The Independent Investigations Division (IID) of the Office of the Attorney General is investigating a fatal crash following a traffic stop and police pursuit that occurred Saturday morning in Montgomery County. At approximately 1:30 a.m., a Montgomery County police officer observed a car commit a traffic violation in the area of Rockville Pike and Nicholson Lane in North Bethesda. The officer conducted a traffic stop on the car and while he was at the car, the driver drove away. The officer pursued the car. During the pursuit, the driver lost control of the car and crashed in the 3600 block…

On Friday an officer of the Cumberland Police Department observed a vehicle traveling in the center of the roadway on Greene Street. The officer conducted a traffic stop and contacted the operator, Matthew Alexander. The officer observed signs of impairment and requested Alexander to perform standardized field sobriety tests, which he agreed. After the performance of the tests, the officer observed further evidence of impairment and placed Alexander under arrest. Alexander was later released on citations pending his trial at District Court. Arrest: Matthew Douglas Alexander, age 50, Cumberland Maryland.   Charges: Driving Under the Influence Related Citations.

Allegany County Emergency Services reports a water main break on Church Street in Westernport. Crews responded to the scene Friday night.

An early morning fire reported on the campus of the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and Blind in Romney. According to reports the fire in the administration building of the Main Street school posed no threat to students.  The Cumberland Times News reports the  building also houses the superintendent's residence and school archives. The fire, reported shortly after 6 a.m., engulfed the building shortly thereafter. A porch and wall of the building have collapsed

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) outlined new metrics on Friday which emphasize not only case rates in a community but also hospital capacity in determining whether an area has a high, medium, or low COVID-19 Community Level.  Different prevention steps are recommended based on an area’s COVID-19 Community Level.  More than 70% of the U.S. population now falls in the low or medium classification.  Currently, Allegany County is the only county in Maryland classified at a high COVID-19 community level.  Garrett, Washington, Wicomoco, Somerset, and Worcester Counties are in the medium classification, while the remainder of the…

Western Maryland continues to have some of the worst COVID-19 numbers in the state. The Maryland Department of Health on Friday reported 672 new COVID-19 cases, 15 additional deaths and 21 fewer hospitalizations across the state in the past 24 hours. The seven-day moving average case rate per 100,000 people was 10.35 statewide, 32.99 in Garrett County, 31.04 in Allegany County — the highest jurisdictions in Maryland. The daily COVID-19 case rate was 2.78% statewide, 11.55% in Garrett County, 7.53% in Allegany County — the highest jurisdictions in Maryland. Garrett County had the lowest COVID-19 vaccination rate of any jurisdiction…

Maryland voters would decide whether to legalize recreational marijuana in November, under a bill approved by the House of Delegates on Friday. The House voted 96-34 for the constitutional amendment, sending it to the Senate. The House also voted 92-37 for a separate bill that includes initial steps that would be taken if voters approve. However, issues relating to licensing and taxation would be taken up by lawmakers next year.  The Senate is considering a separate bill that would put a regulatory framework in place sooner without a constitutional amendment.  Under the House legislation, recreational marijuana for adults 21 and…

Maryland's senior senator joined WBAL Friday to offer his thoughts on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. While appearing on WBAL Radio, Sen. Ben Cardin says the world can't trust Russian President Vladimir Putin, "You can't trust what he says. Look at what he does. Not what he says." Russian troops bore down on Ukraine’s capital Friday, with gunfire and explosions resonating ever closer to the government quarter, in an invasion of a democratic country that has fueled fears of a wider war in Europe and triggered worldwide efforts to make Russia stop. Cardin, who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,…

The Allegany County Board of Education has scheduled a special meeting for Tuesday afternoon where it is expected a vote will be taken to lift the mask mandate in schools. On Friday, the Maryland General Assembly's Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review voted to lift the statewide school mask mandate. That vote came  three days after the Maryland state Board of Education voted to make masking a local issue. The committee's vote paved the way for local board’s to set their own policy. While a number of sources have told WCBC News that there are three board members ready…

On 2/25/22 at 2:50 pm staff at Washington Middle School in Cumberland received a phone call claiming that there was a bomb at the school.   The school was in the process of dismissal and Officers with the Cumberland Police Department responded to the school to investigate.   While at the school a second call was received stating that an assault on the school was imminent.   Cumberland Police Officers assisted by the Allegany County Sheriff’s Office and the Maryland State Police then provided security while students were safety evacuated and moved to Fort Hill High School where further security was provided while…