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. 

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 boards to set their own policy. While a number of sources have told WCBC News that there are three board members ready…

Allegany County officials received a preliminary overview of the FY 2023 operating budget- and headed by a surplus of $4.2 miilion-  the fiscal news presented during a brief work session was overwhelmingly positive. County Administrator Jason Bennett, who also heads up the county’s finance office, briefed the county commissioners on the budget projections for the upcoming fiscal year starting with an impressive hike in property assessments… More good news came from a rise in income tax revenue- something that Bennett described as surprising…

During a news conference this week, West Virginia Governor Jim Justice used much of his time with a focus on the nation’s energy policies, saying the Biden administration needs to do a “reset” on its thinking about energy.  The governor said the situation with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine shows how energy can be weaponized, and it was the time for the Biden administration to revisit its energy policies, including its halting of the Keystone pipeline…

In December of 2019, Allegany County officials signed a contract extension through 2022 with racing promoter Todd Brode- however the county announced Thursday it is now looking for a new group to run the show.  Brode’s organization, The Greater Cumberland Raceway, began managing dirt track auto racing at the Allegany County Fairgrounds in 2017- and had hoped to operate through at least this year. However the three-year extension was signed just months before the Coronavirus pandemic hit the region-  resulting in sporadic race schedules and smaller crowds.  With the racing season traditionally beginning  in April, County Administrator Jason Bennett tells WCBC News a request for proposals for…

The head of the teachers union in Maryland says the staffing shortage issues have reached crisis level.  At a virtual press conference MSEA President Cheryl Bost was joined by state lawmakers and educators from across the state to highlight  legislative efforts to combat staffing shortages and improve educator retention and burnout. Bost said that educators in all school positions statewide are experiencing a crisis with unprecedented staffing shortages, unmanageable workloads, and climbing levels of burnout. A majority of Maryland educators report that classes are so large, stress levels so high, and staffing shortages so prevalent that they are more likely…