OC COUNCIL CANDIDATES
JAMMIN’ OUT CANCER: The
Incumbent Joe Hall and council hopeful Dennis Dare weigh in on city’s future INTERVIEWS START ON PAGE 3
last in a series of Pink Ribbon Classic events is set for tonight at Seacrets, and will include live music, raffles and silent auction PAGE 65
INSIDE THIS ISSUE: BUSINESS . . . . . . . . . 62 CLASSIFIED . . . . . . . . 85 ENTERTAINMENT . . . . 69 LEGALS . . . . . . . . . . . 87
LIFESTYLE . . . . . . . . . 65 OPINION . . . . . . . . . . 20 OUT&ABOUT . . . . . . . . 71 SPORTS . . . . . . . . . . . 56
GOV. O’MALLEY CAMP VISITS OC TO ASSESS HURRICANE DAMAGE…PAGE 10
Ocean City Today WWW.OCEANCITYTODAY.NET
NOVEMBER 2, 2012
FREE
BRUISED BUT NOT BROKEN
Ocean City dodges a bullet as Hurricane Sandy speeds up off coast, and delivers its most powerful punch to New Jersey and New York, leaving us mostly unscathed WORCESTER COUNTY
OCEAN CITY
NANCY POWELL ■ Staff Writer
ZACK HOOPES ■ Staff Writer
R
esidents throughout Worcester County started picking up the debris Tuesday that had been left behind by Hurricane Sandy, but compared to other areas, damage was slight. County officials lifted the state of emergency and closed all county shelters Tuesday when it was clear that Sandy was no longer a threat. Residents who evacuated were authorized to return to their homes, but in some areas, roadways remained impassable because of standing water, fallen trees or other debris left behind by Sandy as she intensified and blew north. During the storm, Worcester County Public Works crews See COME on Page 32
Cityvotersto choose four members of resort council ZACK HOOPES ■ Staff Writer
D
espite near-apocalyptic predictions from state and federal officials, Ocean City appears to have sustained limited damage from the hybrid storm system surrounding Hurricane Sandy. Although flooding caused some loss in the low-lying downtown areas of the island, the rain, tides and wind left most homes and businesses soggy, but structurally sound. “All in all, compared to some of the places to the north of us, we got spared,” said Ocean City Public Works Director Hal Adkins. Ocean City ordered a mandatory evacuation of the area below 17th Street by 8 p.m.
2012 MUNICIPAL ELECTION
PHOTO COURTESY ROBERT KORB JR., WORCESTER COUNTY DEPUTY FIRE MARSHAL
Route 50 was open only to emergency vehicles Monday, as Hurricane Sandy brought with her a large amount of rain that flooded the downtown area.
on Sunday, although Ocean City Police Department Chief Bernadette DiPino estimated that roughly 80 percent of downtown’s residential population, about 200 people, chose to stay. By Sunday night, the city had restricted vehicle access below 17th Street, eventually moving the roadblock up to 33rd Street and then to 62nd
Street as the storm worsened Monday morning. Traffic restrictions were gradually removed on Tuesday. Flooding, several feet high in some locations, owed little to Sandy’s rain and more to her amplification of the high tide. This was due to winds that backed water up into the bay and the enormous See DESPITE on Page 14
Additional Hurricane Sandy photos begin on Page 52
While the sky looks menacing, the worst was over when this photo of Ocean City was taken Tuesday from Route 50. PHOTO COURTESY GINA WHALEY
(Nov. 2, 2012) Ocean City’s voters will go to the polls Tuesday for a contest that will certainly see a big change in how residents vote – and possibly in who they vote for, given the unprecedentedly polarized nature of this year’s municipal contest. The City Council, whose members serve four-year terms, alternates position vacancies. This year, four of the seven slots are up for grabs. Incumbents Joe Hall, Mary Knight, Jim Hall, and Doug Cymek will be challenged by Dennis Dare, Joe Mitrecic, Sean Rox, Bob Baker, John ‘Frank’ Adkins, and Philip Sayan. The position of mayor, which serves a twoyear term, is also up for grabs between incumbent Rick Meehan and newcomer Nick Campagnoli. In June, the City Council made the decision to change the city’s municipal election from its traditional date in October to the national Tuesday date, but decided against actually combining the city’s ballot and polling system with the larger contest. The Worcester County Board of Elections, under the purview of the state board, runs the polls that account for the county, state and federal contests. Under its charter from the state, however, Ocean City conducts its own election, with its own regulatory body, voting equipment and, until this year, its own time and place. Consolidating the two polls – with the idea of making a single date more convenient for voters and possibly boosting voter turnout – was an idea that had been broached several times before, but did not gain traction until See UNION on Page 25