Police: Fatal fall in resort occurred during argument

OCEAN CITY -- The accidental fall from a sixth-floor window of an Ocean City hotel room that resulted in the death of a 46-year-old man occurred during a nonphysical argument with his girlfriend, according to the police report.

According to the report, Gregory Sean Pierce of Ocean Pines was in a room at the Fenwick Inn early in the morning on March 23 with his girlfriend of about one year. They had an argument that culminated with Pierce shattering the window and falling out, his girlfriend told police.

The Ocean City Police Department provided a copy of the department's investigative report about the incident after the Delmarva Media Group filed a Maryland Public Information Act request to obtain it.

At about 7:30 p.m. March 22, Pierce and his girlfriend took a taxi to Pickles Pub at 706 Philadelphia Ave., where they drank alcohol, the report said. Pierce's girlfriend told police she was not sure how much they had to drink, but that they were both "buzzing" when they left the bar after a few hours, according to a portion of the report filed by Detective Todd Speigle, who interviewed Pierce's girlfriend twice.

The couple returned to their room at the Fenwick Inn, 13801 Coastal Highway, where they began arguing, his girlfriend told police. Pierce left the room, and his girlfriend said he told her by phone he had gone to McDonald's and then Dunkin Donuts. He eventually returned to the hotel by taxi.

An argument began concerning a missing change purse and debit card, both of which belonged to the girlfriend, according to the report. When Pierce's girlfriend asked him to help her find the purse, he believed she was accusing him of taking it, she told police.

According to his girlfriend, Pierce lifted up a dresser and ripped a door out. He also punched the room's microwave before he went to the window and began to pound on it with both fists while growling.

Pierce's girlfriend said she was sitting on the chair near the desk situated on the other side of the room when Pierce was striking the window, according to Speigle. She got up and started walking toward Pierce, and was going to ask him what he was doing, she said, but before she could, the glass shattered and Pierce "went out" the window into the hotel parking lot.

Pierce was pronounced dead at the scene, shortly after police and paramedics responded at 4:08 a.m.

Two hotel guests in a room near Pierce's told PFC Daniel Jacobs they had heard arguing between a man and woman coming from the room on and off between 2-4 a.m. One guest said that he heard a loud crash at about 4 a.m., and the arguing "abruptly stopped."

The Delmarva Media Group has filed a Maryland Public Information Act request with the Maryland

Office of the Chief Medical Examiner's to obtain an autopsy report from the incident. The report was a factor in the death being declared an accident.

smuska@dmg.gannett.com
410-213-9442, ext. 14

 

9 arrested after alleged attack in OC

Group allegedly approached, assaulted two men downtown

 

OCEAN CITY -- Nine men were arrested and charged with two counts each of assault in the first degree and two counts each of assault in the second degree following an altercation in downtown Ocean City early Sunday morning.

At about 1:15 a.m., Ocean City Police responded to reports of a fight in progress in the area of Somerset Street and Atlantic Avenue, where they located two men who said they were approached and attacked by a group of men. One of the suspects also stole a wallet and cellphone from one of the victims, police said.

Police located six suspects in two vehicles shortly after receiving a description from the victims. At about 3:39 a.m., they located three additional suspects in another vehicle, according to police spokeswoman Jessica Waters.

Each suspect was identified by the victims and subsequently arrested and charged.

Dover residents D'Andrew Jamar Chandler, 18, Jamera Ebon Fisher, 19, Julian Dominique Freeman, 22, Randall Eugene Harris, 18, Keontre Lamar Hynson, 18, and Craig Tyrone Powell, 25, were arrested. Zamale Razeek Ameer Bull, 19, of Harrington, Del.; Robert Algernon Hill, 20, of Camden, Del.; and Duante Markes Morrison, 18, of Magnolia, Del., were also arrested.

In addition to the assault charges, Chandler was charged with possession of a firearm, handgun in a vehicle, possession of marijuana and possession of paraphernalia, according to police.

Morrison was charged with handgun on person and handgun in vehicle, and Hill was charged with robbery, one count of theft less than $1,000 and two counts of theft less than $100.

All nine suspects were transferred to the Worcester County Jail on bonds ranging as high as $25,000, with the exception of Bull, who was held without bond.

smuska@dmg.gannett.com
410-213-9442, ext. 14

 

Linked by Habitat Magazine (www.habitatmag.com)

Condo owners sue their bookkeeper

 

OCEAN CITY -- Assateague House Condominium's council of unit owners is seeking more than $1 million in damages from William W. Scott and Scott & Company, Inc., an accounting firm that kept the condo association's books.

The owners allege that the company misappropriated $437,400 of the owners' funds from three accounts, according to a civil suit they filed against Scott in Worcester County Circuit Court. The condo units are located on Worcester Street in Ocean City.

Assateague House hired Scott and his public accounting firm on June 1, 2008, for a monthly fee of $650, to do "accounting and certain management functions" for the owners, according to the complaint. Late in 2008, Scott and the company allegedly began misappropriating funds from Assateague House's accounts, and continued to do so through at least Dec. 20 of last year, the complaint reads. Scott did not return a message seeking comment for this story.

Assateague House is seeking $500,000 in punitive damages along with the total of the misappropriated funds and $100,000 for fees and costs of accountants, attorneys and condominium managers, according to the complaint.

The complaint alleges that Assateague House's money market reserve, construction and operating accounts were included in the misappropriations. An amount of $325,791 was allegedly taken from the money market reserve account by way of direct checks to Scott & Company. The complaint states that $73,600 in checks to Scott & Company was taken from the construction account, and $26,810 was taken from the operating account in the form of direct checks to Scott & Company, while $11,216 was misappropriated through checks to the San Remo Condo Association.

According to the complaint, Assateague House hired Scott and his company after Scott represented himself as a certified public accountant, something the council later learned he was not. Scott is not a registered CPA in the state, according to the Maryland Board of Public Accountancy.

Unauthorized advances were also made upon Assateague House's open line of credit, totaling $125,000, according to the complaint. The borrowed funds were allegedly paid into Assateague House's accounts to compensate for the misappropriations.

Assateague House is also seeking compensatory damages of $20,150 for payments for "31 months of worthless service" that ended in February.

"The services provided by Scott & Company to Assateague House were unprofessional, abhorrent and worthless," the complaint reads. "Scott & Company was and is not entitled to be paid anything for such services."

smuska@dmg.gannett.com
410-213-9442, ext. 14

 

OC will offset low revenue with cuts

Public safety will be hit the hardest

 

OCEAN CITY -- A proposed Ocean City budget continues the trend of recent years by matching lower revenue with lower expenditures.

City Manager Dennis Dare proposed a $73.6 million budget that includes less spending for each of the city's general fund categories, with the exception of a slight increase of about $50,000 in debt service.
That increase is due to a potential bond issue for the Boardwalk reconstruction project, according to Budget Manager Jennie Knapp. For a third consecutive year, the budget does not include a pay raise for employees.

The largest proposed cut slices more than $1 million from public safety expenditures compared to last year. Knapp said the largest cut comes from the absence of federal homeland security grants the police department usually receives. Those funds aren't shown on the budget proposal but are added to the budget as they're received.

The public safety departments were also able to cut some of their expenditures through personnel changes. In many instances, retiring employees were replaced by younger workers who, because of their lack of seniority, are paid less than their position's previous holder, Knapp said.
"That has been part of (Dare's) plan," Knapp said. "There's a lot of savings, and this is the first year we've actually seen those savings."

The proposed budget anticipates revenue that is down about one percent from 2011 and more than four percent from 2010.

Proposed spending is about $69.8 million, down about three percent and seven percent from 2011 and 2010, respectively. Some $3.8 million -- about five percent -- of revenue not spent in the general budget will go to enterprise funds that are not self-supporting. They include the airport, transportation, capital projects and Roland E. Powell Convention Center funds.

Ocean City Council President Jim Hall asked if there were any jobs full-time employees were taking on that could be "subbed out" to nonresort entities for a cheaper price. An example he gave could be a company or individuals willing to clean out bus interiors during the summer, when the service is needed the most.

"There might be somebody out there who's willing to do that for a cheap price, and then we don't need them in the winter and won't have to pay benefits and those sorts of things," Hall said. "I really want to try and get something like that into all these departments."

The proposed budget keeps the town's tax rate at 39.5 cents, and a slight drop in the net assessable real estate property tax base, from $10.3 billion to $10.28 billion.

Included in the budget is a figure of more than $600,000 as expected funds from the city's share of slot revenue from the Casino at Ocean Downs. Dare wrote in a letter to the council that the money could be used to pave roadways and conduct storm drain repairs.

Father, daughter work to save terns, skimmers

Leftover sand restores nesting ground

Regional ecologist Dave Brinker of the Department of Natural Resources Natural Heritage Program and his daughter, Laurel, 12, visited Skimmer Island to set up decoy royal terns and photograph the island after dredged sand was added to the mass in the Sinepuxent Bay. / LAURA EMMONS/THE DAILY TIMES

 

OCEAN CITY -- A little more than a year ago, Dave Brinker and his daughter, Laurel, stood bayside at Second Street in Ocean City and looked out at Skimmer Island, a small, sandy expanse of land just north of Route 50's Harry W. Kelley Memorial Bridge.

They were upset. They'd been unable to get the necessary permits to bring dredged sand to the island in time to launch an effort to restore it as suitable nesting ground for royal terns and black skimmers.
"Dad, just make it happen," Laurel had pleaded; her father is a regional ecologist for the Department of Natural Resources. Dave Brinker had to wait one more year, but his project is now a reality.

In the last two weeks of March, sand dredged to clear the Ocean City Fishing Center's navigation channel was transported to the island, which had eroded through the years and was virtually uninhabitable for the two bird species. Both have seen declining populations due to the loss of about 300 acres of breeding grounds in the coastal bay area in the last two decades.

Dave and his 12-year-old daughter boated to the spit of land this week to take photographs of the island's new look and plant wooden royal tern decoys. They hoped the gray, black and orange doppelgangers would coax more terns to move back to the island for this year's nesting season, which starts within the next two weeks, according to Dave Brinker.

"That's why it was so important to get this sand out here before April, because there's really only about a two-week window to do this kind of thing," he said.

The island has been shaped to allow nature's storms and tides to maintain it as an ideal place for the birds to nest, he hopes. They're attracted to places like Skimmer Island mainly because they're a predator-free environment.

Many of the area's royal terns have nested for the last few years on small pieces of land north of Ocean City -- in areas Dave Brinker calls some of the most "sub-optimal areas" on the East Coast for terns to establish colonies.

Dave Brinker has worked to restore the island since September 2009, when he sent out a "Hail Mary email" soliciting aid from pretty much everyone in his contact list.

Roman Jesien, a Maryland Coastal Bays Program scientist, replied, asking him if he wanted the sand that is dredged every year from the waters at the fishing center. They were looking for new locations to get rid of the sand and figured it was a no-brainer to give it to a guy who really needed it, Jesien said.
So far, everything has gone as planned, Jesien said. He hopes to use the Skimmer Island project to contribute dredged sand there and other local areas that need filling on a yearly basis.

"We're really considering trying to continue this beneficial use of dredge material," he said.
The cost of transporting the sand to the island was about $200,000, an amount the DNR would have been unable to fund if it had to procure the sand itself, Dave Brinker said.

smuska@dmg.gannett.com
410-213-9442, ext. 14

 

 

 

OC Police agree to contract without assured raises

 

OCEAN CITY -- Ocean City Police have come to a new two-year contract agreement with resort officials.

The Town Council and the Fraternal Order of Police signed the contract after about a month of collective bargaining negotiations that at one point reached an impasse, according to Mayor Rick Meehan, who thanked the FOP for engaging in dialogue and discussion on the road to reaching a deal.

There are no significant changes from the previous contract, which means officers won't garner a cost of living increase or any other kind of raise in the next two years unless the town's other employees do, according to Pfc. Vance Row, of Ocean City's FOP Lodge No. 10.

Ninety-eight percent of FOP's members voted to ratify the new contract, according to Cpl. Glen McIntyre, president of the lodge.

"We know the town is in economic strain, and we are willing to do what it takes to help out," Row said. He said voluntarily waiving the wage increases police were entitled as part of their collective barganing agreement in 2009 saved the city about $1 million.

Resort police have a vested interest in the town "just as much as everybody else," McIntyre said at council's Monday night meeting, adding that they would continue to put their best foot forward to protect the town.

The agreement was reached near the "11th hour," McIntyre said, when FOP members met with council members Mary Knight, Lloyd Martin and Doug Cymek to hammer out a deal.

"I'm very proud to be able to say we came to an agreement, and cooler heads prevailed," council President Jim Hall said.

In other matters, the council voted unanimously to delay proposed changes to Boardwalk street performer regulations for at least 30 days. Council members plan to meet with street performers, town officials and law enforcement to "work out some issues" with the proposed changes, Hall said. He is optimistic the entities can compromise and come up with new regulations that "make everybody happy," he said.

For now, busker rules will stay as they were, with one exception: performances are forbidden at North Division Street, to avoid spectator congestion that could cause safety issues. The street is the main mode of entry to the Boardwalk for emergency vehicles.

Council also voted to enact a defined contribution pension plan and a high-deductible health insurance plan option for new town hires. Both will go into effect if Meehan signs the ordinances.

The vote was 4-3 on both ordinances, with president Jim Hall and members Joe Hall, Brent Ashley and Margaret Pillas supporting the changes. Mary Knight, Doug Cymek and Lloyd Martin opposed them.
Knight said that during the police contract discussions, FOP members presented statistics and data that indicate the two new plans will hurt the town's ability to recruit public safety employees.

"I keep hearing people say they believe these changes are going to be beneficial, but since they had statistics, I'm also going to use the word believe, and say I believe this will hurt us," she said.
In January, council prevented six new recruits from enrolling in the police academy until Ocean City established a defined contribution plan for new hires.

smuska@dmg.gannett.com
410-213-9442, ext. 14

 

Written for the USA Today, but a shutdown was avoided last-minute.

Campers fear closure

Assateague prepares to vacate visitors, transition to skeleton crew

Matthew Cloud, left, and Scott Fincham, both of West Virginia pitch their tent despite the warning that they could be asked to leave their campsite in Assateague Island National Park due to a possible government shutdown. / AMANDA RIPPEN WHITE/THE DAILY TIMES

 

BERLIN -- A forced unpaid vacation for the federal workers at Assateague Island National Seashore is interrupting planned vacations for many campers.

Unless they got word of a miracle breakthrough Friday in budget talks in D.C. to avert a government shutdown, park rangers planned to close the park gates at midnight and make their way around the island's campsites to formally inform paying visitors they had 48 hours to vacate the premises. Then, all but a small skeleton crew of park employees will begin an indefinite furlough mandated by a government shutdown.

Bill Packer, 52, of Philadelphia had to cut in half his annual two-week stay at the park with his wife, Caroline Packer, 50. The couple arrived with friends last weekend and paid in advance for their stay.

"They came around today and told us to get a refund and then play it by ear. So at least they let us know what was going on," Bill Packer said.

The Packers decided to travel to a state park in Delaware to finish their vacation. State parks aren't directly affected by any federal government shutdown. Camping at Assateague Island State Park, adjacent to the national parkland, is closed for the off-season until April 27.

During a shutdown, every park employee will be inactive except for a few National Park Service police, who are available to the remaining campers in case of an emergency and will enforce the park's closing, said Carl Zimmerman, a management assistant at the park.

A couple of special events scheduled for the weekend were canceled as a result of the closing including a beach cleanup by the Assateague Mobile Sportsfishermen's Association, Zimmerman said.

"It's a shame, but this is out of our control," Zimmerman said. "We're hopeful that a bill will be passed soon so we can get back to the business of serving the public."

Matthew Cloud, 33, of Martinsburg, W.Va., drove four hours Friday morning with two of his friends for a weekend fishing and camping getaway that had taken about six months to plan.
 

"When you have a wife and kids, it gets more and more difficult to coordinate a weekend when we can do this, and it's kind of unfortunate for us to have it cut short since we don't get to do this often," said Cloud, adding that he felt fortunate to have a 48-hour period to clear out. "It's not like they told us we had to be out of here by one in the morning."

 

Cloud's friend, Scott Finchman, 36, said park rangers had been accommodating to campers.
"They're good guys, and none of this is their fault," he said as he finished pitching his tent.
Hank and Karen Cheney, 64 and 62, of St. Johnsbury, Vt., took the news of the closing in stride.

The couple had been planning to continue to Norfolk, Va., and Fairfax, Va., to visit family after their Assateague stay, and said they'd either visit sooner or continue to another state park before making the 800-mile drive home in their RV.

"If they need us to leave, then we aren't going to have a problem with that," Hank Cheney said.
Meanwhile, Girl Scout Troop 980 will have to find alternate entertainment in Philadelphia due to the shutdown.

The Salisbury group of fourth- and fifth-graders spent Friday night camping in the Franklin Institute, a museum that is unaffected by the shutdown, as part of a program they used cookie-selling funds to finance.

They'd initially planned to visit the Liberty Bell at the Independence National Historic Park as a supplement to the trip that they've been planning since fall, but the park is closed during the shutdown.

"It's disappointing, but the girls are pretty laid-back and the Franklin Institute part of the trip is really the big thing," troop leader Angie Robinson, 39, said in a phone interview.

The troop will instead visit the still-open Independence visitor's center in hopes employees there will be able to point them in the direction of other activities.

smuska@dmg.gannett.com
410-213-9442, ext. 14

 

Host Our Coast turns up the tweets

OCEAN CITY -- Delmarva Low Impact Tourism Experiences is looking for candidates to lead "Host Our Coast," an award-winning summer tourism promotion that uses social media to promote some of the area's lesser-known attractions.

The applicant eventually selected will spend the summer documenting his or her varying experiences all over the coast. It will be the third year of the program's existence.

The application process includes submission of a sample travel video and blog. The job -- which lasts from late May to late August --includes shooting high-quality videos and photographs for the website to supplement the written blog comments and reviews, according to Errol Webber, who was a 2010 host. The host also maintains the program's Facebook and Twitter accounts, which have more than 1,200 friends and more than 400 followers, respectively.

The program's objective is to help promote the nature, heritage and rural community aspect of the region, said Jim Rapp, director of DLITE.

"We're not sending folks out to go golfing, but to parks, museums, farmers markets and other things like that," Rapp said. Host Our Coast won a Maryland tourism award in 2009, and this spring, Delaware's governor also honored it with an award.

The host gets paid $15,000 for the summer, and is provided with free living and traveling accommodations.

Rapp and the director of Worcester County Tourism, Lisa Challenger, came up with the idea two years ago, modeling a program after the "Island Reef Job" promotion created by Tourism Queensland in Australia.

"Social media isn't so new anymore, but it's still kind of new in how we use it," Rapp said. "I can pick up a brochure and read it, but to see a video about it is a little more of a sales and marketing opportunity."

Webber, a 24-year-old currently living in Towson, said he hoped a result of his work last year would be that he encouraged people to try something new.

"I personally tried very many things I wouldn't have, like parasailing and kayaking," said Webber, who confesses he's not "much of a water person."

A facet DLITE hopes to factor into the program this year is more interactivity with the people who follow it, Rapp said. As an example, the 2011 host may be at a certain location or event, which they could tweet about and offer some sort of prize for the first few people who show up, he said.

"The goal of this thing is just to have fun marketing and really promoting the region, and we're trying to step it up a little bit this summer," Rapp said.

For more information on applying, or to peruse last summer's blog, visit hostourcoast.com. Video applications are due April 23.

smuska@dmg.gannett.com
410-213-9442, ext. 14

 

Performers plan protest of proposed Boardwalk rules

Ordinance would limit locations, times for street entertainers to display talents

 

OCEAN CITY -- The Ocean City Town Council is one step away from passing an ordinance that would alter Boardwalk street performer regulations, and many buskers are not happy with the proposed changes.

Street performer Mark Chase called the new rules "unconstitutional," and said if the council votes in favor of the ordinance after an April 18 second reading, he and other performers will protest.

According to the new ordinance, performers would be permitted at 15 designated Boardwalk locations in the area between the south side of South First Street to the north side of North Division Street from 8 a.m.-midnight. The locations would be subject to a weekly lottery for the prime hours of 6 p.m.-midnight.

Performers who do not win the lottery could perform until midnight at street ends north of North

Division Street or elsewhere in town -- although most prefer to showcase their talents at the crowded south end of the Boardwalk.

They could also perform at the designated locations during the day until 6 p.m., when the lottery winner of the space could arrive to claim the spot.

"Downright demeaning"

Chase, a spray paint artist, said he'll take to the Boardwalk without a permit and at nondesignated areas starting at Springfest, to show he is unwilling to be told where and when he can express himself.

"Rosa Parks sat in a seat on a bus, and they took her right to sit there and gave it to someone else," he said. "That's no different than the government saying someone else has more right to perform than you in a certain time frame, and they come and take your right to express yourself away."

Chase is also protesting bans on props other than tables or chairs for display purposes, as well as artificial lighting and music unless they are an integral part of a performance. He uses all three when he performs.

When Chase spoke to the council at its meeting Monday night, he said the music he mixes himself is an important part of his performance, and that his art can't be seen well after dark if he doesn't use his lighting.

Mayor Rick Meehan told Chase the music "really isn't part" of his talent, and said he didn't think Chase would have an issue if he made his performance less equipment-based.

Councilwoman Mary Knight added she thinks the ordinance is fair, and if Chase really wants to perform on the Boardwalk, he'll figure out a way.

Chase called council's reaction to his statements "downright demeaning." He acknowledged his full setup takes about 15 minutes to move, but said he has taken measures to perform in areas where he would not be in the way of emergency vehicles under any circumstances.

Reaching a compromise

Councilmen Brent Ashley and Joe Hall opposed the motion in the 5-2 vote that moved the ordinance to second reading. Ashley expressed interest in working with performers to compromise and make some changes. He suggested in an interview Tuesday that a "Boardwalk performers advisory group" may be the way to go.

"They're here to stay, whether you like it or not," Ashley said, adding he is skeptical about using the police to enforce the new ordinance when they're already busy with other duties.

Enforcement measures

"I want to see our police officers going after the bad guys and keeping an eye on what else is happening instead of wondering why Mork and Mindy are standing on a certain piece of concrete," he said.

Ashley said the buskers could police themselves, and said he spoke to many of them who would be willing to do so. Many of them are also in favor of working with the city to establish and maintain balance among performers, he said.

If the ordinance is passed, Ocean City police are going to enforce it strictly, the same way they do with any other ordinance, according to police spokeswoman Jessica Waters.

"It's our job to make sure any ordinance passed is upheld, and that's exactly what we're going to do," she said.

Jim Starck has been performing as a puppeteer on the Boardwalk for 15 years, and said the ordinance's new rules are illegal and a "slap on the face" -- though he said he didn't know if he would protest them, because he doesn't want to get arrested.

Council President Jim Hall said he didn't feel after first reading that the council and performers were "that far apart," especially since they can perform wherever they choose until 6 p.m.

Hall said he thinks the ordinance is fair, since it would only limit performers during the hours when the Boardwalk is very crowded and there's a heightened chance of an emergency situation.

smuska@dmg.gannett.com
410-213-9442, ext. 14

 

With Poison in his past, Sunfest is in his sights

 

OCEAN CITY -- Glam-metal singer and reality show star Bret Michaels has been named the headliner for this year's Ocean City Sunfest.

Tickets go on sale Friday for three nights of performances. Michaels will take the stage on Saturday, Sept. 24.

He will be proceeded by country star Jamey Johnson's show Sept. 23 and a Sept. 22 performance by Linwood Peel, who will perform a tribute to the Drifters; Cornell Gunter's Coasters; and the Del Vikings.

As a member of the rock band Poison, Michaels sold 25 million records and cracked the Top 40 with 15 singles, including the soulful power ballad, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn," along with "Nothing But a Good Time" and "Something to Believe In."

Michaels released his debut solo album, "Songs of Life," in 2003, and followed it with the record "Freedom of Sound" in 2005. His latest album, "Rock My World," was released in 2008.
Michaels has also become well-known for his VH1 reality television dating show, "Rock of Love," which has aired since 2007. He was the winning contestant on NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice 3" reality show.

As for Jamey Johnson, in the past two years he has been nominated for five Grammys, received a gold record, was invited by Willie Nelson to play Farm Aid and toured with Hank Williams Jr. He has released four albums, and his most recent offering, "The Guitar Song," came out in 2010.

The Drifters are regarded as one of early rock 'n' roll's super groups, and rank No. 81 on Rolling Stone Magazine's 100 greatest artists of all time. Their hits include "Under the Boardwalk," "Save the Last Dance for Me" and "This Magic Moment."

The Coasters' hits include "Yakety Yak" and "Love Potion No. 9," while the Del Vikings are most well-known for their single, "Come Go With Me."

Tickets for Michaels' show range from $25 to $55; Johnson tickets are $20-$40; and tickets to the Drifters, Coasters and Del Vikings show are $10-$25. About 1,700 tickets are available per show.

Music fans will have to decide between two Sept. 24 concerts in the region. Michaels will be performing the same day as pop singer Kenny Loggins, who will be in Salisbury at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium for the inaugural Chickenstock LIVE! concert.

Dionne Warwick, The Marshall Tucker Band, America and Creedence Clearwater Revisited will join Loggins at the concert. About 7,000 tickets are up for grabs for Chickenstock, starting at $85.

Ocean City resort communications manager Donna Abbott said she doesn't believe having the two events on the same day will divert visitors from coming to Sunfest, she said.

"Sunfest has been going on that time of year for a long time, so I think it's its own special draw and people plan their visits around Sunfest," Abbott said. "With Chickenstock being a new event, it will be interesting to see if other people travel from all over to see it or if it's more of a local interest event."

Proceeds from Chickenstock will help the United Way of the Lower Eastern Shore, and Executive
 Director Kathleen Momme said she believes there will be enough tourism in the area to support both concerts, especially since they're in dissimilar venues, with different acts.

So far, 1,400 tickets have been sold for Chickenstock in two weeks, which has exceeded the United Way's initial expectations for early sales, she said. They expect the concert to eventually sell out.

"When it came down to picking the right weekend for (Chickenstock), it came down to us believing that having both on the same weekend could lift everyone up," Momme said. "We're hoping anybody who comes to the concert will stay the weekend and go to Sunfest on Friday or Sunday, so I think it's going to be a win-win for everyone."

Tickets for the Sunfest concerts are available at the Roland E. Powell Convention Center Box Office.

They can also be purchased online at www.ticketmaster.com or by phone at 1-800-551-7328. Box office hours are 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The shows will supplement the resort's 37th annual four-day festival that includes arts and crafts, live entertainment and food at the Inlet Parking Lot and beach Sept. 22-25. Admission to Sunfest is free.

smuska@dmg.gannett.com
410-213-9442

 

Death at hotel ruled accidental

 

OCEAN CITY -- The death of a man who fell from a sixth-floor window of an Ocean City hotel has been ruled accidental, police said.

Ocean City Police responded to the Fenwick Inn at 13801 Coastal Highway at 4:08 a.m. March 23 and located the body of Gregory Sean Pierce, 46, in the hotel parking lot. Pierce was pronounced dead at the scene.

Pierce's body was transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Maryland in Baltimore for an autopsy, where the manner of death was ruled accidental, according to police spokeswoman Jessica Waters. The police department issued a news release identifying Pierce on Tuesday, but didn't elaborate on the circumstances of his death, and declined to make the police report or the autopsy report immediately available.

An obituary for Pierce published Saturday said he lived in Ocean Pines. Funeral services in his memory took place Monday in Gaithersburg, Md., and he was to be buried in Rockville, Md.

The death is the second in a nine-month span at the Fenwick Inn. On June 24, James Robert Cullum, 24, of Middle River, Md., died at Atlantic General Hospital in Berlin shortly after swimming in the hotel's pool. The death was not considered a criminal matter, police said.

There was no lifeguard on duty at the pool -- nor was one required by law, officials said at the time -- where Cullum's friends said they saw him go underwater and fail to resurface after a few minutes.

Hotel manager Greg Fleming said he preferred not to comment on the circumstances of the death, and said he could not yet answer whether the hotel would alter safety precautions in the wake of the fall.

"Obviously, it was a terrible accident," Fleming said.

He said he hoped the two deaths would not dissuade customers from patronizing the hotel.

smuska@dmg.gannett.com
410-213-9442, ext. 14

Skate park repairs deemed urgent

Needed fixes are being pushed forward in anticipation of the upcoming Dew Tour

 

OCEAN CITY -- Repairs are needed at the Ocean Bowl Skate Park, and now they're being pushed to the forefront in light of the Dew Tour's July visit to Ocean City.
The skate park's pool and vertical ramp need refurbishment, and Ocean City Recreation and Parks

Director Thomas Shuster will open a discussion with the Town Council at its next meeting to seek funding for the $36,400 operation.

In a memorandum to the council, Town Manger Dennis Dare wrote that repairs are not only needed to keep the park operational, but have now become "ultra critical" because of the Dew Tour.

Dare asked the council to consider the funds an "emergency purchase" that would allow immediate procession to the refurbishing process, a necessity if the park is to be ready in time for summer. The park renovation was originally delayed in anticipation of a planned park expansion that has been put on hold.

The council could approve the purchase at the meeting, allowing Dare and Shuster to contact Omer Windham, one of the park's original builders. Windham has agreed to do the repairs and is available to begin work immediately, according to Dare.

The park was originally built in 1976 and is one of the oldest skate parks in the world, according to Assistant Recreation and Parks Director Susan Petito.

Representatives for the Dew Tour have expressed interest in including the park in the week prior to and during its July 21-24 festivities, Petito said, but that interest is still "in idea form."

The council will also discuss some changes to lessen the effects of a proposed ordinance to alter street performer regulations.

In an ordinance drafted after consultation with the town attorney, street performers would be permitted to perform in 17 designated Boardwalk locations from 8 a.m.-midnight, with the locations being subject to a weekly lottery for the prime hours of 6 p.m.-midnight.

Performers who do not win the weekly lottery could perform until midnight at street ends to the north of North Division Street, or elsewhere in town -- although most performers like to serenade the crowded south end of the Boardwalk. They could also perform at the designated locations during the day, until 6 p.m., when the winning performer of that space in the lottery can arrive to claim the spot.

Under the terms of an earlier proposal, performers would have only been able to perform on the

Boardwalk if they won a daily lottery, and only from the time following the afternoon lottery until midnight.

smuska@dmg.gannett.com
410-213-9442, ext. 14

 

Natural gas coming to Worcester

Gas suppliers will be polled for interest; change could happen by end of year

 

OCEAN CITY -- Natural gas service could be available to Worcester County businesses and residents by the end of this year.

Chesapeake Utilities Corp., based in southeastern Pennsylvania, might make it happen. The company has known for a while that Eastern Shore Gas has had an interest in ultimately converting its services from propane to natural gas once the corporation was in a position to expand its pipelines into the county, said Stephen Thompson, vice president of Chesapeake Utilities.

In 2010, Chesapeake Utilities expanded into Millsboro and explored the economic viability of expanding its pipeline and distribution infrastructure to Worcester, Thompson said.

From a price standpoint, conversion to natural gas is an overall value, Thompson said, adding that it is a cleaner substitute for other types of gas and energy, including electricity in some instances. It can be used to heat homes and businesses, can play a role in industrial production, and on a large scale can generate electric power.

The first step toward expansion is to gather requests from current gas distributors in the area of interest, which could happen during a current "open season" that closes at the end of the week, according to Thompson.

Eastern Shore Gas has not yet made the formal request, and neither has Chesapeake Utilities' own distribution subsidiary. Eastern Shore Gas general manager Steve Ashcraft was not available for comment on the company's potential request, and Thompson said the Chesapeake subsidiary was still looking at potential marketing opportunities and hadn't come to a final conclusion on potential action.
If the corporation garners requests, it would then seek authority from the federal government to build facilities and extend its lines, and distributors would seek permission from the Maryland Public Service Commission to provide natural gas services.

"If everything goes as we hope, we're optimistic that a project could go forward that would extend our pipeline to an area in northern Worcester County by the end of the year," Thompson said.

Since there is not yet a natural gas presence in Worcester County, the corporation believes the MPSC will be supportive of granting requests, he said.

Once pipes and facilities are in place, natural gas would be available to customers within a certain proximity of the pipeline, but the specifics of that distance cannot yet be estimated.

"It's almost a case-by-case-basis because you have to look at the economics of converting your energy system for homeowners and equipment conversions for businesses," Ashcraft said.

Chesapeake Utilities currently supplies large, small and residential customers in the Salisbury-Fruitland area with natural gas, Ashcraft said, naming Perdue Foods Inc. as one of its larger business customers.

Earlier this month, the corporation signed agreements with Beebe Medical Center and SPI Pharma for natural gas service in Lewes. In February, Dogfish Head Brewery in Milton signed an agreement as well.

 

For the Navy Times

Destroyer Radford to become reef off Md. coast

By Scott Muska - The Salisbury (Md.) Daily Times
Posted : Monday Apr 18, 2011 20:29:03 EDT

OCEAN CITY, Md. — A former Navy destroyer will soon be sunk off the Maryland coast to serve as a fish-attracting artificial reef.

The Arthur W. Radford, a 563-foot vessel, will be sunk in about 130 feet of water in an area about 28 miles northeast of the Ocean City Inlet. The ship will serve as the largest artificial reef to be planted on the East Coast to date, according to Monty Hawkins, chairman of the Maryland Artificial Reef Committee.

“It’s just a very big, bodacious project, and I have every expectation it will be a fantastic reef,” said Hawkins, who is also an Ocean City Reef Foundation board member.

The boat’s sinking location has been mapped to be roughly equidistant between Indian River Inlet,
 Cape May and Ocean City. Environmental entities from the three states are collaborating on the effort, with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control leading the project.

The vessel will be sunk in the Del-Jersey-Land artificial reef, where numerous other objects and vessels — including wooden dry docks and two World War II-era U-boats — have been sunk previously, Hawkins said.

The new reef site should eventually be a big economic boost and an attraction for fishing and scuba diving, said Erik Zlokovitz, artificial reef coordinator for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

“It’s going to be a great fishing habitat and an impressive site for scuba divers,” Zlokovitz said. “I think it’ll be an economic boost, and fishing and diving boats from all three states are going to benefit.”

A firm date for the sinking is not yet set, but officials are hoping for a time in late May or June, pending final federal approval for the project and weather cooperation.

The reefs are not only good for fishing restoration in the area but also for building stocks of fish beyond historical value, Hawkins said.

Monitoring studies have shown that placement of durable, stable reef materials can result in as much as a 400-fold increase in the amount of small sea life and fish inhabiting an area, according to the Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife’s website.

“We can make fishing better than it has ever been,” Hawkins said.

Radford was commissioned in 1977 and decommissioned eight years ago. It has remained at the Philadelphia Navy Yard since June 2010, Zlokovitz said. While there, it has been stripped of its superstructure and other portions that have been salvaged. It has also had numerous holes cut in its hull to make it a better reef, Hawkins said.

Autopsy pending in fatal hotel fall

 

OCEAN CITY -- The body of a person who fell from a sixth-floor window of an Ocean City hotel and died has been transported to the state medical examiner in Baltimore, police said.

Jessica Waters of the Ocean City Police Department said an investigation into the circumstances of the death are ongoing.

Police responded to the scene at the Fenwick Inn at 13801 Coastal Highway at 4:08 a.m. Wednesday.

Police are awaiting a report from the medical examiner, and will not release the victim's name until they know for sure whether or not it was a suicide, Waters said.

If it was a suicide, police will not publish the name in a news release, as per the department's normal policy.

Waters was not sure if next of kin had been notified as of late Thursday.

The death is the second in nine months at the Fenwick Inn. On June 24, James Robert Cullum, 24, of
Middle River, Md., died at Atlantic General Hospital in Berlin shortly after swimming in the hotel's pool. The death was not considered a criminal matter, police said.

There was no lifeguard on duty at the pool -- nor was one required by law, officials said -- where Cullum's friends said they saw him go underwater and fail to resurface after a few minutes.

Hotel manager Greg Fleming said he preferred not to comment on the circumstances of Wednesday's death until police concluded their investigation.

"Obviously, it was a terrible accident," Fleming said.

He said he hoped the two deaths within a year of each other would not dissuade tourists from staying at the hotel.

smuska@dmg.gannett.com

410-213-9442, ext. 14

 

Dew Tour kickoff will skate into Ocean City

National attention will be on resort with surfing events debut

Pedro Barros is seen during the 2010 Dew Tour Championships in Las Vegas. This year's Dew Tour will kick off in Ocean City. The July 21-24 event will put the resort in the national spotlight. / Dew Tour image

OCEAN CITY -- Many firsts will come with the Dew Tour when it makes its way to Ocean City this summer.

It will be the first time Ocean City hosts the internationally known and televised extreme sports event, and it will be the first of four stops on the annual summer tour.
It will also be the first time the tour is held at a beach town and, as a result, will be the inaugural venue for surfing competitions to be thrown into the mix with BMX, skateboarding, freestyle motocross and other events taking place July 21-24.

The half-pipes, ramps, jumps and other apparatus for the event will be set up directly on the beach, in an area spanning several blocks starting near the pier, according to Ocean City Tourism Director Deborah Turk.

"I can't tell you how happy we are to welcome the Dew Tour to Ocean City," Mayor Rick Meehan said Thursday during a Boardwalk news conference. "This is going to be a real anchor event, something really special for us."
BMX rider Dave Mirra, the most decorated X Games athlete in history with 23 medals, and skateboarder Bucky Lasek, a three-time Dew Cup champion and four-time X Games gold medalist, will be among the roster of professional extreme sports athletes in attendance.

In addition to its competitions, the event will also include a live music concert on the beach and a Festival Village, where sponsors will have interactive booths and athletes will sign autographs.

The event will be broadcast nationally on NBC and USA, Meehan said.

"This is a terrific opportunity for our town and community to be showcased across this great nation," Meehan said.

Both Meehan and Aileen Sokol, director of property operations for the Dew Tour, mentioned the process of scheduling the resort as a venue was a collaboration that took months. Sokol thanked local businesses, the Ocean City Chamber of Commerce, and the Maryland and Ocean City departments of tourism, among others, for making the event possible.
 

"We're thrilled to come to Ocean City as our first stop for the summer tour," Sokol said, speaking on behalf of Alli Sports, the company that promotes and produces the event. "Part of what has made the Dew Tour so successful has been the carrying on of long-term partnerships, and that truly takes a community effort."

After its stop in Ocean City, the tour will continue on to Portland, Ore., in August and Salt Lake City in September before wrapping up in Las Vegas in October.

Sokol said the event will have a significant economic impact.

The months of working with Alli to bring the kickoff of the tour to town consisted of a lot of community outreach, along with efforts to show the company that Ocean City's accommodations met the criteria for the event, Turk said.

Local entities worked with the surf and skate community to help generate publicity about the event, she said.

"This is going to expose Ocean City to a new audience," Turk said, referring to the broad television coverage the Dew Tour receives.

The Ocean City Police Department is included in the team effort that has been deemed necessary to host the event, and spokeswoman Jessica Waters said there will be increased law enforcement awareness to accompany the expected increase in tourists to the area.

"We're ready to do our part in making (the event) a success," Waters said.

Meehan called action sports the "wave of the future," but said he expected the tour stop to be attractive to older spectators.

"It's going to be a lot of fun to watch," he said.

smuska@dmg.gannett.com
 

410-213-9442, ext. 14

Despite appeals, Navy stays firm on ROTC shutdown

 

BERLIN -- The Navy is steadfast in its resolve to shut down the Stephen Decatur High School Navy ROTC program, not swayed by an outpouring of community support pleading for reconsideration.

Community members, government officials, parents and students have bombarded the Navy with their pleas in myriad ways, despite the Navy's unwavering stance that 19 units nationwide will be shut down on June 30, on the grounds they've consistently failed to meet enrollment requirements.

Letters have been written; e-mails have been sent. Some Stephen Decatur Navy ROTC alumni have made a website that showcases the growing support the cause has garnered, and the front page of the school district's website is dominated by ROTC information.

Sens. Benjamin Cardin and Barbara Mikulski have joined Rep. Andy Harris to work toward saving the program. They co-signed a letter to Secretary of the Navy, Ray Mabus, that outlined the unit's importance to its cadets and the Worcester County community. The letter encourages Mabus to extend the program's probationary period, since initial registration for the 2011-12 school year shows enrollment of approximately 120 students.

The Navy requires 100 students to participate in ROTC at schools with an enrollment of more than 1,000. Decatur's unit has 94 members this school year.

"We're going to work as hard as we can and do everything we can, because this program is very important," Cardin said Thursday in an interview. "There is a growing number of cadets, and it shouldn't be terminated because of a technical reason like a number when the interest is clearly there."

"I think this is worthy of an exception," he added.

Many ROTC backers have taken their concerns to Facebook, where Mabus's own virtual wall has been inundated with messages extolling the importance of maintaining the ROTC programs.

Bryan Hamilton, a Decatur ROTC alumnus, is among them. He wrote to Mabus and urged him to visit the alumni site -- which launched Wednesday -- where Mabus could see the articles and letters of support that have piled up since the shutdown decision was announced in late February.

"We have never seen our community rally as much as they have for this program in the past two weeks," Hamilton wrote.

Mabus responded to the many postings, but offered no encouragement that the Navy might be mulling its options.

He thanked the posters who are concerned about their local ROTC programs, and acknowledged that the units are of great value to the Navy, cadets, their parents, school districts and local communities before writing: "Decisions to disestablish NJROTC units are not taken lightly and are the result of tight budgets."

NJROTC alumna Elizabeth Timmons said the support that's been drummed up is overwhelming, and she hopes it has an effect on the outcome.

"If it was up to the county or the senators or the state of Maryland, we would have it reversed already, but it's the Navy, and I know how the Navy is," Timmons said.

As of Thursday afternoon, the Naval Service Training Command, which oversees the nation's Navy ROTC units, had not changed its stance that the decision on the disestablishments was "pretty much set in stone," according to public affairs officer Lt. Charity Hardison.

For more information, visit the alumni site at sites.google.com/site/savenjrotc/, or the school district's site at www.worcesterk12.com.

410-213-9442, ext. 14

 

OC wants to cap street performers

 

OCEAN CITY -- Street performers may have to win a lottery this year if they want to legally employ their talents on the Boardwalk.

City Council voted 5-1 to change regulations concerning performer permits and behavior, including one that will drastically limit the number of buskers present on the boardwalk each day. An ordinance enacting the new rules is likely to be debated at upcoming council meetings.

The town will designate 20 areas from the inlet to 10th Street as the only areas performers can operate. Permit holders will have to come to City Hall in the early afternoon each day to put their name in for one of the spaces.

If they're picked, they can perform that day. If they don't draw the right number, they should go home and try again the next day.

Usually, there's many more than 20 street performers working at one time. Last season, the resort issued 555 street performer permits.

Entertainers will now only be able to perform from the end of the lottery until midnight. They are also forbidden from playing music unless it's from an instrument as part of their act, and they are not permitted to use any of their own lighting.

The price for a permit will rise from $7.50 to $10, to cover the administrative fees associated with providing them and the time spent on performer issues during the summer, according to a letter to the council from City Clerk Kathleen Mathias that outlined the recommendation for changes.

Mathias worked with police and other city officials to come up with solutions to some problems and concerns surrounding Boardwalk performances from the 2010 season, the letter said.

Among those concerns were congestion that at times inhibited pedestrians walking on the Boardwalk; complaints from store owners who said performers were blocking their entrances; and reports from emergency services staff who had problems getting performers to move in a hurry.

Police have had escalating issues with performers, according to Chief of Police Bernadette DiPino, who told the council they've gone from six incidents of contact with performers in 2006 to 53 in 2010.
Council member Joseph Hall cast the dissenting vote after telling council he "supported the intent," but had worries that the changes may raise questions about performers' free speech rights.

"I already thought the previous ordinance was pushing the envelope on (performers') personal rights," he said.

City Solicitor Guy Ayres told council he thought the ordinance would be defensible in court.
Mathias believes the changes will also make it easier for the performers to entertain Boardwalk patrons, she said.

"I think this will manage things better, not only by making it easier for police but also for performers who were challenged by competing with each other," she said.

Former performer DJ Walker said the new rules would "definitely" discourage him from taking to the Boardwalk in the future.

Walker, 23, played in a bagpipe and drum duet for a couple years. He said one reason he and his partner enjoyed performing was the ease and ability to make a spur-of-the-moment decision to play on any given night.

"We wouldn't go out every day, just when we felt like making a little extra money," he said. "If we had to go through all the bureaucracy of doing a lottery and planning that much, we just probably wouldn't have bothered."

Jay Knerr, owner of Kite Loft on the Boardwalk at fifth street, agrees with the policy change, and says it should be good for visitors and merchants alike.

Knerr enjoys the street performers, and said they're a necessary element on the Boardwalk, but crowding had been a concern.

"In the past, entertainers or performers were on top of one another," he said. "If this is done where there's a fair playing field for everybody, I'm in support of that."

410-213-9442, ext. 14