AUGUST 6, 2026
BERLIN • NORTH WORCESTER COUNTY• OCEAN PINES
FREE
Bertino give-back plan fails Commissioner moved to return excess cash to county homeowners
STEVE GREEN/BAYSIDE GAZETTE
BLESSING OF THE COMBINES Snow Hill hosted more than 8,000 people last Saturday for its annual agriculture celebration, Blessing of the Combines, featuring a parade of historic tractors as well as modern combines of today. See page 20 for more photos.
Stoehr files for Berlin council Seeks to fill District 1 seat left open by Green’s victory in commissioner contest By Tara Fischer Staff Writer (Aug. 6, 2026) Berlin Planning Commission Chairman Matthew Stoehr has announced he’s running for the town’s District 1 council seat this fall.
Stoehr joined the municipality’s Planning Commission in 2019 and has served as its chair for the past two and a half years. Stoehr, who moved to Berlin in 2015 from Ocean City, now has his sights set on the Town Council. Stoehr is campaigning for Councilmember Steve Green’s position, who was elected to the Worcester County Commissioners in June, but won’t take office until after the No-
vember general election. He will vacate his Berlin seat at the end of his term to assume his role as the county board’s District 4 representative. Following his graduation from Stephen Decatur High School in 2006, Stoehr earned an undergraduate degree in finance from Salisbury University. He also received a Master of Business Administration from Wilmington University in Delaware. See MATT Page 3
WE BUY GOLD & SILVER Kozma Jewelry & Coins
By Brian Shane Staff Writer (Aug. 6, 2026) Worcester County Commissioner Chip Bertino’s request this week to explore liquidating the county’s $15.2 million budget stabilization fund to provide rebates to resident homeowners failed Tuesday on a 3-4 vote. Commissioner Joe Mitrecic responded with a lengthy, heated denunciation, at times raising his voice as he moved from objections to the proposal into personal criticism of Bertino and his motives. “I was expecting something like this to happen,” said Mitrecic (District 7, Ocean City). “You have incredibly small-minded people that lost the election, that were voted out by the people, and you’re going to go ahead and you’re going to bankrupt the county because of that.” Bertino (District 5, Ocean Pines) lost his bid for a fourth term in the Republican primary and will leave office when the new board is sworn in this December. He stayed quiet throughout Mitrecic’s diatribe and for the rest of Tuesday’s meeting. Asked afterward why he remained silent, Bertino said, “I didn’t see that there was any reason to respond.” The budget stabilization fund is the county’s rainy-day fund. Former See ABBOTT Page 4
We Pay the Highest Prices for Gold & Silver Coins Gold Jewelry • Silver Jewelry • Silverware D.A. KOZMA JEWELERS RT 50 & 611 in the FOOD LION SHOPPING CENTER WOC 410-213-7505 • DAKOZMAJEWELERS.COM