THE ALLEGANY COUNTY FAIR AND AG EXPO HAS ANNOUNCED THE GRANDSTAND ENTERTAINMENT FOR THE 2022 FAIR. ON MONDAY, JULY 18TH, DOVE AWARD WINNERS AND GRAMMY NOMINATED CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN ARTISTS “NEWSBOYS” WILL BE IN CONCERT. TUESDAY, JULY 19TH  “GET THE LED OUT”, AMERICA’S PREMIERE LED ZEPPELIN TRIBUTE ACT WILL BE FEATURED. AND, WEDNESDAY JULY 20TH, COUNTRY SINGER-SONGWRITER NIKO (NEEK-O) MOON WILL BE IN CONCERT. TICKETS FOR ALL THREE SHOWS WILL GO ON SALE MONDAY APRIL 18. TICKETS AND INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE AT  alleganycofair.org.

Maryland house of delegates yesterday rejected a bill that would extend the gas tax holiday. Washington County Republican delegate Brenda Thane proposed the amendment which would have extended the holiday into memorial Day weekend. The suspension of gas tax saved motorists 36.1 cents per gallon on regular gasoline and 36.85 cents per gallon for diesel fuel. The gas tax holiday will expire on April 16th

The phone situation in our region as it currently stands according to Verizon is a third party problem with the local telephone line maintainer. While Verizon continues to receive calls and issue trouble tickets, the third party maintainer is responsible for the necessary repair. The persisting issue of outgoing phone calls to local extensions currently affects the downtown Cumberland area specifically residents, businesses and government facilities.  The City of Cumberland’s Public Buildings are Experiencing another Extended Phone Outage The City’s public buildings, including City Hall, the Public Service Building, the Service Center and the Wastewater Treatment Plant have been experiencing…

On Thursday, April 7, 2022 at approximately 3:00 AM, officers of the Cumberland Police Department responded to a residence on Altamont Terrace for an assault.  Officers contacted the parties involved and separated them.  It was reported to officers that a victim had been assaulted by Jesse Kennard.  Officers observed that the victim had sustained injuries consistent with her statement.  Kennard was arrested and transported to the police station for processing.  He was then taken to Central Booking.  Kennard was later seen by a District Court Commissioner and remanded to the Detention Center, held without bond.   ARRESTED:  Jesse Lee Kennard          …

It has been nearly a quarter of a century since Allegany County lowered the piggyback tax rate- but a $4.2 million budget surplus and a significant increase in income tax revenues has county commissioners president Jake Shade pushing for the cut. For the second consecutive public meeting, Shade discussed lowering the county income tax from 3.05% to 3%. He said the county has spent the last few weeks examining potential problems with implementing such a reduction- and there appears to be no roadblocks in moving forward… As he did two weeks ago, Commissioner David Caporale offered some resistance, saying the…

The funding puzzle for the re-opening and redesign of the downtown mall continues to be pieced together- with city officials voting this week to accept $6.3 million in state grant assistance. The funding is being issued through the Maryland State Highway Administration's Transportation Alternative Program.  Baltimore Street was bricked over and closed to traffic in 1977 to create a pedestrian mall. Total project cost at last estimate is in the ten million dollar range- and that will include installing Baltimore Street; replacing aging underground utility lines and creating a new streetscape that will include trees, shrubs and redesigned parklets. Cumberland…

Local artists partnering with FrostburgFirst will open a new art gallery in Frostburg. Main Street Contemporary located at 18 E Main Street will hold a Grand Opening this Saturday from 12-6pm. Main Street Contemporary will be the only modern art gallery on Main Street with the goal is to bring modern art to the area that will enhance the culture and revitalize the art scene in Frostburg. Elijah Thane is the gallery's featured artist, and co-organizer of the project…

Although no individuals were specifically named, it was clear from the tenor and tone of Thursday’s budget discussion between the board of education and the Allegany County Commissioners that the relationship between the two boards has improved dramatically in recent years. Such sessions during the tenure of the previous school superintendent and board leadership were often contentious but that has not been the case since the change. The improved relationship was noted by commissioners Jake Shade and Creade Brodie Jr…

The LaVale Library is in the midst of a major renovation, and is targeted to eventually become the Allegany County Library System’s flagship site due to its geographically central location within the county. Around the start of last year, renovations on the building started in earnest, with the total project cost estimated to be about $4.5 million. John Taube, director of the library system, says the project has remained on schedule with the library to reopen in the late summer…

Masks are back at some universities due to rising COVID-19 cases at their respective campuses. Johns Hopkins University is reinstating its mask mandate following a spike in COVID-19 cases among students. The school said nearly 100 undergraduate students have tested positive for the virus since the start of the month and that they will test students twice a week through April 22 to combat the rising cases. Georgetown University in Washington is also putting its mask mandate back in place temporarily due to a rise in covid cases.