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AUGUST 4, 2017
SERVING NORTHERN WORCESTER COUNTY
LIFESTYLE
‘ARTISTS PAINT OC’ Participants will craft creative renditions of resort destinations during event, Aug. 9-13 – Page 69
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WMO decision to be appealed On tournament eve, ruling on last year’s winner back in court
GREG ELLISON/OCEAN CITY TODAY
OCPD Pfc. Joe Laughlin and his horse gallop on the beach Monday night to respond to a water rescue near Second Street. The victim, Timothy Thomson, 35, of Prince George, Virginia, died after he was underwater for 15 minutes and trapped in a rip current.
HEALTH CARE CONUNDRUM
Two days, 318 rescues made After-hours swimmer drowns, other cases could involve drinking
By Katie Tabeling Staff Writer (Aug. 4, 2017) One person drowned and hundreds of people had to be rescued by the Ocean City Beach Patrol this week, after strong northeast winds over the weekend created a multitude of treacherous rip currents in what had been a relatively peaceful ocean. “This is the time of year we see this, because of the
storm activity. Even if a tropical storm is hundreds of miles away, it can cause rip currents like we’ve been seeing this week,” Beach Patrol Capt. Butch Arbin said. Lifeguards made 194 water rescues on Monday alone. One fatality also was reported, after Timothy Thomson, 35, of Prince George, Virginia drowned in the waters near First Street around 7:20 p.m. The Beach Patrol made another 124 rescues on Tuesday, and around 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday, the Ocean See SWIMMING Page 5
By Brian Gilliland Associate Editor (Aug. 4, 2017) Well ahead of the 30-day window to do so, and on the eve of this year’s tournament, Philip Heasley filed his intent to appeal U.S. District Court Judge Richard Bennett’s decision to strip him of the 2016 tournament’s prize money, and divide it amongst other anglers. “We feel confident that Judge Bennett’s decision will be upheld,” said Jim Motsko, tournament founder. Heasley was initially declared the winner by catching the only qualifying white
marlin during the 2016 tournament. His 76.5-pound catch was worth a recordbreaking $2.8 million. “We filed today’s appeal because the district court ruling last month was fundamentally wrong. It became clear that the judge based much of his ruling on a deeply flawed assumption, and discarded facts, evidence and eyewitness testimony that contradicted it,” Heasley said in a press release. “The Kallianassa crew and I caught the tournament’s only qualifying white marlin fairly, legally and without violating any tournament rules.” The appeal will focus on disputing two of the court’s decisions, according to a reSee HEASLEY Page 7
Plan or no plan, cost goes up for hospitals
GREG ELLISON/OCEAN CITY TODAY
OCBP Assistant Crew Chief Josh Remaniak rushes to his stand after an incident. Beach Patrol made more than 300 rescues earlier this week.
By Brian Gilliland Associate Editor (Aug. 4, 2017) Whether one agrees with the implementation of the national healthcare system in this country, two things are true in Worcester County: enrollments in Medicaid and qualified healthcare programs are up, but the costs at hospitals are up more. The cost side of the equation, Atlantic General Hospital CEO Michael Franklin explained, was less troubling 10 years ago, when the hospital could expect to recover about 88 percent, or roughly
all but $350,000, of its $2.9 million in bad debt. Five years ago, the hospital’s success rate in collecting bad debt was not as good — collections were down to 83 percent, adding more than $100,000 or so to the total revenue it would never see. That would assume, of course, that AGH’s outstanding debt totals remained the same in each of those for five years, which they did not. Even though Medicaid expansion in Maryland in 2014 enabled more people to pay their bills — boosting AGH’s See STATE Page 8