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SEPTEMBER 4, 2020
SERVING NORTHERN WORCESTER COUNTY
HOLIDAY Ocean City Today and Bayside Gazette will be closed Monday for the Labor Day holiday. FREE
SunLITE fades with absence of enthusiasm Council won’t back it, but some businesses step up
JOSH KIM/OCEAN CITY TODAY
CONVOY Ocean City Jeep Week 2020 was one of the few special events that survived the covid-19 pandemic this year. The 11th annual Jeep gathering kicked off last Thursday and ended on Sunday. While some events were not open to the public, those walking on the Boardwalk and inlet pier in the mornings likely got a good glimpse of each day’s Jeep parade.
School begins, in its own way Public school maintains its distance; private schools go with in-person classes By Ally Lanasa Staff Writer (Sept. 4, 2020) Thousands of Worcester County students will return to school on Tuesday, but, because of coronavirus concerns, it will be weeks before most of them will be able to enter the classroom. In response to Gov. Larry Hogan’s Aug. 27 announcement that Maryland schools could safely reopen, Worcester County Public Schools Superintendent Lou Taylor recorded a video addressed to students and their families to assure
them that the plans for returning to school virtually on Sept. 8 have not changed. “This is due to the fact that our model is right in line with what the governor and state superintendent outlined in their remarks,” Taylor said. “In fact, the governor’s remarks further affirm that Worcester’s ‘Responsible Return’ model is Lou Taylor one that places a high value on bringing students back into the classroom as quickly and as safely as possible.” Approximately 6,630 students enrolled in Worcester County Public
Schools will begin the 2020-21 academic year with distance learning after Labor Day for three weeks. Enrollment will be finalized when school counselors return this week, said Carrie Sterrs, the coordinator of public relations and special programs. The county school system anticipates moving into Stage Two of its recovery plan on Sept. 28, “which would begin the process of phasing students back into the classroom, adhering to the health and safety protocols developed in tandem with our local health officials,” Taylor said. Tier 2 and Tier 3 level students will be brought back first in small groups that comply with each school’s classSee SCHOOLS Page 2
By Josh Kim Staff Writer (Sept. 4, 2020) The Ocean City Council voted on Tuesday to push the responsibility of organizing some form of SunLITE, an alternative to Sunfest, to the Ocean City Downtown Association and Ocean City Development Corporation (OCDC), after receiving paltry feedback from the local business community. Special Events Director Frank Miller said his department, with the help of the Ocean City Chamber of Commerce, Ocean City Hotel-Motel-Restaurant Association, the OCDC and Downtown Association, emailed a survey to 2,223 local businesses to assess their opinions on SunLITE. “That number included potentially multiple emails going to individual businesses,” Miller said. See SUNLITE Page 4
Council responds to need to boost econ. development By Josh Kim Staff Writer (Sept. 4, 2020) The Ocean City Council agreed on Tuesday that the city needs an economic development director position, but exactly what this role entails remains to be determined. City Manager Doug Miller said that part of last year’s strategic plan update had been to develop a “boots on the ground” employee who would work on targeting and attracting groups, events and activities to the resort, with an emphasis on sports tourism. “From that, I did speak to many of See CITY Page 5