You know it’s obviously a county situation, but anything they do out there benefits Berlin,”… Read more »
By Rachel Ravina, Staff Writer (April 11, 2019) A Medicare information spoofing scam reached Worcester County last week, as health department officials found the Berlin Health Office’s phone number being “illegally and fraudulently used,” the department said in a Facebook post. Spoofing involves impersonating a legitimate phone number to persuade someone to give away personal information… Read more »
By Josh Davis, Associate Editor (April 11, 2019) A “school safety threat” against Snow Hill Middle School on March 21 led to two students being charged, according to Carrie Sterrs, Worcester County Schools’ spokeswoman. Officials have not made public what the threat involved. Sterrs said “a cooperative effort between school officials, law enforcement, and the state’s… Read more »
By Rachel Ravina, Staff Writer, and Josh Davis, Associate Editor (April 11, 2019) Purnell Crossing residents on Monday continued to oppose a planned new development they said did not match the project they initially supported. Last month, members of the 27-unit condominium association stormed a Berlin Planning Commission meeting when they learned owner and Town… Read more »
By Josh Davis, Associate Editor (April 11, 2019) A year ago, all eyes were on the Matt Ortt Companies as they prepared to take over operations of the Ocean Pines yacht and beach clubs, which had just finished losing nearly $800,000 in the preceding 12 months. This fiscal year, under Ortt, the facilities project to break… Read more »