NBCI CORRECTIONAL OFFICER CHARGED WITH RAPE
North Branch Correctional Officer Brandon Opel has been charged with second-degree rape and related charges, following the investigation of an allegation of the sexual assault of an inmate. Opel, who has been employed by the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services since 2016 has been suspended without pay. He is scheduled to appear at…
BEDFORD COUNTY WARDEN, AIDE SUSPENDED
Bedford County Correctional Facility warden Troy Nelson and Deputy Rocky Beranazzoli have been suspended by the county commissioners there. The state Department of Corrections is now overseeing the facility’s operations. A spokesperson for the Department of Corrections has confirmed that Bobbi Jo Salamon is serving as acting warden for the next 30 days. There was…
ACT BUS ROUTES TO BE DISCONTINUED
Beginning today, all scheduled Allegany County Transit bus routes will be discontinued until further notice. This is due to the rise of COVID-19 cases in Allegany County and the availability of Transit staff. Allegany County Transit will continue to provide Alltrans and JARC, or Job Access Reverse Commute-transportation at night to the North Branch Industrial…
WOMAN CHARGED WITH THEFT, ASSAULT AND ROBBERY
Twenty-one-year-old Mikayla Elizabeth Holliday of Cumberland, who had an active arrest warrant from Mineral County, was arrested and charged in connection with an incident in the 400-block of Virginia Avenue Sunday evening. She is accused of pushing a person and stealing their cell phone. She fled into a residence on Virginia Avenue, but was located…
MAN CHARGED IN HANDGUN INCIDENT
Oldtown resident Wayne Anthony Pankey faces numerous charges in connection with an incident early Saturday morning on Brice Hollow Road. Pankey allegedly pointed a loaded handgun at a family member. He was taken into custody by Allegany County Sheriff’s deputies. In a search of the residents, two handguns were recovered, one of which had been…
VIRTUAL LEARNING TO CONTINUE
All Allegany County Public School students will remain in a fully-virtual learning format this week, as a result of county health metrics and the availability of adequate staff. Schools are closed today for the Thanksgiving holiday. Announcements regarding the learning format for next week will be made on Friday.
GARRETT COUNTY MEN FACE DRUG CHARGES
Mountain Lake Park residents Matthew Norman Swapp and William Ray Woodward were arrested on Thanksgiving, and now face drug possession charges. A traffic stop along Garrett Highway near Brodak’s Plaza, led to a K-9 scan of the vehicle. A search resulted in the recovery of heroin, marijuana, hypodermic needles and drug paraphernalia. Both face charges…
MAN ARRESTED IN PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE DISTURBANCE
Cumberland resident Jonathan Daniel Hershiser was arrested, following a Saturday night incident in the 400-block of Pennsylvania Avenue. He got into an argument with residents there, and allegedly damaged their vehicle. Hershiser became uncooperative with officers, yelling at them, and hitting one of them with a door. He resisted the arrest but was later taken…
TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS
November 29 Travis Corbin Anita Bell Bill Dennison November 30 Vickie Plummer Alyssa Davis
CORONA RELATED NEWS
COVID CASES TOP 2800
The Allegany County Health Department is reporting the total number of COVID-19 cases at 2,804 with a total of 73 deaths to date. The case rate is 136.33 per 100,000, while the state average is 33.81 per 100,000. The current positivity rate is 13.66 per cent, while the statewide average is 6.86 per cent. There…
COUNTY HAS 14TH HIGHEST NUMBER OF COVID CASES
Allegany County is in the unenviable position of having the 14th highest number of recent cases of COVID-19 per capita of any metro area in the country, according to the New York Times. The statewide daily COVID-19 positivity rate was 6.3 per cent, with Allegany County at 15.34 per cent; Garrett County reports a 12.93…
MINERAL REPORTS 16TH COVID-19 RELATED DEATH
A ninth resident of the Piney Valley Nursing Home in Keyser has died from COVID-19 complications, according to the Mineral County Health Department. The nursing home has seen 72 residents and 37 employees test positive for the virus; a total of 16 Mineral County residents have died from the coronavirus, with at least 11 passing…
©Forever Media, Inc.