Three Arrested in Frostburg Vandalism Case 4th to be Charged
(POSTED Feb 3rd 7am) Three people face charges in connection with a string of thefts and destruction of property complaints in Frostburg on December 15th. Charges are pending against a fourth suspect. According to Allegany County Combined Criminal Investigations Unit officials on December 15th at about 9 pm victims began calling Frostburg Police and reporting that their Christmas decorations had been stolen and someone had thrown large rocks through the windows of their cars and in one case through the window of a home. The vandalism affected 16 different victims and the total loss was valued at more than 13 thousand dollars. Witnesses gave police and C3I officials a description of the vehicle and the suspects. FSU Police found the car in a student parking lot and when they approached the vehicle they found Christmas decorations in the bed of the truck and several large rocks similar to the ones thrown through the victims’ windows. The owner of the truck told police he had lent the vehicle to a friend who was identified as one of the suspects. Through interviews officers learned that four suspects had gone out that night to several neighborhoods in Frostburg. While out, they stole Christmas decorations from different locations. They then returned to the FSU campus. Later, two of the suspects went out by themselves, which is when the rocks were thrown through the windows of parked vehicles and the one residence. Thanks to help from FSU Police and the FSU Administration, Investigators were able to recover video surveillance of the individuals involved, and were able to document and verify the times they left campus and returned, as well as the clothing being worn by the suspects, which matched that described by witnesses. Investigators were able to charge 19 year old Robert Evans Patterson II, of Elkton, MD, 19 year old Brandon Shea Nils MacMurphy, of Riva, MD, and 18 year old Nicholas Edward Dorsey, of Temecula, CA. Patterson and MacMurphy have both been charged with three (3) counts of Theft and sixteen (16) counts of Malicious Destruction of Property for their involvement. Dorsey has been charged with three (3) counts of Theft and one (1) count of Malicious Destruction of Property, for damaging decorations they attempted to steal. The fourth suspect is pending the same charges as Dorsey for his part in the incident. A representative of the Frostburg State University administration confirmed that the three individuals were students of the University in the fall semester. None is currently enrolled. All three defendants are free on their own recognizance pending their next court appearance.
The following statement was released by Frostburg State University: “Frostburg State University appreciates the close communication regarding this matter with Frostburg City Police and C3I. FSU will continue to cooperate fully with the investigation and to work collaboratively, including through the continued representation of University Police in C3I, to enhance the safety of our community.”
PA Father Killed in Crash
(POSTED Feb 3rd 7am) A Pennsylvania father is dead but her nine month old daughter survived after a crash in Somerset County. At about 10:30 yesterday morning 28 year old Joshua Berkey was heading eastbound on State Route 653 when he lost control traveled off the road and hit a drainage ditch. The car rolled over and Berkey was thrown from the car and died at the scene. He was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash. His passenger his nine month old girl was secured in the back seat and suffered minor injuries.
Frostburg Girl Honored for Saving Family
(posted Feb 3rd 7am) An 11 year old Frostburg girl is being honored for her bravery. Frostburg Fire Chief Nathan Blubaugh explains. “ On the morning of Jan20th at 3 o’clock we were alerted of a house fire at 286 East Main Street in Frostburg. We had fire showing from the front of the house and firefighters had the fire knocked out in about 10 minutes. The gentleman who was living in the house her grandfather approached me and told me if it wasn’t for his granddaughter they would never have made it out of that house alive. She was awoken to smoke in the room and she had enough mindset to get up and get her sister out of the house first and get her grandfather up. Once she got him up he tried to see where the fire was out and he tried to extinguish the fire and she stopped him and told him they needed to get out of the house and call 9-1-1because that is what she learned in fire prevention. “ On Wednesday Lauren Kerr was given the Deputy Chief Badge. “As firefighters we go in knowing what can happen and settle our fears when we go in to fight a fire and to see an 11 year old girl have that much call and collection about herself to get everybody out of the house it is almost unheard of and above and beyond the call of herself to save her family it is priceless.” Blubaugh says her focus during the ceremony was not on her own actions. “It was on the tragedy that unfolded exactly three hours later that morning in Cumberland where the two girls perished in the fire that was where her mindset was. Her comment to me was the house can be replaced and her things can be replaced but her thoughts were to help the victims of the fire in Cumberland Jan 20th.”
To hear the interview with Nathan Blubaugh click here
Boy Scouts to be Honored
(POSTED Feb 3rd 7am) Today is a special day from Cumberland’s Boy Scouts. The First Cumberland Boy Scout Troop to be recognized by the Public Health Service’s Deputy Surgeon General for critical community service project during the 1913 Typhoid Fever Epidemic. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin stated, “This lost history is a great piece of history.” Rear Admiral Dr. Boris Lushniak will speak at the Allegany Museum’s exhibit of the 100 years of scouting in the Potomac Council’s on Feb 3rd at 3:30 pm. Troop1 scouts volunteered to conduct a two week long sanitary survey of the entire town. Valuable information was gather on about 4.500 homes and was used by the health service in their report about the epidemic. No mention of the troop’s service was ever published in any reports or history book until the story was uncovered by local historian Andrew Sparber. The event is open to the public.
Seante Approves Stock Act and Two Local Senators Speak Out on Koman Foundation
(POSTED Feb 3rd 7am) US Senator Ben Cardin is praising the passage of the STOCK Act. The bill passed in a 96 to 3 vote. Cardin cosponsored an initial version of the legislation, which prohibits federal lawmakers and their staffs from trading stocks based on nonpublic information they have obtained in the course of their congressional work as a means for making a private profit. The legislation passed by the Senate includes a 30-day reporting requirement on all investment activity of more than $1,000, and requires that the information as well as annual financial disclosure forms be published online to ensure public access to the information.
Meanwhile US Senators Barbara Mikulski and Ben Cardin along with 24 other senators are urging the Koman Foundation to reverse its decision to cut funds to Planned Parenthood.
Each year Planned Parenthood provides important breast cancer screenings for poor women, including 750,000 breast exams and 770,000 PAP tests. In 2011, grants from the Komen Foundation provided Planned Parenthood with $650,000 in funding for breast cancer prevention and screening.
State County and Local Officials Working to Bring Smoke Detectors to Those Who Need Them
(posted Feb 2nd ) Nine fire deaths in past year is prompting state and local officials to work together to make sure every home in the area has a working smoke detector. Cumberland Mayor Brian Grimm explains. “Smoke detectors save lives. We have actually had now five fatalities in the city of Cumberland in a short period of time and nine across the county and in each of those cases working smoke detectors were not present. They are free and I understand the county fire companies will have access to them the city of Cumberland here if you call the Cumberland Fire Department if you don’t have batteries if you are unable to install them if you simply can’t afford them call the fire department we would much rather spend five minutes installing a smoke detector in your home than coming to your home to save your life.” Local Firefighters Union 1716 officials presented Cumberland’s Fire Chief Donny Dunn with 60 smoke detectors and batteries to hand out to local residents. They will be establishing a fund where local residents can donate to help pay for more smoke detectors. Dunn says in the past year Cumberland fire officials were called out to 39 home fires. 16 of those homes did not have working smoke detectors. Five did not have batteries in the smoke detectors. In the fires with working smoke detectors there were no fatalities. A five hundred dollar grant from Safe Kids USA Rapid Response Grants was given to the Cumberland Fire Department for an additional 30 smoke alarms. County officials announced they will be matching the Local 1716 Union donation and will be developing a community outreach program focused on fire safety. The county donation will go to the local office of the Maryland State Fire Marshal’s Office to be distributed throughout the county.
To hear the interview with Mayor Brian Grimm click here
As for the investigation into the fire that took the lives of two young girls Deputy State Fire Marshal Jason Mowbray says it remains under investigation. “There is no indication of any fowl play or suspicious activity the investigators are still pursuing what the exact cause is but based on the evidence and information we were able to get at the scene there does not appear to be any type of a criminal involvement at this point. We have not concluded what the cause of the fire was at this point we are still considering any and all possible causes. And I do know that local message board and social media sites were a blaze with rumors and speculation and theories as to what happened and I would caution people to draw conclusions from the information that’s out there and look toward investigators as to what the cause was and not to fuel the rumor mills.”
To hear the remarks made by Jason Mowbray click here
To hear Mowbray discuss the fire investigations click here
Meanwhile Cumberland Fire Chief Donny Dunn showed the ladder that was damaged during the fire fighting efforts at East Harrison Street. “Thirty five years and I have never seen a ladder break like that.” To hear the remarks from Chief Dunn click here
Anyone who needs a smoke detector including those who are hearing impaired can do so by calling their local fire department
To hear the announcement about the state and local partnership click here
Search For Robbery Suspect
(posted Feb 2nd) Allegany County Combined Criminal Investigations Unit officials are searching for the suspect involved in an armed robbery. At about 4:00 in the morning yesterday a lone white male suspect entered the Circle K convenience store formerly the Dairy Mart on East Oldtown Road in Cumberland. The man displayed a sharp metal object and demanded money from the clerk. The clerk then removed an undisclosed amount of cash from both cash registered and placed it in a plastic bag. The suspect then forced the clerk to leave the store with him and walk down an alley adjacent to the store then he forced the clerk to the ground and fled on foot. The suspect was described as a white male, in his early to late 20’s in age, 5-05 to 5-06 in height, and thin. He was wearing a black long sleeve t-shirt, faded blue jeans, and a black ski mask to conceal his identity. Investigators reviewed the store’s video surveillance and obtained photos of the suspect. Anyone with information regarding this case can call the Cumberland Police at 301-777-1600, or the C3I Unit at 301-777-0326. If callers wish to remain anonymous, they can call the Allegany/Mineral County Crime Solvers at 301-722-4300, where callers may be eligible for a reward of up to $1500.00 for information leading to an arrest in this case. The investigation is continuing by the Cumberland Police and C3I.
PA State Police Search for Rape and Robbery Suspects
(posted Feb 2nd) Pennsylvania State Police are investigating a rape and robbery. Sometime between the hours of midnight and 4:30 am on Saturday a woman claims she agreed to give two men a ride home from Tony’s Bar. She told police she drove a short distance and the suspects asked her to pull over and when she did she was dragged from the car by her throat and placed on the ground. She told police she woke up outside of her car with her pants down and her shirt open. Her cell phone and 200 dollars in cash were also stolen. The first suspect is described as a white man 29-30 years old wearing a black baseball cap, blue jeans and a black long sleeve shirt with black boots and blonde hair. The second suspect is described as a white man about 33-34 years old with brown hair and a thin beard with sideburns and a mustache. He was also wearing blue jeans, with a white shirt with a red symbol and lettering on the front. Anyone who may have any information is asked to call Bedford State Police at 814-623-6133.
Bishop Walsh Open House for Catholic Schools Week
An Open House will be held at Bishop Walsh tonight from 6-8pm for Catholic Schools week.To find out more about BW log on to http://www.bishopwalsh.org/
To hear the interview with BW Principal Shelby Webb click here
State of the State Address
(posted Feb 2nd ) Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley in an impassioned state of the state address last night tackled several topics. He discussed his plan to increase the gasoline tax and plans to expand rural broadband and build new schools. O’Malley says this year’s budget is a jobs budget and includes money for 78 thousand teaching jobs and more than 2,750 jobs building facilities like the Center for Communications and Information Technology at Frostburg State. He says that balancing the budget with 800 million dollars in spending cuts and reductions. He also announced his Administration has entered into a settlement with Exelon Energy with some very positive results for Maryland families. Not only will ratepayers and families in need of energy assistance receive some immediate benefits, but Exelon has also agreed to build a new gas-fired power plant in Maryland –And finally he will support gay marriage legislation. “The very reason our State was founded was for religious freedom – and at the heart of religious freedom is respect for the freedom of individual conscience. The way forward, the way to sustain and enhance our common life together, is equal respect for the freedom of all. We all want the same thing for our children; we want our children to live in a loving, caring, committed, and stable home protected equally under the law. It is not right or just that the children of gay couples should have lesser protections than the children of other families in our State.”
Proposed 6% Gas Tax Hike
(posted Feb 1st 7am) Tonight Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley will give his State of the State address. He is expected to officially unveil his plan to apply a six percent sales tax on gasoline. The gas tax has not been increased since William Donald Schaefer was governor twenty years ago and the current rate stands at 23.5 cents per gallon. The money from the proposed gas tax would go to pay for tens of billions of dollars in transportation projects in the Transportation Trust Fund. According to the O’Malley Brown administration if Maryland continues to embrace a 1992 tax rate, it will have to settle for crumbling 1992-era infrastructure.Polls show a majority of Maryland residents oppose a gas tax increase.What the governor is proposing would be collected at the wholesale level and would not apply to existing state and federal excise taxes — that is, motorists would not be paying a tax on a tax. O'Malley would also phase in the tax over several years — and plans to offer a "circuit breaker" to delay any of those incremental steps if average gasoline prices rise too steeply (perhaps 15 percent) during the year.Thus, someone paying a theoretical $3.52 per gallon at the pump would see a first-year 2 percent tax applied to roughly $3.10 ($3.52 minus the state's 23.5-cent and federal government's 18.4-cent tax) or about 6 cents per gallon. Taken together, that's about 48 cents per gallon, or less than 14 percent of the cost of a gallon of gasoline. Even when fully implemented, the total cost of fuel taxes would be around 60 cents, or 17 percent of the price. In 1992, state and federal taxes represented closer to 20 percent of the price of gasoline.What would motorists get in return? When the full gas tax increase is realized, about $613 million annually to spend on badly-needed transportation infrastructure. It means reduced congestion, upgraded mass transit service, safer roads and bridges and a more robust state economy and thousands of construction-related jobs. O’Malley has been posting proposed projects on his blog one includes relocating US 219 from I-68 interchange to the Pennsylvania Line.
Meanwhile Americans for Prosperity Maryland opposes O’Malley’s gas tax hike. “Governor O’Malley’s tax hike is unconscionable, unaffordable, and unprecedented,” said AFP Maryland’s Grassroots Director Nick Loffer “Poll after poll has shown that Marylanders, regardless of party, race, or gender, oppose this job-destroying gas tax hike. Even members of his own party in the House of Delegates and Senate are opposed to this middle class-crushing tax hike.”Gas prices are soaring towards $4.00 a gallon with no relief in sight. Coupling a 6% sales tax to gas with the base 23.5 cents a gallon tax will place Maryland as one of the most expensive places in the country to fill up the gas tank.Currently, Maryland’s tax rate is 23.5 cents per gallon (CPG) with New Jersey at 14.5 CPG, Virginia at 19.5 CPG, and Delaware at 23 CPG. Maryland will overtake West Virginia at 32.2 CPG and Pennsylvania at 32.3 CPG with an introduction of a 6% sales tax, making it a less competitive state for jobs and economic growth.
Three Arrested on Drug Charges
(posted Feb 1st 7am) Three people face drug charges after two separate stops on Monday. Cumberland Police stopped a vehicle on Edgevale Avenue for an equipment violation and a K-9 scanned the car. As a result of the scan officers arrested 20 year old April Huckabay of Cumberland for possession of marijuana and dronabinol pills. She was released on her own recognizance. At about 2 pm Maryland State Police troopers were working speed enforcement near Rocky Gap when a vehicle was observed going 83 miles per hour in a posted 65 mile per hour zone. Troopers stopped the driver 23 year old Aaron Lane of Washington DC and his passenger 20 year old Delonte Aiken of District Heights and found a handgun and a 1/4th a pound of marijuana. Lane is being held without bond and Aiken is being held on five thousand dollars bond.
One Dead in I-81 Crash
(posted Feb 1st 7am)One person is dead after a crash on I-81. At about 3 pm on Monday Maryland State Police were called out to I-81 northbound near Maugansville Road and found a tractor trailer driven by Benson Lewis of Dallas Texas was heading southbound and crossed the center lane and hit a vehicle driven by Leroy Corbin on Huntingdon, PA. Corbin was killed on impact. Another vehicle driven by Mark Siegrist of Fayetteville was hit by the tractor trailer as well. He refused medical treatment and a third car driven by Shelly Jason of Hagerstown was also hit by the tractor trailer. Jason was transported to Meritus Medical Center with non life threatening injuries. The female passenger of the tractor trailer Tammye Lewis was also transported to Meritus Medical center with non life threatening injuries. I-81 was closed for several hours while the scene was being reconstructed and cleared. Fire & Rescue and the State Highway Administration assisted. TFC David Thompson of the Maryland State Police Hagerstown Barrack was the initial investigator. The investigation was turned over to the Maryland State Police Crash Team for further investigation.
Hagerstown Police Investigate Two Shootings
(posted Feb 1st 7am) Hagerstown Police are continuing their investigations in two shootings last week. Charges against Juan Barnes, the shooter in the Jonathan Street incident, have been amended to include second-degree murder. Barnes still faces charges of first and second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, handgun use during a crime of violence and felon in possession of a handgun. Autopsy results for the victim, Christopher Follett, are still pending. Law enforcement agencies are working together to bring Barnes into police custody. He has ties to the Prince George's County area where he is also wanted on parole violations in connection to robbery charges.As for the first shooting on Cannon Avenue, the victim remains at Meritus Medical Center and his condition is improving. Detectives were able to speak with him personally about the incident.To report information about either shooting, contact the Hagerstown Police Department at 301-790-3700 ext. 234, email crimetip@hagerstownpd.org or send a text message to TIPS 411. Sources can remain anonymous.
Motorists Use Caution
(posted Feb 1st 7am) The City of Cumberland Engineering Department on behalf of Lumos Networks and its contractor SCT Corp. would like to notify the public that on Wednesday February 1, 2012 N. Mechanic Street from Market Street to Pershing Street will be under flagging conditions for aerial fiber line installation. Work will take place from 8am to 6pm this day. Please use caution in the area of construction and follow the detour route in place.
New Child Care Website
(posted Feb 1st 7am) The Maryland State Department of Education’s Division of Early Childhood Development has launched an online collection of child care licensing inspection results, designed to help consumers make informed choices.The site, www.CheckCCMD.org, offers detailed compliance findings from child care licensing inspections as well as links to a wide range of information about early care and education in Maryland.
Bulldozer Operator Hospitalzied
(posted Feb 1st 7am) A bulldozer operator is hospitalized. According to Allegany County 9-1-1 officials a tree fell on the man while he was operating the piece of equipment. No word yet on the extent of his injuries.