Ocean

George Bertrand Cropper, an Ocean City civil engineer, surveyor and builder who left his mark on the resort town where he lived his entire life, died at his home Thursday of a cerebral hemorrhage. He was 96. Mr. Cropper was born in Ocean City in 1908 at his family's home on North First Street. "He grew up in a town where the roads were sand and seashell, and electricity was turned on only a few short hours each evening," said his daughter, Jacqueline C. Insley of Salisbury. "A Pennsylvania Railroad train arrived in town a couple of times a day, and commercial fishing was the main livelihood.

BERLIN -- State police and Worcester County officials were investigating the crash of an unidentified airplane last night in a wooded area near Frontier Town, a Western-style amusement park west of Ocean City.State police at the Berlin Barracks said the crash occurred about 11 p.m. in heavy fog that made it difficult to find the site off Route 611 near West Ocean City.No other details were immediately available. It was not known if the pilot was attempting to land at the Ocean City airport, which was closed, state police said.

HE was naked!His bronzed muscular body frightened the Ocean City populace even though he didn't move -- and never set foot in the seashore town.When surfer Mike Chester died two years ago of cancer, his friends wanted to memorialize him. They commissioned a statue to remember him and honor all surfers who hung 10 at the Maryland resort.When a photograph of Edmond Shumpert's work in progress arrived in Ocean City, the town elders became stricken by the sight. While Chester was a surfing buff, he was not known to have surfed in the buff.

OCEAN CITY -- Like countless others before him, the stocky 20-year-old man had come to Maryland's seaside resort to party and to soak up the rays.He partied. Now he was waiting to see if he was to get burned. Not by the sun this time, but by the bespectacled man in the black robe seated behind the polished wood bench inside Ocean City's District Court building on 65th Street.It's not listed in any of the glossy brochures touting the vacation spot's attractions. But the Ocean City District Court -- a satellite facility of Worcester County's central court system in nearby Snow Hill -- is where thousands of vacationers end up each year when their quest for a good time turns bad.The court handles traffic and minor criminal cases throughout the year.

Coast Guard and Ocean City public works crews completed the cleanup yesterday of an estimated 71 gallons of diesel fuel that spilled into Sinepuxent Bay when a pipe broke near the Talbot Street Pier, officials said.The Ocean City Office of Emergency Management said the spill occurred about 6: 15 p.m. Monday when a 2-inch pipe that supplied fuel oil at a marina ruptured.The fuel spilled from a pipe at Angler Marina near Talbot Street, said Lt. j.g. Eric Miller of the Coast Guard's marine safety office in Hampton Roads, Va.Miller said the spill was contained by 8 a.m. yesterday with the help of a containment boom placed in the water.

An Ocean City resident died early yesterdayM-5 of injuries he suffered when he was struck by a pickup truck while crossing Coastal Highway, resort police said. Johnny Garcia, 45, of 136th Street left a store with snacks and was crossing the highway between 119th and120th streets about 12:19 a.m. when he was struck by a northbound Ford Ranger, police said. Police said Garcia died about 2 a.m. at Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury. No charges were placed against the motorist.

Do you have a favorite or unusual memory of spending a vacation in Ocean City? If so, we'd like to hear about it -- in writing (no more than 175 words, please). We'll publish some of the memories in the Home & Family section. Please mail your stories to Harry Merritt, Features, Baltimore Sun, 501 N. Calvert St., Baltimore MD 21278 or e-mail to sun.features @baltsun.com, with the subject field labeled Ocean City. Make sure to include a daytime phone number. If possible, include a photo from the O.C. vacation you're describing.

One of Ocean City's biggest condominium towers was damaged last night in a five-alarm fire, but no injuries were reported. The fire was reported shortly after 8 p.m. on the eighth floor of the 22-story Golden Sands building in the 10900 block of Ocean Highway, and spread through a heating duct to the 16th floor, authorities said. The cause of the fire and extent of damage beyond heating ducts were unknown as firefighters remained on the scene late last night. All of the city's fire companies were dispatched and were assisted by many others from nearby communities on the Maryland and Delaware shore.

Ocean City police charged two men yesterday with robbing the North Beach Studio in Ocean Plaza Mall.Police arrested Jason W. Mackey, 22, and Steven A. Hanlon, 21, on charges of armed robbery, first-degree burglary, felony theft and battery.Police say a man picked up another man at a nearby security guard job and drove to the mall, where the men threatened the store manager with a knife and took money.The two bound the store manager with duct tape and left, according to police. The manager wiggled out of the tape, chased the men from the store and watched them drive away.

Ocean City, rebounding from a cool summer and a rainy Labor Day weekend, unveils an ad campaign today, telling potential visitors "The Coast is Clear" for an autumn escape to an uncrowded resort.The campaign is the first created for Ocean City by Richardson Myers & Donofrio Inc. (RM&D) of Baltimore, which won the $1 million advertising contract in July.Until late October, television viewers in Baltimore, Washington and south-central Pennsylvania will see a series of five quick-hitting, 10-second commercials touting the charms of Ocean City in the off-season, according to Chuck Donofrio, executive vice president of RM&D.