The Allegany County Commissioners Thursday approved two million dollars to enable significant development for businesses in the downtown core of Cumberland, Frostburg, as well as Main Streets in other municipalities across Allegany County. “Invest Allegany” is a one-time project funded by Allegany County Government with the goal being to create long term value in the community. The program relies on a loan to grant model that will offer forgiveness of loans after 12 months pending the completion of benchmarks. No repayment is required during the first year of the program while construction and upgrades are taking place. The program will…

Today, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin (both D-Md.) urged President Joe Biden to take immediate action to finalize regulations addressing the threat of unserialized firearms – commonly referred to as “ghost guns” – to prevent violence and save lives in Maryland and across the nation. Following an incident last week at Magruder High School in Montgomery County, Maryland, in which a student allegedly shot and critically injured a classmate with a ghost gun and with the number of ghost guns used in crimes across Maryland increasing dramatically since 2019, Senators Van Hollen and Cardin reiterated the need…

The Cumberland Times News reports a city woman was left homeless late Wednesday after fire broke out in the kitchen of her residence at 510 Sheridan Place. According to Cumberland Fire Department Chief  Shannon Adams,  Suzanne Pancake was uninjured in the fire that she reported to the Allegany County 911 center at 9:56 p.m. First-arriving Cumberland firefighters found smoke pouring from the kitchen on the first floor of the two-story dwelling.  The fire was confined to the kitchen and knocked down about 10 minutes after firefighters arrived. Fifteen city firefighters were on the scene for nearly three hours.  Smoke and heat…

Ben Roethlisberger announced his retirement Thursday morning after 18 seasons in the NFL. The longtime Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback made the anticipated announcement via Twitter, officially marking the end of one of the most decorated careers in NFL history.

Due to inclement weather, all Allegany County Public Schools are operating on a two hour delay for Thursday, January 27, 2022. 

On January 26th, 2022 officers of the Cumberland Police Department served an Arrest Warrant on Roy Sheetz. The Arrest Warrant was issued by the District Court stemming from a firearms investigation. Sheetz was placed under arrest and taken before a District Court Commissioner where he was held on $5,000. Arrest: Roy Earl Sheetz, age 42, Buffalo Mills Pennsylvania. Charges: Illegal Possession of a Regulated Firearm, Loaded Handgun on Person.   On January 26th, 2022 officers of the Cumberland Police Department served an Arrest Warrant on Terrance Peterson. The Arrest Warrant was issued by the District Court stemming from a firearms…

With vaccination numbers still lagging in some parts of the state, Comptroller Peter Franchot has proposed a COVID-19 vaccine passport. The passport would be required in Maryland for  people entering businesses such as restaurants and bars. The proposal is not without issues, such as logistic concerns of requiring businesses to screen customers; and the question about what would happen if customers ignore the regulation and police are called. While Maryland has some of the best vaccination rates in the nation, unfortunately Allegany and Garrett counties remain below 50%, and Franchot says that continues to be a problem…

During Wednesday’s meeting of the Board of Public Works, Governor Larry Hogan provided an update on the state’s progress during the COVID-19 state of emergency, and continued to urge Marylanders to get boosted for maximum protection against the Omicron variant. Now three weeks since he declared a state of emergency, Hogan noted that the numbers are continuing to move in the right direction and Maryland has emerged as a leader in dealing with the pandemic…

The Allegany County Health department reports that free KN95 masks have been restocked and are available at the Willowbrook Office Complex (WOC) during regular business hours (8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday).  Additionally, KN95 masks will be available at Allegany County Library System branches beginning Monday, January 31 during the library’s regular business hours.  Library branch hours vary by location and can be found online. Quantities of KN95 masks are limited to fifteen per person. There was some confusion caused by a brief supply issue on Monday with some people unable to get masks immediately- with distribution briefly…