By Greg Bassett

Friday, June 30, 1995 --

• Gasoline prices in Salisbury have soared in June, with prices expected to be higher than ever for the upcoming July Fourth holiday. Prices per gallon are up 4.4 cents on average in recent weeks, averaging $1.26. A year ago in June, gas cost an average of $1.09 per gallon. Sharon Perry of the AAA Mid-Atlantic said demand is driving the price surge, with the upcoming holiday serving as a peak-driving time.
• Wicomico County risks losing its rural areas to urban sprawl in the next 30 years if current growth patterns continue, according to the Quarter Century Commission. The 31-member panel, appointed by the County Council in 1992, is examining issues that could surface in Wicomico by the year 2025. The commission found that the county’s population – now about 80,000 people – could double in the next 25 years, straining schools, highways and the job market.
• Salisbury’s annual Fourth of July Celebration will be held Tuesday at 10 a.m. in front of the Government Office Building in Downtown Salisbury. Guests will include state Sen. Lowell Stoltzfus, Delegate Norman Conway and Mayor W. Paul Martin. New citizens will be sworn in and there will be performances by the Salisbury Community Band. Salisbury’s fireworks parade will be held Tuesday night at 9 p.m. at Parkside high school.
• Movies playing this week in Salisbury include “Power Rangers,” “Apollo 13,” “Batman Forever,” “Crimson Tide” and “Bridges of Madison County” at Hoyts Salisbury 10 at the Centre At Salisbury. At the Hoyts Salisbury 6 in Downtown Salisbury, “Major Payne,” “Braveheart,” “French Kiss,” “Circle of Friends,” “Bad Boys” and “Die Hard 3” are playing.
• The 9/10-year-old Minor League Elks are the 1995 American League Champions of the East Wicomico Little League. Team members include Shaun McLain, John Hill, Michael Butler, J.C. Egger, Justin Dallam, Tray Wiltison, Anna Simpson, Angela Cox, D.J. White, Jimmy Gooding, Brandon Cox, Bryan Cook and Ryan Burkett. The team mother is Darlene Butler, the manager is Tod Wiltison, the coach is Terry Butler and the assistant coach is Bruce Simpson.
• Wicomico County is losing one of its most popular elementary school principals of all time – Pemberton’s Tom Bowmann. Known for his energy, optimism and his downright kookiness, Bowmann will become principal at an elementary school in Perry Hall, Md. Bowmann is especially known for his success in increasing reading proficiency among Pemberton’s students. For example, he asked parents to sign a contract agreeing to read to their children each night, 93 percent of parents made the pledge.
• Salisbury’s City Council has become a so-called “Battle of the Bobs.” Known as good friends and colleagues who voted together and agreed on nearly all city issues, Council President Bob Caldwell and Councilman Bob Gladden have taken dramatic turns on the opinion meter. Since their fight last year over who should serve as Council President, the council has become two voting blocs, with Caldwell, Tim Sakemiller and Lavonzella Siggers voting on one side, and Gladden and Carolyn Hall voting on the other.
• Sealy Furniture of Maryland announced it will lay off 30 employees and discontinue production of sofa frame parts at its Salisbury facility. The company said its manufacturing site in the Northwood Industrial Park is outdated and needs more than $1 million to modernize. Sealy officials said they have been working with state officials to secure financing to help pay for plant upgrades, but had been rebuffed.