The 101st year of the Allegany County Fair opens on Friday at the fairgrounds off McMullen Highway. Reithoffer Shows will once again be filling the midway with over 20 rides and attractions, including the return of the Banshee roller coaster.  Fair Manager Kevin Kamauf tells WCBC that on Sunday there is a special way to save on the cost of rides beginning at 5pm…     “If you want to ride the rides on Sunday and you bring three cans of food and make a donation to the food bank, you can ride all evening for $15.”

The Allegany County Commissioners appointed Roger Bennett as the new director of the County’s emergency services.  Bennett has served as interim director since last October when former director, Jim Pyles, retired.  Bennett served in the U.S. Navy for 23 years, worked for the Maryland Department of Emergency Management for three years, and has been with Allegany County since 2009.  At Thursday night's commissioner meeting, Bennett thanked the commissioners for entrusting him with this new position… “I really appreciate your confidence and approval of making me your next director of Emergency Services, but over the last eight months, all the work,…

The Western Maryland Scenic Railroad was recently gifted a historic executive office car from the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.  Wes Heinz, director of WMSR, says the car is fully equipped and operable with original mahogany walls.  Heinz says the car is a unique addition to the railroad and the community…     “To be able to capture these little vignettes of history and know that they are going to be accessible to our people in our region, in Allegany County and Cumberland, it’s very unique.  There are very few of these cars left intact and certainly operable in the nation,…

Maryland 6th District Congresswoman April McClain Delaney spoke exclusively with WCBC Thursday about the recently passed budget reconciliation package. She called the cuts a “tsunami” that would affect families, seniors and farmers in Allegany and Garrett Counties. She was particularly concerned about Medicaid and other health cuts…     “With these draconian cuts that are happening across the board, what we’re going to see is not only an impact on the ability for many of our seniors to have that health care, but it’s going to impact our rural hospitals.”

West Virginia House Democrats recently shared priorities regarding jobs, flood prevention, healthcare, and other issues facing the Mountain State. Minority Leader Sean Hornbuckle spoke of roadblocks in Charleston due to a Republican super-marjority. Hornbuckle says the state needs balance to serve the people, especially in the area of flood relief…     “Our president’s plan is to probably do away with FEMA and that’s the same FEMA that back in 2016 under President Barak Obama and that federal administration pumped $400 million into the state of West Virginia. It helped families; it helped put lives back together. We have to…

Governor Wes Moore has announced an additional $1 million in Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program funds for families in Garrett and Allegany Counties. The funds will support emergency furnace and hot water heater repairs and replacements for eligible households affected by May’s severe flooding.  Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program rules allow the use of emergency funds in response to natural disasters to ensure energy-related health and safety needs.

The Cumberland Economic Development Corporation received a $450,000 grant from the state of Maryland this week.  The Maryland Business-Ready Sites Program helps defray costs for site development and marketing.  The money will go toward the CEDC’s Messick Road development in Cumberland.  Director Matt Miller says the total of the project is around $1.5 million and this grant gets them just shy of halfway…     “This grant is about 30% of the funding total, but it will be a strong proponent.  All the grants require matching funds, so the fact that we have funding already committed to it makes us…

Several improvements are planned at Acrisure Stadium and its surroundings in Pittsburgh as the city will host the 2026 NFL draft.  Concession stands at the stadium will receive over three million dollars in upgrades.  The Steelers also are planning to install a 10,000-12,000-square-foot artificial turf field for youth athletes on the south lawn beside the stadium. The field will be used for programs during Steelers games and other events hosted at the Stadium, including the draft.  Pennsylvania launched a $3.4 million upgrade for Point State Park, which will play host to a portion of the draft programming. Market Square is…

Three members of the Zizians cult, arrested in Allegany County in February, have now been awarded a joint trial. The three, Jack “Ziz” LaSota, Michelle Zajko and Daniel Blank face numerous charges locally and are also part of a federal investigation involving the murder of a border patrol agent. A trial date has not been set, but is expected to last at least two weeks. The Zizian group has been linked to five other killings in three states in recent years.

Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown and Comptroller Brooke Lierman will join Congresswoman April McClain Delaney this evening to take questions from Marylanders about impacts from the recently passed “Big Beautiful Bill.”  The three will answer questions from constituents, and share how they plan to defend state and federal programs that have seen cuts.  The takes place in Montgomery County beginning at 5:30pm and will stream on the congresswoman’s Facebook page.