OC Today WWW.OCEANCITYTODAY.NET
MAY 16, 2014
SERVING NORTHERN WORCESTER COUNTY
LACROSSE
ESIAC CHAMPS Worcester’s girls’ lacrosse team won 14-8 over Sts. Peter & Paul to take home the title–Page 35
FREE
Town eyes urgent action in banning dangerous items Assisted opening knives, laser pointers high on list
OCEAN CITY TODAY/LISA CAPITELLI
RELAY FOR LIFE Cancer survivor Eileen Dudley speaks during the 2014 North Worcester County Relay For Life opening ceremony, May 9, at Frontier Town Campground in West Ocean City. The theme for the all-night party was “Life is Good.” The overnight event drew 46 teams (approximately 311 participants, which included about 100 survivors) and, so far, has brought in approximately $138,000 for the American Cancer Society. Participants have until Aug. 31 to submit their final donations. Several fundraising events are in the works over the next few months to raise additional funds. For updates, visit, www.relayforlife.org/northworcestermd.
Tourism survey tests Springfest Demographics show older crowd; mayor wants further studies all around resort
Residential & Commercial 24/7 Emergency Service
COMPLETE HVAC SYSTEMS STARTING AT
By Zack Hoopes Staff Writer (May 16, 2014) A trial run of the city’s new market survey at Springfest earlier this month has confirmed the survey’s concept - at least by proving what most already know about the event’s demographic. City Tourism Director Donna Abbot told the Tourism Commission this week that a test of the city’s automated questionnaire – which visitors fill out on an iPad touch screen – had netted almost 100 participants at
Springfest.. “We wanted to see if the program worked, and if people would respond,” said Council Secretary and Tourism Commission Chair Mary Knight. Although it appeared that many participants did not respond to every question, the automated survey app worked well, Abbott said, and provided a helpful graph for each of the 11 questions asked as well as a map of respondents’ ZIP codes. Responses skewed heavily toward an older demographic, who indicated that they visited frequently and were likely either locals or Baltimore-area residents who own a second home in the resort.
$
“This makes sense because we know we draw in a big local crowd,” said Greater Ocean City Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Melanie Pursel. ZIP code results indicated the greatest density of visitors originating either on the Eastern Shore, or in the Baltimore metro region. Of the 72 respondents who provided their age, 58 were over 45 years old, and 23 of these were over 60. The question asking how many times visitors had been in Ocean City over the past five years provided the most dramatic result, with 48 of 73 respondents selecting 20 or more times. Further, 30 of 73 answered six See SURVEY Page 6
2999
SUMMER PRE-SEASON SALE
WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!
By Zack Hoopes Staff Writer (May 16, 2014) City Council is poised to pass emergency measures against what the Ocean City Police Department has identified as the summer’s biggest scourges – laser pointers, “assisted opening” knives, and people who refuse to give you their date of birth. On Tuesday, Council voted to move the three proposals to an ordinance reading at the coming Monday night general session. With the Mayor’s consent, and another favorable vote of council, those ordinances could be passed as emergency measures, effective immediately. Most critically, the OCPD is proposing to amend the article of the city’s code which prohibits “any person to display, possess, sell, barter, offer to sell, distribute, manufacture, give away, transfer, or dispose of” a number of items that are considered hazardous by the city but not addressed in Maryland’s state-level restrictions. Added to this list would be socalled “assisted opening” knives – folding knives in which the user opens the knife by articulating a stud or spur attached to the blade. Once the blade is partially unfolded, a spring or tension mechanism releases the blade to full extension and locks it into position, making the knife easier to open with one hand. “There’s really no need for this particular item…especially the sale of the same on the Boardwalk,” said OCPD Chief Ross Buzzuro. According to police, a number of novelty stores on the Boardwalk have begun selling assisted-opening knives. Lt. Mark Pacini, the department’s patrol commander for the downtown area, showed the council See CITY Page 5
410A 13-15 SEER PACKAGE: • Air Handler or Furnace, Coil & Condenser or Heat Pump • Programmable Thermostat • 2 Year Labor & 10 Years Parts Warranty • 1 Year Elite Maintenance Plan
Financing Available • All Major • Credit Cards Accepted
We Service All HVAC Brands
443-783-1591 855-484-8221 w w w. G V H VA C . c o m
MD HVAC #4450 – MD MHIC #130427 – DE HVAC/R # HM-0000865 LICENSED & INSURED