According  to the Garrett County Sheriff’s Office, the investigation of an alleged rape in Swanton resulted in the arrest of a LaVale man Sunday. James Walter Booth IV, 31, was arrested on a warrant charging him with first- and second-degree rape, first- and second-degree assault, false imprisonment and theft. Following a bond hearing and bail review, Booth remained jailed without bond Tuesday at the Garrett County Detention Center. A preliminary or show-cause hearing is scheduled Sept. 8 in district court. The warrant was issued following an investigation at a Swanton residence on Lower White Oak Road by sheriff's office patrol…

The cause of a May 3 fire that claimed the life of 25-year-old Daryl Blank at his Simpson Avenue residence in LaVale will “most likely be left undetermined,” according to the Maryland State Fire Marshal’s Office. The fire occurred about 6:50 a.m. at 1104 Simpson Ave., where Blank lived in a second-floor apartment. The structure also housed an apartment on the first floor, but no occupants were home at the time of the incident. State fire investigators “cannot rule out discarded smoking materials as the cause” said Alkire, a senior deputy state fire marshal.

A couple of weeks ago, the COVID health metrics map in West Virginia showed all but one county in the green. Today, as the result of the Delta Variant, case numbers are on the rise, and officials are scrambling to get more people vaccinated. Dr. Clay Marsh had some sobering statistics for a news briefing that was covered by WCBC… Monday's map had some good news for our local area, as Mineral and Grant Counties remained in the green, with Hampshire, Hardy and Morgan Counties in the slightly elevated designation of yellow.

A big day for information at the West Virginia COVID-19 media briefing. After he displayed a map that showed many bordering states with high infection rates, WCBC asked Governor Jim Justice if he was considering travel restrictions or recommending quarantine measures for those visiting hot spots… As a followup, WCBC asked General Jim Hoyer if the state had concerns that the fast advance of the Delta Variant had the potential to overrun hospital resources in the Mountain State…

Another Mountain Maryland lawmaker is not running for re-election. District 1A Delegate Wendell Beitzel tells WCBC News that he is retiring at the end of his current term. Beitzel has represented Garrett County and Western Allegany County since 2006, when he won a five person Republican primary to replace George Edwards, who opted to run for the State Senate… Beitzel's retirement does not come as a surprise, as he told WCBC at PACE five years ago he was seriously considering not running in 2018.  

At about 5:00 A.M. on August 9, 2021, Hampshire County 911 received a call of a single vehicle crash near the intersection of U.S. Rt. 50 and A.A. Roger’s Road. The investigation revealed a 2008 Chrysler Sebring ran off the roadway, struck the guardrails, a brick pillar, and a tree, before coming to a stop. The driver was identified as a 57 year old female from Berkeley County, WV. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. The identity of the driver is being withheld until next of kin is notified. Hampshire County EMS and Augusta and…

Allegany County’s COVID-19 case rate has reached 15.62 cases per 100,000 residents, the county’s highest rate in several months.   The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report the level of COVID community transmission for every county in the United States.  Community transmission is marked as either low, moderate, substantial, or high.  CDC reported that Allegany County had moderate community transmission last week and today, Allegany County has substantial community transmission.   The Allegany County Health Department continues to offer free COVID-19 vaccinations every Wednesday on the ground floor of the Willowbrook Office Complex, 12501 Willowbrook Road, Cumberland.   From 9 a.m….

The Joint Communications Center of Allegany County has dispatched police, fire and EMS uits to the Mexico Rarms Road area of Route 51 for a motor vehicle collision.

Maryland District 1A Delegate Wendell Beitzel announced today that he would not seek reelection in 2022.  He released the following statement: "Please be informed that I have decided not to seek reelection to the Maryland House of Delegates for District 1A for a fifth term in 2022. After considerable deliberation and consultation with family members and friends, I have concluded it is time to retire after serving out my fourth term as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates. I first ran to seek election to the House of Delegates in 2006 after the former Delegate George Edwards, now…

During the regular work session of the Cumberland Mayor and City Council, a proposal to add a splash pad at Constitution Park sparked a more broad discussion on possible overall upgrades and improvements to the facility. A splash pad, which is essentially a spray pool and play area, could carry a price tag between $400,000 and $600,000 depending on which location is chosen. Meanwhile acting city administrator Ken Tressler said that while a recent site visit revealed to him just how much work and repair is needed at the park- it also showed how much potential exists in what is…