By Greg Bassett

Tuesday, March 24, 1987 --

• The Salisbury Downtown Historic Commission’s rejection of a developer’s plans to revitalize the Wicomico River marina area has one City Council member hopping mad. Council President Bob Powell said the nixing of Joseph Schwartz’s plans for a retail and restaurant complex on Fitzwater Street was an overreach of power. He said the city has worked eight years to attract a developer for the marina area, only to have “some commission to knock it down.”
• Salisbury author and historian Richard W. Cooper was recognized by the Maryland General Assembly for his new book on Wicomico County, “Profile of a Colonial Community on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.” Cooper, a land surveyor, is donating all proceeds from the book to charity.
• Church bells will ring at noon on Wednesday at the request of Maryland Gov. Willia Donald Schaefer, who believes Marylanders should understand why they’re getting the day off work. Wednesday is Maryland Day, the commemoration of the landing of the state’s first settlers at St. Clements Island. In addition to ringing church bells, Schaefer has asked that each Maryland county’s senior official receive an official gubernatorial proclamation. Wicomico Council President Henry Parker has the proclamation and will read it Wednesday from the steps of the Wicomico County Courthouse.
• Eleven students at Parkside High School were recognized for having earned all A’s during the second marking term. The straight-A students are: Megan Williams, Amy Jen, Joy Lynn Collins, Rhonda Bonnaville, Eleanor Burgess, Stacy Boyer, Puneet Gupta, Paul Henning, Brett Gidge, Anthony Guinta and Mark Badros.
• Movies playing in Salisbury this week include "Nightmare On Elm Street" and "Mannequin" at the Mall Cinema, "Lethal Weapon," "Platoon," "Some Kind of Wonderful" and "Crocodile Dundee" at the RC Theaters Downtown, and "Children of a Lesser God" at the World Cinemas in Shoppers World.
• C&P Telephone Co. said it will be offering toll and assistance service when the company takes over the Salisbury AT&T Telephone Co. operator service center. C&P Area Manager William Rictor said Salisbury was selected as one of six centers that will be phased into C&P beginning this June. He said the move preserves some 60 jobs now held by AT&T operators. Rictor said the Salisbury staff could expand to as many as 120 locally based operators over the next three years.
• Hutzler’s, the Baltimore-based department store chain with a store at the Salisbury Mall, said it is negotiating the sale of three stores – including the one in Salisbury. While the company said it will seek to move employees at two Baltimore suburban stores to other Baltimore-area locations, it said it will have to negotiate with its Salisbury buyer to preserve the jobs of the 60-plus workers in the Salisbury location.
• Salisbury State College still has a slim chance of becoming a university, but only if the General Assembly and State Board of Higher Education approve it. All during this current 1987 session, Lower Shore legislators have been lobbying for university status for the Salisbury institution. Frostburg State College in Western Maryland was recently granted the university designation, thanks to a measure approved by both General Assembly houses.