ing accident involving alcohol and tubing. That was exactly the case
last weekend. The plane crash simply overshadowed the other big
events of the weekend.
death of two Ocean City police officers in last weekend's plane crash,
the big news so far in this summer season has been the wet weather.
ported 20 of the 30 days in June were negatively impacted by weather
in one way or another. It either cut lunch or dinner seating short was
the conclusion.
not a bad July or August.
rific accident on Coastal Highway. A vehicle was driving north on the
road when it reportedly struck an ajar manhole cover and flipped over.
to the side. The State Highway Administration said it had nothing to do
with this work, meaning it had to be Ocean City crews working on it.
if there is liability here. That seems certain. It's going to be whether the
city or the subcontractor performing the work is responsible.
thanks largely to the ongoing petition effort seeking to overturn the
city's recent expansion of paid parking. That effort needs about 1,300
signatures to get the matter placed on a ballot before voters.
by its pool between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. daily to sign a petition, "to stop
parking meters in Ocean City now before it gets out of hand. Your
street might be next."
street selected in North Ocean City. The reasons for picking our street
are flawed and not well thought out. We tried to convey this to the
Town Council but they would not listen or even talk to us about it. So
our only alternative is a petition for a referendum on paid parking."
of the group is, "To take the Town of Ocean City back from destructive
governance. Tired of parking meters, to many taxes, high water bills,
crime, graffiti, vacancies unattended? Want to do something about it?
Do you pay taxes in Ocean City? Come to our meeting at Hall's Res-
taurant, 60th St. Monday, July 8 at 3 p.m. Now it's time to act."
unjustified and is causing businesses to fail due to increased expens-
es. The ad reads, "The increase in vacancies, graffiti, crime, drunks,
and bars are symptomatic of the inner city, like New York before Rudy
Giuliani fixed the problems. The high costs of government have priced
OC out of our middle class market and are destroying our beach town
and its family based culture."
sists this is not purely political rhetoric. If you agree, head to the meet-
ing and see what the group is all about.
nance, he now looks askance at
those who continue to oppose this
ill-advised legislation, questioning
their motives, etc.
effectively killed the ordinance since
there were not enough votes to ov-
erride his veto. The council majority
now has the votes to rescind the or-
dinance and start afresh. Does it
This latter approach would short cir-
cuit the supposed opposition that
the Mayor and Council now seem to
see lurking in the shadows and pro-
vide an opportunity for a fully open
hearing on the matter, to permit
public input on the issue and
remove it from the budget process
where it didn't belong in the first
place, effectively hidden from public
view.
is a diverse bunch full of people
from all walks of life and views, and
it's not just made up of residents,
renters and businesses on the is-
land of Ocean City.
from home, such as when local stu-
dents go off to college, locals al-
ways say Ocean City, despite the
fact they may reside in Berlin, Ocean
Pines, Fenwick Island, Showell,
Snow Hill, West Ocean City, Bish-
opville or other points nearby.
gotten. The community, despite
what may come across the police
blotter from time and time, and yes
the incidents seem more frequent
and disturbing of late, hurts when
tragedy strikes. That's exactly what
happened Sunday shortly before 4
in the afternoon when a single-en-
gine plane crashed, killing two
Ocean City police officers.
bout this plane crash. Immediate
word was the plane was occupied
by two off-duty police officers. That
did step up the enormity of the tra-
gedy, although perhaps that's unfair.
It's always disturbing when young
people die in a horrific accident wit-
nessed by thousands of people on
the beach and in the ocean.
for those close to the officers who
perished in the accident. Our
thoughts are with the family mem-
bers as well as those in the Ocean
City Police Department. We encour-
age you to like the department's
Facebook page and share your sen-
timents with that team and its follow-
ers. Your messages will be read and
appreciated.
to it. Our way of recognizing the serv-
ice of the fallen officers as well as the
heartache many have felt throughout
the week was to alter our front page
in an effort of remembrance. The thin
blue line symbol is a simple show of
support for the police in a challenging
time of despair.
will not be forgotten. Two officers
plunge to their death in a horrific ac-
cident, 48 hours prior to the new
police chief being sworn into office.
It was comforting to see Chief Ross
Buzzuro on the beach Sunday and
Monday with officers and family
friends watching and waiting for the
bodies to be recovered. He was
obviously impacted by the tragedy
based off his comments this week.
when he said, "Thoughts and pray-
ers from this entire community go
out to the members of our police de-
partment and to their families. They
have moved on, but they will not be
forgotten. God bless them and God
bless you all."
per for Worcester County. Periodical
postage paid at Berlin, Maryland, and
additional mailing offices.. The Mary-
land Coast Dispatch, 10012 Old Ocean
City Blvd., Berlin, Md. 21811, is pub-
lished weekly on Friday mornings, 52
weeks a year. Subscription rates are $75
per year, $55 for six months.
P.O. Box 467, Berlin, Maryland 21811.
Maryland Coast Dispatch offices are lo-
cated at Route 346 and Graham Avenue,
Berlin, Maryland.