The victim was listed in fair condition.
Anyone with information regarding Smith’s whereabouts is urged to contact the Crisfield Police Department at 410-968-1323.
Family friendly and striving to be a worthy choice for your Internet browsing. Comments and material submissions welcome: tkforppe@yahoo.com . Pocomoke City-- an All American City And The Friendliest Town On The Eastern Shore.
Crisfield police say that shortly after 8 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 22, officers responded to a reported assault at the Somers Cove Apartments (Housing Authority) for a vicious assault. When officers arrived on the scene, they found a victim bleeding profusely from the head and face.
An ambulance, was dispatched to the location of 64 Somers Cove Apartments and transported the victim to McCready Hospital for treatment. Due to the extent of his injuries, he was later transferred to Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury. The victim is currently listed in stable condition for treatment of fractures to the facial region, broken nose and stab and lacerations wounds to the head.
Police say an investigation revealed that the victim, a white male, was walking in front of 64 Somers Cove apartments when he was approached by two black males who allegedly told him, "We don't like white people or crackers." According to investigators, for no other apparent reason the suspects started beating the victim in the head and face, and then then began stabbing and cutting him in the head with a knife. Authorities say that during the attack, one of the suspects stated, "We got this white mother-expletive." Both suspects then fled the area before police arrived on the scene, according to investigators.
Police say an investigation led to the identity of both suspects. In the early morning hours of Sunday, Jan. 23, officers arrested one of the suspects, identified as 47-year-old William Jones,(photo left) of no fixed address. He was charged with attempted second-degree murder, first- and second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and hate crime. He is being held in the Somerset County Detention Center in lieu of $200,000 bond.
Police arrested the second suspect, 45-year-old Michael Eugene Tilghman (photo right) of 42 Somers Cove Apartments, Monday afternoon.
According to state records, both suspects are convicted felons.
A friend of the victim, Michele Simao says she saw the attack unfold, but doesn't think it was a hate crime.
"It was just a verbal confrontation at first, it wasn't like anyone went out looking for him specifically," Simao said. "Words were exchanged and one thing led to another."
Paul Tyler, 74, was found by firefighters inside his two-story home on Johnson Creek Road.
Tyler had discovered the 1:04 a.m. fire and evacuated his wife, then re-entered the house to retrieve personal belongings prior to the arrival of the fire department.
The fire originated in a first floor room that was being used as a bedroom. The cause remains under investigation. Investigators from Maryland State Police are assisting in the case.
Firefighters from Crisfield and Marion brought the blaze under control in an hour. Damages were estimated at $130,000.
VIRGIL ERIC DASHIELDS
157 SOMERS COVE APARTMENTS
B/M/3-8-1990
(See Attached Photo)
On 9/20/2010 at 9:52 pm Virgil Eric Dashields was arrested by the Crisfield Police Department for a Sexual Child Abuse charging him with sexually abusing a 14 month old child. The sexual child abuse occurred in the Somers Cove Apartments located in Crisfield on 9/17/2010. Dashields was located at 59 Somers Cove Apartments and placed under arrest. The following charges were placed on Dashields:
Sex Abuse of a Minor
Sex Offense 4th Degree
Sex Offense 4th Degree
Assault 2nd Degree
Child Abuse
Sex Offense 3rd Degree
Assault 2nd Degree
Attempt Sodomy
Dashields was placed on $50,000 bond by Somerset County Court Commissioners. He is currently residing in the Somerset County Detention Center.
Workers who were tearing a porch off a house on Pine Street found human bones lying in a ditch underneath it.
"They called me all panicky," said Noah Bradshaw, the city inspector, who went over to the house, then quickly called in the Crisfield Police Department.
After the scene was processed by police, the skeletal remains were recovered and another portion of the area was dug to recover additional bones.
The remains consisted only of various leg bones and joints. No other parts of the body, such as a skull, were found at the site, police said.
The State Medical Examiner's Office identified the bones as human remains, and will take them to their Baltimore office for further analysis.
The house where the skeletal remains were recovered is 100 years old and has been in the same family for a long time, Bradshaw said. The owner, Sarah Wise, lives out of state and the house is currently vacant.
Bradshaw said the bones could pre-date the house.
"They're petrified, they're so old." he said.
Although there is an open missing persons case in Crisfield, police said they so far do not suspect the remains to be those of Gordon Nelson Sr., who disappeared in October 2007.
"We don't know anything yet," Lt. Stanley Harmon said. "We're just trying to get the bones identified."
Police consider Nelson's disappearance to be suspicious.
Last year, Crisfield police excavated a property on Canal Drive outside city limits where Nelson once lived. Although a trained cadaver dog hit on a spot in the yard, no remains were found.
Nelson, who was living inside city limits at the time of his disappearance, was last seen at the local Veterans of Foreign Wars post.
Crisfield police were called to the house on 338 Pine Street after being informed that various bones had been located in a ditch under the porch. After the scene was processed, the skeletal remains were recovered and another portion of the area was dug up to recover additional bones.
According to police, the skeletal remains consisted only of various leg bones and joints. No other parts of the body were recovered such as a skull or upper torso.
Police say the Maryland State Medical Examiner's Office in Baltimore was contacted and the bones were identified as human remains.
The remains will be taken to the State Medical Examiner's Office for further analysis and classification.
According to police, the house where the skeletal remains were recovered is more than a century old. The case remains under investigation.
Patrolman 1st Class Andrew Crockett will receive the Exceptional Police Professional Award for 2009 during the association's annual conference in Ocean City on Nov. 8.
"I think the Lord sent him that day," said Melvin Harris, whose mother, Myrtle Harris, was carried to safety by Crockett after her Minden Avenue house caught fire.
Crisfield Police Chief Mike Tabor submitted the nomination for the award and recently learned Crockett was the winner.
"He's the top cop in the state," he said during a recent City Council meeting.
In a letter to Tabor, the awards committee said it selected Crockett "as the officer who, through his dedication to duty and selfless service, best exemplified the ideals to this prestigious award."
The association will provide Crockett with a complimentary hotel room in Ocean City for two nights during the conference.
On the morning of Aug. 9, 2009, Crockett was one of the first to arrive on the scene of the fire and learned from neighbors that someone was inside.
Through a window, Crockett saw 81-year-old Myrtle Harris collapsed on the floor. He quickly broke in and carried her to an ambulance outside.
Harris was treated for smoke inhalation at McCready Memorial Hospital and released.
Soon after the incident, Crockett was recognized with his department's Bronze Star, given by Tabor during a City Council meeting and in front of family members and city residents.
Since then, Harris has been living with her granddaughter, Melissa Dixon.
"She went through a bad time, but she's perked up a little bit," said Melvin Harris, who also credits his mother's neighbor, Pat Stern, for spotting the smoke and calling 911.
Myrtle Harris' sister, Peggy Culbertson, lived in the same house but had gone to church that morning and escaped injury.
Culbertson has been living with two nieces since the fire.
Both women lost everything they owned in the blaze that was caused by an electrical wiring problem.
Melvin Harris said in spite of the material losses, no one was seriously injured.
"We've got our family; that's the most important thing," he said.
The comparisons could take awhile, because "it won't be apples to apples," Mayor Percy Purnell said at this week's City Council meeting.
Bidders were asked for proposals that included more than just the cost of a turbine.
"It could take a month of study," he said.
Bids opened during the council meeting ranged from $4.7 million for a 1.5- megawatt turbine to $1.1 million for a 750-kilowatt model.
The city wants to build two or three large wind turbines -- about 300 feet tall -- on land next to the sewer plant to generate power for the plant.
Additional electricity would power other city-owned buildings, such as City Hall, the police station and fire department, and also be sold back to the grid.
Officials are hoping to hear soon if a $4.18 million grant application to the Maryland Department of the Environment has been approved.
If the money is awarded, the city also will need to borrow $625,300 toward the project, according to Noah Bradshaw, the city inspector who is spearheading the project.
For several months, wind speeds in Crisfield were measured with an anemometer atop a city water tower. The 18- to 19-miles-per-hour average that was captured is enough to sustain a wind farm, he said.
Bradshaw -- who has attended seminars at the American Wind Institute -- is also in the process of trying to start a smaller wind turbine project at the American Legion post in Crisfield.
Aside from the environmental benefits, wind power is expected to take a huge burden off the budget. After the city upgraded its sewage treatment plant, electricity bills jumped from about $13,000 per month to $20,000.
City officials have said they want to take the savings and put the money into street paving and other projects.
But nothing was quite like this wreck at the end of the day in the Unlimited Class. There were only two more vehicles to go after this one and the hot day would be behind us. The next thing everyone witnessed was this car rolling and rolling at a very fast pace towards the crowd. Luckily it stopped and I think every heart watching stopped too. Paramedics and Staff were there almost immediately and had the driver unlatched from cage and slowly the driver stood to his feet and gave the thumbs up! Whew!
Day done!
You know, this huge event just didn't happen over night. And an event of this magnitude took hours and hours of planning. It took dedicated people to work outside in the hot temperatures like Sunday. A HUGE thankyou to ALL of you that took part making this a sensational event. I honestly don't know how it could have been any better.
THANKYOU!
In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, Juanita Nelson claims fire department members voted against her because if a woman was in the department, "it will never be the same."
The lawsuit names the fire department, the city of Crisfield -- because it owns the department building and equipment -- and members Ronnie Hinman, Larry Tyler and Charles Cavanaugh.
But city attorney Robin Cockey said the fire department uses a democratic process to admit new members, and that events "did not occur as the plaintiff alleges."
"The fire department and the city vehemently deny any misconduct or wrongdoing," he said.
According to the lawsuit, Nelson enrolled in a firefighter training course and passed in the Top 10 in her class. She also met all of the physical requirements.
Nelson is a 9-year member and volunteer EMT with the Lower Somerset County Ambulance and Rescue Squad in Crisfield.
She first applied for membership in the Crisfield Fire Department in January 2008 but was told she did not receive the necessary two-thirds majority vote from members.
She was turned down again in August 2008 and February 2009, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges Hinman, known as "Pork Chop," began soliciting older, nonactive members of the fire department who don't normally attend meetings to turn out to vote against Nelson's application.
Among the older members reportedly attending were Bobby Tawes, Larry Tyler and Richard Scott, a former mayor of Crisfield.
"One of them openly expressed that 'if we let a female in here, it will never be the same again,' " the lawsuit claims.
But Scott said Monday he has not been to a fire department meeting in the past six or seven years.
After Nelson was denied for a third time, she asked Fire Chief Bill Reynolds for another application but was reportedly told the department was not accepting new applicants. The department allegedly admitted two male members the month before, according to the lawsuit.
Nelson is seeking $3 million in compensatory damages, $1.5 million in punitive damages and attorney fees and expenses.
www.delmarvanow.com
34th Annual J. Millard Tawes Crab and Clam Bake
Wed., July 21, 2010
Held every year on the third Wednesday in July at Somers Cove Marina in Crisfield, this annual celebration is named in honor of Crisfield native, J. Millard Tawes - the 54th Governor of the State of Maryland. This event, listed in Frommers Travel Guides and other National Event Directories is described as ..... "..an outdoor all-you-can-eat affair featuring crabs, clams, fish, corn on the cob, and watermelon, and in election years, lots of politicians."
WEDNESDAY, JULY 21, 2010
12:30 - 4:00 p.m.
Somers Cove Marina - 7th St. - Crisfield, MD 21817
$40.00 - all u-can-eat & drink
ALL YOU CAN EAT MENU
$40 Donation - price includes free mug and mallet with customized logo, as long as they last!
This event is recognized as one of Maryland`s finest seafood festivals. Tickets must be purchased in advance through the Crisfield Area Chamber of Commerce.
Due to the tremendous response and popularity of this event, space is limited to 6000. Tickets will be sold on a first come - first serve basis.
With a purchase of 30 tickets or more, the Chamber will provide your business or organization with a hospitality space for a fee. Spaces are limited. Please inquire early.
For ticket information, please call the Chamber Office toll free at 1-800-782-3913 or email the Chamber Office Manager.The ACLU of Maryland has started its own probe into the matter, and a representative met with as many as 20 concerned residents last week in Crisfield, said Deborah Jeon, an attorney for the civil rights group.
Jeon said city elections officials turned away a number of potential voters without giving them provisional ballots.
It wasn't until late in the afternoon that provisional ballots were given to people whose names could not be immediately verified as being registered voters, she said.
Jeon said, at this point, she is unsure of the number of people who were turned away.
"We're still in the process of investigating," she said.
Within days of the June 16 election, the American Civil Liberties Union detailed a number of alleged irregularities, including unlawful voter identification requirements and the failure to offer rejected voters a provisional ballot, which the group said appeared to have disproportionately affected African-American voters.
The ACLU said it was acting on behalf of mayoral candidate James Lane and several African-American voters.
Lane, who lost the election to incumbent Percy Purnell, said he knows people who were turned away or who witnessed improprieties.
"We feel very strongly there are some very serious problems," he said.
Robin Cockey, the city's attorney, said he was unaware the Justice Department planned to launch an investigation.
"That's interesting and surprising," he said. "I didn't know the ACLU thought this was still a viable issue."
Cockey said he is still in the process of conducting his own investigation, but believes the ACLU's allegations are unfounded.
When city elections officials could not find names on their lists, they called the county election office in Princess Anne for verification. Those who were registered were allowed to vote, but those who were unregistered were turned away, he said.
After the county office closed, city poll workers gave out provisional ballots to people whose names were not on the list.
"The bottom line is, anyone who was registered to vote and who wanted to vote was able to vote," he said.
This week, city elections officials verified and opened the remaining 17 provisional ballots filed during the election.
While all 17 were verified to be registered voters, one ballot was left blank, said Joyce Morgan, the city's clerk-treasurer, who was present along with election board members when the ballots were opened Wednesday.
Candidates in the election were notified that the ballots would be opened Wednesday, but none showed up, Morgan said.
With the opening of the provisional ballots, all of the candidates, except one, picked up additional votes.
In the mayor's race, incumbent Percy Purnell received 5 votes and challenger James Lane, 11.
Votes cast for City Council were Raymond Anderson, 5; Barry Dize, 4; Robert Hooks, 2; Jordan Joyner, 4; Kim Lawson, 5; Carolyn Marquis, 4; Greg Sterling, 3; and Pamela Whittington, 10.
Three incumbent City Council members --Raymond Anderson, Barry Dize and Kim Lawson, who were elected with Purnell in 2006 as part of the Clean Sweep Team --were the winners for their at-large seats.
Purnell, Anderson, Dize and Lawson are scheduled to be sworn-in for their second terms July 12.
Three incumbent City Council members --Raymond Anderson, Barry Dize and Kim Lawson, who were elected with Purnell in 2006 as part of the Clean Sweep Team -- also appeared to be the winners for their at-large seats.
Lane said Wednesday night he was not ready to concede to Purnell.
"It's not over until they count the absentee and provisional ballots," he said.
City elections officials said they mailed out 51 absentee ballots, but the number returned was not immediately available Wednesday night. They will be opened this afternoon.
There also were 17 provisional ballots, as well as some people who were turned away because they were not on city voter lists.
Some of Lane's supporters said they planned to challenge the outcome of the mayor's race.
"We'll take it to the highest court," one woman shouted at reporters. "Put that in the paper."
Lane said he knows of one woman who registered to vote last month, but whose name was not on the list given to city elections officials.
"I'm sure there's going to be some examination of the process," he said.
In the City Council races, Anderson and Dize were clear winners with 513 and 465 votes, respectively, but Lawson, with 422 votes, was only 44 votes ahead of challenger Pamela Whittington, with 378 -- a lead that could change with today's absentee vote count.
Purnell said he was happy with the outcome so far.
"I think it's reassuring at this level of a challenge," he said.
Just before the polls closed, Clean Sweep Team supporters, who had camped outside City Hall all day, predicted it would be a close mayor's race.
"It was hard to tell," said Frederick B. "Fritz" Gerald, a former mayor and city manager. "This morning it was a little bit lopsided, but this evening it evened out."
Mayor
James Lane -- 408
Percy Purnell (I) -- 455
Richard Scott -- 14
City Council (3 seats)
Raymond Anderson (I) -- 513
Barry Dize (I) -- 465
Robert Hooks -- 35
Jordan "Bo" Joyner --139
Kim Lawson (I) -- 422
Carolyn Marquis -- 240
Greg Sterling -- 145
Pamela Whittington -- 378