Weekly Update

Police Department

• Following a Domestic Disturbance at the Meadows Town homes, police arrested Michelle Roberts, 26, on charges of Disorderly Conduct and MDOP.
• Wal-Mart reported that they had received a counterfeit $10.00 bill during the previous week. The bill was sent to the US Secret Service.
• Following a Domestic Disturbance at 806 Second Street, police arrested Donte Washington when it was discovered that he was wanted on an outstanding warrant.
• Following a Domestic Disturbance at 103 Eighth Street, Paul Owen was arrested and charged with Second Degree Assault.
• Police located Marcus Dennis near the Bonneville Ave. Apartments. Following a brief foot chase, Dennis was arrested on Fourth Street on an outstanding warrant.
• Police observed and photographed some graffiti this week on the Cypress Nature Trail. Some was also discovered in the area of Fifth and Bonneville Ave.
• Officers assisted the Sheriff's Office and the State Police on six occasions in the past week outside of the city.

EMS Department

• The new ambulance is finished and was placed into service this week. All personnel are receiving training in the operation of new equipment.

Water/Waste water Department

• Crews continued to work on stabilizing the berm areas around the treatment ponds.
• Crews continued to work on painting fire hydrants this week.
• Three of our employees attended training sessions at Chesapeake College this past week.

Other Announcements

• The annual Easter Egg Hunt sponsored by the Police Department will be held Saturday, March 22nd from noon to 2:00pm at Cypress Park.
• Friday, March 21st is Good Friday and City Hall will be closed in observance of the holiday.

Weekly Update

Police Department

• The owner of 207 Seventh Street reported that someone caused damage to two windows with a BB gun.
• Clyde Adams of Onancock, VA was arrested at the Walmart Parking lot on a Worcester County warrant. He was placed in the Worcester County Jail under a $2500.00 bond.
• Police reported graffiti on the street surface at the corner of Oak and Second Streets.
• The resident of 105 Oak Street reported that someone caused damage to two windows on their vehicle parked at that location.
• Tremayne Rogers received a citation for Excessive Noise from a Vehicle while driving on Eighth Street near the Middle School. He was also found to be driving on a Suspended Out Of State License and was charged accordingly.
• Police responded to a horse in the roadway at Broad Street and Eighth Street. Public Works and the Police Department staff were able to guide the horse back to the stables at the Fairgrounds.
• Raymond W. White, age 47, was charged with DWI and Attempting to Elude Police. He was first observed on remote surveillance cameras consuming an alcoholic beverage and then getting behind the wheel of his vehicle near Bonneville Avenue and Second Street.
• Residents of 700 Second Street reported that their residence had apparently been entered by unknown person(s), but nothing appeared to be missing.

EMS Department

• Our new Director of EMS, Daniel Tilghman, began working for the city this week in his new position.

Public Works

• Jimmy Hammond has agreed to allow the city to extend our Dorchester Water Line across his property to allow for a connection on Market Street. We are also working with Lynnhaven Baptist Church to secure the ability to cross their property and make a connection with the dead end line at Bel Air Drive. Both connections will eliminate dead end lines in the Heights.
• Bids requests have gone out for the Skateboard/Bike Park equipment. They will be opened on March 10th.
• MES worked with our crews in running a camera in four suspected problem areas of our sewer lines. The problems were identified for future repair.
• Crews were repairing berms at the Sewage Treatment Plant.
• Crews repaired picnic tables in Cypress Park and worked on the Nature Trail.

Golf Course

• Crews worked on new fill which was brought into supplement low areas on hole #1 and #3.
• Crews worked on rebuilding the Ladies Tee Box located at hole #7.
• Crews worked on Cart Path edges.
• Repairs and maintenance continue on our fleet of golf carts.

Fire Company

• The Pocomoke Volunteer Fire Company is slated to move into their new Station 100 located on Market Street this week.

City Charter/City Code

• The City Charter and City Code are now available on line at www.cityofpocomoke.com

Planning and Zoning Commission

• The board met on Tuesday to review the Comprehensive Zoning in the city. This included a tour of the city conducted by all of the board members with the professional staff hired to assist them in the process.
  

Other News

• The Board of Education agreed to donate surplus fencing from the high school to the city. They also donated the field lighting to the YMCA.
• The annual MARVA Theater Dinner will be held on Friday night, March 7th, at the Fire Hall.

Weekly Update

Police Department

• Walmart Employees reported that two juveniles threw a few items over the fence in the Garden Center area before fleeing the store and making off with the goods across the highway.
• Brian L. Harmon was arrested as he walked on Second Street on an Outstanding Warrant. He was incarcerated in the Worcester County Jail under a bond of $20,000.00.
• Officers confiscated 86 cartons of cigarettes which had been purchased in Virginia by John J. Martin. Police work with the State Comptroller's Office on these apprehensions and Martin was charged with Possession of Untaxed Cigarettes.
• Claude R. Ward, 36, was charged with DWI following a motor vehicle accident near the Days Inn on Rt. 13.

Public Works

• Crews continued work on the Cypress Nature Trail.
• Crews repaired a broken Storm Sewer line a the corner of Market and Third Streets

Golf Course

• Crews relocated all Tee signage and Golf Ball Washers to the cart path side of all Tee Boxes.
• Crews removed a bridge on the 7 fairway
• Crews cleaned the area surrounding the #9 Tee Box.
• Crews installed a new Safety Rail on the Cart Path at #6 hole.
• Work continues on servicing the fleet of golf carts.

Planning and Zoning

• Board members will meet on Tuesday with the Zoning consultant to review the current city zoning issues in preparation for a comprehensive zoning review being conducted by the city.

Community Legacy Grant

• The city has been selected to receive a grant through the Governor's Office but we will have to wait until Thursday to find out which projects are being funded.

Chamber of Commerce News

• The Chamber will host a Business After Hours event on Thursday at 5pm at the Discovery Center downtown.

EMS Department

• Danny Tilghman has accepted our job offer and will become the new Director of Emergency Medical Services for Pocomoke City beginning in March. I will do a more extensive article on Danny and his background on another post.
• Our new ambulance is being painted and striped and will be in service soon.

It's Official: Holdren Calls it Quits

Around lunch time today, former City Councilman Don Holdren came into City Hall and formally resigned his candidacy for the Third District Seat currently held by Councilman Bruce Morrison. That means it is officially a two person race with the incumbent, Councilman Morrison, facing off against newcomer Angela Hayes.

As I have always said, it is up to the challenger to make the case for change. In this case, I believe Councilman Morrison has worked with me over the past three years to promote positive changes in Pocomoke City. In fact, Councilman Morrison has supported a request by Ms. Hayes in funding a "Ladies and Gentleman Manner's Class" conducted earlier in the past year.

The fact is, Councilman Morrison has spoken with Ms. Hayes, as I have, a number of times and has always supported her efforts. She is a nice and gentle woman, but I do not believe she can make a case for change based upon Councilman Morrison's performance in office.

On another note, Ms. Hayes is a member of the Democratic Central Committee for Worcester County. Our local elections are purposely Non-Partisan. If Ms. Hayes is serious about serving our community in a Non-Partisan office, perhaps she should consider resigning from her current position. Just some food for thought.

Don Holdren Calls it Quits???

A letter to the editor appeared in yesterday's Daily Times authored by Mr. Holdren indicating his withdrawl from the District Three race for City Council. This was followed by another short article in the Worcester Times today restating the same information.

Yet as of this afternoon, Mr. Holdren has not officially withdrawn his name from the race as required by law. He visited City Hall, but apparently did not elect to officially resign from the race.

Perhaps it was an oversight or a time constraint issue. At any case, the former Councilman needs to make it official. For whatever reason, Mr. Holdren decided he was not up to the task at hand. I respect his decision, but now it is time to "officially" move on and allow the remaining candidates in the race (Councilman Bruce Morrison & newcomer Angela Hayes) to act accordingly.

Weekly Update

Police Department

• Michael Garcia of 3 Clarke Avenue was charged with violating a Peace Order filed by his neighbor.
• A Warrant was issued for Demitrius Mills for the theft of several games from Wal-Mart.
• Brent Cooper of 926 Second Street was arrested on a Salisbury Warrant.
• A white male broke into the Duck-Inn convenience store early Tuesday morning and removed several items. A suspect was developed and an arrest is pending.
• Robert Johnson Sr. was arrested on a Somerset County Paternity Warrant.
• Pocomoke City Police have assisted the Worcester County Bureau of Investigation with the homicide investigation of Judy Wojcik. The investigation continues.

Public Works Department

• Several new street signs and other signage have been installed this past week.
• Work was performed on fencing at the sewage treatment plant.
• A Fire Hydrant was replaced at Lynnhaven Apartments after being struck and damaged by a vehicle collision.
• Crews worked on ditch clean outs near Sunshine Village and the surrounding area.
• Crews made several street repairs and patches with cold mix this week.
• Crews winterized the log cabin at Winterquarters. It will not be available for rental use until the spring.

Department of EMS

• Delivery of our new ambulance is set for early February.
• Interviews continue in our search for a new Director of the department.

Golf Course

• Superintendent Doug Gunns met with the paving contractors to review the time table for completion of the cart path project. We were advised that it would be weather dependant as to when the next paving would be accomplished.

Industrial Developments

• Hardwire Company has begun their new building construction. Blades Construction has been working 6-days a week during all daylight hours to get the project completed in time for the arrival of the industrial equipment in March and April. The new production facilities are being built on the old Campbell Soup site and will encompass over 100,000 square feet in the first phase.

Reception For State Champions

• The Mayor and Council have issued invitations to our Maryland State Champion Field Hockey and Soccer players, parents, coaches, and PHS faculty to join us as we host a reception in their honor at the Pocomoke Elks Lodge this coming week.

City Offices Closed

• City Hall will be closed on Monday, January 21st, in recognition of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. National Holiday.

Planning And Zoning

• Next meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 22nd at 3:00 pm at City Hall. Agenda includes a preliminary meeting with the recently hired Zoning Code Consultant, preliminary subdivision plat for the Jay Tapman property, and a review of the proposed renovations at the Pocomoke High School.

Upcoming Meetings

• The Downtown Pocomoke Association will meet on Wednesday, January 23rd at the Upper Deck Restaurant.
• The Marva Theater Board will meet at City Hall Tuesday, January 22nd at 7:00 pm.

Unofficial Minutes of January 7th Meeting

The following are the "unofficial minutes" which I keep during the regular meeting of the Mayor and Council:

• Mike Shannon was recognized for his efforts as Chairman of the Pocomoke Christmas Parade. Mike was presented with an Achievement Award and his faithful committee members were recognized. The parade is a signature event for the city which requires a lot of effort to run smoothly.
• A Public Hearing was held for Resolution A-07-03 concerning the proposed annexation of the Kenny Lankford property located on Map 92, Parcel 38. No one made any comment on this annexation. The council proceeded by unanimous vote to annex this property.
• President Jimmy Hammond and several Pocomoke Vol. Fire Company officials were on hand to review a Memorandum of Understanding to be established between the company and the city relative to the "old" fire house building and the future use of this property by the city and Fire Company. The MOU was approved and I signed on behalf of the city.
• Engineer Ed Young was on hand to provide his final report and findings relative to the water issues in Pocomoke Heights as well as the sewer issues for the Rt. 13 Corridor. After reviewing his findings and hearing his recommendations, I proposed to the council the following action to be taken: (1) Two "dead end" lines on Belair and Dorchester Streets will be looped to Market Street and Lynnhaven Drive thus eliminating stagnant water. This work will be done by Public Works staff in the next 4-months; (2) The city will provide funds in the upcoming fiscal year for "Pigging" the water lines throughout the affected areas of the Heights. This work will be accomplished during the summer months. (3) The City Manager will report back to the Mayor and Council with finance recommendations as to replacement of all infrastructure in the affected areas within the next 60-days. The City Council agreed unanimously with these recommendations and voted to do so.
• Ms. Kathy French presented the Pocomoke Police Department with a $1000.00 donation for the many youth programs they conduct throughout the year. Chief Ervin was on hand to receive the donation. It is one of many Wal-Mart provides to citywide organizations annually.
• Housing Coordinator Harvey Davis provided an update on our Housing Inspection Program conducted during the past year. Three phases have been accomplished and the fourth is underway. Over one hundred units have been inspected. Many have been identified with deficiencies and many citations have been issued. Mr. Davis also reported that there are 7 housing rehabilitation projects underway.
• A proclamation was read by Councilwoman Cottman recognizing January, 2008 as National Mentoring Month. The public was encouraged to be involved in the mentoring of our young people.
• The Council approved on a unanimous vote to allow controlled Goose hunting on property owned by Mr. Harold Scrimgeor which is located in the city limits off of Rt. 13. The approval was contingent on the hunting party providing a plan relative to their shooting.
• Appointments and re appointments were made to the Board of Zoning Appeals and the Board of Elections Supervisors.
• One public comment was received complimenting the police departments efforts in making positive contact with the youth of the city, particularly in the black community. The resident stated she had seen a big difference in the past two years and she appreciated the effort.

This concluded the public portion of the meeting. Following this meeting, the Mayor and Council met in Executive Session to discuss and review a preliminary Memorandum of Understanding with the City Attorney; and to ask legal advice on fines related to code enforcement.