West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey joined a coalition of 16 attorneys general in an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in support of parents who challenged a school district’s gender transition guidelines. The guidelines allow children to change their gender identity at school, including names, pronouns and use of facilities such as locker rooms and bathrooms—without their parents’ knowledge, or consent. The coalition’s brief states that parents have standing to challenge policies that interfere with relationships with their children and that parents’ rights to raise and educate their children should be protected

Celina Smith of Cumberland continues to cling to life in a UPMC Pittsburgh hospital. While previous reports on social media and newspaper indicated that she had passed away she remains on a ventilator. Hospital staff are prepare her for organ donation later this week. WCBC News spoke to her husband Sean Smith about the difficult times his family is currently experiencing not only with this tragedy but also with others trying to profi from the incident. Efforts to raise money through Facebook, GoFundMe and local cookie sale under the name Hewlin family are not going towards the Smith family or…

On June 30, 2024, at 1:44 AM, the Cumberland Police Department and Cumberland Fire Department responded to a report of an injured woman in the area of West Oldtown Road. Upon investigation, it was discovered that the victim, 38-year-old Celina Smith of Cumberland, had been shot. Investigators believe that Ms. Smith encountered a person at approximately 1:15 AM near the intersection of West Oldtown Road and Glenwood Street. During this encounter, the individual produced a weapon and shot her before walking away towards Glenwood Street. Subsequent investigation by the Allegany County Combined Criminal Investigation Unit and the Cumberland Police involved…

More households, workplaces, and schools are struggling with mental health crises, and a new report by mental health advocacy group Inseparable highlights how West Virginia is handling 988 crisis hotline calls. Christina Mullins with the West Virginia Department of Human Services says West Virginia’s call center response rate is 90-percent, noting the state prepared up-front to be successful…

A public facing roadmap that will offer a vision for the state’s public behavioral health system is in development with the Maryland Coalition of Families, Manatt Health and the state Department of Health. Manatt is a leading national policy firm that will assist the state in conducting a current assessment of programs, prepare a set of recommendations and propose policy changes to improve care for children and youth. The Maryland Coalition of Families is the state’s main organization to help families navigate behavioral care.

A catch-22 of sorts exists in area economic development.  Housing is needed to attract businesses and workers, but to afford to build the housing, you also need businesses and workers.  This concept is not lost on city and county officials as they continue to grapple with an aging and inadequate housing supply.  Cumberland Mayor Ray Morriss says the shortage is a detriment when it comes to getting business to locate in the region…

The City of Cumberland has been awarded $325,000 in grants from the Department of Housing and Community Development. Funding is to spur community revitalization by attracting, retaining, and expanding small businesses, as well as promotion of local, cultural attractions and events.  Melinda Kelleher shared with WCBC that Cumberland received $25,000 through the Main Street program to assist with operations and received funding for renovations through Project Restore 2.0…    Frostburg First also received $240,000 in Project Restore funding. Kelleher is pleased that more attention is being directed to Western Maryland from the capitol…  

Allegany College of Maryland begins trainings for their “Meeting in the Moment” program this September.  ACM received $800,000 in grant funding from the Maryland Community Health Resources Commission for self-care training. Assemblies will take place in Allegany County Public Schools for students to have exposure to mind-body skills.  Kathy Condor, Project Manager, says they want to ensure students have training for the rest of their life to deal with stress and trauma…

The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Commission has issued a new mobile sports wagering license to Veterans Service Corporation and its operating partner Bee-Fee LLC.  Bee-Fee completed a controlled demonstration of the mobile app for the gaming commission showing all systems functioned properly.  The app, LetsBetMD, brings the number of mobile sportsbooks in the state to 12 along with 12 retail sportsbook facilities.

On Tuesday, July 9th, 2024, an officer on patrol with the Cumberland Police Department observed two subjects actively fighting in the street in the area of the 300 block of Bedford St. The officer stopped and exited their cruiser, and were able to separate the two subjects. Both subjects then became uncooperative and denied that any assault was observed. The two subjects, Dennis Leo Landis Jr, 33, and Neily Larrice Richardson, 28, were placed under arrest and transported to the Central Booking unit at the Allegany County Detention Center. Both were then taken before a District Court Commissioner for Initial…