18-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse was found not guilty on all counts today, in a highly publicized murder trial in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Rittenhouse was found not guilty of First Degree Reckless Homicide, two counts of First Degree Recklessly Endangering Safety,  First Degree Intentional Homide, and First Degree Attempted Intentional Homicde.   Judge Bruce Schroeder gave the seven women and five men who decided the fate of Kyle Rittenhouse tha thanks of the court, and said if issues regarding personal safety would arise, they would have protection. Stay tuned to WCBC for reacction…  

The Western Maryland Scenic Railroad announced today that steam engine 1309 has passed inspection by the Federal Railroad Administration. A multi million dollar restoration of the Baldwin Steam engine has been underway for several years.  Board President Mike McKay gave us the heads up, and we were able to take photos of the first run, which included stops at the Western Maryland Station, Helmstetter's Curve at Csh Valley Road, and the Frostburg Depot.

After the U.S. has expanded the availability of COVID-19 boosters to all adults, Gov. Larry Hogan has announced Maryland will follow suit. “As of today, Maryland has already administered more than 800,000 booster shots," Hogan said in a news release. "We are immediately expanding our campaign further to include all adults.  As the holiday season approaches, with more travel and more gatherings, we are encouraging all Marylanders to get a booster shot and maintain their immunity. The state has a robust network of vaccination providers, and we continue to have both the supply and the capacity to provide a booster…

On Thursday, at approximately 2:15 p.m., the Cumberland Police Department responded to a reported motor vehicle crash on Industrial Boulevard at Lamont Street.  Upon officers’ arrival to the crash scene, they observed a white Chevrolet Malibu being operated by an adult female and a blue Chevrolet Silverado being operated by an adult male, both of these vehicles were involved in the crash.   Contact was made with the operators; the female stated that she was traveling on E. Industrial Boulevard when the Chevrolet Silverado pulled out in front of her from Lamont Street.  The Chevrolet Silverado was towing a trailer and…

The Cumberland Times News reports a Moorefield Police officer and a suspect suffered gunshot wounds Thursday afternoon when police arrived at a Clay Street property regarding "a wanted subject in the residence”. According to Moorefield Police, Cpl. Tyler Robinette and the suspect were taken by ambulance to Grant Memorial Hospital in Petersburg following the 2:45 p.m. incident. Police did not indicate the extent of injures to the wounded officer or the suspect, who was reportedly shot once in the abdomen as he was reportedly armed and continuing to struggle with Robinette and Moorefield Police Lt. Melody Burrows, who fired the shot…

The Allegany County Commissioners on Thursday announced a deal that will lead to a new FedEx distribution center in the Mexico Farms area. During the regular public meeting, the commissioners approved an action to partner with Jones Development of Kansas City to build a 193,000 square foot facility on 40 acres with the county providing $3 million from the Revolving Loan Fund. The facility will also provide over 200 new jobs in Allegany County. Jones Development will lease the property to FedEx Ground to operate a distribution center.  Jeffrey Barclay, the county's Director of Economic & Community Development, said landing…

Cumberland officials remain committed to constructing a new skate park- with Jaycees Field off of Furnace Street viewed as the preferred location of a group of advocates working on the project. Although that site is considered a floodplain- city officials  feel they may be able to work around that issue. The park would cost an estimated $360,000 to $450,000 and the group says they have received a commitment from the county to provide $250,000 for the effort. Mayor Ray Morriss said the group is in the process of seeking and securing additional avenues of funding- and have discussed creating a community…

Allegany County Public School employees have been notified that the system will soon begin to identify their COVID-19 vaccination status.  All employees will be required to declare their vaccination status to the Human Resources office, the deadline to enter employee information is November 24th. The memo was sent to employees on the same day that OSHA put the Biden administration's COVID-19 vaccine mandate on hold after being told by a court last week that it must do so. School Board President Crystal Bender says unfortunately there has been little to no direction on this matter coming from the state…           …

Despite $4.1 trillion for roads;  $409 million for bridges and $100 million targeted to expand broadband in the state- not all Maryland officials are pleased with President Biden’s “Build Back Better” Infrastructure bill.  WBAL reports that once again there seems to be a partisan split with most Democrats enthusiastic with the dollars that will be coming to the state- while many Republicans are expressing concern. Maryland’s lone Republican representative, Congressman Andy Harris said the plan will see inflation spike- and citizens stuck with the bill for years to come…

Governor  Larry Hogan has announced that Maryland has surpassed 9 million COVID-19 vaccinations, counting first, double, single and booster shots. Maryland reports 9,028,641 vaccinations, including 779,438 booster shots. To date, 99.4% of Marylanders 65 and older have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine while 87.7% of Marylanders 18 and older have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine…