(March 19, 2015) With civic engagement at a peak, Berlin officials met last week to finalize the details of a new three-year plan guiding town projects. The Town Hall gathering held last Thursday also looked to put a bow on a series of recent public meetings collecting opinions from the community. Members of the town… Read more »

(March 19, 2015) Ocean Pines Police recently released preliminary crime statistics for 2014. Serious crime declined nearly 40 percent in 2014 compared to 2013. A review of serious crime, known as Part 1 Offenses, revealed that in 2014 there were   106 Part 1 Offenses compared to 178 in 2013. Police answered 12,402 service calls for… Read more »

(March 19, 2015) Three major winter storms struck Berlin in quick succession this winter, hammering the region in a frozen blanket of snow and ice. The town’s water resources and public works teamed up in the snow-removal effort for the first time this year, and the results were startling. More often than not the streets… Read more »

(March 19, 2015) Worcester County’s fiscal 2016 budget book would be soaked in red ink were the county commissioners to adopt the first draft of the spending package that agrees to every request. The budget, containing the collected requests from almost every county department and municipality, is already 660 pages long without counting the Board… Read more »

(March 19, 2015) Prior to last Thursday’s budget meeting in Ocean Pines, the Board of Directors met for a closed-door session to address personnel matters believed to have involved General Manager Bob Thompson. Thompson questioned the board’s diligence in selecting Landscapes Unlimited to replace the current golf management company during a meeting on Feb. 28,… Read more »

(March 19, 2015) OPA Board President Dave Stevens this week responded to comments made by fellow director Bill Cordwell in the March 12 issue of the Bayside Gazette. His comments are as follows: 1.   “ The day before the vote, several members of the Board were given information that could have swayed the decision away… Read more »

(March 19, 2015) The Worcester County State’s Attorney’s office has yet to decide how it will proceed with regard to the two juveniles who were charged along with an adult in connection with the nighttime vandalism of more than 30 cars and three businesses in downtown Berlin on Jan. 25. “We did not reach a… Read more »

(March 19, 2015) Compromise was the magic word as the Ocean Pines Board of Directors voted on Thursday, March 12 to approve a $10.9 million operating budget for fiscal year 2016. The budget included a little more than $2.1 million in new capital expenditures and a basic annual assessment of $921. General Manager Bob Thompson… Read more »

(March 19, 2015) It only took a matter of hours for police to track down a suspect in the armed robbery of the BB&T Bank in Ocean Pines on Friday, as authorities arrested 52-year-old Jeff Varner Hare at his residence that evening. According to police, a white male entered the bank on 11111 Racetrack Road… Read more »