A month from today, the city of Cumberland will conduct a ceremony at the  Baltimore Street bridge to honor former Maryland Speaker of the House Casper R. Taylor Jr.  The request was made by a group of citizens earlier this year as a way to pay tribute to a man who served Cumberland as a member of the House of Delegates for nearly 40 years- the last nine of those as House Speaker. The bridge at Baltimore Street, which crosses Wills Creek, is a primary artery into the downtown. The span is scheduled to undergo a $4 million renovation this…

Record-breaking swimmer Daniel Diehl has been voted the 2021 George Stevenson/Nick Perlozzo Dapper Dan Top Award winner by the Dapper Dan Club of Allegany County. The award, to be given at the 72nd Dapper Dan awards banquet at the Ali Ghan Shrine Club on May 1, is given annually to the individual or organization that brings the most national attention back to Allegany County. Most recently, Diehl, a 16-year-old student at Allegany High School, broke a national age group record for the 15-16 division previously held by Olympic champion Ryan Murphy in the 100-meter backstroke at the Speedo Sectional meet…

UPMC Western Maryland President Michele Martz is one of four national healthcare leaders who have recently been elected to serve three-year terms on the Board of Governors of the American College of Healthcare (ACHE) Executives. ACHE’s Board of Governors oversees ACHE operations and member services.     Martz has previously served on various ACHE committees and is also currently a member of the board of directors for Maryland Physicians Care, Allegany College of Maryland and the Cumberland Economic Development Corp.     “This is such a great honor, and I am very thankful to join this prestigious board,” Martz said. “Leadership development…

The Cumberland Police served two Arrest Warrant on Belen Marie Waybright, age 37 of Cumberland, MD.  Both Warrants were issued by the District Court of Allegany County for Failure to Appear for her court dates.  Her original charges were for CDS offenses. She was taken to Central Booking for her initial appearance before the District Court Commissioner and held on a combined $1250 bond.  Arrested:  Belen Marie Waybright  Age: 37  Cumberland, MD Charges:  Fail to Appear (x2)

A combination of American Rescue Funds from the federal government and a spike in the assessable base has placed the city of Cumberland in an extremely healthy  fiscal position heading into FY 2023. The Mayor and Council received an initial budget presentation as part of Tuesday’s work session with Comptroller Mark Gandolfi and Ken Tressler, Director of Administrative Services presenting an overview. Gandolfi said there is no need for any rate increases with budget surpluses in the forecast for the next few years… Tressler said even though the fiscal picture looks strong moving forward, he would advise the city to…

The latest COVID-19 numbers released by the Allegany County Health Department are all encouraging- with only 18 new  cases reported in the past week; the county’s  Community Level  remaining low and the daily positivity rate  more than a point lower than the state rate. This current prolonged period of data trending in the right direction prompted Allegany County Health Officer Jenelle Mayer- in response to county commissioner Creade Brodie Jr-   to suggest  the community can begin to look beyond COVID-19…

Governor Larry Hogan Tuesday addressed the Maryland Municipal League’s Police Executive Association Training Conference in Ocean City- with much of his focus on his administration’s efforts on behalf of law enforcement. At a time when various groups across the nation are responding to incidents of police violence by calling for government to de-fund law enforcement agencies-  Hogan was successful in advancing a 500 million dollar re-fund the police initiative.  He says now more than ever there is a need to provide additional resources to battle the growing crime problem…

Because the state’s first steps toward the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future lagged, the county component laying out local execution also has been delayed. A multi-billion dollar education reform bill, the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future looks to close student achievement gaps over the next decade. The Allegany County  Board of Education received a Blueprint update from coordinator Dr Wendy Main during this month’s public meeting.  The local procedure in question is the county implementation plan, an individualized report detailing each jurisdiction’s route towards meeting Blueprint rules and standards.. The need to delay at the county level is a byproduct of late…

The deadline to file to run for office in Maryland has passed and locally there are a number of seats that won’t be contested. In Cumberland while there are seven candidates vying for two city council seats, no one filed to challenge incumbent Mayor Ray Morriss.  Barring something unforeseen, the path is now clear for him to be elected to a second term in November. Other incumbents who will not face primary or general election day competition include: House of Delegates 1B representative Jason Buckel; Allegany County Sheriff Craig Robertson; States Attorney James Elliot; Clerk of Court Dawne Lindsey; and…

Allegany County officials have seemingly settled on a promoter and operator to hold auto racing events at the fairgrounds for the 2022 season. The county is expected to enter into an agreement with BBUM Promotions as part of Thursday’s public meeting. For the past several years, dirt track racing had been operated by Todd Brode’s group, The Greater Cumberland Raceway, however County Administrator Jason Bennett said the county was informed in February that Brode would not be able to put together a racing schedule for this year… The season typically begins in April, so the search for a new promoter…