Page 30 Regional Digest Beach Pumping Near OCEAN CITY – The large equipment and network of huge pipes associated with beach replenishment in Ocean City should be mobilized in less than two weeks with the actual pumping set to start in early February. Ocean City Engineer Terry McGean said this week that Weeks Marine, which was awarded the contract by the Army Corps of Engineers last fall, will begin mobilizing its equipment for the latest round of beach replenishment in Ocean City in about two weeks. Weather permitting, the actual pumping of sand onto the beaches in Ocean City is set to begin on Feb, 9. The target completion date is set for some time near the end of April. The starting point and direction the beach replenishment effort will take depends on a variety of factors and is still undetermined. The key element of the project consists of using an offshore, ocean-going hopper to hydraulically dredge one million cubic yards of sand and pump it onto the beaches in Ocean City. The sand will be pumped from a designated borrow area offshore roughly two to three miles off the coast and will be used to restore the beach from the north end of the Boardwalk to the state line. Also included is the reconstruction of the dune system from the north end of the Boardwalk to the Delaware line. Providing and planting dune grasses and installing rope fencing is also part of the project. The upcoming beach replenishment project is part of the normal, four-year cycle for routine maintenance. By JOANNE SHRINER Ocean City Added To State’s Sustainable List The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch STAFF WRITER January 10, 2014 OCEAN CITY – The Town of Ocean City has earned a place on the State of Maryland’s list of Sustainable Communities In total, 17 Maryland communities were recognized for their efforts to join the statewide initiative to strengthen reinvestment and revitalizing in Maryland’s older neighborhoods. “Sustainable Communities seek to conserve resources, provide green spaces and parks for recreation and agriculture and conserve historical and cultural resources,” Ocean City Planning and Community Development Director Matt Margotta said. “Being added to the state’s list of Sustainable Communities is a huge accomplishment for the Town of Ocean City. It is a positive reflection of our commitment to the town’s past, present and future.” Currently, Gov. Martin O’Malley’s Smart Growth subcabinet has approved 55 Sustainable Communities under Maryland’s Sustainable Communities Act. Along with Ocean City, newly added communities included Towson, Taneytown, Annapolis, Cambridge, Thurmont and Chestertown. “Ocean City’s Sustainable Community Action Plan focuses on efforts to increase workforce housing, By JOANNE SHRINER Annual Prayer Breakfast Set For Next Friday STAFF WRITER modernize existing structures to code, plan for vulnerable sea-level rise areas, promote small business development and improve the town’s walkability,” said Margotta. “We have worked closely with the Ocean City Development Corporation to develop a plan that would preserve the history of Ocean City while also preparing for future growth. We believe Ocean City’s Sustainable Community Action Plan will expand our tourism industry, while maintaining the historic and nostalgic beach community that our residents and visitors have grown to love.” In 2010, O’Malley signed into law Smart, Green & Growing legislation passed by the Maryland General Assembly to enhance the future of growth, development and sustainability in Maryland. This law established the Sustainable Communities. The Sustainable Communities law enhanced an existing rehabilitation tax credit into the Sustainable Communities Tax Credit Program. It also simplified the framework for designated revitalization target areas in the Community Legacy and Neighborhood Business Works programs, establishing a new transportation focus on older communities and enhancing the role of the Smart Growth Subcabinet in the revitalization of communities. In May, Margotta presented the Mayor and Council with a draft of Ocean City’s Sustainable Community Application and Plan to be adopted by resolution. At that time, Margotta explained the Sustainable Community Plan is an update to the existing Community Legacy Plan and Main Street Program that designates the Ocean City Development Corporation (OCDC) area of downtown Ocean City from 15th Street to the Inlet for certain policies, programs, projects and other initiatives and as a Priority Funding Area under Maryland codes. The draft and application process behind Ocean City’s Sustainable Community Plan is collaboration between OCDC and city staff with OCDC in the position to implement the plan. The draft was presented in a public meeting on April 24 and on May 7 to the Planning and Zoning Commission, which passed a favorable recommendation to the council to approve. When the plan returned to the Mayor and Council in form of a resolution to designate the OCDC boundaries and former Community Legacy District as a Sustainable Community, Councilman Dennis Dare felt the subject of a tax differential should be more prominent in the 59-page draft of the plan and asked for the draft to be amended to reflect such. It was then approved after some tweaks. Casino Data Released BERLIN – The December revenue figures for Maryland’s four operating casinos were released this week, revealing the Casino at Ocean Downs continues to make modest gains despite a rather slow month to end the year. The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency on Tuesday announced the four casinos in Maryland generated over $65 million combined in December. Maryland Live! in Anne Arundel County continued to be the major contributor in the state’s gaming industry, contributing over $52 million of the $66 million raised by the state’s four casinos in December. Maryland Live!, which added table games this year, saw its December revenue figure increase by over $16 million, or 46 percent over last year. At the Casino at Ocean Downs, subject to the same seasonal variances as other resort businesses, the gains in December were more modest. Ocean Downs generated roughly $3.4 million in December, representing an increase of about SEE NEXT PAGE OCEAN CITY – Robert Douglas will bring his suicide awareness message to Ocean City this month at the Annual Ocean City Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast. The 24th Annual Ocean City Mayor’s Breakfast will take place on Friday, Jan. 17, from 7-9:15 a.m. at the Clarion Resort Hotel. Douglas, founder and executive director of National Police Suicide Foundation (PSF), is this year’s event featured speaker. PSF was founded in 1997 and was granted 501(c) 3 status as a non-profit educational foundation. It was created due to the increasing number of suicides in the police profession, and it has grown to include emergency responders. Douglas retired as an agent from the Baltimore City Police Department in 1994 after serving 20 years with the department, and five years as a patrol officer with the Temple Terrace Police Department in Florida. After his police work, Douglas was the Senior Pastor at Jenkins Memorial Church in Riviera Beach, Md., where he served for the past 24 years. He served as police chaplain for FOP Lodge #3 in Baltimore City from 1988 to 2002 and as chaplain for Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms (ATF) in Washington, D.C. Douglas recently founded Compassionate Shepherd Ministries in Seaford, Del. According to Ocean City Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast Director Bruce Spangler, Douglas, who has published several books, is considered an expert in suicide awareness training and travels the nation training emergency responders. Douglas was recommended to Spangler by Wayne Cannon, who has been the event’s master of ceremonies for the past 23 years. “Douglas is a wonderful, exciting speaker and his topic on suicide is a timely topic that affects everyone, as we all know someone that has been touched at one time or another by this,” Spangler said. “Hear the uplifting message that Mr. Douglas will share with us during these trying times that will bring hope to all.” Spangler furthered suicide awareness is not just a topic that affects emergency responders. “There is not a person here that has not had a good friend or family member that has considered committing suicide,” Spangler said. “Mr. Douglas will bring something that most people don’t hear, and that is the biblical portion of this topic. A lot of times you have counselors that just talk about psychological aspects but Mr. Douglas will bring it into perspective of how the Bible addresses life and suicide. “This might help us learn how to help those with suicidal thoughts, and how to recognize the signs.” Spangler, who is a retired Ocean City police officer, said the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast began in 1990 and was originally held at Dunes Manor, which the event quickly outgrew. There are usually anywhere from 400 to 450 people who attend. Twenty-two years ago, Spangler was approached by two friends who organized the Easton Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast and the Delaware Governors Prayer Breakfast. After approaching then-Ocean City Mayor Fish Powell, who supported the concept, the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast was created. Tickets are $16 in advance and must be purchased by Tuesday, Jan. 14. Tickets will not be sold at the door. Tables of eight-ten people can be reserved on a first-come, first-served basis. Tickets may be purchased through the mail by sending a check to 204 Graham Ave., Berlin, Md., 21811, or tickets can be purchased at City Hall on 3rd Street and Baltimore Avenue in Ocean City, Long and Foster Realty on 120th Street and Coastal Highway in Ocean City, the Ocean City Chamber of Commerce on Route 50 in West Ocean City, or Cropper Oil Company on Route 50 in Berlin. For more information, call Spangler at 410-641-1300 or 443-2352669.