Comptroller Peter Franchot today sent a letter to Martin M. Noven, executive director of the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System, urging the agency to immediately divest from any investments in Russian entities. Comptroller Franchot serves as chairman of the MSRPS Board of Trustees. As part of a diverse portfolio, the pension system – directly and indirectly – invests in stocks, holdings and bonds in Russian entities. As of February 18, 2022, the System held $197 million in market value in Russian entities. According to the Pension System’s investment division, the system’s Russian investment portfolio has lost approximately $101 million in…

On Monday, February 28, 2022 at approximately 12:22 PM, an employee at a business on Virginia Avenue reported to a Cumberland police officer that they were receiving complaints about a male and female engaging in a sexual act outside of the business.  Officers contacted the subjects and ordered them to cease their behavior.  The male was identified as Joshua Wright.   Wright randomly shouted despite being repeatedly ordered to stop his behavior.  Wright’s behavior attracted the attention of employees and patrons.  Wright was arrested and a search of his person incident to arrest revealed that he was in possession of CDS…

An arrest has been made after a vehicle chase in the Lonaconing area Sunday afternoon that resulted in a crash.     An Allegany County Sheriff’s Deputy attempted to make a traffic stop for speeding, when the vehicle slowed and then sped away, weaving through traffic before crashing into a tree.   The driver, 22 year old Davonnte Rayshawn Wilson, of Hagerstown, then fled on foot and was later apprehended by assisting officers from Maryland State Police, other deputies and Trooper 5.  A citizen helped by pointing out that Wilson was in a nearby yard.    The officer that made the initial…

There is an old cliché about every dark cloud having a silver lining- and when it comes to the Coronavirus pandemic-  that may come in the form of more people than ever working from home. And that could halt the decades long population decline in the region. With billions of dollars coming from the federal infrastructure bill to upgrade and expand broadband access in rural Allegany and Garrett counties- Governor Larry Hogan says the area could experience a reverse migration. He told WCBC News that he can picture a scenario where more and more people opt to leave large metropolitan areas…

The staff at the West Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind singing the school song Sunday, after a Saturday fire destroyed the administration building in Romney. morning, West Virginia Schools Superintendent Clayton Burch was joined for a briefing by the ATF and Deputy State Fire Marshal Jason Baltic…     Officials would not comment on if there is any indication the fire was either accidental or intentionally set. This is the special agent in charge for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms…  

The Joint Communications Center of Allegany County reports a truck fire on Interate 68 at the 66 miles marker in eastern Allegany County. Fire, EMS and Police units are on the scene.

Allegany County’s COVID-19 case rate continues to decline, dropping from an all-time high of 289.5 cases per 100,000 people in early January to the current rate of 24.75 cases per 100,000 people.  While this downward trend is encouraging, health officials continue to urge the public to stay up-to-date on COVID vaccinations and boosters and exercise common-sense precautions to limit the spread of illness. The Allegany County Health Department offers free COVID-19 vaccinations for individuals ages 12 and older on Wednesdays at the Allegany County Fairgrounds from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.  No appointment is needed for first and second doses…

U.S. Congressman David Trone sent a letter to United States Postal Service (USPS) Inspector General Tammy Whitcomb urging for swift action to address postal delays in Western Maryland. The postal issues in the region have only worsened as a result of the closing of the Cumberland Processing Center in 2012. Now, all mail from Allegany and Garrett County is processed in Baltimore, nearly 150 miles away from Western Maryland. In the letter, Trone highlighted the significant impact these postal delays have on Western Marylanders, who often lack reliable broadband access and rely on the postal service for essential items and…

OnSunday afternoon at around 4:00 PM,, an Allegany County Sheriff’s Deputy was on patrol in the area of Route 36, Lonaconing Maryland, when a vehicle was observed traveling at a high rate of speed. When the Sheriff’s Deputy attempted to conduct a traffic stop of the vehicle, it began to slow as if it were going to stop and then rapidly accelerated away from the patrol vehicle. The suspect vehicle continued north bound on Route 36, accelerating, and making numerous maneuvers to overtake northbound traffic. As the vehicle approached the intersection of Route 36 and Rockville Street, it lost control,…

On Sunday, February 27th, 2022 officers with the Cumberland Police were on the scene of a disturbance on Mechanic St.  While dealing with the situation, a vehicle struck a marked police cruiser that was parked.  Upon contact with the operator, the officer detected signs of impairment.  Field sobriety tests were conducted and based on the results, the operator, Adrienne Marcel Thomas, age 50 of Cumberland, MD was arrested for Driving Under the Influence.    She was released from the police station after being issued several citations.