Representatives of the federal and state level officials joined the Allegany County Commissioners as well as American Water Service for a packed “Force of Four” Bel Air water meeting.  Bel Air residents relayed high water prices, distresses, and their dislike of the sale with the Maryland branch of American Water’s president, Laura Runkle.  Runkle said the company’s complete takeover will not occur until August 2026, but they have already begun examining the situation… “We were here on Monday with a team of engineers, water quality specialist, operation specialists, health and safety, IT, security, doing a site visit.  So, it was…

The Allegany County Commissioners received backlash for the Allegany County Animal Shelter’s current upheaval during Thursday’s commissioner meeting, but Jodi Eirich, the Executive Director of the shelter for the last four months, said it was the shelter’s board members who are not without fault.  Eirich said the level of oversight exercised by the board members went beyond normal governance and created confusion among roles… “Although I provided weekly communication to the board, there was a consistent lack of communication back my way.  They made it difficult to align efforts and make informed collective decisions.  Equally concerning is the lack of…

As the city of Cumberland receives awards and recognition for the Baltimore Street redesign project, the Downtown Development Commission continues to maintain and care for the streetscape. During a recent DDC meeting, a contract with Zastrow arborist for $2,600 was approved to provide a manual for the care and maintenance of the 49 London Plane trees in downtown. Larry Jackson, president of the DDC, is sure that downtown is headed in the right direction… "Good news is I think from a vegetation standpoint, if we're not ideal we're definitely under control. We have everything sort of accounted for. Now we…

West Virginia's donor agreement with the National Park Service to keep its national parks open during the government shutdown was to end today.  However, with Bridge Day set for Saturday—the state’s largest annual single-day festival—Governor Patrick Morrisey says they are extending the agreement, and Bridge Day—the celebration of New River Gorge and Harper’s Ferry parks—will take place… “The political gridlock in Washington, it’s hurting a lot of people, but we took swift action in one area where we felt we could mitigate the effects of the shutdown, and that’s protecting our beautiful national parks.  We know that tourism huge for…

On Thursday, October 16, 2025, Officers of the Cumberland Police Department conducted a warrant sweep of the City. As a result, Officers were able to serve a total of seven warrants. Officers served William Dibuono with five warrants. The warrants were issued as a result of Dibuono's failure to obey the terms of his pre-trial release, set on October 3rd of this year. As a result, He was arrested and taken before a District Court Commissioner, where he was held without bond pending his trial. ARRESTED: William Joseph Dibuono    AGE: 57       Lonaconing, Maryland CHARGES: Failure to Comply…

Housing shortages and employment uncertainty continue to challenge the state of Maryland.  The state is in the top ten of all states for loss of residents in the last three years.  A report from the Maryland Comptroller’s Office says Maryland residents are often moving to Florida, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia, South Carolina, West Virginia, and Delaware.

Frostburg City Police arrested James L. Kline of Frostburg for assault, child abuse and reckless endangerment on Sunday, October 12th. Officers were dispatched to the home and during the course of the investigation, police found bruising consistent with the victim's statement. Kline was placed in custody and transported to the Allegany County Detention Center and was seen by the district court commissioner.  He posted a $10,000 unsecured bond. Kline was released pending trial in district court.

On Wednesday, October 15, 2025, Officers of the Cumberland Police Department served a criminal summons on Caitlyn Biggs. The criminal summons was issued as a result of Biggs failing to provide valid proof of insurance after a crash.  Biggs was served with the summons and released pending her trial. ARRESTED: Caitlyn Noel Isabella Biggs     AGE: 32       Cumberland, Maryland CHARGE: Driving Uninsured Motor Vehicle