MARCH 9, 2023
BERLIN • NORTH WORCESTER COUNTY• OCEAN PINES
FREE
Towns ask for more county $$ Requests reflect inflation’s affect on local budgets
CINDY HOFFMAN/BAYSIDE GAZETTE
Blue Frog Sanctuary has a spacious ‘catio’ for the cats to safely enjoy the great outdoors. Town Cats plans to expand the ‘catio’ this spring.
Town Cats marks 25 years of fixing felines By Cindy Hoffman Staff Writer (March 9, 2023) Free roaming, feral and abandoned cats that live in Worcester County and surrounding areas have been lucky to have Town Cats around for the last 25 years. Many summer visitors regularly feed the cats they find outside, but
when they leave in the fall, most of these cats are left behind to face the winter struggling to find food and shelter. Those that survive inevitably breed in the spring, producing litters of feral kittens that will eventually produce even more unwanted kittens. Keeping a handle on the cat popu-
lation is an ongoing effort. Kitten season occurs between April and October, although cats can give birth any time of the year. According to Animalleague.org an unspayed female and her un-neutered mate and all of their offspring can produce 67 cats in seven years. See FRIENDS Page 2
By Jack Chavez Staff Writer (March 9, 2023) Across the board, Worcester County municipalities and the Ocean Pines Association want more money to keep up with the costs associated with inflation. Each municipality plus the Ocean Pines Association made its FY24 budget requests to the Worcester County Commissioners on Tuesday and while there were no audible gasps in reaction to the requests, each one asked for more than what they received in FY23. Berlin’s funding request by itself is actually less than what was approved in FY23 — $2.41 million this year compared to $2.6 million last year — but the town is also requesting $700,013 in grant funding. In his formal letter explaining the request, Berlin Mayor Zack Tyndall wrote, “In fiscal year 2022, the Worcester County Commissioners granted the Town of Berlin $39,875 for a Phase I grant application for the Rails and Trails program. Due to the timing of the grant application, we See TOWNS Page 5
Restaurant Week in Ocean Pines Seventeen local eateries offering special menus now through Thursday By Cindy Hoffman Staff Writer (March 9, 2023) Whet your appetite for the second annual Ocean Pines Restaurant Week, which begins Friday and runs through next Thurs-
day. Seventeen Ocean Pines restaurants will offer food and drink specials throughout the promotion. In addition, prospective diners will be encouraged to pick up a restaurant week card at participating locations and then visit at least three participating restaurants to get the card stamped. Completed cards would then be
turned in at ERA Martin & Associates/Shamrock Division office at 11049 Racetrack Road no later than 10 a.m. on St. Patrick’s Day, Friday, March 17, to be entered into the raffle drawings. Kelly MacPherson, Realtor at ERA Martin Associates Shamrock Division and Kerrie Bunting, president of the Ocean Pines Chamber of Commerce See OP’S Page 4
The Area’s Premier Physical Therapy Clinic
NOW 2 Great Locations to Serve You! Spelled Different Because We Are Different® FYZICAL-DELMARVA.COM
Fyzical of Ocean Pines 11204 Racetrack Rd, Suite 101 • Ocean Pines, MD, 21811 410-208-1525
Fyzical of West Ocean City 12472 Sea Oaks Ln, Unit 1 • Berlin, MD 21811 410-747-3522