DECEMBER 15, 2022
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BERLIN • NORTH WORCESTER COUNTY• OCEAN PINES
Fleetwood repays town for sick time Pleads guilty to taking pay for unearned vacation too
GEE WILLIAMS/BAYSIDE GAZETTE
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A $5,000 donation from the Berlin Chamber of Commerce was presented to the Town of Berlin from proceeds the organization received from downtown Berlin events in 2020. Pictured is Mayor Zack Tyndall, left, and Ryan Nellans, executive director of the Berlin Chamber. See story on page 6.
Fire dept. aims for FEMA grant October finances maintain better-than-budget pace recorded throughout year By Jack Chavez Staff Writer (Dec. 15, 2022) The Ocean Pines Volunteer Fire Department is looking to pursue the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant that FEMA offers. General Manager John Viola indicated that the fire department will need to hire a grant writer to pursue it. “This will be for additional staff in the upcoming budget cycle,” Budget
and Finance Committee chair Dick Keiling said. “The department added positions last year and this year they’re looking to add fire staff. This grant could help provide funds for staffing for three years. It is a fairly competitive grant but (our committee) and the GM support pursuing it.” The department is expected to present the grant idea during the Ocean Pines Board of Directors regular meeting on Saturday. Viola then talked about the proposed biking and walking trail, with praise given to the thoroughness of Patti Stevens’s presentation to the board last month.
It’s a complex process that involves state, county and Ocean Pines funding, Viola said, and he was not sure whether the association have enough answers to work with by the time budget review occurs in January. The committee expects progress, at least, to be updated by that time, Keiling said. “Detailed presentations on what we need have to happen; (we must determine) what costs there are to pursuing these initiatives,” Keiling said. “We really like what we’ve heard and think these are good ideas to pursue for this community.” See ASSOCIATION Page 5
(Dec. 15, 2022) Former Berlin Administrator Jeff Fleetwood pleaded guilty to embezzlement of town funds in Worcester County District Court on Tuesday, Dec. 13. Appearing before District Court Judge Gerald Purnell, Fleetwood was sentenced to six months of incarceration with all but one month suspended. Judge Purnell ruled that the remaining 30 days of Fleetwood’s sentence will be served through inhome detention which starts Dec. 20. He will also Jeff Fleetwood says he be required to is ‘truly sorry.’ perform 40 hours of community service as part of the sentence. Fleetwood, age 64, lives in Delmar, Delaware, and is the current town administrator for his hometown. In District Court Tuesday, Fleetwood turned over a personal check to the Town of Berlin in the amount of $17,520 as restitution at the court proceeding. This would cover the full amount he pleaded guilty to embezzling from the town in the spring of this year. The state prosecutor stated that the embezzled funds represented falsely reported accrued sick leave for 240 hours plus an additional 80 hours of vacation pay. “I am truly sorry to be here today. It’s the first time in my life I have been in court for anything,” Fleetwood told the court. Fleetwood’s attorney, Steve See FLEETWOOD Page 4
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