Last Thursday,  the Rock Hall Volunteer Fire Company responded to the 6300 block of Rock Hall Road for a residential structure fire in a one story, wood frame, single family dwelling.  The occupant discovered the fire and made it out of the house safely. That person has now been displaced from the home.  Fire officials say the blaze started in the interior living room. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.  Damage to the structure and its contents is estimated by the State Fire Marshal’s Office at $200,000 dollars.  Anyone with information about this fire is asked to call the Upper Eastern Regional Office of the Maryland State Fire Marshal at 410-819-3500. 

The Robert Morris Inn, a fixture on Maryland’s Eastern Shore for more than 300 years, has sat closed for nearly a year, and a group of local residents is now pushing the town of Oxford to get more directly involved in the fight to save it.The inn, parts of which date to 1710, was condemned by the town in January after months of unanswered property maintenance notices. Inspectors cited water damage, a deteriorating ceiling and other signs of long-term neglect as posing risks to public health and safety. At the same time, the property has been tied up in federal bankruptcy court since January, after its lender moved to foreclose and the owner filed for bankruptcy protection, staying that foreclosure.  A group called Friends of the Robert Morris Inn recently sent an open letter to the town’s Board of Commissioners asking Oxford to formally enter the bankruptcy proceeding.  Other members of the community have done the same.  Commissioners are scheduled to meet Tuesday to discuss next steps, with both letters part of the public record for that meeting. Town intervention in the bankruptcy case remains a possibility, but what form that would take is still undetermined.