Re-Elect Frank White

His signs are just about everywhere in Princess Anne and just about everyone you see loves this guy to death. Even though this job only pays $1,200.00 a year, no that is not a typo, twelve hundred dollars a year is all that job pays. You have to love what you're doing and the people you're representing. I happen to know Frank White does just that. It doesn't matter what department you go to, they all love Frank White. IMO, the guy was made to be a politician, period. Good Luck today Frank.

Hot Dogs In The Park

Last Friday I was asked to come back to Princess Anne to join the Citizens and Employees of Princess Anne for their monthly Hot Dogs In The Park event.

What amazes me is how this community comes together to enjoy some fellowship whereas everyone feels so welcome and every face is smiling. Oh, you could say Princess Anne is a lot like Mayberry and you know what, that's OK. I doubt very seriously anyone would be offended by such a statement. It's a quaint little Town with wonderful and happy people. If they had taxes like Delaware, I'd even move there.

Take note Barrie Tilghman. This is how you communicate with the people that voted you into Office. So why doesn't this happen in Salisbury? At this point, the only people that would show up are the employees because they'd feel like if they didn't show they'd lose their jobs. How does that make you feel Barrie, powerful? Lonely?

Today Is The Big Day In Princess Anne

This old Historic Building in Princess Anne was recently renovated by the Chamber of Commerce and is the voting place for Citizens of Princess Anne. I happened to be admiring it the other day when I was visiting and was filled in on how they just converted it into a Visitors Center, since it was only used once every two years for voting.

It is currently 4:30 AM and I am up early this morning because I'm going to make my way down to Princess Anne this morning to keep tabs on the election there. The polls open at 7:00 AM and close at 7:00 PM. However, I hear there may be some interesting action first thing this morning and I'd like to be there if there is.

I'll be reporting LIVE from Princess Anne today, since that's where all the action has been the past two days.

Why Does This Work?

Ok, I'm a blonde and am the brunt of many blonde jokes but for the life of me can't figure out why this works. Try it and then please someone explain this! YOUR AGE BY EATING OUT Don't tell me your age; you probably would tell a falsehood anyway-but your waiter may know! YOUR AGE BY DINER & RESTAURANT MATH This is pretty neat DON'T CHEAT BY SCROLLING DOWN FIRST! It takes less than a minute. Work this out as you read . Be sure you don't read the bottom until you've worked it out! This is not one of those waste of time things, it's fun. 1. First of all, pick the number of times a week that you would like to go out to eat. (more than once but less than 10) 2. Multiply this number by 2 (just to be bold) 3. Add 5 4. Multiply it by 50 <> 5. If you have already had your birthday this year add 1758... If you haven't, add 1757. 6. Now subtract the four digit year that you were born. You should have a three digit number The first digit of this was your original number. (I.e., How many times you want to go out to restaurants in a week.) The next two numbers are YOUR AGE ! ------ (Oh YES, it is!) THIS IS THE ONLY YEAR (2008) IT WILL EVER WORK, SO SPREAD IT AROUND WHILE IT LASTS

Open Question On City Park Part 2

I took another walk around the City Park area, from Ben's Red Swings to the end of the park at Snow Hill Rd, and took some of the comments into consideration. Looking a little more closely and in some new places I found some more stuff that is detracting from the area. I'll have my opinion on the shoreline growth later, but I appreciate the comments from the posters. Thank you.






These are two groups of leftover bio-logs just sitting around. Why are they still around and not been used? They are laying next to the water treatment plant.

This is the area which from one my first picture showed partially. The bio-logs were originally stored here and clearly the area has not been fully cleaned up or improved. It's quite a large area with a pile of matting and there is matting sticking up from the sand.

Again things are looking a tad bit fallow and things are not picked up or finished. It does not look good. Bunch of little things add up. Just showing you all that it was more than just perceived overgrown banks.

So I'll ask the question again what is planned for the park in renovations/maintenance/clean up? Where are we going to be after this year?

I'll have more to come.

John Wade Disqualified

Agnes Cooper Dennis reads a residents letter of complaint against John Wade.

Princess Anne Police Chief testifies to Election Board.

Election Board votes unanimously to disqualify John Wade.

The mystery man John Wade of, well, who knows where, was disqualified as a Candidate by the Princess Anne Election Board.

With the assistance of the Princess Anne Police and the Maryland State Police by way of the States Attorneys Office informed the Election Board that Mr. John Wade did in fact have a valid drivers license. HOWEVER, his valid license is in the state of Georgia, NOT MARYLAND!

The President of the Princess Anne Commissioners said, "We Trust But We Must Verify". Truer words couldn't be better spoken. Jay Parker stated that it was a sad day when Officials can no longer simply trust applicants.

The Police Chief came to today's meeting and testified that he had spoken with the State Police who verified Mr. Wade's drivers license was in fact from Georgia and NOT Maryland. That was enough for the three panel Election Board, Agnes Cooper Dennis, Kelly Salyers and Barbara Long to deliver a unanimous vote to disqualify John Wade as any kind of candidate for the District 1 Seat.

As many of you know, I have been working on this story for several days. I made contact with every MSM News Source in the area and every one of them refused to get involved, till today. Once they found out the Election Board was in fact taking this matter seriously, WMDT came to today's meeting and just couldn't believe this guy was even running.

Perhaps in two years Mr. or Mrs. Wade can try again AFTER getting valid drivers licenses and prove they're living in their older home in Princess Anne, rather than their home in Delmar, Maryland. You will also see this information in tomorrows Daily Times as I contacted them personally to make sure everyone is aware they shouldn't waste their votes in tomorrows election.

Second Wade Disqualified in Princess Anne Town Commission Race

John Wade, who was running a write-in candidacy for the Princess Anne Town Commission has been disqualified. The disqualification is based on Wade not being a town resident for the prescribed period of time.

More to follow ....

Berlin Village Fair

The town of Berlin is hosting its annual rite of summer, 20th annual Village Fair, sponsored by the Berlin Chamber of Commerce.

The fair will be held Saturday, June 14 from 9am - 5pm, on Main Street, downtown Berlin.

Family fun activities include:

* Over 50 arts & crafts vendors with all handmade items from the eastern shore.
* Berlin Antique Road show, starring Charline Upham. She will be handling appraisals.
* Berlin Idol Contest, starting at 9am.
* Kids amusement park rides & activities (sponsored by Taylor & Sons Amusement Co.)
* Dunking booth.
* Pony rides.
* Bathtub races, starting near the end of the day.
* Food, Food, Food.
* Music (following Idol) by Charlie Flagiello, Burger Review.
* Rick Kenny-The Lone Ranger.

If you are interested in participating for a contest, please contact Jessie Turner at the Berlin
Shoe Box at 410-641-1270.

Worcester County Sheriff Seeks YOUR HELP Finding Attempted Murder Suspect

On June 1, 2008 at approximately 11:30 PM, the Berlin Police Department responded to the Bay Street area because of a report of a stabbing. The victim was Raymont Johnson(B/M, 20 yrs old, Berlin, Maryland).

The victim, Raymont Johnson was (allegedly) stabbed by the suspect April Jackson while at her apartment. The victim was flown to PRMC where he is currently being treated for his injuries. The suspect April Jackson has fled and here whereabouts are unknown.

The investigation has been turned over to the Worcester County Bureau of Investigation. There is now an arrest warrant for April Jackson for attempted Murder and 1^st Degree Assault.Anyone with additional information regarding this matter or knows the location of the suspect (April Jackson) is encouraged to contact the Worcester County Bureau of Investigation at 410-352-3476 and speak with D/Cpl. Mitchell or the Berlin Police Department.

Challenger British Soccer Camps Return To Wicomico County

(Salisbury, MD) Wicomico County Recreation, Parks & Tourism is bringing the largest soccer camp in the United States and Canada back to Salisbury, MD. The Challenger British Soccer Camp will return on July 7-11 to the Henry S. Parker Athletic Complex. Registration for the week long camp is now open.

Challenger British Soccer Camps are open to boys and girls ages three through fourteen and all skill levels. The camp provides children with the rare opportunity to receive high-level soccer coaching from a team of international experts. Each day of camp includes individual foot skills, technical drills, tactical practices, small-sided games, coached scrimmages and a daily tournament. The Challenger coaching staff also prides itself on providing children with lessons in respect, responsibility, integrity, sportsmanship and leadership.

Registrations are accepted online at www.challengersports.com or at the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center Box Office, open Monday through Friday from 8:00am to 5:00pm. Fees range from $71 to $174 per child depending on age. Each participant will receive a Challenger soccer ball, camp shirt, award and certificate.

For more information please contact Lee Steffey at (410) 548-4900 ext. 105 or email lsteffey@wicomicocounty.org. If you would like to learn more about other upcoming programs offered by the Wicomico County Recreation, Parks and Tourism Department sign up for Recreation email alerts at www.wicomicorecandparks.org

OC Boat Race

Busy weekend for tourists at Ocean City. The boardwalk was busy. The weather was great. Traffic was not backed up.

Today's Wildlife Photo

By Buryvoter

Princess Anne Police Promote Click It Or Ticket Program

Bar Stool Economics

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that's what they decided to do.

The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until on day, the owner threw th em a curve. "Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20."Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?' They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so:

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).< BR>The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

"I only got a dollar out of the $20,"declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man," but he got $10!"

"Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I!"
"That's true!!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!"

"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison. "We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!"

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not sh ow up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics
University of Georgia

For those who understand, no explanation is needed. For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.

BARRIE TO CITY RESIDENTS: I WANT MORE TAXES!

Maybe we will get her "food tax" after all -- see this:


OFFICE OF THE MAYOR

To: John R. Pick
From: Loré L. Chambers, MBA
Subject: MML – Legislative Action Requests
Date: May 29, 2008

The City of Salisbury is requesting consideration be included by MML in their
2009 Legislative Action Request as follows:

“The City of Salisbury requests that the General Assembly pass legislation in
FY 2009 to establish a study commission in FY 2010, to look into and report its
findings on municipal government revenue structures, to reduce the reliance on
property taxes.”

Attached is a resolution for City Council action to endorse the requests for
legislative action.

Please forward the attached resolution and supporting detail for inclusion on
the Council’s June 9. 2008, agenda.

Question: since when did Ms. Chambers get this authority -- why isn't this memo
from Barrie Tilghman?

The Barrie Tilghman Propaganda Show

WICO-AM, on air home of Bill Reddish and one of the few independent media sources in the Salisbury area, has finally buckled down to Salisbury Mayor Barrie Tilghman's rants. Starting today WICO is granting Tilghman her own weekly radio show.

That's right folks, Barrie Tilghman has been granted FREE radio time to provide her own views on the public airwaves. Don't expect Tilghman to discuss anything controversial. If she does, don't expect anything but the Barrieland view.

Don't expect calls from the public. Barrie doesn't like to entertain questions from the public any more than her buddy Louise Smith does.

Can a Louise & Gary Show be next?

Tune in on Mondays at 8:30AM to hear the full, unvarnished views of the Queen of Barrieland.

cross posted at Delmarva Dealings

Powered by ScribeFire.

Technorati Tags: Maryland, Salisbury, politics, Salisbury politics, Barrie Tilghman, media, WICO

TIF Question Answered On City website

Question: Where is the $14+ million that the City approved for the TIF that was supposed to pay for development of the old mall? Where is that money going? Who has that $14 million? Who is going to pay the $14 million back if we don’t have a development on that property? Who’s supposed to pay for the TIF? All the tax revenue from the commercial and the residential buildings there was supposed to pay for the TIF over a 30-year period. When does that TIF come due? When do the payments stop? Have they already started? Where is the money coming from, where is the TIF money right now, who has that $14 million and how is it going to be paid back if the development doesn’t go through?

Answer: The bonds were issued as combined tax increment financing/special taxing district bonds. The purpose of the bond issuance is to provide funds to pay for specific public improvements for the (old mall) site that are in the nature of infrastructure improvements; bond proceeds will not be applied to fund private development activities.

The bonds were issued in April 2007 in the form of draw-down bonds and sold to Salisbury Mall Associates, LLC (SMA) as the initial bond holder. While the bonds are in draw-down mode, SMA will actually transfer to the bond trustee from SMA’s own funds any "draws" on the bonds; the bond trustee will place such moneys in the project fund and then apply the moneys to project costs in accordance with requisitions approved by City officials. Other than the costs of issuance and an initial deposit to the administrative expense fund drawn down on the date the bonds were issued, no funds have been advanced against the bonds, to date. SMA, as the holder of the bonds advanced those funds at closing. Before additional draws may be made on the bonds (which will be advanced by SMA), the City’s bond counsel will have to approve the contracts for the specific infrastructure improvements or specific project costs.

No interest is due on the bonds until July 1, 2012, or any earlier conversion date, and the first date that principal is due on the bonds is July 1, 2013. SMA has until July 1, 2012 to effect a successful conversion and remarketing of the bonds to private investors. If SMA is able to effect such a successful conversion, the funds received from private investors to purchase the bonds from SMA will be deposited with the bond trustee and applied to pay costs of the conversion and remarketing, to fund a debt service reserve fund, to pay capitalized interest on the bonds (if the public improvements have not been completed) and to fund project costs. SMA is responsible for paying any such costs in excess of those covered by the conversion and remarketing proceeds.

Please be advised that the developer paid for the demolition of the old mall building and site cleanup and no funds were utilized from the special obligation bonds for those activities. Also, current legal considerations, between the developer and the builder, have no bearing on the special obligation bonds and the repayment thereof.

Money to pay debt service on the bonds will be generated through future incremental ad valorem real property tax revenues from the project, and, to the extent such revenues are insufficient, special taxes levied by the City on the project site. No funds are coming out of current tax revenue and this project is not a general burden on City taxpayers. The City has not pledged its full faith and credit or its general obligation taxing power to the payment of these bonds. The only impact to the City of Salisbury will be the reduction of incremental ad valorem real property tax revenue from the project that would normally flow to the City, until the bonds are paid in full. To the extent the owner of the property in the project site (which constitutes the tax increment development district and the geographically coincident special taxing district) fail to pay their normal ad valorem property taxes or any levied special taxes, the City has the power to foreclose on such properties, but the City is not liable for any deficiencies.

Question of the Day, Mon 6/2

I see more and more each day about gasoline thefts.
Have you had gasoline stolen from you?
Have you done anything to stop gas thieves from stealing from you?
Is your car equipped with locking gasoline lids or doors?

I want my WIC checks

Last night My wife and I went grocery shopping at Wal-mart. We used to go to Food Lion, but the costs are too high. Point is we go to Wal-mart in an attempt to save money. Ya know.....fiscal responsibility. Anyway, we are walking down the isle and a person (me anyway and I don't care who likes it) can't help but notice the extremely high percentage of Hispanic people present - if for no other reason but due to the fact that as they speak to each other you can't understand what they are saying. After making this observation, I noticed one particular woman, obviously of hispanic descent, with a shopping cart containing 10 gallons of milk. 10 gallons of milk. I thought: "how can a family possibly consume 10 gallons of milk before it goes bad?". A few seconds later I saw that she was holding several papers in her right hand. As I walked by her I noticed they were WIC checks. I brought this to the attention of my wife and she just rolled her eyes and asked me why I get all worked up about things like this. I bit my tounge and continued shopping. As we continued to wander up and down the isles I observed a couple with a small child who were shopping who were, again, obviously of Hispanic descent. In the womans right hand was what? You guessed it....WIC checks! At this point I was in disbelief. These folks were speaking spanish and I know in my heart they weren't born here. WIC checks....indeed! "My tax dollars at work", I thought. But I carried on. When we got in the check out line, two families up from us there was another Hispanic family. To my horror the woman of the family was carrying .....WIC CHECKS! The man was wearing a short sleave shirt covered in Spanish, which is his right, but moved me toward believing that these folks weren't born here.

Call me a racist if you wan't and I can't prove that these folks were illegal......but the chances of them being here legally in this area is slim.

A friend of mine recently went to a school geared toward the administrations of Law Enforcement Agencies. One of the speakers was from the Federal Govt. This speaker stated that a major reason that our govt. isn't pushing the illegal immigration issue is that most of these folks who work, pay into the Social Security System under a ficticious SS number. They continue to pay into it without any hope of collecting from it. It is simply an underhanded ploy to keep a failing system afloat.

Is this really working? Aren't they taking more out of one system (welfare, WIC, other social programs) than they are putting into another? Aren't they costing the American public more by getting sick and going to the hospital and never paying their bills thereby pushing healthcare costs up for everyone else in order to recover those losses? Or by leaving houses and apartments they rent without paying their last two months electric bills thereby increasing the costs to everyone else to recover those losses?

When we got into the car it was raining like a cow pi**ing on a flat rock. I was less than happy with my shopping experience. My wife said "I don't understand why you get so upset over these things. "They're" going to do what they want anyway. They don't care (meaning the govt.) and nothing's gonna change". I told her that it's an attitude like that which has brought us to this point. Now......call me a racist. Let's have it.

I think tomorrow I'm going to go register for WIC. We have two children still. I just may qualify. While I'm at it, I'm going to apply for welfare and get a check from them - or an "independence" card. Just think of the money I'll save since I won't have to pay for health care anymore. The govt. will pay for my housing under Section 8. I'll just put it in the backs of hardworking Americans. How....."American".

Lying Sack Of Sh!t Part II

As many of you have heard, I confronted Council Vice President Gary Comegys about his illegal parking at the Flea Market in Downtown Salisbury and he flat out denied and lied about it.

The audio clip above is my asking the man if he in fact parked there and he flat out lied and said no. After the meeting ended I confronted him again telling him I had several witnesses that would testify that he was parked in a Handicap Zone and that there was a person in a wheel chair trying to get off a Bus and could not do so because Mr. Comegys vehicle was parked at the ramp where they load and unload. His response was, "I was only there 10 minutes."

I should add, he was smiling the entire time, knowing he had just been caught in a lie. When I asked him the original question, (one reason why you can't hear him reply) he sat back in his chair away from the mic and smiled and then said NO. Bubba, Yo Nex Mare?

The Once and Future Wicomico County Department of Law

On Friday we ran a post regarding the establishment of a full time legal department in the FY 2009 Wicomico County budget. What we reported then was accurate, but more details have arrived since then.

Note: This is a long post covering a somewhat complicated topic; so please bear with me. Because it is so long you can view the entire post on Delmarva Dealings or you have the option of opening (and saving) this post as a PDF file.

Oh, You Think Things Are Bad With Delmarva Power?

Jennifer and I arrived home this evening just as we watched one of the most beautiful Rainbows I've personally ever seen and my camera was in the other car! Then, we no sooner got in the house and hit the light switches and NOTHING! No Power!

OK, so I thought, that's OK, I'll just get te laptop and check the messages on the Blog. I pull out the backpack and I can't find the wireless card! I searched every vehicle, (there's lots of them) and I couldn't find it anywhere. I thought for sure it was gone. Leave it to a level headed woman, (Jennifer) to say, it's got to be in one of the vehicles. We walked out and started looking again and withing minutes we found it in the crack of one of the trucks of one of the vehicle and here I am.

Look Boss Hog, life is too short to worry about their vehicle in your yard. If "I" were YOU, I would have drained ALL of the gas in the vehicle while it was on your property and smiled to no end when the truck died just a few feet from the house. ROTFLMAO! Get Creative Old Man!

Cohen & Campbell On Bill Reddish Show Monday Morning

The Tag Team of Campbell & Cohen will be live on the Bill Reddish Show Monday morning at 7:40 AM. That's WICO, 1320 AM. This one should be over the top!

A Sad Reminder of Where We Are Heading

A Marine back from Iraq was shot and eventually died of his wound to his neck in Cleveland Ohio. The culprits were a 19 and 20 yr old males. They shot him after they robbed him of $8 dollars! It is sad when a fine young man can survive a war zone but cant survive his leave in between tours. Sound familiar?

Semper Fidelis

Full story courtesy of Foxnews.com - http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,361304,00.html

DelMarVa Power Driver Parks in the MIDDLE of MY BACKYARD Without Permission or a Reason???

Friday afternoon I walk into the backyard and see a DelMarVa Power pickup truck parked in the MIDDLE of my backyard... WTF??? We had no appointment, were current on our bill and this was parked at least 50 FEET INTO MY PROPERTY WITHOUT NOTICE OR PERMISSION.



I walked to the front and looked down Market Street in Both directions, nothing.

This really teed me off that someone just drove over 50' onto my property and locked his truck & left. After Eastern Shore Gas caused over $100,000.00 in damages that we are still trying to collect on, we have posted NO TRESSPASSING signs that require ANY utility person to SIGN IN with the property owner.



I did a slow burn and called the Pocomoke City Police Dept to file an official complaint and have the truck towed.

If you look its not like the guy was a few feet off the alley, he just pulled all the way in.



Look at this picture, he is right next to my garden.

A few minutes later a PCPD squad car pulled up with a black guy in the back who got out, was uniformed and walked up to me and apologized profusely. He said "I was just reading meters, you must be the new owner I have been parking here for years..." to which I told him Mister you are totally full of shit, I have owned this house almost three years, the one next door for 20 and you have never parked here before. I went on that he was NEVER to park on my property again. The cop told him he was lucky that she found him or the truck would have been towed. (I have no idea how she found him)



He got in his truck without even taking the no trespassing notice and sign in sheet I had placed on his windshield down and sped away. Our property is next to the old Fire Station with room to park 200 cars and the Market Street Exchange building with 250 marked parking spaces... But this guy HAD to pull into the MIDDLE OF MY YARD and give some lame BS reason that was a total and complete lie.

My wife thinks he was up to some hanky panky with one of the nearby housewives but who really knows.

Does anyone think it's normal or proper for a utility company to pull into the middle of your yard and then just walk away without saying a word?

Is there anyone who can forward this to the CEO of DelMarVa power? This guy needs another job.

The Ed Baker Pension Deal

A Firend Writes In To Salisbury News:

"Pension Deal for the Wicomico County Attorney
Needs Much More Public Disclosure and Scrutiny

There has been little public disclosure and almost no discussion about a very unusual aspect of Rick Pollitt’s proposed budget that could tie the County to a huge but largely unfunded pension liability. The word “could” is used, rather than “will,” because factual information is not fully available. Apparently Mr. Pollitt and Edgar Baker, who for some years has been the County Attorney but not a full-time employee of the County, decided that Baker should become a full-time County employee with no other legal practice, beginning on July 1. Mr. Baker is in the process of winding up that other practice, which includes services for several local towns (but not Salisbury).

Very recently it has become known that he may be allowed to participate in the County’s retirement plan by retroactive contribution to the plan for the period during which he has been the County’s attorney – about 20 years – apparently at his expense. But the terms and amount of that “buy-in” are not known. A well-informed source has stated that it would be based on his retainer (believed to be $5,000 per year) from the County during that period, even though his total fees paid by the County were much greater. According to that source, the total “buy-in” sum might be very small – perhaps $25,000 or so.

If Mr. Baker becomes a full-time County employee with 20 years service vested in the pension plan, then in another 5 or so years he would be eligible for retirement benefits that apparently based on his salary when he retires, which will certainly exceed $100,000 per year then even if not now. Thus, for a very nominal “buy-in” after only a few years as a full-time employee of Wicomico County, he could be entitled to a very substantial retirement income stream – possibly well over $1 Million if he enjoys good health –funded substantially by future tax revenue rather than the normal contributions during the term of employment.

We don’t know how much of this was presented to the County Council when it discussed Mr. Baker’s restructured position in a recent closed session. But the public remains in the dark, and that’s not appropriate or acceptable under Mr. Pollitt’s campaign pledge to conduct “transparent government” in the “sunshine.” "

Will The Princess Anne Police Take Action Before The Election?

Mystery Man and candidate John Wade refuses to be forth coming with information referencing why he's been driving all around Princess Anne, the whole time without having a Drivers License. To me, it's all about accountability.

In one breath he claims to be running on "open Government policies" but in another he refused to answer what state his Drivers License is in. I'm not sure what it should take to get Police action on this matter but IMO they should do so before the taxpayers waste their time and money electing someone who is clearly breaking the law.

Yesterday Mr. Wade was seen as a passenger in the same vehicle I took picture of him driving in just one day earlier. If he doesn't have a Drivers License in the state of Maryland and or any other state I checked into, why was he driving. I have spoken to some Officers who have in fact seen him driving that same vehicle as well.

Then you have to wonder by way of comments made, does he live in the home going up for auction because taxes haven't been paid or does he in fact live in Delmar, Maryland on Executive Drive with his Wife? The convenience of having an address in Princess Anne didn't afford his Wife any special exceptions as they denied her request to run for Office there just a week ago.

Then I'd have to ask, don't you have to be in good standings with the Town or State you live in? Bankruptcy is yet another issue as well as foreclosures. Is Mr. Wade expressing his "open government" by not coming forward with such issues? The bigger question is, why hasn't the Daily Times done anything in reference to these issues? I personally contacted Eric at the Daily Times and presented my article to him and I have yet to see anything in their paper about this situation?

One can only hope that the citizens of Princess Anne are now familiar with this situation and they can make an educated decision. OR, is this yet another Race Issue like we saw in Washington, D.C, many years ago with Marion Barry? You remember how they voted the man back into Office even after his conviction, right?

Tuesday, (election day) is just around the corner and I can assure you that I will be keeping a close eye on this matter. I want to see if people truly care or if we're witnessing yet another Town falling for the same crap we've seen for far too many years here on the Eastern Shore?

What would YOU want to see done about this? Would you like the Police to investigate it? Would you want the Election Board checking into it? Do you think it's right to own a home in a Town you might be renting to two other people and possibly be living in Delmar, Maryland, yet running for Office in another Town? Do you think it's right to allow someone NOT in good standings to a point their home is going up for a Tax Lien Sale and still be able to run for Office? I'm dying to hear everyone's response to this.

Barrie Tilghman - I'm Gonna Get You

Back in 2007 we ran a post about a discussion I had with several Salisbury businessmen. After listening to them whine about the state of the city I asked a very simple question:

If you are so dissatisfied with the state of affairs in Salisbury, how come I don't see you at City Council meetings expressing that dissatisfaction?

While each answer was worded a bit differently, the core of each response was the same:

If I show up and complain on Monday night, Tuesday (Wednesday at the latest) Barrie Tilghman will have her codes compliance people out to my business writing citations like there's no tomorrow.

To date, there has been only one businessman who has had the moral fiber to show up and complain - Stu Leer. Remember, Barrie is already trying to make his life miserable so I guess he had nothing to lose. But at least the public can hear it first hand:



If audio player doesn't appear in browser, click here.

Perhaps SWED will use the tape as part of one of its economic development pieces. Perhaps the Larsons will discuss their views on Mayoral intimidation in their next episode in Crossroads Chronicles (the quarterly Barrie Tilghman propaganda organ).

cross posted at Delmarva Dealings

Powered by ScribeFire.

Shame On ALL Of You!

Over the past week we advertised this memorial event held yesterday at the WCYCC and although the seats were full of veterans of many different wars and branches of service, I thought the public attendance sucked.

Forgetting where you came from will destroy this Country, I don't care what anyone says. I'll add, no one else has the ba_ _s to take the time and actually write an article like this. Shame on all of you! Do tell me, (there's plenty of room for comments) just what excuse YOU want to make as to why you couldn't take the time out of your day yesterday to educate your children? There were so many Soldiers who would have been glad to take the time and tell you their story.

No, you will not see this in The Daily Times, 47 News and or 16 News because they too refused to show respect for all these fine local men and women who served YOU to give US the freedom we now enjoy in this Country.

Although some Politicians were out of town, SHAME ON THE MAJORITY OF THEM WHO DIDN'T SHOW UP YESTERDAY! I'll NOT forget that either, because it says a whole lot about who they are! Joe Holloway, Bill McCain, & Gail Bartgovitch were present. Debbie Campbell was there with her Family. THAT'S IT! I know Rick Pollitt was in New York but Mayor Barrie Tilghman, NO SHOW! I'm sorry Folks. I know this isn't my normal style, especially lately but this just ticked me off to no end. Where are all the Teachers/Educators? Even the normal volume of Bikers that usually show us was limited to a dozen or so people/bikes. WE'RE AT WAR PEOPLE! I give up.

Thank You, ALL of you, who attended.

I SHOULD ADD: Not One Fire Truck! Not One Police Car! Not One Fireman! Not One Police Officer! No Ladder Trucks with the American Flag being flown between the two of them, yet they can find the time to do so when they all know the Press is going to be there for a fundraiser. The whole thing made me sick, quite frankly!

Campbell & Cohen Explain The Wilber Fiasco

The public will likely appreciate the following detail about the city attorney's services and compensation, which clarifies our reasoning and vote not to amend the current (fiscal year 2008) budget to increase the legal account a second time to provide even more taxpayer money for that purpose from the city's surplus.

The original FY08 budget provided $236,250 (almost $20,000 per month or more than $4,500 per week) for the city attorney's general fund services, plus $10,000 for an outside attorney if needed. The budget also included monies for legal costs associated with other funds, such as water and sewer. Further, the city has other legal counsel for such things as bond issuance and environmental matters, which are not paid from the amounts mentioned.

A few months ago, the council was asked to approve an additional appropriation of $88,750 because the account for the city attorney was nearly depleted. The Tilghman administration requested this amount based only on what the monthly rate had been running, despite our request for detail about anticipated work. This would have increased the general fund portion of the city attorney's costs from $236,250 to $325,000, or by 37.5 percent.

We supported an additional $40,000 so that the basic legal needs of the city could be covered, bringing the total to $276,250 (more than $23,000 per month or more than $5,300 per week), or 17 percent over original budget.

At the time of that approval, we made clear the expectation that the city needed to be conservative in its legal spending. Last Monday, the council was asked to approve yet another $28,750 to fund the city attorney for the balance of FY08, bringing total fees for the entire year to $305,000 ($25,417 per month or $5,865 per week).
This is the third year in a row that the city attorney's services have run over the original budget. In FY07, the audit shows this department ran into the red at year's end, even after a substantial amount of additional money was appropriated. The charter forbids over-expenditure and carries penalties for that act.

We question the management of the legal account and the manner in which decisions are made regarding what legal issues the city pursues. For instance, a recent matter involves the appeal by a property owner who represented himself successfully against a decision of the city's Historic District Commission in the Circuit Court. The property owner won his case. The mayor then authorized the city attorney to file an appeal for the city to the Court of Special Appeals in Annapolis.

The city's legal fees for this case exceeded $18,000. The decision in the local court and the appeals court lead us to wonder why the city pursued this case to a higher court level. On behalf of the appeals court judges, Judge Sharer wrote, "The conduct of that hearing forms the basis for the circuit court's reversal. We reproduce the commission hearing transcript, verbatim, so as not to lose the flavor of the event." The transcript of the decision can be viewed at our website, www.onyoursidesby.blogspot.com.

Having reviewed invoices and seen many of the legal memos generated, we are also concerned about when and why legal opinions are written, when a simple answer at a meeting often would have sufficed. We also question the practice of marking so many legal opinions "privileged and confidential" when other communities appear to take a more open approach.

In addition, we believe that taxpayers and citizens expect their elected officials to strive for the best price and value for services paid for with public money. In pursuit of that belief, we have asked the city to consider handling legal services differently. We have suggested that the city's legal services be competitively bid on a regular basis, that Salisbury consider a staff attorney or that the city negotiate a contract with a flat rate for routine service and an hourly rate for specialized services. The city is a regular and major source of income for any law firm that would hold the contract, so it is reasonable to expect there is room for contract negotiation.

Wicomico County, which serves a populationmore thanthree times that of Salisbury's, budgeted $285,000 for legal counsel in FY08.For FY09, bringing the county attorney in house for dedicated service, the proposed budget is only $286,080.

Under the current charter provisions, the council has limited say in the day-to-day use of the city attorney's time and services. As with all departments, however, the council can choose whether or not to condone and support poor management and unwise spending choices by the administration via how much money it appropriates. On behalf of the taxpayers and citizens we represent, we chose not to use their money to continue subsidizing what we believe is a lack of fiscal responsibility.

This article can also been seen on The Dail;y Times HERE.

Question of the Day, Sun 6/1

I remember having a Strawberry Shortcake record player when I was a kid. I remember playing The Oak Ridge Boys and Alabama records like it was yesterday.

Name some records you listened to as a kid. Do you still enjoy these songs? Are you embarrassed to still enjoy them?

This Kid Was Serious...

This comment is not intended as a knock towards The Wicomico Board of Education or any educator in the County.


A student said "he was proud and cool" that he had been arrested. He referred to high school boys, who also have had been arrested and are "thugs" as his "uncles" A sign of respect and acceptance as a part of a group for those nefarious culprits in their circle. His comments came after the class was disciplined for not following simple directions and blatant disrespect. A stern lecture came from an amazing educator, who previously worked in the prison system, to the class about where they were going and what would happen if they did not straighten up. It was to the point, true, and hopefully a shock into their conscience. Sadly it did not look like it got to him too much.

The worst part, he is in third grade.

Major problems arise when this mentality is developed and chosen by these kids. It is starting earlier and earlier whether it is substances, sex, or crime. Cognitional development just develops a little more each year as they mature, but when it is crucial in their early years, they do not have the reasoning skills or the capacity to rationally put things together in a intelligible way.
Kids take in what is immediate to them. When their world consists of the antitheses of strong moral value, a world infused with things that they ought not see and experience at their age, and a loss of a tradition of doing what is expected of you within society adds up to a dangerous outcome. It is so hard for them to see that there is more than their world; there is another path other than being a delinquent; there is more to life, the very possibility and hope of something outside of their corrupt world.

What is the bottoming out point when more and more of our youth are going down this path? The World War II generation fought a war so that their families would not be subject to such an evil and that the generations would never have to do what they had to do. As a community and society we must ask ourselves "what are we willing to do to prevent our future generations from dealing with excessive crime and un-productive generation?" The real question is "how do we reach them?"

It has gotten worse and it is scary to be hearing more youth turning out this way. Schools can only do so much and again it starts at home/outside of school. Think how things will be 10 years down the line when they are physically matured and have brought more into this cycle? Just some food for thought.

Graffiti Vandals Strike Again! Salisbury News There First!

Once again graffiti vandals have struck again this time at the Verizon Wireless Center and it's adjacent buildings which are the internet cafe/Hispanic Ministry and the hair/nail salon on Rt. 13 next to University Park.

With the marks of Kord and Dublin they defaced the backs of the buildings and a trash receptacle in the backs of the building which was found this morning placing the time of the vandalism Friday night/ Saturday early morning. As you can tell these are some pretty big markings taking up large amounts of the buildings and will cost a good dollar to get rid of.

The service shed next to the tracks by UP that has been tagged before was also hit on both sides. I did not see any damage to the back of the new bank going up or any other buildings in the vicinity. Still too much needless damage was perpetrated by some punks that these small business owners will have to fix! When you start adding up all these little things that detract from our town it adds up to a big black eye which we all have and have to look at!

Good news comes in that the marks do not appear to be gang related.