WCTR News

On September 15, 2025, Anton Phifer, 40, of Cambridge, MD, was served a criminal summons in connection with an alleged workplace assault that occurred earlier this year. The summons stems from an incident on March 10, 2025, at the USPS Mail Processing Facility located at 29060 Airpark Drive in Easton, Marylad. It is alleged that Phifer pushed a co-worker from behind following a disagreement over the use of work equipment. Minutes later, it is alleged that Phifer shoved the same co-worker from the front. A preliminary inquiry for Phifer is scheduled in Talbot County, Maryland, on October 24, 2025. A court hearing will be scheduled for a later date.

Maryland’s Public Service Commission announced two upcoming public hearings will gather input on a proposed solar generating facility. According to WBOC, Halo GB2 LLC is looking to build a 4.5 megawatt Community Solar Generating Facility on approximately 34 acres of an 83-acre property off Henderson Road. Construction is estimated to take six to nine months with minimal environmental impact, with the facility projected to be usable for 26 to 36 years, according to Halo GB2 LLC. An in-person public hearing will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 25 at the Goldsboro Fire Department. A virtual public hearing is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 9, which can be attended on Zoom or viewed on YouTube, according to the Public Service Commission.

Maryland State Police are investigating two fatal crashes that occurred late Saturday in Queen Anne’s and Kent counties. Around 11:22 p.m. Saturday, troopers from the Maryland State Police Centreville Barrack responded to the area of northbound U.S. Route 301 at Hayden Clark Road in Centreville for a report of a two-vehicle crash involving a motorcycle. The operator of the motorcycle, identified as Marcus Dangerfield, 20, of Dover, Delaware, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Around 11:55 p.m. Saturday, troopers from the Centreville Barrack responded to Maryland Route 213 and Riley’s Mill Road in Chestertown for a report of a single-vehicle crash, police said. A passenger in a Ford Fusion, a 17-year-old boy, was pronounced dead at the scene. Four others were hurt.

Voters in Chestertown will elect a mayor and two Town Council members on Nov. 4. The election will be held from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Chestertown Volunteer Fire Department, 211 Maple Ave. The ballot includes the mayoral race and council seats for the First and Third wards. The deadline to register with the Kent County Board of Election Supervisors is Oct. 3. Residents already registered with the county are automatically registered for town elections but must update their information if they have moved to a different ward.

The three Republican Delegates representing Maryland’s District 36 — Delegate Steve Arentz (Queen Anne’s County), Delegate Jay Jacobs (Kent County), and Delegate Jeff Ghrist (Caroline County) — formally filed for reelection today, standing united in their commitment to deliver experienced and principled leadership for the Upper Eastern Shore. The Caroline Review reports the District 36 team — which also includes Senate Minority Leader Steve Hershey — has long worked together to advance fiscal responsibility, economic growth, local infrastructure investment, and policies that protect the values and livelihoods of the Shore’s families and businesses.

The Kent County Local Management Board will host a public forum Wednesday, Sept. 24, at 6 p.m. at Washington College’s Innovation Plant, 800 High St., to gather input on how to reinvest in low-income communities using new funding from the Maryland Office of Social Equity. The Kent County News reports the funding comes from the Community Reinvestment and Repair Fund, created through the Cannabis Reform Act, which legalized adult-use recreational cannabis. A portion of the sales tax from cannabis sales is allocated to the fund, which is intended to address the impact of past cannabis prohibition on communities disproportionately affected by the war on drugs.

In a 3-2 vote, the Queen Anne’s County Public Schools Board of Education voted to uphold the superintendent’s recommendation and deny application for what would have been the first classical charter school in Queen Anne’s County Sept. 10. The Bay Times and Record Observer reports presenting a final report and an overview of the Queen Anne’s County Public Schools Charter School Application Review Committee process, charter school liaison and Supervisor of Instruction Micheal Bell said the committee recommended denial of the Queen Anne’s County Classical Charter School application Sept. 3, “due to significant and substantiated deficiencies in academic planning, operational capacity, and demonstrated need.”

After a 2023 feasibility study, school officials determined that Kent County Middle School, built in 1950 and renovated in 1976, was too costly to repair. Plans went into effect to tear down the existing building and rebuild the school on the same footprint. Myeasternshoremd.com reports representatives from Kent County Public Schools, the Interagency Commission on School Construction and the Maryland Stadium Authority joined architects from Crabtree, Rohrbaugh Associates to present project plans. The building will feature a multi-tiered security design with clear, definable entrances and exits, distinct classroom spaces, open connecting areas for visibility and collaborative workspaces.

New bathrooms are coming to the North Caroline High School and Colonel Richardson High School outdoor athletic facilities. The Star Democrat reports the project has been in the works since March of 2024, when Caroline County Commissioners President Travis Breeding and Caroline County Public Schools Director of Operations Bill Mengel worked together to make the bathrooms a priority. The commissioners included the new bathrooms in the county’s fiscal year 2025 budget.

Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Secretary Jake Day visited Kent County on Monday for the department’s latest Day Trip tour stop, visiting town main streets and learning how DHCD has made a positive economic impact on the area. Kent County was DHCD’s 21th Day Trip across Maryland, which is meant to connect department leadership with residents, business owners and public officials. From Fiscal Year 2020 to 2025, DHCD invested nearly $62 million in Kent County for broadband, neighborhood revitalization, community development and homelessness prevention projects.