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OCTOBER 21, 2022
SERVING NORTHERN WORCESTER COUNTY
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Stephen Decatur sending five golfers to state championship tournament – Page 61
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Sunfest date change gets put to test Moved to accommodate concert, annual event’s draw could be affected
STEWART DOBSON/OCEAN CITY TODAY
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The Son Rays Condominium undergoes demolition work Tuesday to make room for a three-story condominium project by property owner Todd Ferrante, who acquired the property in 2004.
By Mallory Panuska Staff Writer (Oct. 21, 2022) Ocean City tourism officials will find out this weekend whether an attempt to extend and ramp up the shoulder season with the hype of a newly minted Sunfest will be a success. Set for Oct. 20-23, this year’s annual end-of-summer event includes an array of changes, including all free concerts, a new setup for vendor tents, and incorporation with OCtoberfest and the mayor’s bike ride. “Our team has been focused on maintaining the integrity of Sunfest, while also embracing the excitement of a few new twists,” Director of Tourism and Business Development Tom Perlozzo said in an email this week. “Our entertainment, for example, See THIS Page 6
Hale Harrison played huge role in resort Harrisons built hospitality company into Worcester’s largest single employer By Stewart Dobson Editor (Oct. 21, 2022) Hale Harrison, 75, of Ocean City died Monday of a massive heart attack just a few hours after observing his daily routine of breakfast with his morning crew at Layton’s Restaurant on 16th Street. As happened almost every workday morning, he came in and settled
into his seat at the end of the row of tables that separates the dining area from the counter. He ordered the inevitable Diet Coke and breakfast and then engaged in a random discussion of events and occurrences with his usual tablemates, George Harkins, Bill Purnell and Danny Sheppard. For years, one of those seats would have been occupied by Harrison’s long-time closest friend, former City Councilman Jim Hall, whose passing in 2020 from lymphoma left a void in Harrison’s life that would never be
fully repaired, according to multiple accounts. It was later that morning after breakfast, Harrison’s friends said, that he began to feel ill, so he went to his 34th Street townhouse only to feel progressively worse until he alerted his wife, Alberta, that he needed help. Shortly thereafter, he was in an ambulance on his way to the hospital. The shock of his passing spread rapidly through the community not solely because it was so unexpected — he was a non-smoker and nondrinker who appeared to be in good
health to his friends — but also because of the huge role he played in the development of Ocean City as it is today and in the community overall. Although he eschewed the trappings of wealth, preferring the attire of an auto parts store counter man, his friends and associates acknowledged that he was an exceptionally shrewd businessman and one of the smartest people they have ever known. “I’ve known Hale since he was 9 years old. I was a senior in Stephen See HALE Page 3