The Hampshire County Commission has a new director for their county’s animal shelter. Current Director Patty Weakley recently retired and the county was looking for someone to fill the post. Commissioner Brian Eglinger suggested Crystal Connelly to run the shelter who is now in place at their Augusta facility along with assistant Vickie May.
WCBC has learned that the Allegany County Library System and Director John Taube have parted ways. Taube had been at the center of a conflict for months about the possibilities of two libraries in the county being closed due to funding issues. A statement from the library's Board of Trustees is expected later today.
On Tuesday, July 1, 2025 at approximately 9:55 AM, officers of the Cumberland Police Department responded to a residence in the 1000 block of Braddock Rd. for a disturbance. Police arrived and contacted the parties involved. During the investigation, a male identified as Cole McCormick destroyed property belonging to a female who was also on scene. McCormick was placed under arrest and transported to police headquarters. He was issued two criminal citations and released pending trial. ARRESTED: Cole Michael McCormick AGE: 32 Cumberland, MD CHARGES: Malicious Destruction of Property less than $1000, Disturb Peace
At the end of Tuesday night’s Cumberland Mayor and City Council meeting, the City Council announced that they are considering bringing a field house sports complex to the community. Mayor Ray Morriss said the City is currently looking for partners and will report progress as more information becomes available… “There’s been some curiosity about the potential field house sports complex. I just wanted everybody to know that that’s something we’re considering. We’re looking for partners between ourselves and some other city groups and it’s something we’ll be speaking of in the near future. We’ll be keeping you informed on that…
Maryland’s State Highway Administration is rolling out an Emergency Traffic Patrols in Western Maryland. SHA CHART trucks will now patrol Interstate 68 Friday through Sunday as well as holiday Mondays through October 5. Senator Mike McKay said the trucks are used for traffic incident management and to protect first responders, something the rest of the state had, but not Allegany and Garrett Counties… “The reason that we didn’t have one was that 68 there is times where there really isn’t a lot people on the road so they just hadn’t budgeted for it. The Allegany-Garrett County Fire and…
Maryland US Senator Chris Van Hollen quickly issued a video statement following the passage of what he calls the “Big Ugly Betrayal.” The senate passed the bill on a tie-breaker vote from VP JD Vance and now goes back to the House of Representatives. Van Hollen said the bill increases the country’s deficit to over $4 trillion dollars, and will affect everyone… “They just voted to take 17 million of our fellow Americans off their healthcare. They just voted to cut food and nutrition programs. They just voted to increase your electric bills because they crippled the production…
The historic Clinchfield Railroad caboose in front of the Western Maryland Railroad Station has undergone a red, white, and blue “makeover” to celebrate America’s 250th birthday. The Western Maryland chapter of the National Railroad Historical Society owns the caboose and tours are available when the scenic railroad is running. Chapter member Bruce Pfeifer said work on the caboose has been going on for about a week… “First we re-lettered it, re-stenciled it. And now Fischer signs is over there placing stripes - blue and white stripes on her so you’ll have a red, white, and blue caboose that…
Travelers for the July 4th holiday weekend will be upwards of 1.7 million more than last year, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic. This year’s forecast also includes two weekends instead of one. Over a million Marylanders are planning to travel for the holiday. AAA’s Ragina Ali says drivers should take time now to do a pre-trip check of their vehicle… “Make sure your tires are in good shape, your oil, your battery. We, especially with this heat, get lots of calls at AAA for batteries because the heat is very hard on batteries. You typically think about the cold…
With the start of the new fiscal year, Maryland has instituted a number of new taxes or increases of existing taxes. Faced with overcoming a deficit, many of the increases were passed during the 2025 Maryland General Assembly session. Some of the new taxes are tire fees of $5 each when purchased, increased vehicle registration fees, increased taxes on cannabis sales and sports betting, a technology tax, and a tax on purchases from vending machines.
On Monday, June 30, 2025, the Cumberland Police Department served a bench warrant on Bonnie Williams. The warrant was issued as the result of Williams failing to appear in court. Williams was originally charged with DWI by CDS. She was arrested and later seen by a District Court Commissioner for a bond hearing. At the conclusion, Williams was remanded to the Allegany County Detention Center on a $1,500 percentage bond. ARRESTED: Bonnie Eardeen Williams AGE: 47 Cumberland, MD
