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Dorchester Star
Dorchester BOE votes to terminate alternative education contract
CAMBRIDGE — Following a tense discussion, the Dorchester County Board of Education voted to terminate its three-year contract with Vision Quest, an alternative education program for district high schoolers that has been met with criticism from residents since it was approved in September. Board member Chris Wheedleton, who voted against approving the contract in September, made the motion at a board meeting Thursday to terminate the contract for convenience. Along with Wheedleton, board members Talibah Chikwendu and Sheri Hubbard voted in favor of terminating the...
Portable toilet set on fire in Cambridge
CAMBRIDGE — The Office of the State Fire Marshal is investigating the fire of a portable toilet that extended to a residential structure. The fire, discovered by a passerby, was deliberately ignited on Linden Avenue on June 13, according to a news release from the Office of the State Fire Marshal. The news release said the incident involved four underage individuals who live in the area. The juveniles had spray...
Hurlock shed fire under investigation
HURLOCK — The cause of a fire that started in the interior of a wood-framed shed on Pheasant Drive in Hurlock is under investigation by the Office of the State Fire Marshal. The fire was discovered by a neighbor on June 11, according to a news release. It took 15 firefighters 15 minutes to control the blaze. Hurlock Volunteer Fire Company was the primary responding fire department. The fire resulted in an estimated loss of $25,000, according to fire marshal’s office. No injuries or deaths were reported. The Office of the State Fire Marshal is asking anyone with information related to the fire to call the Lower Eastern Regional Office at 410-713-3780.
Cambridge man charged with assault, false imprisonment
CAMBRIDGE — A Cambridge man was arrested and charged with first- and second-degree assault, false imprisonment and reckless endangerment. According to a news release from the Cambridge Police Department, officers responded to the 300 block of Crusader Road on June 5 for a report of a physical disturbance. Police said upon arrival, officers met Benjamin Harris, 42, of Cambridge, who reported that he hit a woman several times. ...
Two Cambridge men charged with assault
CAMBRIDGE — Before being transported to the Dorchester County Department of Corrections on no bond for assault charges, a Cambridge man told police that he had been assaulted by another individual several days before. Marco Ray Wilkes, 42, of Cambridge, was arrested and charged with first- and second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and malicious destruction of property. According to a news release from the Cambridge Police Department, officers responded to the...
FEMA grants city $1.7 million for flood mitigation project
CAMBRIDGE — The Federal Emergency Management Agency has awarded the City of Cambridge $1.7 million for a flood mitigation project along the shore of the Choptank River. According to a news release from the city, the "Make Cambridge Resilient Flood Mitigation Project" will stretch from west of city limits, near Gerry Boyle Park at Great Marsh, to the mouth of Cambridge Creek. The project will create a flood barrier along...
It's official: Thompson to lead Dorchester schools
CAMBRIDGE — After conducting a national search, the Dorchester County Board of Education chose one of the district’s own for the position of superintendent. Interim Superintendent Jymil Thompson has been selected as the next Dorchester County Public Schools superintendent. Thompson — who holds a Bachelor of Arts from Pennsylvania State University, a Master of Arts from Trinity University, a certificate of advanced studies from Howard University and a doctorate in...
It's official: Thompson to lead Dorchester schools
CAMBRIDGE — After conducting a national search, the Dorchester County Board of Education chose one of the district’s own for the position of superintendent. Interim Superintendent Jymil Thompson has been selected as the next Dorchester County Public Schools superintendent. Thompson — who holds a Bachelor of Arts from Pennsylvania State University, a Master of Arts from Trinity University, a certificate of advanced studies from Howard University and a doctorate in...
DCPS approves fiscal year 2025 budget in 3 to 1 vote
CAMBRIDGE — Although the Dorchester County Board of Education approved the district’s fiscal year 2025 budget on June 3, not everyone felt what was proposed was ready for approval. On social media, county residents shared there concerns, and board member Chris Wheedleton, who could not be at the meeting due to a work conflict, said he was shocked when he found out it had been approved. “I as a board...
County talks Blueprint with MACo
CAMBRIDGE — Maryland Association of Counties President Johnny Olszewski told the Dorchester County Council at a council meeting June 4 that Dorchester County is not alone in “feeling the pinch” from the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future requirements. “It’s large counties too,” said Olszewski, who is also the county executive for Baltimore County and the Democratic nominee Maryland’s 2nd congressional district. “I think we’re seeing, every year, a few more jurisdictions of varying sizes as sort of hitting that point where it’s like ‘Oh man, how...
Mingay places first overall at the annual running of IRONMAN Eagleman 70.3
CAMBRIDGE — Before Sunday morning’s sunrise had even begun, thousands of tri-athletes from across the world plunged into the cold of the Choptank river for a 1.2 mile swim, marking the start of the annual IRONMAN Eagleman 70.3 triathlon. The event, a Cambridge staple since 1997, is one of the longest-running triathlon events in the country. Family, friends and spectators lined the perimeter of Cambridge’s Gerry Boyle park, named after the late triathlon innovator Gerry Boyle, to watch the athletes battle the rigid course. Equipped...
Two plead guilty in Eastern Shore Hospital Center shooting and escape
CAMBRIDGE — Two men have pleaded guilty to charges related to an August 2023 escape from the Eastern Shore Hospital Center. Darrin Jeter, 20, of Rockville, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and five years of supervised probation for first-degree escape. With eight years of his prison sentence suspended, Jeter will have to serve two years in prison and will get credit for 310 days already served. Israel Labastida...
Darling Ingredients fined $15K for pollution violations
LINKWOOD — The Maryland Department of the Environment fined Darling Ingredients $15,000 for repeated pollution violations at its Linkwood facility. According to a news release from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, MDE inspections revealed 51 violations made between August 2023 and March 2024 by the owner of Valley Proteins, an animal waste rendering facility in Dorchester County that processes poultry byproducts. The company violated a requirement that it must leave at...
Dorchester County Council passes budget, looks ahead
CAMBRIDGE — The Dorchester County Council unanimously passed its balanced fiscal year 2025 budget at a meeting on May 28, acknowledging what it took to get the budget across the finish line as well as what challenges are likely coming down the pike. “Next year’s going to be bad,” Council President Lenny Pfeffer said at the end of the meeting. “This year we made it by the skin of our teeth to balance this budget.” ...
Hogan visits Dorchester County, receives endorsements from County Council members
CAMBRIDGE — U.S. Senate candidate and former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan walked the aisles of Simmons Center Market in Cambridge last Wednesday afternoon, perusing meats and cheeses and checking out the old the antique cash registers that lined the top row of one of the market’s shelves. Walking the aisles with him were market owner and Dorchester County Councilman Ricky Travers, and County Council Vice President Mike Detmer. Both Travers, a Democrat, and Detmer, a Republican, endorsed Hogan from their respective sides of the aisle...
Remembering friends and neighbors on Memorial Day
CAMBRIDGE — Marine veteran and Dorchester County Council Vice President Mike Detmer has a vivid memory of a small moment that occurred while he was serving in Fallujah, Iraq in the early 2000s. Detmer was sitting on his rack, or bed, when he saw his friend and platoon mate Brad Arms enter the room shared by lance corporals and private first class Marines. Arms had just arrived back from patrolling with the infantry outside the city for multiple days. On these patrols, you could forget...
Rideout, Harrington not running for reelection
CAMBRIDGE — Come October, Cambridge voters will not see the names Stephen Rideout or Jameson Harrington on their ballots. The mayor and commissioner, respectively, have said they will not be seeking reelection for when their terms are up in 2025. For Rideout, who is turning 81 this summer, this has always been the plan. He said when he ran in 2022, he only intended to fill the remainder of former...
'Freaknik' event in Cambridge ends in eight arrests
CAMBRIDGE — An unsanctioned "Freaknik" event in the area of Greenwood Avenue and Cosby Avenue on May 25 resulted in eight arrests. According to a news release from the Cambridge Police Department, at least 400 people were estimated to have been a part of the gathering. Cambridge Police said there was fighting at the Cambridge event on May 25, and attendees gathered in residential complexes that have "no trespassing" and...
Cambridge police investigating alerts of shots fired
CAMBRIDGE — The Cambridge Police Department is investigating two shots fired incidents. According to a press release from CPD, officers responded to a ShotSpotter alert around 3:41 a.m. on May 25 for multiple shots fired in the area of Race and Muir streets. Police said officers on the scene found spent 9mm shell casings in the area. Officers did not find any victims or notice any property damage. Police said...
Dorchester BOE narrows down superintendent search to two candidates
CAMBRIDGE — The Dorchester County Board of Education has narrowed down its superintendent search to two candidates. An announcement of an offer is expected as soon as this week. In a June 3 press release, the Board of Education said it had received 37 qualified applications through its partnership with Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates, the group selected to support and guide the search. The largest number of applications came from Maryland, but applications were submitted from applicants across the country. ...
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