On Wednesday, August 18th, 2021 the Cumberland Police Department served a District Court warrant on Robert Eugene Whitacre III charging him with first degree assault, second degree assault, and reckless endangerment.  The warrant was issued in reference to an incident that occurred on August 2nd, 2021 at a Grand Avenue residence when police responded to assist the Cumberland Fire Department with a possible overdose.  When officers arrived, they learned by speaking with a female victim that she had actually been assaulted by Robert Eugene Whitacre to the point that made her black out and go into a seizure.  The female…

On Wednesday, August 18th, 2021 the Cumberland Police Department responded to City Hall on Liberty Street for the report of a male causing a disturbance inside of the building. when officers arrived, they learned the male, later identified as Woodrow Matthew Dean, had already left but prior to leaving, he was caused a disturbance and demanded to see the Mayor.  Employees informed Dean that the Mayor was not in the building and he became irate, started yelling, and disturbed others in the building.  Officers were able to locate Dean in the immediate area and place him under arrest.  He was…

According to the census data released last week- Western Maryland took the biggest hit when it comes to population decline. According to the 2020 U.S. Census data, while the state saw a 7% increase in population- jurisdictions in the western region and on the Eastern Shore saw significant losses in during the past ten years. Allegany County's population dropped by about 9%, from 75,087 to 68,106, and Garrett County’s population dropped by about 4%, from 30,097 to 28,806. Allegany County Commissioners President Jake Shade…

DelFest 2021 is scheduled for September 23rd through the 26th at the Allegany County Fairgrounds- however with COVID-19 numbers on the rise- health and safety protocols are still being finalized. The festival, which had to be cancelled last year as a result of the pandemic, is one of the more popular events in the region attracting thousands from every part of the United States and other countries. DelFest representatives will be joining WCBC’s “Dave Norman Show” to discuss the latest. Last week festival organizers, via the Facebook page, announced that a COVID compliance officer had been hired and that they…

During Wednesday’s virtual COVID-19 briefing, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice reported that there are now more than 7,500 COVID-19 cases in the state and once again implored anyone who has not yet been vaccinated to do so-  and to do so immediately…

Governor Larry Hogan announced Wednesday that all Maryland nursing home and hospital employees must get vaccinated against COVID-19 or be subject to regular testing. The governor said there is concern about rising cases at the state's nursing homes. Effective immediately, the Maryland Department of Health is issuing new vaccination protocols for all of the 227 nursing homes and all hospitals in the state, requiring every employee to provide proof of vaccination or be subject to regular testing. All employees will be required to get their first shot by Sept. 1…

With Cumberland City Councilman Seth Bernard announcing this week that he will resign his seat effective September 8th- the city has immediately begun the process of identifying potential candidates to fill the vacancy. Candidates who are interested in filling this vacancy must be twenty-one (21) years of age and a citizen of the United States at the time of his or her appointment, and must be a resident of the city of Cumberland for one (1) year immediately preceding his or her appointment. The Mayor and Council will accept letters of interest through Friday, September 3. The submission letters should…

With a record-breaking $1.3 billion in contribution to the state of Maryland from its lottery program and six casinos- including Rocky Gap-  the programs have beaten their previous profit record by 12.5% ($80 million). Lottery sales reached a new record of $2.6 billion, surpassing the previous mark set in FY2019 by $414 million (18.8%). While generating $1.7 billion in gaming revenue, casinos contributed $723.5 million to the state, a 0.8% increase from the previous record for state contributions set in FY2019. Maryland Lottery and Gaming Director John Martin said the casino numbers are impressive considering that many were shut down…

Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh this week announced the membership of the Access to Counsel in Evictions Task Force, which will take effect starting October 1st.   The task force, created by an act of the General Assembly, will be responsible for evaluating the provision of services under HB 18, studying potential funding sources, and making recommendations to improve the implementation of the access to counsel program, including necessary policy and statutory changes. Frosh told WBAL that that landlords have a tremendous advantage over tenants in most cases that end up in court- primarily because many of those people facing eviction…

West Virginia University will begin fall semester classes began this week with a mask mandate. WVU announced that for the next 30 days “masks will be required for all those in classrooms, teaching and research labs on all campuses – regardless of vaccination status.” WVU Vice President for Strategic Initiatives Rob Alsop said the university’s leadership team made the move after considering the growth of the Delta variant in the state, the move toward vaccination boosters and the lack of participation by students, faculty and staff in the university’s vaccination verification program. While setting a goal of 80% vaccination rates-…