On Sunday, February 23rd, 2025, the Cumberland Police Department arrested Michael Robert Caswell Jr, 38, of Cumberland MD. Caswell was arrested on an active Fugitive Warrant when it was discovered he had an active warrant for his arrest in West Virginia. The original warrant was issued in Mineral County WV, for a charge of larceny. He was taken before a District Court Commissioner for an Initial Appearance where he was remanded to the Allegany County Detention Center. He is currently being held without bond., awaiting extradition to WV. Name:    Michael Robert Caswell Jr.                                 Age:   38 Charges:   Fugitive from Justice.  …

Work on the new location for Union Rescue Mission’s programs is progressing. The mission has property at the corner of Franklin and North Centre Streets that will include family rooms, a dining room that will offer a restaurant-like atmosphere, and green space for outdoor activities.  Cumberland Mayor Ray Morriss tells WCBC that passersby can see the changes taking place…     “If you drive by down there now, you’ll see four or five of Belt’s trucks, a few of Walter Yoder’s trucks and, I haven’t been in, but just by driving by you can see that they’re really starting to…

Maryland Delegate Nino Mangione has introduced House Bill 85, the Rachel Morin Act. Named after the mother of five who was raped and killed by an illegal immigrant with a criminal record, Mangione wants to make sure cities and counties cooperate fully with immigrations officials to remove dangerous individuals…    “HB 85 takes two important steps. It prohibits a county or municipality from enacting or enforcing a sanctuary policy. It also requires a county or municipality to fully cooperate with ICE, the federal immigration authorities, regarding any individual unlawfully present."

The 911 Joint Communications Center is currently experiencing intermittent phone issues. In some cases, callers can hear 911 operators, but the operators cannot hear the callers. This is not affecting every call, but if it happens to you, 911 staff will reach out via text messages immediately to assist. Verizon is working to resolve the issue. DO NOT hesitate to call 911 in an emergency. Operators are actively monitorinig and responding as quickly as possible.

We are now ending the first full week of the 2025 legislative session.  This session is a little different for the committee process.  Each bill heard in committee will have a public hearing at least one day before amending or voting on the bill.  This makes the process more transparent.  Ironically, the Democrats have been protesting this change of more transparency preferring the old method where only bills that someone requested a public hearing on got a public hearing.  Transparency is never a bad thing. One of the first items to pass the House was HCR 49, which I introduced…

On Sunday, February 23rd, 2025, the Cumberland Police Department responded to the area of Magruder St for the report of a disturbance. Upon arrival, officers contacted the caller who advised that a white male subject was running up and down the street, screaming and causing a disturbance. Officers had previously responded to multiple calls near the area of a similar nature, each time the male was located and advised to cease his disruptive behaviors. On this occasion, the subject was again located and as a result, Christopher Adam Johnston, 39, of Cumberland MD, was placed under arrest. He was taken…

Attorneys General from 37 states and the District of Columbia have joined together asking the Food and Drug Administration to take swift action against bad actors endangering consumers with counterfeit forms of weight loss and diabetes drugs including Ozempic and Wegovy.  The letter asks the FDA to increase enforcement to take unsafe counterfeits off the market. ABC News Medical Correspondent Dr. Alok Patel says consumers should be aware where they are buying the drugs…    “Make sure you are getting any medication from a board-certified health care professional. That you’re only getting these from state licensed pharmacies or if you’re…

Cumberland’s Mayor and City Council discussed expanding the city property tax abatement to fire and police officers who live within but work outside of the city. Councilman Brian Lepley was asked by an officer if the City would consider extending the abatement initiative. Councilman Lepley told WCBC that the council discussed it but decided to keep the abatement as-is since it has been used as an employment incentive…     “The City Council and Mayor just felt that this wasn’t the way – the direction they wanted to go. They do provide this for the local Cumberland police officers and…

Maryland Comptroller Brooke Lierman testified in Annapolis recently in support of Senate Bill 977, the Maryland Data Privacy Act.  The legislation would require law enforcement and units of State government to deny access to certain databases or facilities for the purpose of enforcing federal immigration law. Lierman said 21% of Maryland’s civilian labor force is made up of immigrants that pay taxes…     “We want to encourage compliance with our tax laws and one way that we can keep doing that is to make sure we can let our immigrant community members know that their data is safe with…

Deadlines for West Virginia’s Promise Scholarship program and the needs-based West Virginia Higher Education Grant are quickly approaching. Certain eligibility requirements must be met for the Promise Scholarship with minimum ACT and SAT scores. The deadline for applying is March 1. For the Higher Education Grant, up to $3,400 may be awarded to students.  The deadline for the grant is April 15. All students are required to file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid to access all state and federal financial aid resources.