Monday, March 15, 1993 --

• Wicomico County officials are dealing with an inordinate number of delinquent property taxpayers, with millions of dollars still owed. In a normal year, according to county Finance Director C. Joseph Schiller, about 100 properties head to public auction in June. But this year, Schiller said, 500 or more properties appear headed for the tax sale. Officials are blaming the 1992 recession, as well as a new law that requires all taxes to be paid within one year to avoid the tax sale list.
• State Highway Administration engineers have received a slew of complaints about the lack of a dedicated left-turn light on Route 13 North and East Main Street in the heart of Salisbury. Drivers trying to turn left have reported wait times of up to 25 minutes while traffic flies southbound around the slight downhill curve that meets East Main. City officials had asked the state transportation leaders not to install a dedicated left-turn signal, because that might encourage drivers to turn left onto Market Street, on which the city is trying to limit traffic.
• Wicomico County Public Works officials said they will soon release their plan which requires county residents to pay a $35 annual permit fee to use Wicomico’s transfer stations. Public Works Director P. Rai Sharma said the permits would be small stickers that would be affixed to a permit holder’s vehicle.
• The dispute over whether Moses or Frank Perdue is a tougher chicken-maker is over. Perdue Farms and Empire Kosher Poultry have announced an agreement that settles a copyright infringement lawsuit. Perdue objected to Empire’s new ads that show a picture of the biblical Moses with the slogan, “It Takes An Even Tougher Man To Make A Kosher Chicken.” The ad, of course, is in reference to Frank Perdue’s famous slogan, “It Takes A Tough Man To Make A Tender Chicken.” The two companies released a joint statement saying Empire Kosher will not renew the ad campaign and Perdue will drop the lawsuit.
• The Lower Shore Private Industry Council will hold two seminars on managing personal finances for the hundreds of Campbell Soup employees who will officially lose their jobs through layoffs this summer. A 32-member committee established by Salisbury Mayor W. Paul Martin Jr. continues to meet weekly to deal with community impacts from the plant closure announcement.
• The recent decision by the Wicomico County Board of Election Supervisors to combine two election districts into one is being questioned by County Attorney Edgar A. Baker Jr. While Baker said he has no objection to the change, he said that only the County Council has the power to make it. Elections Chief Clerk Doris G. Bradley insisted state law gives the Election Supervisors the authority, but Baker disagrees.