After 33 years on the job, Richard “Doc” Daugherty will be retiring next month as president of Chessie Federal Credit Union. First hired at Chessie in 1987, Daugherty was named president in 1991. He tells WCBC News that 2020 was a challenging year not only because of the Coronavirus pandemic, but also because Chessie merged with Al-Gar Federal Credit Union. He said the changes in the financial industry have been tremendous during his tenure…   Chessie was selected by Forbes in 2020 as one of the top three credit unions in Maryland and operates nine branches in Cumberland, LaVale and Frostburg and Keyser and Grafton, West…

The fear of contracting the coronavirus apparently is leading many people in the area choosing to hold off on seeking necessary medical attention – even in emergency situations. As a result, the Allegany County Emergency Services Department has initiated a public awareness campaign urging county residents to act quickly when experiencing any health issues. EMS Director James Pyles tells WCBC News that EMS and hospital personnel are taking every available precaution to insure a COVID free, sanitary  environment…  

After receiving an initial round of 500 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine Monday morning, an additional 1,400 are expected to arrive arrived at UPMC Western Maryland Wednesday. UPMC Western Maryland President Barry Ronan joined WCBC’s ‘Dave Norman Show” on Tuesday to discuss the rollout of the vaccine, noting that initial vaccinations of prioritized frontline staff began immediately. He said however that not every frontline staff member has opted to receive the vaccine, which Ronan says is their prerogative…   If a health care worker opts not to receive the vaccine now, they will quickly be rescheduled to receive it if and when they…

On Sunday, December 20, 2020, the Frostburg City Police Department learned that the skier decoration was vandalized in that the head of the skier decoration was missing and appeared to have been broken off. The incident was widely shared on social media. On Monday, December 21, 2020, a concerned citizen reported to police that they had seen a video on social media of the vandalism incident in progress. The video had since been deleted, but the concerned citizen provided the information they had about the video. Police conducted a follow-up investigation, which involved interviews, obtaining a copy of the video…

West Virginia reported a single-day record of 42 deaths linked to the coronavirus on Tuesday, with victims ranging in ages from 48 to 100. The state reported 787 confirmed coronavirus cases, down from a high of 1,257 last week. There are 22,864 active cases in the state. West Virginia has received nearly 21,100 doses of a coronavirus vaccine so far, administering over 15,900. Gov. Jim Justice said on Monday a combined 44,300 doses of vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech will arrive this week. Officials expect to administer doses at all nursing homes and long-term care centers by the end of…

Governor Hogan says he still plans to get his COVID-19 vaccine shot on camera but doesn't want to jump ahead of first responders and front-line health care workers. The 64-year-old Hogan is a cancer survivor and thus considered to be someone at high risk of severe illness should he contract the virus. The governor told WBAL he expects to get the shot "sometime after the first of the year." The Food and Drug Administration has granted emergency use authorizations to two vaccines, while others are still in development. Hogan also said he is taking his own advice by not welcoming his extended family…

Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh today joined a coalition of 12 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in support of environmental groups’ challenge to the Keystone XL Pipeline.  The Keystone XL Pipeline relies on Nationwide Permit 12 (permit), which broadly authorizes the construction of oil and gas pipelines across bodies of water.  However, the coalition argues that the permit is invalid as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) was required to engage in programmatic consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Marine Fisheries…

Governor Larry Hogan issued the following statement after Congress passed a COVID-19 relief package: “After more than eight months of pushing to get this done, I am relieved that Congress has finally passed a COVID-19 relief bill to help struggling families and small businesses. This took much longer than it should have, and the delays were inexcusable. “While it does not do enough, this bill delivers on a number of top Maryland priorities. It provides critical resources for vaccine distribution, rental assistance, and K-12 education, while extending unemployment insurance programs. For small businesses, the bill extends the Paycheck Protection Program,…

UPMC Western Maryland Health System President Barry Ronan joined WCBC’s ‘Dave Norman Show” Tuesday to discuss the roll out of the COVID-19 vaccine…  

All Allegany County Public Schools will dismiss 3 hours early tomorrow, Wednesday, December 23, 2020. Please note that students will engage in synchronous learning through Schoology in the morning, but there will be no asynchronous learning in the afternoon, and teachers will not have office hours. Schools will be CLOSED for Christmas break Thursday, December 24, 2020, through Sunday, January 3, 2021. Schools will REOPEN for virtual learning on Monday, January 4, 2021. In addition, the Helpdesk will also be closed for Christmas break during this same time period.