Quiet Storm To Aid Wildfire Recover y Effor ts In Maui

about the destruction

OCEAN CITY– A popular Ocean City surf shop is doing what it can to support the Maui community following devastating wildfires

Next week, Quiet Storm Surf Shop will begin selling “Maui Strong” t-shirts to benefit Hawaiian nonprofits helping the island rebuild following last week’s wildfires The fires destroyed the historic city of Lahaina

“It’s a beautiful place and it needs to be rebuilt as quickly and efficiently as possible,” said Bill Dreibelbis, owner of Quiet Storm

On Aug 8, wildfires erupted on Maui destroying the historic town of Lahaina and killing more than 100 people Dreibelbis, who at one time had a Quiet Storm store in Maui and continues to visit the island regularly, was devastated to hear

“I’ve got a lot of friends out there,” he said, adding that he’d last visited Maui in March “It’s a beautiful place When I’m there my blood pressure goes down ”

Dreibelbis wanted to do something to help and initially considered a cash donation Upon further reflection, however, he realized he could do more through Quiet Storm He decided to have the Quiet Storm team develop a “Maui Strong” shirt He's going to donate the proceeds from the first 10,000 shirts he sells to Maui charities

The shirts, which feature an outline of the island adorned with hibiscus flowers and the phrase Maui Strong in both English and Hawaiian, will be sold for $30 each

“We are going to donate hopefully $300,000 to the cause,” Dreibelbis said “If we sell more, we will print more ”

The shirts will be for sale starting next Wednesday in the 13 Quiet Storm shops located throughout the country Dreibelbis is eager to send the proceeds to Maui, as his friends there are still reacting to the horrific impact of the wildfires Dreibelbis heard an interview with friend Kim Ball, owner of Hi-Tech Surf Sports, on Fox News Tuesday

“Kim lost two houses, a cottage, cars and he almost lost two dogs,” Dreibelbis said “It’s crazy ”

Following the sale of the Maui shirts, Dreibelbis is hoping to donate to Ball’s nonprofit, the Maui Sports Foundation “He’s done so much for the island already,” Dreibelbis said

He said another friend, Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac, was also committed to helping Maui rebuild Fleetwood’s restaurant was destroyed in the fire

Dreibelbis said that with people he knew personally involved, he knew he’d be donating to groups that were truly devoted to

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Count y To Provide Dispatch Assistance

SNOW HILL– The county will assist Pocomoke with overnight emergency dispatch following a decision by officials this week

The Worcester County Commissioners on Tuesday agreed to grant a request for emergency dispatch assistance from the Pocomoke City Police Department The county will now provide overnight dispatch services for the municipality

“We are not immune from the staffing crisis that faces dispatch nationwide, however the midnight to 8 a m period is the absolute slowest period for us,” said James Hamilton, the county’s deputy director of emergency services “This specific piece we do not think would have a significant impact on our operations because of existing call volume during those periods ”

Hamilton told the commissioners on Tuesday that Pocomoke police had asked his department if the county could have its 911 center provide dispatch operations for them from midnight to 8 a m

“From their standpoint they’re having an extremely difficult time recruiting people for that position,” Hamilton said “We see that as a nationwide issue as well In public safety and especially in dispatch positions, recruiting into these positions is extremely difficult and there’s very high attrition in these positions ”

He said that because the request was limited to the overnight hours and because Pocomoke officials estimated about two calls for service and two traffic stops during that time period, he felt granting the request wouldn’t have a significant impact on the workload at the county’s 911 center

“We do believe we could meet this if tasked to do so,” he said

He added that the county had been providing 24/7 dispatch service to the Town of Snow Hill for at least the past decade

The commissioners voted 6-0 to grant the request