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JULY 17, 2020
SERVING NORTHERN WORCESTER COUNTY
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Ocean City convention center to host first event – a dance competition – since covid-19 shutdown in mid-March – Page 8
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Restaurants serve safety by closing Testing done after staffers show positive for covid-19
LISA CAPITELLI/OCEAN CITY TODAY
STORM WATCH Visitors to Northside Park on 125th Street enjoy the sunset last Saturday evening, while also watching as a rainband works its way across the bay. Shortly after this photo was taken, rain began to fall in Ocean City.
Council says no trams, and that’s final By Josh Kim Staff Writer (July 17, 2020) The Ocean City Council voted on Tuesday to not operate the resort’s tram services this summer, but to extend its tram and bus advertising contract with Vector
Media. The driving points for the tram decision were social distancing and crowding, employee-customer interaction, reduced ridership, public image and, perhaps most prevalent, mask and spacing enforcement.
“I’m generally in favor of the trams,” Councilman John Gehrig said, noting that trams were amusements in nature. “... It becomes a matter of how we enforce the rules, particularly spacing and enforcement of wearing See TRAMS Page 5
By Elizabeth Bonin and Josh Kim Staff Writers (July 17, 2020) Exercising an abundance of caution, numerous restaurants shut down over the last two weeks after several saw staff members test positive for covid-19. The string of closures began last week on Tuesday, when Longboard Café on 67th Street announced on Facebook that a staff member out on vacation had tested positive for the virus. “We had an employee go out of town to Baltimore and they were in a large family gathering, came back and were not feeling well, so we had them stay out of work,” Longboard General Manager Shana Meyers said. The staff member never entered the restaurant, but Meyers said management and the owner chose to close the establishment anyway to sanitize and test all employees. “None of our employees at that point were exhibiting any symptoms or were feeling ill in any way, but just to be on the safe side not only for our staff, but also for the public as well, we decided to close,” she said. See ABUNDANCE Page 2
Schools outline options on how to proceed in September Plan for Sept. 8 opening will be decided in next board of ed session By Ally Lanasa Staff Writer (July 17, 2020) The Worcester
County Board of Education on Tuesday agreed to keep its options open as it approaches the Sept. 8 beginning of the school year. A draft of its recovery plan, “Responsible Return,” explores three methods of instructional delivery. According to the presentation by
Dr. Dwayne Abt, Dr. Annette Wallace, Denise Shorts and Carrie Sterrs, the recovery model addresses five areas: operations and safety, instructional program, distance learning, communication and stakeholder feedback. Wallace, the chief operating and academic officer (grades 9-12), presented
the three optional methods of instructional delivery for the year with the anticipation of continued public health restrictions. Ideally, educators would prefer to return to face-to-face learning with safety precautions made to the classSee SCHOOLS Page 7