An Augusta man was sentenced Tuesday to nearly six years in a child pornography case. Jonathan Burgess, 58, pleaded guilty in December to one count of possession of child pornography, admitting to having child pornography images of a minor who hadn’t reached the age of 12 in Hampshire County in September 2019. During a search of Burgess’s phone, investigators reportedly found more than 6,700 child pornography images. A search of his email account found more than 600 additional images, according to prosecutors. After serving the 70 month sentence, Burgess will be on supervised release for 25 years.

In a 12-1 decision, the State Board of Education voted to allow individual school systems to lift mask mandate under certain conditions. Those conditions are either an individual school has at least 80% of its students and staff fully vaccinated, a school's home county has 80% of residents fully vaccinated, or a school's home county's transmission rate falls to moderate or low for at least 14 days. Regulation would go to the ALER committee for final approval.

On Monday, December 6, 2021, at approximately 7:40 AM, officers of the Cumberland Police Department responded to Greenway Avenue in reference to a suspicious subject.  Officers contacted the subject, identified as Ryan Roach, and observed that he appeared to be under the influence of CDS.  After further investigation, officers discovered that Roach was in possession of methamphetamine.  He was arrested and issued a criminal citation.  Roach was released pending trial at the District Court of Allegany County.   ARRESTED:  Ryan Andrew Roach    AGE:  33           Cumberland, MD CHARGES:  CDS Possession-Not Marijuana

Yesterday was initially thought to be a deadline for many to be vaccinated as a condition of their employment, but lawsuits against the requirement have stopped the order for the time being.  West Virginia is part of a group of several states to challenge the mandate.  Attorney General Pat Morrisey says that it will be early next year before the courts will rule on the challenge…

Former Baltimore City District Court judge and ex-first lady of Maryland Katie Curran O'Malley has  announced a run for Attorney General. O'Malley, 59, is quite familiar with attorney generals in Maryland. Her father Joseph Curran (D) was the longest-serving AG in the state from 1987 to 2007. Her husband, Martin O'Malley (D) served two terms as governor of Maryland after having served two terms as Baltimore’s mayor. O'Malley's campaign comes after current Attorney General Brian E. Frosh (D) said he would not seek reelection. Her entry into the race creates an interesting dynamic as Congressman Anthony Brown will also enter the…

In the opening salvo of what will probably be a protracted political battle, Governor  Larry Hogan,  just prior to a special session, accused Democrats of historically “rigging the system” in drawing congressional and legislative maps and called on the Maryland General Assembly to accept new boundary lines drawn by an independent citizen commission. Hogan, a staunch advocate of nonpartisan redistricting, made the comments as he formally received maps from a group he tasked with drawing “fairer” lines in a process he said is typically overseen by “party bosses.”  The Maryland General Assembly plans to convene for a special session Monday…

The 25th annual Let's Beautify Cumberland volunteer lunch was held yesterday. LBC promotes community pride and keeping our community beautiful. Ed Mullaney reviewed the numerous projects the organization is involved in and thanked all the volunteers, the partnership with the Garden Club and United Way as well as city employees. City Council member Rock Cioni and Mayor Ray Morris attended the event echoing thanks for LBC volunteers and the pride the organization brings to the community.

On Saturday, December 4, 2021, the marching bands from Fort Hill and Mountain Ridge High Schools combined to perform Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" during half-time of the Maryland 1A State Football Championship at the Navy-Marine Corps Stadium in Annapolis, MD. This was the first time two bands from Allegany County performed together at a State Championship. Each band had also performed a selection of their choice. Fort Hill performed "Firework", and Mountain Ridge performed "Ain't No Mountain High Enough."

Due to an ongoing network incident at the Maryland Department of Health, the Allegany County Health Department is currently unable to issue birth or death certificates. In a release, the ACHD says, "It is unknown at this time when this issue will be resolved, but we will inform the public when our capability to issue birth and death certificates is restored."

Cumberoland Police and other assistance are at the Virginia Avenue railroad underpass due to a truck being stuck under the bridge. The vehicle was stuck in the northbound lane.  Traffic is advised to detour using the Canal Parkway. The call came in during the 11 AM hour Monday.