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MAJOR MILESTONE Stephen Decatur junior Dayona Godwin scores 1,000th career point – Page 25
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JANUARY 9, 2015
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Ochse, Kendall plead to affray in fatal beating Sentencing to take place in March after investigation
KRISTIN ROBERTS/OCEAN CITY TODAY
PENGUIN SWIM The bold and the brave, or the merely committed to raising money for Atlantic General Hospital, splash around in the 41-degree ocean on New Year’s Day for the Berlin hospital’s annual fundraising event. More photos on page 37.
Smoking: the ban plays on Council leans further toward ban on Boardwalk, but gets hooked on how to do it
Zack Hoopes Staff Writer (Jan. 9, 2015) After four months of stewing over the issue of beach and Boardwalk smoking restrictions, the city has gotten … not all that far. Following an extensive presentation from city staff at Monday night’s meeting, the Ocean City Council declined to
vote just yet on a finalized smoking-restriction ordinance and plans instead to do more investigation themselves. Council members said this will entail elected officials physically touring the Boardwalk to inspect the cigarette-butt receptacle locations proposed by city staff before making a final decision. “Time is starting to become of the essence, because we have to get this message out,” Mayor Rick Meehan reminded the council. “Remember, once you make a final ordinance, there have to be two readings and public comment
sessions before it’s enacted. There is some lead time needed.” This past August, the council voted four-to-three to declare its intent to restrict beach and Boardwalk smoking, beginning May 2015. The majority consensus was that the city should set up designated smoking areas along the beach and at strategic locations on the Boardwalk, where smokers would have to stay within a certain distance of marked butt receptacles. The three dissenting votes at the See CITY page 4
By Brian Gilliland Staff Writer (Jan. 9, 2015) There doesn’t seem to be any confusion about the fact there was a fight, but after that the consensus falls apart on what exactly happened in the early hours of Aug. 24, 2014, which happened to be the last day of Justin Cancelliere’s life. The unconscious Pennsylvania man was pronounced dead at Atlantic General Hospital early that morning. As part of the plea agreement between Christopher Kendall, Caleb Ochse and the State of Maryland, the pair conceded a number of points. The two were only charged with “affray,” or public fighting, and all other charges were either dismissed or nolle prosequi, where the prosecutor voluntarily agrees to not pursue a particular charge or charges. State’s Attorney Beau Oglesby described, perhaps for the first time in public, the results of the investigation into the case. “On Aug. 24, 2014 at approximately 3:12 in the morning, the Ocean City Police Department and Ocean City Emergency Medical Service responded to … reports of an unconscious male subject … [at] the Plim Plaza hotel … The victim at that time had injuries to his face and head, See OFFICIAL page 3
Log of a tog sets world record At 28-plus pounds, tautog caught off resort eclipses standard set back in 1998
By Josh Davis Staff Writer (Jan. 9, 2015) On a pristine day in early January, five friends on a charter boat 20 nautical miles or so southeast of Ocean City saw angling history made when one hauled up a monster tautog that shattered the world record. New York native Keith Lockwood, 49, and his friends have made the annual trip to Ocean City since 2011, each time chartering Capt. Kane Bounds and his boat Fish Bound.
“[Ocean City] is known now for big tog,” Lockwood said. “Double-digit [Tautog] is pretty common in your waters, and that’s the reason I’ve been driving down there five hours from New York City for the last few years. After the first trip, I told Capt. Kane, ‘You know what? Just give me the first weekend of January for life. Put me in your book.” On the morning of Jan. 2, Lockwood, Dr. Daniel Yadegar, Richard O’Connell, Matty Casamassima and Benny Zickefoose boarded the Fish Bound, hoping to capitalize on the good conditions. “It was an absolutely gorgeous day,” Lockwood said. “The forecast all week called for 10-to-15 mile winds out of the See NY page 6
Keith Lockwood and his world record tautog.