Secretary of Transportation and Commissioner of Highways Jimmy Wriston, P.E., joined local dignitaries on the first official trip over the reopened Trout Run Bridge when Shay 5, the locomotive, burst through a golden ribbon on the new span.  Completion of the bridge reopens the excursion line from Cass Scenic Railroad to the town of Durbin, which had been closed since the bridge washed out in 1985. “Nothing was easy here,” said Wriston to the crowd on Friday. “Not one thing was easy, but you did it. You did it because you have will, you did it because you believe in the…

On Sunday, May 14, 2023, the Cumberland Police Department served a criminal summons on Jesse Kennard.  The summons was issued as the result of a private citizen filing for charges against Kennard at the District Court for Allegany County.  Kennard signed for his copy of the summons and was released pending trial.  ARRESTED:  Jesse Lee Kennard          AGE:  34           Cumberland, MD CHARGES:  Violate Protective Order CRIMINAL SUMMONS SERVED On Sunday, May 14, 2023, the Cumberland Police Department served a criminal summons on Abree Braithwaite.  The summons was issued as the result of an incident that occurred on May 12, 2023.  On…

The Downtown Development Commission met recently and CEDC Director Matt Miller shared that his group is running grant programs to incentivize businesses to locate in the downtown area.  That program has been successful in attracting interest.  He also said that assistance to existing businesses is also available and they should contact the economic development office…

The annual County United Way campaign wraps up at the end of this month, but this year has been a struggle for the organization to hit its goal.  Recently, Executive Director Michele Walker spoke with WCBC about some misconceptions about where donated money goes and what actually happens to dollars given locally… Tax-deductible donations to the United Way campaign can be done online at www.cuw.org

The problems faced by the Archdiocese of Baltimore are continuing to mount since the release of a report last month dealing with clergy sex abuse claims.  Attorney Benjamin Crump held a press conference last week announcing that he is filing hundreds of civil cases under the Maryland Child Victims Act that lifted the statute of limitations on filing sex abuse claims. Crump announced that the suits will give all victims a chance for their voice to be heard… The lawsuits will be filed on October 1st when the “lookback window” opens under the Act.  Over 150 priests and other clergy names…

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey has announced another opioid-related settlement, this time with supermarket chain Kroger. Kroger is agreeing to pay $68 million for oversupplying prescription opioids in the Mountain State and fueling the opioid epidemic.  West Virginia has now recovered more than $1 billion in opioid-related settlements from Walgreens, Wal-Mart, and CVS…

Three Frostburg State Track and Field athletes competed in their final opportunity to qualify for Nationals at the Lee Last Chance Meet on Saturday.  In another impressive feat, sophomore Tom McCoy extended his school record pole vault, setting a career high at 4.95 meters, which currently stands 26th in all of Division II. Junior Nathaniel Mesy and freshman Jasmine Scott both ran the 400 meters, with the former's time of 48.38 putting him fourth on the all-time list and the latter's 56.92 landing her third in program history.  The teams now await final results to filter through to see if…

Frostburg State University’s 162nd Commencement is scheduled for Saturday, May 20, during two ceremonies in the Cordts Physical Education Center Main Arena.  FSU President Dr. Ronald H. Nowaczyk will confer degrees and present diplomas to the graduates of the Colleges of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Business and Education.  The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences ceremony will start at 9:30 a.m. and will feature student speaker, Savannah Kent. The Colleges of Business and Education ceremony will begin at 2 p.m., featuring student speakers Elias Baroudi, College of Business, and Jalon Sommers, College of Education.  Tickets are required to attend the…

Traffic Alert… Allegany County, roll over vehicle accident Rt 51 at Landis Drive. Rt 51 partially blocked at this time.

County Resident Len Kiter addressed the Allegany County Commissioners Thursday evening to bring to their attention an issue with the landfill adjoining his property on Dan’s Mountain.  Kiter said that trash is piled above the fence lines and not covered on a daily basis as was done when previous contractor Waste Management was managing the site – He says the current situation is creating an unsafe and putrid living situation for him and his neighbors… Public Works Director Adam Patterson responded to Kiter’s complaint and said that he is already working on getting his complaint investigated…