OC Today WWW.OCEANCITYTODAY.NET
OCTOBER 27, 2017
SERVING NORTHERN WORCESTER COUNTY
LIFESTYLE
HALLOWEEN HAPPENINGS Assortment of activities planned for children and older revelers in OC and area towns – Page 45
FREE
Announced winners keep WMO prizes
Beach repairs will re-deposit tons of sand
Passing grades given in polygraph results
Schedule moved up because of storms
By Brian Gilliland Associate Editor (Oct. 27, 2017) The additional rounds of polygraph testing for White Marlin Open winners this year took longer than expected, but they resulted in no changes to the list of winners, who will receive $4.97 million in prize money. The top winner of this year’s tournament is Glen Frost of Stevensville, Maryland, who is finally taking home the more than $1.6 million for his 95.5 pound white, landed on the final day of fishing this year. In a release issued earlier this week, tournament officials said the tests were ordered about two weeks following the Aug. 11 close of the tournament, after anglers, from two boats delivered some questionable answers during the routine lie detector test. Since 2004, the White Marlin Open has required top prize winners to submit to polygraph testing as a condition of receiving prize money, which could be millions of dollars. Polygraph testing is common in these types of fishing tournaments. Understandably, the tournament directors wanted to be extra careful this year and included greatly expanded polygraph provisions in this year’s edition of the tournament rules. Last year’s tournament results are under appeal in U.S. District Court in Maryland. During the 2016 tournament, only one qualifying white marlin was caught, but subsequent polygraph testing of the angler, Philip Heasley See LIE DETECTOR Page 6
GREG ELLISON/OCEAN CITY TODAY
ZOMBIE WALK Christiana Zell, with Ocean City Screams Haunted House, doubles as a flesh-eating zombie during the annual O.C.Toberfest Drive In Disguise and Halloween Parade, last Saturday on the Boardwalk.
Addicts blamed for spike in thefts By Katie Tabeling Staff Writer (Oct. 27, 2017) Reports of thefts from cars continue to rise this year, and Ocean City Police believe it’s another sign that opiate use in the resort is getting worse. “We know it can be tied to the opiate epidemic because several suspects have admitted to stealing the items and
selling them to support their drug habit,” Police Public Affairs Specialist Lindsay Richard said this week. “We track the reports almost religiously, and we see that anything that can be stolen from a car, has.” As of Oct. 16, police had received 145 reports of thefts from cars — a 50 percent increase by that point in 2016.
In total, 104 incidents were reported last year. Thirty-six of this year’s reports resulted in arrests. Often suspects will steal from several vehicles at a time, Richard said, so some incidents could have involved just one or two perpetrators. For example, police beSee UNLOCKED Page 3
By Katie Tabeling Staff Writer (Oct. 27, 2017) Ocean City officials say this year’s round of beach replenishment will begin any day now, as the offshore dredge that will pump sand to the beach was scheduled to arrive on Thursday morning. The project, which involves transferring nearly a million tons of sand from the offshore sea floor to the beach, was scheduled to last week. Army Corps of Engineers spokesman Chris Gardner the delay was caused by circumstances beyond the control of contractor Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company. “The dredge has a pretty full schedule with projects, and a slow start out of port or bad weather had a cascading effect,” Gardner said. “A week is not the worst delay that we’ve seen.” Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company was awarded $12.7 million contract this summer to as part of the Army Corps’ coastal storm risk management project. The scope of the project covers the entire beach, and crews will start at the Delaware line and work south. “Most people don’t realize that the beach they enjoy, that nice flat area in front of the Boardwalk and the dunes, is something that we create to reduce risk for storm damage,” Gardner said. “Once the sand’s pumped up, we move it to make sure it’s the right topography and at the right elevation.” The plan is to ensure the berm, the flat beach area, is 7 See ARMY Page 5