NOVEMBER 7, 2024
BERLIN • NORTH WORCESTER COUNTY• OCEAN PINES
FREE
McComas, Andes win board seats Challengers run hard but can’t overtake incumbents
TARA FISCHER/BAYSIDE GAZETTE
Fog shrouds the polls at Showell Elementary School Tuesday, but the signs promoting candidates for the Worcester County Board of Education did not suffer from a lack of visibility.
Garlitz honored at memorial Known for efforts on behalf of veterans, ‘Sarge’ loved military and people in it By Tara Fischer Staff Writer (Nov. 7, 2024) To recognize the late military veteran William Lawrence “Sarge” Garlitz, friends and family gathered at the Ocean Pines Veterans Memorial last week to lay a brick at the community’s remembrance space in the former soldier’s honor. Garlitz, a Worcester County transplant and a Lonaconing, Maryland native, passed away on April 19. He served in the United States Air Force and Army. After enlisting in the Air Force in 1961, Garlitz saw duty During his in
French Morocco during the Vietnam era and in Florida during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Garlitz joined the US Army in 1974, where he provided security at Fort Meade. According to a press release issued by the Ocean Pines Association, the Garlitz returned to the Air Force in 1988 and was involved in “major operations, including the record-breaking drug bust in Texas.” He handled surveillance undercover in El Paso and was involved in making the largest cocaine bust in the history of the military, confiscating over $54 million worth of the drug, his obituary states. He eventually retired with the rank of master sergeant. The OPA release added that Garlitz was involved in the Boy Scouts, the See SARGE Page 3
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By Tara Fischer Staff Writer (Nov. 7, 2024) The Worcester County Board of Education will remain as is, as incumbents Elena McComas, Jon Andes and Donald Smack have been reelected to serve four-year terms. District 5 candidate Elena McComas, elected to the board in 2016 and again in 2020, secured 2,050 total votes, enough to defeat opponent Dorothy SheltonLeslie’s 1,696 votes. Jon Andes, representing District 3, captured 2,220 ballots, while challenger Cheryl Middleton received 1,865 votes. McComas has 25 years of experience as a middle and high school biology teacher and served as president of the Worcester County Board of Education following the sudden passing of former position holder Eric Cropper in 2021. Going into her third term, McComas’s priorities include keeping class sizes small to foster academic excellence, recruiting and retaining talented educators and securing them fair salaries and raises, encouraging parent involvement, supporting art, music, and Worcester Technical High School programs, and ensuring the safety of all county schools. Andes was Superintendent of Worcester County Public Schools from 1996 to 2012 when the county rose from 19th out of 24 school systems on state tests to number one. Andes’ priorities going into a second term include ensuring school safety, identifying areas for academic improvement, expanding the system’s early childhood offerings, and enhancing college and career readiness programs. District 2 seat holder Donald Smack will also return to the board after an unclear race. The incumbent garnered 1,995 votes. Kaleemah Barkley, who appeared on the ballot but stated she withdrew from the election for “personal reasons,” obtained 747 votes.
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