In February, shortly before the Coronavirus Pandemic brought most things to a halt, some controversy had been brewing about the possibility of Allegany County no longer funding the local opportunity scholarship program. It now appears those dollars will be remaining at least for one more year.  Allegany County receives a 3.75% share of the revenue accrued each month from electronic gaming at Rocky Gap Casino Resort. Those funds are deposited into the Rocky Gap Local Impact Fund and subsequently dispersed to local nonprofits by Allegany County. The largest beneficiaries of the funding have been local fire and emergency medical service…

Mail-in voting will play a major role in the November 3rd general election but those individuals who prefer the more traditional method will have that option – albeit with fewer voting centers. Diane Loibel, Allegany County Board of Elections administrator, said the voting centers have been were instituted due to coronavirus concerns.  Instead of casting ballots at the precincts normally used by voters, Loibel said six voting centers will be made available — Allegany, Fort Hill and Mountain Ridge high schools, Westmar Middle School, Flintstone Volunteer Fire Department and the Allegany County Office Complex on Kelly Road. She cautions, however, that those…

While there is growing support for an alternate, modular structure to replace the Washington Street Bridge- that won’t necessarily put the project on a fast track. Delegate Jason Buckel calls the inaction ridiculous. Buckel was among those on hand at a recent rally designed to shine a light on the lack of progress being made on the bridge which first closed in 2012- and he said those responsible should follow the longtime mantra of former Maryland Governor William Donald Schaefer and  “do it now”…

Governor Larry Hogan’s announcement last week that school systems in Maryland are now authorized to begin the process of reopening the classrooms caught many by surprise- and proved to be a major concern for many teachers.  The Maryland State Education Association issued a statement saying, among other things, that the governor and the state superintendent have “undercut hard decisions schools have made to keep students and educators safe” just  days before the year begins. MSEA President Cheryl Bost called it a recipe for chaos and confusion… Allegany County Board of Education President Tammy Fraley tells WCBC News that there has been…

The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources has released the updated color coded map which indicates local high schools will be able to begin, or continue, sports contests in the coming week. Locally, Mineral and Hardy Counties are coded yellow, which does not prohibit competition, but bears watching.   Should cases spike and the status change to orange by next Saturday evening, practice could continue, but games would be postponed. The colors are based on a seven day rolling average of cases for larger counties, and a 14 day rolling average for smaller counties.   Generally speaking, if a county…

The Allegany County Department of Emergency Services was notified late Saturday evening that the second clinician tested for the contagious COVID-19 virus had tested negative, according to emergency services officials.    "The results came back for the second clinician as negative," Lt. Todd Bowman, public information officer for the Allegany County Department of Emergency Service said. "Our policy, as guided by local and state medical direction will be to continue to keep the employee off work and perform a second COVID-19 to confirm the initial findings."    Any clinician that tests positive will be off work at minimum of 14-days and required to undergo…

On Saturday, Cumberland Police served a criminal summons on Skyler Stone Atkinson for theft. The summons was issued by District Court in reference to a complaint the Atkinson stole a 3 lawn mowers from an Eastern Avenue residence on August 25th, 2020. He signed and received copies of the charging documents weas released pending trial at District Court pending trial. Skyler Stone Atkinson, age; 25, Cumberland, Maryland.  

On Saturday, Cumberland Police served an arrest warrant on Shawn Stephen Hamlette for assault, disorderly conduct, and numerous traffic offenses. The warrant was issued by District Court in reference to an incident that occurred  on August 23rd, 2020 when Hamette is alleged to have struck the complainant’s vehicle intentionally and fled the scene. He was taken before the District Court Commissioner and was remanded to the Allegany County Detention Center held on a $7,500 bond.   Shawn Stephen Hamlette, age; 22, Cumberland, Maryland.

On Saturday, Cumberland Police responded to the area of Pennsylvania Avenue to check on the well-being a male. When officers arrived, contact was made with a male identified as Roy Michael Wheeler. While speaking with Wheeler, he was asked if he had anything illegal in his possession. He admitted to possessing a quantity of marihuana. At that time, officers performed a more thorough search and located suspected heroin and suboxone. Wheeler was placed under arrest and charged with possession of CDS not marihuana, possession of marihuana, and possession of CDS paraphernalia. He was taken before the District Court Commissioner and…

An Allegany County Department of Emergency Services operational employee has tested positive for COVID-19 and results are pending on a second employee, according to emergency service officials.    “We learned late Friday that one of our paramedics and emergency medical technicians had been exposed to the virus,” Lt. Todd Bowman, public information officer for the Allegany County Department of Emergency Services said. “One has tested positive and we are waiting results of the second clinician.”    We want to emphasize that both clinicians remain in good condition, are only experiencing mild symptoms, self-monitoring at home and have not required hospitalization. …