mvitale

Mayor Jay Gillian issued this message at 5 p.m. tonight: As you all know by now, Ocean City experienced a major winter storm today. Our Public Works crews will continue to work around the clock with every piece of available equipment. They are facing extremely difficult conditions. I want you to know that this will be a multiple-day cleanup. Clearing emergency routes and essential corridors will be the top priority. Then they will move on to other streets. I ask you to please be patient as this work gets done...

By Maddy Vitale Four teachers have been selected as finalists for the 2018 National Teacher of the Year. One of them is New Jersey Teacher...

Conditions on the roads in Ocean City remain dangerous with drifting snow combining in some places with tidal flooding. I want to encourage everybody...

Joseph Clark was reappointed president of the Ocean City Board of Education during the annual reorganization meeting Wednesday night. Jacqueline McAlister retained her position as vice president during the meeting that included the swearing in of six board members. Also, the fall sports teams received athletic honors in a ceremony in which families snapped cellphone photos and coaches spoke of the talented athletes in the district. Clark, Michael James and Cecilia Gallelli-Keyes, all Ocean City representatives, were sworn in for three-year terms by Business Administrator Tim Kelley. Kelley also swore in Upper Township board members Fran Newman, Andrea Olenik-Hipkins and William J. Sooy to one-year terms...

All Ocean City Schools are closed Thursday due to the impending storm. Superintendent of Schools Kathleen Taylor said, as cellphones began going off in the auditorium with the district’s notification calls. Not only will students in Ocean City be off...

To encapsulate all that Ocean City resident Fred Miller, a historian, author, and longtime lifeguard, has done in his 76 years, would not fit into anything short of a novel. Miller and his late wife Susan, wrote nine books together, six of which were on Ocean City, chronicling the city’s vibrant history. Miller has also been active in the Ocean City Historical Museum and the Ocean City Life-Saving Station. “I met many interesting people at the museum and from them I learned so much about the history of the city,” Miller said from his Florida retreat. “Much of my research was done at the museum.” Over the years Miller has received awards and accolades for his dedication to the history of the city and his contributions, as well as his efforts on behalf of the Ocean City Beach Patrol...

When you think of a seashore town in the winter, throngs of people, crowded streets and a Boardwalk buzzing with excitement, would be the last things you might imagine. But then you weren’t thinking of Ocean City, where activities throughout the year, boutique-style shops, and great eateries entice tourists, help to maintain year-round residents, and keep this popular vacation retreat, hopping...

By noon Christmas day, Mike Lukens and his team of volunteers, were steadily serving up 60 turkeys, 20 hams, 130 loaves of bread and 20 gallons of coleslaw. By 11:30 a.m., more than 175 people had already entered St. Peter’s Methodist Church, 8th Street and Central Avenue, for the free Community Christmas Dinner from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. By the end of the day, 600 people had entered the doors to enjoy hot turkey or ham dinners with all the trimmings, shared laughs, conversation and company. “That’s what it is all about,” Lukens said, about the dinner, which is in its 28th year...

Mike Lukens knows how to prep food for hundreds of people, juggle tasks, and work with the many dedicated volunteers who help with the Community Christmas Dinner at St. Peter’s Methodist Church, 8th Street and Central Ave. in Ocean City. But every year – and there have been 27 of them, he still gets a tear in his eye when the preparations are almost complete...

Holiday shoppers zipped in and out of stores Saturday to buy last minute gifts, treats to bring to family gatherings, and even took time out for a carriage ride. Jill and Chris Clark, of Upper Township, their son Connor, 12, and his friend Aiden Leypoldt, 12, strolled along Asbury Avenue to pick up a few things. “We wanted to come to Ocean City to buy all local stuff today,” Jill Clark said. “We stopped at Wards to get some cookies. Now we are heading to 7th Street Surf Shop. They have really good stuff.” Connor is hoping for a Nintendo this Christmas...