News

BERLIN — Downtown merchants turned out in mass at the Monday meeting of the Berlin Town Council to register their discontent with actions by the Historic District Commission to curb the use of sandwich board signs and café tables along Main Street. Joining that dissent were Mayor Gee Williams and Town Administrator Anthony Carson. The following morning, Planning and Zoning Director Chuck Ward, the town liaison to the commission resigned, after reportedly being given the option to depart on his own or be dismissed. Citing editorials and news articles in this paper, Williams and Carson took issue with the commission assumption of jurisdiction over the placement and appearance of moveable structures and sought guidance from Town Attorney David Gaskill. Williams commented on the efforts the town had been taking to create a business-friendly environment for the downtown Main Street sector. “The idea of restricting or outlawing sandwich board sign...

BERLIN — The Berlin Planning Commission unanimously voted to grant preliminary approval for the site plan of a 40-lot residential subdivision between Tripoli and Bay Streets, proposed by Main Street Homes at Berlin, during the commission’s May 8 meeting. The development would be adjacent to Route 113. The preliminary approval for the plan, however, was contingent on the developer addressing several points that were raised by the commissioners relating to street width, easements for adjoining properties, and adherence to the town’s new stormwater regulations. David Dombert, president of Gaithersburg-based Main Street Homes, and Steven Hutchins, the development’s project manager from Georgetown, Del.-based Morris and Ritchie Associates Inc., discussed the plans for the development and responded to questions posed by the commissioners. Dombert said the plan had not substantively changed since it was first submitted in 2009. However, several i...

BERLIN — The Berlin Parks Commission at its May 7 meeting discussed plans to hold a mural design contest to replace fading artwork along the racquetball court wall behind the tennis courts in Stephen Decatur Park. According to a proposed application for the contest, the commission would seek original artwork depicting scenes from Berlin. The commission’s town liaison, Deputy Administrator Mary Bohlen, said she could contact local schools to publicize the contest. The commission also discussed a proposal to allow individuals or organizations to sponsor several flowerbeds in Stephen Decatur Park. The areas would be designated with signs. A proposal to establish a “Friends of Berlin Parks” board that would operate under the supervision of the commission was briefly raised as a possibility. The commission also discussed replacing faded walking path distance signs in the park. Bohlen said she was reviewing the costs of making the replacements. For William Hen...

WEST OCEAN CITY — Wenches loaded with gold, an Animal House run amuck, local philanthropists held captive, oh my! The doubloons could fly when the Sunset Grille is overrun by pirates at the Fifth Annual Pirate Party fundraiser on May 17. All proceeds from the event will be used for Worcester Youth and Family Counseling Services’ Lower Shore CASA program. CASA, also known as the Court Appointed Special Advocate program, operates within Worcester Youth and Family Counseling Services, which helped 77 children in the area last year, according to Program Director Brigitte Saulsbury. The program has 45 trained and vetted advocates, who report on behalf of abused or neglected children in court.  From 5-8 p.m., revelers will party to the music of Philadelphia pop band Animal House, plunder the complimentary buffet, challenge Lady Luck in a 50/50 raffle, bid on prizes in both a silent auction and “gold bar” treasure trove, and enjoy happy hour pric...

OCEAN PINES — Members of the Ocean Pines Association Board of Directors are monitoring the permit process, including the dates that permit applications were submitted, to gauge the possible completion time for the Yacht Club pool and marina, Director David Stevens said Tuesday. He chalked up the prediction that the Yacht Club pool replacement would be completed by Memorial Day to overconfidence on when projects would be done when pitched to the board. According to Stevens, the projections were “very optimistic and now appears not to be true.” General Manager Bob Thompson told the board during a March 27 meeting the existing Yacht Club will remain open until Labor Day at which time it will be demolished. The new club is expected to open early 2014, he said. Meanwhile, the new Yacht Club pool is under way and is scheduled to open in June, he said. Thompson said the Yacht Club Marina will open for regular business in May and that other than relocation o...

BERLIN – Town Administrator Anthony Carson has resigned his position effective June 30, in order to accept a job as city manager of Painesville, Ohio, just northeast of Cleveland, the Berlin mayor and council announced this week. Carson has been a manager in county and municipal government for 17 years and has more than 20 years of business management in the private sector. He has served as Berlin’s administrator since January 2009. Painesville is a municipality with a population of just over 20,000 residents. “I enjoyed my time as town administrator in Berlin,” Carson said. ‘I was fortunate to work with a dedicated mayor and council whose only goal was the betterment of Berlin. I was also fortunate to work with a great town staff. I will always have a great appreciation for Berlin and its residents.” “Berlin has been extremely well-served these past four years by a very experienced and capable person who has done an outstanding job in manag...

BERLIN — Twenty years ago on May 21, the long and tortuous path to establish a community hospital in Worcester County came to fruition. The opening of Atlantic General Hospital on that Friday saw long-time proponents, political figures, volunteers and business people gather to witness the culmination of years of politicking, planning, fund-raising and, eventually, building the area’s first acute care facility. It was a triumphant moment made possible by an exceptionally determined group of citizens, especially considering that the effort to give the county its own hospital dates back to 1945. That was when more than 60 members and guests of the Lions Club attended a dinner meeting at the Atlantic Hotel to announce $105,025 in pledges to the War Memorial Worcester County Hospital campaign. But that and subsequent attempts to build a hospital failed for a variety of reasons until early in the 1990s, when the Worcester County Commissioners created a citizens group to pursue...

WORCESTER COUNTY — The first donations are being accepted for Operation We Care, the non-profit grass-roots effort started and coordinated by Jeff Merritt and his wife, along with a philanthropic group of 36 residents, to provide care packages for Delmarva military members serving overseas. The first of two shipments this year will be mailed out mid-May. Merritt said Tuesday that the 501(c) (3) organization has 24 drop-off locations on the peninsula. In this area, drop off sites are the Berlin library, OC Floor Gallery, all First Shore Federal Savings & Loan Bank branches, Harley Davidson of Seaford, Del., and Minuteman Press of Salisbury. In downtown Berlin, Operation We Care will commence Friday at The Church Mouse during the May Day Play Day and Second Friday events. Merritt said he and his wife started the program in 2007 when they realized there was no organized effort to ship provisions to service members from the local area and they wanted to show their support. Th...

BERLIN — Officials with the Tri-County Council for the Lower Eastern Shore of Maryland were hoping to inaugurate a tourist trolley on May 20 that would serve a route through Berlin, Ocean Pines and West Ocean this summer. But due to the economic climate, the project will be postponed until next year, Brad Bellacicco, deputy transit director for the Shore Transit Division of the council said Tuesday. He said the buses that were to be used were only acquired a short time ago. “We were trying hard to make something happen on short notice,” he said. Riggin Johnson, director of the council’s Shore Transit Division, said last Friday that the council agreed to buy two out-of-service Ocean City municipal buses and came up with the idea to convert and operate them as tourist trolleys. Shore Transit, the area’s public transit agency, offers fixed route and origin to destination public transportation for Somerset, Wicomico and Worcester counties. Unlike the famil...

OCEAN PINES – Homeowners posed questions to Ocean Pines General Manger Bob Thompson about the summertime schedule for the Yacht Club pool, the reasoning behind a proposed $43 increase in the annual assessment and the financial status of the Golf Club at a Feb. 2 town hall meeting to discuss the proposed fiscal year 2013-2014 budget. Jack Collins commended Thompson on the comprehensive presentation of the proposed budget. But Collins added that he remained opposed to the proposed increase in the assessment. He said Ocean Pines has offered a sense of community, but homeowners who are no longer financially productive are experiencing downward pressure on their savings and investments. Collins said he has experienced financial pressure on the federal level from increased taxes and on the state level from additional fees and taxes. “Any kind of income that moves seems to be taxable,” he said. With talk of a possible increase in the gas tax, he said, &#...