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November 6, 2020

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Two Incumbents, Two New Faces Elected To OC Council

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The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

BY SHAWN J. SOPER

MANAGING EDITOR

OCEAN CITY – Two incumbents and two relative newcomers were elected to the Ocean City Council this week in a municipal election with an abysmally low turnout for a variety of reasons.

Around 23% of Ocean City’s roughly 6,500 registered voters, or 1,528 individuals, cast their ballots in Tuesday’s municipal election, including 1,300 who voted at the polls and another 228 who submitted absentee ballots. By comparison, 2,566 voters turned out for the

2018 municipal election, which was one of the closest in memory with just four votes separating second place from fourth place. In 2016, 2,485 voters cast their ballots in the municipal election.

Nonetheless, when the results were announced late Tuesday, local attorney Peter Buas was the top vote-getter with 1,137 votes. Incumbent John Gehrig was second with 1,036, while incumbent Tony DeLuca was third with 919 and Frank Knight earned the fourth and final spot with 704 votes. Nicholas Eastman finished fifth with 491 votes, while Daniel Hagan brought up the rear with 439. For

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the record, incumbent Mayor Rick Meehan ran unopposed and collected 1,146 votes.

It was guaranteed there would be at least two new faces on the city council going into Tuesday’s municipal election after long-time incumbents Dennis Dare and Mary Knight (Frank Knight’s wife) did not file for re-election. Gehrig and DeLuca cruised to re-election, while Buas was the top vote-getter, continuing a recent trend of young candidates making a big splash in their first attempt at a council seat. In 2014, current Councilman Matt James became the youngest successful council candidate ever at the ripe age of 21 and recorded the highest vote tally in that election.

Perhaps the biggest story on Tuesday was the comparatively low voter turnout for a variety of reasons at just around 23%. For one thing, the municipal election was held at the convention center in conjunction with the federal and national elections, but the polls were in separate areas on separate floors. In addition, a large portion of the local electorate voted early at the convention center during the week prior and there was not an early-voting option for the municipal race. Throw in an unopposed mayor and just six candidates for four open council seats, along with ongoing COVID concerns, and fears for a low voter turnout became reality.

Nonetheless, the low turnout did not

diminish the strong showing for the victors. For Buas, a local attorney and Ocean City lifer who grew up in his family’s hospitality business, finishing on top in his first crack at a council seat was particularly rewarding.

“I was confident going in,” he said this week. “We worked hard and we met a lot of people through the campaign and on election day. I have a deep gratitude to everyone who put their confidence in me and now I have to live up to that confidence. I’m prepared and I will draw on my experience.”

After Thursday’s formal swearing-in ceremony and organizational meeting, Buas said he will be ready to tackle the job.

“It’s time to hit the ground running,” he said. “I’ll have a learning curve a little bit and I’ll go in with my eyes and ears open, but it’s time to get to work.”

Gehrig thanked the voters for their support and vowed to push forward with his aggressive initiatives.

“Thank you, Ocean City,” he said. “I am very grateful for your tremendous support again this year. I have very specific ideas to solve our problems while enhancing what makes Ocean City great. I push very hard to put those ideas into action. I have been very outspoken about this over the past four years and particularly during campaign season. I believe your support at the SEE PAGE 37

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November 6, 2020

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Page 5

Lower Shore Voters Continue Red Trend In Blue State

Page 6

BY SHAWN J. SOPER

MANAGING EDITOR

OCEAN CITY – Continuing a decades-long trend, Worcester County and the Lower Shore remained an island of red amidst a sea of blue in Maryland during this week’s general election.

Fueled by the heavily-Democratic and densely populated center of the state, Maryland overwhelmingly voted for Joe Biden for president this week by a 62% to 35% margin.

In Worcester, however, 15,386 voters, or 65%, went for incumbent President Trump, while 7,989, or 33%, voted Biden. In Wicomico, the trend continued, although the gap was less pronounced.

In Wicomico, 20,364, or 53%, voted for Trump, while 16,913, or 44% voted for Biden. It was a trend followed all over

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the Eastern Shore and in Western Maryland as well.

However, Biden carried Maryland easily on Tuesday and the outcome was never really in question because of the metropolitan areas of the state. In Baltimore City, 147,371 voters, or 87%, supported Biden. In Prince George’s County, a whopping 303,197 voted for Biden, or 89%. In Montgomery County, 246,956, or 79%, voted for Biden.

It’s certainly not a new phenomenon.

Maryland, by a large margin, has supported every Democratic candidate for president for decades. One would have to go back to 1988 when Marylanders supported George H.W. Bush rather than Democratic challenger Michael Dukakis, but even then the margin was close.

By contrast, a look back at the rec-

November 6, 2020

Voting stations are pictured at the Roland E. Powell Convention Center Tuesday.

Photo by Chris Parypa

ords shows Worcester County has supported every Republican candidate for president since 1988, or the year when

election result statistics were readily available on the state’s elections website.

The closest brush with breaking that trend came in 1996 when a narrow majority of Worcester votes went for Republican Bob Dole over Democrat Bill Clinton, but even that was close with just 34 votes separating the candidates.

While there is clearly a red-blue divide in Maryland on presidential and even gubernatorial elections, the Lower Shore fell in line with much of the rest of the state on the questions on Tuesday’s ballot.

One constitutional amendment will authorize the General Assembly to increase, diminish or add items to the governor’s proposed budget, provided that the revisions do not exceed the total budget proposed by the governor. It will go into effect in fiscal year 2024 and each fiscal year thereafter. Across Maryland, the state’s electorate voted 74% in favor of the constitutional amendment and 26% against. In the case of this constitutional amendment, Worcester and Wicomico fell in line with the rest of the voters in Maryland in terms of percentages. .

The second statewide ballot question simply asked, “Do you approve the expansion of commercial gambling in the state of Maryland to authorize sports and events betting for the primary purpose of raising revenue for education?”

Statewide, the question was approved by 66% of the voters, while 34% voted against it.

On the Lower Shore, the numbers were even more pronounced. In Worcester, 15,905 voters were in favor of expanded sports betting, or 72%, while in Wicomico, 25,760 votes were cast in favor of expanded sports betting, or 70%.

Other contested races of importance on the local level included Worcester County Board of Education, District 2, Donald Smack, 1,429 (62%) over Rodney Bailey, 868 (38%); Worcester County Board of Education, District 3, Jon Andes, 2,390 (75%) defeated Angie Chatelle, 803 (25%); Wicomico County Council, District 2, Nicole Acle was relected with 5,380 votes (56%) over Alexander Scott’s 4,240; and Representative In Congress, District 1, Congressman Andy Harris retained his seat with 67% of the vote (209,828) over Mia Mason.

Commissioners Seek Fully Opened Library Branches

November 6, 2020

The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

Page 7

BY CHARLENE SHARPE

STAFF WRITER

SNOW HILL – The Worcester County Commissioners this week said they wanted to see local libraries reopen to the public.

Worcester County Library branches closed to the public, like most places, in March as a result of COVID-19 concerns. The commissioners this week voted unanimously to have the library system come up with a reopening plan.

“I would like to see our libraries get put back into service,” Commissioner Jim Bunting said.

At the close of Wednesday’s meeting Bunting brought up the issue of opening libraries.

“Right now we can go to a restaurant, we can take our mask off, we can eat,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of calls from people about our library system in Worcester County. ... I’d like to see people be able to go in, with their mask, actually look at the shelves, get their books, social distance and use the computers.”

Currently, library patrons are able to make appointments to go in and use computers, copy machines or to register for library cards. There is also a “library to go” program through which patrons can request books and schedule a time to pick them up in a contact-free manner.

When contacted regarding the commissioners’ comments, Worcester County Library Director Jennifer Ranck stressed that library branches were open, just not in the traditional manner.

“We were among one of the first systems in Maryland to reopen,” she said.

“Our patrons have been very considerate with our new procedures and mask requirement and it has been wonderful to welcome them back into the branches.”

She said library officials had been talking about how to safely reopen since March and as a result had implemented the appointment system and the “library to go” program. Staff also create weekly programs for children and families to pick up. The library has also expanded digital resources through www.WorcesterLibrary.org.

“Our next step is to allow ‘browsing by appointment,’” Ranck said. “The library board and staff are tracking data and consulting with local health officials to continue our reopening efforts. The library is still here for everyone, just in a different way.”

The last library branch to reopen to the public under the appointment model was in Ocean City on Sept. 14. Ocean Pines and Pocomoke branches opened in late July by appointment followed by Berlin and Snow Hill branches.

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Cat Owner, Ocean City At Odds Over Town’s Logo Usage

Page 8

The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

BY SHAWN J. SOPER

MANAGING EDITOR

OCEAN CITY – The apparent rift between a popular cat and the town of Ocean City it promotes was called into question this week by the pet’s owner, but it appears the differences might be irreconcilable.

For about the last two years, Pip the Beach Cat has become a fixture around the resort with a popular social media site showing the charismatic cat engaged in all manner of activities from playing on the beach to paddle-boarding to visiting nursing homes and everything in between. The cat’s owner, Emily Meadows, has started a company to promote Pip the Beach Cat, and perhaps more importantly, the town of Ocean City, and all of its family-friendly ac-

tivities.

The company produces children’s books and other marketing materials that promote both Pip and the town.

Ocean City has never had a formal agreement with Meadows and her company, but the two entities instead peacefully coexisted in an informal partnership, including a working arrangement with MGH, the town’s marketing agency.

However, in recent months, there has been a pronounced disconnect between the town and Meadows and her company for a variety of issues, largely her use of a modified Ocean City logo replacing the familiar marlin jumping over the sun with Pip the Cat. Another issue has been the town’s unwillingness to bend the rules regarding pets on the beach to accommodate Pip the Cat’s

public safety videos.

Meadows appeared before the Mayor and Council on Monday with a detailed timeline of how the relationship started, how it began to unravel and where it stands now, including a cease and desist order over the town logo issue. Meadows asserts she was given tacit permission to use the modified town logo, but she was presented with a cease and desist order last spring after a failed offer of a user agreement presented to her from the town and its attorney.

Meadows also presented practically every email she has exchanged with town staff and MGH officials regarding the conflicting issues of the logo and the abrupt end to her working relationship with the town and its marketing agency.

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the town has with my company and how we went from an organic partnership full of joy and happiness to one of a tumultuous cease and desist order,” she said.

“The two things that are really important to me are the logo in question and the cease and desist order, as well as the organic marketing relationship I had with MGH. I provided content to the town and its marketing agency for free, but the relationship ended abruptly.”

Meadows also shared an email she sent to Mayor Rick Meehan last month hoping to rectify the eroding relationship.

“I hope at the end of this we can come together to see that Pip the Beach Cat is an amazingly family-friendly asset to our town, and whether we can agree on it or not,” she wrote, “I believe it is beneficial for the image of Ocean City to appear to have amended this conflict.”

In the email to the mayor, Meadows enumerated the many things Pip the Beach Cat does to promote Ocean City and its family-friendly image.

“If there was ever a time that Ocean City needed to modernize the way it does things, while making sure that the forefront of all town news is familyfriendly, it’s now,” she wrote. And nothing is more family-friendly than a beach cat that high-fives kids, reads stories, visits nursing homes, works daily with the disabled and actually cares about Ocean City. How can we fix this conflict?”

Following Meadows’ presentation, it appears not all on the council were versed in the various aspects of the apparent rift between the town and Pip the Beach Cat. “I like Pip the Beach Cat,” said Councilman Mark Paddack. “I like your site and your discussion here tonight is the first I’ve heard of any of this.”

From the town’s perspective, while Ocean City supported Meadows and Pip the Beach Cat, there was never any formal agreement with the company or its relationship with MGH, according to Communications Manager/Acting Tourism Director Jessica Waters.

“As far as the town goes, and MGH for that matter, we work with people all the time for various events or promotions to highlight Ocean City,” she said.

“We had a similar relationship with Emily and her cat Pip, who is a fun, familyfriendly figure for Ocean City. Although we were not able to support all of her public relations desires, we have always wished her and Pip well.”

Meadows contends she had informal permission to use the logo from various public and private sources. However, Waters said the disconnect between the company and the town widened when Meadows did not sign a license agreement allowing her to continue to use the modified logo while protecting the town’s intellectual property.

“The discussion of having Pip on the beach in the summer was a completely separate issue than the use of the logo,” she said. “I believe the town did everything we could to resolve the issue with the logo, but Emily didn’t cooperate with signing the license agreement.”

Worcester County School Concerns Aired

November 6, 2020

BY CHARLENE SHARPE

STAFF WRITER

NEWARK – Local teachers are struggling as internet problems have exacerbated the already difficult task of moving forward with in-person and virtual learning simultaneously as the pandemic continues.

Though Worcester County Public Schools (WCPS) officials say connectivity issues have improved, they don’t dispute the fact that teachers are dealing with a lot.

“Our teachers are our frontline heroes through all this,” said Annette Wallace, the school system’s chief academic officer for grades 9-12.

While the school year started virtually, with distance learning for all students, a first wave of students returned to school buildings Sept. 28. Additional students have been brought in every two weeks since and roughly 56% of the school system’s students have now returned to inperson learning. Any additional students who want to return to in-person learning are expected to return to school this month, and parents are now being asked to submit an opt-out form if they want to keep their kids in distance learning for the rest of the school year.

“I think parents are pleased with how we’ve opened schools,” said Dee Shorts, chief academic officer for prekindergarten through eighth grade.

Teachers, however, are feeling the strain. A longtime Stephen Decatur Middle

The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

School teacher, who asked to remain anonymous because school staff have been warned about negative publicity, said she’s got numerous concerns with the way schools have reopened and is really worried about when the next wave of students returns in mid-November. Because the school isn’t large enough — more than two dozen students last year had to share lockers because there weren’t enough for everyone — students who can’t fit in the classroom and social distance will be sent to the cafeteria. In that “overflow” area, those kids will use Zoom to connect with their class, just as they would be doing at home. With the cafeteria in use, students will have to eat lunch — meaning they’ll have their masks off — in the classroom.

“It takes every teacher’s personal safe space away from them,” said the teacher, who pointed out that numerous staff members in the school have individual health concerns.

She says she’s also frustrated because teachers have had more and more responsibility in this unprecedented situation placed on their shoulders. The last eight days of district-wide internet outages — which have forced some teachers to use their cell phones as hotpots — are making matters even more difficult.

“None of what our job entails right now can be done in a building without internet,” the teacher said.

Another county teacher went to the website Reddit to anonymously share SEE PAGE 10

Dear Ocean City Voters,

Thank you for placing your confidence in me. I am excited for this opportunity to serve our community as a member of the City Council. Now, It’s time to get to work!

Peter S. Buas

Page 9

… Teachers, Administrators Differ On School Concerns

Page 10

The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

FROM PAGE 9 similar concerns. The post brings up the overflow issue and the lack of adequate space for physical distancing at some schools. It also says teachers are being asked to come up with three lesson plans — one for face-to-face students, one for distance learners and one for overflow students.

Shorts, however, said in an interview last week that there were not multiple lesson plans.

“We don’t have two sets of plans,” she said. “That is a piece that makes the distance learning experience very related and close to face-to-face learning.”

The Reddit post also questions the support teachers are getting from school system administration.

“This entire push to reopen schools are making us teachers into unwilling guinea pigs so that the superintendent can look good for the state,” the post reads. “But they are only able to look good by hiding information from parents, teachers and students.”

When contacted, the person who wrote the post said they simply wanted to share information.

“A huge issue that I see with WCPS at the moment is the lack of transparency when it comes to the amount of cases or

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transmissions in the school,” the teacher said. “Parents cannot make an informed decision about the safety of sending their children to school when the county is deliberately being opaque about the status of the schools. I see very little reason why teachers have yet to be tested at all since our return to the school buildings.

Parents are sending students to school with COVID-like symptoms and checking them in online without indicating that they are sick. Students and staff are being removed from the school, without other teachers being notified. Teachers need to seek out cleaning supplies and aren't being provided with the supplies necessary to clean their classrooms.”

Wallace last week, however, said that the school system was providing all of the COVID-19 information it was required to with its Responsible Return plan.

“We follow every protocol put in place in our plan, which was approved by the health department. We have made every contact we should be making,” Wallace said, adding that it was the health department that notified the school system when there was a positive COVID-19 test. “The health department is in the driver’s seat here.”

While the Reddit post says teachers are being pushed to the limit, Wallace acknowledged that educators were under a lot of stress and said the school system was doing what it could to help. She said that lately, the school system was offering mental health resources and stressing

November 6, 2020

the importance of self-care.

“We’re trying to find creative ways to pay it forward to them,” she said. “One of the things we’d appreciate is grace for our teachers and our school system.

None of us have dealt with this before.”

Nevertheless, teachers feel their concerns are falling on deaf ears.

“Teachers have, and always will be, willing to go the extra mile to provide a safe and loving educational environment for students,” the author of the Reddit post said. “However, we don't have the necessary support to provide that at this time. The board of education is instead pulling educational assistants to cover classes, adding more work for us by requiring us to split our classrooms between Zoom students, classroom students and overflow students. The central office has had months to come up with any plans at all, and they are seemingly winging it as they go. What we want is the support necessary to provide these students a meaningful and equitable education. No teacher wants to teach online, but the hybrid model is a failure, and it is time for [Superintendent of Schools] Lou Taylor to admit that. If they intend to bring back the amount of students that they say, they need to shift students to other schools (such as sending some to Worcester Technical High School), hire more personnel or change the school schedules to provide teachers with the planning time necessary to juggle the tasks they've shifted to us.”

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Horseshoe Crabs Play Critical Role With Vaccination Testing

The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

November 6, 2020

After about three tablespoons of blood are removed from them at a collection facility, the horseshoe crabs are returned to the ocean by the Rita Diane crew.

Photo by Charlene Sharpe

BY CHARLENE SHARPE

STAFF WRITER

WEST OCEAN CITY – On a drizzly October morning, waist-high bins of wriggling, squirming horseshoe crabs lined a dock in West Ocean City.

While most boats use the harbor to unload their catch, passersby watched as the Rita Diane was loaded up with bin after bin of horseshoe crabs. The fishing boat, which goes out five nights a week to catch the crabs, returns them to the water after they’ve had a few tablespoons of blood removed at a collection facility. That blood plays a vital role in ensuring vaccines — including any potential COVID-19 vaccine — are safe.

“If every person on the face of the earth gets at least one shot in their life, they owe their health to the horseshoe crab,” said Allen Burgenson, chairman of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries’ Horseshoe Crab Advisory Panel.

Horseshoe crabs, which live along the East Coast of the United States, were harvested for fertilizer and livestock feed up until the mid-20th century.

In recent years, however, the crabs have

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been caught primarily for bait and biomedical purposes. Since the 1970s, horseshoe crab blood has been used to make the Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL) test. That test detects endotoxin.

“The (horseshoe crab) blood cells contain a primitive immune system that clots in the presence of endotoxin, one of the deadliest toxins on earth,” Burgenson said. “Endotoxin is ubiquitous. It is in the water we drink, on our skin, on environmental surfaces, in our gut. None of that is hazardous unless it gets into our bloodstream.”

Years ago, anyone who received an injection was taking the risk of getting sick with fever, according to Burgenson.

Now, however, the federal government requires that vaccines and implantable medical devices are tested with LAL. “Every person that has ever received an injection owes the safety of that injection to LAL and the horseshoe crab,” Burgenson said.

George Topping, who works on the Rita Diane, was approached by a company that produces LAL more than 20 SEE NEXT PAGE

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November 6, 2020

ever since.

From roughly mid-June through midNovember, the Rita Diane — manned by a captain and two crewmembers — goes out to catch horseshoe crabs. The boat goes out at night, so the crabs aren’t subject to extreme summer heat, and drags a net along the bottom of the ocean to pick up crabs. Topping and the crew put the crabs in bins and bring them back to the commercial harbor, where the bins are transferred to an airconditioned truck and transported to a blood collection facility. Once there, about three tablespoons of blood are removed from each crab and a small divot is made in each crab’s shell to denote that fact that it’s been bled.

The crabs are then returned to the Rita Diane, which brings them back to the area from which they were captured — all within 24 hours.

“We handle them just like a baby,” Topping said.

While critics of the LAL industry decry its impact on horseshoe crab populations, Topping says there’s only a 2-5% mortality rate and that the vast majority of crabs return to the water just as healthy as they left it. Burgenson agreed and said the LAL industry worked with both the Department of Natural Resources and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission to ensure that best practices were followed and that no major impact on crab populations was noted.

“When those crabs are going back into the water they’re actively moving — we don’t bleed sluggish crabs,” Burgenson said, adding that a crab’s overall health was assessed prior to blood being drawn, just as a human’s health was. “It’s the same as you donating blood to the American Red Cross.”

And while there are opponents of the practice, Burgenson says there’s not really an alternative. Testing products with LAL is required by federal law.

“That’s one of the things folks don’t understand—the criticality of this program,” Burgenson said. “There is nothing else.”

While American horseshoe crabs live up and down the East Coast, there are only four blood collection facilities — in Maryland, Massachusetts, Virginia and South Carolina. Those facilities are regulated by the FDA and licensed by each state’s department of natural resources.

Burgenson said they report statistics (number of crabs caught, number of crabs bled, etc.) weekly and are subject to spot inspections. Red flags are raised if there are discrepancies among the numbers.

“You’re allowed a little bit of wiggle room but if our numbers vary significantly the individual company could lose their collection permit, which would essentially put them out of business,” he said.

Topping agreed.

“That’s the last thing I want,” Topping said.

While Burgenson is not worried about the impact LAL production has on horseshoe crabs, he is concerned about strain

The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

put on the populations by other issues.

Practices like beach replenishment and beach erosion protection hurt the crabs.

“Every time you put riprap on a beach crabs get stuck and die,” he said.

Delaware’s “Just flip ‘em” program was created to help stranded horseshoe crabs make it back to the water.

“I’ve been flipping horseshoe crabs since I was a 3-year-old when I’d go surf fishing with my father …,” Burgenson said. “It won’t hurt you and it costs you nothing to be kind. Turn it over and put it back by the water. If folks would take that simple act of kindness the number of crabs saved would be huge.”

Here in Ocean City, another issue that could impact horseshoe crab health is the wind farm proposed off the coast.

Topping says there are no studies regarding the impact of wind farms on

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horseshoe crabs. He’s worried about the possibility of wind turbines hurting the lone horseshoe crab fishery used to make the LAL depended upon worldwide. There are three offshore wind sites proposed in the Carl N. Shuster Jr. Horseshoe Crab Reserve, he said.

“We need to know what the impact is going to be,” Topping said.

Despite the fact that he believes the importance of horseshoe crabs in relation to the wind farm is being overlooked, Topping acknowledges that the crabs are getting some well-deserved attention related to COVID-19. LAL will be used to test the vaccine.

“That’s a big deal,” said Topping, who’s always appreciated the importance of the horseshoe crab industry. He says boats like the Rita Diane are helping protect human health and at the

same time are keeping an eye on horseshoe crab sustainability. “We’re helping people and we’re helping to protect the resource.”

Burgenson was quick to point out that despite the huge demand for a COVID vaccine, there won’t be a substantial increase in the amount of LAL needed.

“Adding a COVID-19 vaccine to the healthcare system’s arsenal is no different than adding the initial production of any other large-scale produced vaccine to the world’s vaccine stock,” he said.

“Once the original vaccination schedule is completed, and the five billion doses administered, there is no need for such high-volume vaccine manufacturing.

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November 6, 2020

November 6, 2020

The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

Page 15

Council Explains DROP Option After Fairness Questions Arise

Page 16

BY SHAWN J. SOPER

MANAGING EDITOR

OCEAN CITY – What appeared on the surface to be a rather mundane agenda item providing a special deferred retirement option for a long-tenured employee resulted in a larger debate this week.

On Monday, the Ocean City Mayor and Council had before them on second-reading ordinance form a special deferred retirement option program, or DROP, for City Engineer Terry McGean, who has been with the city for three decades-plus. While complicated with many variables, the DROP is an option for some long-tenured town employees to set their retirement benefits package at its current level while continuing to work for the city for a prescribed amount of time.

In simplest terms, the DROP allows long-time employees eligible for retirement at their full pension level the ability to begin accruing benefits while continuing to work for the city. In Ocean City’s case, long-time Public Works Director Hal Adkins and now City Engineer Terry McGean continue to work for the town for a certain number of years to allow them to work through projects or initiatives they are in midst of while moving toward their retirements.

For McGean, the ordinance making him eligible for the DROP appeared to

The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

Special Retirement Package Approved

be a matter of course on Monday before it was called into question during the public comment period. Local resident John Medelin was the first to raise some questions about the program.

“I think the DROP program should disappear,” he said. “It’s been augmented twice. It allows somebody to say they’re going to retire after a few years and they’re going to set their retirement income while they are still working. This is nothing against Terry.

He’s a great guy and he does a great job.”

Local resident Roger Steger, a longtime employee of the town’s public works department, also raised questions about the equality of the DROP. “Since the Town of Ocean City is an equal opportunity employer, I’d like to ask why all city employees are not offered the DROP program,” he said.

“Since the DROP has been approved for the public works director and the city engineer, I feel myself and all other general employees have been discriminated against. The public works department has 180 employees, 30 of which have 27 or more years of employment. These employees would ben-

efit from the DROP and the town would benefit as well.”

However, Councilman Dennis Dare explained just how the DROP works in attempt to answer the public questions on the program.

“Just to clarify a few things the DROP program, whether it is for the police or one of the other employees as proposed in this ordinance, is to the town’s advantage,” he said. “The public works director and the city engineer each have over 30 years with the town and they could have retired yesterday at full pension.”

Dare explained both McGean and Public Works Director Hal Adkins still had important projects to work through before retiring, the latter the public works campus that is nearing completion.

“Both are in the middle of extremely complicated projects,” he said. “The city engineer is involved in the convention center expansion that has another year to go and with our fight with the wind farm offshore. His experience is invaluable to us. I’m voting for this because I want him to stick around and benefit from his knowledge and

November 6, 2020

dedication to have these projects completed in a timely and efficient manner.”

Dare said it wouldn’t make a difference from the town’s financial position if the city engineer retired and took his pension now, or deferred it until his work on the complicated projects was complete.

“His retirement is going to be frozen at this level,” he said. “He can go until the end of whatever this ordinance states or he can resign at any time before that and it won’t change his pension. He could continue to work for as long as he wanted to, and his pension could cost the town a lot more. That’s why staff reports this as cost-neutral because he continues to pay into it.”

Councilman John Gehrig agreed the town’s financial position would not change whether the ordinance was passed or not because the city manager position would still need to be paid whether the city manager retired this week or in three years.

“This is a replacement cost,” he said.

“This will need to be filled. It’s not like Terry leaves and the money just goes back into the budget.”

The council ultimately voted unanimously to approve the amendment to the employees pension plan and trust to provide a DROP to the city engineer.

November 6, 2020

The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

Page 17

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Decatur Middle, Buckingham Next Up On Capital Project List

Page 18

BY CHARLENE SHARPE

STAFF WRITER

SNOW HILL – An addition at Stephen Decatur Middle School, roof replacements at several schools and a renovation or replacement of Buckingham Elementary School remain priorities for the school system.

On Wednesday, the Worcester County Commissioners approved the FY 2022 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) presented by Worcester County Public Schools officials. The CIP identifies current school construction needs, including an addition at Stephen Decatur

The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

Middle and the eventual renovation or replacement of Buckingham Elementary School. Superintendent Lou Taylor thanked the commissioners for their support during the county’s last school construction project, Showell Elementary School.

“Showell Elementary School not only provides current and future students with a new state of the art school but it’s also a testament to the results of communication and collaboration between the commissioners and the board of education,” Taylor said.

The CIP identifies capital priorities as a 24,000-square-foot addition at Steph

en Decatur Middle, roof replacement at Snow Hill Middle, Cedar Chapel Special School, Stephen Decatur Middle and Pocomoke Elementary School as well as replacement or renovation of Buckingham Elementary School.

When asked about the size of the Stephen Decatur Middle addition, Taylor said it was the same square footage of the wing that was cut off the original design of the school to save $1 million. The addition, which will include 12 general classrooms as well as four science labs and storage and meeting space, is projected to cost $10 million.

“It’s going to cost us 10 times what it would have cost if we’d done it when we built the school,” Commissioner Joe Mitrecic said.

Commissioner Chip Bertino asked if education officials were looking at options for Buckingham.

“At Showell we were able to build the school behind the existing school,” he said. “The footprint of Buckingham suggests that might not be possible.”

Taylor agreed and said officials had concerns and were looking into options.

“We’re going to have some folks take a look at that and see what our options would be before we move forward,” Taylor said. “We do have that concern. Also some of the regulations the Town of Berlin has differ from the county. These are challenges that we’ll have to face as well.”

The commissioners voted unanimous-

November 6, 2020

ly to approve the CIP and asked Taylor to provide an update on the school system’s internet connectivity issues. Schools have dealt with internet problems since the last wave of students returned on Oct. 26.

Taylor said a hardware issue had been identified and fixed and that Wednesday morning some internet was available.

“We’ve had some intermittent things go out but it’s the Maryland broadband system that sent an email out to us saying they’ve had some issues throughout the entire state. So for the most part it’s been up and running today,” he said.

Taylor added, however, that major infrastructure upgrades were needed as more issues could arise. In fact, by Wednesday afternoon after Taylor’s meeting with the commissioners, intermittent outages had occurred once again inside public schools.

“We’re going to have to identify, in a long-range plan, some things that we’re going to have to do with the infrastructure of our system moving forward because I’m not sure that we have all things in place to handle it down the road,” he said. “Believe me it will be a phase because I know the price tag’s going to be big, and we’re going to look at moving forward how we can best afford that to make those corrections. Certainly as we do that you will be in the loop.”

November 6, 2020

The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

Page 19

Berlin Mayor Questioned On ‘Coolest Small Town’ Changes

Page 20

BY CHARLENE SHARPE

STAFF WRITER

BERLIN – How much longer will Berlin be known as America’s Coolest Small Town?

Merchants this week expressed concern over Mayor Zack Tyndall’s removal of the title from town letterhead and his business cards. Tyndall defended the decision at a meeting with merchants Wednesday night.

“It’s one of our many achievements,” he said. “I don’t want to tear that down at all. It’s a great thing along with [movies] Runaway Bride and Tuck Everlasting. All those things that make our town what it is. I’m not saying anybody can’t market our town that way, I’m not changing any marketing style. It’s just letterhead.”

Merchants met with Tyndall Wednesday to discuss various marketing and promotion concerns. When asked about the letterhead change, which no longer pays homage to Berlin being named “America’s Coolest Small Town” by Budget Travel in 2014, Tyndall talked about how it came about.

“Every time there’s an election, when there’s a change in leadership, new letterhead is created,” he said.

He thought the font on the old letterhead was difficult to read and said he also made some other spacing adjustments and removed the “America’s Cool-

The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

Tyndall Elaborates On Prayer Change

est Small Town” logo.

“I also took America’s Coolest Small Town off my business cards,” he said.

“It’s not on my email signature.”

When asked what he intended for the America’s Coolest Small Town sign on town hall, Tyndall said the sign would likely be there for a while.

“The town hall sign I think has some pretty good longevity to it,” he said.

“Probably longer than my at least four years.”

He added, however, that if it came down for some reason and had to be replaced it would probably be replaced with a simple sign that said town hall.

“That’s what it is,” he said. “It’s town hall.”

Merchants, however, argued that the title was a reason for families to stop in town on their way to Ocean City. They said it was an attraction.

“I think it’s a good moniker for the town,” said Ann Hillyer of ShoreCraftBeer.com.

She added, however, that the town could survey businesses to get actual data on whether they benefitted from the title.

“I think this is a larger question as to how the town needs to be branded moving forward,” Tyndall said.

The mayor agreed that if data showed the importance of the town hall sign he wouldn’t question it.

“If ‘America’s Coolest Small Town’ on town hall makes the business community a lot of money, why would I say no?” he said.

Ivy Wells, the town’s economic and community development director, said that whether there was a sign or something else, a photo opportunity for visitors was a great marketing tool.

“The goal to market a town is to get them to take pictures here,” she said.

“That gets shared all over social media.

Then other people see it. That’s what works.”

Another change implemented by Tyndall that prompted questions from the business owners was the removal of the Lord’s Prayer from town council meetings. Merchants wanted to know why he did it without consulting anyone else including his colleagues on the council.

Tyndall said town staff told him some of Berlin’s peers were being sued by the American Civil Liberties Union regarding prayer during business meetings.

“Some of them have dug their heels in and fought that and lost to the tune of over $100,000,” he said. “I don’t see the Town of Berlin being in a financial posi-

November 6, 2020

tion to defend something like that. I don’t see the Town Berlin having the resources to be able to battle something like that.”

He said that after consulting with the town attorney, who supported the decision, he opted to remove it so as not to take the chance of causing the town any financial harm.

“Are you concerned about being portrayed negatively in an article in the news every single week?” merchant Mike Queen asked.

“That’s kind of the job,” Tyndall replied. “You’re going to win some, you’re going to lose some, but I’m not here to favor public opinion all the time. I’m here to represent the public, the business community, and I take that job seriously.

But I don’t have all the answers. And I’m sure we’ll stumble along the way. We’re together in this for four years and we’re three weeks in.”

Realtor Cam Bunting said she couldn’t elaborate but felt the town would feel a financial impact from eliminating the prayer.

“Any time you make a decision you don’t have perfect information,” Tyndall said. “I can only act on what I have at the time.”

Tyndall added that he was drafting a letter to send to council members advising them that he was open to having a discussion regarding opening prayer and options moving forward.

November 6, 2020

The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

Page 21

Page 22

The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

Police Brutality Suit Settlement Reached

November 6, 2020

BY SHAWN J. SOPER

MANAGING EDITOR

THANK YOU DONALD J. TRUMP FOR SPEAKING FOR DEMOCRACY God Bless America H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H

H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H “In the end I believe my generation will surprise everyone. We already know both political parties are playing both sides from the middle and we’ll elect a true outsider when we fully mature. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s not a business tycoon who can’t be bought and who does what’s right for the people.

Someone like Donald Trump as crazy as that sounds.” ~Kurt Cobain, 1993

2020

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OCEAN CITY – Although the terms have not been disclosed, a settlement has been reached in a seven-year-oldpolice brutality lawsuit stemming from a brawl in the beach.

In July 2016, Dalima Palmer of Dumfries, Va. filed suit seeking $1 million in damages in U.S. District Court against the Ocean City police officer who allegedly tackled her to the ground while she was nine-months pregnant. While in custody, Palmer went into labor and had to be transported to the hospital where her infant was delivered via C-section, allegedly because of her rough treatment by police during the altercation.

For seven years, the case slogged through U.S. District Court and along the way, many of the original defendants were dismissed from the case including the sheriff’s office, the Maryland State Police and the unnamed John Does. By the time the case reached the settlement phase, only the Town of Ocean City, the initial Ocean City officer and the chief remained as defendants.

Following a settlement conference last Thursday before a U.S. District Court Magistrate, the case was dismissed after a settlement had been reached between the parties. As is often the case, the terms of the settlement have not been made public and the parties often agree to not disclose the terms of settlement.

“This court has been advised by the parties that the above action has been settled, including all counter-claims, cross-claims and third-party claims, if any,” reads the magistrate judge’s terse, one-page settlement order. “The entry of this order is without prejudice to the right of a party to move for good cause within 30 days to reopen this action is settlement is not consummated.

If no party moves to reopen, the dismissal shall be with prejudice.”

The incident began around 2:30 p.m. on July 21, 2013 when police responded to the beach at North Division Street for a reported group of disorderly males. The request for assistance came from a lifeguard, who told police he had approached the group about playing soccer on the crowded beach when one of the suspects allegedly threatened him.

When officers attempted to speak with Abdul Kargbo of Woodbridge, Va., he began cursing and yelling at the officers and attempted to leave the scene.

A pushing and shoving match ensued between the suspects and the police, including punches thrown, as officers attempted to detain Musa Seisay, 27, of Garrisonville, Md., Saidu Kargbo, 24, of Woodbridge, and Palmer, then 24, of Dumfries, Va. Along with the other suspects, Palmer was found guilty of second-degree assault and was initially sentenced to 30 days, but upon reconsideration was placed on probation for one year.

November 6, 2020

The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

Page 23

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Merchants Discuss Holiday Event Marketing Concerns With Mayor

The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

November 6, 2020

Berlin Mayor Zack Tyndall is pictured during a meeting with merchants at Sisters Wednesday night.

Photo by Charlene Sharpe

BY CHARLENE SHARPE

STAFF WRITER

BERLIN – Mayor Zack Tyndall met with dozens of downtown merchants this week to address concerns regarding marketing in advance of the holiday season.

Merchants gathered at Sisters Wednesday to meet with Tyndall and Town Administrator Jeff Fleetwood. They expressed concern regarding the lack of marketing the town would be doing in advance of Ice Ice Berlin on Nov. 27.

“These next two months are huge for my business,” said merchant Shelly Bruder. “Without the town promoting I don’t know what it’s going to look like at the end of the year.”

Shopkeepers said they’d been advised the town would not be marketing the ice event, which in years past was a holiday arts night with a tree-lighting ceremony, and that advertising banners already purchased would not be hung.

They said they’d also been told there would be no carriage rides permitted in town.

Tyndall said that after Oktoberfest last month he’d been contacted by residents who felt that the town hadn’t been safe during that event because of a lack of social distancing. Fleetwood said the governor’s executive order limited gatherings to 250 people.

Merchants pointed out that the limit was for concert halls and similar venues.

They said no one could stop people from visiting Berlin.

“We live in a town, not a concert hall,” Burley Oak’s Bryan Brushmiller said.

Tyndall stressed that he didn’t want an adversarial relationship between businesses and town government, especially during the current situation.

“We’re in a pandemic, he said. “There is no playbook for it.”

While merchants expressed concern over the cancelation of town events such as the Christmas parade, Tyndall pointed out the cancelation had been done by the prior mayor but that it was the right course during a pandemic.

“When we make a decision as a town that liability becomes all of ours,” he said.

As far as marketing, Tyndall said Ivy Wells, the town’s economic and community development director, would still market and promote the fact that shops were open late on Nov. 27, she simply wouldn’t be marketing an event. The merchants stressed the need for cohesive promotional efforts and again advocated for banners, which they said only drew the attention of local people, not those outside of town.

Tyndall said he had to consider input from town departments.

“You’re the mayor,” Brushmiller said.

“It’s not a dictatorship,” Tyndall replied.

“You took out the prayer without asking anybody,” Brushmiller said, referencing Tyndall’s removal of the prayer before council meetings.

Another merchant asked how the business community could get involved when event decisions were being made.

“So it doesn’t get to this point where everybody’s uptight,” Burley Oak’s Matt Burrier said.

Tyndall said that going forward, he would invite a Berlin Chamber of Commerce representative to event planning meetings.

“I’m new to this too,” Tyndall said.

“We’re learning together.”

Tyndall said he would talk to the police chief about allowing the banners.

When asked about the carriage rides, Tyndall said he was willing to defer to the Worcester County Health Department. He said if the agency approved the carriage ride plan it could go forward.

On Thursday, the Berlin Chamber of Commerce released a statement, saying, “Thank you Mayor Tyndall for meeting with merchants to discuss concerns about holiday activities and their promotion and calming the fear of a Berlin branding change. We look forward to continuing the long-standing tradition of the town and merchants working together to make our town so great.”

Appeals Court Ruling Could Reduce Sentence In 2018 Fatality

November 6, 2020

BY SHAWN J. SOPER

MANAGING EDITOR

SNOW HILL – A Berlin man, convicted in 2018 of negligent homicide by motor vehicle while under the influence after a fatal hit-and-run collision involving a bicyclist, could see his sentence reduced after a state appeals court vacated his sentence on one of the salient elements of his appeal.

In November 2018, after two days, 100 exhibits and testimony from four experts, a Worcester County jury found Jonathan Kidder, now 61, guilty on all six counts against him from the May 2018 incident when he struck and killed a bicyclist on Route 589 before leaving the scene. Just minutes later, the impaired Kidder caused another accident on Route 50 in West Ocean City.

Kidder was convicted of negligent homicide by motor vehicle and for that count he was sentenced to 10 years, five or which were suspended. On count three, failure to immediately stop at the scene of an accident involving death, Kidder was sentenced to 10 years, with five years suspended, which was to be served consecutively to the negligent homicide count.

Kidder than filed an appeal with the state Court of Special Appeals, challenging various aspects of the trial, jury selection and other elements of the case.

Kidder posed five different questions in the appeal. The Court of Special Appeals dismissed four of the appeal questions, but agreed with Kidder on one of them, which could result in a reduction of his sentence.

In the appeal, Kidder contended his enhanced sentence for the leaving the scene of an accident involving death was illegal because he wasn’t charged with an essential element in the count.

Essentially, he contends the charging document for that count was missing one key word -- knowledge. Kidder contends he lacked knowledge that he caused an accident involving death, therefore, the enhanced sentence for that charge was illegal. The appeals court agreed.

“The state’s failure to charge Mr. Kidder with knowledge left the court without jurisdiction to sentence him for a crime that included that element,” the opinion reads. “The state did not give Mr. Kidder any notice that intended to pursue an enhanced penalty based on knowledge. Therefore, Mr. Kidder didn’t have the opportunity to prepare before trial to defend himself.

And, without a charge that included knowledge, the court couldn’t impose the enhanced sentence. Mr. Kidder’s enhanced sentence is illegal and must be vacated.”

Under Maryland’s transportation article, “The driver of each vehicle involved in an accident that results in the death of another person immediately shall stop the vehicle as close as possible to the scene of the accident.”

The maximum penalty for a conviction on that charge is five years and/or a $5,000. However, Kidder was senten-

The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

ced to the enhanced penalty of 10 years.

The element of “knowledge” was not included in the charging documents.

Instead, a discussion of the enhanced penalty was brought up between the parties during trial prior to jury instructions.

“In this case, the omission from the charging document violated Mr. Kidder’s substantive rights, so we reverse the sentence imposed for count three- failure to stop at the scene of an accident involving death- and remand for sentencing on that count for a term not to exceed the statutory maximum of five years and $5,000,” the opinion reads.

Again, the high court affirmed the remaining convictions, so the 10-year sentence for negligent homicide with five years suspended still stands. However, the sentencing for the leaving the

scene count has been reversed and sent back to Worcester County Circuit Court for resentencing.

On May 6, 2008, Kidder was driving while intoxicated when he struck and killed another Berlin man on a bicycle on Route 589. Kidder fled the scene and was involved in another accident on Route 50 in West Ocean City about 10 minutes later and fled that scene on foot.

Around 10:10 p.m. on May 6, 2018, Maryland State Police (MSP) troopers responded to the motor vehicle collision involving a bicyclist in the area of Route 589 and Gum Point Road near Ocean Pines. Upon arrival, MSP troopers determined the operator of the bicycle had suffered severe trauma.

The bicyclist, later identified as Jose Eduardo Madrid-Pineda, 38, of Ber-

Page 25

lin, a Honduran national, was transported to Atlantic General Hospital where he was pronounced deceased.

Kidder fled the scene of the fatal accident. After Kidder was involved in the fatal accident that killed the bicyclist on Route 589 near Gum Point Road, he fled leaving damaged parts to his vehicle at the scene including a broken side view mirror and broken part of the grill.

About nine minutes later, Kidder was involved in a second unrelated accident near Route 50 and Keyser Point Road. According to witnesses, Kidder got out of his vehicle at the second accident and reportedly said things to those involved in the accident something to the effect that he was so drunk and needed to get out of there, and that he had just ruined his life.

Page 26

Malicious Destruction Charge OCEAN CITY – An Ocean City man was arrested last weekend for allegedly breaking off a truck’s door handle and throwing it at the back windshield, causing it to shatter.

Around 2:10 a.m. last Friday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) responded to the area of Dorchester Street and St. Louis Avenue for a reported malicious destruction of property incident. A witness had reported observing three males out on the street, one of whom allegedly broke the door handle of a pick-up truck and then started climbing into pontoon boats stored in an adjacent parking lot.

The OCPD officer stopped one of the men, who informed police his friend, later identified as Cengihan Unal, 21, of Ocean City, had punched the passenger’s side mirror of the truck and had broken its window. The witness told police Unal was still in the area in the middle of the pontoon boats and that he was

Cops & Courts The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

looking for his hat, according to police reports.

The officer reportedly observed the pick-up truck with a broken rear passenger side window. The officer also observed the rear passenger door was missing its handle, which was located in the middle of St. Louis Avenue. The OCPD officer searched the area and found Unal in the middle of the pontoon boats. Unal had a fresh cut on his fore-

head, but did not require EMS. When asked what had happened, Unal reportedly told the officer he did not know what he was talking about.

The OCPD officer spoke to the original caller, who reportedly told police he heard a noise out in the street and went outside to see what was going on. The witness reportedly told police he saw a man matching Unal’s description attempting to climb into the bed of the

November 6, 2020 pick-up truck.

The witness told the officer when Unal could not get in the bed of the truck, he punched the mirror. Unal then allegedly broke off the truck’s door handle and threw it at the back windshield, causing it to shatter, according to police reports. The witness told police Unal then allegedly went climbing on the pontoon boats nearby. Unal was arrested and charged with malicious destruction of property and disorderly intoxication.

The damage to the truck is estimated at over $1,000.

Disorderly Conduct Arrest OCEAN CITY – A West Virginia man was arrested for disorderly conduct after allegedly fighting another man before turning his attention to a bouncer outside a downtown bar.

Around 1:50 a.m. last Saturday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer was patrolling in the area of 8th Street when he observed a commotion on the public sidewalk outside of a bar.

The officer reportedly observed a bouncer from the establishment attempting to break up a fight between two individuals.

One of the individuals involved, later identified as Emmanuel Beuyiouclis, 35, of Morgantown, W.Va., allegedly then turned to the bouncer, shoving him and ripping his shirt. According to police reports, Beuyiousclis was screaming and his actions attracted the attention of at least 25 patrons at the bar. Beuyiouclis was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct.

Wrong Uber Arrest OCEAN CITY – A Delaware man was arrested for disorderly intoxication last weekend after allegedly getting into the wrong Uber and refusing to get out.

Around 11:50 p.m. last Saturday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer responded to the Wicomico Street area for a reported male who had allegedly gotten into the wrong Uber and was refusing to leave. The officer arrived and observed the suspect, later identified as Matthew Powell, 20, of Middletown, Del., sitting in the front seat of the Uber car. The Uber driver reportedly asked the officer to remove Powell from his vehicle.

When Powell exited the vehicle, he reportedly showed signs of intoxication.

The officer asked Powell for his driver’s license, but he fumbled through his wallet and only produced a credit card and an insurance card. Powell then dropped his wallet, and when he bent over to pick it up, he reportedly fell face first onto the ground.

As he was falling, Powell reportedly kicked the OCPD officer in the leg.

When OCPD officers helped Powell to his feet, he reportedly was bleeding from a cut over his eye. Ocean City EMS arrived and treated Powell’s facial injury.

He was arrested and charged with disorderly intoxication.

Jail For Discharging Gun SNOW HILL – A Pennsylvania man, arrested in June for accidentally discharging a firearm at a downtown motel, pleaded guilty this week to reckless endangerment and was sentenced to 90 SEE NEXT PAGE

... Cops & Courts

November 6, 2020

days in jail.

Around 4:20 p.m. on June 17, Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officers responded to a reported discharged weapon at a motel in the downtown area. The preliminary investigation determined the incident was an accidental discharge and no one was injured as a result.

While officers were responding, Ocean City Communications were advised by motel staff someone in a second-floor room had discharged a firearm and the occupants of the room were attempting to leave the motel property. An OCPD officer arrived and observed the group standing by their vehicle in the parking lot. One member of the group, identified as Jon-Raymond Miguel Harperez, 24, of New Bethel, Pa., had both of his hands in the front pouch of his sweatshirt and when the officer asked him to slowly remove them, a spent 9mm shell casing fell to the ground, according to police reports.

When questioned, Harperez reportedly told police he was in possession of a handgun and the weapon was located in a book bag on his back. OCPD officers removed the book bag and placed Harperez in custody. OCPD officers removed the gun storage case from the book bag and located a Gen 5 Glock 9mm handgun.

The weapon was loaded with a 15round magazine of which 14 rounds remained and the chamber was empty. In addition, the case contained another 15round magazine, a 14-round magazine and a clear, extended magazine loaded with 29 rounds, all of which were capable of being fired from the weapon.

Harperez, an ex-military personnel, informed officers on the scene he had just returned to his motel room from a nearby gas station. According to police reports, Harperez told police while he was removing the handgun from his pants pocket, he accidentally discharged one round into the floor of his motel room.

OCPD officers interviewed a member of the motel’s cleaning staff, who told police she had been in the motel laundry room located directly below Harperez’ second-floor room. The witness told officers she heard a loud pop and immediately observed dry wall from the ceiling in the air and on her left shoulder.

OCPD officers met with the hotel manager, who told police he immediately responded to the second-floor room and found Harperez and the other occupants had already packed up their belongings. The manager noted the group still had two additional nights remaining on their reservation.

According to police reports, Harperez, a military veteran, holds a concealed carry permit in his native Pennsylvania, but concealed carry permits from that state are not reciprocal in Maryland. Harperez was arrested and charged with having a handgun on his person, reckless endangerment and discharging a firearm within city limits. This week, he pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment and was sentenced to 90 days in jail.

The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

Page 27

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White Horse Park Residents Want County Out Of Lawsuit

Page 28

The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

BY CHARLENE SHARPE

STAFF WRITER

BERLIN – The White Horse Park residents who initiated a lawsuit regarding occupancy restrictions now want to dismiss their case against Worcester County.

On Wednesday, attorney Hugh Cropper, representing the residents, filed a motion for voluntary dismissal of the case against Worcester County. The case against the White Horse Park Community Association, however, would still proceed.

“We’ve asked the judge to allow us to dismiss our case against Worcester County,” Cropper said. “At this point the association is being aggressive and Worcester County isn’t so we’d like to focus our efforts on fighting the association.”

A trial is currently scheduled for Dec. 15 and 16 after last month’s settlement talks resulted in no agreement between the parties. Cropper’s clients filed their lawsuit against Worcester County last fall after the county announced plans to begin enforcing White Horse Park’s seasonal occupancy restrictions. Residents, many of whom have lived at White Horse Park for years, were advised they would face daily fines if they didn’t abide by the park’s zoning restrictions, which don’t allow year-round occupancy. A group of nine fulltime residents hired Cropper to fight the proposed fines and enforcement after their proposal for a text amendment that would have grandfathered them into being allowed at the park was rejected.

The White Horse Park Community Association, citing fiduciary responsibility, intervened and became a party in the

case shortly after it was filed. The association maintains that infrastructure improvements would be needed if the plaintiffs won the case and were permitted to live in the community year-round.

Cropper’s motion this week asks for dismissal of Worcester County without prejudice. The motion states that one of the plaintiffs, Phyllis S. Rosenbaum, has passed away in the year since the case was filed. In addition, plaintiffs Susan Naplachowski, Carl Wycoff and Virginia Kravitz have made alternative living arrangements.

“Plaintiffs request that this dismissal be ‘without prejudice,’” the motion reads.

“While the remaining plaintiffs have no plans to refile their case, in the event that Worcester County takes enforcement action, in cases of specific and extreme hardship, some of the plaintiffs may need to challenge these actions in District

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Court. A dismissal with prejudice could be construed as an admission or an adjudication in those enforcement cases.”

James Almand, the attorney representing the White Horse Park Association, said he would be opposing the motion for dismissal.

“My client will oppose the plaintiffs’ effort to avoid an unfavorable ruling from the court by trying to dismiss the county as a defendant,” he said. “The county and White Horse Park are in the case together and have similar interests. The park declaration and the county law prohibit year-round occupancy. Therefore, the plaintiffs must continue to litigate with both the county and the park for this matter to be resolved once and for all.”

Obituaries Judith C “Judy” Mitchell

BALTIMORE – Judith C “Judy” Mitchell, age 84, passed away on Oct 20 at Gilchrist Hospice from complications related to cancer.

Born in Baltimore in 1935, she was the daughter of Mitchell Downs Clog and Dorothy Gore Clogg. A graduate of Bryn Mawr School, she earned her nursing degree from Union Memorial Hospital, her AA degree from Centenary College and her bachelor’s degree from JUDY Towson University. She MITCHELL served as the school nurse, teacher and coach at the newly founded St. Paul’s School for Girls in Brooklandville. After a long career at St. Paul’s, she held several other positions in nursing and health care administration.

She married the late George L. Mitchell in 1959. They had four children together whom they raised on the St. Paul’s campus. An avid and competitive athlete, she was the Maryland state champion in badminton and also enjoyed tennis, golf and pickleball among other sports.

She is survived by a sister, Sandra Mitchell of Ocean City; a brother, Mitchell Clogg of Mendocino, Calif.; her four children, Geordie Mitchell and his wife, Mary, of San Diego; Paul Mitchell and his wife, Kim of Parkville; Dorothy Mitchell and her husband, Stanton Green of Harrison, N.Y.; Steven Mitchell and his wife Meghan, of Lutherville; and nine grandchildren.

A Celebration of Life gathering will be held at the Five Farms location of the Baltimore Country Club on Nov. 7 from 1-3 p.m. For safety planning purposes the club is requesting advanced notice of the number of attendees. To that end the family asks those wishing to attend to kindly send an email to mitchells21093@att.net. Directions to the club and information regarding COVID protocols will be provided via email response. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made in her memory to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.

emergency measure timeline discussed

November 6, 2020

BY BETHANY HOOPER

STAFF WRITER

SALISBURY – County officials are exploring a code amendment extending the time period for emergency declarations.

In a work session on Tuesday, the Wicomico County Council met with David Shipley, the county’s emergency services director, to discuss a code revision that would extend any emergency declaration from seven days to 22 days.

Currently, the county executive can issue an emergency declaration for a peiod of seven days. However, the county council must vote to extend the declaration if needed.

Shipley told the legislative body this week the suggested revision would address a timing issue associated with council meetings held on the first and third Tuesday of each month.

“If the first council meeting falls on the first of the month – and a good example is October, a month with 31 days – the second meeting would be on the 15th of that month,” he explained. “This will result in a void of 21 days from the second meeting mentioned to the first council meeting in the following month. The 22nd day that I’m talking about … would be used for implementation of council action.”

In short, Shipley told council members the 22 days would eliminate the need for the council to meet in an emergency session to extend an emergency declaration.

When asked if the timeframe had caused problems in the past, Shipley noted then-County Executive Bob Culver had to reissue an emergency declaration for a burn ban last year after learning it would expire before the next council meeting.

“There was some confusion about trying to get an emergency council meeting put in place at that point, so what he did was he issued another seven-day declaration that went from October 10 until the 15th,” he explained. “Then the council met at its regular meeting on the 15th and extended the declaration.”

Councilman Joe Holloway, however, questioned if the county executive could simply reissue an emergency declaration in any situation.

“That’s what was done,” Shipley replied. “I don’t know if that was the best remedy to continue to do it that way.”

When asked what constituted an emergency situation, Shipley noted burning bans, snow events and other natural disasters would be included.

“Those examples you gave would be the only ones where I would ever press the county executive to do an emergency declaration,” he said.

Council President Larry Dodd, however, questioned if the county executive could also call for an emergency declaration in the event of civil unrest.

“That may be something we would want to look into with this,” he said.

In order to amend the county code, a legislative bill could be introduced at the council’s next meeting on Nov. 17.

The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

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Acle Prevails In Special Election

November 6, 2020

“Am I Crazy?”

The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

BY BETHANY HOOPER

STAFF WRITER

SALISBURY – Wicomico County Councilwoman Nicole Acle overcame Democratic challenger Alex Scott in this week’s special election for District 2, according to preliminary results posted Wednesday.

Acle, a Republican, received 5,380 votes, while Scott received 4,240 votes. However, local election officials will continue to count ballots in the coming days.

Last year, the Wicomico County Council appointed Acle to fill the term held by former Councilman Marc Kilmer until the 2020 special election.

Kilmer, who served as the District 2 representative for four-and-a-half years, resigned after announcing he and his family would return to his home state of Idaho.

Through mail-in ballots, Scott received 1,386 votes while Acle received 640. But during early voting and Election Day, Acle received a total of 4,740 votes while Scott received 2,854.

As of Wednesday, Acle had secured 55.8% of all votes counted.

In a speech this week, she thanked the voters of Wicomico County for their support.

“Today I celebrate the future of Wicomico County,” she said. “Twenty

years ago, my family moved, as we saw the beauty of Wicomico’s largest geographic district. We saw the opportunities in its future. From the horse farms in Mardela to the shores of the Wicomico River and the Chesapeake Bay, the district represents a cross section of Wicomico’s hardworking families, and I couldn’t be more honored to be part of that voice and advocate for a bright future.”

In their campaigns, Acle and Scott both focused on issues such as education, fiscal responsibility, broadband and small businesses. Scott, however, took issue with the process for selecting a new county executive and vowed to restart the appointment process if he secured a spot on the dais.

Originally from Pittsburgh, Acle relocated to the Eastern Shore nearly two decades ago. She owns two businesses – Medical Nutrition Therapies, LLC, a medical consulting business, and Graceful Magnolia, LLC, a vacation rental management company – and co-owns a medical practice with her husband, Dr. Fernando Acle.

Scott, who was raised in Wicomico County, graduated from Parkside High School and Salisbury University. After a career in sales, he became a small business owner, operating The Brick Room in downtown Salisbury.

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Dennis Dare Delivers Parting Message On Election Eve

Page 32

The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

BY SHAWN J. SOPER

MANAGING EDITOR

OCEAN CITY – In his final meeting before Tuesday’s municipal election, Councilman Dennis Dare on Monday delivered a heart-felt, often emotional speech recounting his three decadesplus service to the town and thanking those who joined him along the journey.

Dare chose not to seek re-election this year as his seat on the City Council was one of four up for grabs, so he likely knew a farewell speech after his three-decades plus in service to the town in various capacities was coming.

He delivered that emotional address near the close of Monday’s regular Mayor and Council meeting, resulting in a standing ovation from those in attendance.

The organizational meeting following Tuesday’s municipal election will be held at the Performing Arts Center on Thursday night and welcoming speeches for the newly-elected councilmembers along with parting tributes to the incumbents leaving the council were intended to be reserved for that occasion. However, because Dare would not be able to attend Thursday’s organizational meeting, he delivered his parting message on Monday.

Dare was hired as city engineer in

Dennis Dare is pictured accepting the oath of office in 2012 when he was elected to his first term after serving as city manager from 1990-2011.

File Photo

1982, a position he would hold until 1990. He served as city manager from 1990 to 2011 and was elected to the City Council in 2012. He thanked former City Manager Tony Barrett for picking him to be the city engineer on the cusp of a great period of growth and development for Ocean City.

“Ocean City back then for an engi-

neer was like a blank canvas for an artist,” he said. “When we talked about doing Northside Park, I drove out there and it was just a dirt road to an abandoned construction site full of trash.

The town acquired the old Playland amusement park at 65th Street for what would become the public works complex and the transformation of that

November 6, 2020

property continues today.”

Dare went on to list more of the projects and initiatives under his watch as city engineer.

“The convention center with that big ramp down to the highway had structural issues and I was able to convince the then-Mayor and Council to expand and rehabilitate it,” he said. “That expansion continues today with yet another phase. After Hurricane Gloria tore up the Boardwalk in 1985, my marching orders were to have it repaired and open by Memorial Day or have my resume updated. By March 12, the last board was nailed in.”

Dare said former Mayor Roland E. “Fish” Powell groomed him to become city manager after Barrett’s replacement lasted only a short while. He said Powell had been serving as interim city manager while a replacement was being identified.

“After Tony Barrett left, the next guy lasted two months,” he said. “Fish worked on me about being city manager. I like to think it was because of my abilities, but maybe he just didn’t want to be interim city manager for another eight months.”

Under Dare’s watch, Ocean City entered a multi-governmental partnership to create the beach replenishment program that has preserved the beach and protected billions of dollars in real estate over the decades.

“Perhaps the most important project for Ocean City was beach replenishment,” he said. “That partnership with the state and federal governments and Worcester County ensured a recreational beach, but also protection from storms for decades. There was also the Public Safety Building, Eagle’s Landing Golf Course and a lot of infrastructure projects too numerous to name.”

Dare also thanked the town’s “boots on the ground” employees for carrying out the visions of the elected officials over three decades-plus.

“The biggest challenge in being city manager was managing our employees,” he said. “We were able to stabilize the workforce. We can never forget as elected officials our employees are responsible for making Ocean City the first-class resort it is.”

Dare acknowledged it was difficult to leave his formal service to the city, and while he is proud of his many accomplishments while wearing various hats, he acknowledged there was much still to accomplish. He specifically cited the proposed dualization of Route 90, the rehabilitation of the Baltimore Avenue corridor, the civil unrest during certain motor vehicle events, protecting the single-family neighborhoods and tax differential fairness.

Dare specifically acknowledged his long-standing relationship with colleague and good friend Mayor Rick Meehan, who has served alongside Dare in various capacities for over three decades. When Dare was removed SEE NEXT PAGE

… Colleagues Recognize 38 Years Of Appointed, Elected Service

November 6, 2020

as city manager by the then-council majority at the time, Meehan stepped in and served as interim city manager during the search process.

“He has been the one common denominator through my three different stints with the town,” he said in an emotional message to the mayor.

“Rick came on board in 1985 when he still had brown hair. He was part of a younger group of councilmen that mixed in with the old guard.”

Dare praised Meehan for being the face of Ocean City in good times and when times are challenging.

“People don’t realize just how difficult a job it can be,” he said. “The mayor doesn’t make motions and doesn’t vote. The council makes decisions on policies and the mayor’s job is to be out front and be the face of the town and often takes the heat for the decisions or policies handed down by the council. I just want to publicly thank Rick for his support and friendship over the years.”

Dare said he would be remiss if he did not thank the residents and visitors and acknowledged his wife, Liz, for her unwavering support over the years while he was at countless meetings and other functions in his many roles with the city.

“I also want to thank the residents, the non-residents and the business

The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

owners,” he said. “Ocean City is a special town. Finally, I owe a deep gratitude to Liz for her support all these years. I am looking forward to spending more time with my family in retirement.”

Councilman John Gehrig said he wasn’t sure if Monday’s meeting was the right time or place, but wanted to take a few minutes to acknowledge Dare’s service to the town during his final meeting.

“We don’t always agree and frequently disagree, but you are one of those people who, when you speak, I listen. I’m going to miss the knowledge,” Gehrig said. “Ocean City is a better place than when you found it and you will be missed.”

Councilman Tony DeLuca voiced similar sentiments.

“We will miss the experience and the history that gives us a context when we make decisions,” he said. “The thing we’ll miss the most is you’re the voice of calm and reason and often bring us back around when things go off course.”

Council President Lloyd Martin praised Dare for his commitment to Ocean City in his official and unofficial capacities over the years.

“If you needed help, Dennis was there,” he said. “If you need a volunteer, Dennis is right there. He’s always right there. He has a beautiful family and we wish him the best in retirement.”

Finally, Meehan addressed his longtime colleague and his many contributions to Ocean City.

Page 33

“All you have to do is go around town and look at the plaques on our buildings,” he said. “You’d be hard pressed to find a plaque without Dennis’ name on it either as city engineer, city manager or councilman.”

Meehan acknowledged he and his long-time colleague did not always see eye to eye over the years.

“We all have heated discussions and arguments,” he said. “Nobody argued more than Dennis and I over the years when he was city manager, but it always ended with a smile and a joke.”

Meehan said Dare’s departure from the council left big shoes to fill.

“I think there will be a big void in this building when you leave,” he said.

“There will be plenty of times when we will say what would Dennis have done.”

College Student Starts Online Volunteer Platform

Page 34

The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

BY BETHANY HOOPER

STAFF WRITER

BERLIN – A local student is using her passion for community service to connect individuals with local organizations through the use of a new website.

Last week, Salisbury University sophomore and Stephen Decatur High School alumna Jude Al-Hamad launched Community & Me, an online database for students and community members seeking volunteer opportunities.

“It makes it easier for students, or anyone interested in volunteering, to find local organizations or ways to help at home, especially during a pandemic,” she said.

Al-Hamad explained the website is a one-stop resource site. Community & Me features roughly 50 local organizations spanning nine areas of interest.

“It’s organized into nine categories, where you can find an organization that tailors to your interests,” she said. “If you like animals, you can find information about humane societies. If you like the environment, I listed groups that deal with environmental issues … You just click on it, it gives you a brief description of the organization, contact information, and a link to their website.”

For Al-Hamad, Community & Me is driven by her love for community service. In high school, for example, she completed nearly 500 hours of service,

volunteering at hospitals and libraries and tutoring students in after-school academies.

Al-Hamad was also actively involved in Stephen Decatur’s Connections volunteer group, Key Club, Surfrider Foundation Club and Leo Club. And in 10th grade, she helped launch an annual school fundraiser for Believe in Tomorrow.

“That’s really where I found my love for volunteering …,” she said of her high school career. “I think I found a purpose in volunteering.”

So when Al-Hamad was selected as a 2020 Millennium Fellow earlier this year, she knew exactly what she wanted to do for her semester-long project.

“When I applied I wanted to do something here for my community and the students in schools,” she said. “I wanted to involve the youth as much as I could with volunteering and start them young.

I want them to realize it’s not just a graduation requirement. There’s a lot of fun to it, and there are benefits to you and your community.”

The Millennium Fellowship – a partnership between the United Nations Academic Impact and Millennium Campus Network – is a semester-long development program that challenges students to advance the United Nations sustainable development goals. As one of roughly 1,500 fellows, Al-Hamad is focusing on quality education and global

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citizenship.

“You apply and try to improve upon one of their goals,” she said. “There are 14 goals, and you propose an idea to better your community.”

In addition to listing local organizations, Al-Hamad said Community & Me also includes an events page for upcoming volunteer activities, as well as ideas for home-based service projects.

“There’s also a place where you can submit organizations or ideas so I can improve my website too,” she noted.

Al-Hamad said she hopes to expand her website, even after she graduates from the Millennium Fellowship program later this year.

“I’m willing to expand into places like Wicomico and hopefully make this a bigger resources for students to use all across the country,” she said. “But right now we are going to start off small.”

Al-Hamad encouraged individuals to visit the Community & Me website, https://communityandme.wixsite.com/vo lunteer, or its Facebook and Instagram pages.

She said the website is a great resource for anyone who wants to give back, but doesn’t know where to start.

“I think when living a life focused beyond your own personal needs, you help not only those around you but you learn more about yourself and what your purpose is in life, all while making a better community in general …,” she said. “It’s a win-win situation. What you give back to the community, you get in return.”

Al-Hamad, a Berlin native, graduated from Stephen Decatur High School in 2019. She is currently studying conflict analysis and dispute resolution at Salisbury University with plans to minor in international relations and psychology.

BY BETHANY HOOPER

for a server replacement this year with plans for Cloud migration in two years.

The total cost, with the option of utilizing Cloud data storage, comes to $14,120 over three years.

“In the long run it will be less expensive,” she said, “so we can analyze this further.”

But Councilwoman Vicki Carmean questioned Tieman’s recommendation.

“I don’t want to put a Band Aid on this …,” she said. “Is this a permanent solution?”

Tieman said it was.

“The server is a permanent solution …,” she said. “The reason I’m asking to replace it now is because it is the only server we have, and we need to have a reliable one.”

Mayor Gene Langan, however, encouraged Tieman to explore Cloud migration sooner rather than later.

“We need to look at the Cloud as soon as possible,” he said. “That’s the way to go and the only way to be safe.”

Tieman agreed.

“I don’t disagree,” she said, “but at this point I don’t think we are there yet.”

With no further questions the council voted 7-0 to replace the town’s.

Town Moves Ahead With New Server

STAFF WRITER

FENWICK ISLAND – A server replacement is expected to cost the town $8,300.

Last week, the Fenwick Island Town Council voted unanimously to replace its server at a cost of $8,300. Town Manager Terry Tieman told council members the replacement would give the town more time to explore the possibility of moving data and business applications to the Cloud.

“I think that is the cautionary approach right now,” she said.

Tieman said the town worked alongside its IT service provider after experiencing a hard drive failure in the town’s server earlier this month. But she noted a temporary fix had slowed the system, making minor transactions and the use of software applications difficult.

Tieman said migrating the town’s Edmunds government software program to the Cloud – which comes at a cost of $22,330 over three years – would require the town to repair its hard drive this year and replace its server next year.

The second option, however, calls

Wicomico Schools Will Begin Modified Athletics In December

November 6, 2020

BY BETHANY HOOPER

STAFF WRITER

SALISBURY – A vote from the state board of education will allow school systems to begin athletics next month.

Last week, Wicomico County Public Schools (WCPS) announced the Maryland State Board of Education voted to allow school systems to begin the winter interscholastic athletic season on Dec. 7. The announcement comes less than a month after the Wicomico County Board of Education supported a push to begin athletics earlier than the proposed Feb. 1 start date, but later than the Oct. 7 alternative.

“I think the board is aware that the MPSSAA – the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association – originally developed a plan to begin athletics in the second semester with a three-season approach,” Superintendent Donna Hanlin told the board in October. “We were then presented with an opportunity by (State Superintendent) Dr. Salmon and the governor to begin athletics on Oct. 7. We felt strongly that we were not ready logistically or with the timing of our returning students to our classrooms.”

With students engaged in virtual learning for the first semester of the 20202021 school year, Wicomico’s interscholastic play was not scheduled to begin until Feb. 1, which would include some overlap to give each sports season enough time for a shortened schedule.

But when the state permitted the school systems to begin athletics on Oct. 7, WCPS opted to focus on instruction and the return of students to the classroom as soon and as safely as possible, while exploring other alternatives for a consistent statewide athletics schedule.

To that end, the school board last month agreed to support a compromise backed by nearly all athletic supervisors across the state – to begin athletics on Dec. 7.

“We believe this is doable, so I am asking for the board’s support today to endorse this recommendation by these supervisors of athletics, including our own supervisor of athletics, to encourage Dr. Salmon to consider this compromise to begin athletics on December 7 rather than waiting until February 1,” Hanlin said in October. “Of course all of that is pending health metrics, safety, and so forth.”

With the support of the state board of education, Maryland’s winter sports practices are scheduled to begin Dec. 7, with competitions possibly beginning Jan. 4 and ending Feb. 13. Fall sports are scheduled to begin on Feb. 13, and conclude likely competitions on April 17.

Spring sports are scheduled to begin April 17 and finish by June 19.

The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

“With a Dec. 7 start date for winter sports, Wicomico and other Maryland school systems will be able to have three longer sports seasons without overlap,” a statement from WCPS reads.

From Sept. 28 through Oct. 30, Wicomico fall athletes had the opportunity to participate in voluntary in-person conditioning. The same opportunity was offered to spring sport athletes starting Nov. 2. And winter sports practices are scheduled to begin Dec. 7.

High school athletic directors, principals and coaches will communicate with students about the new dates for athletics, according to WCPS. The school system’s Return to Play Plan will be revised to reflect this latest change in the schedule for winter, fall and spring sports.

Like all school system activities, athletic schedules are subject to change if COVID-19 case numbers cause the closure of a school, school system or all Maryland public schools, as occurred last spring.

“We’re pleased that our student-athletes will have this opportunity to compete,” Hanlin said last week, “provided that health conditions allow us to continue as planned.”

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The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

Sail Aid Effort Stocks Up In OC

November 6, 2020

BY BETHANY HOOPER

STAFF WRITER

Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan, left, and The Hobbit owner Garvey Heiderman, on boat left, are pictured with the crew of the Tandemeer last week.

Submitted Photo

OCEAN CITY – More than 2,000 pounds of donated food left Ocean City this week as part of an effort to deliver humanitarian aid to the coastal villages of Haiti and other Caribbean islands.

Last week, Garvey Heiderman, owner of The Hobbit Restaurant, teamed up with the captain and crew of the Tandemeer – a 1980 Nautical Development 56foot ketch sailboat – to load supplies for the vessel’s journey to Île-à-Vache, a small island off the coast of Haiti.

Captain Sequoia Sun founded Sail Aid International in 2017. Each year, he sails from New England to Haiti and the Caribbean to deliver needed supplies – including food, solar panels, medical supplies, computers, and school and art supplies – to isolated coastal villages and areas impacted by hurricanes, earthquakes, poverty or other natural disasters and human caused impacts.

Heiderman said he first heard about Sail Aid International in 2018, when he crewed with the captain for nearly two weeks as part of a sailing excursion.

“While I was staying on the boat, he explained to me he does these trips … he does these humanitarian missions to Haiti every year,” he said. “I told him maybe I can talk to the mayor and city council about letting him use the dock there.”

In 2019, the Tandemeer made its first stop in Ocean City, docking in the resort to collect donations from Heiderman.

But the restaurateur noted the collection was a team effort. In addition to food contributions from The Hobbit and Sysco, Heiderman said Worcester Prep donated four computers and friends from Baltimore and Easton donated sailing supplies. The town also allowed the Tandemeer to dock at the bulkhead near 4th Street and the bay.

“I didn’t even try that hard …,” he said.

“They recognized Sequoia and this crew of people are doing a really good thing for the people of Haiti. I wasn’t surprised. But on some level it was reassuring that we obviously live in a place that’s so willing to help people they are never going to meet.”

Last Thursday, the Tandemeer returned to Ocean City for the second year in a row. And by the time they departed on Tuesday, Sun and his crew had collected more than 2,000 pounds of food – including rice, flour, beans, pasta and sauce – for those in need.

“I actually think Ocean City is a pretty good place for him to stop, and I will probably continue to donate food every year …,” Heiderman said. “I have no intent on stopping, and there’s no skin off the town’s back.”

For more information on Sail Aid International, or to donate, visit sailaidinternational.org.

“I’m sure there are people who live in this area that could totally donate sails, old computers and stuff like that,” Heiderman said. “We have a pretty giving community.”

… Local Attorney Tops OC Council Ticket With 1,137 Votes

November 6, 2020

The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

Page 37

Elected on Tuesday to new terms on the Ocean City Mayor and Council were, from left, Council members Tony DeLuca, Peter Buas and John Gehrig and Mayor Rick Meehan. Not pictured was Frank Knight, who finished in fourth place to earn a four-year term. Above right, Buas, front right, is pictured with friends and family on election night.

Photos by Shawn Soper

FROM PAGE 4 polls is a mandate that you want bold action now.”

Gehrig said he believed his solid finish on Tuesday was a sign from the voters they wanted him to keep pushing his initiatives.

“I will take his mandate to the Mayor and Council and will push forward,” he said. “Please continue to support me in those efforts.”

Gehrig also thanked his fellow electees along with the longtime incumbents who did not file for re-election.

“I congratulate Peter Buas, Tony DeLuca, Frank Knight and Rick Meehan,” he said. “I am looking forward to working with them. I also want to thank Mary Knight and Dennis Dare for their service and leadership over the years.”

DeLuca was first elected to the city council in 2014 and secured his third term on Tuesday. He has a reputation as a fiscal watchdog and leads the town’s Coastal Resources Legislative Committee, or Green Team. He said this week with the incumbents returning and the addition of Buas and Knight, he is confident the new council can continue to move Ocean City forward in a positive direction.

“I really like the make-up of this council,” he said. “We’re really starting to build bench strength. Peter is going to be real asset. I feel good about this group. We don’t always think alike, and we have different ideas about things, but that’s a positive. That’s what this is all about.”

DeLuca has been a staunch opponent of any proposed increase in the property tax, a priority that will continue

in his third term.

“One of my top priorities going forward is no tax increase,” he said. “I’ll die on that sword. I have so many revenue ideas. I’m just going to keep pushing what I’ve been doing.”

After June’s spike in serious crime, along with another raucous pop-up rally in September, the hiring of 10 new fulltime police officers has already been approved, but DeLuca said he will continue to push for even more seasonal officers and public safety aides.

“My first priority is public safety,” he said. “We’ve heard it’s challenging to hire more seasonal officers and more public safety aides. I disagree. Whatever we need to do, whether it’s changing titles or raising salaries or finding affordable housing, we need to do that. They set the pace, especially on the Boardwalk, with enforcing our ordinances.”

Of course, DeLuca’s pet projects will always be the Green Team and its many initiatives, from the Adopt Your Beach program to the cigarette butt-huts to the lights on bikes program.

“It’s all about the beach,” he said.

“That’s what we are. I’m going to continue to push those initiatives.”

After Tuesday’s election, Knight takes over the seat occupied by his wife and former Council Secretary Mary Knight.

He is hardly a newcomer, considering he is a regular fixture at council meetings and has served on various boards and commissions.

“I’m very satisfied with the election results,” he said. “We all have strong, long-term connections to Ocean City and understand how the local government works. We may not possess the

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Knight said he was disappointed somewhat with the low voter turnout on Tuesday, but that he understood the challenges with the municipal election on Tuesday.

“One disappointment was the low voter turnout, which I think was around 25%,” he said. “I realize this was due to COVID and having early voting at the convention center. Two years from now, hopefully we will be back to normal, but turnout that low is never good.”

Eastman acknowledged he was a long shot going in, but acquitted himself well with 491 votes in his first time running. He thanked his supporters this week and promised to remain a fixture

at City Hall.

“I am so thankful for everyone that supported me this election season,” he said. “When I joined the race, I thought winning a seat on the city council would be all but impossible. I have made more friends than I ever thought possible over the course of the campaign. The election may now be over and quickly forgotten for many, but not for me. I will continue to bring change to our town. I hope to be at every meeting, voicing my opinions and making sure that those who supported me will still be heard.”

For his part, Hagan also thanked those who supported him in what was a challenging race.

“I still cannot understand, but it was a wild ride and it was a journey as well,” he said on social media following the election. “Thank you for everyone’s support.”

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Oil Spill Investigation Continues As Cleanup Efforts Wrap Up Unified Command Stands Down

Page 38

The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

BY SHAWN J. SOPER

MANAGING EDITOR

OCEAN CITY – The multi-agency unified command charged with clearing tons of oily debris and tar balls from southern Delaware to Assateague Island officially stood down this week although the clean-up efforts continue remotely.

Clean-up crews for the unified command, under the U.S. Coast Guard, the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) and the Delaware Department of Natural Resources (DNREC), officially concluded their on-site incident command post at Slaughter Beach in Delaware on Wednesday after two weeks of a rather intense clean-up effort on area beaches. The unified command cleared tons of oily debris and tar balls from beaches from just south of the Indian River Inlet through Cape Henlopen

State Park, Bethany, South Bethany, Fenwick Island, Ocean City and Assateague Island State Park.

The clean-up operations will go on, although resources will be shifted to more-affected areas as crews continue the process of sweeping the beaches of oil and tar balls. With Maryland beaches, including Ocean City and Assateague State Park, no longer affected, MDE has stepped back from the unified command.

The Coast Guard and DNREC continue to monitor cleared beaches and make daily evaluations of areas previously impacted, but largely cleared.

Clean-up crews will continue to be dis-

patched to conduct remedial spot checks of certain areas as necessary.

“Our team came together to address an urgent threat to the environment, and though that threat isn’t over, we believe we have structures, procedures and relationships established to shift our cooperative efforts to manage and clean up remotely,” said U.S. Coast Guard Incident Commander Lt. Commander Frederick Pugh. “We will continue to watch areas that have been impacted and will shift resources as necessary.”

After an oil spill, the wind and waves tear the oil in smaller pieces that can be scattered many miles along the coastline. The oil mixes with water, sand and

November 6, 2020

other marine debris in a process known as “weathering.” About 75 tons of oily debris has been removed from mid-Atlantic beaches by clean-up crews during the response.

“We got tons of oily debris and weathered oil off our beaches, but we’re not done yet,” said DNREC Secretary Shawn Garvin. “Our experts continue to survey the coastline, assessing the clean-up operation and, as we move ahead, conducting final evaluations of our beaches to make sure the job is done.”

The cause of the oil spill remains under investigation by the U.S. Coast Guard. If a source of the spill is ultimately identified, the responsible party would be required to reimburse the federal government for the clean-up operation.

Meanwhile, as the clean-up ends on individual beaches over the next several days, the public may still see small spots of oil or isolated bits of debris. The public is asked to continue to report sizeable sightings or oily debris, tar balls or oiled wildlife. In Maryland, sightings can be reported to the MDE at 866-633-4686. In Delaware, sightings can be reported to DNREC at 800-662-8802.

WOC Bank Robbery Probe Still Active

BY SHAWN J. SOPER

MANAGING EDITOR

WEST OCEAN CITY – There are still more questions than answers this week regarding a bank robbery in West Ocean City last week.

Around 9:45 a.m. on Oct. 27, Worcester County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the Taylor Bank on Route 50 in West Ocean City for a reported bank robbery in progress. The preliminary investigation revealed around 9:41 a.m., a Caucasian suspect wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and a mask entered the front entrance of the bank and approached a teller in the lobby.

The suspect handed a note to the teller demanding cash and then left the bank with an undisclosed amount of currency. The suspect was last seen heading west from the bank wearing different clothes, according to the initial report.

When the suspect was last seen, he was wearing a black long-sleeved T-shirt with white writing on the left sleeve, along with black sweatpants and black tennis shoes with white soles.

The Worcester County Bureau of Investigation (WCBI) detectives arrived and assumed the investigation. This week, WCBI detectives reported the investigation remains active.

Anyone with information is urged to contact WCBI at 410-632-1111. Anonymous tips can also be made to Crime Solvers of the Lower Eastern Shore at 410-548-1776.

Wicomico Water, Sewer Discussed Master Plan Will Study Options For County-Run Infrastructure System

November 6, 2020

BY BETHANY HOOPER

STAFF WRITER

SALISBURY – As the development of a master plan continues, Wicomico officials discussed the implementation of countywide water and sewer.

Late last month, the Wicomico County Council met with George, Miles & Buhr representatives Peter Bozick and Katherine McAllister to discuss an ongoing master plan for implementing a countywide water and sewer infrastructure system.

“This goes far into the future because when you build water and sewer infrastructure the intent is that it’s going to be there 50 to 100 years from now,” Bozick said. “So we’re looking that far out.

We’re looking at the future growth of the county.”

A master plan for countywide water and sewer began in the spring of 2019, nearly four years after the county conducted a feasibility study identifying ways to provide sewer service to homes with failing septic systems on the east side of Wicomico.

While the county does not own its own water and sewer facilities, Bozick told council members this week the master plan would outline a process for constructing, maintaining and financing a countywide system.

“If you think it is in your best interest to get into the water and sewer business, to what level will you get into the water and sewer business, and what structure will you use?” he said.

Bozick told the council the master plan would provide a roadmap of sorts for offering water and sewer service to county residents. Councilman Joe Holloway noted Wicomico’s eastside could be a starting point.

“It seems to be that’s where we are having the most severe issues,” he said.

“We have some homes in those neighborhoods that can’t even put in septic systems … We have to start somewhere. That was probably a good place to start.”

Officials noted the most feasible approach was to extend water and sewer from municipal systems to county properties, but that could require annexation.

Councilman John Cannon questioned how the county could implement countywide water and sewer with public support.

“I’m afraid you are going to get a huge resistance from the public,” he said. “They’ll scream and yell about their septic not working, but when you tell them ‘you now have to pay for water and sewer, which you haven’t paid in the last fifty years’ … You have to have permis-

The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

sion to implement this hook-up. How are you going to create that carrot?”

Bozick said it would be the county’s responsibility to give residents their options and the associated costs.

“Their most cost-effective option may be to annex,” he said.

McAllister said GMB had reached out to each municipality with water and sewer systems, as well as the local health department to identify areas with failing septic systems. She said her task was to determine the feasibility of expanding municipal water and sewer into the county.

“If you look at the areas we have recommended for a central system, basically this whole county is going to have 23 million gallons of septic flow,” she said.

Bozick told the council it would take another six months to complete a draft master plan. In the meantime, he said GMB would conduct workshops and field visits, among other things.

“It’s going to be a win-win for everybody,” he said, “if we do it right.”

Page 39

Page 40

Providing the entertainment at the ABATE (American Bikers Aiming Towards Education) Halloween Party were Austin Smith, David Walters, Doug Balch and Nalan Lokey of Mercury Agenda.

The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

People

By Jeanette Deskiewicz

FEATURING THOSE HELPING CAUSES IN THE RESORT AREA

Pop-Pop Cecil Mitchell assisted Mitchell Leisure and Madison Mitchell with their werewolf scarecrow during the Ocean Pines Build A Scarecrow Contest.

In Society

November 6, 2020

Ladies of the Delmarva Chorus, Catherine Walker, Elissa Mulligan, and Carol Ludwig dressed the part for the Ocean Pines Trunk or Treat.

It was a family affair at the Worcester County Recreation & Parks with Eli, Jacque and Sydney Parker handing out goodies from the Habitat for Humanity ReStore.

New to the Worcester County Recreation & Parks Track or Treat event were Justin Miller and Tucker Pierson of Oaked 110.

After doing an amazing job with the decorations, Sarah Wagner partied it up with Chastity Nagle at the ABATE Halloween gathering last weekend.

Creating a patriotic scarecrow at the Ocean Pines Build A Scarecrow Contest, was Carson McClure with help from his Aunt Michelle Ross.

At the Ocean Pines Trunk or Treat, resident Lisa Mitchell and her mom, Christie Mitchell got ready to give out candy to hundreds of costumed youngsters.

Worcester County Sheriff Office Dep. Jennifer Degiovanni and Dfc. Kelly Riwniak were the first stop for those making their way around the Track or Treat at Worcester County Recreation Center.

Beat up from their fall, Jack and Jill, aka Ashley and Sean Thierfeldt of the Delmarva Discovery Center, still managed to make it to Worcester County Track or Treat to hand out candy.

Business And Real Estate News

November 6, 2020

Beer Fest A Success OCEAN CITY – By all accounts, the Shore Craft Beer Fest last month was a huge success with 93% of attendees coming from out of town for the sold-out event.

“Ocean City Development Corporation (OCDC), the Town of Ocean City and Shore Craft Beer wanted to produce an event that complied with Worcester County’s parameters in this COVID world. We also wanted to showcase the world class beauty of our oceanfront location and the world class beers and craft beverages in our region,” said Ann McGinnis Hillyer, CEO of Shore Craft Beer. “We were able to once again produce a sold-out event that drove business into the hotels, bars and restaurants. We showcased the OC Bay Hopper and delivered a fun craft beer experience to our visitors.”

There were 48 individual hotel packages sold at participating hotels which included two wristbands and two facemasks. The VIP seated Shore Craft Beer Fest was restricted to 250 people. Shore Craft Beer sold tables to groups rather than individual tickets. Each member of a group had to arrive together and remain seated when drinking or eating.

Everybody was required to wear masks when standing or moving through the park. Brewers visited the tables and talked to participants throughout the event. The Street Kitchen food truck produced an Oktoberfest menu and Full Circle Duo added music ambience throughout the event. Carey Distributing and Eastern Shore Distributing facilitated the beer purchases and helped ensure a mix of beverages for participants. Vendors set up for masked shopping. Volunteers waited on each table, bringing all participants a new craft beer or craft beverage every 15 minutes during the three-hour event.

Glenn Irwin, executive director of the OCDC, a co-sponsor of the event and recipient of the net revenues to its nonprofit organization, was thankful for the event.

“We are very appreciative of all the help we received in this very unusual year. While our revenue is not what it has been with our usual Shore Craft Beer Fests, the event enabled us to once again showcase the beauty of Sunset Park and the adjacent waterfront as well as downtown Ocean City while bringing business to our town,” Irwin said.

New Chamber Leader Named OCEAN CITY – The Greater Ocean City Chamber of Commerce announced Lachelle Scarlato has been chosen as the new executive director. The executive director is responsible for coordinating and directing programs and strategies formulated by the executive committee and the board of directors to achieve the goals of the chamber and the community.

She will begin her new position Nov. 23.

Raised in Eastern Baltimore County

The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

and a graduate of Dundalk High School, Scarlato spent every summer vacationing in Ocean City with family. She holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration and has been the owner of several businesses in Harford County over the last 20 years. Scarlato has been the deputy director of Economic Development for Worcester County since the fall of 2019.

“There is no place more beautiful and unique to live than Worcester County. It provides opportunities for both personal and professional experiences that cannot be offered anywhere else. To be able to return to a place that holds a lifetime of cherished memories and work in partnership with the community that provided those memories is an opportunity that will be forever cherished and honored in my daily work now with the Greater Ocean City Chamber of Commerce,” she said.

A committee comprised of members of the chamber’s executive board and the board of directors conducted the search to find the perfect leader to fulfill the mission of the chamber.

“I believe that the experience, knowledge, personality, ideas and energy that Lachelle brings will be a tremendous asset to our chamber, our members and our community,” said Greater Ocean City Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors Chair Toni Keiser.

Page 41

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Annual Veterans Day Ceremony Will Go Virtual Next Week

Page 42

The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

BERLIN – The Worcester County Veterans Memorial Foundation will present a virtual Veterans Day program this year, rather than hold the traditional ceremony at the memorial grounds in Ocean Pines.

The virtual ceremony can be viewed online at Youtube.com/c/OceanPinesAssociation1. Links can also be found on websites and social media for both the Worcester County Veterans Memorial Foundation and the Ocean Pines Association.

Ocean Pines also will run the ceremony on Mediacom and Comcast public access channels at 11 a.m. on Veterans Day, Wednesday, Nov. 11.

Veterans Memorial Foundation Pres-

ident Marie Gilmore said concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the in-person ceremony this year.

“We have a duty and an obligation to honor our veterans, to keep their memory alive,” Gilmore said. “The mission of the Veterans Memorial Foundation is to remember and honor all those who have served, and Veterans Day is a perfect opportunity for us to do that.”

Veterans Day ceremonies in Ocean Pines typically draw thousands of people from across the region. Because of the circumstances this year, Gilmore said a virtual ceremony was the next best thing.

“In light of the current environment with COVID-19, rather than cancel our

November 6, 2020

usual ceremony, we have chosen to put together a virtual ceremony,” she said.

“The segments were recorded separately and compiled into a cohesive video by Josh Davis, the Ocean Pines Association’s marketing and public relations director.”

The virtual ceremony includes an introduction by Gilmore, emcee duties by U.S. Air Force retired SMSgt. Mike Masterson, a keynote address by Maryland National Guard CW3 Kaylan Harrington, and performances by the Delmarva Chorus, and Eric Nilsson of American Legion Post 166.

Additionally, American Legion Post 123 of Berlin and American Legion Post 166 of Ocean City jointly offer the post-

ing of colors and a closing rifle volley, and a wreath ceremony honors three female veterans.

Along with producing the virtual ceremony, Gilmore said the Veterans Memorial Foundation continues to seek funding for its education programs. In August, the foundation announced it would not hold its biggest fundraiser of the year, an annual golf tournament, also because of COVID-19 concerns.

Educational programs each year include a tour of the memorial grounds and distribution of an educational booklet for children. Last year, more than 650 fifth graders visited the site. For more information on the Memorial Foundation or to donate, visit www.opvets.org.

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County Seeking Proposals From Broadband Vendors

November 6, 2020

The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

BY CHARLENE SHARPE

STAFF WRITER

SNOW HILL – Worcester County continues its efforts to bring broadband to rural residents.

Worcester County last week issued a request for proposals (RFP) from potential broadband vendors. The county needs a vendor to be eligible for upcoming grants.

“We’re really hoping if we follow these steps correctly we’d be in line for any kind of grants the future holds,” Brian Jones, the county’s IT director, told the Worcester County Commissioners last week.

Jones said the county had been following a series of steps designed to help bring high speed internet access to all of Worcester County. He said the state was about to offer the Broadband Expansion Grant Program and that to be able to apply the county had to have a vendor willing to work with it. Issuing an RFP will allow the county to choose a vendor.

“This is a little bit of a different type of RFP in the sense we’re just asking for someone to partner with us, we’re not even saying that if we move forward we would use them,” Commissioner Chip Bertino said.

Jones said that was correct.

Page 43

When asked if the county had removed itself from a relationship with Bloosurf, Jones said it had but added that the company still offered service in the area.

“If it comes down to needing some area wireless that we can’t get fiber to we may have to engage in a conversation,” he said.

When asked about the timeline in improving broadband access, Jones said there could be some movement in the spring.

“We’re hoping to have some things going by spring,” he said. “I don’t know how much of a reality that will be. But getting a vendor in, it all depends on, like

anything, money.”

In an interview this week, Jones said he’d been in communication with various vendors.

“We’re really hoping for a positive result,” he said.

He added that COVID-19 had prompted increased interest in expanding high speed internet access because so many people were working and learning from home.

“We understand the need,” he said.

“It’s going to take some time. It doesn’t happen overnight.”

Jones said vendors would have until Nov. 30 to submit proposals to the county.

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Forever In Memory Of Our Founder, Dick Lohmeyer (May 25, 1927-May 5, 2005) The Dispatch, Serving Greater Ocean City Since 1984, Is Published By Maryland Coast Dispatch Inc. Weekly On Friday Mornings MAILING ADDRESS: P.O. Box 467, Berlin, Md. 21811 PHYSICAL ADDRESS: 10012 Old Ocean City Blvd.

Berlin, Md. 21811 PHONE: 410-641-4561 FAX: 410-641-0966 WEBSITES: www.mdcoastdispatch.com www.facebook.com/thedispatchoc J. STEVEN GREEN Publisher/Editor editor@mdcoastdispatch.com

NEWS DEPARTMENT SHAWN J. SOPER Managing Editor ssoper@mdcoastdispatch.com CHARLENE SHARPE Staff Writer/Copy Editor csharpe@mdcoastdispatch.com BETHANY HOOPER Staff Writer bhooper@mdcoastdispatch.com CHRIS PARYPA Photographer

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The Maryland Coast Dispatch (USPS #015125) is an official and legal newspaper for Worcester County. Periodical postage paid at Berlin, Maryland, and additional mailing offices.

The Maryland Coast Dispatch, 10012 Old Ocean City Blvd., Berlin, Md. 21811, is published weekly on Friday mornings, 52 weeks a year.

Subscription rates are $75 per year, $55 for six months.

POSTMASTER: Please send change of address to Maryland Coast Dispatch, P.O. Box 467, Berlin, Maryland 21811. Maryland Coast Dispatch offices are located at Route 346 and Graham Avenue, Berlin, Maryland.

Transparency, Communication Key In Education The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

November 6, 2020

HOW WE SEE IT

It’s trying, if not impossible, times for educators. The concerns expressed this week – by two teachers publicly but shared by numerous others in public schools – are inevitable.

These folks are teaching in unprecedented times, amid a pandemic with real health concerns for all. Complicating the ongoing extreme range of individual comfort levels about the pandemic has been an unreliable internet connection system that makes teaching kids at home impossible and leads to frustrated parents who take to social media to air their beefs.

Connectivity outages have occurred for at least the last two weeks in public schools. Though the problems reached the point of outright outages in late October, intermittent issues have been occurring since the start of the school year, according to teachers and parents. Teachers are frustrated at having their hands tied by a problem they say should have been addressed over the summer by school system leadership. If there were warning signs, there’s no excuse for teachers being robbed of the most critical tool they need to educate – the ability to communicate and connect with students.

There is a lot to be concerned about

in education these days. It doesn’t matter if it’s public or private school, elementary school or university. Educating in a responsible fashion while working under regulations imposed to minimize infections is a daunting task. Anyone involved in education deserves the utmost respect because they are in many cases blindly working and being guided by their instincts. It’s become clear in recent weeks public school leadership is clearly struggling.

Throughout this journey of educating amid a pandemic, transparency is a must. During the ongoing connectivity debacle, the school system apologized repeatedly for the issues causing learning problems for both virtual and inschool students and promised to rectify them as quick as possible. The problem is there is no quick fix and it has quickly become a nightmare. The situation was believed to be fixed Monday night, but once students returned to school on Wednesday the outages returned.

Hindsight makes the message on Monday night about connectivity issues being solved seem foolish. There were no kids in school Tuesday for a professional day and by mid-morning Wednesday outages were reported. It’s an unfortunate situation.

Confounding connectivity frustrations is a general worry over positive COVID-19 cases. The school system is taking the approach the health department will handle all positive cases and subsequent close contact tracing and guidance on quarantine parameters.

Unless a closure of some sort is required, plans are not to notify families or teachers of positive cases within school buildings. This is a policy from the public school officials drawing fire from families and educators. It’s a questionable approach. Families have a right to know if there’s a positive case reported in the school building their child attends. The information can be communicated without violating privacy laws. Not informing has resulted in scuttlebutt and distractions.

Transparency and clear communication – internally with staff and externally with families – must be maintained. The county school system has handled it well on some fronts, including over the summer when reopening schools was in the forefront, but the decision to not communicate positive tests among students or teachers to at least those within the same school building is irresponsible and merits further review.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR OC Election Analysis Editor: I would like to congratulate the winners of the Ocean City Mayor and Town Council races. I frequently attend town meetings and when not there in person, I was able to be on many of the Zoom calls thanks to COVID-19. I have witnessed some deep discussions that at times became heated, but I can honestly say that I believe the outgoing council always had the best interests of the residents and vacationers in mind.

Losing the institutional knowledge of Dennis Dare will hurt, but it appears that newcomer Peter Buas is prepared to hit the ground running. And if the new Council member Knight is half as good as the outgoing Council member Knight he will be just fine.

I was really happy to watch the candidate forum sponsored by the Coast Dispatch. It was respectful and informative and really showed the voters what people stood for and believed in. The Election Day results were exactly what anyone who watched the debate would have expected. In my opinion, the best four candidates won. While it is satisfying to have the voters agree with me and my choices, I realize that not everyone shares my views. Vocal government critic Tony Christ took the time to share his ideas by letter in the Oct. 30 edition of this paper. Once again, I find

his positions to be quite troublesome.

In his letter he refers to Council member James and Council memberelect Buas as “rich kids”. Who cares?

What does that have to do with anything? He accuses Dennis Dare of “jumping ship,” not giving any recognition for his 38 years of service to the town at various positions. He calls Council member Knight “fake Mary” and admonishes her newly elected husband as being a blind supporter for the mayor. As for the mayor, he questions his marital status as if anyone really cares.

He trashes Council member Gehrig in a rather incomprehensible rant. Lastly, while he may be entitled to his opinion, he may have put himself in the libelous zone when he calls Council member Paddack not only “whacked out” but also a “psychopathic liar.”

Mr. Christ proudly instructed the voters in Ocean City to support the candidacies of Nico Eastman and Daniel Hagen, and a lesser extent for Peter Buas before resorting to trashing him. I am thinking the results of the election show what credibility Mr. Christ has and what the power of his endorsement means.

Yet another of the countless reasons I love Ocean City and the vast majority of the people that live here.

If Mr. Hagen and Mr. Eastman really do expect to stay active in Ocean City politics, I would remind them that they

are judged by the company that they keep.

M. Scott Chismar Crofton and Ocean City

Council Refuses Again To Release Pier Minutes Editor: I have requested that the city council president of the Town of Ocean City release the minutes of all closed sessions, held by the City Council regarding the deliberations, discussions and negotiations of the Pier Franchise for the period between May 2018 through November 2019. My first request was a verbal request at the work session on June 23, 2020. That request was later denied. On Oct. 17, 2020, I sent a formal written request to the council president, citing Section C-406 of the Town Charter, under the heading, “Rules of order and business; minute books,” which states in pertinent part, “The minute books shall be open to public inspection.” Note that Section C-406 makes no distinction between open and closed meetings of the City Council.

I further cited Section C-404 of the Charter, which states in pertinent part, “Except for those meetings permitted to be closed under state law, all meetings of the Mayor and Council shall be open to the public,…” It is clear from the opinSEE NEXT PAGE

November 6, 2020

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ion of the Open Meetings Compliance Board dated June 3, 2020, that all of these closed meetings should have been open to the public.

Maryland’s Open Meetings Compliance Board found that the City Council violated the Open Meetings Act on multiple occasions, stating in part, “…except to the extent that parts of the Council’s closed-door discussions about the pier franchise might have fallen within the legal advice exception, the Council violated the Act at every closed meeting at which it discussed the pier franchise.

The Board further stated, “We find that the procurement exception did not apply to any of the discussions about franchise matters and the legal advice exception seldom applied. We conclude that the Council violated…3-301-the core open meetings requirement-and…

3-305-the Act’s prohibition on discussions exceeding the claimed exceptions-during every closed meeting it held on the franchise matters. Although some exchanges between the city solicitor and the Council fell within the legal advice exception, those exchanges were rare, and they did not provide the Council with a basis on which to exclude the public from any closed session in its entirety.”

The Board further wrote, “A public body’s secret creation of committees to address public business that is subject to the Act, coupled with the public body’s secret considerations of that business, at the very least goes against the stated policy of the Act to increase the public’s faith in government.” Particularly relevant is the Board’s citation of the Act’s policy which states, “The conduct of public business in open meetings increases the faith of the public in government and enhances the effectiveness of the public in fulfilling its role in a democratic society.”

The Board concluded that “For approximately eighteen months, the Council excluded the public from meetings that the public was entitled to observe and withheld from the public information that the public was entitled to have.” The Board added: “Finally, we encourage the Council to provide the public with minutes of the portions of the closed sessions from which the public was excluded in violation of the Act.” In my opinion, Section C-406 does not give the City Council the option to exclude the public from inspecting the minutes of any meeting, especially those meetings that the Compliance Board found that should have been open to the public. I believe that the Council is duty bound by the Charter to allow for the inspection of the minute books.

In a letter to me dated Oct. 29, 2020, Ms.’s Heather Stansbury, Office of the City Solicitor, wrote “The matter will not be readdressed by the Mayor and City Council.” Thus, the council has denied my request for a second time.

I am now appealing to the citizens of Ocean City to put pressure on their local elected officials to do the right

Between The Lines

The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

thing, and to insist that these minutes be opened for public inspection. What is it that the Mayor and City Council are hiding?

Vincent dePaul Gisriel, Jr. Ocean City

Holiday Luncheon Planned Editor: Cancer hasn't stopped, and neither can we. The American Cancer Society's research advancements are being threatened by the current pandemic.

The Society needs us to help them continue to save lives as the leading nonprofit funder of research. One person's work could save countless lives, and at the Society where nearly 50% of their grantees are women, early in their careers, there is the fear that the next big discovery will be significantly delayed.

As a group of dedicated women, we have the opportunity to fund HER. Through ResearcHERS; a Women Fighting Cancer movement to support female cancer researchers, we will mitigate cancer and enhance the quality of life for many individuals.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are also finding new ways to engage and overcome our funding challenges.

The American Cancer Society's Holiday Wrappings Fashion Show will therefore be a virtual event. You have an opportunity to become a sponsor, purchase a virtual seat, donate to honor a loved one, purchase a car raffle ticket, or simply donate to researchers.

During our 12-1 p.m. virtual event, we will be highlighting fashions from local retail stores, passing along holiday home decorating tips, holiday cocktail recipes, holiday gift giving ideas, and health tips to help us look and feel our best. Your ticket allows you to privately view our online mini-fashion shows, receive a virtual goody bag, participate in an online auction, and win prizes provided by our most generous business communities. Bring friends together for a "watch party" luncheon in your home, or tune-in where it is most comfortable and convenient for you. Please consider supporting us by doing whatever you can to help save lives from cancer.

We look forward to your attendance and contribution to the American Cancer Society.

Holiday Wrappings Committee Ocean City

To Our Readers: The Dispatch welcomes any and all letters from our readers. All letters are encouraged typed, but not required, and we reserve the right to edit each letter for clarity, accuracy and brevity. Letters should include writer’s name, address and day and even-ing telephone numbers. If we are unable to reach the writer, we will have to withhold the letter. Due to space restraints, letters under 500 words in length will be given top priority.

Letters can be mailed to The Dispatch, P.O. Box 467, Berlin, Md. 21811, emailed to editor@mdcoastdispatch.com or faxed to 410-641-0966.

Page 45

By Publisher/Editor Steve Green

Some thoughts on this week’s election: •It’s clear Ocean City voters like new faces. Four of the last five elections in Ocean City have seen political neophytes easily win first-place honors. Though hardly an unknown name in the city after working for the town for nearly 30 years, Dennis Dare gained the most votes in his first run at elected office in 2012. Two years later, Matt James, then 21 years old, had perhaps the most impressive election debut in city history with a landslide victory, outpacing second-place finisher Wayne Hartman by 321 votes. Then it was John Gehrig’s turn to dominate in his first elected run in 2016, earning 500-plus votes over the second-place finisher, Tony DeLuca. In 2018, James again ruled the election, besting second-place finisher Mark Paddack by 600 votes, but the biggest storyline was first-time candidate Emily Nock missing a seat by just four votes.

This year it was local attorney and first-time candidate Peter Buas soaring to the top of the ticket with 1,137 votes with Gehrig in second place with 1,036 votes followed by incumbent Tony DeLuca’s 919 votes and Frank Knight’s 707.

•The voter turnout was pathetic in the Ocean City election. Including absentee ballots, there were 1,528 voters in the municipal election for a turnout of 23%. With Ocean City elections, I don’t get carried away with the turnout percentage because I think the total current voter roll of 6,524 is most likely inflated inactive voters. My guess is there are hundreds of people on the voter rolls who no longer live here. Nonetheless, there is no denying the 2020 election featured severely low turnout numbers, considering 2,566 turned out in 2018 and 2,485 in 2016.

My theory for the low turnout is three-fold. First there was no contested mayor’s race, keeping interest low. Secondly, the council field was weak this year. There were two candidates who have not lived in town long and were clearly not as informed about recent history as the more seasoned residents. Finally, early voting being moved to the Ocean City’s convention center away from Gull Creek in Berlin due to COVID-19 had a major impact.

Though impossible to tally at this point, it’s clear some Ocean City residents participated in early voting for the presidential election the week prior and did not return on Tuesday for the municipal vote. A fourth reason could simply be it’s 2020. Everything is off this year.

•Due to him not being able to attend last night’s swearing-in ceremony for the new Ocean City Mayor and Council, Dennis Dare delivered some parting remarks at this week’s council meeting. It was a fitting opportunity for Dare to provide a prepared statement in what appears to be the last of his days at City Hall after 37 years – eight as city engineer, 21 as city manager and eight as councilman.

Dare’s two terms on the council provided a nice final chapter for his municipal career. He was elected in 2012 one year after being removed from the city manager’s position. At that time, Dare was not on the same page as the council majority that was in power at the time. It was a divisive ousting and it cost the town financially because it was poorly handled. Dare was essentially fired in a divided vote of the council, and Mayor Rick Meehan was forced into serving as acting mayor, the first of two stints for him.

The electorate confirmed in 2012 it did not support the removal of Dare and the way it was handled, electing him to his first term in overwhelming fashion. Dare was emotional at times in his final address this week because he cares deeply about Ocean City. Agreeing or disagreeing with his stances over the years is one thing, but there’s no denying Ocean City has always been in his heart through his three careers with the town. He has served Ocean City well and will be missed on the council.

•Former Worcester County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Jon Andes gained 75% of the vote to grab a seat on the Board of Education representing District 3 (largely West Ocean City and Berlin). With 16 years of experience as Worcester’s superintendent and 20 years previously as a teacher, coach and administrator in Harford County, Andes may well be the most qualified school board member ever.

Andes will bring valuable experience and perspective to the board because he knows everything there is to know about education and specifically the challenges facing public schools in this county. He also is familiar with current Superintendent Lou Taylor as he was the long-time principal at Stephen Decatur High School during Andes’ stint as superintendent. In an interview in 2011 near the end of his tenure as superintendent, Andes said, “As superintendent of schools, we are always faced with needs and resources that don’t match those needs. It is a challenge trying to meet all of those needs and the frustration is watching them go unmet.” Those challenges remain in 2020.

•Expanding gambling options in Maryland to include sports betting was an easy choice for Marylanders with 67% supporting a constitutional amendment to allow it. In Worcester County, 72% of voters want sports betting in Maryland (70% said yes in Wicomico). Now the challenging part takes place with the Maryland General Assembly charged with how to proceed with rolling out the licensing process. Casinos would seem to be logical sports book options, but other licenses could be granted to mobile sports betting companies as well. A nonpartisan study estimated Maryland could add $18 million to its budget if it taxed sports gambling at 20% like table games. The ballot question said the proceeds would be directed “for the primary purpose of raising revenue for education.” We will see about that.

Page 46

The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

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The Adventures Of Fatherhood

By STEVE GREEN

here are certain moments a parent never forgets.

Last Sunday afternoon was one of those for me. I had a decision to make. It was 1:15 p.m. and Beckett and I were sitting in my truck watching the Ravens game on my phone with rain flooding the ground all around us.

Beckett, 12, never said anything about the weather. It was certainly on his mind as he watched the rain pour on the ride to his soccer game. When it was time to get out of the vehicle for the game, he seemed surprised when I didn’t join him immediately. “You good?,” he asked. He really wanted to know if I was coming out with him. I told him I was going to wait until the game started. He turned his head as a confused dog would and murmured something about me being “lucky.”

I advised a good route to the field to avoid the standing water. Then he hopped down out of the truck directly into a puddle. “Too late,” he said as he ran through standing water all the way to his field.

It was quite clear to everyone this game should have been cancelled hours ago. As one parent said during a period of heavy wind and rain, maybe this is a test of love and commitment to our kids. One dad jokingly said, “well then it’s clear I love my kid more than his mom because she’s not here.” As I laughed, my umbrella blew inside out, marking the end of its days as an effective shield from the rain.

The game was a mess. It was cold, wet and windy. Everyone who was out in the mess had frozen feet and the field became so immersed with standing the water the ball was no longer rolling 10 minutes into the game. Visibility was low, and there were some tears on the field. The conditions were getting worse. It was absurd and unsafe.

At halftime the refs huddled with the

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coaches and decided to end the game finally. As luck would have it, the skies began to clear on our drive home. At that point, Beckett and I were soaked.

He jumped in a hot shower and I dried off to watch the rest of the RavensSteelers game.

As if the conditions were not enough to make it a memorable afternoon, my phone no longer holds a charge due to the rain. I learned that day the little cover over the phone’s charging hole is important in a monsoon.

I

t seems appropriate Halloween 2020 was unlike any other.

Halloween in Berlin is a big deal. It’s been this way for a long time, but in recent years Halloween night has attracted thousands of children from all around to town for trick or treating. It’s become such a wonderful evening in Berlin because the town, the residents and businesses embrace it and often decorate their homes and get dressed up in the spirit.

Halloween was much scaled down this year. It was appropriate with concerns over the pandemic. Every household views this entire COVID-19 crisis differently. I like to think Pam and I are in between the extremes. We were not willing to lock down the house, keep our kids from trick or treating and ignore Halloween. We knew we could do it in a safe manner.

At our house this year, we decorated for the occasion. It was a nice release to focus on something fun. We also welcomed trick-or-treaters. With the town discouraging them, we knew the crowds would be much lighter than usual. We had about 100 trick-or-treaters as opposed to the typical 1,500 to 2,000 in previous years.

Being the crafty and handy one of the house, Pam created a candy shoot featuring a six-foot long PVC pipe covered in cloth. We were able to send the

candy down the shoot in a safe fashion.

Carson was in charge of that, while Beckett tried to scare the kids from a distance. Being 12 years old and seeing friends he knew, he wanted to go trick-or-treat to nearby homes.

This entire world is all so weird right now. There’s a constant sense of not knowing what to do including whether it’s right to let your kid trick-or-treat with neighbors. Knowing the homeowners around us, we knew they would do it safely. In fact, he reported back seeing about a half dozen candy tubes on his travels. He said more often he came across huge buckets of individually bagged candy at the end of driveways for kids to grab on their way. Nearby were the residents wishing them well on their way.

I have grown to detest the phrase, “new normal.” It tops the list of abhorred common sayings followed closely by “out of an abundance of caution.” I think everyone wants to do the right thing while also not ruining our children’s lives. They are aware they need to be cautious, but they also should not be holed up all the time either.

Their lives have already been tremendously impacted. I think my kids should be playing sports, going to school and doing what kids do. On the last day of October, they should be trick or treating.

Things started to feel normal on Halloween, especially when I stopped Beckett from walking upstairs that night with a huge bag of candy close to bedtime. He said he wanted it nearby for easier access. I told him take a handful of pieces instead. He said he wanted to keep “his candy” under his bed for emergencies. It was a normal Halloween night talk. It seemed right.

(The writer is the publisher and editor of The Dispatch. He and his wife, Pamela, are proud parents of two boys. This weekly column examines their transition into parenthood and all that goes along with it. E-mail any thoughts to editor@mdcoastdispatch.com.)

Locally INSIDE SEATING & CARRYOUT Famous OPEN 7 A.M. DAILY For 40 Years!

Cafe

Breakfast Try Our Casino Omelette SUBS • SANDWICHES Rt. 50-West Ocean City • 410-213-1804

Located Between Comfort Inn Suites & Starbucks Across From Outback Steak House

Community

November 6, 2020

The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

Page 47

News In Photos

DISCOUNTED MENU EVERY THURSDAY & SUNDAY SOME RESTRICTIONS APPLY • ITEMS/PRICES SUBJECT TO CHANGE

Try Our Famous Maryland Crab Cakes ... ... No Mumbo, Just Jumbo!

Hand Cut Steaks • Fresh Scallops • Fresh Soft Shell Crabs

NFL Food & Drink Specials (Sunday 1 p.m. Game • At Bar Only)

DINE -IN & CARRYOUT (SPECIALS DINE-IN ONLY) Atlantic General Hospital's Diabetes Education Coordinator Darlene Jameson spoke to the OC Lions Club about Diabetes and Healthy Lifestyles. Presenting a check to AGH are Club 2nd Vice President Bill Christmas, President Mike Hooper, and 1st Vice President Scott Stark.

Submitted Photos

Happy Hour Daily 3 p.m.-6 p.m. Early Bird Daily 4 p.m.-6 p.m.

Food And Drink Specials Special Dinner Menu 28th St. Plaza • 410-289-3100 • www.coinspuboc.com Open Wednesday-Friday 2 p.m. • Saturday & Sunday At Noon

Berlin Liquor Store

Largest Liquor Store In OC Area!

Cold & Warm Beer

Pictured at last weekend’s car parade over Halloween were the Kiwanis Club's entry featuring members who walked with the classic corvette. Pictured, from left, are Tom Southwell, Carolyn "K-Duck" Dryzga, President Steve Cohen, Shelley Cohen, car owner Mike Riordan, Barbara Southwell and Diane Sparzak.

BEER•LIQUOR•WINE Every Thursday And Sunday Senior Citizens Get

10% OFF

10% OFF

Liquor And Wine

Liquor And Wine

(On Orders Of $50 Or More) Cannot be combined with any other offer.

Must bring in coupon. Expires 11.29.20 • MCD

10% OFF ALL CASES OF WINE! 7 DAYS A WEEK With the assistance of Larry Walton of the local AARP chapter and Candy Foreman of the local Kiwanis Club, Operation We Care, the brainchild of the late Anna Foultz, was a huge success, producing five carloads of gifts for the troops.

Pictured, from left, are Sharon Hilty, Dan Peletier, Barb Peletier and Larry Walton.

Also assisting was Sharon Hilty who collected donations in Ocean City in remembrance of her son SFC John-David Hilty.

(Must Be Same Size Bottles 750 ML or 1.5 L)

10818 Ocean Gateway, Berlin, MD 21811 410-973-2873

Page 48

Who’s Where When BUXY’S SALTY DOG DRY DOCK 28 410-289-0973 28th St. & Coastal Hwy. Friday, Nov. 6: TBA CLARION HOTEL 410-524-3535 10100 Coastal Hwy. Ocean Club: Friday & Saturday, Nov. 6 & 7: On The Edge & DJ Dusty, 7 p.m.

CORK BAR & GRILL Wicomico St. & Boardwalk 410-289-6921 Saturday, Nov. 7: TBA CRAWL STREET TAVERN 19 Wicomico St. off the Boardwalk 443-373-2756 Saturday, Nov. 7: King’s Ransom Sundays: DJ Wax, 10 p.m.

Tuesdays: DJ RobCee, 10 p.m.

DOWNY OSHUN 120th St. Bayside 410-670-8025 Friday, Nov. 6: Lauren Glick Duo Saturday, Nov. 7: Everett Spells Thursdays: Otto Grundman & Friends, 6 p.m.

FAGER’S ISLAND 410-524-5500 60th St. & The Bay Friday, Nov. 6: DJ RobCee Saturday, Nov. 7: TBA PICKLES PUB 410-289-4891 8th St. & Philadelphia Ave. Friday, Nov. 6: Beats By Styler Saturday, Nov. 7: The Dunehounds Sundays & Wednesdays: Beats By Skyler Mondays: Karaoke with Wood Tuesdays & Thursdays: Beats By Wax SEACRETS 410-524-4900 49th St. & Coastal Hwy. Friday, Nov. 6: John McNutt Duo, 4:30 p.m., High Five Swan Dive Duo, 9 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 7: Cherry Crush Duo, 4:30 p.m., Shake Shake Shake Duo, 9 p.m., Thursday, Nov 12: Opposite Directions, 4 p.m.

Best Beats On The Beach The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

November 6, 2020

ON THE EDGE Clarion/Ocean Club: Friday & Saturday, Nov. 6 & 7

THE DUNEHOUNDS Pickles Pub: Saturday, Nov. 7

HIGH FIVE SWAN DIVE DUO Seacrets: Friday, Nov. 6

KING’S RANSOM Crawl St. Tavern: Saturday, Nov. 7

OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS Seacrets: Thursday, Nov. 12

LAUREN GLICK DUO Downy Oshun: Friday, Nov. 6

CHERRY CRUSH DUO Seacrets: Saturday, Nov. 7

DJ ROBCEE Fager’s Island: Friday, Nov. 6 Crawl St. Tavern: Tuesdays

BEATS BY WAX Pickles Pub: Tuesdays & Thursdays Crawl St. Tavern: Sundays

DJ DUSTY Clarion Ocean Club: Friday & Saturday, Nov. 6 & 7

BRYAN CLARK Fager’s Island: Monday, Nov. 9

OTTO GRUNDMAN Downy Oshun: Thursdays

EVERETT SPELLS Downy Oshun: Saturday, Nov. 7

Ensuring Workforce Makes Home Cybersecurity A Priority November 6, 2020

BY SAM CARD

SPECIAL TO THE DISPATCH

BERLIN – As the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the country, most organizations hit fast forward and made the quick transition to a remote workforce and to a more intense focus on serving customers through digital channels. This created a rapid surge in demand for digital capabilities, products, services, and much needed cybersecurity.

With that being said, the heightened digital response has identified many new security vulnerabilities. Attackers seek to exploit the gaps opened when telecommuting employees use insecure devices and networks. They are also being cited as using attack techniques to exploit people’s COVID- SAM CARD 19-related fears. For example, Google tallied more than 18 million malware and phishing emails related to the coronavirus on its service each day in April.

It also reported identifying more than a dozen government-backed groups using COVID-19 themes for these attempts.

In order to combat some of the biggest gaps in security coverage from the work from home (WFH) environment we need to investigate identifying them.

Below are some of the biggest challenges and ways to strategically eliminate the security obstacle.

Dynamic Security Static, network-based security perimeters will no longer be enough. The security dynamic among users, assets, and resources must be the new focus.

Since IT teams can’t control which WiFi networks people connect to at home or in public, they need to create security infrastructures that support each device so that employees can work safely on any network. This will enable companies to make moves like shifting to the cloud, so that employees can access

Q&A WITH SAM CARD

The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

Page 49

Strategies To Ease Obstacles

the data they need, wherever they are.

None of this is possible without the right technology.

Cloud-Based Tools, Infrastructure When many companies made the switch to remote work, they continued to rely on VPNs while their employees worked on enterprise networks at home. This is a Band-Aid solution that won’t be financially or operationally sustainable in the long run. The need for greater agility and flexibility will accelerate the use of the cloud. The restriction of localized data storage for the remote workforce will transform end-user infrastructure with the increased adoption of virtual desktops.

Update Your Emergency Plans If the current pandemic caught your company without a plan for how to sup-

port a remote workforce, you’re not alone. According to a survey by PulseSecure, it was found that nearly a third of companies were ill-prepared for working from home at the start of the pandemic.

As companies look to the future, IT leaders need to update their emergency plans to address emerging risks and end users’ needs. This means renewing your company’s commitment to securing individual devices and providing guidelines for long-term remote work.

As your company establishes new protocols, they must be recorded and communicated to your IT team and to end-users. Whether your staff is displaced due to extreme weather, a personal emergency, or a pandemic, it is

critical that you have a plan to work remotely during these times. Without documentation, it will be difficult to communicate how you will promote cybersecurity within your remote workforce (and it will be even harder to launch a response, should an urgent threat emerge).

A New Way to Think About Security For better security, now and in the future, IT teams must design their responses to support the company at the device level. This involves using the right mobile device management solution to monitor and prepare devices so that employees can work wherever they are. The move from perimeter-based security to this approach may not happen overnight, but with a cloud-based software solution, you can implement a new strategy as soon as it’s ready, no matter where your staff is located.

(The writer can be reached at SCard@cards-tech.com. To learn more about Cards Technology, visit www.cards-tech.com.)

Eastern Shore Physical Therapy Join us On Tuesday, Nov. 10th, 7 a.m.-Noon

... For A Day Of FREE DISCOVERY VISITS! You Will Leave Here With The Following:

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F LE S OTP.T. P S 5 ACH Y NL E

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• The Cause Of Your Pain Or Problem • A Plan Of What Successful Treatment Looks Like • Exercises To Get You Started With Pain Relief

Each Therapist Has Only 10 Spots Available!

Call Now To Save Your Spot! 410-641-2900 We Are Following CDC Guidelines!

410-641-2900 • WWW.EASTERNSHOREPT.COM 314 FRANKLIN AVENUE, SUITE 405 (NEXT TO LAB CORP), BERLIN, MD. 21811

The Dispatch Classifieds

Page 50

The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

$15/Week For Minimum Of Five Lines • $2 Thereafter Per Line Display Classified Ads: $20/Week Per Column Inch (Contract Discounts Available)

HELP WANTED

WORCESTER COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT Community Health Nurse II - Temporary Position

Duties include but not limited to providing community health nursing services in assigned programs to individuals and/or families in the community, using the nursing process. Services provided include, but are not limited to immunization services, HIV AND HCV testing, other clinical services as identified, and providing public health guidance/education.

Must possess a current license as a Registered Nurse from the Maryland Board of Nursing. Valid driver’s license required. Background check & drug screening required.

NOW HIRING - YEAR ROUND EXPERIENCED BARTENDER Call 410-726-7061 for Interview

Currently hiring manpower for

•STUCCO & EIFS MECHANICS •CARPENTERS •CONCRETE BLOCK •COATINGS SPECIALISTS •FLAT CONCRETE •CONCRETE REPAIRS •PT WELDER •COMMERCIAL CAULKING •WINDOW & DOOR INSTALLERS •WAREHOUSE HELP (DRIVER’S LICENSE REQ’D) Experience Preferred. Tools, transportation & a valid driver’s license are a plus. Competitive benefit package available.

Please apply in person at 11935 Hammer Rd, Bishopville, MD, or apply online: http://allstatesconst.com/delmarva-renovations-careers

Town of Bethany Beach, DE Administrative Secretary/Receptionist

This position requires excellent customer service and organizational skills. Work involves greeting and informing visitors both in person and over the phone, coordinating message delivery to different departments, assist in certain department administrative projects, creating/posting agendas for different Town Committees, and other duties as assigned. Professional communication skills, in depth knowledge of Microsoft office systems, and experience with general office equipment are a must. The Town of Bethany Beach is looking for someone who is detail oriented and considered a great team player for this position. Previous experience as receptionist and/or secretary is preferred. Must have a valid driver license and reliable transportation to and from work daily. This is a full-time position. Salary is commensurate with experience and education. An excellent benefits package is offered. Bethany Beach is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Please send resumes to: Assistant Town Manager’s Office PO Box 109, Bethany Beach, DE 19930 or email to: japple@townofbethanybeach.com No later than November 13, 2020.

PUT YOUR LOGO IN COLOR FOR JUST $10

CONTACT INFORMATION Phone: 410-641-4563 • Fax: 410-641-0966 Email: classifieds@mdcoastdispatch.com Mail: P.O. Box 467, Berlin, Md. 21811

Deadline For Insertions, Cancellations And Payment Is 3 p.m. Tuesday.

Pre-Payment Is Required. We Accept Visa & MasterCard.

PHLEBOTOMISTS/PARAMEDICAL PROFESSIONALS/INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS: To complete mobile life insurance exams. Must have approximately 300-blood draws and reliable transportation to travel in 25-miles radius. For addtional info., please contact APPS at 800-814-3788.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––

November 6, 2020

Please send resume and cover letter by November 20, 2020 to Kristy Kagan, 6040 Public Landing Road, Snow Hill, MD 21863, e-mail kristy.kagan@maryland.gov or fax to 410-632-0064.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, religion, color, sex, age, national origin or disability. Appropriate accommodations for individuals with disabilities are available upon request by calling 410-632-1100 ext. 1221

INDIAN RIVER MARINA IS NOW HIRING!

•FUEL DOCK SUPERVISOR

Year Round position supervising Fuel Dock Staff. Responsible for inventory of resale items, fuel inventory and other duties assigned.

•NIGHT WATCH 3PM-11PM SHIFT

•GENERAL CLERICAL

Apply Online at Delaware Job Link https://delawarestatejobs.com AA/EOE

AUTOMOTIVE - GREAT OPPORTUNITIES! Large automotive center with auto parts/marine stores, service centers and used car dealership, is now hiring for: - SERVICE & PARTS ADVISORS - EXPERIENCED TOW TRUCK DRIVERS -TECHNICIANS - MARYLAND STATE INSPECTOR We offer EXCELLENT PAY & BENEFITS!

Call 302-344-9846

FOR SALE GOOSE AND DUCK DECOYS: Several dozen of each. Goose shells, 7-8 doz., $4 each. Duck decoys, miscellaneous, several doz., $3 each. Call Bill at 443-831-9898.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––– DEER TREE STANDS: 2 ladder stands, $75 each. 4 tree stand ladders, $20 each. Call Bill at 443831-9898.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––

SERVICES Ceja’s Landscaping & More!

•YARD MAINTENANCE •PAINTING •POWER WASHING 410-251-3425 410-202-2545

RENTALS

WEEKLY RENTALS Poolfront Room $215.

Efficiency Room $245.

2 BR Apartment $350.

3 BR Suite $400.

Burgundy Inn 1210 Philadelphia Ave.

410-289-8581

ROOMMATES

SEEKING ROOMMATE: Downtown OC, 1st. St. Private BR, Shared BA & Kitchen. Family atmosphere. Refs req’d. $125/week + $125 sec. dep. includes utils. Lv. msg. 443-754-5667.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––

YARD SALES

STORAGE FACILITY SALE: Sat. Nov. 14 & Sun. Nov. 15, 9am-3pm both days. Delmarva Self Storage, 12059 Industrial Park Road, Bishopville, MD, 21813. Masks req’d.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––– YARD SALE: Sat. 11/7, 8am 1pm. New household items, farm and beach decor, antiques, furniture, wicker, art pieces, antique lamps, plus many other items.

10016 Carey Road, Berlin.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––— GOLF/HOUSESHOLD ITEMS: Books, art, decorations, kitchen items, toys. Sat. 11/7 9am til noon.

10012 Old Ocean City Blvd., Berlin (The Dispatch Office Parking Lot).

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––

COMMERCIAL

WEST O.C. OFFICE/RETAIL SPACES AVAILABLE: 1 OfficeRetail and 1 Warehouses. Plenty of Parking. 443-497-4200.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––– UPSCALE MIDTOWN OFFICE SPACE FOR RENT: 2,130 sq.ft.

No CAM fees. 443-880-2225.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––

The Dispatch

Legal Notices

LEGAL RATES Legal advertising rate is $7 per column inch. Deadline for all legal advertising is Tuesday at noon. For more information, call 410-641-4563 or fax 410-641-0966.

THIRD INSERTION MICHAEL B MATHERS ESQ. WEBB, CORNBROOKS, WILBER, VORHIS, DOUSE & MATHERS, LLP PO BOX 910 115 BROAD STREET SALISBURY, MD 21803-0910 NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT NOTICE TO CREDITORS NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS ESTATE NO. 18444 To all persons interested in the estate of KATHLEEN PATRICIA CHANEY, ESTATE NO. 18444. Notice is given that LAURA LEE MILLER, 2003 WEST MAR-

KET STREET, YORK, PA 17404 was on, OCTOBER 19, 2020, appointed Personal Representative of the estate of KATHLEEN PATRICIA CHANEY, who died on JULY 29, 2020, without a will.

Further information can be obtained by reviewing the estate file in the office of the Register of Wills or by contacting the personal representative or the attorney.

All persons having any objection to the appointment (or to the probate of the decedent’s will) shall file their objections with the Register of Wills on or before the 19TH day of APRIL, 2021.

Any person having a claim

The Dispatch

Legal Notices

November 6, 2020

The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

LEGAL RATES

Legal advertising rate is $7 per column inch. Deadline for all legal advertising is Tuesday at noon.

For more information, call 410-641-4563 or fax 410-641-0966. against the decedent must present the claim to the undersigned personal representative or file it with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned on or before the earlier of the following dates:

All persons having any objection to the appointment (or to the probate of the decedent’s will) shall file their objections with the Register of Wills on or before the 15TH day of APRIL, 2021.

(1) Six months from the date of the decedent's death, except if the decedent died before October 1, 1992, nine months from the date of the decedent's death; or

Any person having a claim against the decedent must present the claim to the undersigned personal representative or file it with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned on or before the earlier of the following dates:

(2) Two months after the personal representative mails or otherwise delivers to the creditor a copy of this published notice or other written notice, notifying the creditor that the claim will be barred unless the creditor presents the claims within two months from the mailing or other delivery of the notice. A claim not presented or filed on or before that date, or any extension provided by law, is unenforceable thereafter. Claim forms may be obtained from the Register of Wills.

Name of Newspaper: Maryland Coast Dispatch Date of Publication OCTOBER 23, 2020 LAURA LEE MILLER Personal Representative True Test Copy TERRI WESTCOTT Register of Wills for Worcester County Room 102 - Court House One W. Market Street Snow Hill, MD 21863-1074 3x, 10-23, 10-30, 11-6

THIRD INSERTION

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT NOTICE TO CREDITORS NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS ESTATE NO. 18467 To all persons interested in the estate of CATHERINE FRANCES HAROLD, ESTATE NO. 18467. Notice is given that SUSAN HAROLD MATIS, 500 BUCKINGHAM DRIVE, STEVENSVILLE, MD 21666 was on, OCTOBER 15, 2020, appointed Personal Representative of the estate of CATHERINE FRANCES HAROLD, who died on SEPTEMBER 18, 2020, with a will.

Further information can be obtained by reviewing the estate file in the office of the Register of Wills or by contacting the personal representative or the attorney.

(1) Six months from the date of the decedent's death, except if the decedent died before October 1, 1992, nine months from the date of the decedent's death; or (2) Two months after the personal representative mails or otherwise delivers to the creditor a copy of this published notice or other written notice, notifying the creditor that the claim will be barred unless the creditor presents the claims within two months from the mailing or other delivery of the notice. A claim not presented or filed on or before that date, or any extension provided by law, is unenforceable thereafter. Claim forms may be obtained from the Register of Wills.

Name of Newspaper: Maryland Coast Dispatch Date of Publication OCTOBER 23, 2020 SUSAN HAROLD MATIS Personal Representative True Test Copy TERRI WESTCOTT Register of Wills for Worcester County Room 102 - Court House One W. Market Street Snow Hill, MD 21863-1074 3x, 10-23, 10-30, 11-6

THIRD INSERTION

LISA KUNITZ GETZ, ESQ. GETZ LAW OFFICE, LLC 26 S. MAIN STREET BEL AIR, MD 21014 NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT NOTICE TO CREDITORS NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS ESTATE NO. 18469 To all persons interested in the estate of BARBARA LEE CONAWAY, ESTATE NO. 18469.

Notice is given that JACQUES R. CONAWAY, 9858 SHORE BREAK LANE APT. 302,

BERLIN, MD 21811 was on, OCTOBER 15, 2020, appointed Personal Representative of the estate of BARBARA LEE CONAWAY, who died on SEPTEMBER 7, 2020, with a will.

Further information can be obtained by reviewing the estate file in the office of the Register of Wills or by contacting the personal representative or the attorney.

All persons having any objection to the appointment (or to the probate of the decedent’s will) shall file their objections with the Register of Wills on or before the 16TH day of APRIL, 2021.

Any person having a claim against the decedent must present the claim to the undersigned personal representative or file it with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned on or before the earlier of the following dates: (1) Six months from the date of the decedent's death, except if the decedent died before October 1, 1992, nine months from the date of the decedent's death; or (2) Two months after the personal representative mails or otherwise delivers to the creditor a copy of this published notice or other written notice, notifying the creditor that the claim will be barred unless the creditor presents the claims within two months from the mailing or other delivery of the notice. A claim not presented or filed on or before that date, or any extension provided by law, is unenforceable thereafter. Claim forms may be obtained from the Register of Wills.

Name of Newspaper: Maryland Coast Dispatch Date of Publication OCTOBER 23, 2020 JACQUES R. CONAWAY Personal Representative True Test Copy TERRI WESTCOTT Register of Wills for Worcester County Room 102 - Court House One W. Market Street Snow Hill, MD 21863-1074 3x, 10-23, 10-30, 11-6

THIRD INSERTION

COATES, COATES, & COATES, P.A. RAYMOND D. COATES JR., ESQ 6200 COASTAL HIGHWAY,

SUITE 300 OCEAN CITY, MD 21842 NOTICE TO CREDITORS OF APPOINTMENT OF FOREIGN PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE ESTATE NO. 18472 Notice is given that the CIRCUIT COURT of ARLINGTON COUNTY, VA, appointed BERNETTA ANN VAUGHAN, 6619 BIRCHLEIGH WAY, ALEXANDRIA, VA 22315, as the PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE of the Estate of EMILY SELENA VAUGHAN, who died on AUGUST 27, 2019, domiciled in VIRGINIA, USA. The Maryland resident agent for service of process is RAYMOND D. COATES, JR., whose address is 6200 COASTAL HIGHWAY, OCEAN CITY, MD 21842.

At the time of death, the decedent owned real or leasehold property in the following MARYLAND counties: WORCESTER. All persons having claims against the decedent must file their claims with the Register of Wills for Worcester County with a copy to the foreign personal representative on or before the earlier of the following dates: (1) Six months from the date of the decedent's death, except if the decedent died before October 1, 1992, nine months from the date of the decedent's death; or (2) Two months after the foreign personal representative mails or delivers to the creditor a copy of this published notice or other written notice, notifying the creditor that the claim will be barred unless the creditor presents the claim within two months from the mailing or other delivery of the notice. Claims filed after that date or after a date extended by law will be barred.

Name of Newspaper: Maryland Coast Dispatch Date of Publication OCTOBER 23, 2020 BERNETTA ANN VAUGHAN Personal Representative True Test Copy TERRI WESTCOTT Register of Wills for Worcester County Room 102 - Court House

Page 51 One W. Market Street Snow Hill, MD 21863-1074 3x, 10-23, 10-30, 11-6

SECOND INSERTION

BEFORE THE REGISTER OF WILLS FOR WORCESTER COUNTY, MARYLAND IN THE ESTATE OF ELAINE WAUGH ESTATE NO. 18457 NOTICE OF JUDICIAL PROBATE To all persons interested in the above estate: You are hereby notified that a petition has been filed by RONALD WAUGH, 5 HARLAN TRACE, OCEAN PINES, MARYLAND, 21811 for judicial probate of the will and for the appointment of a personal representative. A hearing will be held at ONE W MARKET STREET, COURT ROOM 4, COURT HOUSE, SNOW HILL, MD 21863 on NOVEMBER 17, 2020 AT 10:15 AM. This hearing may be transferred or postponed to a subsequent time. Further information may be obtained by reviewing the estate file in the office of the Register of Wills.

Name of Newspaper: Maryland Coast Dispatch Date of Publication OCTOBER 30, 2020 TERRI WESTCOTT Register of Wills for Worcester County Room 102 - Court House One W. Market Street Snow Hill, MD 21863-1074 2x 10-30, 11-06

SECOND INSERTION

BEFORE THE REGISTER OF WILLS FOR WORCESTER COUNTY, MARYLAND IN THE ESTATE OF JAMES A. BROWN ESTATE NO. 18474 NOTICE OF JUDICIAL PROBATE To all persons interested in the above estate: You are hereby notified that a petition has been filed by RYAN T. BROWN, 10 VALLEY RIDGE LOOP, COCKEYSVILLE, MARYLAND, 21030 for judicial probate of the will and for the appointment of a personal representative. A hearing will be held at ONE W MARKET STREET, COURT ROOM 4, COURT HOUSE, SNOW HILL, MD 21863 on DECEMBER 01, 2020 AT 10:00 AM. This hearing may be transferred or postponed to a subsequent time. Further information may be obtained by reviewing the estate file in the office of the Register of Wills.

Name of Newspaper: Maryland Coast Dispatch Date of Publication OCTOBER 30, 2020

TERRI WESTCOTT Register of Wills for Worcester County Room 102 - Court House One W. Market Street Snow Hill, MD 21863-1074 2x 10-30, 11-06

SECOND INSERTION

WILLIAM M. GATESMAN, ESQ 8209 JONNIE LANE GAITHERSBURG, MD 20882 NOTICE TO CREDITORS OF APPOINTMENT OF FOREIGN PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE ESTATE NO. 18475 Notice is given that the THIRD JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT of DONA ANA COUNTY, NM, appointed ANDREW CARROLL, 6715 BRIGHT VIEW ROAD, LAS CRUCES, NM 88007, as the PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE of the Estate of JAMES J. CARROLL, who died on APRIL 05, 2020, domiciled in NEW MEXICO, USA. The Maryland resident agent for service of process is WILLIAM M. GATESMAN, ESQ., whose address is 8209 JONNIE LANE, GAITHERSBURG, MD 20882.

At the time of death, the decedent owned real or leasehold property in the following MARYLAND counties: WORCESTER. All persons having claims against the decedent must file their claims with the Register of Wills for Worcester County with a copy to the foreign personal representative on or before the earlier of the following dates: (1) Six months from the date of the decedent's death, except if the decedent died before October 1, 1992, nine months from the date of the decedent's death; or (2) Two months after the foreign personal representative mails or delivers to the creditor a copy of this published notice or other written notice, notifying the creditor that the claim will be barred unless the creditor presents the claim within two months from the mailing or other delivery of the notice. Claims filed after that date or after a date extended by law will be barred.

Name of Newspaper: Maryland Coast Dispatch Date of Publication OCTOBER 30, 2020 ANDREW CARROLL Personal Representative True Test Copy TERRI WESTCOTT Register of Wills for Worcester County Room 102 - Court House One W. Market Street Snow Hill, MD 21863-1074 3x, 10-30, 11-6, 11-13

SECOND INSERTION

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT NOTICE TO CREDITORS

The Dispatch

Page 52

LEGAL RATES

The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

Legal Notices

Legal advertising rate is $7 per column inch. Deadline for all legal advertising is Tuesday at noon. For more information, call 410-641-4563 or fax 410-641-0966.

NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS ESTATE NO. 18477 To all persons interested in the estate of VERA ELLEN BAKER, ESTATE NO. 18477.

Notice is given that STEVEN WILLIAM BAKER, 30 ANCHOR WAY, BERLIN, MD 21811 AND JOANNE ELLEN BAKER HOWE, 30 ANCHOR WAY, BERLIN, MD 21811 was on, OCTOBER 22, 2020, appointed Personal Representative of the estate of VERA ELLEN BAKER, who died on OCTOBER 20, 2020, with a will.

Further information can be obtained by reviewing the estate file in the office of the Register of Wills or by contacting the personal representative or the attorney.

All persons having any objection to the appointment (or to the probate of the decedent’s will) shall file their objections with the Register of Wills on or before the 22ND day of APRIL, 2021.

Any person having a claim against the decedent must present the claim to the undersigned personal representative or file it with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned on or before the earlier of the following dates: (1) Six months from the date of the decedent's death, except if the decedent died before October 1, 1992, nine months from the date of the decedent's death; or (2) Two months after the personal representative mails or otherwise delivers to the creditor a copy of this published notice or other written notice, notifying the creditor that the claim will be barred unless the creditor presents the claims within two months from the mailing or other delivery of the notice. A claim not presented or filed on or before that date, or any extension provided by law, is unenforceable thereafter. Claim forms may be obtained from the Register of Wills.

Name of Newspaper: Maryland Coast Dispatch Date of Publication OCTOBER 30, 2020 STEVEN WILLIAM BAKER Personal Representative JOANNE ELLEN BAKER HOWE Personal Representative

True Test Copy TERRI WESTCOTT Register of Wills for Worcester County Room 102 - Court House One W. Market Street Snow Hill, MD 21863-1074 3x, 10-30, 11-6, 11-13

SECOND INSERTION

LAWS, INSLEY & BENSON, P.A. VICTOR H. LAWS, ESQ 209 E. MAIN STREET P.O. BOX 75 SALISBURY, MD 21803-0075 NOTICE TO CREDITORS OF APPOINTMENT OF FOREIGN PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE ESTATE NO. 18479 Notice is given that the REGISTER OF WILLS COURT of CHESTER COUNTY, PA, appointed JENNIFER CONWAY, 821 LINCOLN AVENUE, UNIT 4, WEST CHESTER, PA 19380, as the PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE of the Estate of STEPHEN R. CONWAY, who died on FEBRUARY 02, 2020, domiciled in PENNSYLVANIA, USA. The Maryland resident agent for service of process is VICTOR H. LAWS, III, whose address is 209 E. MAIN STREET, SALISBURY, MD 21801.

At the time of death, the decedent owned real or leasehold property in the following MARYLAND counties: WORCESTER. All persons having claims against the decedent must file their claims with the Register of Wills for Worcester County with a copy to the foreign personal representative on or before the earlier of the following dates: (1) Six months from the date of the decedent's death, except if the decedent died before October 1, 1992, nine months from the date of the decedent's death; or (2) Two months after the foreign personal representative mails or delivers to the creditor a copy of this published notice or other written notice, notifying the creditor that the claim will be barred unless the creditor presents the claim within two months from the mailing or other delivery of the notice. Claims filed after that date or after a date extended by law will be barred.

Name of Newspaper: Maryland Coast Dispatch Date of Publication OCTOBER 30, 2020 JENNIFER CONWAY Personal Representative True Test Copy TERRI WESTCOTT Register of Wills for Worcester County Room 102 - Court House One W. Market Street Snow Hill, MD 21863-1074 3x, 10-30, 11-6, 11-13

SECOND INSERTION

RAYMOND D. COATES JR., ESQ COATES, COATES, & COATES, P.A. 6200 COASTAL HIGHWAY, SUITE 300 OCEAN CITY, MD 21842 NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT NOTICE TO CREDITORS NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS ESTATE NO. 18481 To all persons interested in the estate of DOROTHY PRUITT HUDSON, ESTATE NO. 18481. Notice is given that WILLIS WRAY HUDSON JR, 10504 FRIENDSHIP ROAD, BERLIN, MD 21811 was on, OCTOBER 23, 2020, appointed Personal Representative of the estate of DOROTHY PRUITT HUDSON, who died on OCTOBER 04, 2020, with a will.

Further information can be obtained by reviewing the estate file in the office of the Register of Wills or by contacting the personal representative or the attorney.

All persons having any objection to the appointment (or to the probate of the decedent’s will) shall file their objections with the Register of Wills on or before the 23RD day of APRIL, 2021.

Any person having a claim against the decedent must present the claim to the undersigned personal representative or file it with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned on or before the earlier of the following dates: (1) Six months from the date of the decedent's death, except if the decedent died before October 1, 1992, nine months from the date of the decedent's death; or (2) Two months after the

personal representative mails or otherwise delivers to the creditor a copy of this published notice or other written notice, notifying the creditor that the claim will be barred unless the creditor presents the claims within two months from the mailing or other delivery of the notice. A claim not presented or filed on or before that date, or any extension provided by law, is unenforceable thereafter. Claim forms may be obtained from the Register of Wills.

Name of Newspaper: Maryland Coast Dispatch Date of Publication OCTOBER 30, 2020 WILLIS WRAY HUDSON JR Personal Representative True Test Copy TERRI WESTCOTT Register of Wills for Worcester County Room 102 - Court House One W. Market Street Snow Hill, MD 21863-1074 3x, 10-30, 11-6, 11-13

FIRST INSERTION

MICHAEL B MATHERS ESQ. WEBB, CORNBROOKS, WILBER, VORHIS, DOUSE & MATHERS, LLP PO BOX 910 115 BROAD STREET SALISBURY, MD 21803-0910 NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT NOTICE TO CREDITORS NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS ESTATE NO. 18484 To all persons interested in the estate of BETTY EHLERS FRANKE, ESTATE NO. 18484. Notice is given that CLARKE R. FRANKE, 13112 MANOR ROAD, GLEN ARM, MD 21057 was on, OCTOBER 28, 2020, appointed Personal Representative of the estate of BETTY EHLERS FRANKE, who died on SEPTEMBER 29, 2020, with a will.

Further information can be obtained by reviewing the estate file in the office of the Register of Wills or by contacting the personal representative or the attorney.

All persons having any objection to the appointment (or to the probate of the decedent’s will) shall file their objections with the Register of Wills on or before the 28TH day of APRIL, 2021.

Any person having a claim against the decedent must present the claim to the undersigned personal representative or file it with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned on or before the earlier of the following dates: (1) Six months from the date of the decedent's death, except if the decedent died before October 1, 1992, nine months from the date of the

November 6, 2020 decedent's death; or (2) Two months after the personal representative mails or otherwise delivers to the creditor a copy of this published notice or other written notice, notifying the creditor that the claim will be barred unless the creditor presents the claims within two months from the mailing or other delivery of the notice. A claim not presented or filed on or before that date, or any extension provided by law, is unenforceable thereafter. Claim forms may be obtained from the Register of Wills.

Name of Newspaper: Maryland Coast Dispatch Date of Publication NOVEMBER 06, 2020 CLARKE R. FRANKE Personal Representative True Test Copy TERRI WESTCOTT Register of Wills for Worcester County Room 102 - Court House One W. Market Street Snow Hill, MD 21863-1074 3x, 11-6, 11-13, 11-20

FIRST INSERTION

LINDSEY A. WEST, ESQ. WEST AND WEST, P.A. 12 WILLIAM STREET BERLIN, MD 21811 NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT NOTICE TO CREDITORS NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS ESTATE NO. 18485 To all persons interested in the estate of MIDGE DUFIEF MORAN, ESTATE NO. 18485.

Notice is given that PATRICIA COIT, 11303 WATER POINTE CIRCLE, RESTON, VA 20194 was on, OCTOBER 29, 2020, appointed Personal Representative of the estate of MIDGE DUFIEF MORAN, who died on SEPTEMBER 14, 2020, with a will.

Further information can be obtained by reviewing the estate file in the office of the Register of Wills or by contacting the personal representative or the attorney.

All persons having any objection to the appointment (or to the probate of the decedent’s will) shall file their objections with the Register of Wills on or before the 29TH day of APRIL, 2021.

Any person having a claim against the decedent must present the claim to the undersigned personal representative or file it with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned on or before the earlier of the following dates: (1) Six months from the date of the decedent's death, except if the decedent died before October 1, 1992, nine months from the date of the decedent's death; or (2) Two months after the

personal representative mails or otherwise delivers to the creditor a copy of this published notice or other written notice, notifying the creditor that the claim will be barred unless the creditor presents the claims within two months from the mailing or other delivery of the notice. A claim not presented or filed on or before that date, or any extension provided by law, is unenforceable thereafter. Claim forms may be obtained from the Register of Wills.

Name of Newspaper: Maryland Coast Dispatch Date of Publication NOVEMBER 06, 2020 PATRICIA COIT Personal Representative True Test Copy TERRI WESTCOTT Register of Wills for Worcester County Room 102 - Court House One W. Market Street Snow Hill, MD 21863-1074 3x, 11-6, 11-13, 11-20

FIRST INSERTION

LESLIE LOBOS, ESQ. IN-HOUSE COUNSEL PINES PROPERTY MANAGEMENT, INC. 11029 CATHELL ROAD BERLIN, MD 21811 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR WORCESTER COUNTY, MARYLAND CASE NO. C-23-CV20000232 BORDERLINKS I TIME INTERVAL OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC. 11029 CATHELL ROAD BERLIN, MD 21811 Plaintiff v.

ALEXIS BAXTER FITZPATRICK, ET AL. Defendants TRUSTEE’S SALE OF TIME SHARE INTERVALS IN THE BORDERLINKS I CONDOMINIUM OCEAN PINES, MD By virtue of a certain Claim of Lien recorded among the Land Records of Worcester County, Maryland, and pursuant to the Order of the Circuit Court for Worcester County, Maryland, Case No. C-23-CV-20-000232, the undersigned Trustee, will offer for sale at public auction at the entrance of the Borderlinks I Condominium, located at 438 Ocean Parkway, Ocean Pines, Maryland, the following described property located in Ocean Pines, Worcester County, Maryland, on Monday, November 23, 2020 at 11:00 a.m., the following timeshare intervals: Time Condomimium Unit Interval Be31 Bu47 Cb54 Bv48 As19

20 23 49 34 25

The Dispatch

November 6, 2020

LEGAL RATES

The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

FIRST INSERTION

Legal Notices

LESLIE LOBOS, ESQ. IN-HOUSE COUNSEL PINES PROPERTY MANAGEMENT, INC. 11029 CATHELL ROAD BERLIN, MD 21811 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR WORCESTER COUNTY, MARYLAND CASE NO. C-23-CV20000250

Legal advertising rate is $7 per column inch. Deadline for all legal advertising is Tuesday at noon. For more information, call 410-641-4563 or fax 410-641-0966.

Ak11 Bz52 As19 Cb54 Bu47 Bj36 Bv48 As19 Aa1 Bz52 As19 Aq17 Bo41 Aq17 Bz52 Be31 Cb54

30 3 48 1 18 44 24 34 23 38 31 26 30 22 13 45 18

Each time interval being one week per year in the corresponding unit, each unit being part of the Borderlinks I Condominium, including an undivided interest in the common elements thereof, as established pursuant to a Declaration of Condominium and Timeshare recorded among the Land Records of Worcester County, Maryland and subsequent Declarations of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions, as to each condominium unit and recorded among the aforesaid Land Records.

The property will be sold in an “as is” condition and subject to conditions, restrictions and agreements of record affecting the same, if any, and with no warranties and guarantees.

A secured party may bid and shall be excused from deposit requirements. The Trustee reserves the right to withdraw any interval from the sale and/or to reject any and all bids.

Terms of Sale: A deposit in the full amount of the sales price per time interval will be required at the time of sale, such deposit to be in cash or check. Cost of all documentary stamps, transfer taxes, 2020 maintenance fees and all other settlement costs shall be borne by the purchaser. The date of settlement shall be within fifteen (15) days after final ratification by the Circuit Court for Worcester County, Maryland, time being of the essence; otherwise the deposit will be forfeited and the property will be resold at the risk and expense of the defaulting purchaser, or in any manner designated by the Trustee; or, without forfeiting deposit, the Seller may exercise any of its legal or equitable rights against the defaulting purchaser.

For more information, call: Leslie Lobos, Esq., Trustee, at 240-449-8862.

Name of Newspaper: Maryland Coast Dispatch Date of Publication NOVEMBER 06, 2020 3x 11-06, 11-13, 11-20

FIRST INSERTION

LESLIE LOBOS, ESQ. IN-HOUSE COUNSEL PINES PROPERTY MANAGEMENT, INC. 11029 CATHELL ROAD BERLIN, MD 21811 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR WORCESTER COUNTY, MARYLAND CASE NO. C-23-CV20000239 BORDERLINKS I TIME INTERVAL OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC. 11029 CATHELL ROAD BERLIN, MD 21811 Plaintiff v.

ANTHONY FRISBY, ET AL. Defendants TRUSTEE’S SALE OF TIME SHARE INTERVALS IN THE BORDERLINKS I CONDOMINIUM OCEAN PINES, MD By virtue of a certain Claim of Lien recorded among the Land Records of Worcester County, Maryland, and pursuant to the Order of the Circuit Court for Worcester County, Maryland, Case No. C-23-CV-20-000239, the undersigned Trustee, will offer for sale at public auction at the entrance of the Borderlinks I Condominium, located at 438 Ocean Parkway, Ocean Pines, Maryland, the following described property located in Ocean Pines, Worcester County, Maryland, on Monday, November 23, 2020 at 11:00 a.m., the following timeshare intervals: Time Condomimium Unit Interval Bf32 Aj10 Bc29 Aj10 Am13 Bc29 Bc29 Bf32 Ad4 Bc29 Bq43 Bq43 Bq43 Bf32 Bq43

4 8 43 22 32 4 8 16 13 44 49 47 7 7 3

Bf32 Bg33 Bb28 Ag7 Am13 Bg33 Am13 Am13

Page 53

1 24 12 16 51 21 47 48

BORDERLINKS I TIME INTERVAL OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC. 11029 CATHELL ROAD BERLIN, MD 21811 Plaintiff

Each time interval being one week per year in the corresponding unit, each unit being part of the Borderlinks I Condominium, including an undivided interest in the common elements thereof, as established pursuant to a Declaration of Condominium and Timeshare recorded among the Land Records of Worcester County, Maryland and subsequent Declarations of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions, as to each condominium unit and recorded among the aforesaid Land Records.

STANLEY KROL, ET AL. Defendants

The property will be sold in an “as is” condition and subject to conditions, restrictions and agreements of record affecting the same, if any, and with no warranties and guarantees.

A secured party may bid and shall be excused from deposit requirements. The Trustee reserves the right to withdraw any interval from the sale and/or to reject any and all bids.

Terms of Sale: A deposit in the full amount of the sales price per time interval will be required at the time of sale, such deposit to be in cash or check. Cost of all documentary stamps, transfer taxes, 2020 maintenance fees and all other settlement costs shall be borne by the purchaser. The date of settlement shall be within fifteen (15) days after final ratification by the Circuit Court for Worcester County, Maryland, time being of the essence; otherwise the deposit will be forfeited and the property will be resold at the risk and expense of the defaulting purchaser, or in any manner designated by the Trustee; or, without forfeiting deposit, the Seller may exercise any of its legal or equitable rights against the defaulting purchaser.

For more information, call: Leslie Lobos, Esq., Trustee, at 240-449-8862.

Name of Newspaper: Maryland Coast Dispatch Date of Publication NOVEMBER 06, 2020 3x 11-06, 11-13, 11-20

v.

TRUSTEE’S SALE OF TIME SHARE INTERVALS IN THE BORDERLINKS I CONDOMINIUM OCEAN PINES, MD By virtue of a certain Claim of Lien recorded among the Land Records of Worcester County, Maryland, and pursuant to the Order of the Circuit Court for Worcester County, Maryland, Case No. C-23-CV-20-000250, the undersigned Trustee, will offer for sale at public auction at the entrance of the Borderlinks I Condominium, located at 438 Ocean Parkway, Ocean Pines, Maryland, the following described property located in Ocean Pines, Worcester County, Maryland, on Monday, November 23, 2020 at 11:00 a.m., the following timeshare intervals: Condomimium Time Unit Interval Bv48 Bz52 Ak11 Bi35 Bo41 Aq17

7 47 17 23 34 2

Each time interval being one week per year in the corresponding unit, each unit being part of the Borderlinks I Condominium, including an undivided interest in the common elements thereof, as established pursuant to a Declaration of Condominium and Timeshare recorded among the Land Records of Worcester County, Maryland and subsequent Declarations of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions, as to each condominium unit and recorded among the aforesaid Land Records.

The property will be sold in an “as is” condition and subject to conditions, restrictions and agreements of record affecting the same, if any, and with no warranties and guarantees.

A secured party may bid and shall be excused from deposit requirements. The Trustee reserves the right to withdraw any interval from

the sale and/or to reject any and all bids.

Condomimium Unit

Terms of Sale: A deposit in the full amount of the sales price per time interval will be required at the time of sale, such deposit to be in cash or check. Cost of all documentary stamps, transfer taxes, 2020 maintenance fees and all other settlement costs shall be borne by the purchaser. The date of settlement shall be within fifteen (15) days after final ratification by the Circuit Court for Worcester County, Maryland, time being of the essence; otherwise the deposit will be forfeited and the property will be resold at the risk and expense of the defaulting purchaser, or in any manner designated by the Trustee; or, without forfeiting deposit, the Seller may exercise any of its legal or equitable rights against the defaulting purchaser.

For more information, call: Leslie Lobos, Esq., Trustee, at 240-449-8862.

Ak11 Ak11 Ak11 Ak11 Ak11 Aq17 Aq17 Aq17 Ar18 Ar18 Ar18 Ar18 As19 As19 As19 As19 As19 As19 As19 Ba27 Ba27 Ba27 Bi35 Bi35

Name of Newspaper: Maryland Coast Dispatch Date of Publication NOVEMBER 06, 2020 3x 11-06, 11-13, 11-20

FIRST INSERTION

LESLIE LOBOS, ESQ. IN-HOUSE COUNSEL PINES PROPERTY MANAGEMENT, INC. 11029 CATHELL ROAD BERLIN, MD 21811 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR WORCESTER COUNTY, MARYLAND CASE NO. C-23-CV20000252 BORDERLINKS I TIME INTERVAL OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC. 11029 CATHELL ROAD BERLIN, MD 21811 Plaintiff v.

RANDOLPH CRIPPS, ET AL. Defendants TRUSTEE’S SALE OF TIME SHARE INTERVALS IN THE BORDERLINKS I CONDOMINIUM OCEAN PINES, MD By virtue of a certain Claim of Lien recorded among the Land Records of Worcester County, Maryland, and pursuant to the Order of the Circuit Court for Worcester County, Maryland, Case No. C-23-CV-20-000252, the undersigned Trustee, will offer for sale at public auction at the entrance of the Borderlinks I Condominium, located at 438 Ocean Parkway, Ocean Pines, Maryland, the following described property located in Ocean Pines, Worcester County, Maryland, on Monday, November 23, 2020 at 11:00 a.m., the following timeshare intervals:

Time Interval 13 20 40 41 44 11 36 50 13 41 47 50 6 9 11 12 42 46 47 8 9 41 10 17

Each time interval being one week per year in the corresponding unit, each unit being part of the Borderlinks I Condominium, including an undivided interest in the common elements thereof, as established pursuant to a Declaration of Condominium and Timeshare recorded among the Land Records of Worcester County, Maryland and subsequent Declarations of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions, as to each condominium unit and recorded among the aforesaid Land Records.

The property will be sold in an “as is” condition and subject to conditions, restrictions and agreements of record affecting the same, if any, and with no warranties and guarantees.

A secured party may bid and shall be excused from deposit requirements. The Trustee reserves the right to withdraw any interval from the sale and/or to reject any and all bids.

Terms of Sale: A deposit in the full amount of the sales price per time interval will be required at the time of sale, such deposit to be in cash or check. Cost of all documentary stamps, transfer taxes, 2020 maintenance fees and all other settlement costs shall be borne by the purchaser. The date of settlement shall be within fifteen (15) days after final ratification by the Circuit Court for Worcester County, Maryland, time being of the essence; otherwise the deposit will be forfeited and the property will be resold at the risk and expense of the defaulting purchaser, or in any manner designated by the Trustee; or, without forfeiting deposit, the Seller may exercise any of its legal or equitable rights against the defaulting purchaser.

For more information, call: Leslie Lobos, Esq., Trustee, at 240-449-8862.

Name of Newspaper: Maryland Coast Dispatch Date of Publication NOVEMBER 06, 2020 3x 11-06, 11-13, 11-20

Page 54

Horoscopes

ARIES (March 21 to April 19): Your honesty continues to impress everyone who needs reassurance about a project. But be careful you don't lose patience with those who are still not ready to act.

TAURUS (April 20 to May 20): Pushing others too hard to do things your way could cause resentment and raise more doubts. Instead, take more time to explain why your methods will work.

GEMINI (May 21 to June 20): Be more considerate of those close to you before making a decision that could have a serious effect on their lives. Explain your intentions and ask for their advice.

CANCER (June 21 to July 22): You might have to defend a workplace decision you plan to make. Colleagues might back you up on this, but it's the facts that will ultimately win the day for you. Good luck.

LEO (July 23 to Aug. 22): The Big Cat's co-workers might not be doing enough to help get that project finished. Your roars might stir things up, but gentle purrr-suasion will prove to be more effective.

VIRGO (Aug. 23 to Sept. 22): Someone you care for needs help with a problem. Give it lovingly and without judging the situation. Whatever you feel you should know will be revealed later.

LIBRA (Sept. 23 to Oct. 22): While

OCEAN CITY vanishing

The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

you're to be admired for how you handled recent workplace problems, be careful not to react the same way to a new situation until all the facts are in.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23 to Nov. 21): Rely on your keen instincts as well as the facts at hand when dealing with a troubling situation. Be patient. Take things one step at a time as you work through it.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22 to Dec. 21): Your curiosity leads you to ask questions. However, the answers might not be what you hoped to hear. Don't reject them without checking them out.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22 to Jan. 19): Be careful not to tackle a problem without sufficient facts. Even sure-footed Goats need to know where they'll land before leaping off a mountain path.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20 to Feb. 18): Appearances can be deceiving. You need to do more investigating before investing your time, let alone your money, in something that might have some hidden flaws.

PISCES (Feb. 19 to March 20): Your recent stand on an issue could make you the focus of more attention than you would like. But you'll regain your privacy, as well as more time with loved ones, by week's end.

BORN THIS WEEK: You're a good friend and a trusted confidante. You would be a wonderful teacher and a respected member of the clergy. © 2020 King Features Synd., Inc.

Things I Like ...

November 6, 2020

WITH BUNK MANN

Surf mats were popular until boogie boards took over in the late 1970s and many a “baby boomer” learned to the ride the waves on the canvascovered inflatables.

Called “rafts” by the tourists, the locals always referred to them as “surf mats.” Many became quite adept at riding them while kneeling or, in rare cases, even standing up. The commercial variety was the ride of choice and most beach stands did a lively business renting surf mats from the 1950s through the late 1970s.

To purchase one of Bunk Mann's books, click over to www.vanishinPhoto courtesy of Bill Fuhrer goc.com.

The Dispatch Crossword Puzzle

By Steve Green

Trying to resist turning on the heat When my kids own a mistake SNL’s political skits Election night

Full Sundays of football

That my son is reading “12 Angry Men” in school When hindsight confirms the right decision

How smooth early voting was

High voter turnouts in an election

Ravens-Steelers on Thanksgiving night On-time school drop-offs

ANSWERS ON PAGE 46

November 6, 2020

The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

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The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch

November 6, 2020