WBAL repots three Maryland casinos met the qualification requirements for sports wagering licenses, the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission announced Wednesday. The applications for Horseshoe Casino in Baltimore, Live! Casino & Hotel in Hanover and MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill will next go for final signoff by the Sports Wagering Application Review Commission, which is responsible for awarding the licenses. The three casinos are among 17 entities designated in the sports wagering law to conduct sports wagering operations, pending a review of their qualifications to receive licenses. Marylanders voted for expansion of sports gambling last November, and this…

On Tuesday, October 5th, 2021 the Cumberland Police Department responded to a Bond Street residence for the report of a stabbing.  When officers arrived, they found a male victim that had been beaten and stabbed multiple times.  The male victim was transported to UPMC emergency room with life threatening injuries.  The investigation is on-going and anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Cumberland Police Department at 301-777-1600.  All callers may remain anonymous.

On Tuesday, October 5th, 2021 the Cumberland Police Department served 5 arrest warrants on Jacob Patrick Snyder.  The warrants were issued by District Court for failing to appear for trial on September 24th, 2021 on trespassing and assault charges and violating the conditions of his probation ordered by the court back in October and November, 2020.  He was taken before the District Court Commissioner and was remanded to the Allegany County Detention Center held without bond. Jacob Patrick Snyder, age; 21, Cumberland, Maryland.

Following a hearing in a Tucker County Courthouse in Parsons, West Virginia, Tuesday morning, accused triple murderer Jeffrey Allen Burnham of Cumberland has been sent back to Allegany County to face murder charges. Burnham, 46, is accused of murdering three people last week, one of those in Cumberland. Police said Burnham killed 83-year-old Rebecca Reynolds in Allegany County last Wednesday night, stole her car, drove it to a home on Kerger Drive in Ellicott City and shot and killed his brother and sister-in-law. Burnham was brought back to the county by detectives with the Allegany County Combined Criminal Investigation Unit and appeared before a district court…

Long time educator and community leader Tom Shaffer passed away Saturday at the age of 88. Shaffer was a retired Allegany High School teacher of 26 years and for several years served as president of the teachers union. In addition, during his retirement years, he volunteered at the Interfaith Community Food Pantry, Meals on Wheels, the Cancer Center at Western Maryland Health System and the Allegany Museum. Adrienne Ottaviani, a former School Board member and County Commissioner, is a family friend…

As food prices go up, many Maryland residents are seeing a drastic decrease in their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits and they are worried about how they will feed their families. When the coronavirus pandemic hit, the federal government gave seniors and low income resident supplemental food assistance. Now that's being taken away. One Cumberland woman told WCBC News that she had been receiving more than $300 per month for food- and that has now been cut to $25. The state reports that federal law requires Maryland to return to standard benefit levels, which means all households eligible for…

Health officials say vaccines are the way out of the pandemic, and yet tens of millions of Americans don't know when they'll become eligible for a COVID-19 shot. The Food and Drug Administration announced a series of new meeting dates this month that may shed light on outstanding questions about boosters and shots for young children. Federal regulators said they understand the urgency being felt by many right now, including the roughly 280,000 Marylanders who got one dose of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine and the parents of children who are currently too young to be eligible for a shot….

Blind Industries and Services of Maryland (BISM) Tuesday announced that it will be closing its textile sewing and manufacturing plant located in Cumberland, Maryland, effective October 29, 2021. BISM President Frederick Puente said the decision to close the Cumberland plant came after a careful and strategic review of the crippling reduction of textile contracts available from BISM's federal government customers.  Puente said some of the factors for the plant closing included changes in workforce and demographics in the Cumberland area and persistent decrease in the number of blind workers available for employment in the area. The decision to close the…

Funeral services were held Tuesday for a veteran firefighter/EMT in Allegany County who died last week from complications related to COVID-19.  Kelly William Frye’s death was in the line of duty having contracted the deadly virus in late August while on numerous medical runs involving COVID-positive patients. Frye, 53, was a 25-year veteran of the fire service- beginning his career with the Shaft Volunteer Fire Department before he started serving the city of Cumberland in 1996. During last night’s City Council meeting, Councilman Eugene Frazier read a poem he composed in tribute…

The Cumberland Mayor and City Council made it official Tuesday- appointing Jeffrey F. Silka of Monroeville, Pennsylvania, as the next city administrator of Cumberland. Silka was selected following a six month search to find a replacement for Jeff Rhodes who retired earlier this year. The council also took action to approve Silka’s contract for an initial term of three years with an effective date of Nov. 1, 2021. Silka told WCBC News that Cumberland provides him with an opportunity to experience the best of both worlds…