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Tuesday, February 11, 2020

Americans are more satisfied with life than ever before, poll shows

It may have been a year of impeachment, trade wars and threatened military conflict in the Middle East, but Americans feel they have it better than ever before.

Nine out of ten US citizens are satisfied or very satisfied with their lives, according to a Gallup poll, a record since it was started more than 40 years ago.

American confidence in the economy also hit a 20-year high, it was found, following years of economic growth and rising employment.

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January Enforcement Actions Down for Eighth Straight Month

Declines show effective Trump Administration initiatives to control border crossings while CBP helps seize longest cross-border drug tunnel in history

WASHINGTON — CBP enforcement actions on the Southwest border in January 2020 included the discovery of the longest cross-border tunnel in history, said Acting Commissioner Mark Morgan today in announcing overall January enforcement numbers. CBP enforcement on the Southwest border decreased by 10% in January as compared to December, representing a 74.5% decrease since the peak of the humanitarian and border security crisis in May 2019.

On the Southwest border, CBP conducted 36,679 total enforcement actions in January 2020, including 29,200 apprehensions and 7,479 inadmissibility decisions. This includes a 4% decline in inadmissible aliens at ports of entry and an 11% decline in U.S. Border Patrol apprehensions from December. The overall number of nationwide enforcement actions was also 37% lower than in January 2019.

CBP also announced the seizure of nearly 54,000 pounds of drugs nationwide in January 2020 – over 50,000 pounds were seized on the Southwest border.

FEBRUARY IS TEEN DATING VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH

(February 11, 2020, Salisbury, MD) February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. During the month of February, the Wicomico County Health Department wants to promote public awareness about what parents can do to prevent teen dating violence and abuse. Approximately 1 in 10 teens report being physically abused by a boyfriend or girlfriend in the last year. Having open lines of communication with their children is one of the most important things parents can do to help keep their loved ones safe and healthy.

Take Steps to Make a Difference:
  • Be a role model: treat your children and others with respect.
  • Start talking to your children about healthy relationships early, before they start dating.
  • Get involved with efforts to prevent dating violence at your teen’s school.
  • Call the National Dating Abuse Helpline at 1-866-331-9474 or text “loveis” to 77054, if you are worried about your teen.
The Wicomico County Health Department has a program called Parents Matter!, an evidence-based prevention program for parents of pre-teens. This program is designed to enhance protective parenting practices and promote parent-child discussions about sexuality, sexual risk reduction, and healthy relationships. In addition, this program is designed to help parents overcome common parent-child communication barriers and promote positive parenting skills.

For more information on teen dating violence and the Parents Matter! program, call 410-334-3480 ext. 17489. You can also visit the Wicomico County Health Department’s website at www.wicomicohealth.org or connect with us on Facebook, Instagram (WicomicoHealth) or Twitter (@WicomicoHealth).

My New Life After Transgender Despair

Last December, I received an early Christmas present that I would have rejected just one year earlier: an “M” for “male” on my driver’s license.

The switch back to male marked the end of a long journey of gender confusion and self-deception. Along the way I became a transgender activist and then America’s first legally non-binary person.

By Christmas Eve 2019, I was done with the lies. By God’s grace, a Portland judge granted my petition to legally restore my sex to male.

This has been a five-year ordeal. I first rose to become a transgender activist in 2015, telling The New York Times: “I now live in a world where radical, conservative politicians and religious groups routinely attack my very existence with legislation to deny me basic human rights such as a bathroom that matches my gender-identity.”

New to identifying as a woman at that stage of my life, but indoctrinated by the peddlers of transgender ideology to believe I was one, I incorrectly believed that gaining access to female bathrooms was a human rights issue for me.

I was wrong. In hindsight, it was all part of a selfish quest to nourish my long-held sexual fantasy of being a woman—a mental disorder called autogynephilia.

More here

NOI 2/10/2020 Wicomico Commercial Building School Street

new patch

NOTICE OF INVESTIGATION

Eating after 6pm could be bad news for your heart because the digestive system is less efficient at night leading to a greater risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes

For decades, we’ve been told that a calorie is a calorie and as long as we eat fewer of them than we burn, we’re sure to lose weight.

Increasingly, though, it seems that when it comes to staying healthy, it’s not only what you eat that matters, but when you eat.

This may be all down to our circadian rhythms. These 24-hour cycles govern everything from when we feel sleepy to when our immune cells are most active, enabling our bodies to prepare for regular events — including the arrival of food.

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School tells students to remove American flags from their trucks: It's 'offensive'

Virginia – When students at Franklin County High School in Virginia were told they could not fly the American flag from their trucks because it might be offensive – they did what any red-blooded American teenager would do: they flew the flag anyway.

The staff at ToddStarnes.com broke the story about this school in the area east of Roanoke and Christiansburg, where the flags displayed behind trucks have become a target for school administrators.

Earlier this week, an administrator at the Virginia school reportedly told several students that they could no longer fly Old Glory on their trucks because it was potentially “offensive” and “disruptive.”

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Pope Thanks Knights of Columbus for Upholding ‘Sacredness’ of Human Life


Pope Francis met with a delegation from the Knights of Columbus in the Vatican Monday, thanking them for their “faithful witness to the sacredness and dignity of human life.”

The delegation, led by Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson, was on pilgrimage to Rome for the 100th anniversary of the Knights’ charitable activity in Rome, which began after Pope Benedict XV invited the Knights to provide humanitarian aid in Rome following the First World War.

“The Knights responded generously, establishing sports centres for youth that quickly became places for education, catechesis and the distribution of food and other essentials so needed at that time,” the pope said in his address, following the vision of their founder, Michael McGivney, “who was inspired by the principles of Christian charity and fraternity to assist those most in need.”

“Today the Knights of Columbus continue their work of evangelical charity and fraternity in a variety of fields,” Francis continued. “I think in particular of your faithful witness to the sacredness and dignity of human life, evident at both the local and national levels.”

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Bigger than Vindman: Trump scrubs 70 Obama holdovers from NSC

President Trump is making good on his promises to “drain the swamp” and cut Obama-era holdovers from his staffs, especially the critical and recently controversial National Security Council.

Officials confirmed that Trump and national security adviser Robert O’Brien have cut 70 positions inherited from former President Barack Obama, who had fattened the staff to 200.

Many were loaners from other agencies and have been sent back. Others left government work.

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JUST IN: Jussie Smollett is 'indicted by special prosecutor in Chicago' - nearly a year after having charges dropped over 'hoax' attack

Jussie Smollett has been indicted by a special prosecutor in Chicago, nearly a year after the charges against him over an alleged hoax attack were dropped.

Fox 32 reports special prosecutor Dan Webb brought charges against Smollett on Tuesday. It is not clear what those charges are but he is due in court on February 24.

Authorities are yet to confirm the indictment.

It is now more than a year since Smollett claimed he was attacked at 2am in Chicago on January 29 while out getting a sandwich.

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REMINDER: Joe Biden, John Kerry, Mitt Romney, The Clintons, Nancy Pelosi and George Soros All Have Connections to the Ukraine


What are the odds that Joe Biden, John Kerry, Mitt Romney, the Clintons, Speaker Pelosi and George Soros all have connections to the Ukraine? Hmmmm
Joe Biden and his son Hunter

If you don’t know that Joe Biden’s son Hunter was the Board member of Burisma, the Ukrainian Oil and Gas firm, then you are living under a rock. This is the same company Joe Biden bragged about removing a prosecutor who was looking into the Bidens’ and George Soros in the Ukraine:
John Kerry

We posted a 32 tweet thread that was an articulate and devastating summary of Obama’s Vice President Biden and Secretary of State Kerry’s corrupt actions in the Ukraine –

In summary –

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CPAC organizer 'afraid' for Romney's safety if he attends annual conservative event

Trump loyalist Matt Schlapp claimed he would fear for Sen. Mitt Romney's safety if the senator attended this year's Conservative Political Action Conference .

Schlapp, the chairman of the American Conservative Union, talked about how the Utah Republican was “formally not invited” to attend the CPAC event during a recent interview on Full Court Press. He predicted Romney would not receive a warm welcome because of the senator's vote to convict President Trump during the Senate impeachment trial.

“We won’t credential him as a conservative. I suppose if he wants to come as a nonconservative and debate an issue with us, maybe in the future we would have him come,” Schlapp said. “This year, I’d actually be afraid for his physical safety; people are so mad at him.”

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'Kill Cops': Antifa members deface Portland war memorial

Police in Portland, Oregon, made three arrests Saturday in connection to an incident in which a war memorial was defaced with graffiti.

Videos posted on social media show members of left-wing activist group antifa, an anti-fascism outfit, spray-painting "Kill Cops" and other violent phrases on the memorial.
Portland Police responded to my inquiry about the video showing one of its officers telling a videographer that no one will come help him. PPB says “just because an arrest is not made on the spot, it does not mean that an arrest won’t be made in the future.” pic.twitter.com/R4tx0N9jgM— Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) February 10, 2020

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Oscars ratings hit all-time low while still beating every presidential debate of 2020 election cycle

More people tuned in to watch the Oscars than any of the 2020 Democratic primary debates. However, the annual award show still saw its smallest audience yet.

The 92nd Academy Awards, which featured special performances from Eminem, Billie Eilish, and Janelle Monae, had an average audience of 23.6 million total viewers on Sunday night, according to Nielsen’s live and same-day fast national program ratings. The audience size broke the previous low of 26.5 million viewers in 2018.

The event came in as the most-watched entertainment television special since last year's Oscars despite losing 6 million viewers from 2019 to 2020. Comparatively, the most watched presidential debate was the first night of the first two-day debate, which registered 18.1 million viewers and was broadcast on NBC, MSNBC, and Telemundo.

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Residents of a small Kansas town, where the poverty rate is twice the national average, are being jailed for their unpaid medical bills

Residents of a small Kansas town, where the poverty rate is twice the national average, are being jailed for their unpaid medical bills.

In Coffeyville, Kansas, 26.2 per cent of the more than 9,700 people who live there are below the poverty line compared to the national average of 13.1 per cent.

Because of this issue, some residents like Tres Biggs, have found themselves working two jobs. Neither job offered Tres insurance plans and he was unable to afford health care.

Tres and his wife, Heather, said they fell behind on their son's medical bills after he was diagnosed with leukemia.

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New York sues Trump DHS over Trusted Travelers rollback

The attorney general of New York filed a lawsuit against President Trump's administration over a new policy banning state residents from federal Trusted Traveler programs.

“New Yorkers will not be held hostage by an Administration intent on restraining the sovereign rights of states, while it simultaneously enacts discriminatory policies across the country,” the state's Attorney General Letitia James said in a Monday statement. "The Trump Administration’s new policy not only negatively impacts travelers, workers, commerce, and our economy, but it jeopardizes public safety."

She added, "No one should ever use our nation’s security as a political weapon, let alone the commander-in-chief.”

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Pentagon opens 11 new coronavirus quarantine facilities as hospitals already at capacity with flu patients brace for a shortage of beds if the virus spreads in the US

The Pentagon is setting up quarantines at 11 additional quarantines on military bases in anticipation of an influx of US citizens returning from China and in need of monitoring for coronavirus.

So far, 12 people in the US have been diagnosed with coronavirus and the Pentagon had previously agreed to house 1,000 people in 14-day quarantines.

Now, with five planes having returned to the US with evacuees from Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, the number of people detained under quarantine is approaching that originally agreed upon number.

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Federal judge indefinitely postpones sentencing of Michael Flynn

A federal judge on Monday indefinitely postponed the sentencing date for President Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn on charges of lying to the FBI in the Russia investigation.

The move by Judge Emmet Sullivan comes a day after federal prosecutors filed a rare Sunday motion to delay a number of approaching deadlines that would ultimately make Flynn’s Feb. 27 sentencing unlikely. The delay also comes weeks after Flynn withdrew his guilty plea.

In their filing, prosecutors argued that Flynn’s former attorneys should testify after he claimed to have received ineffective assistance from them.

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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/federal-judge-indefinitely-postpones-sentencing-of-michael-flynn

'The scale of the theft was staggering': Justice Department indicts Chinese military hackers who stole Equifax data

Attorney General William Barr announced the indictment of four members of the Chinese military for their role in the massive 2017 Equifax hacking that breached sensitive personal data on an estimated 145 million people in the United States.

The nine-count indictment announced during a Justice Department press conference on Monday morning, charged Wu Zhiyong, Wang Qian, Xu Ke, and Liu Lei, of the People’s Liberation Army’s 54th Research Institute. They allegedly conspired to hack into Equifax’s computer networks and stole massive amounts of information from the consumer credit reporting agency.

“This was a deliberate and sweeping intrusion into the private information of the American people,” Barr said. “Today, we hold PLA hackers accountable for their criminal actions, and we remind the Chinese government that we have the capability to remove the internet’s cloak of anonymity and find the hackers that nation repeatedly deploys against us.”

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A Viewer Writes: Salisbury Middle School


Nazi flag accidentally left hanging in Maryland school window all weekend after a history class sparks outrage

A Maryland school district has opened an investigation after a Nazi flag was seen hanging in a high school classroom’s window over the weekend, prompting outrage online.

The inappropriate flag was first noticed at Governor Thomas Johnson High School on Friday when several people were attending a basketball game inside the gymnasium in Frederick.

Nicole Hopkins, a woman who witnessed the flag, said she and her boyfriend were shocked when they saw it.

She told the Frederick News Post: 'I looked at it and I thought wait a minute. I looked at it again, I looked at my boyfriend and I was like "is that what I think it is?"'

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The rewritten ERA would enshrine a right to abortion

The co-founders of Feminists for Life of America, which was founded in 1972, did not realize that our organization does not comprise the original feminists for life.

Alice Paul, the suffrage organizer who had successfully led the movement to achieve the 19th Amendment, was an elderly woman when she explained to our co-founder, Pat Goltz, that the first wave feminists also opposed abortion. That prompted FFL researchers to track down the documentation of this fact, which we have widely shared with the pro-life and feminist movements.

One of the questions Paul asked was, “How can one protect and help women by killing them as babies?” She answered her own question: “Abortion is the ultimate in the exploitation of women.”

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Barr announces new sanctions in 'significant escalation' against sanctuary cities

Attorney General William Barr announced new measures to combat sanctuary cities in what he called a “significant escalation.”

Barr, 69, made the announcement on Monday at the National Sheriff’s Association 2020 Winter Legislative and Technology Conference. He said that the Justice Department would file a number of lawsuits against state and local governments and new reviews of sanctuary cities and prosecutors.

One of the lawsuits targets a New Jersey law enforcement directive that Barr said stops officials from sharing the immigration status of those in custody and requires authorities to notify those detained if Immigration and Customs Enforcement files an immigration detainer request.

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Coronavirus death toll surpasses 1,000 as it killed more than 100 in the Chinese province at the outbreak's center on Monday - and horrifying map suggests thousands of travelers may have spread it from Wuhan to nearly 400 cities worldwide

A map showing just how the coronavirus could have been spread from the epicenter Wuhan has been compiled by researchers as the outbreak is revealed to have killed more 1,000 people the world over, according to data form the Chinese government released Monday evening.

A total of 103 people died in a single day in China's Hubei province on Monday - the highest toll recorded in any one 24-hour period since the outbreak began in December.

It comes the same day as World Health Organization (WHO) experts and scientists have finally arrived in China to help officials there contain and study the outbreak. That's now struck at least 42,729 people worldwide.

A map created by Southampton University researchers shows how 60,000 out of a total of five million people who have traveled out of Wuhan since the beginning of the outbreak and before the city was fully locked down have crisscrossed the globe.

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Justice Department Press Releases

 
02/10/2020 12:00 AM EST

The Justice Department filed suit against California Governor Gavin Newsom, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, and the State of California challenging California state law A.B. 32, which prohibits any individual or entity from operating private detention facilities in the state.
02/10/2020 12:00 AM EST

Today, the U.S. Department of Justice filed suit against the State of New Jersey, New Jersey Governor Philip Murphy, and New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal. The lawsuit challenges New Jersey Attorney General Law Enforcement Directive 2018-6, which prohibits state officials from sharing information with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) related to the immigration status and release dates of individuals in their custody.

Young black conservatives unite around President Trump

Chants of ‘We love Trump, U-S-A!’ echoed across the East Room of the White House before, during, and after President Donald Trump’s address to hundreds of young black conservatives.

The President’s address was part of the Young Black Leaders Summit (YBLS), a four-day conference focused on millennial-aged, conservative black Americans. The student-activist group, Turning Point USA, is hosting the event.

Brandon Tatum is Director of Urban Engagement at Turning Point USA, and he told Fox News that the YBLS is symbolic for black voters. “YBLS is important because it gives an example to this country that black voters are not monoliths and think for ourselves,” said Tatum.

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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/young-black-conservatives-unite-around-president-trump

Buttigieg vows his administration would stop punishing drug possession 'through incarceration'

2020 Democrat Pete Buttigieg vowed to end incarceration for drug possession, including in cases involving potentially lethal drugs like heroin.

"Isn't the fact that it's illegal to have, to possess meth and heroin, doesn't that at least in some way, the fact that it's illegal, act as sole deterrent to trying it in the first place?" Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace asked the winner of the Iowa caucuses over the weekend.

"I think the main thing we need to focus on is where you have distribution and the kind of harm that’s done," Buttigieg responded. "Possession should not be dealt with through incarceration."

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Troopers Investigating Serious Pedestrian Hit and Run Crash- Seaford

Seaford- The Delaware State Police are investigating a serious hit and run crash involving a pedestrian that occurred last evening.

The incident occurred on February 10, 2020 at approximately 9:54 p.m., when a pedestrian was walking along the edge of the roadway on Middleford Road, west of Old Furnace Road, Seaford. For unknown reason the pedestrian entered into the travel lane where he was struck by a passing vehicle. The striking vehicle then exited the roadway and struck a guide wire and a wooden fence, causing property damage.

The pedestrian, a 47-year-old male from Seaford, was transported to the Nanticoke Memorial Hospital in serious condition.

The striking vehicle was described as a light blue in color Ford Ranger pickup truck. The operator fled the scene and was last seen traveling westbound on Middleford Road. The vehicle should have front end damage.

Troopers have been unable to locate the vehicle involved are asking anyone that has information in reference to this crash to please call the Delaware State Police Troop 5, Trooper Hunter Raymond at 302-337-1090. Information may also be provided by calling Delaware crime stoppers at 1-800-TIP-3333 or via the internet at http://www.delaware.crimestoppersweb.com

Trump cuts New Hampshire rally short to receive remains of 2 soldiers killed in Afghanistan

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. — President Donald Trump traveled Monday to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to pay respects to two U.S. soldiers killed Saturday in Afghanistan when a soldier dressed in an Afghan army uniform opened fire with a machine gun.

National security adviser Robert O’Brien told reporters traveling with Trump on Air Force One that the president wrapped up a reelection campaign rally in New Hampshire a bit early so he could visit with the families of the soldiers. He described such moments as “probably the toughest thing he does as president,” along with visiting wounded soldiers at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

“These are terrible sacrifices for the families. And these guys are heroes, they’re real warriors and did a great job for the American people,” O’Brien said. “These are tough times. It’s tough for the president but he thinks it’s important to be there for the families and recognize them.”

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-cuts-new-hampshire-rally-short-to-receive-remains-of-2-soldiers-killed-in-afghanistan

Two people killed in separate Baltimore incidents just minutes apart

Two people were killed in Baltimore in incidents that happened less than 10 minutes apart.

Shortly after 1 p.m. EST on Monday, local police responded to a reported stabbing on the 6400 block of Walther Ave., WMAR reported. A 51-year-old woman was pronounced dead at the scene, and a suspect was taken into custody, police said.

Six minutes later, officers said they received a report that another person was shot at the 800 block of West Lexington St. Investigators found a man with gunshot wounds to his upper body. He was taken to the hospital and later died, according to authorities. A suspect in the second incident is still at large.

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MoveOn pledges to spend $20 million to oust Trump and GOP lawmakers

The progressive advocacy group MoveOn recently said it will spend $20 million in the 2020 election cycle to defeat President Trump and put progressives in charge of the U.S. Senate.

MoveOn will use the funds for its voter contact and turnout efforts that include mobilizing 30,000 members across battleground states, for ads opposing Republican lawmakers, and for its “team of experts” assembled to thwart digital voter suppression online.

MoveOn previously announced an ad campaign targeting Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Cory Gardner of Colorado and Martha McSally of Arizona. MoveOn is growing its list of targets for the presidential and Senate races to include the states of Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The group said it also has plans to mobilize its supporters in “dozens” of House races.

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Bill giving local Va. governments right to relocate Confederate monuments passes in Va. Senate

RICHMOND, Va. (WAVY) — The Virginia Senate has passed a bill that would give local governments control over war memorials, allowing for the relocation of Confederate monuments.

The bill introduced by Senator Mamie Locke (D-Hampton) passed Tuesday in a 21-19 vote along party lines.

The issue of Confederate monuments has been heavily debated over the past few years in several cities in Hampton Roads, including Norfolk, which has already passed a resolution to move its statue from downtown to a nearby cemetery.

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Trump’s Proposed Budget Would Protect Social Security and Medicare

President Donald Trump released a $4.8 trillion budget proposal on Monday that would protect Social Security and Medicare, raise spending for defense and border protection, and cut welfare and foreign aid spending.

The plan leaves Social Security and Medicare benefits untouched, keeping a campaign promise of the President’s not to cut the popular entitlements. That will make it harder for the President’s rivals to run the standard Democratic playbook–scaring Americans about the loss of promised benefits–against him in this year’s Presidential election.

The budget includes additional spending for the military, veterans, border enforcement, and space exploration.

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Attention Sussex, Wicomico, Worcester and Somerset residents

Political Memes






Tuesday Morning Funnies






Press Release: President's Day Holiday

WICOMICO COUNTY GOVERNMENT OFFICES

Wicomico County Government Offices will be closed Monday, February 17, 2020, in observance of the President's Day holiday.



CONVENIENCE CENTERS, LANDFILL, BRUSH PILE, FERRIES PRESIDENT'S DAY HOLIDAY SCHEDULE

On Monday, February 17, 2020, the Newland Park Landfill, Convenience Center and Brush Pile will be open. All external Convenience Centers and the Whitehaven Ferry and Upper Ferry will be closed.

For more information, please contact the Newland Park Landfill at 410-548-4935. Ferry information is available by calling 410-543-2765.