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SEPTEMBER 12, 2025
STUBBORNLY LOCAL, EQUALLY INDEPENDENT
PRICELESS
Valorous deputies Two Worcester County Sheriff’s deputies recognized for pulling a woman from a burning car. — Page 81
Corps gets dredge $$ PHOTO COURTESY NICK DENNY
GOOD BOY! A stellar time was had by all — including this Frisbee loving lab — last weekend in Ocean Pines during the puppy swim. More photos on page 54.
Rep. Harris announces $50 million set aside for new Army Corps dredge to work OC Inlet, other waterways — PAGE 20
US Wind Tough road ahead for Balto. Ave. fires back Ocean City government’s plan to dress up downtown’s main drag
requires it to deed over 20 feet of its 31-foot right of way to prop- Offshore wind farm developer responds to erty owners along that stretch ... and get it done in time to keep federal government’s from losing $20 million in federal funds vital to taking on what will effort to kill Md./Del. project. — PAGE 76 be hugely expensive project. — PAGE 14
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OC Today-Dispatch
SEPTEMBER 12, 2025
SEPTEMBER 12, 2025
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OC Today-Dispatch
BRIAN SHANE/OC TODAY-DISPATCH
Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller, center, joined by state and local leaders, celebrates the opening of the new Berlin barrack with a ribbon cutting.
Officials celebrate opening of new Berlin police barrack 24,000-square-foot facility outfitted with new crime lab, training room, more By Brian Shane Staff Writer (Sept. 12, 2025) Back in 2006, when Lt. Earl Starner took command of the Maryland State Police barrack in Berlin, it was already a 30-yearold building with limited space, an unreliable HVAC system and aging technology. “Something happened during those couple of decades: that middleaged barrack, it turned into an old barrack,” Starner said Tuesday. “And you all know what's good about old barracks, right? Nothing. Not a thing.” It took nearly a decade of planning and more than two years of construction, but this week, Starner – now the agency’s longest-serving barrack commander – and other State Police officials marked the official opening of their gleaming new Berlin barrack, beside where the old building had sat along Route 50 since 1976. Troopers here moved in March 28, ahead of the ribbon cutting. A dozen of them, in their classic khaki uniforms and straw hats, queued behind their commander when he rose to speak. Starner beamed with pride while giving credit to his cadre of dedicated troopers, for the hours they spend not just conducting patrols and making arrests, but for helping those in need and even taking kids shopping at the holidays. “I can't stand up here today and talk about this without talking about them,” Starner said. “They were really the favorite part of my story.” On a blustery day when flags were
snapping, dozens of members of law enforcement, elected leaders, and community members gathered on folding chairs under a tent for the long-awaited ribbon cutting ceremony. Leaders hailed the $26.8 million, 24,000 square foot, state-of-the-art facility as a stronger, safer homebase that will serve the Lower Shore for decades to come. “What you see before you today, this wonderful new building, did not happen overnight,” said Atif Chaudhry, secretary of the state Department of General Services, whose agency oversees the construction and maintenance of facilities like this one. “Projects like these are just an idea and it takes years of effort to get to this point.” The guest of honor at Tuesday’s ceremony was Maryland Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller, who arrived in a motorcade led by troopers on motorcycles. She thanked the troopers “who put on the uniform each day with courage, dedication, and with utmost professionalism.” “Listen,” she told the audience, “I'm a civil engineer, and there's nothing more that feels like music to my ears than a project that is built on time and on budget.” Replacement plans started forming nine years ago, Starner said, when he sat down with an architect to sketch out ideas for a new barrack. After an April 2023 groundbreaking, they fought off curveballs along the way like the COVID-19 pandemic, bad weather, and even bad soil. Starner also traveled extensively to Cumberland, where the State Police had built their most recent new barrack. He would often drive 4.5 hours each way to observe the build, take notes, and to figure out what See BARRACK Page 6
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