It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Downtown Pocomoke as the town twinkles at night with holiday lights and decorations. 

On   Friday,   December   3,   2021,   Pocomoke   City   will   host   the  tenth   annual   Old-Fashioned Christmas Evening from 5:30pm to 8:30pm in the mini park and municipal parking lot on Clarke Avenue across from City Hall in Downtown Pocomoke. 

This event will feature many family-friendly activities including horse-drawn carriage rides, a Santa House, and Christmas crafts for the children. The town will light a large bonfire for roasting s’mores. Community vendors will serve free refreshments including hot chocolate, sweet treats, hotdogs, drinks, and the famous MAR-VA Theater popcorn.

Live entertainment will be provided all night beginning with music from the school choirs of Pocomoke Elementary, Middle and High School. At 6:00pm the Mayor and City Council will light the town’s Christmas Tree with special music by Brittany Lewis. All About Dance Academy will then take the stage followed by holiday music from Costal Sound beginning at 7:00pm.

A holiday wreath contest and silent auction will be held to benefit the Downtown Pocomoke Association. The public can bid on the wreaths decorated by Pocomoke area businesses and residents. Prizes will be awarded onstage at 8:00pm to the top three businesses and individuals with the highest bid wreaths. Information and registration forms can be found on downtownpocomoke.com .

Admission is free, though vendors may request small donations to support their organizations. Guests are encouraged to bring a canned good, nonperishable item or paper product to support the Samaritan Shelter’s Food Drive, or a Toys for Tots, sponsored by the Pocomoke City Lions Club.

For more information or a full calendar of holiday events please visit downtownpocomoke.com or call City Hall at 410-957-1333 x111.

Time Machine Preview

 This Sunday here at The Pocomoke Public Eye:

1939  ..  (Ad) Train excursions from Pocomoke City to the World's Fair-

1902  ..
                                 

2010 .. 

               

             

1891  ..  Before 'Bad, Bad Leroy Brown' there was-

1955  ..  They'll now know the way to Pocomoke City (Editorial)-

Modified quarantine option for Worcester students

 (WMDT)

View news story:

Worcester County Public Schools implement modified quarantine for students - 47abc (wmdt.com)

Several issues to be addressed by Somerset Board of Education.

 

The Somerset Board of Education will hold a public work session meeting on December 1, 2021 from 4:00-6:00 p.m. concerning the student dress code, public participation and request to address the board policies. The meeting will be held at the Somerset Board of Education at 7982A Tawes Campus Drive, Westover.

Human Remains Found in Pocomoke City

 (WBOC)

View news story:

Human Remains Found in Pocomoke City - WBOC TV

Is it the flu or Covid-19?

 

Differentiating the flu and COVID-19 as flu season approaches in Maryland

Cases of the flu are starting to pick up across the country. Experts expect influenza to make a comeback after it was virtually extinct last year. But COVID-19 could muddy the waters as far as the accurate reporting of those cases.

Experts say the average person can't tell the difference between flu and COVID-19 symptoms without a test and the similarity could make getting an accurate read on the flu season more difficult.

"The good news is this is the type of flu activity that we see in years that are normally mild flu years," said Dr. Andrew Pekosz, of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

The bad news is the strain that's emerged so far, called an H-3 strain, is not a perfect match to this year's flu vaccine.

"So that may mean that we'll see a little less efficacy, but it's a good thing to remember that the flu vaccine contains four different viruses, and it may be that the other viruses are really good matches to what's circulating," Pekosz said.

The flu is in Maryland, but the state health department's website has it listed as minimal activity. The state tracks cases of what's called "influenza like illness" or ILI, which is just someone with respiratory symptoms, but Pekosz says those numbers might not be as accurate this year.

"In previous years, the first sign or two of respiratory illness may not have caused people to report that in any way, but now because everybody's aware of COVID-19 and testing for that more, people are reporting those early respiratory symptoms and getting a COVID test," Pekosz said.

But he says health care providers might not have access to those results and would still report it as an ILI. The state keeps track separately of cases confirmed by testing for both COVID-19 and the flu. But either way, if you have those symptoms it's best to take precautions.

"I think even if your COVID-19 negative, it could be that you're flu positive. It's a little bit harder to get flu tests, but it's just as important if you're sick with influenza to stay home and not spread that around," Pekosz said.

Pekosz says the true test will be what happens two weeks after Thanksgiving travel to see if COVID-19 or flu cases go up.

School calendar updates announced for Worcester County

 

View transcript of Superintendent Lou Taylor's announcement:

November 16, 2021 - Important Calendar Updates - Worcester County Public Schools (worcesterk12.org)

Worcester animal control

 

View WMDT news story:

Worcester County Commissioner says recent animal control legislation is successful - 47abc (wmdt.com)

Pocomoke Saturday event

                        

Ongoing scam activity

 (Shore Daily News)

According to Sheriff W. Todd Wessells, the Accomack County Sheriff’s Office has recently received information regarding the ongoing use of scams against citizens, which could result in the loss of thousands of dollars to the victims. Although many of these scams are not new, as technology advances, so do the methods of conducting the scams.

View full news story:

Accomack County Sheriff's Department warns of spoofing calls reported locally - Shore Daily News

Time Machine: Worcester's Rock Concert controversy of 1970.

 

In the summer of 1970 shore teens and young adults were excited about news that a large rock concert might be staged right here on the lower Eastern Shore.  Would it happen?

Daily Times (Salisbury)

The following items regarding the proposed concert are from Snow Hill's Democratic Messenger newspaper. Some of the text isn't of best reading quality but most is readable.

July, 1970