On Monday, July 7th, 2025, at approx. 2030 hours, the Cumberland Police Department responded to the area of Industrial Blvd and White Oak Ave for the report of a single vehicle crash with injury. Upon arrival on the scene, officers observed that a 2014 Jeep Patriot had left the roadway and struck a large metal sign post in the Burger King Parking lot. Officers then discovered that the 75-year-old male operator of the vehicle was not responsive. Officers removed the operator from the vehicle and began life-saving measures until emergency medical services could arrive. The operator was transported to UPMC…

In early June, Erie Insurance experienced an information security incident that they are continuing to resolve.  Local agent for Erie, Mark Shartiger, was on WCBC after the hack, assuring no personal information was lost…    “No network is safe. Erie had tremendous resources put in to the protection of this system. Fortunately, they were able to detect a malfunction very early in it. No data was lost or transferred.” Shartiger said the incident serves as a good reminder not to share any information online or on the phone unless you are sure of who you are speaking with…    …

FARMacy West Virginia, a state wide organization dedicated to serving West Virginia communities through healthy food-access initiatives has two locations this year – Pyramid Farm in Piedmont and Brookedale Farm in Keyser. FARMacy is a 15-week program to combat chronic disease and food insecurity by offering eligible participants weekly access to locally-grown produce and wellness education. Participants are referred by their primary care provider to receive food, education and exercise techniques.

Residents of Columbia Street in North End are working to follow the example of the Westside Neighborhood Association in efforts to improve their neighborhood within Cumberland. Max Green who heads up the Westside group is hopeful that with the renewed efforts of the Historic North End Association, Cumberland may revive more neighborhood organizations…    “If that association is able to get off the ground and get to the point where they have a good volunteer base that we could maybe come together with South End and then request  the City reinstate the Neighborhood Advisory Commission which I understand to be…

West Virginia now joins Maryland incorporating “Purple Alerts” into their public notification systems. Similar to Amber or Silver Alerts, Purple Alerts are for missing persons who have cognitive issues including brain injuries. Alerts go out when an individual is believed to be missing or in danger. Kristen Cusato of the Alzheimer’s Association says the alerts make the public more aware of people they may come across… “Six out of ten people who have Alzheimer’s will wander. It’s a brain disease that’s really causing an issue as far as them not being able to retrace their steps and not getting back…

The City of Cumberland may have some trouble determining the dispersal of awards from the hotel/motel tax. Awards are granted yearly, designed to enhance tourism and increase longer stays and visitor spending.  Sixteen applications were submitted, totaling almost $94,000. The city budgets $45,000 for the project. City Administrator Jeff Silka says many applications are incomplete…     “Especially what we’re looking for is – how did you spend the money last year? And I think that’s probably the easiest one probably to give us, but they don’t give us. As we go through these I’ll just keep in the back…

Ocean City’s lawsuit seeking to block an offshore wind farm cleared a procedural hurdle last week, as a federal judge declined to dismiss most of the plaintiffs’ claims.  The Daily Record reports that Ocean City and nearly three dozen co-defendants sued the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in October after BOEM gave final approval for US Wind to build more than 100 turbines off the coast of Maryland and Delaware. The plaintiffs — which also include Worcester County; Fenwick Island, Delaware; and environmental, fishing and business groups — say the project threatens endangered species and the tourist economy.

Mike Browning, a health coach from UPMC Western Maryland recently spoke with WCBC about the benefits of resistance training, a program Browning coaches at the local hospital at no charge. Browning says resistance training includes simple exercises anyone can do at any stage of life to increase strength, stability, or to simply get back into weightlifting, starting with a chair…    “I definitely recommend chair exercises as a place to begin which are simple body-weight exercises done with a chair. Sit-and-stands or what we normally call as squats. Also push-ups simply as off a wall or even off of a…

On Sunday, July 6th, 2025 at approximately 9:44 PM, an officer of the Cumberland Police Department conducted a traffic stop on Harrison Street. A police K-9 was utilized, which resulted in a positive alert for the odor of drugs. The vehicle and occupants were searched, and as a result, controlled dangerous paraphernalia were located. The operator, Caitlin Leann Hochard, and the passenger, Kiera Brianne Camaraza were placed under arrest. Hochard was issued a criminal citation for CDS Possession Paraphernalia and traffic citations for driving a vehicle with suspended registration, driving without insurance and other related traffic charges. Camaraza was issued…