The Mayor and City Council of Cumberland will be sponsoring another COVID-19 test event for employees of Cumberland businesses this Wednesday, December 16th. All employees working at businesses within Cumberland are eligible for the test, which will be administered by PharmaCare staff, at no cost to themselves or to their employer. The testing event will be conducted indoors from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Constitution Park. Mayor Ray Morriss said that testing is more important than ever, particularly given the news that the coronavirus vaccine will be delayed somewhat in getting to this part of the state…   Employers located within…

The implementation of virtual learning became fodder for debate this past week, with the Allegany County Commissioners and the Board of Education exchanging barbs on the subject. It began when the commissioners read a letter from School Board President Tammy Fraley challenging county officials to step up in dealing with the current COVID spike in the area. That prompted interim County Administrator Jason Bennett, who has children in the public school system, to suggest the board is failing with it’s virtual learning program and that there are obvious deficiencies.  A few days later, board vice president Deb Frank, although not mentioning any…

West Virginia Governor Jim Justice announced the latest deaths in the state to begin his regular virtual COVID-19 briefing, also noting that the vast majority of the state’s counties are now “red” or “orange” on the color coded map and that record highs of hospitalizations and ICU patients have again been set. Justice said that trying to keep the state open has been a challenge but added that while a shutdown might help reduce the numbers somewhat, the consequences of doing so outweigh the benefits…

The District 1 Legislative Delegation is scheduled to have an "emergency meeting" with Maryland Department of Health officials Monday morning at 8 AM concerning the roll out of COVID-19 vaccine. Acting Secretary Dennis Shrader responded to a letter sent by the local delegation Sunday, but the letter did not address why local hospitals are not included with the roll out of the Pfizer vaccine, which is currently underway. The local COVID-19 infection rate is among the highest in the nation, and Friday, Allegany County Commissioners President Jake Shade said he had not gotten an adequate explanatoin as why UPMC Western…

The Allegany County Joint Communications Center reports a tractor trailer with a brake fire on Interstate 68 at the Johnson Street exit in Cumberland. The right lane was closed as of 7:00 PM.  The lane was reopened at 7:30 PM/

The West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) has posted the Dec. 12, 2020, Saturday Education Map that determines which counties will hold in-person and blended instruction. The map is developed with information from the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) and vetted by the COVID-19 Data Review Panel. The weekly updates are posted at https://wvde.us/reentrymetrics. County plans should be reviewed for additional requirements. Red (Substantial Community Transmission): Counties must move to remote learning. Staff may report to their schools, as determined by the county. Essential support services, including special education and meals, will continue. Red counties include: Berkeley…

On December 12, 2020 at 3:56 am, the Cumberland Police responded to the 200 block of Memorial Avenue for a suspicious complaint.When officers arrived they located a silver vehicle being operated by Rebecca Taylor, age 37 of Ridgeley, West Virginia. When officers contacted Taylor, they observed a large amount of yard ornaments and various decorations within the vehicle. Officers spoke to the complainant who described seeing Taylor attempting to steal items from a yard in the 200 block of Memorial Avenue. Officers were able to locate one victim who discovered items were in fact stolen from their yard. Officers further…

The Joint Communications Center of Allegany County dispatched police, fire and EMS units to westbound Interstate 68 west of Rocky Gap State Park for an accident involving a tractor trailer. The road was closed for much of the 9:00 PM hour.

The District 1 Legislative Delegation has written to Maryland Governor Larry Hogan about a story you heard about first on WCBC. With the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is ready roll out in the coming week, it appears none of the first round of that vaccine is headed to Mountain Maryland, which has one of the highest Coronavirus infection rates in the nation. Our area will receive some of the initial roll out of the Moderna vaccine, should emergency authorization be given by the FDA. The delegation wants to know why our area has to wait until later. Calls to the Hogan…

All five of the West Virginia counties in the WCBC listening area have been classified in the red, according to the Department of Health and Human Resources daily health map for Saturday. The rate of infection per 100,000 has Mineral at 152 Grant at 148 Hardy at 121 Hampshire at 95 and Morgan at 77.5. The daily positiv ity rate for Mineral is 10.7, Grant at 12.8, Hardy at 9.0, Hampshire at 12.6, and Morgan at 8.5. In Pennsylvania, the metrics provided are different, but in cases per 100,000, Bedford is a 4,764 with Somerset at 4,136.