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SEPTEMBER 8, 2023
SERVING NORTHERN WORCESTER COUNTY
MEMORIAL
TRIBUTES TO 9/11
Remembrance Beams of Light and Parade of Brothers Motorcycle Ride to take place – Page 22
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HUNTER HINE/OCEAN CITY TODAY
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES
Photos taken at roughly the same time on Labor Day and the day after on the beach looking toward the inlet should give residents and visitors an idea of just how abrupt the change can be from traditional summer to September. Hundreds of thousands of visitors flooded the resort over the weekend, with the trickle of home-bound tourists beginning on Monday. Even so, Monday was still a busy day in terms of crowd size, while Tuesday ... well, that’s just the way it is in a beach town.
Beach Patrol has grueling weekend Short on staff, lifeguards battle strong rip currents to make 382 surf rescues By Remy Andersen Staff Writer (Sept. 8, 2023) While tourists packed the Ocean City beaches on a bustling Labor Day weekend, the lifeguards of the Ocean City Beach Patrol worked tirelessly to save a combined 382 people from the brutal surf conditions. Their efforts on these days of abnormally strong riptides carried some patrol members to the point of exhaustion, including two lifeguards who, after performing multiple rescues, had to be treated by emergency medical services. Both returned to duty the following day. Beach Patrol Capt. Butch Arbin
said part of the reason why the weekend was so busy for his crews was because there were a limited number of guards, as most have gone back to school for the fall season. He also attributed the increased number of rescues on Labor Day weekend to the rough surf conditions, stating that the number of tourists who come to the beach have little impact on that statistic. “During the tropical storm, people would look at the ocean and not want to go in because the water looked nasty, but once the storm passes, even though there are blue skies, no humidity, and beautiful weather, the rough wave conditions are still present in the ocean,” Arbin said of the lingering rip currents, the catalyst of the elevated number of rescues. “People will want to go in, but what they See WEEKEND Page 7
Northside becomes smoke-free Council does away with designated smoking areas
HUNTER HINE/ OCEAN CITY TODAY
A member of the Beach Patrol looks for signs of trouble during his Labor Day shift.
By Hunter Hine Staff Writer (Sept. 8, 2023) There will be no more smoking at Northside Park, following the Ocean City Council’s decision Tuesday to remove designated smoking areas from the grounds. The city code already prohibited smoking at any public park in town with the only exception being the smoking areas at Northside Park on 125th Street. Park visitors were permitted to smoke or vape within 15 feet of the signs marking the areas, but now there are no parks in town where smoking or vaping is allowed. The ordinance empowering that change also replaces references to See SMOKING Page 6