OBAMACARE: Business people
SUBSTATION: Former city council-
packed chamber office to get details on how Affordable Care Act will affect them. Larger meeting planned PAGE 5
man Vince Gisriel tells PZ why neighborhood opposes power facility upgrade, but officials disagree and approve application PAGE 7
INSIDE THIS ISSUE: BUSINESS . . . . . . . . . 38 CLASSIFIED . . . . . . . . 56 ENTERTAINMENT . . . . 45 LEGALS . . . . . . . . . . . 58
LIFESTYLE . . . . . . . . . 41 OPINION . . . . . . . . . . 20 OUT&ABOUT . . . . . . . . 51 SPORTS . . . . . . . . . . . 31
SEEING DOUBLE? LIKELY MORE! SANTAS INVADE OC SATURDAY…PAGE 41
Ocean City Today DECEMBER 14, 2012
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Snow Hill woman killed Friday at intersection slated for improvements by State Highway Administration NANCY POWELL ■ Staff Writer (Dec. 14, 2012) A 65-year-old Snow Hill woman was fatally injured in a crash last Friday at the Snow Hill intersection that has been controversial for years. Iva Jane Justice was driving a 2002 Ford Explorer north on Route 113 past the Route 12 intersection at about 2:50 p.m., when her vehicle was struck by a Lowe’s flatbed truck driven by Gerald Dean Smith, 42, of Delmar. Justice, a nurse at Hartley Hall Nursing and Rehab in Pocomoke City, was pronounced dead at the scene. Smith was taken to Peninsula Regional Medical Center to be treated for non-life threatening injuries.
Following the collision, the intersection was closed for approximately six hours. The investigation involved the Maryland State Police Crash Team, the Maryland State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division, the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office and the Maryland State Highway Administration. According to a press release from Maryland State Police, charges are pending against Smith, but neither drugs nor alcohol appear to be a contributing factor in the collision. That intersection has been the subject of much discussion during the past few years because of collisions there. In September, Donnie Drewer, district engineer for the State Highway Adminis-
tration, told the Worcester County Commissioners that J-turns would be constructed there to direct traffic away from the intersection. Instead of crossing Route 113, motorists on Route 12 who wish to continue on Route 12 on the other side of Route 113 would turn right onto Route 113 and then make a later turn left to reach the continuation of Route 12. See SHA’S on Page 12
The Ford Explorer was traveling on Route 113 when it was struck last Friday by the truck that was crossing the highway on Route 12. The driver of the SUV, a Snow Hill woman, was killed in the collision. PHOTO COURTESY DEPUTY FIRE MARSHAL ROBERT KORB JR.
OCEAN CITY TODAY/ZACK HOOPES
Ocean City Police Department captains, from left, Michael Colbert, Kevin Kirstein and Greg Guiton are pictured at last week’s strategic planning session. The three senior officers will be rotating the responsibilities of chief until a permanent replacement for departing OCPD head Bernadette DiPino can be found.
Captains to rotate as interim OCPD chief Strong response means city will not require outside recruiter for search ZACK HOOPES ■ Staff Writer (Dec. 14, 2012) Anticipating the departure of Police Chief Bernadette DiPino at the end of this month, city officials announced Tuesday that the Ocean City Police Department’s three division captains will be rotating duties as interim chief until a long-term OCPD head is selected. City Manager David Recor said during this week’s mayor and City Council meeting that the council has approved his recommendation “to rotate the three captains on a 45 day basis as chief of police until a permanent replacement is found.” In October, DiPino was tapped to take the top position at the Sarasota, Florida Police Department. A 25year veteran of the OCPD, DiPino had served as chief since 2003 and was already committed to retire in October of 2013 under the de-
OCPD Chief Bernadette DiPino
partment’s Deferred Retirement Option Program. She will begin her new post in Sarasota on Jan 1, 2013. “Our goal is to have a police chief named by the start of the [summer 2013] season,” Recor said this week. The city has not yet begun to accept applications for the job, and Recor could not say whether or not any of the OCPD’s three senior officers intended to apply for the job. He did, however, note that “we’re very fortunate to have qualified candidates in the department.” See ICMA on Page 27