The Indian River High School’s Leo Club strives to present the community’s youth with opportunities for maturity and involvement through leadership, service and experience. In recent months, the Leo Club has supported the community by aiding neighboring schools and assisting those in need.

During the month of January, the Leos participated in Lord Baltimore Elementary School’s Title I Math Night, in which club members helped families of elementary-school students as they learned about math assistance and opportunities.

On Feb. 20, students helped a local elderly couple move into a new home in Ocean View. A Leo Club member’s mother had contacted the IRHS Leo Advisor Abigail Buchler, requesting assistance; the Leo Club was able to supply extra hands in the endeavor.

On that same day, members of the Leo Club also took shifts supporting John M. Clayton Elementary School’s Family Fun Day by working different stations and contributing wherever necessary during the event. Students have also participated in monthly Movie Nights at John M. Clayton Elementary School throughout the fall and winter months. The members are also conducting a drive for items for the Ronald McDonald House during the month of March.

Another student favorite is the trip to A.I. DuPont Children’s Hospital, which will also take place this spring. The students are able to socialize with children dealing with illnesses in a safe and secure atmosphere.

If anyone has projects or needs Leo Club assistance, they can contact Advisor Abigail Buchler at abigail.buchler@irsd.k12.de.us or call Indian River High School at (302) 732-1500, ext. 201042.

The Lord Baltimore Lions Club recently announced that, again for 2016, the club will award three scholarships to eligible graduating seniors of Indian River High School. Each recipient will receive a one-year scholarship valued at $1,500, toward their freshman year of college.

Scholarship applications are now available on the website at www.lordbaltimorelionsclub.com or through the guidance office at Indian River High School. The scholarships are awarded annually to senior students who attend Indian River High School and reside within one of the following ZIP codes: 19930, 19939, 19945, 19967 or 19970. Applications are reviewed by a committee who will rate each applicant on community service activities, as well as academic achievement and financial need.

Scholarships are in memory of Lion Ralph Helm, who was a member of the Lord Baltimore Club and who served as club president, district governor and an international director of Lions International.

“His accomplishments were outstanding in both the local and international environments. The Lord Baltimore Lions Club is honored to award these scholarships in his name. The Lions also wish to extend sincere thanks for the continued financial support received from our local community which enables us to award these scholarships,” representatives said.

Clear Space Theatre Company will present Cole Porter’s 1930s musical “Anything Goes” on weekends between March 18 and April 3 in Rehoboth Beach.

Set aboard the ocean liner S.S. American, “Anything Goes” tells the story of Reno Sweeney and her old friend Billy Crocker as they face the shipboard complications of boy-meets-girl, set to such Cole Porter tunes as “Friendship,” “It’s De-Lovely,” “I Get No Kick from Champagne” and the title song, “Anything Goes.”

Sydney Gray stars in the role of Reno Sweeney, an evangelist turned nightclub singer. Since joining the Clear Space organization in 2006, Gray has served in various capacities and productions, including director of “Avenue Q” and “Rent,” and assistant director of “The Odd Couple.”

Gray has also been seen on stage at Clear Space in “Company,” “Little Shop of Horrors,” “Annie Get Your Gun,” “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” and “Hello, Dolly!” Off stage, Gray has also worked as an instructor with Clear Space’s Broadway Bound program and the Musical Theatre Summer Intensive camps, and co-founded the Summer Acting Intensive.

Clear Space is introducing Joseph Chubb in the role of Billy Crocker, a young Wall Street broker and longtime friend of Reno Sweeney. Chubb is a resident of Hershey, Pa., where he is the assistant artistic director of the Bare Bones Theatre Ensemble. In 2014, he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in both early childhood education and special education from Lebanon Valley College.

Chubb has performed in roles including Dr. Franknfurter (“The Rocky Horror Picture Show”), William Barfe (“...Spelling Bee”), Hanschen (“Spring Awakening”), Rooster (“Annie”) and Lun Tha (“The King And I”).

“We are delighted to welcome Joseph Chubb to the stage at Clear Space Theatre. He joins Sydney Gray, who is no stranger to the audience and students at Clear Space Theatre,” said Wesley Paulson, executive director. “Sydney brings her enthusiastic acting, singing and tap-dance skills to the role of Reno Sweeney, with two feature numbers, ‘Anything Goes’ and ‘Blow, Gabriel, Blow.’

“Anything Goes” opens on Friday, March 18, and runs for three weekends, through Sunday, April 3, with shows on Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. A weekday matinee is being offered on Thursday, March 31, at 11 a.m.

Tickets for “Anything Goes” can be purchased online at www.clearspacetheatre.org, by calling (302) 227-2270, or in person at the box office located inside Clear Space Theatre, at 20 Baltimore Avenue in Rehoboth Beach.

Coastal Point • File photos: Dune grass is planted by hand — one bunch at a time.The good news for organizers of the state’s annual beach grass planting day, set for Saturday, March 19, all along the coast, is that all volunteer slots have been filled for the event. The bad news is that the grass is more important than usual this year, due to a pair of storms that devastated Delaware dunes.

“Delaware’s coastline was ravaged by the January storm that weakened, and in some areas destroyed, dunes and eroded sand from our beaches,” said Jennifer Luoma, environmental scientist for the state Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Control’s Shoreline & Waterway Management Section.

“The dunes were hit especially hard, and hundreds of volunteers are needed to help stabilize dunes that have been repaired after the coastal storm,” said Luoma, coordinator of the annual beach grass planting event.

The dunes and beaches also suffered damage in an October storm.

Last year, approximately 1,000 environmental enthusiasts, families and students planted 110,000 stems of beach grass along over 3 miles of coastline between Kitts Hummock Beach and Fenwick Island. This year, 150,000 stems of Cape American beach grass will be planted, according to Luoma.

Officials are particularly grateful this year for the corps of volunteer planters who will descend on the beaches, armed with heavy gloves and long sticks, dropping the beach grass plugs into holes about 20 inches apart. The process generally takes a few hours.

Cape American beach grass is dormant from October to April, and in Delaware is planted as close to the end of the winter storm season as possible.

Sand dunes are considered essential for protection against damaging coastal storms. When sand dunes are destroyed, storm waves can rush inland, flood properties and put lives at risk. Stabilized dunes absorb wave energy and act as major sand storage areas, which replenish sand to eroded beaches during a storm.

Beach grass helps to build and stabilize dunes by trapping windblown sand. As the grass traps the sand, it builds the dunes higher and wider, which makes dunes even more protective of the structures behind them. Since the program was introduced in 1989, more than 5 million stems of beach grass have been planted.

Luoma said it’s not unheard of for all the volunteer spots to fill before the event, but that the spots on the southern beaches usually fill more slowly. “Cape Henlopen, if we plant it, always fills up first,” Luoma said.

For those who have signed up to help plant this year, Luoma said e-mails should go out a week or so before the March 19 event with information on beach assignments.

“Most folks have gotten their first choice, and I try to close out sites that fill up as we go, so that volunteers can only request sites that are still open.”

Coastal Point • File photo: A wedding gown is modeled during last year’s eventThis weekend, the 21st Annual Central Sussex Bridal Show will give soon-to-be-wed couples the opportunity to meet with area vendors who hope to make their upcoming nuptials their best day ever.

“We have pretty much every aspect covered,” said Amy Simmons, executive director of the Greater Millsboro Chamber of Commerce, which hosts the bridal show. “We have a florist, cake bakers, party planners...”

The event, which is sponsored by Chardon Jewelers in Georgetown, will be held on Sunday, March 13, from noon to 3 p.m. at the Millsboro Town Center. Admission costs $5 per person, with brides-to-be enjoying the event free of charge.

Simmons said door prizes will be given throughout the day by attending vendors. One door prize, courtesy of Hampton Inn of Rehoboth Beach is a ”Romance Package,” complete with champagne and $40 worth of dinner coupons for the Rehoboth Beach area. The grand prize will be provided by Atlantic Sands Hotel & Conference Center and includes gift certificates to Oasis Spa, Di Febo’s, Confucius and Lula Brazil. Simmons said a bride-to-be does not need to be present to win.

Along with nearly 30 vendors, attendees may enjoy a bridal fashion show, beginning at 1:30 p.m., courtesy of Candlelight Bridal.

“Fortier Photography will be there with their photo booth. You’ll definitely want to stop by and have fun with the photo booth,” she added.

Simmons said that, last year, more than 300 people attended the bridal show, and she believes this year will bring a similar crowd.

“I’m hoping that brides will come and find someone in there that can help them with whatever part of their wedding they need help with,” she said. “We want everyone to come to have a relaxing, great day.”

The Delaware State Fair this week announced its Summer Concert Series lineup for 2016. It includes 16 music artists, two wheeled events, a comedian, a rodeo and the traditional harness racing at the Fair.

Previously announced acts included comedian Jeff Dunham appearing Saturday, July 23, at 8 p.m. and country music act Alabama, who will be performing Monday, July 25, at 7:30 p.m.

New in 2016, the Delaware State Fair will present a kick-off concert: Country music artist Jake Owen, along with Granger Smith, will make their way to the M&T Bank Grandstand on Wednesday, July 20, at 7:30 p.m.

The kick-off concert will mean that gate admission will not be required, but also no Fair basics will be in place, including carnival rides, livestock animals, circus performances, food vendors, etc. Tickets cost $31 to $71.

Delaware State Fair General Manager Bill DiMondi explained, “We are excited to offer our enthusiastic patrons another night of country music at this concert-only evening at the Fairgrounds. We hope fans can come enjoy Jake Owen’s extra concert performance here in Harrington as they prepare for Thursday’s start of the 97th Delaware State Fair.”

The 2016 Summer Concert Series will continue with the return of the monster trucks with “Monster Truck Meltdown” presented by Delaware Volunteer Firefighter’s Association on Thursday, July 21, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $18 to $20. The show will include a pit party, monster trucks, ride truck and a tough truck challenge.

The Delaware Volunteer Firefighter’s Association is inviting ticket holders to visit one of the more than 60 fire and EMS companies in the state after May 1 for a special-access ticket. The special-access ticket, along with their event ticket, will give them access to the Pit Party, where fans can meet the drivers, take a picture with the trucks and more. Details can be found online at www.delawarestatefair.com.

On Thursday, July 21, the Quillen Arena Painted Pony PRCA Rodeo will bring in cowboys and cowgirls around for some roping, riding and racing. The show starts at 7 p.m. in the Quillen Arena. Tickets cost $16 for those 13 or older, with those 12 or younger admitted free of charge.

On Friday, July 22, the M&T Bank Grandstand is the place to see car-smashing fun, at the Demolition Derby presented by Manlove Auto Parts. The event will begin at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $16 to $18. For tickets or more information on how to participate in this year’s derby, visit the Delaware State Fair website.

On Sunday, July 24, Little Big Town, with Kristian Bush, will be presented by the Delaware Lottery. The Grammy-winning group will perform their country hits, including “Girl Crush” and “Day Drinking.” Multi-award winning Kristian Bush of Sugarland, who debuted his solo album “Southern Gravity” in 2015, will join the group. Gates will open at 6:30 p.m., and the show will start at 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $39 to $79.

For King & Country headlines this year with Sidewalk Prophets and Jordan Feliz on Tuesday, July 2. The Christian bands will come together for an evening of “Something Different” that will aim to inspire “Beloved” fans to “Run Wild, Live Free and Love Strong.” Tickets cost $20 to $45. The show will start at 7:30 p.m.

Pop artists X Ambassadors, Rachel Platten and A Great Big World will perform Wednesday, July 27, at 7 p.m., with songs such as “Fight Song,” “Renegades” and “Say Something.” Tickets cost $39 to $79 and can be purchased online at www.delawarestatefair.com.

Harrington Raceway & Casino will presents harness racing on Thursday, July 28, at 7 p.m., at no charge, to celebrate Governor’s Day at the Fair.

Delaware’s own George Thorogood & the Destroyers will perform Friday, July 29, at 7:30 p.m., with the Fabulous Thunderbirds. Tickets cost $34 to $74.

The Craft Beer Festival, featuring Blues Traveler with Lower Case Blues, will take place Saturday, July 30. Music-only tickets cost $25, while craft beer tickets cost $35. Craft beer ticket holders will receive a souvenir cup and five beer tasting tickets. Craft beer ticket holders must be 21 or older. Gates will open at 5 p.m.

“I believe we have put together a versatile lineup for our concert fans. We are looking forward to producing an unforgettable 2016 Summer Concert Series at the M&T Bank Grandstand and Quillen Arena!” Assistant General Manager Danny Aguilar said.

Advance tickets for admission and for the concerts will go on sale Friday, March 11, at 10 a.m. and can be purchased online at www.delawarestatefair.com, or by calling eTix at 1-800-514-3849.

The Delaware State Fair M&T Bank Grandstand is located at 18500 S. DuPont Highway, Harrington. The 2016 Delaware State Fair will be held July 21-30.

For the sixth year, the Sons of Italy Lodge of Ocean City and St. Luke/St Andrew churches are bringing the community together for a day of food, games and music. The St. Joseph’s Day festival will be held at St. Andrew’s Hall at 144th and Sinepuxent streets in Ocean City, Md., from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, March 19.

Proceeds from the festival benefit St. Luke’s Catholic Church and local charities supported by the Lodge. In the past, the Lodge has donated money to organizations such as Worcester County GOLD, Justin’s Beach House in Bethany Beach, Diakonia and the Home of the Brave.

This year, the Sons of Italy Lodge has raised its student scholarship award from $1,250 to $1,500. One high school senior of Italian descent from Indian River, Stephen Decatur and Sussex Central high schools will win each of the three awards.

The festival also includes food, children’s games and music. On the menu for the day are ravioli and meatball platters, meatball and sausage subs, homemade minestrone soup, beer, wine, soda and water.

In addition, homemade baked goods from lodge members will be available for purchase, such as cannoli and zeppole, a traditional St. Joseph cake in honor of St. Joseph, in whose honor the festival is held.

Once again, music will be provided by Baltimore’s Mario Monaldi Band. Children’s and adult games will be available. Religious items, cookbooks and Italian clothing will be available for purchase.

For additional information, contact Al DiOrio at (302) 430-1004 or Sal Castorina at (302) 436-2146.

The Sussex County Council has extended its six-month moratorium on off-premise sign applications. The council voted 4-1 on Tuesday to approve a continued moratorium on off-premise signs, with Councilman Sam Wilson opposed.

The ordinance, which was introduced by Councilman George Cole on July 28 and passed on Sept. 15, states that the Sussex County Council “views the placement of off-premise signs as an important public-safety issue” and believes that “the recent proliferation of off-premise signs has a detrimental effect on the safety and welfare of the citizens of Sussex County.”

The moratorium directs the Sussex County Planning & Zoning Office to decline applications for special-use exceptions for off-premise signs for a period of six months. It also allowed for the moratorium to be “extended, modified or terminated at any time by a majority vote” of the council, which is what took place on March 1.

At that meeting, County Administrator Todd Lawson said the sign ordinance working group had held its final workshop in February and that staff plans to provide the council with specific recommendations at its March 15 meeting.

“However, the moratorium is set to expire on March 15, 2016,” explained Lawson, “and we will not be prepared with the sign ordinance update by then. Therefore, we need to extend the current moratorium so that we can present our recommendations to you, draft an ordinance and have you consider that new ordinance for an overall sign update.”

Lawson said he believed a three-month extension of the moratorium would be a sufficient amount of time.

“Moratoriums, by their very nature, shouldn’t be open-ended,” he said, noting that a three-month extension gives the County until mid-June before the moratorium would expire.

Cole asked if County staff were “laying low,” in terms of signage ordinance enforcement, due to the moratorium.

“We continue to be complaint-driven, so if a specific sign is brought to our attention, we will go out and have staff check the permit that’s on file, as well as the setbacks of the sign,” responded Lawson. “That is one of the key outcomes of the working group, was the level of enforcement and looking for direction from council as it relates to enforcement.”

Wilson said he believe the council was “killing time” with the three-month extension.

“I want to know … why we need three more months. What’s the reason for that? It sounds like we’re killing time here… There’s no reason not to have this done.”

Following the discussion, the council voted 4-1, to approve the extension, with Wilson opposed.

The Bethany Beach Town Council will hold a public hearing on the proposed budget for the 2017 fiscal year on Monday, March 14, at 10 a.m. at town hall. The Budget & Finance Committee will then meet on Tuesday, March 15, for any revisions, and the council is scheduled to vote to approve or modify the proposed budget at the Friday, March 18, council meeting.

The Town’s 2017 fiscal year begins on April 1 and ends March 31, 2017.

Probably the most distinctive change in the proposed budget is the addition of a new reserve fund, called the Storm Emergency Relief Fund (SERF), which Town officials said was created with Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy in mind and is intended to help the Town recover quickly in the event of a hurricane, nor’easter or other type of storm.

In the event of a large storm, they said, the fund could be used to repair or replace the boardwalk, as well as clean up debris and repair town buildings.

Initial funding for SERF is coming from the building permit and transfer taxes from the Bethany Ocean Suites Hotel project, which will provide $491,000 for the 2017 fiscal year and are expected to increase to $644,000 total in the 2018 fiscal year.

Funding SERF beyond the $330,000 already set aside to start it will also mean some increases in taxes for both residential property owners and those who rent property to others. The proposed 2017 budget uses those tax increases to fund the Storm Emergency Relief Fund (SERF) with $200,000 annually. The tax increases include:

• An increase in the property tax rate, from $0.175 to $0.185 per $100 of assessed value. That is a 6 percent increase and would take effect on the May 2016 annual bill. Officials said it would cost less than $20 additional for most (61 percent) of the town’s residential improved properties.

They estimated it will generate an additional $100,000 in revenue for the SERF reserve.

• An increase in the rental tax rate, from 6 percent to 6.5 percent for residential and commercial rentals, and from 3 percent to 3.25 percent for rentals subject to the State accommodations tax, such as hotels. That increase would take effect for property rentals as of May 1.

Officials said the rental tax increase will generate an estimated additional $100,000 in revenue for the SERF reserve, making $200,000 per year in total estimated revenue for SERF from those tax increases.

Councilman Jerry Morris had asked about the proposed rental tax increase at the council’s Feb. 12 workshop, being told by Councilman Chuck Peterson that the Town’s rental tax rate remains lower than in other towns in the area. Town Manager Cliff Graviet said the new rate would place it at the higher end of the scale, however.

Morris had suggested raising the rental tax rate by 1 percent, saying, “Summer visitors put wear and tear on our infrastructure. I don’t know that 1 percent is going to bother someone paying $1,000 per week.”

But Peterson had said there was concern about putting a disproportionate financial burden on visitors to the town, who would end up paying the difference through their rental rates.

Vice-Mayor Lew Killmer had also asked about the target for the fund’s total amount. Peterson noted that municipalities are being required to pay ever-increasing proportions of emergency recovery costs and said he felt that, at some time, the Town would want to have $3 million in the SERF.

“The message has been loud and clear,” Killmer said. “A 35 percent share is not going to continue to be matched for beach repairs. We have to be proactive, not reactive. We have to be our own self-insurer. There’s no way we could ever afford an insurance policy to replace the boardwalk.”

Mayor Jack Gordon emphasized in February that the fund is intended to repair damage done to town infrastructure, not to put sand back on the beach or rebuild dunes — areas where continued federal funding also remains tenuous. But Killmer said he felt that was indicative of a trend away from federal funding for recovery from storm-related emergencies.

Increases proposed for general, capital budgets

Beyond the new SERF, the Town has three other distinct funds that are budgeted separately. The General Fund, officials noted, uses revenue primarily from property taxes, parking fees, rental real estate taxes and real estate transfer taxes to pay the main costs of Town government, including the Bethany Beach Police Department, Public Works and the Beach Patrol.

In the proposed 2017 budget, General Fund revenue is increasing by $585,000 (9.8 percent), due to the proposed tax increases, as well as adjustments in revenue projections. Operating costs are also budgeted to increase, by $357,000 (5.1 percent).

The Capital Budget for 2017 totals $570,000, which includes $200,000 for street paving, $170,000 for construction storage and office space at the Town’s Public Works Yard near Frankford, $80,000 to replace the Town’s beach tractor, $60,000 for boardwalk improvements, $40,000 to replace a street cleaner and a lawn tractor, and $20,000 to construct a police shooting range at the Public Works Yard near Frankford.

The shooting range will require approval from the Sussex County Council, and neighbors of the property have already voiced objections to the idea. Officials have aimed to limit its impacts on neighbors by limiting its planned hours of operation to mid-day during weekdays, as well as constructing berms to protect neighboring properties from the gunfire and related noise.

The range will not be open to the public but is intended solely for required training by current BBPD officers and two of its retired officers, including Graviet, who was previously the Town’s police chief and a Delaware State Police trooper.

Additionally, the proposed 2017 budget calls for the Town’s Sanitation Fund revenues to increase $4,000 (.5 percent), while the sanitation operating budget is increasing $24,000 (3.2 percent). The sanitation capital budget includes $220,000 to replace a side-loading trash truck.

Water Fund revenues are being budgeted to increase $50,000 (3.7 percent), due to revised projections for water impact fees. The Water Fund Operating budget is increasing $71,000 (7 percent), which officials said is mainly from maintenance needs of the water storage standpipe.

The proposed Water Fund Capital budget totals $260,000 and includes $100,000 to construct an earthen mineral pond, $60,000 to replace a work truck, $50,000 for replacement of other equipment, if needed, and $50,000 for any unplanned repairs to the distribution system, as needed.

Revenue and expense budgets for all of the Town’s various funds are balanced in the proposed 2017 budget, as is the Town’s practice.

Continuing its conservative revenue budgeting trend, the Town is budgeting $550,000 in revenue from real estate transfer taxes — the same amount as in the 2016 budget— though the Town’s actual transfer tax revenue for the fiscal year through Feb. 29 is already at $671,127. Prior fiscal years’ transfer tax revenue was roughly $760,000 for 2014 and $822,000 for 2015.

On the expense side, General Fund costs are being budgeted at $267,000 more than in 2016, an increase of 5.1 percent, in contrast with the 9.8 percent increase in budgeted revenue over 2016. Townwide, the expense side budgets for $362,000 additional expenses, up 5.2 percent, and in contrast to a budgeted 7.7 percent increase in revenue.

The bulk of the Town’s costs for its Operating Budget go to personnel-related expenses, at 59 percent of the total budget. Contract services make up 28 percent of the Operating Budget costs, while supplies make up 7 percent, and operations and minor capital expenses make up 3 percent each.

Printed copies of the proposed budget for the 2017 fiscal year are available for review in the Finance Office at Town Hall. It can also be accessed online at http://townofbethanybeach.com/DocumentCenter/View/2112. The budget hearing is scheduled for Monday, March 14, at 10 a.m., with a possible vote to adopt it at the March 18 council meeting, which is set for 2 p.m., also at town hall.

The Town of Ocean View will not hold a municipal election in April, after only two residents filed to run for open seats on the town council.

Frank Twardzik filed to run in District 2, for a seat currently held by Geoff Christ, who is serving his second term on the council.

Bill Olsen of District 1, who will be completing his first term on council in April, filed for reelection on Wednesday, the last day to do so.

As no other residents filed for the two seats, Twardzik and Olsen will be sworn in at a to-be-determined date.

Coastal Point • Laura Walter: Millsboro Middle School won 10 science fair awards March 7, with wins by (from left) Conell Bradner, Mackenzie Crozier, Ben Koly and Tessa McDonough. Below, submitted photo, Bradner stands with his project, ‘How Does the Shape of a Windmill Blade Affect its Function?’Millsboro Middle School brought it’s A-game to the science fair this week.

Four MMS students won 10 prizes at the 24th Annual Sussex County Science Fair, held March 7 at Delaware Technical Community College.

Conell Bradner, Mackenzie Crozier, Ben Koly and Tessa McDonough were four of about 60 Sussex students competing for 45 prizes. Winning projects on March 7 revolved around music, moon phases, tsunamis, salinity, acid rain, food science, catapults, bacteria and more.

“I hadn’t really been in a science fair, before so I just wanted to test it, see what I can do,” said first-timer Bradner.

“It’s fun to be involved,” Crozier said.

“If you put enough work in, it’ll pay off,” said McDonough, who won a 2015 award, too.

By focusing on local ecological issues, Ben Koly won the most awards of all, including cash and special workshops. His project, “Edible Saline-Tolerant Permaculture Gardening,” studied halophytes, or plants that can grow in salty conditions.

“We get flooded a lot where we are, and I like to garden, so I wanted to know if there’s anything we could even grow,” Koly said. “So I decided to research some halophytes. … We’re growing them in a controlled environment right now.”

He earned first place for the sixth grade; Best Overall Middle School Project from Delaware Technical Community College; a first-place Environmental Award from DNREC; first place from Tidewater Utility Inc.; an award from the University of Delaware College of Earth, Ocean & Environment; and an Overall Certificate of Excellence Award from the Center for the Inland Bays.

Tessa McDonough is a Future Farmers of America officer who asked “How Does Fermented Feed Affect Chickens’ Egg Mass?” She won first place for the eighth grade and AAUW’s Most Original Project Award. The poultry project will also be displayed at the Museum of Agriculture in Dover.

As first-place winners, Koly and McDonough will represent Sussex this March at the Delaware Valley Science Fair in Philadelphia.

Conell Bradner’s seventh-grade project, “How Does the Shape of a Windmill Blade Affect its Function?” won the ILC Dover Engineering Award.

“I like engineering,” said Bradner. “Wind energy pretty much just knocked me in the head, saying, ‘Do it!’”

Mackenzie Crozier’s seventh-grade project, “Can Salt Damage to Plants be Reversed?”, won the American Association of University Women (AAUW) $50 award.

“During the summer I like to garden, and I noticed my plants started dying,” said Crozier, who lives near the bay.

Millsboro Middle School teachers Lorraine Jordin and Jaime Masters mentored about 20 students total.

As director of Delaware AeroSpace Education Foundation, special guest Stephanie Wright said that the many projects have given her much hope for the future. Always keep science, inquiry and wonder close to your hearts, Wright told the roomful of future teachers, scientists, engineers and science enthusiasts.

All Sussex County middle and high school students can enter the annual Sussex County Science Fair.

Science fair co-chair Helen Gieske encouraged anyone interested in science to participate in next year’s science fair, even if teachers don’t oversee the project. Big things are planned for the 25th county fair, and big prizes can be won at the Philadelphia regional, said Gieske.

The Fenwick Island Charter & Ordinance Committee isn’t entirely comfortable with a proposed freeboard ordinance. In fact, the group was split on March 8 on whether they agreed with the law as written.

The town council has already approved the first reading of the ordinance that would permit buildings to be 18 to 24 inches taller if they provide 18 to 24 inches of freeboard underneath, building from a higher point to reduce flood impacts.

Freeboard is the additional amount of height above the Base Flood Elevation that a building’s lowest floor is elevated or flood-proofed. (For instance, people might be required to start their homes 7 feet in the air, but they could include 2 feet of freeboard and start at 9 feet instead. The ordinance would let them exceed the Town’s 30-foot height limit, so they wouldn’t lose 2 feet of living space as a result of adding freeboard underneath.)

Committee members Bill Weistling, Diane Tingle and Winnie Lewis support the legislation, while Buzz Henifin, Doug Lopez and Mike Quinn voted against supporting it as written.

Although Ben Waide and Roy Williams were absent from the meeting, the remaining C&O members hypothesized that the vote might have remained split, even with full attendance.

Because the 30-foot height limit has been on the books since the 1970s, “This is a point of passion,” said Lopez, adding that he wants the Town to move forward very deliberately so residents feel well-informed and well-represented.

He warned that public perception may be negative, because the ordinance change process is occurring in winter, when part-time residents are usually away. Plus, people only have a few weeks to form an opinion before the anticipated April 1 public hearing.

“Are we gonna drive a nail in with a sledge hammer or a regular hammer?” Lopez asked, regarding the best way to approach the ordinance change. “What problem are we facing that we need to fix?”

Lopez loosely estimated that the new rule would only benefit about 15 percent of the town, based on his reading of the FEMA floodplain maps.

Other houses must also adhere to stricter building standards, based on Fenwick Island’s own imposed Limit of Moderate Wave Action (LMWA) line, said Building Official Patricia Schuchman. Fenwick already requires those houses to be built as if they were in a more hazardous flooding zone.

Although the flood insurance benefits have been cited as a perk to building houses with more freeboard, some people said that’s not universal. Their insurance companies wouldn’t give a discount for 2 feet of freeboard in the AO flood zone.

Town Manager Merritt Burke IV reminded C&O members that flood zone designations aren’t permanent, and they’re very unlikely to ever decrease in severity again.

“The maps we’re discussing aren’t set in stone. Don’t ever get used to a certain zone,” Burke said.

“We’re gonna have a very small percentage who benefit,” Lopez said. “Let’s just call it what it is: raising the height.”

“We’re not raising it regardless. They still have to have the 18 to 24 inches” of freeboard underneath, Tingle had said earlier.

Quinn brought up the eligibility of houses to gain freeboard/height. A recent Town survey only referred to freeboard for new construction. The draft ordinance does not have that limit.

“I thought this was for new buildings only when we discussed it [previously],” Quinn said.

That’s true, Weistling said. “We can discuss that and change it at council.”

(When he was asked the same question at the March 4 council meeting, Weistling said the topic would be addressed at the March 8 C&O meeting.)

But he explained his reasoning for the change: If a family wanted to elevate their little cottage, he thinks they should be eligible for the same benefit as new construction.

“They should be offered the same opportunity as everyone else. … You should be able to raise an old house to the same height as new construction,” said Weistling, adding that he would be happiest if residents were to just flat-out raise their lots.

Burke said the ultimate goal is to reduce flood insurance claims (although that’s ultimately up to the individual property owner).

“I have five houses waiting to see what the decision will be,” Schuchman said.

The C&O committee cannot schedule town council votes, so Quinn and Lopez recommended a rescheduling of a public hearing and the council’s final vote until July, so summertime residents can attend and council actions will appear transparent. But the motion failed, with Weistling, Tingle and Lewis opposed, and with Henifin abstaining.

The committee’s division on the issue will still be included in Weistling’s report to the council, he said.

Williams sent a letter opposing the ordinance change: “It does not solve any problems but just allows people to build a bigger house.”

Several members of the public reiterated their opinions that the decision seems “rushed and clandestine” and that they felt this is a blanket response to a limited problem.

Weistling responded to complaints about the survey: It wasn’t binding to the whole council, but he had chosen to follow its results for himself, even if one side had won by just two votes (as the 2015 election was).

Although freeboard and house height has been discussed off and on since late 2014, the town council and C&O Committee have changed in their makeup since the last public discussion. That’s why some people on both boards were surprised to see the freeboard ordinance added to the March town council agenda.

Burke said he can’t tell people what might be on the agenda before it’s officially published seven days before meetings. Any council member can place a topic on the agenda, but Burke said he sometimes only gets that information one or two days beforehand. He said he doesn’t want to risk telling people that a topic will be discussed before it’s officially added to the agenda. But he notifies the council as soon as the agenda is published online, he said.

Freeboard and height limits will be added to the C&O agenda for April 5.

In other Charter & Ordinance news:

• After some residents complained of hearing gunshots early in the morning, a new firearms law is in the works. Although those people had permission from the property owner, committee members said they want to address issues of peace and safety. They’re considering a hunting regulation, rather than a weapons discharge regulation (which could involve exceptions for archery, self-defense, air guns and more).

• Attendance at committee meetings is sometimes incomplete, Weistling said in response to a citizen question. He said he used to get flak for only inviting full-time residents to participate in C&O committee work, so he had added some part-timers, knowing they wouldn’t always attend.

• Drones have been a hot topic lately, with drone regulation under consideration in Bethany Beach and elsewhere, but Weistling said he thought it best to consider possible legislation after the FAA makes final decisions on regulating the miniature aircraft.

The Charter & Ordinance Committee will meet again on Tuesday, April 5, at 9:30 a.m. at town hall.

The Frankford Town Council has voted to settle a lawsuit brought by former town administrator Terry Truitt for 100 percent of her back vacation and sick time.

“It’s a very emotional, touchy issue, because we all have our personal opinions about this,” said Councilman Marty Presley of the lawsuit.

According to Truitt, on her last day, with her having stayed through the last payroll of the month, both then-council-president Joanne Bacon and Councilwoman Pam Davis signed a check paying her for her unused vacation and sick days. However, Bacon placed a stop-payment on it the following day.

Truitt retained Greg Morris of Liguori, Morris & Yiengst as her attorney in the case.

Although the Town has referenced an employee benefits policy from 1998 that it says supported not paying for the full amount of accrued vacation and sick time, according to Truitt, the council had never followed that policy when it came to other former employees.

She noted that former employees, including police officers William Dudley and Nate Hudson, had been paid for their unused sick days and vacation days following their departures from the Town’s employment, both of which were also within the prior year.

Frankford Town Solicitor Chad Lingenfelder stated that the council had held a special meeting in February to discuss the lawsuit.

Lingenfelder said the Town’s policy at the time, which is still in effect at present, would have capped the pay at $4,500.

“However, there were certain things over the tenure of Mrs. Truitt… Other employees that were hired, employees quit or resigned… There’s an argument to be made that those policies were not abided by for other employees,” said Lingenfelder at the March 7 council meeting. “There was a lot of faith, trust given that those payments were made, with the understanding that those policies were being followed.”

Lingenfelder said after the special meeting, at which he presented the council with all their options related to the suit, he was given the authority to settle the suit for $7,500.

“So that will end this chapter with Mrs. Truitt and her employment with the Town,” he said. “This has nothing to do with anything else that’s going on related to her… This has ended; this chapter has ended.”

Presley said that when the suit was first brought against the Town in December of 2015, he was angry.

“Nothing made me madder than this, because I think it’s blatantly obvious that the Town of Frankford is being taken advantage of.”

Presley went on to say, when weighing the options, he feared that it wasn’t worth the risk to potentially win $500, versus paying Truitt thousands.

Councilman Greg Welch, however, stated he was not for the settlement.

“I think we’ve got a very strong case. And I wish we would pursue it. At this point in time, we’ve already agreed. This vote is just to show, I guess, to act like we’re voting now — but it’s already a done deal. Chad’s already signed on the dotted line,” he said. “It was her job; she knew about it; she was misrepresenting the policy.”

“I think a wrong has been done,” agreed Councilman Skip Ash, who was sworn into office the same evening, returning to the council after having previously served as councilman and council president.

Welch noted that he also understood why the majority of council chose to settle the suit.

He added, however, that he had little knowledge of what was going on prior to stepping onto the counsel. Once on council, and specifically at the special meeting in February, he was given a great deal of information regarding lawsuit, he said.

“I certainly didn’t think that was the end-all be-all of reviewing the information, but apparently it was.”

Elizabeth Carpenter, who formerly served on the council but resigned in December, said that when she was on the council and the suit came about, she was for it going to trial.

“I remember saying to Marty, to everyone else, ‘Let her sue. Let it all come out in the wash. Let it happen,’” she said. “In human-resources law, if one person is treated differently than other employees, that is considered discrimination.

“What her lawyer is making the case, and what Chad is trying to explain, is that the lack of oversight by the council enabled her to interpret and put into effect the policy that she wanted to, not the policy that was on paper. Had the counsel at the time been more diligent in their oversight, that overpayment to Dudley and to Nate and to Terry likely would not have happened. Not a guarantee, but likely would not have happened.”

Carpenter went on to ask what is being done to avoid such a situation in the future. Presley said the Town’s employee handbook would be put in place and followed.

Although Presley said it was not a requirement for the council vote to settle the case, the council was taking a vote at Monday’s meeting. The council voted 4-1 to approve the settlement, with Welch opposed.

Discussions on charter change continue

Welch said that the Charter Committee continues to meet, and that discussions continue as to whether or not non-resident property owners should be allowed to vote in Town elections.

“There’s a little bit of contention as to whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing,” he said.

Welch added that he had spoken to Delaware Department of Elections Sussex County Director Kenneth L. McDowell regarding the Town moving to State voter registration.

“Apparently, it’s not easier,” said Welch. “He said no Sussex County towns use it. He said they’re all very much against it.”

Welch added that if Frankford moved to the State registration process, there’s no nonresident voting application, and that the Town would have to have a separate registration process for that.

The council could not come to a consensus as to whether or not they would be sending a charter change to the Delaware legislature for this session. The next meeting of Charter Committee will be March 15 at 7 p.m.

Egg hunt set for March 26

The Town will hold an Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, March 26, at Frankford Town Park, from 1 to 4 p.m. Attendees will be able to enjoy food from Hocker’s BBQ, games and a hunt for 5,000 eggs, divided up into four age groups. A special hunt will also take place for children with special needs. The Easter Bunny will also hop into town to meet with children and take some photos.

U.S. Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) last week asked a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers official if funds left over from Hurricane Sandy might be diverted to emergency repairs of the beaches and dunes at three of Delaware’s beach towns.

During a hearing by the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on March 2, Coons questioned Jo-Ellen Darcy, assistant secretary of the U.S. Army for Civil Works, about funding for emergency work to repair beaches and dunes in Rehoboth Beach, Bethany Beach and South Bethany in the wake of two damaging storms this past fall and winter.

“We have several world-class beaches — they are a key driver of tourism in our region and they are essential to the economy of Southern Delaware,” Coons said. “We had a significant storm recently that imposed some very hard damage,” added Coons, who visited the beaches to see the damage after the January nor’easter.

“We are grateful for previous investment in beach nourishment that protected those beaches, but most of what had been provided in recent years was torn away, and that’s left a lot of our coastal communities and their infrastructure exposed,” he told Darcy.

Coons said he hoped that federal Flood Control & Coastal Emergencies Act funds left over from Hurricane Sandy could be used to repair damage to Delaware beaches from the more recent storms.

Darcy replied that the Army Corps is still in the process of assessing the extent of the damage and cost of repair.

“I believe that those (funds) can only be used for damages that were incurred by Superstorm Sandy, as opposed to subsequent storms. But, again, that is something we’ll check into, if need be for that — if the need for the repairs is unmet.”

Darcy did agree that the coastal emergencies fund is the most likely source for federal funding, just not necessarily the leftover Sandy funding.

Coons concluded his questioning on beach repair funding by saying, “It is disappointing that the administration’s funding request is insufficient for what are the likely needs of the whole country,” adding that he vowed to continue “to support needed increased funding that will make it possible for you to address the needs of Delaware and many other states.”

The Senate hearing took place about a week after officials from coastal towns all over the country arrived in Washington, D.C., for the annual meeting of the American Shore & Beach Preservation Association (ASBPA).

One local official, attending the three-day meeting for the first time, concurred with Coons that federal funding is needed to ensure the safety and stability of Delaware’s beach towns.

“I wanted to learn about the association,” said Fenwick Island Town Manager Merritt Burke of his trip to the nation’s capital on Feb. 23-25. “It was definitely worthwhile,” he said of the trip, which also included visits by coastal town officials with their respective members of Congress.

As an avid surfer, Burke said he understands the ever-changing nature of the shoreline.

“We lost 30 to 40 percent of our dunes, but that sand is sitting right off our shore.” He said he believes in the philosophy of beach replenishment in general, because, to put it simply, “When you put sand on the beach, it protects the infrastructure.”

Burke said, however, that he is learning that the process of maintaining the beaches and keeping them stable enough to withstand storm damage is anything but simple.

“It’s very complicated, and it takes a lot of money,” he said.

One eye-opener for Burke at the ASPBA meeting was just how many other communities are looking for federal money for their own projects.

“You learn that every community in the country is facing sediment erosion issues,” he said. Burke said he also learned that beach preservation is not a “one-size-fits-all” proposition. “What works in New York does not necessarily work in Delaware,” he said.

Of the agency responsible for planning and undertaking beach replenishment projects, Burke said “the Army Corps has a lot on its plate.”

In addition to funding “key projects,” the ASBPA set forth the following items in its wish list for Congress this year:

• Pursuit of long-term coastal funding, through authorization of federal agencies to pursue public-private partnerships with states, local government and the private sector, moving shoreline stabilization efforts from being “segmented or crisis-driven to being coordinated and anticipatory;”

• Passage of a Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) this year, which would get project authorization back on a “predictable and professional” two-year cycle; and

• Funding more comprehensive coastal studies, such as the North Atlantic study done in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, which developed a cohesive strategy for integrating shore protection with estuary and environmental restoration.

Bethany Beach is running out of space for floodwater to go, said residents who oppose a proposal to fill 1.92 acres of non-tidal forested wetlands for a multi-family residential development.

They spoke at a March 4 public hearing regarding Stanley and Dolores Walcek’s permit applications to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to fill the land just off Garfield Parkway, in preparation to build the Mews of Bethany — six four-unit multi-family structures.

The Corps must determine whether the Walceks would be adequately mitigating the loss of the 1.9 acres of forested non-tidal wetlands along the flood-prone Loop Canal by creating 4 acres of new wetlands at a location behind 84 Lumber in Clarksville.

The hearing is just the beginning of a long process before anything could be built there.

The Bethany Beach Town Council has already voted to formally oppose development there. Plans to develop the property were also opposed by neighbors and town officials in 2008 and 2012.

Creating a wetlands site “four miles away and higher in elevation clearly does not [mitigate] the environmental impact in Bethany Beach. … It will disrupt the ecological balance,” said Diane Boyle Fogash of the Bethany Beach Landowners Association, which represents more than 1,100 households.

Councilman Bruce Frye said he has received no emails in favor of the project.

The wetlands are a natural sponge for a town that spent $50,000 for an engineer to tell them “there’s no good answer” to reducing Bethany’s chronic flooding, Frye said. “So why would we want to do something that would increase flooding?”

Flooding is an inconvenience and a safety hazard, some argued, especially if ambulances can’t drive down a flooded street.

Brian Nestor argued to the deficiency of the Walceks’ actual application to the Corps, saying it includes mitigation at the 4-acre site but doesn’t propose a water mitigation plan for the actual Bethany site.

Neighbors on the wetlands agreed that the already-waterlogged area will only be worsened by replacing wetlands with impervious surfaces that can’t soak up water or the nutrients that pollute water.

“We are saturated,” said Scott Talbot. “The joke in Stewards Watch is that we don’t have decks — we have docks,” he said of the nearby development.

Bethany residents may be used to flooding, but they say there’s no room for more.

Meanwhile, the heavily polluted Inland Bays already exceed total maximum daily loads (TMDLs), so wetlands are especially vital to help filter nutrients, residents said.

Bethany Beach’s comprehensive plan seeks to preserve wetlands and reduce flooding, so the State should support the Town’s mission, said Chris Bason, speaking as an Ocean View resident, not as director of the Center for the Inland Bays.

“These types of things are happening all over the county,” Bason said. “It would be a lot better for people … dealing with the same issue if there was state regulation … of freshwater wetlands.”

Some people mentioned their displeasure at losing the beautiful wetland views, which includes Bethany’s wildlife, such as foxes, eagles, raccoons and more.

No one at the March 4 hearing spoke in favor of the project. However, the final speaker suggested that the development was unavoidable. Sheila Rose lives on a Roxana-area farm and said she’s unaffiliated with the project. Rose said “Money talks,” so she figures people are going to do what they want. There is still Camp Barnes, Assawoman Wildlife Refuge and people who take care of the environment, Rose said.

Years ago, she said, her family built beach houses for their large family.

“We never objected to people. It was ‘live and let live.’ It stinks that our tides are coming up. I don’t know how we’re going [to fight it]. You need to make your boat lifts higher.”

Ultimately, she said, she felt this was a “live and let live” situation.

Hosted by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Control (DNREC), the public hearing included two applications: the Federal Consistency Determination (reviewed by the Delaware Coastal Management Program) and a Water Quality Certification (reviewed by the Wetlands & Subaqueous Lands Section).

At this point, DNREC and the Corps have closed public comments on the application, although the Corps could choose to have a public hearing, too. A decision could be expected in mid-summer, said Attorney Robert P. Haynes, who presided over the hearing.

Coastal Point • R. Chris Clark: Are you ready to be entertained? The dress rehearsal for 'Spirit of the Radio' was a success and now the cast is ready for their audience. Join them in the IRHS auditorium on Friday March 18th and Saturday March 19th at 7:00pm.It’s springtime, and Indian River High School musicians are ready to put on a show. They’ll raise the curtains for the annual IR Live! on Friday and Saturday, March 18 and 19.

The 2016 show is called “Spirit of the Radio” and organized “as though somebody is on a car ride and they’re listening to the radio,” said director Nathan Mohler.

Students will be masters of ceremonies, but as disc jockeys, in this revue-style show.

They’ll perform about 24 different acts, including singing, some dance, flag work, instrumentals, mock radio station interviews and more. Performers will lead audiences through old rock, new pop music and even big-band.

The many musical acts whose music is represented — which include Joan Jett, Sarah Bareilles, Josh Groban, Led Zeppelin, Adele and Echosmith — are interlaced with short radio commercials (“That’s the spice to the show,” Mohler said.)

“We’re doing songs that most average high school students wouldn’t try to approach,” such as Rush’s “Spirit of the Radio,” known for a speedy guitar part.

With the pit band right on stage, nearly every single act has live accompaniment.

“We have wonderful, talented kids here … that everyone in the community should be able to hear,” Mohler said.

“We’re just trying to show all the great things that are going on at IR,” Mohler said. “We’re just trying to keep that legacy going, try to take it a step further, if we can, make it better.”

He and chorus teacher Chantalle Ashford are “energetic and are trying to keep music alive in the schools,” Mohler said.

Shows start at 7 p.m., with doors opening at 6:30 p.m.

Tickets cost $8 apiece, and all proceeds benefit the band trip to Tennessee and a new Band Boosters scholarship.

The band is getting back together. And they’re headed to Millville.

For the third consecutive year, the Bethany Area Repertory Theatre (BART) will present Eileen Stamnas and Jim Gibney live at the Dickens Parlour Theatre. The career musicians will follow up last year’s “Music to Warm a Cold Winter’s Evening” with an entirely new setlist — ranging from ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s, to Frank Sinatra, Chaka Khan and even a little Motown.

Eileen Stamnas“We just cover a lot of bases,” said Stamnas. “It’s sort of something for everyone. Regardless of what your musical tastes are, there’s probably gonna be something that will hit your sweet spot.”

Considered in the song selection process are the strengths of the group, many of whom — like the brother/sister duo of Stamnas and Gibney — hold musical talents far more unique than the assortment of last names featured on the program.

Gibney’s son Danny Gibney is a Louis Armstrong Award recipient and is on the guitar. Michael Gibney is on the drums. Stamnas’ daughter, Alex Stamnas, will join her for a duet.

“Last year, at the last minute, our guitarist had a family emergency and could not make the show, and Jim’s son came aboard and learned the show in the back seat of the car driving into town,” Stamnas recalled of how Danny Gibney ended up joining the “Music to Warm a Cold Winter’s Evening” performance. “He played the songs one time during the soundcheck and did the show that night, and he was great. He’s a real wunderkind — he plays many different instruments and he plays them all really well.”

Along with Jim Gibney, the show is produced by Stamnas’ husband, Gregory Stamnas. Her sister, Salisbury Symphony Orchestra flutist Sally Hendon, will play the flute and add to the vocals.

“My siblings and I used to be on the road together for a number of years,” Stamnas said of past gigs in Washington, D.C., nightclubs, as well as out in California. “We don’t play together that often anymore — we kind of pick and choose what we like to do these days. “They’re performing professionals in their fields, and they have to come into town to do this, but they’re doing it because they know I believe in it.”

Jim GibneyGroup members without family ties still bring plenty of their own experience and accolades to the performance. Bassist/vocalist Bob McCoy has 40 years of experience playing in D.C. bands such as Nowhere Men, Classified and The Main Event. Keyboardist/vocalist Richard Whiting has equal experience playing in Fringe and Lifetime and currently with Charlie Plunket. And tenor sax/flutist Bob Shuman has played with both McCoy in The Main Event! and Whiting in Fringe, as well as currently with several Baltimore-based jazz bands.

Despite the array of other venues played, however, Stamnas said that the entire cast always looks forward to their yearly reunion at Dickens.

“The show we write for the Dickens is specific to the Dickens. We won’t be doing them at other venues,” she said. “We start by thinking about what we love to do, what makes us happy and what we think is gonna connect with the audience.

“It really is a unique venue. It’s you and the audience gathered closely, rather than being in a big amphitheater — it’s wonderful for the performers, because they have this connection with the audience.”

Added to the unique venture each night will be magic shows by Rich Bloch.

Locals will get two chances to experience it all, with performances on Friday, March 18, and Saturday, March 19, beginning at 7:30 p.m. at the Dickens Parlour Theatre. Tickets and more information are available at www.dptmagic.com or by calling (302) 829-1071. Dickens Parlour Theatre is located at 35715 Atlantic Avenue (Route 26) in Millville.

Coastal Point • Submitted: An undated photograph of Woody Sturgis, owner of Woody’s Diner, the original name of Doyle’s.The number embossed on the door of Doyle’s restaurant in Selbyville reads “5092.” It is a number that tells the very beginning of a story that now spans 65 years and is firmly planted in the area’s history — a history that includes agriculture, as well as tourism.

Originally called Woody’s Diner, after owner Woody Sturgis, the restaurant has been verified to be the oldest “Silk City Diner” still operating in Delaware — which is part of the story told by that 5092 on the door. It signifies, according to Brandon Doyle, that the diner was built in 1950 and it was the 92nd “dining car” — which is what the Silk City Diners actually were — built by the Paterson Vehicle Co. that year.

Doyle, whose family has operated the restaurant since 1983, takes pride in the fact that the diner appears today just about the same as it did in 1951, when Woody’s Diner opened. Coverings on stools and booths have been replaced over the years, and somewhere along the way the original blue coverings were replaced with red ones. But otherwise, the diner is very much unchanged — thanks in part to the Doyle’s efforts to find authentic replacement parts when they are needed.

Much like restoring and maintaining a classic car, maintaining the diner is a labor of love for Doyle.

“Finding pieces and parts is very difficult,” he said. “When you do find them, they’re just astronomically expensive.” But when he does find authentic replacement parts — such as the clock that now hangs over the counter — it’s satisfying.

Doyle marvels at the sliding door at the front of the diner — the fact that it is original, and that “It’s still loud!”

While the original diner car is still the “face” of Doyle’s along Route 113, several additions have added to the restaurant’s ability to serve its patrons over the years. Large dining rooms now accommodate weddings, community meetings and other gatherings.

Doyle, 40, grew up hanging out at the restaurant and playing in the fields nearby. He recalls baseball games where the tax ditch at the edge of the property was a “home run,” by virtue of the fact that no one wanted to attempt retrieval of balls that landed there.

Over the years, Doyle watched his father, Mike Doyle, working hard to assure the continued success of the restaurant, and longtime employees, including Sheila Evans — who started working at the restaurant as a young teen, continued through college and now still works there part-time, even though her “day job” is teaching. Another employee, server Carol Phillips, has worked at Doyle’s for more than 25 years.

“There are 65 years of stories” within the restaurant’s walls, Doyle said. He pointed to a booth in the corner of the diner — the spot where Dick Clark and Connie Francis once dined. While he doesn’t know the exact date, Doyle said the story is definitely true and that the couple dined there “in their heyday.”

More regional luminaries would often stop in, such as longtime Baltimore mayor William Donald Schaefer and Ocean City mayor Roland “Fish” Powell — who would always sit at opposite ends of the diner if they were there at the same time, Doyle said.

Among the stories that the walls of Doyle’s could tell are many that tie into the area’s rich agricultural history — none more important than the restaurant’s role in the formation of the Eastern Shore Poultry Grower’s Exchange.

The Doyles like to say the organization was “hatched” during meetings of poultry growers in the restaurant in 1951. The industry was a few decades old at that point, and many growers were struggling because they were either being poorly paid or not paid at all.

Grower I.B. Hudson, Doyle said, proposed the establishment of auctions, like ones he had seen for the onion growers of Texas, where he had lived previously. Such a move, Hudson thought, might give poultry farmers more control. Soon, an auction was set up just up the road from what was then Woody’s Diner.

Then, the restaurant’s role in the newly re-energized industry expanded, when a bank of phones was installed in a small room off the dining area, so that poultry farmers could place auction bids.

Today, Doyle’s continues to serve as a community hub, hosting monthly coffee hours with state Rep. Rich Collins, as well as meetings of local organizations.

Brandon Doyle said the restaurant’s fried chicken is definitely the most popular item on the menu, along with its turkey and roast beef dinners and local seafood favorites, such as crabcakes and soft-shell crab sandwiches.

Not everything on the menu has stayed the same, though. In the early 1950s, a crabcake sandwich could be had for 40 cents, as shown on a vintage menu displayed in the restaurant. For many years, a greenhouse next to the restaurant produced vegetables for the restaurant — “tomatoes, cukes, squash, zucchini — all the good summer vegetables we all love around here,” Doyle said.

Today’s customers are just as likely to be tourists as poultry farmers, and the growing influx of retirees in southeastern Sussex County keeps the restaurant full year-round, Doyle said. Bridge players and retired Baltimore Gas & Electric employees meet there regularly, and along with weddings and other celebrations, Doyle’s often hosts meals for those who are gathering following the death of a loved one, he said.

A new sign erected in front of the restaurant by the Delaware State Archives honors the restaurant’s history, and dignitaries, as well as former owners, have gathered to celebrate its 65 years as an anchor for a community whose course is ever-changing.

Stacks of historical memorabilia, from old pictures of the restaurant to a 1923 bank calendar, sit in a spare room in the office behind the restaurant — a testament to the eatery’s place in the history of Selbyville and the faithfulness of its owners to their roles as stewards of that history.

Doyle said that Mike, his dad, is the historian in the family, with a love for antiques, including Depression glass — some of which is displayed in the restaurant.

Like the vintage jukebox in the diner that still cranks “oldies” from the diner’s early years, the beat goes on seven days a week, 14 hours a day, at Doyle’s.

These days, Brandon Doyle gets to watch a new generation of his family making his mark on the restaurant. His 2-year-old son Mykolas is a frequent presence, he said.

“He likes to run through the dining room” Doyle said, stopping occasionally to look up and say “Hi.”

After hosting a public forum in February, the Millville Town Council decided on March 9 to appoint Steven Small to fill a one-year vacancy on the council.

On Feb. 23, the Town held a public forum to learn more about the candidates — Tony Gough, Linda Kent and Small. The council chose to appoint Small to the position in a 3-0 unanimous vote at their March 9 meeting.

“I wish to thank Tony Gough, Linda Kent and Mr. Small for their interest to serve on the Millville Town Council and for taking the time to meet with the council at last month’s forum,” said Mayor Robert Gordon.

“We’re a growing town, and it takes residents such as yourselves to address and help with the growth of Millville’s needs,” added Deputy Mayor Steve Maneri, who also thanked all three candidates for their time and interest.

“For me, it has been a tough decision to consider just one of the three to fill the Town council’s vacant seat as each individual would bring a great, great deal of experience and knowledge to the Town through your backgrounds and careers,” said Gordon.

Small said he spent his life in governance and legislation, from student council in kindergarten to lobbying for trade companies as an adult. He’s campaigned for both parties, and also served on a senior management team for a $2 billion company.

“I am confident his perspective will be a real asset to the town council,” said Gordon.

“Mr. Small’s experience, his comprehension on the citizens’ voice, I think, would be a great value to the Town,” added Councilwoman Susan Brewer. “During the interview process, Mr. Small said he was excited about the prospect of serving on the town council. I really think that his positive attitude will be a real valuable contribution to the council itself.”

Small, along with Maneri and Valerie Faden, were sworn in to their seats that evening by Town Solicitor Seth Thompson.

Following taking their seats at the dais, the council appointed Gordon to serve as mayor. Maneri will serve as deputy mayor, while Brewer will serve as treasurer and Faden as secretary.

The Ocean View Town Council unanimously voted last week to grant the Millville Volunteer Fire Company $160,000 to help pay down the principal loan monies owed from the purchase of two new ambulances, and one new traffic control unit, that are currently in service and operated by the company.

Bob Powell, public information officer for the MVFC, explained on March 8 that, in July 2014, the company had put the two ambulances into service.

“Running the fire company is not something that is inexpensive,” said Powell. “Each one of those ambulances cost $295,000… We also needed the new fire-police vehicle because we were actually using an old piece of fire apparatus… We needed our fire police to be very well equipped, so when we get into a working situation where traffic needs to be flowing smoothly… this truck allows us to do that.”

The council voted 4-0 to grant MVFC $160,000 out of the Town’s Emergency Services Enhancement Fund.

Mayor Walter Curran said that perhaps, at a future time, the council would want to discuss putting a cap on the granted amount or make additional stipulations.

“It’s something to think about,” he said.

Curran also briefly discussed the potential $35 fee to be charged by Towns to support the ambulance service provided by MVFC.

“At the last meeting, there seemed to be a sense of urgency. In one respect, there is, but by the same token, some of us were under the impression it would be in our fiscal year, which is different than the colander year,” said Curran.

“Turns out, we have until the end of 2016 to finalize that. Everyone can take a couple of deep breaths and look at it. Our council is working on a proposed contract. We do have time. We don’t need to rush into that. No need to do that at all.”

Resident Gary Cordier said he understands the notion of emergency services and doesn’t want to be short-sighted but asked the council to take its time in deciding whether or not to enter into a contract with MVFC for the ambulance service fee.

“I’m not sure we’ve done the necessary due diligence as a town,” he said.

Cordier referenced a letter sent to the Delaware State Fire Commission mentioning five material weaknesses in the financial reports, specific to MVFC.

“This is about making sure we understand where our dollars are going and that they’re being spent accordingly.”

Curran recognized Cordier’s concerns and said the Town has “very rigid parameters” for where its grant monies go.

As for the possibility of a mandatory ambulance service fee, Curran said the Town has a whole year to look at whether they will go along with the service.

“Again, I’m not against the concept — I just want to make sure we’re doing the right thing,” said Cordier.

In other Town news:

• The council introduced the budget for the 2017 fiscal year at Tuesday night’s meeting. The draft budget, which must be adopted in April, currently does not project a tax increase. Citizens wishing to view the proposed budget may do so by visiting the Town’s website or stopping by the administrative offices in the Wallace A. Melson Municipal Building.

• Resident Bob Bacon resigned from his position on the Town’s Board of Adjustment, due to personal reasons.

“I, for one, would like to thank Mr. Bacon,” said Curran. “He has served for quite a few years in this capacity.”

• The Ocean View Police Department’s newest officer, AnnMarie Dalton, graduated from the Delaware State Police Academy in February and has begun her 10-week field training with the Town.

OVPD Chief Ken McLaughlin said Dalton received the Core Value Award at her graduation, which is presented to the “recruit who most exemplifies the spirit of both the division’s and the academy core values on honesty, integrity, courage, loyalty, attitude and discipline.”

McLaughlin also noted that officers Nick Harrington and Justin Hopkins were recognized at the Joshua M. Freeman Valor Awards in February for the heroism they displayed when responding to an incident in which a young child had been shot.

• Plans for the Town’s annual Homecoming are moving along, with the event scheduled for Saturday, May 14. The event currently has four sponsors and 10 crafter/vendors signed up to participate.