MediaWize

The Ocean City School District has been working vigorously for months to create a proactive plan for reopening their schools come September as well as their Virtual Learning Academy program, according to a school press release Thursday. After being carefully examined by officials, the reopening plan has been verified that it checks all boxes of the New Jersey Department of Education reopening guidelines, despite ever-changing restraints involving COVID-19.

Ocean City has released a list of beaches that will remain protected by lifeguards as of Monday, Aug. 17, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on weekends unless specified otherwise. The list of beaches follows.

The National Weather Service has issued a Coastal Flood Advisory in effect for Ocean City from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Sunday. Water levels are expected to peak in the hours around high tide on the bay side of Ocean City at 7:04 p.m.

Air Force Master Sgt. Daniel Ward and his family will be honored by the Ocean City American Legion’s Rest & Relaxation Program. For the eighth consecutive year, Ocean City’s Morvay-Miley American Legion Post 524 is welcoming a military veteran and their family to “America’s Greatest Family Resort" for a complimentary one-week vacation. On Sunday Aug. 23, Air Force Master Sergeant Daniel Ward, his wife Donna, and their four children (Cierra, 21, Trevor, 18, Hannah, 15, and Alivia, 12) will be greeted at the Ocean City Welcome Center and honored as part of the Legion’s Rest & Relaxation Program.

Mayor Jay Gillian uses his weekly mayor's message to express his thanks to the Baptist Resource Network and SOAR church for providing the protective masks during a community giveaway on Wednesday. He also gives a rundown of a series of projects the city is planning to build to protect flood-prone neighborhoods from stormwater. His entire message follows.

Cape May County Zoo officials are happy to announce the birth of a Cotton-Top Tamarin, born on Aug. 3, to Cordelia and Tam-Tam. The baby is the first one born at the zoo in over 17 years, according to a county press release. Considered one of the smallest primates, from Columbia, the Cotton-Top Tamarin is easily recognized by the long, white sagittal crest extending from its forehead to its shoulders.

The Cape May County Office of Emergency Management has begun the effort to update the Cape May County Hazard Mitigation Plan. This update is required every five years and is supported by a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). It will be expanded to include new threats to the county, including flooding threats caused by climate change and sea-level rise.

Ocean City is seeking volunteers to fill vacant seats on the Free Public Library Board of Trustees and the Historic Preservation Commission. Details follow.

Cape May County’s multipronged approach to the COVID-19 pandemic has shown positive results. The overall COVID-19 numbers have been very low in recent weeks, the county announced in a press release Tuesday. Over the past seven days, there have only been 19 new reported cases of COVID-19 among Cape May County residents. To put that in perspective, on May 8 the county reported 24 new cases in a single day alone, when there were multiple outbreaks at Long-Term Care facilities, the press release said. The last death in Cape May County was reported on July 31.

The New Jersey Department of Health unveiled an online dashboard highlighting New Jersey’s contact tracing efforts throughout the state. The state, working with the Rutgers School of Public Health and Public Consulting Group, is continuing to build a strong, quality contact tracing program. CommCare, the state’s uniform data reporting system, was introduced and launched statewide in early July, according to a Cape May County press release.