Monday, April 15, 2024 Tyler Matthew Westfall, 27 of Springfield, WV was arrested as a Fugitive From Justice. He was wanted by the Mineral County Sheriff's Office for Failure to Appear in Family Court. He was held without bond pending extradition to Mineral County, WV. Levi Neal Jones, 25 of Cumberland, was served a District Court Arrest Warrant. His charges include six (6) counts of Violating Conditions of Release/Person Eligible for Relief. He is being held without bond at the Allegany County Detention Center pending trial. Breann Carol Haines, 32 of Flintstone, was arrested on a Circuit Court Bench Warrant…

WCBC has been celebrating its 48th anniversary of being on the air in Cumberland and a family member of the late, great Doc Webster called the Dave Norman show to offer congratulations and share a memory. Doc worked for WCBC for 32 years as an original employee and Jim Webster, Doc’s son, recalls thoughts his father had about the new station in town…    

New legislation out of Annapolis is The Maryland Online Privacy Protection Act. It limits data collection by tech companies and their ability to bury unfavorable terms in complex license agreements. R.J. Cross with the Maryland chapter of the Public Interest Research Group says the new law is a win for consumers… The law allows consumers to delete some personal data as well as limits the kind of widespread monitoring used to generate targeted advertising. Cross says data collection is common…    

Merely the installation of a light pole resulted in 911 service outages across three states last week. It was the latest in a series of 911 outages across the country.  Recently, Allegany County also had a brief outage to its emergency call center, but Allegany County Emergency Management Director Jim Pyles says our area has excellent backup sources in such cases… During the recent county outage that lasted less than 2 hours, Pyles says the county system continued to handle emergencies…

Gov. Jim Justice is encouraging high school students to sign up for the first-ever Governor’s School for Tourism, a 10-day summer academy to learn more about West Virginia’s growing tourism industry. The school starts June 20th and will take students across the state to experience tourism’s role in outdoor recreation, arts and culture, hospitality and lodging, and culinary arts…    

Another change is on the way to a snack food manufacturing facility in nearby Berlin, Pennsylvania.  The Utz plant there is being sold to “Our Home,” a subsidiary of “Better-For-You” brands.  All of the employees at the plant will be retained in the sale. Utz brand products will continued to be produced for up to a year. Utz has now sold four facilities to “Better-For-You.”  In 2019, Utz purchased the plant that also makes products under the “Snyder’s of Berlin” name from Conagra Brands. The Snyder Brand will continue to be produced in Somerset.

Maryland’s upcoming Primary Election on May 14 has no local races involved, but will be an important stepping stone to the General Election in November since it is a Presidential election year.  Since a large turnout is expected, polls will be busy. Allegany County’s Election Board is still looking for polling place judges – a paid position.  Election Administrator Diane Loibel says there’s still time to be trained for election day duties…    

On April 20th, 2024 at approximately 10:20 pm, officers of the Cumberland Police Department responded to the 500 block of Baltimore Avenue for a reported destruction of property complaint. Upon officer’s arrival they spoke with the victim and observed damage to their residence. Evidence was located that identified the suspect to be Dakota Miller on the scene and they canvased the area. At approximately 10:40 pm officers were dispatched to the 100 block of Reynolds Street for a reported suspicious persons complaint. Upon officer’s arrival they were advised that there was a non-resident in the building creating a disturbance. The…

The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR) announced that the West Virginia State Wildlife Center in French Creek has reopened to the public after completing a federal relicensing process. "We faced numerous challenges and overcame several obstacles, but we fought tirelessly to reopen our center," Gov. Justice said. "It's truly amazing to see our doors open again, inviting visitors from around the world to experience one of West Virginia's treasured attractions." The Wildlife Center had been temporarily closed due to a relicensing procedure through the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). As part…

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice spoke this week about a new program for West Virginia high school students.  The state is encouraging high school students to sign up for the first-ever Governor’s School for Tourism, a 10-day summer academy to learn more about West Virginia’s growing tourism industry. The school starts June 20th and will take students across the state to experience tourism’s role in outdoor recreation, arts and culture, hospitality and lodging, and culinary arts.