With less than a month before the November General Election, outgoing Allegany County Board of Education member Deb Frank urged voters to carefully study the platforms of each of the six school board candidates- and to be wary of scare tactics.  Frank, who opted not to seek another term, suggested some of the candidates are campaigning on issues that simply aren’t relevant to the local school system at this time… She also pointed to a lack of transparency on the part of some candidates, seemingly hinting at the gender identification issue that has become a point of controversy in some…

The question of when mail-in ballots will be counted in Maryland has been decided. The issue went before the state's highest court with the Maryland Court of Appeals ruling against lawyers for Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Cox who had asked the court to block a lower-court decision regarding when to start counting mail-in ballots. The ruling allows for the counting of mail-in ballots before Election Day. It is now up to the local jurisdictions to decide when to begin counting mail-in votes- but even with this ruling there are reports that at least thirteen County Boards of Elections have decided…

More than two years since protestors tore down and destroyed a statue of Christopher Columbus in the Inner Harbor area of Baltimore City- efforts continue to find a new location for the monument which has now been restored. The new statue is being made available to local governments- and Cumberland does have a history that might make for an intriguing match. For many years, organized by the Scarpelli family, the popular Christopher Columbus Italian Festival  was held- first at Smith Park and later downtown.  Just last week a North Centre Street Festival was held with an Italian theme. Former State…

Andee Thompson, in honor of her late husband Robert, has been chosen as the parade marshal for the  annual South Cumberland Business and Civic Association Marsha L. Thomas Memorial Halloween Parade. Bob Thompson, who passed away in July at the age of 65, worked in the Allegany County Public School System for 42 years; teaching at Fort Hill for 32 of those. While working at Fort Hill he served as the choral and drama director and was also the Sentinelette advisor for several years. Andee, who recently retired from WCBC Radio, said the parade serves as a fitting tribute to…

Governor Jim Justice proposed a bill Tuesday that he says would eliminate personal property taxes on vehicles for everyone in West Virginia. Justice says the bill would provide a dollar-for-dollar refund for personal property taxes paid to county Sheriff’s Departments in 2022 and every year going forward for citizens and businesses. He says the refund would be provided by the West Virginia General Revenue Fund and would not interfere with the property tax revenue stream guaranteed to local governments and school boards. Justice touted the bill as a workaround to Amendment 2, which is on the ballot for the Nov. 8…

WBAL reports Maryland is getting a big bridge this week, and now, some hikers and bikers are trying to stop the state from blowing up the old one. The new Nice-Middleton Bridge over the Potomac River in Charles County will connect Maryland and Virginia and will replace the old Harry W. Nice bridge that opened in 1940. The state plans to demolish the old one, but a group of biking and outdoor enthusiasts has filed a lawsuit in federal court to halt the planned demolition. They want to keep the old bridge to provide a place for hikers and bikers to…

Forty-six junior and senior students from Fort Hill High School were inducted into membership of the National Honor Society (NHS) on Tuesday, October 11, 2022. They joined 36 current senior members who were inducted last year. Conducting the ceremony were Allison Schultz, President; Brayson Fleegle, Vice- President; Carly Bennett, Secretary; Quinn Cohen, Treasurer; and Andrew Swink, Public Relations Officer.   Students inducted were: AIDAN BISHOP (CCTE), CHASE BISHOP, CHRISTINA BOWLES, WILLIAM BOYER, BRIDGET BROWN, GAVIN CARNEY, KATHERINE CLARK, KELSEY DARBER, PRESLEA DICKEN (CCTE), ALEXIS HEAVNER, JUSTIN HEAVNER, KATHERINE HEDRICK (CCTE), CARTER HESS, JADEN HUDSON, ALLISON INGLISH, LEXI JAY, ALAINA KEGG,…

The Cumberland Times News reports the North End man accused of killing his mother’s friend and his half-brother and his wife last year just hours later at their Ellicott City home will face court proceedings for the homicides after being found competent to stand trial last week in Allegany and Howard counties. Jeffrey Allen Burnham, 47, was found not competent by judges earlier this year in both counties due to a mental disorder. However, hearings held last week in both jurisdictions led to new rulings that Burnham is now competent to stand trial, according to electronic Maryland court records. The…

On Monday, the Cumberland City Police arrested Geneva Rachael Carrington, 33, of Glen Burnie MD. Carrington was initially contacted by officers after the vehicle she was driving was observed traveling above the posted speed limit on Interstate 68. Throughout the course of the stop, it was determined that Carrington had initially given a false name and date of birth to officers. Once the correct name was discovered, it was found that Carrington had a suspended Maryland driver’s license and had an active Bench Warrant out of Howard County MD failing to appear on other traffic charges. As a result, Carrington…

Local Child Advocacy Center- Jane’s Place-  has requested to merge with Allegany County government- hoping to create a more structured operation and streamline budget process. Representatives from the Jane’s Place presented the proposal to the county commissioners during an afternoon work session with the plan calling for the operation to fall under the umbrella of the state’s attorney’s office. Jane’s Place  professionals work to find ways to reduce secondary trauma associated with child maltreatment investigations and to provide a safe, child-friendly space where children who are victimized can begin to heal. The request will only cost the county an estimated…