Doggy Speed Dating.............

Looking for a friend and have had no luck with speed dating or chat rooms?  Maybe you've been looking for the wrong kind of friend.

Because there are SO many homeless animals recently the shelters can not house and care for so many of them.  The weaker ones alot of times have to be euthanized.  The funds to care for them just are not there.  This is heartbreaking.

Please try to give a small donation to an animal shelter near you.  That donation can be with a gift of money or just by giving the supplies they need to care for these animals who can NOT speak for themselves.

PLEASE search the internet or ask around your town for the locations of  these local shelters.

There IS someone out there waiting for your love either as a life time home or a foster parent.

YOU can give them the VOICE they need.

And in the meantime try "Doggy Speed Dating"......

If it works for people why won't it work for  our four legged friends!

Pocomoke Receives Housing Funds

Written by

Bill Kerbin

POCOMOKE CITY -- At their last meeting, the mayor and council learned the city has received $250,000 in funding for housing rehabilitation from the state Department of Housing and Community Development.

The funding will be used for deferred loans for owner-occupied homes and loans with 2 percent interest rates for landlords.

If the homeowners stay in their homes for five years (up to $10,000 loan), 10 years ($10,000-$20,000 loan) or 15 years ($20,000-$25,000 loan) the loans are forgiven.

City Manager Russell W. Blake said the program was started in 1976. The town has run out of funds and now has a waiting list for loans.

Police department improvements

After seeing plans for improvements at the new police headquarters, the council approved them. The new location will be on Market Street near the firehouse. Blake said bids for construction should be available at the next meeting, with construction completed in February or March.

The police department is presently housed in the former armory on Second Street.

Ambulance report

Although there was an increase in ambulance calls in Pocomoke City and lower Worcester County over the previous year, there was a significant decrease in calls to locations in Somerset County -- from 111 to 70 calls. Mike Thornton, the director of the ambulance company, said rescue companies in Somerset County had decided to increase their areas of coverage.

The council approved the purchase of two power life stretchers at a cost of $7,860 each. This will help ambulance personnel in lifting patients.

Golf course funds

The council authorized the city manager to apply for funding under the state Community Park and Playground program. Specific areas to be addressed in the application will be paving two cart paths on the Winter Quarters Golf Course, the construction of a new maintenance shop at the golf course and installation of heating and air conditioning at the log cabin. The total amount to be requested will be about $100,000.

The council also authorized an $8,700 loan from John Deere for the purchase of an aerator for the golf course.

Source;  http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/20110814/NEWS01/108140311/Pocomoke-receives-housing-funds

TIME MACHINE ... The World War II Era on the Eastern Shore.

December, 1941

Pocomoke City and other other Eastern Shore residents were tuning in to a special statewide radio broadcast "WHEN THE BLITZ COMES KNOW YOUR TASK." A newspaper ad advised that officials will tell you what an enemy attack will mean to Maryland..to you..to your family..and what your part will be when that time comes. Front page news items such as Approaches To Bay Mined By Navy and Eastern Shore Guardsmen On Active Service reflected the worrisome news of that era.


June, 1941

In Crisfield the normal peacetime production at the Briddell plant was now involved with a heavy workload related to military needs with two work shifts required. Also in Crisfield two tent factories were working overtime to fill military orders.


February, 1942

World War II military action was reported close to home for Pocomoke and other lower Eastern Shore residents with the news that an enemy submarine torpedoed and sank a freighter just 23 miles off of Ocean City. Two died in the attack and 39 who spent seven hours in two of the freighter's lifeboats were rescued by a Coast Guard Cutter dispatched from Ocean City.


March, 1942

A complete blackout of Ocean City was ordered by Maryland's State Defense Council until a plan could be devised to prevent light reflections that could silhouette ships on the ocean. Army officials had previously called for the blackout to make it more difficult for enemy ships to spot and sink ships off the Ocean City coastline. One problem was said to be the glare of light from side streets in addition to the light along the immediate shoreline. Ocean City officials were meeting with state and federal officials and were said to be confident plans could be put into place that would not curtail the summer season.


March, 1942

The executive director for Civil Defense for Maryland issued a warning to all county defense directors that every Eastern Shore county must immediately put partial blackouts into effect every night until further notice. It would involve eliminating lighting on all advertising signs, store window displays and other such lighting that could not be controlled at once in the event of an alert. Full scale black out procedures and practices were developed in most of the bigger Eastern Shore communities during the war era.


October, 1942

Worcester County war rationing boards were created in Pocomoke City, Snow Hill, and Berlin. Pocomoke board members were R. Harlan Robertson, chairman; E. Russell Mathews, and Edward Ham. Additionally, B. Fuller Waters was appointed to the Ceiling Price Panel; and Rev. John A. Ditto, Verlin C. Krabill Sr., and William H. Dryden were appointed to the Fuel Oil Panel.

Citizens throughout the country were urged to give support and cooperation to their local rationing boards:

It may seem like a lot of "stuff and nonsense" when your local War Price and Rationing Board makes a decision. But- please remember that these board members don't make the rules.

Even OPA in Washington doesn't decide what is to be rationed. Gasoline restrictions--for example, were ordered by the War Production Board and your Petroleum Administrator.

Your Ration Board members are merely representatives of Uncle Sam. They are to see that everyone gets a Fair Share of Rationed Goods Available.

"Share And Share Alike!"- that's the motto of your War Price and Rationing Board!.

These members- patriotic neighbors of yours- are handling the toughest job in town. They work long hours, Without Pay, so please give them consideration. They're patient with you. Be patient with them.

A public service campaign attempted to explain gasoline rationing:

Why can't I get more gasoline?

Sorry- But we haven't enough gas here in the east to supply military and civilian demands now!

Well, we want to drive to our cabin every Sunday.

But that's pleasure driving.

Well. . .

And there Isn't Gas Enough for Pleasure Driving. Everyone in the east is entitled to at least 3 gallons every two weeks- and no more.

Oh, that's just one of those silly OPA rules. My sister in Indiana gets more gasoline than that!

Yes. If she has an "A" card, they give her 4 gallons a week. You see that's the maximum allowed to "A" drivers because our rubber situation is so critical throughout the country.

Well, if they have more gas in Indiana, why don't we get more of it here?

Shipping- that's why. Before the war, gasoline was shipped to the Atlantic seaboard in giant tankers. A tanker docked at an east coast port every 80 minutes. Now- these tankers are carrying gasoline and oil to our men on the fighting fronts.

Why don't they ship gasoline across the country?

They do. You'd probably be surprised if you knew how much your government is doing to bring gasoline east. They're using everything they can find. Tank cars- and even rubber-lined box cars. But we still can't get enough.

I thought they were going to build some sort of pipelines.

They have. But they haven't even produced enough for military needs!

I don't see why. Everybody gets such a little bit of gasoline!

Millions of gallons of gas and oil are used each week in our military industries. And millions of barrels are shipped weekly from our east coast ports to the battle fronts.

I never though of that before.

Most people don't. But if everyone would try to understand the reason behind rationing, I'm sure they would do everything they could to help.

You mean- the gasoline I don't get is helping to win the war?

That's right. And the more we have to fight with, the sooner we'll win.

Even in wartime there were some moments of a less serious nature:

1943

As a young Navy pilot former President George H.W. Bush trained at the Chincoteague base. As reported in various published accounts he flew low over an area of Crisfield where a circus had setup nearby and a frightened elephant broke away, in turn frightening nearby residents. Reports were that Bush's low fly-over was an attempt to impress a young Crisfield woman he had met at a USO dance at Chincoteague.


Do you have a local memory to share with PPE readers.. such as a big snow storm, a favorite school teacher, a local happening, something of interest your parents or grandparents told you about? It can be just a line or two or more if you wish. Your name won't be used unless you ask that it be. Send to tkforppe@yahoo.com and watch for it on a future TIME MACHINE posting!

Mans Fruit Stand Targeted By The State

Written by
Ted Shockley
Staff Writer
August 13, 2011

TEMPERANCEVILLE -- Burke Landon is in a governmental pickle with his roadside vegetable stand.



Photo- Jay Diem/Eastern Shore News



After three years of operation, the government has decided that the market and its signs are too close to Saxis Road.

Despite Landon's repeated calls, he said the government won't enforce the 35-mile-per-hour speed limit in front of his home. The thoroughfare is home to frequent motorcycle races and speeding drivers.

Despite Landon's complaints, he wonders if the government is ever going to mow the weeds in a nearby ditch that makes leaving his driveway perilous, or even clean the culvert that causes part of his yard to flood.

Landon even laughs about calling the authorities about loaded log trucks that are mysteriously driving away from U.S. Route 13 on their route north, only to resurface on the highway after avoiding the New Church truck scales. Despite his calls, the trucks continue to use the route.

"It's like no one cares what goes on with Saxis Road," he said. "It seems like I can't get anybody to do anything. I have tried to work with them."

Landon has a big customer base with his small market, where he sells everything from fresh North Carolina shrimp to garden-grown vegetables. It's on Saxis Road just minutes from the Temperanceville intersection. He's open around 1 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and all day Saturday and Sunday.

But as soon as he expanded his stand on the side and rear, the state highway department claimed the stand and its signs were in a state right-of-way. He's four and a half feet too close to the road.

Nora Chivers, a state highway department spokeswoman, said rights-of-way are placed for safety reasons -- so people aren't crashing into buildings or signs.

People who want to post items in rights-of-way need state permits. If something doesn't have a permit, "we can remove it. That's how it's enforced," she said.

However, there isn't an inspection team on the Eastern Shore patrolling for violations, she said. If crews find violations during road maintenance, they can warn violators, she said.

Within a few miles on Saxis Road, Landon counted numerous other apparent right-of-way violations -- his total was 17 violations -- and wondered why he was being singled out.

Landon had a deal for the highway department. "As soon as you cut this ditch, I will move my stand back four and a half feet," he told them.

"They have yet to cut it."

He even offered to keep the ditch near his home maintained if the department's equipment cleared the heavy brush first.

Police also haven't followed up on his tips about the log trucks, the motorcycle races or the clogged culvert.

"You'll probably have a motorcycle go past you doing a wheelie 80 miles per hour," Landon said. "When a child gets killed, then they'll do something about it."

Until then, Landon will keep calling about the speeders and the grass. He'll keep selling the shrimp and vegetables.

He finds it interesting that the government enforcement is more concerned with a sign and a couple of posts in the ground than people endangering others with their vehicles.

"The state and the county are always doing this for your taxes," he said, holding out his hand as if about to receive money.

"But you get nothing in return."

Source; http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/20110813/ESN01/108130304/-It-s-like-no-one-cares-what-goes-on-with-Saxis-Road-?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Eastern Shore News|s

**We rode past Mr. Landon's produce stand today and I am pleased to report that brush and ditch bank have been cleared on both sides of the road.  Mr. Landon is correct when he tells that speeding on Saxis Road happens everyday and speeders can be found the whole length of  Saxis Road until you reach the end -which is the Welcome sign in Saxis!  Horsey Road is just as dangerous to travel. 

Clogged culvert?  Yes.  Most of them are and there is flooding in front of his home and the others in that area.  Other ditches throughout the area are the same and water sits there for days.  But here's something to remember.  A few months ago the citizens of Accomack County were asked to help all they could to keep the sides of the road and ditch banks in front of their homes mowed.  My husband does.  In fact he cuts further down on both sides most times.  Due to cutbacks with the county and state our state roads dept. just doesn't have the funds to cut these areas as often as needed. However, Mr. Landon did have a just complaint.

Motorcycle races?  Those too.  Horsey Road and Saxis Road are the most popular for this weekend sport and people actually come from miles around to watch and to race.  But the racers know when the police have been notified.   I've even known the races to occur during local church hours and I can't imagine how devastating it would be for a family leaving church to be involved in a drag racing accident.

Logging trucks?  Yes.  And this gentlemen should know.  The woods beside him is being thinned and he should know which way the log trucks travel.  But then, you can ask anyone that travels  the back roads about the number of heavy trucks avoiding the  New Church scales.

Good job, Mr. Landon.  Maybe you got the ball rolling in the right direction for those of us back here that pay taxes and get no action!** jmmb

SUNDAY At The Worcester County Fair

Sunday   August 14, 2011

11 a.m.  Fair Opens

11 a.m.- Service by Snow Hill Mennonite Church

12:30 p.m.  Music by Country Crossroads

12:30 P.M.  Breyer Horse Show

3:30 p.m. - Awards Ceremony
4 p.m. - Fair Closes

**Also don't  miss**

Demonstrations by the Salisbury MD Kennel Club

Williams Blacksmith & Ironworks

Native American Dancing & Storytelling

Carriage Rides

River Cruises by the Bay Queen

Byrd Park
Snow Hill, Maryland

Shore Beef & BBQ- SUPER CHICKEN SUNDAY SPECIAL!!

  TODAY AT SHORE BEEF & BBQ

IS

SUPER CHICKEN SUNDAY!!!

1/2 BBQ chicken/w side and drink

$6.95

PLUS

SUNDAY SPECIAL

KIDS EAT FREE (12 and under)

11:00 am  until 2:00 pm ONLY

Route 13 south

New Church, Virginia

just before T's Corner

Smoke From Great Dismal Swamp Spreads As Far As Baltimore

My husband was in North Carolina last week and took this photo of the smoke coming  from the Great Dismal Swamp fire. (below)

August 13, 2011SUFFOLK, Va. – The wildfire in the Great Dismal Swamp National Refuge has burned nearly 5,800 acres and remains only 10 percent contained.

Falling trees have become a serious concern for crews fighting the blaze. The fire is burning through the deep peat layer, which sometimes measures up to 6 feet below the surface. This layer provides the foundation for trees in many areas of the swamp and firefighters say trees are coming down in every direction, often blocking roads and escape routes.

“With the consumption of the organic material, the root structure is seriously weakened,” said Incident Safety Officer Brian Beisel. “This is going to be a concern, not only for the firefighters currently working here, but for anyone entering into these burned areas for some time to come.”

Increased smoke has forced air operations previously based in Suffolk to relocate to airports in Chesapeake and around Hampton Roads.

Firefighters plan to begin pumping water from Lake Drummond into ditches throughout the swamp to raise the water table and prevent the fire from further spreading.

Lightning sparked the fire, which was first reported Aug. 4 and is the largest in the refuge's history. Smoke from the blaze has been visible in satellite photographs taken from space. Smoke from the blaze has spread as far as Annapolis and Baltimore in Maryland.

Portions of the Refuge are closed to the public including: Lake Drummond, Railroad Ditch, West Ditch, Interior Ditch and Corapeake Ditch Roads. The area of the Refuge south of Corapeake Ditch Road is also closed. The North Carolina Dismal Swamp State Park is closed. The Corps of Engineers has closed the Feeder Ditch, the Lake Drummond Reservation, and the alternative route of the Intracoastal Waterway, the Dismal Swamp Canal.

 

Source;  http://www.wtkr.com/news/wtkr-great-dismal-swamp-fire-only-10-percent-contained-smoke-spreads-as-far-as-baltimor-20110813,0,7664500.story

TIME MACHINE Preview ... The World War II era on the Eastern Shore

The war brings concerns and changes to life on the Eastern Shore. A glimpse of some of these.. tomorrow on The Pocomoke Public Eye!

Do you have a local memory to share with PPE readers.. such as a big snow storm, a favorite school teacher, a local happening, something of interest your parents or grandparents told you about? It can be just a line or two or more if you wish. Your name won't be used unless you ask that it be. Send to tkforppe@yahoo.com and watch for it on a future TIME MACHINE posting!

See Dawn At Her Thirty-One Booth

If you are visiting the Worcester County Fair in Snow Hill, Maryland (Byrd Park) this weekend be sure to stop by and say HI to Dawn Bloxom at her Thirty-One booth.

Dawn will show you what's new in the world of Thirty-One designs for yourself or for the home.  Do some early Christmas shopping.....

**If you host a home or Catalog Thirty-One party with Dawn you will receive a FREE appetizer from Texas Roadhouse!**

And while you're there don't forget to sign up to win a large Utility Tote!

For more information on Dawn and her Thirty-One designs go to: 
www.mythirtyone.com/bloxom

Worcester County Fair Continues Saturday and Sunday

Saturday, August 13^th
11 a.m. - Fair Opens

SATURDAY, AUGUST 13th

Fair Opens   11 AM

11 a.m.-2 p.m. - Classic Car & Truck Show
11 a.m. Beef Show (Pavilions)

11:30 a.m. Childrens Limbo Contest

12:30 p.m. Childrens Watermelon Eating Contest

1 - 7 p.m. Bay Queen Cruises

1 p.m. Meat Goat Show (Pavillions)

1 p.m to 5 p.m. Jam Session with George Hall

1:30p.m. Childrens Pedal Tractor Event (in Childrens Area)

2:30 p.m. Childrens Extra Large Kool Pop Eating Contest

3:30 p.m. Childrens Chicken Scratch

4 p.m. - Dairy Goat Show (Pavilions)

4:30 p.m. Childrens Pie Eating Contest (coolwhip)

5:30 p.m. Childrens Hula Hoop Contest

6 p.m.- Swine Show

6 p.m.  Adult Talent Show AND Youth Talent Show

6:30 p.m. Childrens Egg Toss

8 p.m. - Fair Closes for the Day

**Also dont miss**

Gun Fight by the Del Rio Rangers

Native American Dancing & Storytelling

Quilters

Carriage Rides

Chain Saw Carving Demonstrations

Williams Blacksmith & Ironworks

MELSON POWER SHOW THIS SATURDAY

MELSON POWER SHOW

July race events pulled in the largest crowd ever at Melson's.

Let's make it an even LARGER crowd on

Saturday

August 13, 2011

Watch Bailey compete against her younger brother in the

Lawn Tractor Pull. 

The competition can get tense between these two.  It's so much fun to watch them that you won't mind who wins..........or who loses.  (But I bet on the way home there's alot said)

After the lawn tractors get ready for the
Garden Tractors

See how much weight they can actually pull.

Old tractor or new...it doesn't matter....

Also on race night......

Truck Pull

And if you still haven't had enough.....

Dirt Drag !!

And maybe even more...........

REGISTRATION AT 3:00 PM

EVENTS BEGIN AT 5:00

PLEASE BE SURE TO BE REGISTERED BY 5:00 !

Admission: $5.00 - Children under 11 years FREE!

9343 Guy Ward Road

Parsonsburg, Maryland

So pack up your lawn chair and lounge under the shade or sit in the shade and watch from one of the picnic tables.

Refreshments available.

We'll be looking for you!!

Sad Ending For Whale Found At Folly Creek

Written by

Clara H. Vaughn

ONLEY -- It was calm and breezeless on Folly Creek on Wednesday night as four Virginia Marine Police officers watched a team of Virginia Aquarium biologists work by spotlight in the marsh.

They were taking the vital signs of a beached whale in an uncommon place -- not far from the Folly Creek boat ramp in a waterway popular with fishermen, pleasure boaters and those heading for a day of sun on Cedar Island.

After assessing the whale, the aquarium stranding team determined the 10-foot-long pygmy sperm whale would not survive, and euthanized her in the marsh.

"You can't put these guys in a tank. They don't rehab well. And sending her back out would be a death sentence -- a much worse one," said biologist Christina Trapani.

Marine Police Officers Gerald Pitt, left, and Grady Ellis attend to a sperm whale found in Folly Creek on Wednesday. It was euthanized later that night by biologists from the Virginia Aquarium. / CLARA H. VAUGHN/THE DAILY TIMES

Trapani arrived with stranding team members Linda D'eri, Colleen Larkin and Jackie Bort around 9 p.m. Wednesday after receiving a call from the Marine Police.

They found the whale in a distressed state -- quivering, arching, thrashing and foaming from the blowhole.

The tide was going out, leaving her stranded farther on land as time passed.

The whale had been stuck since at least 5 p.m., when Marine Police Officers Grady Ellis and Gerald Pitt received a call. They arrived on the site, a mile from the landing at Folly Creek, soon afterward.

"She was in the marsh. A guy and his wife were trying to get her out," Ellis said.

After removing the rope the couple had used, he said the whale rounded the creek.

"She swam up and down the channel, looking disoriented," he said. "She swam up the other side of the creek. That's where she stayed."

Marine Police Officer Richard Haynie said in his nine years at his job, he had never received a call about a beached whale.

D'eri said sperm whales typically live in the open ocean.

"She is way out of her habitat. Usually, when they come this far in, there's a reason," she said.

Other calls received by the Marine Police earlier that day confirmed D'eri's theory -- a similar, smaller whale was also found stranded in the creek. Marine Police officers said the second whale was injured.

The stranding team noticed that the whale they were treated was lactating, indicating that the two were mother and calf.

The calf had freed itself and the Marine Police were unable to find it by press time. They planned to search again Thursday morning.

Its mother died at about 11 p.m. Wednesday in the steadying arms of the stranding team biologists. It was towed back to shore and taken to the aquarium in Virginia Beach, where staff planned to do a necropsy on Friday morning to better understand what happened.

"There's been a lot of pressure on stranding teams to save them all," Trapani said. "It would've been absolutely unfair to the animal."

If you find a beached whale, dolphin or turtle, contact the Virginia Aquarium Stranding Team immediately at 757-385-7575.

Source; http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/20110812/NEWS01/108120303/In-Folly-Creek-whale-tale-has-sad-ending?odyssey=mod|mostview

~Marva Theater Tonight~

2011 MarVa Theater Academy

The actors of the MarVa Theater Academy

PRESENT

"PETER PAN AND WENDY"

Friday  August 12, 2011

7:00 PM

Admission:  $5.00 Adult   $3.00 Children under 12

Here's A Fish Tale About the One That DIDN'T Get Away!

A Westover man made a record catch while fishing on the Pocomoke River on July 31.  20 year old Justin Kelly reeled in a 17 pound longnose gar that was 49 inches long.  The fish put up a fight, but when he saw how big it is, he went to the nearest Maryland Fishing Challenge award center.  The previous state record for a longnose gar – 16 pounds and exceeded the 36-inch minimum angler award size.  Kelly is now one of over 90 Maryland fishing record holders. 

—————————–

NEWS RELEASE:  A Westover man caught a 17 pound, 49 inch longnose gar on July 31, setting a new State record. Justin Kelly, 20, was fishing on the Pocomoke River near Pocomoke City when he made the record catch, using steel leaders and live bluegill for bait.

“When the fish got close, I thought we were going to need a bigger net,” Kelly said.

After a long fight, he finally pulled the fish aboard and noticed its exceptional size. Kelly then took his catch to the nearest Maryland Fishing Challenge award center.

The center measured and weighed the fish, then checked the Maryland Fishing Guide to find that it exceeded the 36-inch minimum angler award size and broke the previous State record of 16 pounds for longnose gar. DNR Biologist, Keith Lockwood soon joined Kelly to examine the fish and certify the rare catch.

The longnose gar’s ancestry dates back to among the most primitive of species. This brackish water fish features a long, cylindrical body with tough scales and rows of large, sharp teeth. Its bony mouth makes it difficult to catch.

Kelly is now one of Maryland’s more than 90 fishing record holders. He will also join Maryland’s other angler award winners on September 10 at the Maryland Fishing Challenge Grand Finale event during the 44th annual Maryland Seafood Festival at Sandy Point State Park. He is entered in the grand prize drawing for a chance to win a boat and trailer package from Bass Pro Shops and Tracker Boats, thousands of dollars in fishing gear and trips from Bill’s Outdoor Center or a tropical vacation from World Fishing Network.

Source; http://www.wgmd.com/?p=31838

Accountant Took Money To Repay Another Debt

CHRISTINE CULLEN ¦ Staff Writer

(Aug. 12, 2011) A Berlin accountant who turned himself in to police for allegedly stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from resort area condominium associations claimed that the thefts started when a local businessman he also stole from began extorting him for monthly buyoff payments.

William Wilson Scott, 37, of Bishopville, went to the Maryland State Police barrack in Berlin on Feb. 9 “to clean my conscience,” according a recording of his confession that was played during his trial Wednesday in Circuit Court. Scott told detectives that he had been stealing money from three associations he managed for the past few years and he wanted to turn himself in.


“There’s money that has been used by me that wasn’t mine,” he told the detectives.

In court, Scott pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

In the recorded interview with police, Scott said everything started in 2007, when he took on Atlantic Physical Therapy and owner Robert Hammond as a client. Hammond gave Scott money that year and the next year to pay the company’s taxes, but Scott told the detectives that he used the money, around $170,000, to pay his own personal bills instead.

In December 2009, when Hammond learned that his taxes were never paid, he demanded the immediate repayment of all the money. Scott told the detectives that he was afraid for his safety when Hammond arrived at his office with two large men and told him, “I brought guys with me that know how to hurt,” according to the recording.

Hammond disputes what Scott told the detectives. He said Thursday that the two men were friends visiting him from Italy and he denies saying they were guys who knew how to hurt.

“In no way, shape or form did I threaten him,” Hammond said.


In order to repay the money, Scott said he took it from three condo association accounts he managed: the Assateague House, San Remo and Sunset Village associations.


“The only place I knew to get the money from was these condo associations,” he said.

Scott told the detectives that Hammond was not satisfied and demanded monthly payments of $3,000 or he would go to the police.


Hammond denies that he demanded the payments. Scott, he said, came up with that amount.


“He agreed to pay $3,000 a month,” Hammond said. “He came to my house and that’s what he came up with. He said he would pay the penalties and interest.”

Scott paid the money until February of this year, when he went to the police station and confessed his crimes.

“Can you make good on this?” Sgt. Scott Brent of the Worcester County Bureau of Investigation asked.

“I want to. That’s why I’m here,” Scott replied.

Tfc. Kyle Trotter of WCBI said the Federal Bureau of Investigation launched an inquiry into possible ties between Hammond and organized crime, but nothing was found.

The investigation led to Scott being charged with six counts of theft and theft scheme. Police alleged that he embezzled more than $820,000 from the three condominium associations. The Assateague House won a lawsuit against Scott in June.

The embezzlement began to come to light in late 2010, when Reese Cropper, owner of IMG Insurance in Ocean City, learned that Scott had not paid the insurance premiums for the Assateague House and Sunset Village associations. His concerns regarding the handling of the associations’ finances led him to contact all three association presidents and suggest they look at their books.”

“I had reason to believe they needed to look into their funds,” Cropper testified in court.


At around the same time, Joe Pino, a contractor who had done substantial work on the Sunset Village townhouses, grew concerned when months went by and he did not receive the final $20,000 payment from Scott for his work. He contacted his friend Larry Perkins, who is the treasurer of the Assateague House, since Scott managed both associations’ money.


Perkins checked the account balances of the association’s three bank accounts that Scott had access to and learned there was only around $1,800 among the three.


“I expected to see hundreds of thousands of dollars in those accounts,” he said.

When the books of the three associations were reviewed, it was discovered that Scott had allegedly written dozens of checks to his company out of their accounts, without the permission or knowledge of the boards of directors. The total pilfered was allegedly $826,273.

Scott’s public defender Chasity Simpson called no witnesses and offered no defense. The closing arguments and judge’s decision was postponed until Aug. 16, because Judge Richard Bloxom said he needed time to go through the stacks of financial records offered as evidence.

Source;  http://www.oceancitytoday.net/news/2011-08-12/Front_Page/SCOTT_TOOK_MONEY_TO_REPAY_ANOTHER_THEFT.html

Melson Power Show This Saturday!

DON'T MISS THE FUN!

EVENTS BEGIN AT 5:00 PM

TIME MACHINE Preview ... The Word War II Era On The Eastern Shore

The war brings concerns and changes to life on the Eastern Shore. A glimpse of some of these.. this Sunday on The Pocomoke Public Eye!

Do you have a local memory to share with PPE readers.. such as a big snow storm, a favorite school teacher, a local happening, something of interest your parents or grandparents told you about? It can be just a line or two or more if you wish. Your name won't be used unless you ask that it be. Send to tkforppe@yahoo.com and watch for it on a future TIME MACHINE posting!

Verizon is currently experiencing a problem with 911 service in Northampton County and Accomack County.

If you are unable to reach the 911, you may call 757-787-0911 or 757-824-0911 to report an emergency.

You can use the same numbers  above to contact the Accomack County Sheriff's Office .

Telephone service at the sheriff's office has also been disrupted.

Maryland Woman Missing In Aruba

WASHINGTON - A Maryland woman is missing in Aruba, and police have detained the man with whom she was vacationing.

 
Robyn Gardner, 35, was reported missing Aug. 2 by the man she was in Aruba with, 50-year-old Gary Vincent Giordano of Gaithersburg, Md.
 
Giordano reported Gardner missing after he said she was swept out to sea on a snorkeling trip. A search by the Coast Guard, police, Search and Rescue Aruba and others turned up nothing, Aruba Herald.com reports.
 
Authorities detained Giordano at the airport as he was leaving the country. He's being held and accused of "involvement in the disappearance" of Gardner but not murder, says Ann Angela, a spokesperson for the Aruba prosecutor's office.
 
"At this moment we prefer to stick to 'involvement in the disappearance' because the investigation has to show what exactly happened, where she is now, if she's dead, if she's alive," Angela says.
 
Giordano will go through a series of detention hearings in which a judge will decide whether there are still grounds for him to be held in Aruba, Angela says. The next detention hearing is expected to take place this weekend, and there is no bond or bail in Aruba.

 

A WTOP court records search online finds a man with a similar name has been in court in Montgomery County, Md. on domestic violence charges involving two women in the past. The most recent charge against him last year lists his home address as Gaithersburg.

 
Gardner was last seen at the Renaissance Aruba Resort & Casino where Giordano reportedly used Marriott points to pay for the room. The Aruba Herald also reports Giordano and Gardner met on an online dating site and had a relationship in which they met up about twice a month.
 
Richard Forester, of Bethesda, Md., says he's been Gardner's boyfriend for 2 1/2 years, and that she's a strong swimmer. He says Gardner's official address is in Frederick, but she had lived with him in Bethesda since January. He says Gardner recently lost her job at a Bethesda dentist's office.

 

Forester, 41, says the couple argued before Gardner left about the nature of her trip to Aruba, and he received an email from her three hours before she was reported missing that expressed her love and said they'd sort things out when she returned.
 

"The last message I got from her was 'I love you,'" Forester says.

 

Much earlier in the day, at 2 a.m., Gardner appears to have written on Forester's Facebook wall, saying "this sucks." (Ed. note: See screenshot in photo gallery)

 

Forester also says Gardner appeared to be signed on to her Gmail account days after she reportedly had drowned, and there was no response when he tried to send her an instant message. He says Aruban authorities have Gardner's BlackBerry and iPad and are trying to access information from them.

 
Forester now is working with the Natalee Holloway Resource Center, which is dedicated to helping missing people. Holloway was 18 when she disappeared in Aruba in May 2005 during a high school graduation trip.

 

A Facebook page titled "Help Find Robyn Colson-Gardner: Missing in Aruba" asks people to "Please keep Robyn and her family in your thoughts and prayers."

 
Here's Gardner's description:

Height: 5-foot-5
Weight: 130 pounds
Hair color: Blonde (dyed)
Eye color: Brown
Skin color: White

Markings: Tattoos on left shoulder and arm, and one tattoo on right side of rib cage

Last seen: 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2011

Anyone with information is asked to call Fred Panneflek with the Aruban authorities at 011-297-597-5201.

Source;  http://www.wtop.com/?nid=41&sid=2489190