OC Today WWW.OCEANCITYTODAY.COM
SEPTEMBER 6, 2019
SERVING NORTHERN WORCESTER COUNTY
OBITUARIES Guy R. Ayres City solicitor from 1982 to 2019 had lasting impact on Ocean City — page 67 FREE
Holiday sees another drop in police calls Traffic, ordinance violations dominate police responses
MORGAN PILZ/OCEAN CITY TODAY
BUILDING PERMITTED
By Josh Kim Staff Writer (Sept. 6, 2019) Labor Day weekend marked the beginning of the end for Ocean City’s busiest season, and according to the Ocean City Police Department, it also marked another decrease in calls for service. Police department spokeswoman Ashley Miller said that from Friday, Aug. 31, to Tuesday, Sept. 3, there was 1,580 calls for service—18 fewer than last year’s holiday weekend. Calls of service were dominated by city ordinance violations, 216, which include smoking on the Boardwalk, alcohol citations and public consumption of alcoholic beverages. Traffic stops were next, with 188 traffic-related calls, 11 of which were See SEASON Page 64
Building a sand castle during the last Family Beach Olympic Games of the season on the beach of the Carousel Hotel on 118th Street, Thursday, Aug. 29, from left, are Jessica, 13, Samir, Jenna, 10, and Nemeen Naoum of New Jersey. See more pictures on page 19.
Rips, surf keep Beach Patrol busy By Morgan Pilz and Rachel Ravina Staff Writers (Sept. 6, 2019) Strong rip currents and surf conditions resulted in a busy Labor Day weekend for the Ocean City Beach Patrol, which made 264 rescues over the course of the fourday holiday. Of those rescues, 25 took place on Friday and Saturday, 61 on Monday, and the most rescues happened on Sunday with 153 rescues, said the beach patrol’s public information coordinator, Kristin Joson. Most rescues were considered assists, said Ocean City Beach Patrol Capt. Butch Arbin, who cited tropical
activity as a reason for the stronger waves. “The rescues made were more of an assist in the sense that we didn’t want people to be afraid,” Arbin said. Kristin Joson “If a person didn’t respond, we were spread out, so we don’t have the ability to do the more preventive type [of guarding]. Several times this weekend we pulled people out of the ocean a couple spots and then we would talk to them about conditions and let them back in.” Many lifeguards returned to the resort to work Labor Day weekend,
allowing for 32 stands to observe 10 miles of beach, Arbin said. “Forty of our people drove over 110 miles, or at least the other side of the Chesapeake Bay Butch Arbin bridge, or Pennsylvania or New Jersey,” Arbin said. “One girl drove all the way from Miami, Florida, to work the weekend and another guy drove all the way from Indiana, so people really stepped up to help bring the numbers up.” The increased number of guards also meant it was possible to perform See STRONG Page 59
Worcester sees 13th rabies case with sick raccoon By Elizabeth Bonin Staff Writer (Sept. 6, 2019) This Worcester County Health Department confirmed the 13th case of rabies this year when a man brought a sick raccoon to the Nature Center at the Pocomoke River State Park at Shad Landing in Snow Hill last Wednesday. Staff members at the park noticed that the raccoon wasn’t moving, which is a symptom of paralytic rabies, according to Angela Richardson, rabies program coordinator for environmental health. See RABIES Page 64