By Greg Bassett

Tuesday, July 29, 1997 --

• Weather forecasters said today would be the final day of a heat wave that has extended through much of July. In Salisbury, temperatures have exceeded 90 degrees on each of the past 23 days. Tomorrow’s temperatures are expected to crest in the mid-80s. It was 95 degrees or above on seven of the 23 consecutively super-hot days.
• Four months after announcing a major reorganization of its government, Wicomico County has cleared out some high-profile positions and titles in favor of a leaner, less top-heavy bureaucracy. Gone is the post of Civic Center Director, as existing staff members have been tapped to manage the facility. The Roads Director post will be replaced by a civil engineer who will manage the county’s infrastructure. The Tourism Director has retired, which will allow the Parks and Recreation Department to also manage tourism efforts.
• Neighborhood advocate Bernie Greene has secured a grant to place 13 signs between Clay and Priscilla streets and Church Street and Route 50 that read: “You are welcome in our neighborhood -- your drugs are not.” Greene, who lives on the corner of Church and Truitt streets, said the signs will help boost police morale in their battle against drugs. A $1,200 grant from the Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention will pay for the signs. “I know it won’t make a difference, realistically, but it is brazen and we tried something,” said Greene.
• Responding to an abnormally vocal crowd, the Salisbury City Council postponed a final vote on whether to allow a 170-foot-tall Bell Atlantic NYNEX communications tower just 75 feet from Tamarac Village on Beaglin Park Drive. The tower would be placed behind the location of Dayton’s Family Restaurant. Tamarac residents said the tower would have a negative aesthetic impact on the community.
• Twenty-eight employees who retired from Perdue Farms in the past year were honored at the company’s annual Service Awards Banquet held at the Sheraton Inn Salisbury. Executive Committee Chairman Frank Perdue made the special presentations. Among those receiving gold watches were Jack Brittingham, Mary Brown, Eugene Buckley, Richard Daye, Nettie Gale, Pauline Hastings, Letcher Jones, Garnet King, Elizabeth Parker, Angus Price, Bobby Collins, Henry Smith, Cletus Taylor, Ida Ward, Floyd Wescott, Edna Whitaker and Melvin Wise. 
• MAC Inc., the Area Agency on Aging, is celebrating 25 years of service on the Lower Shore. According to Executive Peggy Bradford, MAC Inc.’s greatest accomplishment is that it has survived for 25 years. Bradford said funding for senior programs is in constant jeopardy. The agency has grown to more than 600 volunteers and 24 employees.
• Hearne’s Produce recently won the Wicomico Girls Division II Minor League softball championship. Team members included Kacey Carlyle, Emily Seldomridge, Elizabeth McClosky, Allie Dryden, Jacklyn Zockoll, Megan Pond, Laura Kreamer, Danielle Ellsworth, Charlene Phillips, Randi Orr, Jessica Richter, Kari Morris, Jennifer Owens, Erin Mahn and Carly McQuown.
• Horse Bridge Golf Course, Wicomico County’s newest golf facility, will open its back-nine holes this weekend. Golf pro Larry Jones said the additional holes are comprised of eight par 3s and one par 4. The executive-length golf course will now play with a total par of  28. Horse Bridge is located on Mount Hermon Road east of Salisbury. Greens fees at $14.