By Greg Bassett

--Thursday, May 6, 1999

• Each of the five candidates for Salisbury Police Chief told their City Council interviewers that they would reduce the number of department leadership positions in favor of placing more officers on the streets. All five men said their own review of the city police structure showed the department to be “top heavy.” Allan Webster, a Major of Criminal Investigations in Baltimore County, said there is a disparity in how many officers are assigned to each division, and if hired he would rectify it.
• One of Salisbury’s oldest and most prestigious businesses has closed. The 22,000-square-foot E.S. Adkins & Co., building supplies and hardware store on North Salisbury Boulevard will now become the centerpiece in the E.S. Adkins Business Park. 
• Wicomico Board of Education and law enforcement officials are dealing with a series of threats of violence against the school system, which have led to the arrest of four juveniles. One 14-year-old student was charged with threatening to blow up Pittsville Middle school with a pipe bomb; a 13-year-old was charged with threatening to blow up Wicomico Middle School; a 14-year-old Wicomico Middle School student was charged with making a bomb threat; and a 17-year-old was charged with threatening to brings bombs and Weapons to Wicomico High School.
• The Wicomico Sheriff’s Office announced it will continue a series of sweeps to crack down on underage drinking and wild parties. Deputies broke up a party last weekend and issued 14 citations to college-aged attendees. The Maryland State Police and Natural Resources Police have agreed to contribute officers to the effort. The city of Salisbury has yet to participate, but the City Council is expected to discuss the matter soon.
• The County Council and school board members met in closed session to discuss the reasoning behind the school system’s $45.8 million funding request for next year. A council spokesman said the meeting could be held in private because the council was not meeting in a deliberative session. Schools Acting Superintendent Robert Evans said the most important funding requests included $3.2 million for opening the new Bennett Middle School and $2.3 million for negotiated salary increases.
• This year’s Salisbury Dogwood Festival will likely take in twice as much money as last year, the Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce announced. Preliminary numbers show the event grossed $32,000 through Saturday, with $25,000 from beer sales alone. Attendance for the Friday Night Block Party along the Riverwalk was estimated at 20,000 people.