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MAY 23, 2014
SERVING NORTHERN WORCESTER COUNTY
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SEAHAWKS STATE BOUND Twelve Stephen Decatur track athletes will compete in championship meet–Page 41
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Measures place ban on knives, laser pointers
Task force urges post-Labor Day school openings
Council contends stores were not following through on regulation of items
Recommendations follow in Worcester County Board of Education’s decision
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U.S.M.C Sergeant Paul Chambers and U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Glenn Steele are among the 20 Worcester County active military personnel honored by the Ocean City Elks Hometown Heroes Military Banner Program.
Boardwalk banners to honor hometown military heroes
By Josh Davis Staff Writer (May 23, 2014) This Memorial Day many visitors to Ocean City will see the town’s display of its local heroes, in bright banners over the boardwalk, for the first time. The Ocean City Elks Hometown Heroes Military Banner Program, honoring active duty military who live in Worcester County, created the five-bytwo-and-a-half-foot banners that now hang from boardwalk light poles between the pier and Fourth Street. Each banner displays the official military photo, name, rank and branch of the United States Armed Forces of its honoree.
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By Zack Hoopes Staff Writer (May 23, 2014) City Council finalized three emergency measures this week, aimed at cracking down on allegedly dubious items being sold at Boardwalk stores. As of this past Monday night, laser pointers and assisted-opening knives are forbidden for sale or possession in the resort, although an allowance exists for the former’s use for educational or instructional purposes. The Ocean City Police Department will now also be able to cite offenders for refusing to provide their date of birth, expanding the city’s identification requirement which previously only mandated name and address to be given. Although the knife issue was more threatening in appearance, it was the laser pointers that are likely the greatest disruption of public safety, with Mayor Rick Meehan citing the latest count by the OCPD of 970 calls regarding laser pointer harassment in the past three years. “That’s almost a thousand times in three years that our officers could be addressing something else,” Meehan noted. “There are documented cases of these being shined in the eyes of tram drivers and even passing aircraft.” The only objection heard from council on the public on the issue was from laser pointer wholesaler Jeff Morris, who said he supplies several stores on the Boardwalk. Morris said that the policy passed by council some years ago – requiring safety notices to be posted prominently in stores and placed in shopping bags – has been effective in reducing the incidents. Morris himself also puts the notice inside the box of every pointer he distributes within the city limits. “With that notice, I think the probSee BAN Page 5
The program was introduced to the Ocean City Elks Veterans Committee in June 2013. The committee consisted of Edward ‘Pete’ Peterson, Sarge Garlitz and Pat Riordan. “This project was selected as one of our three goals for the upcoming year,” Riordan said. “We presented our proposal to the Ocean City Mayor and Town Council in January 2014 and received the authorization to proceed with our plans.” Area businesses, fraternal organizations and citizens were contacted to fund the project, meaning there was no cost for the honorees. Robert Terlizzi, who submitted his See BANNERS Page 7
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By Clara Vaughn Staff Writer (May 23, 2014) A Maryland task force has followed in the footsteps of Worcester County Public Schools, recommending that the state’s schools delay the start of their calendars until after Labor Day. The group of parents, teachers, businessmen, senators, delegates and other stakeholders, largely appointed by Gov. Martin O’Malley and charged with studying a post-Labor Day start to the school year, voted 114 to start school after the holiday. Worcester County is the first of the state’s 24 school districts to break from the recent pre-Labor Day school opening schedule, although any school system has that option. “Worcester County is leading the rest of the state in helping move the start of school after Labor Day,” said Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot, a stanch advocate of the move, during a recent visit to this county’s Board of Education. Sen. Jim Mathias, who represents Worcester County, called the vote a “common sense reform that will bring a substantial stream of additional revenue to the small business owners on the shore.” The debate over the start of the school year has been strong in this county, where the resort is driven by a seasonal tourism economy. Proponents argue that starting school before Labor Day hurts local businesses, which rely on workers still in high school or employed by the schools and by cutting the vacation season short. “The economic argument is there,” said Greg Shockley, one of the members of the task force and chairman of the Maryland Tourism Development Board. “We’re loosing a part of the revenue at peak season.” See SCHOOLS Page 3
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