OC Today WWW.OCEANCITYTODAY.COM
AUGUST 26, 2022
SERVING NORTHERN WORCESTER COUNTY
JEEP WEEK
REV YOUR ENGINES
Festivities kicked off Thursday and last through Sunday at array of resort locations – Page 26
FREE
Teaching posts filled despite nat’l shortage Schools’ quality, location big attraction for educators By Greg Wehner Staff Writer (Aug. 26, 2022) Heading into the 2022-23 school year, the Worcester County Public Schools system is nearly 100 percent staffed, and that’s despite the teacher shortage that is affecting the rest of the country. Many, including teachers, are blaming the shortage on pay, added responsibilities from the covid-19 pandemic, and a lack of backing from administrators to teachers when it comes to instruction. “There’s certainly a teacher shortage across the nation,” Dr. Dwayne Abt, the chief operations and human See SCHOOLS Page 3
GREG WEHNER/OCEAN CITY TODAY
CLEANUP CREW
The crew driving the beach tractors used to comb the sand wraps up just before dawn before heading off the beach.
Disaster season means preparing Resort meeting goes over steps residents must take to brace for major storms By Mallory Panuska Staff Writer (Aug. 26, 2022) Losing everything in a disaster is not something most people think would happen to them — until it does. And in a coastal community like Ocean City, a devastating hurricane or nor’easter blowing through and taking out buildings and infrastruc-
ture in one fell swoop is more likely than many people may realize. “Anything can happen at any time and that’s how we have to look at these things,” Emergency Services Director Joe Theobald said to a group of people who attended an emergency preparedness meeting on Monday evening. The session was timed to coincide with the arrival of prime hurricane season. The modest group of about 15 people listened to Theobald and his staff discuss the importance of having the
materials, equipment, plans and know-how to respond when the threat of storms and other disasters loom. Pre-disaster Ocean City has been pretty lucky to date in the face of disasters. Hurricanes like Sandy in 2012, that were expected to hit dead-on and create major devastation, have ended up with milder effects. But emergency officials say that should never be the expectation when See AS Page 4
Nurse poachers try to solicit staff at Atlantic Gen. Hospital increases its own recruiting, retention efforts By Mallory Panuska Staff Writer (Aug. 26, 2022) People who have been on the beach recently have probably seen a large banner flapping behind an airplane making its way north out over the ocean advertising “90K” salaries for nurses. It looks appealing, and those with nursing degrees or aspirations of entering the field may have had their interest sparked. But there’s a problem: the banner is not local and it is exacerbating an ongoing nursing shortage at Atlantic General Hospital. See MORE Page 12