Popular Posts

Sunday, March 01, 2015

Special Weather Statement 3-1-15


SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAKEFIELD VA
1028 PM EST SUN MAR 1 2015

DORCHESTER-WICOMICO-SOMERSET-INLAND WORCESTER-MARYLAND BEACHES-
CAROLINE-KING WILLIAM-KING AND QUEEN-ESSEX-WESTMORELAND-RICHMOND-
NORTHUMBERLAND-LANCASTER-GLOUCESTER-MIDDLESEX-MATHEWS-ACCOMACK-
NORTHAMPTON VA-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...CAMBRIDGE...SALISBURY...CRISFIELD...
PRINCESS ANNE...SNOW HILL...OCEAN CITY...TAPPAHANNOCK...
CHINCOTEAGUE...WALLOPS ISLAND...MELFA...EASTVILLE
1028 PM EST SUN MAR 1 2015

...PATCHY ICY CONDITIONS PERSIST OVERNIGHT...

AREAS OF BLACK ICE WILL BE POSSIBLE ON UNTREATED SURFACES OVERNIGHT
ACROSS THE LOWER EASTERN SHORE...AND NORTHERN NECK. TEMPERATURES
ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN NEARLY STEADY OR SLOWLY RISE THROUGH 4 AM.
TEMPERATURES MAY HOVER AROUND FREEZING IN SOME SHELTERED
LOCATIONS...EVEN AS MOST AREAS STAY JUST ABOVE FREEZING. PLEASE
USE EXTRA CAUTION IF TRAVELING AND BE PREPARED FOR ICY PATCHES ON
ROADWAYS...PRIMARILY ON BRIDGES AND OVERPASSES.

"Dan Satterfield From WBOC Said This Would Happen"

If you've watched the new series of commercials for WBOC's Weatherman Dan Satterfield, well, we thought we'd be more TRUTHFUL about it. Wouldn't you agree?

Salisbury: Stabbing Suspect In Custody

JUST IN: Stabbing in Salisbury

Weather Bulletin

Weather Bulletin
March 1, 2015, 10:45 AM

The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for Sunday (3/1/2015) from 10:45 AM to 4:00 PM for Wicomico County.

* HAZARDS: Primarily sleet and freezing rain.

* ACCUMULATIONS: Snow accumulation less than one half inch. Ice less than a tenth
of an inch.

* TEMPERATURES: Upper 20s to around 30 through midday and early afternoon then
rising to mid 30s by late afternoon.

* TIMING: Light snow and sleet becoming sleet and freezing rain during midday then
transitioning to all rain by late this afternoon.

* IMPACTS: Hazardous travel due to ice covered roads, bridges and overpasses.
A Winter Weather Advisory means that periods of snow, sleet and freezing rain will cause travel difficulties. Use caution while driving.


Wicomico County Department of Emergency Services (DES)


The DES is continuing to monitor the situation in conjunction with the Maryland Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) and the National Weather Service. Additional Weather Bulletins will be issued if warranted.

A Very Interesting Find: UPDATE

Publishers Notes: Because this article has created so much interest I've bumped it back to the top. 

Dr. Randy George of Marion Station presented the following remarks Feb. 11 to the County Ethics Commission as it begins to review financial disclosure forms submitted by the County Commissioners.

* * *

“I’m have been very troubled by what’s going on with regards to this wind ordinance. The underlying reason, I think, why you’re here today is that wind ordinance.

“The drafting of an ordinance was commissioned by the County Commissioners to the Planning and Zoning Commission, and I think this whole discussion centers around the prestige of office, around the use of that. And that’s the underlying theme that I hear through it all.

“You are at some disadvantage, because you were not, like many of us, sitting through these long Planning and Zoning Commission meetings. Maybe that’s an advantage. But we do have, and the county does have audio/visual records of every bit of it, it’s out there.

“When Pioneer Green, we all know who that is, came into the county, it had very clear requirements. It was never vague about those requirements for what it had to have in order to be here. It needed to plant a series of turbines in an agricultural-residential area, because we are closely tied geographically to each other that didn’t leave a lot of area. People live quite close to each other even though it’s an agricultural region.

“Pioneer Green wanted to place these turbines 700 feet away from people. They finally conceded that it would be a 1,000 feet, otherwise they would have to walk. The height had to be a certain height, and if it were to be restricted, they would have to walk. If the sound was allowed to be too loud, they would have to walk, they required it to be in the range of airports and train sound levels permitted by the state of Maryland, otherwise they would not stay.

More

Two Snaps Up

 
It would seem that your gay Mayor wants to use his position to throw parties Downtown as he frequents the Brick Room, MoJo's and Roadie Joe's with his special friends. So why don't they just call it "Gay Pride Night" and get it over with?
This is the newly proposed crosswalk at Division Street and Main Street. How special.

A Letter To The Editor: Giant Food Response

Joe:

The other night I wrote a letter to the Corporate Office of Giant and it was forwarded to the Salisbury store manager. I for one am another one who is sick and tired of the homeless hanging out around Giant and Walgreens and refuse to go there without my husband accompanying me. I am sorry to say but in my letter I told Giant that they were now located in the wrong area as they had a homeless shelter located directly behind them and a Substance Abuse Center across the street and maybe they needed to relocate as the shopping center was going downhill fast and they were going to be losing their customers if something was not done. Listed below is the response that I just received from Giant’s store manager so apparently I got the attention of the right person in Giant’s Corporate Office and only time will tell if they truly care about the safety of their customers.

Giant Responds:

My name is Michael Hunt and I am the store manager at the Salisbury Giant. I received a copy of the email that you sent to the company about the issue with homeless around the building. I called our landlord and our corporate office to get a security company to have a presence on our property to try to curtail the issue. Hopefully in the near future you will see a big difference on the property. Thank you for letting me know of this issue so I can address this issue with the company. If there is anything else you need please feel free to contact me at the store. Thanks again

A Viewer Writes: Delmar Needs a New Daycare Establishment

Hi Joe, Who in their right mind determined that Lil Red Hen in Delmar was a "5 star daycare" Or was it determined that way because the owners, Anne and Tom Atkinson, are extremely close to Karen Schrieber and a few of the other Delaware Stars workers who visited the daycare for weeks prior to their evaluation? ( Instructing the staff on what to say, what not to say) Either way, Lil Red Hen should barely qualify as a 2 star daycare.

We can start by the fact that neither one of the owners are hardly ever there. But yet the staff are treated like crap when the owners do decide to show up, even though they basically run the place.. ( Hence the reason why they can never keep any good employees for more than a year, if they're lucky) These two literally talk to their employees like dogs. The same employees who work sometimes 10 hours a day.

The rooms are way over licensing capacity, with not enough staff members. Take the infant and toddler area for example. The infant room is supposed to be just that, THE INFANT ROOM. Who wants their non mobile child in a room with toddlers who are walking and falling over them, potentially hurting them. Wasn't there an incident a few years ago where a 2 yr old bit an infant in the face? That child was pulled that day and never returned. Charges should have been filed then. But did they learn their lesson there? Nope.

And what about when Anne Atkinson instructed a staff member to discipline her own child, as the staff could not deal with him anymore. That staff member took her child in Anne's office with Anne present where she repeatedly spanked him. Two brand new employees ( one being my sister) who had to witness that, never came back to work there. Not only did the staff witness it, so did some of the other children. If you have children that attend Lil Red Hen, Joe, I advise you to let these parents know they should unexpectedly visit their "5 star daycare" and see just how these "5 star staff" speak to and treat our children. Don't get me wrong, there are and have been some great employees over the years, but any one of them who are great, aren't there anymore. Have any of you asked to see lesson plans for your child's class? There aren't any! 

Delmar needs another daycare, period. The office of childcare licensing will be visiting this establishment over the weeks to come due to issues I have had with them over the past few weeks, ( and obviously I have multiple inside people who inform me of a lot) so who knows how long they will be open. And apparently I am not the only person that has had issues with this place.

Thanks,
Delmar Mom

Wicomico County Schools Closed Friday 2-27-15


Let Me Make Something VERY Clear Here About School Closings


Was just told by a few school custodians that some of the contracted snow removal companies aren't doing lots till tomorrow. 

Custodians were told to get sidewalks clear for office staff so looks like no kids will be going. Shame because the BOE custodian have been working all day to get things ready for tomorrow. And city and county have done a much better job. 

Wonder if contractors had other obligations or better pay options.
Now I spent the day traveling all over Wicomico County and even a part of Sussex County. You see the message I received above, clearly John Fredericksen NEVER intended to have schools open. The first two pictures were taken at, (GET THIS) 4:45 PM TODAY! That's WiHi! 

I then traveled to Delmar to see what kind of condition the Middle and High School were and I think you'll agree, they're ready for students. Delmar Elementary was also completely cleared and ready for students.

NOW, let's talk about the roads. I wanted to make damn sure John Fredericksen was NOT going to state that the roads were not in good enough shape to send out buses. I'll be delivering absolute evidence that the County roads are perfectly fine and I challenge any one of you to say they aren't, because I have pictures of pretty much every single neighborhood and back road I could find. 

Were there some roads that hadn't been completed, yes. However, by 3:30 PM today they had not only been noted, they were sending crews to each location. Teachers Beware, the roads are clear, even in the Town of Delmar. By the way Delmar, nice work on both sides of Rt. 54.

I will be providing more photos and information as the evening goes on. 

Dem Congressman: We Need Food Stamps Because So Many Fathers Are In Jail

Democrat Georgia Rep. David Scott said that food stamps are necessary because of America’s “policy” of imprisoning families.

“Our policy of sending so many of our young eligible fathers to prison. Millions,” Scott said. “Our prison population went from 300,000 in 1975 to over two million today.

These are providers who are not there. This is why we have so many single female head of households. I mean, so when you look at everything we have done, we’ve got to correct some of these things first.”

More

Closings & Delays For Friday 2-27-15


Wicomico County Schools - Closed

Somerset County Schools - Closed

Accomack County Schools - All schools are closed tomorrow Feb 27th due to road conditions. All 12 month employees are on a 2 hour delay Friday Feb. 27. Be safe and take care! 

Delmar School District - Closed 

Worcester County Schools - Closed 

Seaford School District - Closed

Laurel School District - Schools & Administrative Offices are closed Friday, February 27, 2015 due to emergency weather conditions.

LET'S CLEAR THE AIR, A LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Greg Johnson

As I read the comments on your post regarding HSB and Greg Johnson, I feel like I should chime in and provide another side of this story. 

Over the past several quarters, examiners from the Fed have been visiting the Hebron Savings Bank. This is not unusual as they visit all banks and conduct audits to be sure that the banks are keeping accurate records and are following the "rules". The rules are both established by law and/or prescribed by Federal Reserve policy. 

Recently, the Fed has been critical of the way HSB has been handling financial difficulties being experienced by some HSB customers. HSB has been reaching out to families and businesses and helping them keep their mortgages by restructuring loans, lowering interest rates temporarily, etc., in order to keep the loans serviceable. Sometimes this was necessary more than once a year as their financial positions changed. It seems logical that a bank would do much better to keep current loans serviceable than to foreclose - but that's not what the Feds want. The Feds have told HSB that it is no longer acceptable to assist its customers more than once a year. Greg Johnson found this position unacceptable. 

As a former bank examiner, Greg knew that it looks better to have serviceable loans than it does to have excessive fore closures on the books. He also knows that it is better for the community to help families and businesses through hard time than it is to litter our communities with empty homes and businesses. This is one of the reasons HSB has a four star rating. Regardless of the negative effect this has on our communities, the Fed came down on HSB, threatening sanctions. This caused the board to take a strong stance against Greg Johnson and his efforts to maintain a strong relationship between the bank and the community. 

Greg determined that it would be better for him to be able to work for a financial institution which shared his desire to foster such a relationship. THIS is why Greg Johnson left HSB to work for a financial institution in Delaware. I wish Greg much luck and I hope HSB, MY bank, finds someone else who shares his Greg's vision of a strong community. 

Thank you.

JUST IN: Results of the CPAC Straw Poll Announced

1st place - Rand Paul  26%

2nd place - Scott Walker 21%

3rd place - Ted Cruz 12%

4th place - Dr. Ben Carson  11%

5th place - Jeb Bush  8%

Saturday Construction/City Noise Ordinance

Hey Joe. Hope you're having a better evening than me. 

Just wanted to update you on whats happened the past week or so. On Monday someone in the neighborhood (not me) called SPD to make a complaint about the construction continuing well past 6pm. She told me that she watched the responding officer talk to one individual and then leave. That individual then went and told all the workers to get down and wrap it up, which they all did, she said. Then yesterday, oddly enough, Palmer Gillis called me out of the blue on my cell phone. I have never spoken to him before, and I don't know how he got my number, but he was very nice and pleasant to talk with. He assured me that they (Gillis Gilkerson, Terra Firma) fully have the surrounding community in mind while they're working at any project. He told me that there will SURELY be noise ordinance violations in the future, "that's just how it is." He wanted me to agree with him that the longer they are allowed to work, the sooner they would be outta there. That may be true, but I do not agree with him on that subject, because 7am-6pm means just that, and nothing more. I wonder if he only called because there is a Council meeting tomorrow, and this topic is in the agenda finally? I don't know. 

Well wouldn't ya know it?? The construction continued until 6:45pm tonight, when they absolutely couldn't see anything anymore. At 6:30 I called SPD (4th time in 3 weeks) to make a legitimate complaint about the heavy equipment and compressors that were still running. I was greeted by a nice female dispatcher, but she was unable to help, and put me on hold. After a few moments another dispatcher (Woods) came on the line and only asked for my address. I almost did not give it to him, because it is irrelevant, but I did anyway and he immediately changed his tone and became quite stand-offish telling me that "I've talked to you before (he's only talked to me once previously) and we don't have to send anyone out there." I told him my complaint was legitimate and not frivolous and that he cant just ignore it. (SPD has been called to that site a minimum of 6 times, and those are just the ones I know about) He didn't like having to talk to me, that much he made pretty clear. I asked him why he had an attitude with me and his response was "I don't have an attitude, I may be intense, but no attitude." Seriously?? He sounded just like Ireton to me. I then asked to speak with someone else. After all, these are the same cops that tell everyone in this neighborhood to call "anytime you have a problem with students being unruly."

After being placed on hold again another man came on the line. This time it was the LT on duty. He was very nice, but was very clear that there is nothing they can do. He said that they (contractors) can be cited, and that was it. He told me that the contractor can take a citation every day (unknown if a single citation has been issued), but it was not an arrestable misdemeanor offense, and "if they can afford it they'll just keep paying the fine."
I don't know what the "fine" amounts to in dollars, but I'm sure its very minor, probably $100 or less, and I'm sure Gillis would gladly pay the petty little fine to be able to work outside the allowed hours. I bet if each individual on site was written a citation every time they violate the hours their willingness to disregard the law would change. 

After hearing that response from SPD, and Palmer telling me it will definitely happen again, it seems the community has lost this battle because we can not compete with big business, big money, big government, and Salisbury University. 

Its very disheartening and upsetting to know that even the most minor of laws written only apply to certain people. It is also very frustrating that the folks elected to represent the people get butt-hurt when their opinions are challenged. I have been relentless in my quest to see that the current ordinance is followed, and for that I have been attacked on the other blog, spoken to like a piece of trash by Ireton, treated like a lame by some random dispatcher that thinks he is a lawyer/cop, threatened by one construction worker, and blown off by most of the Council. All for speaking/standing up for my community and our quality of life !!! I mean seriously....I don't do this crap for fun, Id like nothing more than to be silent as a church mouse. Problem is that the longer the Council takes to figure this out the more violations that will take place because there is no real consequence anyway. For that reason I have been quite diligent in making sure this community's voices are heard, and that Ireton, Mitchell, and Day have to deal with me like I have to deal with this noise 75 hours per week. 

I bet if I took my leaf blower over to Philadelphia Avenue or Ridge Road and gave it a tune up outside the legal hours to make noise, my ass would get arrested for disturbing the peace and surely fined for violating the city ordinance. The ordinances are only a bunch of words written on a paper, deciphered by lawyers that are in the pockets of big business. 

Thanks again for your help Joe.

End long rant. Looks like the community loses....yet again.

An Excellent Comment Worthy Of A Post

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post " County Executive Culver Responds To Mike Dunn's Ar...":

Joe,


Please let your readers know that there are two people named Mike Dunn in Salisbury whose name might be known to the public. 

One is Mike Dunn, the Realtor, whose signs you might see on for-sale properties.

The other is Mik
e Dunn, the donut hole, who is the author of the Independent piece to which this post applies. 

For the sake of fairness, please don't let your readers confuse these two separate and very different people.

Wicomico County Has You unCOVERED





Don't you think for a second the Roads Division of Wicomico is slacking. All throughout the morning we have gone mobile to give you the real experience of snow removal. 

We will continue to show you the progress throughout the day and even evening so you'll finally know in real time what to expect with your road conditions, especially for your evening and morning commute tomorrow. 

There's NO NEED for YOU to get out there. We'll keep you posted. Stay warm, stay dry and stay safe. There's been many accidents already this morning. A simple curve in the road has found many completely out of control and sliding off into ditches. It's just not worth it. 

Reporting LIVE from Wicomico County, this is Special Bureau Chief Joe Albero, Salisbury News. LOL

Just In: Accident: UPDATE

Accident involving tractor trailer at 13 and Foskey Lane.

North bound lanes.........involving a liquid gas tanker and a Comcast van.

UPDATE: 13 northbound is shut down due to the accident.

Paul Tatem Found NOT GUILTY Of Attempted Murder

It only took 3 hours for the Jury to decide Paul Tatem NOT guilty of murder. Heck, other then a possession of a weapon charge, the Jury found him not guilty of all the 1st degree, 2nd degree attempted murder, armed robbery and a host of other charges.

Matt Maciarello basically stated, "the Jury has spoken". With all due respect, what the hell were all the charges about then?

Clearly if you are black in Wicomico County and you don't have the funds to get a good criminal attorney, (in which this guy fortunately did) according to statistics, YOU'RE GOING TO JAIL IN WICOMICO COUNTY. In fact, (according to statistics per capita) if you are charged of a crime in Wicomico County the odds are HIGHEST you'll see jail time over ANY other County in the entire state. With charges like the ones here, you have to wonder, are the new statistics a really good thing or a really bad thing?

This, (to me personally) is some pretty scary stuff. I'm thinking, heck, if you're charged with multiple counts of attempted murder and the whole nine yards and there's really no evidence you did the crime, WOW! 

I had also heard there was a female of which the Police stated they had found her dna at the scene, yet she claimed, WHAT THE HECK, I've never been to that home or property, WOW!

Now I've not seen a press release from the States Attorneys Office either last night or this morning but I'd say there's a major problem in Wicomico County and I'll clearly and openly state, this is NOT the first case like this here. 

So all they got on this guy was an illegal firearm. REALLY? And look, I don't care what this guys previous record states, he was charged with murder and he didn't do it! This means the MURDERER is still out there. Very scary stuff!

My hat is tipped to Tatem's attorney David Weck. 

A Message From The Salisbury Police Department

A "BRAKE"? How about a break instead.
Welcome to the Eastern Shore.

Snow Plows Just Hit The Road In Wicomico County

Snow Plows just hit the road in Wicomico Count to start spreading salt. I'm not so sure the snow is thick enough yet to plow but they are spreading salt. When I got up at 5:00 AM I was amazed at how little snow we had received so far.
Sure, there's snow on the ground but nothing like what we had expected. 

Todd Dudek's Last Day At The Daily Times Is This Friday After 25 Years: Please Wish Him Well

Well as most of you know, my job has been eliminated at the newspaper and Friday will be my last day. I have enjoyed the run of 25+ years, but looking forward to the future. I want to personally thank all of those who made my job easy, and some of those who made my job harder, I am a better person for it. I want to thank all the police and fire departments for unprecedented access to scenes, the tips that all of you (you know who you are) gave me, and the information that I received that made me the best spot news photographer in Maryland and Delaware year after year. To the schools that I enjoyed shooting all the sports and school events over the years. I will miss the daily grind (not really some days) but I believe that I was always a professional. To all the police officers and darn fire police I pissed off, sorry but I had a job to do also. I will see each and everyone of you on the "Other" side of my life and excited what that will bring! To you folks, Cheers!!!

There's Many Reasons Crime Is So Bad In Salisbury & Wicomico County

The image above is the Hudson Center, I'll get back to that in a minute.

I don't know if you've noticed lately but Salisbury News has been the front runner for the past 10 years bringing you crime information when the rest of the media ignored it. Fortunately that has changed quite a bit but in the past few months, (if not longer) law enforcement has been extremely quiet about crime.

Oh, they let us know about SHOPLIFTERS but IF we didn't put out certain breaking information we wouldn't see anything. In fact, law enforcement has placed so much pressure on a new Website out there breaking news as it comes in on the scanner that even they have stated they're going to back down from exposing what's going on. Many have suggested in comments the people behind that Site are Police Officers and Firefighters. 

States Attorney Matt Maciarello sends us press releases on people his office convicts but isn't it interesting WE don't get information on the original arrests any more??? Mind you, that is not Maciarello's fault but someone is purposely dropping the ball to the public.

What you are hearing is that a LOT of the crime is based around drug addictions. Getting back to the Hudson Center, (above). The Hudson Center is a place for addicts to go but here's the problem. In years past the Hudson Center was accepting patients from, (get this) Baltimore City. Once that was exposed enough pressure was placed on them to stop accepting patients from Baltimore because we had such a drug problem here on the Shore. 

Well, guess what. the Baltimore patients are back. That's right, local people addicted to drugs simply can't get in. Once again you're seeing NONE of this in your local media and it's a shame because crime keeps going up, they know what the main root cause is from and if there's one thing I can assure you of is it will continue to skyrocket if these people can't get help. 

Let me just say this as well. If you THINK this doesn't or won't affect you, well, count your blessings because many affluent Families are also victims of the drug problem on the Shore and others are victims of the crime it causes.  

I'm not so sure our law enforcement leaders even know this is a problem with the Hudson center but one thing is for sure, they know it now. STOP allowing Baltimore patients into the Hudson Center and let's take care of our own right here on the Shore. 

Oh, let's also start publishing the REAL crime going on and STOP covering it up. If crime was as low as you publish, I'd say you could get rid of 80% of your staff. 

A Comment Worthy Of A Post 2-24-15

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post " IRVING JONES III SENTENCED TO 35 YEARS IN PRISON F...":

I was there at court watching this trial. These facts aren't accurate at all. The car was stopped for stopping on a white line. No drugs were found in his possession but in the pants of a girl. The driver of the car wasn't there to testify or even charged. This man was convicted because his money was sorted in order and had a past conviction of drugs. Not to mention the 11 white jurors one black and a black alternate. And his public defender Sandra freid is a joke. A real lawyer would've busted this out of the water. And finally the judge who retires in a couple months Honorable Jackson....never took his eyes off the computer. An objection was yelled and a huh what over ruled without explanation. The law failed this man. He was convicted of assumptions and not facts. Oh the scales weren't on him either. In a closed box in a missing drivers car. Not saying he wasn't a dealer. Probably was. But the law failed in this case.

Breaking Video Shows Fort Lauderdale Cop Slapping Homeless Man


BREAKING NEWS: Obama vetoes Keystone pipeline bill

The White House has notified the Senate that President Obama has vetoed the Keystone XL oil pipeline bill.

More

Scott Walker: ‘I Don’t Know’ If Obama Is a Christian

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a prospective Republican presidential contender, said Saturday he does not know whether President Obama is a Christian.

“I don’t know,” Walker said in an interview at the JW Marriott hotel in Washington, where he was attending the winter meeting of the National Governors Association.

“I’ve actually never talked about it or I haven’t read about that,” Walker said, his voice calm and firm. “I’ve never asked him that,” he added. “You’ve asked me to make statements about people that I haven’t had a conversation with about that. How [could] I say if I know either of you are a Christian?”

Walker said such questions from reporters are reflective of a broader problem in the nation’s political-media culture, which he described as fixated on issues that are not relevant to most Americans.

“To me, this is a classic example of why people hate Washington and, increasingly, they dislike the press,” he said. “The things they care about don’t even remotely come close to what you’re asking about.”

Read more

Council President Selected to 2015 Class of Leadership Maryland

Salisbury - Mayor James Ireton Jr., is pleased to announce that Salisbury's City Council President, Jake Day has been selected to the 2015 Class of Leadership Maryland. Leadership Maryland is one of 34 state leadership programs nationwide and has graduated nearly 1,000 statewide leaders. Day joins 26 past Leadership Maryland honorees from Salisbury, including Jim Perdue, Dr. Memo Diriker, Dr. Ray Hoy and Kathleen Momme.
“These selected participants represent a broad spectrum of highly qualified executives from an extraordinary pool of statewide applicants,” said Renee M. Winsky, president and CEO and Class of 2005 graduate of Leadership Maryland. “After participating in a comprehensive program of experiences throughout the year, these leaders will serve as important participants in the unified effort to shape Maryland’s future.”
Founded in 1992, Leadership Maryland is an independent, educational, non-profit organization designed to inform top-level executives, from the public and private sectors, about the critical issues, challenges and opportunities facing the state of Maryland and its regions. Each year, up to 52 accomplished and talented statewide leaders are selected to participate in the eight-month program.
“I am honored to be selected and to join an incredible class of leaders to help shape a better Maryland,” said Council President Day. “I hope to bring new ideas to Salisbury that are working elsewhere in our State, and to showcase our great city to leaders from around Maryland.”

BREAKING NEWS: ANOTHER HOME INVASION IN SALISBURY

Wicomico First Alert

***BREAKING NEWS***
***POLICE ALERT***
Attempted Home Invasion
Subject beat in the face with a gun

John Street
Salisbury

Attempted home invasion, a victim was beat in the face with a gun.
Police, EMS, and Fire on scene.
Suspects: 2 black males, 1 wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt.

Crime is down in Salisbury. At least that is what Jim and Jake are saying!

Wicomico First Alert
3 hrs · Edited ·

***BREAKING NEWS***
*SHOTS FIRED - HOME INVASION*

**PERSON OF INTEREST VEHICLE: Dark Blue/Black 1994 BMW bearing MD REG: Z43288. This vehicle is believed to be operated by the below listed person who is considered armed and SHOULD NOT be approached:

Tyquan Jamar Williams
26 year old, black male, 5'09" 175 lbs

*AGAIN: This person of interest is known to carry a firearm on his person and/or in his vehicle. He SHOULD NOT be approached. He has prior convictions in relation to narcotics and illegal possession of firearms.*

UPDATE: 3 bullet holes found in a house. No victims at this time. PD on scene.
UPDATE: Victim states this was during a botched home invasion. Requesting K9 for track. 12 gauge shotgun rounds.
UPDATE: Wicomico Sheriff's Office responding to assist. 2 or 3 suspects wearing masks.
UPDATE: Police are doing a neighborhood canvas, and knocking on doors. Stay inside with your doors locked. Police will identify themselves. K9 is also on scene at 11:13 pm.

In the area Shiloh Street and Hemlock Street
Salisbury

Trying to gain more information.
NUMEROUS calls in regards to shots fired in or at a residence.
Several PD units en route.

U.S.C.G. Breaks Ice On Wicomico River For Much Needed Oil Delivery



The United States Coast Guard brought in an Ice Breaker down the Wicomico River followed by the Vane Brothers Tug Boat managing a barge of oil today around 2 PM. This is the first delivery of oil in over a week, which was apparently much needed.

On Tilghman Island, law-breaking watermen defended

On a midwinter afternoon, William "Billy" J. Lednum steered the Kristin Marie into the Knapps Narrows, a channel that separates Tilghman Island from the rest of the Eastern Shore. It was 35 degrees and gusty, but Lednum, a "waterman cowboy" who has won dozens of boat-docking trophies, whipped the stern around and flawlessly backed into his slip. After tying his boat to the dock, he unloaded 125 silver-scaled rockfish, weighing a combined 699 pounds.

This was the 42-year-old waterman's last trip before heading to prison — and perhaps the last rockfish haul of his life. Lednum, known around Tilghman Island as "Billy," is now Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate No. 57529-037 at Fort Dix, N.J.

"Days like today I would have stayed home," he said, referring to the numbing cold and wind that penetrated his red sweatshirt. "But I moved things up so I could get things done."

On insular Tilghman — a 2.7-square-mile island with fewer than 800 residents — many are outraged by Lednum's fall. Not because of his crime: poaching rockfish in violation of state and federal law.

They are upset that this fourth-generation islander and chief of the volunteer fire department will be serving a year and a day behind bars for pursuing his livelihood. Neighboring families can't recall anybody ever going to prison "just for catching a fish." Curiously, not even watermen who had their 2011 quotas slashed as a result of the poaching said they were upset with him — or the three others convicted last year in the poaching scheme.

The Tilghman Island Volunteer Fire Company recently decided that Lednum should continue as chief while he's in prison. Two marinas have offered to dock the Kristin Marie for free. A waterman friend will be mowing his lawn while he's gone.

More

Why Have A Law If You Can't Enforce It?

I took this photo Friday evening and clearly no one was going to clear the sidewalk before the sun set.

As I stood there I watched people walking in the street, which was happening pretty much anywhere you went in Salisbury. Some shoveled their sidewalks, some did not. It only takes ONE property to screw that all up.

Here's what I don't get though. If you have to have them cleared within six hours of the final snow flake, if the Board of Ed can't get their sidewalks cleared, why does the Mayor want to punish and fine people for something like this?

Now I can see if the Mayor gets a crew out there and clears your sidewalk for you, THEN THEY CAN FINE YOU. However, if they cannot, is it really fair to punish everyone when the ultimate goal, (according to them) is to make sure citizens can walk about freely on every sidewalk.

This is the Eastern Shore. Snow doesn't last very long on the ground. In fact, look around today. With the rain and warmer temperatures I'd say the sidewalks should be clear by days end. 

Considering these rules were actually designed to HELP the Postal Service, (shhhh, you're not supposed to know that) so why don't they just STOP mail delivery until everything clears up. IF you want your mail, YOU go to the Post Office and get it. 

Here's another thought. IF the City is so concerned about snow removal, WHY hasn't someone thought "out of the box" and create an ON CALL list of people out of work willing to shovel snow SEVEN hours after the last flake drops. They can set a residential fee that is fair and actually pay HUNDREDS of people who really need the money. Oh, I'm sorry Ladies & Gentlemen, I forgot that we're talking about non business people like Jim Ireton and Jake Day. 

As far as businesses go, (like the ones shown in the picture above) they should be fined. 

Do you think we need an additional 2,000 laws every year in Maryland?

How Many Laws do we Need?

Del Szeliga's legislative agenda - light

So far, there have been 1159 bills introduced in the House of Delegates and 821 in the Senate. Some of these are duplicate bills filed in each chamber - called cross filed bills.

Remember, every bill has the potential of becoming a law. Do you think we need an additional 2,000 laws every year?

I am the primary sponsor of 6 bills.

HB 238 - will allow airports under the Maryland Aviation Administration to trim and cut trees that are hazards to navigation. Currently, only airports governed by the FAA - Federal Aviation Administration are allowed to do this. My bill will help the 16 smaller airports under the MAA.

HB 257 - will give homeowners near the Eastern Sanitary Landfill the opportunity to petition Baltimore County for a property tax credit. The County signed a contract with Harford County and recently began processing Harford County's trash. The County is getting $9 million per year. It's only right that the neighboring residents of Loreley Beach should be able to ask the County for a tax credit.

HB 454 - will prohibit the State of Maryland from charging drivers a Vehicle Miles Traveled tax. This is a concept that has been considered in the past. It's a terrible idea for lots of reasons.

HB 735 - will allow people traveling through our state to transport legally owned firearms via vehicle or boat. The unintended consequences of the restrictive gun bill that passed a couple of years ago is that it prohibits lawful firearm owners from driving or boating through our state with certain firearms that are now illegal to own in Maryland.

HB 1011 - allows an adult child to obtain a copy of their parent's birth certificate.

HB 1147 - is a matching grant request for $200,000 for Angel Park in Perry Hall. This new park will be located on Honeygo Blvd and will be similar to Annie's Playground in Harford County - a playground fully accessible to handicapped children. Angel Park has already raised about $1 million in private contributions and this will help with the playground equipment purchase. There are usually $7 million in grants for community projects approved by the House and $7 million by the Senate.
I have cosponsored many other bills. If you'd like to see the whole list of bills I've sponsored and cosponsored CLICK HERE.