Although three weeks of work on the sewer lines beneath North Mechanic Street is set to wrap up today- the road will remain closed for another week as the city begins asphalt repairs. City officials announced in mid-September that work would begin Sept. 19 to replace a collapsed sewer main on a stretch of North Mechanic Street from Eutaw Place to Queen City Drive, with repairs expected to take four days. However, workers from Carl Belt Inc. found more problems once the work began and that extended the project. The work has blocked access to a stretch of Mechanic Street,…

The Tournament of Bands (TOB) Marching Band circuit, along with Allegany High School bands, have announced the first ever Western Maryland/West Virginia State Championships Show, which will be held at Greenway Stadium on Sunday October 30, 2022, beginning at 5 p.m. The show will be the last stop on the way to the national Atlantic Coast Championship tournament on November 5th and 6th at Hershey Park.

Last year's 4th Grade Acceleration and Enrichment Program students at Beall Elementary School created a Little Free Library for the school. The students researched and designed a library drawing that would withstand the windy and wet weather in Frostburg. These drawings were voted on for best design by the staff at the school, and the winning design was sent to the Construction 1 and 2 students at Mountain Ridge High School. These students took the design and created the final building. When completed, it was sent back to Beall so that the AEP students could choose paint colors to best…

President Joe Biden will visit Hagerstown on Friday. President Biden will "deliver remarks on building the economy from the bottom up and middle out," according to a White House news release. The White House said additional information will be released.

On Wednesday, October 5, 2022, the Cumberland Police Department served a criminal summons on Justin Braithwaite.  The summons was issued in connection with a child neglect investigation that began on October 2, 2022.  On this date at approximately 7:21 AM, police responded to UPMC Western Maryland for the report of a child being abandoned.  After investigation into the incident, the officer filed for charges against Braithwaite at the District Court of Allegany County.  Braithwaite was released pending trial.   ARRESTED:  Justin Tyler Braithwaite       AGE:  33             Cumberland, MD CHARGES:  Neglect of a Minor, Desertion-Minor Child (x2), Confine Unattended Child

A bill that, among other things, mandates healthcare workers participate in implicit bias training officially became law in Maryland on October 1st.  The focus of the law is to confront racial inequality in the healthcare system through legislation that targets individual care providers and the state as a whole. Evidence-based implicit bias training will now be required of any health care professional looking to renew their license with a health occupations board or the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education every two years. The training would provide participants with a comprehensive framework on implicit bias, defined in the bill as,…

Aging fire apparatus, engines and ambulances need to be replaced in the near future or else the department’s ability to do it’s job could be hampered significantly. Cumberland Fire Chief Shannon Adams presented an overview of some of the key vehicle fleet during this week’s city council work session- and the reports show that there is a dire need for a new engine, ambulance and squad unit. The ambulance needed for District 16 will cost an estimated $50,000 while a new, smaller engine and squad unit to transport equipment carries a price tag of $1.2 to $1.4 million. Chief Adams…

During his regular appearance on WCBC’s “Dave Norman Show”, Cumberland Mayor Ray Morriss heard a number of complaints from callers about what they see as an inadequate transit system in town. While the Allegany County Transit System, does not fall under the umbrella of city government, most of those utilizing the service are city residents. Pointing to cancellations and too few routes- callers to the show are not happy with the current level of service… Mayor Morriss said public transportation is something that needs to be addressed by all parties… A spokesperson for the County’s Transit system told WCBC News…

Even though there were more than $90,000 in requests for hotel/motel tax proceeds, Cumberland city officials declined to increase the earlier agreed upon budget amount of $45,000. The annual distribution of funding was a topic of discussion Tuesday during a City Council work session at City Hall. Each year, a portion of the hotel/motel accommodation tax collected by Allegany County is distributed to the city, and officials subsequently make a portion available to organizations located within city limits that help attract visitors to the area. While the city has a reserve fund that could be tapped for additional dollars,  Mayor…