A look at the latest COVID-19 vaccination numbers locally shows Allegany County lagging significantly behind the rest of the state. To date, more than 26,000 Allegany County residents have received their first dose of a two-dose vaccine against COVID-19 (37.3% of the population), with close to 24,000  of those individuals now fully vaccinated with their second dose (33.9% of the population).  By comparison, the state reported that 56.0% of all Marylanders had received their first dose of a two-dose vaccine, with 50.0% having had both doses. Allegany County Commissioner David Caporale tells WCBC News while he would like to see the…

Talks to find a new location for the Union Rescue Mission were described this week as being “dead in the water." With a need to expand services at the local homeless shelter, city officials in 2019 began exploring options for a possible relocation of the Mission, if a suitable alternate site could be identified. The facility is located at 16 Gulf Memorial Drive, often referred to as Queen City Pavement, and has operated at its downtown location since 1963. With the rescue mission looking for a change of venue in hopes of obtaining additional space for its busy operation- and with the Cumberland…

On 06/22/2021 the Cumberland Police were contacted by the Maryland State Police about a 16 year old female victim who was reporting being assaulted by her 21 year old boyfriend. An interview with the victim revealed that she had been at the boyfriend's residence, located in Cumberland, on 06/20/2021. There was an argument and the boyfriend refused to allow the victim to leave.               Over the course of the next couple of hours the boyfriend assaulted the victim repeatedly by tying her hands together, punching her, choking her, and pulling hair out of her head. Injuries consistent with the…

More than a million Maryland residents are expected to travel on the 4th of July, according to AAA. Road trips will dominate this summer, despite the highest gas prices in seven years. The agency projects 960,000 Marylanders on the road, 67,400 by air and 9,000 by bus, train or cruise. If the projections are accurate, it will be the highest level of Independence Day travel for Marylanders since 2001.      

The Maryland State Fire Marshal is investigating the cause of a fire in Oakland  DATE: June 21, 2021 TIME: 4:44 p.m. LOCATION / ADDRESS:  513 N Street, Mountain Lake Park, Oakland, Garrett County TYPE OF INCIDENT:  basement fire DESCRIPTION OF STRUCTURE / PROPERTY: rancher style residence with basement OWNER / OCCUPANTS: Scott Bittinger / Daniel Hartman INJURIES / DEATHS:  n/a ESTIMATED LOSS – STRUCTURE:   $100,000                                      CONTENTS:  $50,000 SMOKE ALARM STATUS:  present not working FIRE ALARM / SPRINKLER STATUS:  none present ARREST(S):  n/a PRIMARY RESPONDING FIRE DEPARTMENT:  Oakland Volunteer Fire Dept. # OF ALARMS:         1             …

Active COVID-19 cases in West Virginia are expected to drop below 2,000 before the end of the week, according to data trends released Tuesday by the Department of Health and Human Resources.  The state added 245 new cases over a four-day period with active cases now at 2,083. The DHHR confirmed seven new deaths, none of which were in counties in the Mountain Maryland region. Total deaths are now at 2,870.  

Maryland officials have detected more than a half million potentially fraudulent new unemployment insurance claims in the last six weeks and they’re warning Marylanders to watch out for scams. The Department of Labor announced Monday that it has detected more than 508,000 potentially fraudulent new claims since the beginning of May. The state’s investigations have confirmed that 1.3 million flagged claims were fraudulent since the beginning of the pandemic, officials said in a news release. A record number of unemployment insurance claims have been filed during the pandemic and states have faced fraudsters using illegally obtained data to file fraudulent claims,…

Governor Larry Hogan today announced that the COVID-19 ICU census in the State of Maryland has dropped to its lowest level on record. COVID-19 Hospitalizations: 146, ICU Census: 38. COVID-19 hospitalizations have dropped to 146—down 88% since mid-April. The COVID-19 ICU census statewide has dropped below its lowest recorded level of 40, reported on March 26, 2020. Third Consecutive Day Under 50 New Cases. The state is reporting 49 new confirmed cases of COVID-19—the third day in a row under 50 new cases. Positivity Rate Drops To 0.65%. The state is reporting a record-low 7-day COVID-19 positivity rate of 0.65%—down 89% since mid-April….

The Allegany County Health Department will hold a walk-in COVID-19 vaccine clinic on the ground floor of the Willowbrook Office Complex (12501 Willowbrook Road, Cumberland) on Wednesday, June 23 from 9 a.m. to noon.  Both the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccines will be offered to anyone age 18 or older.  No appointment is needed.   “For more than a year now, COVID has kept us all from seeing loved ones and enjoying daily activities,” said Brenda Caldwell, Public Information Officer for the Allegany County Health Department.  “Now that vaccines are widely available, we are starting to see things…

On June 21, 2021, the Cumberland City Police served an Arrest Warrant on Donald Ware, age 48 of Cumberland, Maryland. The Warrant was issued due to a June 19, 2021 investigation into an assault.  Officers learned through their investigation that Ware and the victim had been in a physical altercation on two separate occasions and dates.  Officers were able to obtain evidence of the assault, and subsequently applied for charges in District Court.  A Warrant was then issued charging Ware with assault first degree, two counts of assault second degree, and reckless endangerment.  Ware was then provided his initial appearance…