OC Today WWW.OCEANCITYTODAY.NET
OCTOBER 23, 2015
LIFESTYLE
HALLOWEEN ACTIVITIES O.C.Toberfest continues this weekend with “Great Pumpkin Race” and beach maze – Page 45
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County nearing showdown over Showell school Commissioners set budget, school board changes numbers in submission
STEWART DOBSON/OCEAN CITY TODAY
Closing signs went up on the windows last weekend at the West Ocean City SuperFresh, catching grocery shoppers by surprise.
SuperFresh sell-by date expires building just off Route 50 announced a closing sale over this past weekend, with discounts on most of its foodstuffs. Superfresh is a brand of the Great Atlantic & Pacific Trading Company (A&P), the supermarket giant that filed for bankruptcy in July. Settlement of A&P’s debt is currently ongoing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, under the supervision of Judge Robert Drain.
With no buyers in sight, West OC grocery has no option but to close
By Zack Hoopes Staff Writer (Oct. 23, 2015) Stale interest in the financially moribund A&P supermarket conglomerate has hit home at the West Ocean City Superfresh. The store in the Tanger Outlets
An A&P representative said the company has no comment on any stores, other than to confirm that closings have begun. The stores that have begun closing are those that A&P was forced to sell as part of the bankruptcy settlement, but which have so far received no bids from potential buyers. Further auction offerings of the stores could, theoretically, stop the liquidations if buyers are found. See A&P Page 4
By Brian Gilliland Staff Writer (Oct. 23, 2015) Though both the Worcester County Board of Education and the county commissioners once appeared eager to move forward with a deal to replace Showell Elementary School based on a budget prepared by the county, only two weeks later square one is firmly in sight. At their Oct. 6 meeting, the commissioners presented to board of education representatives, including Superintendent Dr. Jerry Wilson, a budget that was some $17.4 million less than earlier projections of construction costs. Further, the schools were to limit their budget for architectural and engineering fees by more than half to $255,000. When it came time to formalize these changes in a Capital Improvement Plan submission to the state’s Interagency Committee for School Construction, however, county Budget Office Kathy Whited noticed the schools had made some revisions of their own. The first alteration of the original plan was a revised student enrollment number, down from 657 to 616. Additionally, the board noted in the submission that this change was the See LESS Page 3
Horseshoe crabs not dead, just growing Scores of small empty shells on beach after nor’easter just part of molting process
By Zack Hoopes Staff Writer (Oct. 23, 2015) Along with lots of wind, rain, and high tides, the nor’easter that hit Ocean City at the
beginning of month brought with it a reminder of one of the coast’s most underappreciated resources. At places where the ocean tides were highest, small horseshoe crab shells appeared on the beach following the storm. These are likely not from dead crabs, but rather the carapaces from
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juvenile crabs that have just molted, according to Steve Doctor, a researcher with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. “The shells are really light, so during a big storm they will wash up,” Doctor said. “Normally, without the storm, they would just sit on the See HORSESHOE Page 5
STEWART DOBSON/OCEAN CITY TODAY
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