House Republicans this week used their new majority to push through a largely symbolic bill that would require health care providers to provide care to infants born after an attempted abortion. Under the bill, health providers who fail to comply with the requirements for care could face fines or up to five years in prison. Nearly every House Democrat, including Maryland Sixth District Congressman David Trone voted against legislation. Trone, who represents Western Maryland, has called the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade a travesty that has sent the country back half a century. Abortion, he says, is…

The Cumberland Times News reports an electrical malfunction was blamed for causing a predawn fire Thursday that destroyed a two-story barn on Nazelrod Road near Gorman. The Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office said the  fire, which was reported by a neighbor at 3:10 a.m., broke out in a loft above a pen and claimed 20 goats, investigators said. Gorman and surrounding volunteer firefighters controlled the blaze in about 15 minutes. The loss was estimated at $100,000.

The WMHS Auxiliary again invites our community to support UPMC Western Maryland and the Center for Hope and Healing, which assists those in the region facing an opioid addiction or behavioral health issue. Proceeds from the Auxiliary’s 65th annual Snow Ball – scheduled for Saturday, January 21, 2023 – will benefit the center. Tickets are available online at www.wmhs.com/snow-ball or by calling 240-964-8051.

Leading the way in efforts to support its workforce, recruit new employees and continue to be the employer of choice in health care, UPMC will increase minimum starting wages for entry-level positions to $18 an hour by January 2025 at UPMC‘s Pittsburgh hospitals* and Harrisburg and Williamsport-area hospitals** outpatient clinics, ambulatory centers and other facilities and sites. Minimum starting wages for entry-level positions at UPMC’s additional sites in Southwest Pennsylvania, Western Pennsylvania, Western Maryland and Southwest New York will reach $18 an hour by January 2026.  

On Wednesday, January 11, 2023, the Cumberland Police Department served an arrest warrant and two bench warrants on Nellie Miller.  The arrest warrant was issued as the result of an incident that occurred on November 6, 2022.  On this date at approximately 4:19 PM, an officer of the Cumberland Police Department responded to the area of W. First Street for a female subject digging through a dumpster.  The officer contacted her and obtained her identifying information.  The officer later discovered that the female had provided him with false information to avoid being arrested on an active warrant.  The female subject…

On Wednesday, January 11, 2023, the Cumberland Police Department served two District Court arrest warrants and two Circuit Court bench warrants on Jasmond Metheny.  One arrest warrant was issued as the result of an incident that occurred on August 8, 2022.  Officers of the Cumberland Police Department responded to the area of W. Third Street to assist deputies of the Allegany County Sheriff’s Office with a foot pursuit of Jasmond Metheny.  Metheny had an active warrant for his arrest.  Metheny was located and taken into custody on Arch Street after resisting arrest.  The other arrest warrant was issued as the…

Details have been finalized for a town hall meeting designed to  address business owners’ questions and concerns about the impact of the Baltimore Street renovation project. April 3rd is the target date to begin contruction on the  $15 million project- and it is expected to take some 18 months to complete. The project includes replacement of underground utility lines and installation of high-speed fiber optics cable. Following the subterranean work, Baltimore Street will be reinstalled through the pedestrian mall as a one-way access road traveling east from Mechanic Street. Obviously such an undertaking will have an impact on downtown businesses…

Public meetings to provide information about the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future and how it is being developed locally will be held tonight at  Mountain Ridge, January 17 at Fort Hill, and January 18 at Allegany high schools. Each meeting will begin at 5 p.m.  The Blueprint legislation, passed in 2021, includes an annual $3.8 billion funding increase over the next 10 years aimed to improve education in public schools. Major goals of the legislation are to improve Maryland’s early childhood, primary and secondary education to the levels of high-performing systems around the world, and establish a career ladder system for…

Although only one Western Maryland representative is on the transition team- and he made just one visit to Allegany County during his campaign- Governor-elect Wes Moore has consistently maintained that his administration will not neglect the rural regions of the state. Moore’s transition team has been adding names since October, with Hagerstown Mayor Emily Keller the most notable representative from the far western region. While Governor Larry Hogan has employed the services of Mark Widmyer to serve as his administration’s Western Maryland liason- it isn’t yet known if that position will remain once Moore takes office next Wednesday.  Moore, last…

The 2023 session of the Maryland General Assembly officially opened Wednesday with lawmakers beginning to tackle a bevy of controversial issues including  abortion rights;  guns laws  and recreational marijuana. Before the Supreme Court’s June ruling that struck down the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case, Maryland lawmakers had approved legislation in the state’s last session to expand abortion access by ending a restriction that only physicians provide them. This year, lawmakers will again take up a package of abortion rights measures, including a constitutional amendment to enshrine the right to abortion in the state’s constitution. House Speaker Adrienne Jones… On the cannibas…