Benjamin “Ben” Beckett had a vision of salt and pepper in the congregation. So Antioch AME Church is inviting men and women of all colors to attend a special “CommUNITY Around Christ” church service on Sunday, March 5.

The special service will begin at 3:30 p.m., with a fellowship meal from 1:30 to 3:15 p.m.

Normally the event would have been Men’s Day, honoring men’s role in the church, similar to Women’s or Youth Days. But, this year, the men dedicated their day to a bigger cause.

“We felt as though … we could use the Men’s Day platform to be more socially conscious as to what is going on in the country today,” Beckett said, “to address a lot of the social issues, especially the division that we seem to be having in our country today.

“We may not be able to change Washington or change the world, but we can certainly change Dagsboro and Frankford, and perhaps Sussex County,” Beckett said. “It’s gotta start somewhere, so why not here?”

Speakers include the Rev. Alan Greijack of Dagsboro Church of God, the Rev. Michael Vaughan of the Father’s House and Presiding Elder Winton Hill of AME’s Dover District.

Beckett was inspired partly by a prior message of Hill’s: “How the world has changed and how the church also has to change. The world doesn’t look the same. You no longer have black and white. You have mixed, you have people who identify with more races and backgrounds than ever before. As a church, you have to appeal to those people or, if not, you basically are missing the purpose.”

He said he sought guest speakers with integrity, who “walk the walk” in their community.

“Throughout history, the church has really been the center of civic interaction,” said Beckett, although it feels to him like “the 10 or 11 o’clock hour on Sunday morning is still one of the more segregated days of the week. So this is an attempt to get people out of their comfort zone and try new things.”

Even Beckett has found himself stepping out of the box in the past year.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to meet people that I may not normally approach,” he said, remembering enlightening conversations with an airport employee who had never flown and a “biker chick” who had two sons buried in Arlington National Cemetery. “It was just kind of an awakening to me. … I would’ve really missed out if I hadn’t had those conversations. I think there are a lot of opportunities that have a lot to offer. We just need to build that bridge to get there.

“I want all people to feel welcome to come,” Beckett said. “I have no idea what the turnout will be like. I do believe that it will be a great day for Christ.”

But it’s not a one-day mission.

“I would like it to be spread,” Beckett said. “I would like other churches to say, ‘OK — we saw something good at Antioch. Maybe we can start something in Sussex County, as far as building a more inclusive, loving people.”

Men’s Day is organized by Beckett and Jeff Taylor. Antioch AME is located at 194 Clayton Avenue, Frankford, and led by the Rev. Dania R. Griffin. The phone number is (302) 732-1005.

If you’ve waited till the last minute to register for this year’s beach-grass planting, your options are quickly disappearing.

Jennifer Luoma of DNREC’s Division of Watershed Stewardship said volunteer spots at planting sites at Cape Henlopen State Park, upper Delaware Bay beaches, Lewes beach, Dewey Beach and Delaware Seashore State Park were full as of March 1; but there were still openings for the Fenwick Island site. The beach-grass planting will be held on Saturday, March 18.

There will be no new beach grass planted on Bethany Beach dunes this year, according to Luoma.

“The State’s dune in Bethany is not being planted this year for a couple of reasons,” she said. “We are hopeful that the beach and dunes will be fully restored in a beach nourishment project next year, and the dunes took a hit in a January nor’easter and the beach has not recovered enough to rebuild the dunes in time to be planted this year.”

Every spring since 1990, volunteers have stabilized Delaware’s sand dunes by planting more than 5 million stems of Cape American beachgrass along ocean and bay beaches.

Sand dunes provide protection against damaging coastal storms by absorbing wave energy. Sand dunes offer protection by acting as major sand storage areas that replenish sand to eroded beaches during storm events. Without sand dunes, storm waves rush inland and flood properties.

Dunes are unstable — subject to the ravages of wind and water. Beachgrass helps build and stabilize dunes. Blades of grass help trap wind-blown sand, which can create new dunes and expand existing dunes.

To promote new dune growth and to help protect inland properties from the ravages of flood waters, officials must limit — and sometimes prohibit — people and vehicles from crossing dunes in all but designated areas, especially as applies to beachgrass, which has thick, brittle stalks that can easily be broken and destroyed by pedestrian or vehicular traffic.

“Please help conserve Delaware’s beaches by telling friends and family about the importance of beachgrass, and reminding them to stay off of the dunes,” said Luoma.

For more information about beach-grass planting, call (302) 739-9921 or email questions to Jennifer Luoma at Jennifer.Luoma@state.de.us. Anyone interested in helping to plant dune grass in Fenwick Island can go to http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/swc/Shoreline/Pages/BeachGrassPlanting.asp... to register.

Happy with the time he’s spent on the town council, Ocean View resident Tom Maly recently filed to continue to serve as councilman for District 3.

Maly, joined the council in January 2016, following the passing of former councilman Tom Sheeran. He said he has enjoyed his year on council so much that he decided to run to serve the Town for an additional three years.

The Town is doing a lot of positive things, said Maly, noting the Concerts in the Park in the summer months, which provide free entertainment to the community in John West Park.

“Last year, we had Cops & Goblins, which was huge. It couldn’t have been better. That shows the community supports the police — they came out to that event. There were over a thousand people there. It’s just a very, very nice place to live. It’s close enough to the beach but far enough from the beach as well.”

Maly, who has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in sociology from Loyola College and the University of Baltimore, retired from the Baltimore Police Department after 24 years. Maly then became director of public safety at the Community College of Baltimore County. He went into law enforcement after serving in the military police in the U.S. Army.

Maly and his wife, Katherine, who have been married for 47 years, moved to Hunter’s Run 14 years ago, after visiting friends living in Savannah’s Landing.

“It’s just a great place to live. The town itself is a throwback to old-time America.”

Having a council that works together has been a benefit to the town and its citizens, said Maly.

“It’s evident. You see it at the meetings. There might be minor disagreements on the council, but we work together to solve the problems. There’s no personal agenda, there’s no real political party problems within the council. No one has prepared a legacy for him- or her-self,

“It’s just a good mix of people. Mayor [Walter] Curran I really like, even though he is a Patriots fan,” Maly said with a laugh. “He represents the Town well, as do the other council members.”

Maly said council has been active in responding to the concerns of citizens.

“Problems come up, and they’re addressed,” he said. “We had a problem where the Millville [Volunteer Fire Company’s off-site] siren disturbed a lot of citizens in the town who lived near it. That’s been taken care of.

“We had the problem where the emergency medical calls increased in volume to a point where Millville had to add another crew at night — paid paramedics. We addressed that with the surcharge.”

Maly said that, while some people may have had concerns about entering into an agreement with the fire company to charge a fee for service, “You’ve got to look at the big picture.”

“Our town has an older population and will probably have a lot more medical emergencies. You have to have that service available. I want to have that available to me. I’m not a youngster anymore. And if somebody comes down to see me and there’s a medical emergency, I want to make sure there is someone available to respond in a timely manner to that emergency.”

Maly said he’s proud that council did not have to raise taxes last year.

“We just finished reviewing a new employee manual and brought a lot of the employee benefits, like vacation and sick time, up to the level of comparable towns in the area,” he added. “We just reviewed and adopted the salary survey study. To me, the employees are part of the town. They’re probably the Town’s biggest asset. You have visitors to the town, you have residents of the town, and you have the employees of the Town.”

Currently and in the future, he said, the biggest problems facing the Town are drainage and streets, which he said ties directly into having good, reliable employees.

“You can’t fix the streets if you don’t have employees. You can’t check things if you don’t have employees. Employees are the Town. They represent the Town. It’s fair to them, and they deserve it. Hopefully, we’ll be able to implement it with them, in terms of raises.”

Maly praised the Town’s staff for helping make Ocean View a beautiful, safe town in which people want to live.

“The police department is one of our biggest assets. You have people moving here, coming from a law enforcement background, because it’s a nice area to live. We’re the safest town in Delaware. The credit goes to Chief McLaughlin and his personnel.

“I come from a training background,” he noted. “His department is trained at a level that, to me, is astonishing for a department as small as it is. But, then again, you can’t get too much training, because you never know when an emergency situation is going to happen.

“The Town of Ocean View has an excellent town manager who does a superior job in managing the Town affairs, along with the public works department, headed by Charles McMullen.”

The Town has also been proactive with corralling funds in its Emergency Trust Fund, Capital Replacement Fund and Street Repair/Replacement Fund to help pay for future growth responsibly, he noted.

As part of addressing planning and roadwork, the Town recently approved a right-of-way Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) transition plan.

“There’s a lot coming in the future with the ADA compliance issues — hundreds of thousands of dollars to add ramps to sidewalks in various communities within the town; also, the sidewalks themselves and the repaving of the roadways. Fortunately, we planned far enough ahead, it’s a long-term project — 20 years down the road — but at least it’s planned in different phases so we could comply with federal law.”

Maly said he has loved living in Ocean View for the past 14 years, noting it’s a special place.

“It’s a combination of things. It’s a safe place. The people are so kind. Everybody looks out for one and other. It reminds me of when I was growing up in Baltimore,” he said, noting people look out for and take care of one another.

“That’s not seen in other areas. People care for one another down here. It’s not about ‘me’ down here, it’s about ‘us.’ We’re all in this together, and that’s what makes it nice.”

If elected, Maly said, he hopes to help continue to guide the Town in its course of good government to serve the citizens of Ocean View.

“My main concern is not political ambitions. My main concern is to make Ocean View and to keep Ocean View a really great place to live,” said Maly. “That’s the unifying element of the mayor and the council.”

As of early this week, Maly was the only candidate to file to run for the District 3 seat. The deadline to file is Wednesday, March 8, at 4:30 p.m.

Indian River School District was set to host a current-expense referendum on Thursday, March 2, (after Coastal Point press time), with polls closing at 8 p.m. Coastal Point will post results from the referendum on Thursday night, at www.CoastalPoint.com and www.facebook.com/CoastalPoint.

The IRSD is requesting an additional 49 cents of tax per $100 of assessed property value. Details, including a tax calculator, are online at www.irsd.net/referendum.

Voters may vote at any poll location: East Millsboro Elementary, Georgetown Elementary, Indian River High, Long Neck Elementary, Lord Baltimore Elementary or Selbyville Middle schools. Residents do not need to be property owners, and voter registration is not required. Voters must reside within the geographic area of Indian River School District, be U.S. citizens, 18 or older, and provide proof of identity and home address.

About three months after the Delaware Auditor of Accounts released a biting financial report on Indian River School District, the AOA this week commended the district for improving its financial policies.

IRSD officials have been working to correct the alleged misuse of funds, poor oversight, nepotism and other faults the AOA perceived within IRSD’s finances.

“AOA commends the District’s efforts in developing policies and procedures addressing control issues in such a short amount of time,” the new AOA report, issued Feb. 27, stated. “It is essential we give the District time to fully implement these policies and procedures before our office can perform an effective audit of their implementation.”

Although he noted the timing of the November report had been unfortunate, with the initial audit report released just five days before the IRSD’s 2016 current-expense referendum, which subsequently failed by 20 votes, State Auditor R. Thomas Wagner Jr. had said he wanted voters to have the facts when going to the polls. After the final report, the AOA agreed to a public follow-up on the IRSD’s improvements.

Wagner followed suit by issuing this week’s follow-up report three days before the March 2 re-vote on the same referendum.

“AOA felt that the timeliness of this information was important due to the upcoming referendum being held on March 2,” the Feb. 27 report stated.

“We believe that the chief financial officer (CFO) had little oversight and was free to make decisions in certain areas, such as finances and salaries, as he saw fit,” the update report states.

The IRSD subsequently determined that facsimile signature stamps would no longer be used on financial documents, the employee responsible for preparing the invoices for payment will not be the same person responsible for final approval, all invoices or reimbursements will be approved by the budget manager and there will be an annual review of policies/procedures.

Many issues cited in the 2016 report stemmed from lack of documentation. For instance, the school board didn’t keep records of salary increases or the reasoning behind granting them. The CFO merely crunched the numbers and gave calculations to the financial secretary. He “single-handedly determined employees’ salaries but also was responsible for the processing of payroll,” without the director of personnel’s involvement.

Now, the IRSD provides more detailed meeting minutes, and recorded audio is online at www.soundcloud.com/irsdspotlight. The directors of personnel and finance for the district have begun reviewing salaries and standardizing the employee paperwork. There is also more segregation of duties.

New policies address: a written code of conduct; conflicts of interest regarding relatives and favors; new travel reimbursements; annual inventories of district assets; internal controls for various purchases, including a requirement for multiple payment approvals with various levels of staff.

Policies passed in February are online at www.boarddocs.com/de/irsd/Board.nsf/Public and can be found by selecting “Feb. 27, 2017,” and then “View the Agenda” and “6.07 Policy.”

AOA said this week that they were also pleased to see the IRSD clean up or explain record-keeping that had appeared sloppy, such as retroactive pay being paid in one lump sum, corrections on the Extra Pay for Extra Responsibility (EPER) payroll code and forbidding board members to receive any pay for service to the district.

“The No. 1 thing I hear is, ‘What is the board — not the superintendent, not the administration — doing to prevent this from ever happening again?’ and I think we really need to dive into that, because the people expect us to come up with a solution to prevent this from ever happing again, and I agree with that,” Board Member Doug Hudson recently said.

New Director of Business Jan Steele has spent much of her time in the office educating the school board and the public. The IRSD Referendum Hotline has connected directly to her office. Board members have been asking more questions, and some said they feel more knowledgeable about education finance than ever before.

In the future, district officials have more ideas to put into play: more internal audits; a Community Budget Oversight Committee; and asking the teachers’ union to help facilitate special awards, such as those for retirement or Teacher of the Year ceremonies, which district leaders have said they feel are important for staff morale but for which the AOA questioned the use of taxpayer money.

Not every issue was addressed. AOA suggested a local salary scale for administrators, but district officials and the board had decided “after careful consideration” to continue basing the local portion of administrator salaries based on individual performance and experience.

“Our review was limited to interviews with district administration and a review of documentation provided,” the new report stated. “This review could not be conducted in accordance with Government Auditing Standards due to insufficient time available for the District to implement these new policies and procedures.”

The Indian River School District has created a new finance information webpage at www.irsd.net/departments/finance.

All school board meeting agendas and financial reports are posted online at www.boarddocs.com/de/irsd/Board.nsf/Public.

“So, we are trying to make everything transparent for anyone who has an interest to look at it,” Interim IRSD Superintendent Mark Steele said.

The Delaware State Auditor’s initial and follow-up reports regarding the IRSD are online at www.auditor.delaware.gov/reports.

The Town of Ocean View held a workshop earlier this week in preparation for the adoption of its budget for the 2018 fiscal year, and the current draft of the budget may be good news for those hoping to see their Town tax rate stay the same.

“It’s clear that we can get through this year fairly handily without any tax increase,” said Mayor Walter Curran, with a note of caution. “I think we’re going to find in fiscal year ’19 and on, a lot will not only depend on what the State is doing. If they continue down that road of fiscal irresponsibility, it’s going to come down… Going forward, it’s anybody’s guess.”

Town Manager Dianne Vogel said the Town should continue to reduce its reliance on transfer tax revenue, as it is not a reliable source of revenue. Under the proposed budget, the Town will continue to reduce the amount of transfer tax that is allocated to operations by $30,000 in the 2018 fiscal year, and should continue to do so each subsequent year.

“As the existing acres in this town get used up, that keeps shrinking,” said Curran of transfer tax revenue. “This isn’t something we think we should do — this is something we must do.”

As it stands in the draft, $610,000 in transfer tax revenue is available for operations.

Although a 6 percent pool for salary adjustments — following upon recommendations of a 2016 salary survey — has been included in the first draft of the 2018 budget, that does not mean all employees will receive a pay increase. Employees would simply be eligible to receive a percentage of their midpoint range.

Other budget highlights include the inclusion of three “generally consistent” grant sources — $25,000 from Sussex County, $30,000 from the State Police Pension Grant and $100,000 from Municipal Street Aid. The Town may receive other grants in the 2018 fiscal year; however, the budget does reflect those numbers as, if a given grant is received, the money must be spent on that specific project.

Through the Mediacom franchise agreement, signed in 2013, the Town receives approximately $60,000 in revenue each year.

Personnel-related costs represent approximately 71 percent of the Operating Budget. Overtime for first-responders has been projected at 15 percent, and at 5 percent for Public Works employees and 3 percent for administrative staff.

A 6 percent increase in health insurance coverage has been included in the 2018 budget. The Town continues to pay 100 percent of the premium for the Fire State Basic Blue Plan. A 3.4 percent increase for dental insurance was also included.

Drainage projects are always a topic in the town, and currently there is a total estimated cost of $4,437,000 for all drainage projects. As it stands, there are drainage projects in the amount of $2,042,000 that funding is not yet provided for. For the proposed budget, the Town has allocated funds for Woodland Avenue Extended drainage and patch/overlay work, as well as Woodland Park Phase I.

It can be difficult to complete drainage projects, as some property owners have yet to give the Town easements.

“That is critical,” said Curran. “Because if they don’t give us the easements to do that, ultimately that also creates more damage on the streets, and we’re going to be spending more money for patch work… We need a big push.”

Curran noted that communities including Country Village had come together to get their neighbors to give the Town easements for the repair work.

“That’s what we need from these other neighborhoods, too. This is not a can we can continue kicking down the road. It will get more expensive, and you’ll be making interim repairs you shouldn’t have had to make.”

Funding has also been appropriated for updates to John West Park, including irrigation and lighting. Now that Route 26 improvements project has been completed, the Town also plans to enhance the roadside with banners and streetlights.

The Public Works Department has requested $68,000 for a security system for their new building, as well as new equipment, for which some monies had been set aside in the 2017 fiscal year.

Repairs to the Town’s municipal building were also discussed, as Vogel said all the exterior doors need to be replaced and the roof needs to be repaired. Curran said he had reviewed all documents associated with the construction of the building as, from what they could find, the roof was not covered under any type of warranty.

“I don’t think we can let this slide,” he said, noting that water brings a myriad of potential issues, including mold. “From my perspective, this is something that has to be done. Yes, it’s a major project. We’ve tried three or four times to patch it, and it’s like whack-a-mole. You hit it here, it pops up there.”

The council agreed to remove the line item reserving funds in the Capital Improvements budget draft for the Delaware Department of Transportation’s (DelDOT’s) Transportation Enhancements (TE) program for the sidewalks.

Public Works Director Charles McMullen said that the project has been on hold because there is a property owner who does not wish to give the Town an easement to construct the sidewalks.

“It’s no longer viable,” he said. “I don’t think it’s ever going to happen… As reluctant as I am to say it, I think we need to move on from it.”

Council considers annual cap on MVFC

The Emergency Services Enhancement Trust Fund was also discussed. Vogel said the Millville Volunteer Fire Company is expected to make a presentation requesting funding from the Town at its March meeting.

She said, in her opinion, reading the ordinance establishing the fund, the Town “may” award money, and can cap the amount given to the requesting organization.

“The rationale with the capping is not to hurt the fire department. As we go forward, they will diminish. That being the case, what I’m suggesting is we cap it at $75,000 each year, so that anything above that simply accumulates, so we’ll be able to keep giving them the $75,000 years and years into the future as the revenue coming into this fund diminishes,” said Curran. “That way you support the fire service on a more regular basis.”

Finance Director Lee Brubaker offered a different opinion, stating that if the Town held on to those monies, they would be generating zero interest, whereas the fire company has notes on their equipment that may be at 6 or 7 percent interest, which could be paid down with the grant funding.

“My view is that … once our money dries up, it’s not the Town’s problem. That’s the fire company’s, if they’re depending on that source.”

Curran said that Brubaker’s take made sense, and he asked the council to think about what they’d like to do.

Vogel reminded council that ordinances take a long time to adopt, and it would be a process to alter it.

“We have the right without amending anything to simply say, ‘We’re only going to give you this much this year and save the rest for the future.’ That we can do without amending the ordinance… It’s something to think about.”

Curran emphasized that the suggestion was not being made to punish the fire company in any way.

Resident Steve Cobb said he believes there should be $75,000 annual cap on the grant funding, noting there is the potential for other organizations in the future to come forward and apply for funding.

Resident Ann Scoleri was the only resident who attended and spoke during the public hearing on the proposed budget, prior to a council workshop.

Scoleri said she did not believe all residents of the town could afford a tax increase, noting that, with the Indian River School District referendum on a proposed school tax increase of 49 cents per $100 of assessed value scheduled for March 2, property owners could potentially be hit twice in one tax year if both entities were to raise taxes.

“Everything is going up. Everyone didn’t come here with rich pensions,” she said. “I feel like sometimes the council is working more for the people that work for our Town than for the people that live in our town.”

Changes made to the proposed budget will be placed in the second draft, with the budget ordinance to be introduced at the March 14 council meeting, at 7 p.m.

Another budget workshop is scheduled for March 28 at 6 p.m., if needed. The council is expected to vote on the 2018-fiscal-year budget at the April 11 council meeting.

Coastal Point • Laura Walter: For their devotion to Indian River School District’s most vulnerable populations, these staff members were voted leaders in IRSD special education.“Above and beyond” were the words most frequently used to describe 17 individuals who were named Special Education Ambassadors this week.

The Indian River School District honored educators who serve as role models for their colleagues while promoting a positive message of inclusiveness for students with disabilities.

“Ambassadors will be those who clearly support a mission to allow students identified with disabilities to become emotionally, socially and academically successful learners ready to fulfill their lifelong goals,” according to IRSD officials.

“[These are] folks in our schools who really make it possible for our students to achieve their goals,” said IRSD Board Member Heather Statler.

Nearly 300 IRSD staff members nominated 133 colleagues, from whom one individual was selected from each of 16 buildings.

School ambassadors were recognized at the Feb. 27 Board of Education meeting:

• Sharon Lawrence (East Millsboro Elementary), “a passionate educator who inspires students and staff and ignites their passion for learning.”

• Sue Shultie (G.W. Carver Academy), “leading the TAP program to ensure older students leave with the responsibilities needed to lead successful, productive lives.”

• Sara Heinicke (Georgetown Elementary), “a student advocate, who is dedicated to finding resources and opportunities, including a new playground equipment.”

• Colleen Barrett (Georgetown Kindergarten Center), “leaving no stone unturned in advocating for students and supporting teachers in the IEP process.”

• George Schwendtner (Georgetown Middle), “who goes the extra mile for families, and gives students learning opportunities for their academic and life goals.”

• Helen Morrow (Howard T. Ennis), “admired by the staff and ensures students get every opportunities to learn, while diminishing undesirable behaviors.”

• Sally Benner (Indian River High), “having dedicated decades this this job and builds relationships with each student and family.”

• Christina Holmes (John M. Clayton Elementary), “who creates a culture of acceptance and understanding in the classroom, so students thrive and are ready learners.”

• Kasey Abbott (Long Neck Elementary), “whose bubbly personality ensures students feel loved, welcomed and encouraged in all their classrooms and activities.”

• Linda Brown (Lord Baltimore Elementary), “who is passionate about respecting differences and supporting equal access for students, besides helping with various special needs programs.”

• Mary O’Neill (Millsboro Middle), “who goes above and beyond to ensure students needed supports, including inviting kids to enjoy quiet lunches with her in the library.”

• Joanna Hudson (North Georgetown), “an advocate for students, constantly seeking ways to ensure success and help students reach their potential.”

• Christine Morrison (Phillip C. Showell), “whose excitement is inspiring, and who supports staff with new ideas and believes all students can learn.”

• Jesse Steele (Selbyville Middle), “whose calm demeanor helps him teach, build positive relationships with families and promote success for his students and all SMS students.”

• Marjorie Adkins (Southern Delaware School of the Arts), “an advocate for students, who ensures appropriate accommodations to meet their needs.”

• Melissa Glaeser (Sussex Central High), “so invested in the students’ social and academic wellbeing that students seek her out for help.”

Phil Shultie of Sussex Central High School also received a special recognition, as he’ll retire this spring after 42 years of teaching students with disabilities, including starting the SCHS Intensive Learning Center.

The awards kicked off IRSD’s first-ever Special Education Week, in which schools gave parents information about special services and Individualized Education Programs. Students also participated in the national “Spread the Word to End the Word” campaign that asks participants to pledge to stop saying the “R-word,” in order create more accepting attitudes and communities for all people.

“Our goal as a district is to ensure that every child has the opportunity to be successful in school and life, regardless of his or her disability,” Statler stated. “Support is crucial in the realm of child special-education services. Every special-needs student needs the support of parents, teachers and family members if he or she is to be successful. We hope to foster and strengthen this support network through our Special Education Week activities.”

Led by Statler, the IRSD Special Education Task Force will host the final parent focus group meeting of the school year on March 22 at 6 p.m. at Millsboro Middle School.

Any parent or community member can attend to give feedback or learn more about special-education services offered in the IRSD.

The public is also being encouraged to complete the survey online at www.IRSD.net (click “Parents and Students” tab, and then select “Special Education Task Force Survey).

“Questions on the survey focus on knowledge of special-education services of the district, knowledge of the IEP process, training of the staff, diversity and sources where people in the community can [learn more] about special education,” Statler said. “We’re very excited to get this feedback [to improve programs].”

In January, IRSD parent and alumnus Dana Lathbury shared her own experiences with special education, while encouraging the public to attend.

“You have parents that are speaking up. … It takes a special teacher to deal with someone with special needs, and they don’t get recognized enough.”

The public can also hear the IRSD Special Education Week podcast (Episode 15) at www.soundcloud.com/irsdspotlight.

Those looking for a way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day next week can head to the South Coastal Library on March 14.

Melissa Heieie and Susan Ryan, a duo known as Willow Tree, will give a Celtic music concert that Tuesday at 2 p.m. in meeting rooms A and B.

Heieie is the minister of music at Silverside Church in Wilmington. She loves to sing and specializes in organ and piano, but plays the harp in the duo.

Susan Ryan is a retired teacher who taught music and remedial reading. She performs with a variety of groups, including the Wilmington Community Orchestra, Osher Concert Band, Q5 quintet and Gilbert & Sullivan in Arden, Del. In the group, she plays the flute.

“These two ladies have been playing together for several years, entertaining at retirement homes, private parties, church services and here at South Coastal Library,” said Barbara Litzau, assistant director of the library.

Their music features traditional Irish and Scottish tunes, including ballads. The two women also enjoy popular tunes from old shows and movies.

“They very kindly play here at the library for us. This might be their third or fourth time playing for us. They usually play to a nice-size audience — people really enjoy what they play.”

Litzau said Ryan, who owns a home in the Bethany area, visited the library one day and asked if they would be interested in having Willow Tree perform.

“It sounded like something the community would enjoy. And I’ve just been asking them back.”

The concert is free and open to the public.

Political, economic
series coming up

Additionally, this month, Bill Gudelunas will return to the library to give a three-part series on political and economic “isms.” Running March 9, 16, and 23, in the series, Gudelunas explores topics such as socialism, capitalism, fascism and communism.

Each part of the program begins at 6 p.m. in meeting rooms A and B. The event is free and open to the public.

He has a good rapport with the audience,” said Litzau. “He’s extremely popular.”

Gudelunas is a retired professor with a doctorate from Lehigh University. Litzau said Gudelunas usually does three talks at the library each year — in the summer, fall and spring.

“You can tell he loves what he does,” said Litzau, noting the library has received a great deal of positive feedback every time he’s given a talk.

Litzau said she tries to offer a wide variety of adult programs at the library — from Celtic music to political lectures, to dance classes, to genealogy classes — to ensure that there is something for every library patron.

The South Coastal Library’s spring programs brochure is expected to be available in mid-March. The South Coastal Library is located at 43 Kent Avenue, in Bethany Beach. For more information about programs at the library, visit http://southcoastal.lib.de.us or call (302) 539-5231.

This scam is a real pest, for citizens and contractors.

Fenwick Island police recently encountered a new kind of scam involving pest control. In this scam, the perpetrator asks a pest control company to check for mice in what is supposedly a relative’s home. When the exterminator arrives at the victim’s house, they call the perpetrator back to set up payment.

But recently, the exterminator involved became suspicious when the mysterious caller started asking for the victim’s account information and Social Security number.

Luckily, the exterminator ended the call and contacted police before any sensitive information was released. Fenwick Island police traced the phone call to Seattle and then to a former Soviet republic, said Police Chief William “Bill” Boyden.

The exterminators themselves were not perpetrating the scam. They were just a third party. In this case, the exterminator’s employees were unhappy to be taken in by a scammer. However, they were proactive, Boyden said, and actually called the FIPD before arriving at the household. They felt the caller was fishy.

If anyone encounters a home contractor unexpectedly on their doorstep, “Just call us,” Boyden said. “Or tell them, ‘No thank you.’”

Because Delaware hasn’t encountered a scam like this before, Boyden suggested this may have been an isolated incident or test run for a new type of scam involving home services.

Coastal Point • Kerin Magill: Steve Shaner, left, reunites with Dorothy Fisch, his former eighth-grade English teacher, whom he had not seen since 1968.The meeting place seemed appropriate.

After all, college professor Steve Shaner wanted to thank someone who had opened up his eyes to the power of words.

And so it was that Shaner, 62, walked into the Frankford Public Library on Tuesday, March 7, and got to thank his eighth-grade English teacher.

He had not seen Dorothy Fisch, who now lives in Ocean View, since he finished eighth grade back in 1968. After all that time, his search for Fisch was started by remarks by a colleague who encouraged students and staff at Harding University, in Searcy, Ark., where Shaner is employed as an assistant professor of mass communication, to reach out to someone who had made a difference in their lives, and to thank them.

When he heard those remarks that day, Shaner said, he knew exactly who he wanted to thank.

By the time he had entered eighth grade at Middletown High School in Rhode Island, he said, “I had been to 10 different schools. I was one of five children, and my mother — she just couldn’t handle that kind of stuff.”

He admitted he wasn’t the most studious of children. But Fisch, he said, opened up a whole new world to him.

“Eighth grade was when ‘literature’ started to be part of the curriculum,” he said. While he said he has never been a “reader,” the fact that Fisch read aloud to her students was what made the difference for him. “I remember being really captivated, listening to you read those stories,” he told her. “I felt like what you were reading just came alive.”

Shaner, who said he was a short kid who had to develop a “feisty” attitude in order to navigate the hierarchy of school life, told Fisch that “You could look at me and talk to me, and I would settle down. When I was misbehaving, you could look at me and know what I was thinking.”

He said his search for Fisch led him to Facebook, where he found her and reached out to her, but didn’t hear back. Fisch explained that she hadn’t been on the social-media site in quite some time, because she had forgotten her password. Not to be deterred, however, Shaner reached out to 10 people who had “liked” a photo she had posted.
Coastal Point • Kerin Magill: Gavyn and Josie Shaner, Steve Shaner’s grandchildren, get to enjoy the teachings of Dorothy Fisch at the Frankford library.
One of those people was Cynthia “Cookie” Coleman, who had gotten to know Fisch over the years through Fisch’s work at the Frankford library, which included her popular story hours. Through the entire process, Coleman said, Fisch’s friends were very protective of her.

“We checked you out real good,” she said to Shaner. “After all, it had been 50 years.”

Fast-forward to March 7, at 11 a.m., when Fisch walked into her beloved library, where her now-gray-haired student waited for her. While the two greeted each other with hugs, Shaner wiped tears from his eyes.

The pair sat in the library for more than an hour, catching up on each other’s lives over iced tea and cinnamon rolls while a few family members and friends watched and listened.

“I remember you told me I would be good at advertising or journalism,” he told her, before giving her a brief history of his career in exactly those fields.

Now a college professor, Shaner has worked in a variety of types of media, owned his own newspaper for a time when he was a very young man, and turned down a chance to be a speech writer for then-governor Bill Clinton.

He spoke of how much he enjoys interacting with his students, including Harding students from China, some of whom he has gotten to know at the Arkansas campus and some he met while teaching in China each summer.

“It fit me like a glove,” he said of the communications field. A self-described “talker,” Shaner said he has also become a pretty good listener, too, and that one of the joys of his work as a college professor is that students seem to gravitate toward him when they need someone to talk to.

Through it all, Shaner said, he never forgot his middle-school English teacher.

“I can’t tell you how many times I have said, ‘Thank you, Dorothy Fisch,’” he said.

Fisch recalled that Shaner was in her class when she was only 23 or 24, having earned her master’s degree and choosing a job in the Rhode Island public school the year before. She would go on to teach for 28 years.

Shaner recalled the upheaval in the country in that year, 1968, when he sat in Fisch’s class and learned classic American literature, such as “Tom Sawyer.” While civil-rights issues dominated the headlines, students in the high school staged walkouts. Fisch, who said she doesn’t remember the walkouts, nevertheless agreed with Shaner’s recollection that it was a “turbulent” time.

Now retired and living in Ocean View, Fisch found a new calling at the Frankford Library, where she led story hour for several years. After she and Shaner had talked and caught up for a while, Shaner asked if she would read a story to his two young grandchildren, who had accompanied him on the trip.

“Of course,” she said.

She quickly found a book she thought his grandchildren, Gavyn and Josephina Shaner, would enjoy. They sat at her feet, Gavin holding a stuffed orange fish, his younger sister, “Josie,” sitting beside him. It turns out, they knew the book and, while Fisch leaned forward, the story unfolded in her soft but animated voice, and they happily interacted with her. Meanwhile, in the background, Shaner videotaped the sweet moment.

After so many years, a grateful student finally got his chance to say thank-you, and with that very special story hour, a circle was completed.

The Greater Millsboro Chamber of Commerce has couples-to-be covered this weekend, as the Chamber will host the 22nd Annual Central Sussex Bridal Show this Sunday, March 12, from noon to 3 p.m. at Cripple Creek Golf & Country Club.

“Every year, we see more vendors, new vendors who have never been in,” said Amy Simmons, the Chamber’s executive director.

This will be the first time the show has been held at Cripple Creek.

“They have a great space,” said Simmons, noting they had moved the show from Millsboro Town Center because they are currently not renting that hall for weddings. “We felt maybe it was best to move it somewhere where brides who were looking for a venue could talk to them about renting.”

Simmons said there will be a bevy of vendors in attendance, including invitation designers, photographers, cake bakers, deejays and photo-booth vendors. The event is sponsored by Chardon LTD Jewelers, who will also be in attendance that afternoon. Candlelight Bridal will also be in attendance and present their annual bridal fashion show.

“This is going to be something very different,” said Simmons of the fashion’s changes from years past. “This is going to be a strolling fashion show, with the girls walking along with the attendees.”

Admission costs $5 per person, with brides-to-be attending free of charge. Brides will receive a bag and a special pin, and will have the chance to win one of many door prizes.

Simmons said she hopes the change of venue will also encourage couples from other areas of the county to attend the bridal show and get a little help planning their big day.

“I just hope everybody has a good time!”

For more information, contact the Greater Millsboro Chamber of Commerce at (302) 934-6777. Cripple Creek Golf & Country Club is located at 29494 Cripple Creek Drive, near Dagsboro.

Sussex County officials are looking ahead at the possibility of a statewide property reassessment and potential impacts at the county government level as state officials work to prepare a 2018-fiscal-year budget that they hope will address a $350 million state budget shortfall coming in to Gov. John Carney’s term.

With that in mind, Sussex County Town Administrator Todd Lawson on March 7 offered county council members an update from the State/County Finance & Revenue Committee.

Lawson said representatives from all three Delaware counties had met with Gov. John Carney last month to discuss the State’s proposed budget, which is expected to be released March 23.

“He was not able to offer too much information just yet, but he has publically made comments … which relate to the fact that the budget woes the State is facing are not something he feels compelled to push on to municipalities, including the counties.”

Lawson said that a statewide property reassessment has been discussed by the committee.

“I bring reassessment up because it is certainly a conversation within the broader scope of the budget conversation,” said Lawson. “I don’t know if the governor is going to request or try to have a statewide reassessment, but it is certainly being discussed.

“As anyone knows, when talking about reassessment, there is a cost involved. We estimate that is going to be about $9 million for Sussex County and would take several years to reassess the properties and also hear the appeals of the initial reassessment.”

Lawson also noted that other items being discussed in the upcoming State budget include potentially cutting both library funding and paramedic funding. Currently, the State reimburses the County for 30 percent of the cost of paramedic services. Changing the senior tax credit is also being discussed.

Councilman Rob Arlett asked whether, if there were to be a state-wide reassessment, the State would help pay the cost.

“Yes, that is being discussed,” said Lawson. “Each county is dealing with a different set of issues. … The governor is looking at all options. … He’s asking for assistance, ideas to assist the State, from the County.”

Councilman George Cole asked if there would be a scenario in which properties could be reassessed during a sale transaction and also asked about a possible homesteaders’ exemption.

“I’d love for us to be a little proactive and not wait until the last minute,” he said.

The Town of Frankford this week held its monthly town council meeting not in the Frankford Volunteer Fire Company’s meeting room, as it has for more than five years, but in the building next door that formerly housed a J.P. Court. However, it’s no longer a court building — it’s the new town hall.

The Town spent the last month moving the town hall operations, as well as the police department, into the Town-owned building, so as to put all Town operations in one place. They celebrated the move with an open house centered around the council meeting.

“I want to extend our thanks to the Frankford fire department for using their facilities for the last five or six years,” said Mayor Joanne Bacon.

Town Treasurer Marty Presley said the Town to-date had spent $10,172 to make the move, including $1,400 in furniture, $1,500 in technology and $3,995 on paint.

He noted that the police department has the entire second floor of the building, as well as two rooms on the first floor. He added that the Town plans to add a holding cell to the building, as one currently does not exist there.

The Town plans to use the flagpole out front, as well as have a sign and bulletin board.

Presley said the council decided to move into the building last summer and took a hard look at all the properties owned by the Town. He said Realtors were brought in to review the properties and give estimates as to the worth of those properties.

“Obviously, the town of Frankford is not Millsboro or downtown Dagsboro,” he said, noting that if there were more of a real estate demand for commercial space in the town, it would not be financially worth it (in per square-feet terms) to sell the properties.

Presley said the Town wants to hold onto the old town hall, located at 5 Main Street, as it is a historic landmark, and they hope to preserve it in the future.

They are, however, interested in renting the building.

Property owner Russell Davenport told council he was interested in purchasing the building to open a small store that would sell ice cream and other treats.

“I’m the only person interested in doing business in Frankford, and you people are kicking me right out,” said Davenport. “What’s here for anybody in Frankford? We got nothing… I’m just trying to do something.”

Davenport said he wanted to give residents a reason to be out of their homes and a place for people to mingle.

“You’ve got nowhere to go, nothing to do. You’ve got to ride 3 to 5 miles to get it.”

Presley reiterated that the Town was not interested in selling the building, at least in the next year or two.

“I think the town councils in the last 18 months have come a long way,” said resident and former council president Elizabeth Carpenter, who added she was happy about the move to the old J.P. Court building. “It feels more like a town. I know that takes a lot of hard time… Please know you’re appreciated.

“Realize, too, it takes a long time to right a ship. Two years ago, we were not in this place. And I don’t mean, this place,” she said of the building. “Realize how far we’ve come and be proud of that. I think the whole town should be, too.”

Property owner Kathy Murray echoed Carpenter’s comments and congratulated the council.

“This is just a wonderful facility. I’m thankful you made the decision to move over here… Well done.”

Resident Albert Franklin said the council has done a great deal for the town and its citizens, which should be recognized.

“I think we hear a lot of negative stuff. We need to hear more positive stuff,” he said, noting he’s lived in the town for more than 80 years. He then presented a personal check to the Town.

“It’s what we can do for Frankford, not what Frankford can do for us all the time.”

Presley thanked Franklin and the town for their support.

“It’s a pretty building. We should be proud of it… It’s the Town’s building.”

In other Town news:

• Kyle Gulbronson of AECOM told council they are on the final stretch of the Town’s feasibility study for improvements to the Town water system. He said the draft for the study should be completed by the end of the month.

• The Town received two bids related to paving the parking lot adjacent to Frankford Town Park — $40,000 and $49,000. Presley said he has been in contact with state Rep. Rich Collins, who offered financial help to the Town. Collins told Presley they should be able to have the property paved by June 1.

• The Town is looking for people to serve on the budget committee. As it stands, property owners Robert and Kathy Murray, as well as Presley, had signed up to serve on the committee. Those interested in serving should contact town hall. Presley said they hope to present the budget in June.

• Envision Frankford will be having an Easter event on April 15 from 1 to 4 p.m. at Frankford Town Park. The special guest of the day will be the Easter Bunny.

Voters were waiting in line before the polls even opened March 2 at six schools in the Indian River School District. But despite the long lines and a last-minute switch to paper votes, and with a lot of public debate, 57 percent of the public voted to approve IRSD’s current-expense referendum.

The Sussex County Department of Elections’ unofficial tally of 7,091 to 5,298 will be certified in the next few weeks. (The count differs slightly from IRSD’s initial count of 7,095 to 5,394.)

“That’s incredible, and I can just say I am so grateful for the public support,” IRSD Interim Superintendent Mark Steele said just minutes after the results came in. “It’s unbelievable that we were able to work together and get this through, amongst strong support against, strong support for, and, at the end, people pulling together. And I think that’s just an incredible show of our community.”

The vote will permanently raise local property taxes by 49 cents per $100 of assessed value, in a dramatic reversal of the Nov. 17, 2016, vote on the same tax increase, which failed by 20 votes among nearly 6,700 voters.

In raw numbers, the 12,389 voters were likely the district’s highest turnout ever for a referendum (the next highest on record was around 8,000 votes in the 2000 major capital-improvements referendum, which built the two new high schools and renovated other district schools).

It’s also nearly double the 6,700 voters who showed up in IRSD’s first attempt at the same referendum. But, this time, the ballot measure won at all schools except Long Neck Elementary.

The turnaround in the outcome could be due to several factors, including the votes of high school seniors who turned 18 this winter and pledged their support.

“I think the parents showed up in force to support this, to try to save programs for our kids, positions for the teachers,” Steele said. “With the added pressure of State cuts coming, I think a lot of parents looked at it and thought, ‘That’s going to be a little too much…”

Even with a successful referendum, the IRSD needs to cut about $5 million from its own spending, so missing out on these local funds would have been “devastating.”

Steele thanked the parent “ambassadors” who did outreach, corrected public misconceptions and conveyed community needs to the district. He also thanked district staff for their outreach activities and the school board for its efforts to evaluate how to improve the system.

Social media played a major role in this election, with Steele’s two Facebook Live broadcasts having been viewed or shared thousands of times. But it also offered a place for immediate — and at times, fierce — debate.

“This was the most critical referendum, I felt, in the history of the school district,” said Steele, as student enrollment grows faster than ever.

But the financial saga hasn’t ended.

“Even though this passes, we’re still going to have to lean our budget, and we’ll start to work on that,” Steele said.

District staff have been reviewing budgets, and school board members have been asking more questions. New Business Director Jan Steele has written new policies and procedures to address the State Auditor’s 2016 report of IRSD’s lacking financial procedures and excessive trust in its former chief financial officer.

“I want to provide enough layers of oversight that everybody’s is able to trust us, and everybody’s going to have a real good feeling about our school district,” Mark Steele said. “We’re going to do what we need to do. We’ve listened to our parents, our community. We know they want us to be in a good position financially, and we’re going … to get there.”

Next, the IRSD will begin organizing a community budget oversight committee, getting the public more involved.

In an effort to improve transparency, the IRSD monthly committee meetings have been moved to the more public Sussex Central High School auditorium (Policy Committee at 4 p.m., Curriculum Committee 5 at p.m., Buildings & Grounds Committee at 6 p.m. and Finance Committee at 7:30 p.m.).

Meanwhile, some community members have been clamoring for some change in administration. No school board members are up for reelection this year, but in January, longtime Superintendent Susan Bunting was appointed Secretary of Education under Gov. John Carney. This has created room for a new administration.

Steele, who already has some public support to become the next superintendent, said he wants to create a multi-year strategic plan for enrollment, budget, and yes, future referenda.

Based on early calculations, he estimates that at least 150 jobs were saved through last week’s vote.

“We’re $7.35 million better than where we were. It puts us in a much better financial state with our monies, to move forward,” Steele said.

Lord Baltimore machines overflowed

More than 3,000 voters showed up at Lord Baltimore Elementary School last Thursday, flooding the auditorium all day. By 5:30 p.m., both electronic voting machines had reached their capacity of 1,200 votes.

At that point, volunteer election workers suggested that voters either visit a different voting location or write their vote on the back of their signed affidavit.

Jean Turner, deputy director of the Department of Elections for Sussex County, was on site during the voting and said she oversaw the cardboard box where 661 paper ballots were cast.

Some people said they were uncomfortable at the thought of having their name attached to their vote, at the surrounding people being able to see the “yay” or “nay” votes written and at the ballots being tossed into an open cardboard box.

“That is locked up and secured. Nobody will be checking the names and who they voted for or what they voted for,” Turner said.

“I did not have complaints,” Turner said.

Because residents could vote at any of the six locations, rumors also flew about individuals voting multiple times. But photo IDs are checked against signed affidavits at each location, Turner said.

“We will catch up with [that],” Turner said of any possible multiple votes. “We are entering every affidavit that was entered into a database. When we are finished, we will be able to find out if anyone voted more than one time — even the absentee ballots.”

Any potential voter fraud would be reported to the Delaware Attorney General’s Office.

The Department of Elections will meet soon, with the Commissioner of Elections present, to certify the results.

Electronic voting machines were introduced to local voters in 1996, and mechanical machines were used before that. Turner said she couldn’t say when Delaware last used paper ballots regularly. She said the department is in charge of placing voting machines and will consider adding more machines in the future.

The daffodils are up, the robins have returned, the beach communities are stretching, yawning and coming back to life. Spring is right around the corner, and summer will be here before we know it. As winter ends and the sun begins to warm the sand and the fields again, there is a question crackling through offices and gyms and supermarkets...

Who’s coming to the Freeman Stage this year?

The anticipation builds every year around this time, and this — the 10th year for the entertainment venue west of Fenwick Island — promises to bring the same caliber of national, regional and local performers to the stage.

In fact, the stage itself will be bigger and better this year.

The former stage was demolished last fall to make room for one that better suits the level of performers that the Freeman Foundation has been bringing year after year.

The new structure, known in the business as an SL320, is actually a mobile stage, but it will be used throughout the whole season at Freeman, according to Alyson Cunningham, public relations manager for the Freeman Foundation and the Freeman Stage.

The SL320, Cunningham said, is “more of an industry-standard” type of stage. That upgrade will make preparation and set-up easier for both Freeman production staff and the artists’ own production teams because it is a well-known stage configuration and “everybody knows what to expect,” Cunningham said.

While the stage has not yet been moved in, concrete pads have been poured in advance of its arrival. Patrons will notice this year that the lawn in front of the stage has been re-graded and made less flat. “We hope that it helps with sight lines,” Cunningham said.

Once the Freeman season kicks off in May, patrons will also notice a few tweaks to the way the venue is set up. For those who hold sponsor passes for events, a separate entrance gate will be set up.

“It’s nothing we’re building,” Cunningham said. “It’s always been there; we’re just utilizing it.” Patrons will also see more tables and seating around the site, to give concertgoers somewhere to sit and enjoy the offerings of the many food trucks that now line up near the gate before each concert.

An earlier gate-opening time will allow those same folks to dine at a more leisurely pace before each show this summer. Gates will now open at 5:45 p.m. before each evening show.

The changes were the result of surveys filled out by patrons last season, Cunningham said, as well as discussions among the staff about how to improve the Freeman concert experience.

“We’re all about improving the experience for the patrons,” she said.

With the stage entering its second decade this year, Cunningham offered a few snapshots of its growth, starting with attendance. In its first year, 13,000 people attended shows at the Freeman Stage. Last year, the foundation welcomed 62,000, she said. Over the first nine seasons, 322,000 people attended shows at Freeman.

Another source of pride for those involved in the establishment of the Freeman Stage program has been the success of its Arts in Education and outreach programs, which bring children from Sussex County in Delaware and Worcester County in Maryland to free programs every year. Since its inception, 62,000 area residents have attended free shows at the Freeman Stage. Last year, 8,000 students got to attend the shows; this year, the stage has received confirmation so far for 6,200 more.

With all the changes and a 10th season on the way, the excitement is building toward the foundation’s March 15 reveal of the summer concert lineup.

“It’s exciting,” Cunningham said. “Every year, right around the beginning of March, you can just feel the buzz.”

While the actual reveal is an invitation-only event, as soon as it is over, the list of shows goes up on the Freeman Stage Facebook page and website.

When ticket sales begin this year, patrons will notice that Freeman has moved to a new ticket company called Eventbrite. Cunningham said Eventbrite is a more well-known ticket system, and is “more user-friendly, more tablet- and mobile-friendly.”

While Cunningham would not offer any tidbits about the lineup, she promised that it would live up to the organization’s reputation for delivering a summer full of diverse performances.

“Everyone seems to be waiting with bated breath,” Cunningham said. “With it being the 10th season, we’re even more excited to let the community know.”

Bethany Beach Town Council members will look at a series of proposed changes to the rules for the town’s beach this week, at their March council workshop, set for Tuesday, March 14, at 11 a.m. at town hall.

Town Manager Cliff Graviet said the potential new restrictions are being put forward by the Charter & Ordinance Review Committee (CORC), after their Feb. 24 review of Part III, Chapter 223 (Beach) of the town code. The possible restrictions to be considered by the council include:

• restrictions on the use of umbrellas, tents and other fixtures on the beach;

• a prohibition on the throwing of objects and playing of games on the beach; and

• a restriction on the playing of audio and video devices on the beach without the use of earbuds.

The council is also set to discuss a possible amendment to the town code to include requirements and rules regarding the use of service animals on the beach and boardwalk. (There is a prohibition on dogs on the beach and boardwalk between May 15 and Sept. 30, but that does not apply to service animals.)

The March 14 council workshop is set to include discussion of the potential ordinances, which is standard practice for the council for items brought forward from town committees. At the workshop meetings, they generally review the information offered by the committee, including any recommended ordinances, and consider whether council members wish to have the issue move forward for possible formal introduction at a future council meeting.

Issues the council decides it wants to introduce for a possible vote are generally introduced at the following month’s regular council meeting, which would mean formal discussion of any proposed changes likely wouldn’t take place until mid-April. Issues they decide not to move forward can be put on hold for more committee consideration or research and input from Town staff, or can be dropped entirely, if the council wishes.

Some of the potential beach regulations have been raised in the town previously, and current beach regulations call for, among other things:

• No ball-playing, tossing objects, kite-flying or fishing during lifeguard hours (enforced at lifeguards’ discretion);

• No alcoholic beverages or glass containers;

• No boats or vehicles on the beach;

• No digging large holes in sand; and

• No fires.

That’s in addition to the town’s smoking ban, which covers its beaches, boardwalk, bandstand and parks, except for designated smoking areas.

The move for possible new regulations for the beach in Bethany comes directly on the heels of Rehoboth Beach commissioners introducing an ordinance that would ban canopies and tents on their beach (except for small canopies for babies) and would also ban umbrellas larger than 7.5 feet — all in an effort to reduce obstructions to lifeguards’ views and beachgoers’ mobility and eliminate “tent cities” that can be created when larger groups put multiple canopies or tents together.

That ordinance will be up for a vote in Rehoboth on March 17.

In Bethany, Vice-Mayor Lew Killmer said this week that he was in the process of getting background information on the committee’s suggestions, including whether the activities and items in the proposed prohibitions are a real problem for the town.

“Last year, there were questions about people putting up … big canopies,” he noted. “They were worried about their location on the beach blocking the potential view of lifeguard stands seeing people. But the people on the lifeguard stands say it’s not an issue — they’re always behind them — and the issue kind of disappeared.”

Graviet said he couldn’t recall any complaints to his office about tents or umbrellas, loud radios or “boom boxes” in the past few years, nor was there any record of such complaints having been made.

“Regarding ball playing and games — over a summer, generally one or two complaints will be called to my office, and we work with our guard captain, Joe Donnelly, to resolve them in the most positive way that we can,” he said.

CORC suggests new beach rules

Back on Feb. 24, Councilwoman and CORC Chair Rosemary Hardiman had said the request to consider the beach rules had come from Mayor Jack Gordon, following up on the tents issue from 2015.

“We were going to do something about it. We were looking at it from the idea that it was impeding the visibility of the lifeguards,” she said in February. “But the lifeguards said they didn’t have a problem and if they had a problem, they would ask people to move.

“It has become more problematic, in terms of safety,” Hardiman explained last month of the issue’s revival, “and people have been asking, since the beach is narrow, ‘Are you going to do something about it?’”

Hardiman said the Rehoboth ordinance was more extensive than what Bethany might be considering, prohibiting any kind of fixture on the beach, ranging from tents and umbrellas to fires, grills and portable toilets.

“But I think they’ve had more of a problem with that type of thing than we have,” she said. “I have seen more people changing at the footwash,” she added, “but I haven’t seen anything on the beach.”

As to tents and umbrellas, CORC members said they were concerned about the dangers of blown items, which can include sharp or pointed elements that could cause serious injury. They pointed to cheaper, lighter umbrellas that might be purchased for a weekend visit but would more easily blow away than a sturdier umbrella, such as those available to rent from Steen’s Beach Service.

The potential to impede lifeguards’ view of beachgoers was also a concern, but committee members also focused on the space taken up by tents behind the lifeguards and the resulting aesthetics — as they said tents on the beach can leave those behind them unable to even see the ocean, as well as potentially impeding access to areas of the beach.

Committee members found a consensus in February to recommend to the town council that Bethany follow suit behind Rehoboth, and that tents and canopies be prohibited on the beach, with the exception of “baby tents” with a maximum dimension of 36 inches in any direction.

“It’s common courtesy,” said Councilman Chuck Peterson. “You don’t need two-thirds of the beach for your family.”

They also favored the same dimensional limits for umbrellas that Rehoboth has proposed: 8 feet in diameter maximum and no more than 7.5 feet tall — the size of a typical commercial/rental umbrella. And none would be permitted to be placed where they would interfere with the view of lifeguards or their ability to exit their stands.

Committee members said they wanted to get information on any such restrictions out as quickly as possible, so as to warn local retailers that the items they may want to sell to beachgoers may no longer be permitted for use on the town’s beach.

An exception to the rule prohibiting tents would be for events with a permit from the town, such as a beach wedding, but the Bethany committee members favored specifying that the ability to set up a tent would extend for only as long as the permit applied.

Staking out beach territory could be thing of the past

Looking to address the time at which umbrellas should be removed from the beach daily, committee members identified an issue they said was causing problems in Bethany, even though it hadn’t been addressed in Rehoboth’s ordinance: people setting up groups of chairs, tents and/or umbrellas early in the morning and leaving them unattended for hours at a time.

Peterson said he objected to people staking out areas of the beach, leaving their items early in the day and not coming back to use the beach until much later. If people are going to leave their beach items unattended, he said, they should be considered abandoned.

“If they’re gone for an hour or two, they’re gone,” he suggested. “You can’t stake it out and own this — it’s a public beach.”

One committee member questioned whether the hour time period was too short, noting that people might be in the ocean for more than an hour at a time and leave no one with their items.

“The ones we’re talking about really stand out,” Peterson said, pointing to the presence of empty chairs and umbrellas at such encampments.

Others may bring the items down in the morning before later returning with a handicapped family member, the committee member noted, and they might need more time than an hour to do that or for the handicapped person to take a break for lunch or to use the restroom.

“Why do you have a right to that spot and I don’t?” Peterson replied. “You’re deciding it’s yours.”

“I think we’re more after people who set up five or 10 chairs,” Hardiman noted, with the committee finding some consensus that after more than an hour unattended, items should be considered abandoned.

In fact, committee members had said they were less concerned about exactly what hours the items weren’t permitted to be on the beach, such as 10 p.m. to 7 p.m., than they were about how long they were left attended.

“If [the owners are] on the beach, I’m not sure it’s a problem,” Peterson said of umbrellas on the beach late into the evening.

“This is no different from people parking their cars near the beach for the season,” he added, referencing the Town’s move two years ago to prohibit people using cars for storage after complaints that people were parking long-term near the beach and just using the vehicles to hold daily beach needs.

The committee found a consensus to submit the suggestion for an hour limit on unattended beach items to the council, as well as to continue to enforce the existing permitted hours of use for the beach.

Not so fast, slugger

Regarding games and ball-playing on the beach, committee members said they felt the existing rules weren’t being enforced strictly enough. Currently, restrictions on such activities are at the discretion of the lifeguards. If they feel the activity is safe in the current condition and location, they can allow it, rather than stepping in to enforce the rules.

In Rehoboth Beach, such rules are mandatory and are supposed to be enforced, regardless of conditions.

Committee members said their concerns were particularly strong at times like now, when the beach is particularly narrow, and focused particularly on areas where the beach is especially narrow, such as in front of the boardwalk, and at times like high tide, when it is even further restricted in size.

They recommended the council consider banning all games and ball-playing east of the boardwalk, between the boardwalk and the ocean, with the other areas of town beach being areas where lifeguard discretion would continue to apply.

Additionally, they voiced concerns about the types of balls and other toys that are being used — particularly the dangers of hard balls, such as lacrosse balls, and items such as flying discs. They also voiced concerns about putting lifeguards in the position of having to stop play under their discretion, rather than providing concrete rules for what is permitted.

They suggested that banning any type of ball, toy or play that involved a hard-surfaced item or where protective gear was required for the sport (or should be) be considered by the council.

And, in regards to enforcement, rather than having lifeguards potentially taking their attention away from the shoreline, they agreed to suggest to the council that two enforcement officers be assigned to patrol along the beach to enforce such rules.

Music sharers, ‘comfort dogs’ get no love

CORC members have also suggested that the council consider banning the playing of audio from phones, radios and other devices on the beach without the use of earphones. Hardiman noted that the problem of people blasting their “boom boxes” had disappeared for a while but had recently re-surfaced with the increasing popularity of plug-in portable speakers for cell phones and other devices.

“They can be pretty loud,” she said.

Hardiman said another issue that had come up regarding the beach and boardwalk rules was related to rules about dogs on the beach — particularly as applies to dogs aiding people with disabilities.

While the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that service animals be provided with access to areas where pets would otherwise not be permitted, the issue of “comfort” or “emotional support” animals is not addressed in that law.

“There are no ‘comfort dogs,’” Peterson said during the Feb. 24 discussion. “That’s an FAA rule, not an ADA rule.”

The FAA, in fact, specifically includes emotional support animals in its definition of “service animal” and notes that such animals need not be specially trained for that role, though the agency does suggest that documentation of the medical need for the use can be requested if airline employees question whether the animal is truly a service animal.

Under the ADA, a service animal is “any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual or other mental disability. Tasks performed can include, among other things, pulling a wheelchair, retrieving dropped items, alerting a person to a sound, reminding a person to take medication, or pressing an elevator button.”

No animals other than dogs meet the ADA definition for “service animal.”

The ADA specifies that a “psychiatric service dog” is “a dog that has been trained to perform tasks that assist individuals with disabilities to detect the onset of psychiatric episodes and lessen their effects. Tasks performed by psychiatric service animals may include reminding the handler to take medicine, providing safety checks or room searches or turning on lights for persons with post-traumatic stress disorder, interrupting self-mutilation by persons with dissociative identity disorders and keeping disoriented individuals from danger.”

Committee members agreed to recommend that town code regarding service animals that are permitted additional access be changed to comply with the ADA definition of “service animal.”

The March 14 council workshop is also set to include discussion of scheduling a public hearing regarding the opening of a Town-owned alley for pedestrian access behind properties on the 200 block of Central Boulevard.

“We had a citizen request that an unopened alley be opened,” Graviet explained. “We had the area surveyed. We will be asking the council if they would like to pursue this issue and how they would like to proceed.”

Coastal Point • Submitted: Joe Hudson flying his Navion Range Master.Joe Hudson began his flying career while still in high school, during the 1940s, as a student fish-spotter. Today he is known as “dean of Delaware crop-dusters.”

By the summer of 2016, Cape Henlopen High School students had been flying camera drones and taking pictures of the Delaware beaches, including the World War II towers, for almost two years.

Thanks to a very unique photography class and enthusiastic art teacher, Jason Fruchtman, the students have learned to master the camera drone and create stunning images.

More than 70 years ago, Lewes High School students were quite literally flying over the same beaches for a very different reason. It was not a class. They were at work, fish-spotting. Just how did these guys get to do this?

Growing up in Harbeson during the 1930s and ’40s, Joe and his best friend, Ted Freeman, hung around the airport in Rehoboth Beach. They washed planes, got a job “sweeping up,” then traded more work for flying lessons.

In ninth grade, Joe took his first airplane ride in a J-3 Cub, and he continued to work delivering milk to the Georgetown Airport each morning at 4 a.m. Once the sun came up, he could watch the Navy trainers practice carrier landings and “snatch guys up of the ground by a hook.” The trainers flew over the Delaware Bay from their home at Cape May County Naval Air Station in Wildwood, N.J.

In 1943, the 23rd Carrier Aircraft Service Unit was stationed in Georgetown, so Joe was able to watch the Grumman TBF-1 Avenger — the Navy carrier-based torpedo-bomber — practice its landings. And he watched the Curtiss 2B2C dive-bomber practice bombing near the marshlands adjacent to the Georgetown Airport. Joe’s high-school years were filled with days of work at both airports, with his friend Ted.

As high-school students, Joe and Ted were already flying and being paid to do it. They flew over the Delaware Bay and along the Atlantic coast in Stinson aircraft owned by the Rehoboth Airport, looking for schools of menhaden fish.

Later, their planes were owned by Lewes Mayor Otis Smith, who also ran his family’s fish-products company. Their task was to identify the blackish stains on the water’s surface as menhaden, determine their direction of movement and inform the fishing-boat captains below.

The Stinson aircraft of the late ’40s were not yet equipped with radios, so Joe and Ted dropped sealed bottles or jars containing notes as to the menhaden’s location and direction of travel. While flying, they threw down jars with lids and bottles with corks, and that was called “fish-spotting.”

By his senior year of high school, Joe had already earned his commercial pilot’s license and used it to win a contract to spray mosquitos for the state. Joe also ran charter flights and continued fish-spotting.

During high school, he and Ted flew their boss, Otis Smith, to all his fisheries along the Atlantic, from New York to Florida. They may have been just “student fish-spotters,” but later pilots would have considered them “pioneer fish-spotters.” By the late ’50s and early ’60s, the adult fish-spotter pilots used radios to communicate with the big steamers. By then, both Joe and Ted were flying larger aircraft for different purposes.

In 1950, Joe began his own aerial application business, with two World War II vintage aircraft. He redesigned the Stearman bi-planes, originally used as Air Force trainers, and outfitted them for spraying chemicals.

By 1956, he owned and operated seven Stearman spray planes and hired other pilots and a “ground man” to mix chemicals and keep them flying. At 20, he and his team worked off of his private airstrip just north of Lewes.

About a year later, Joe traded his Stearmans for two twin-engine Beechcraft airplanes. The change was because the nozzles on the Stearmans continually leaked, covering the pilots, planes and ground crew with chemicals.

The equipment on the Stearmans had been converted for spraying, but Joe said “it was not made for it” and never really worked very well. His aerial application business was becoming more precise and needed to be much more efficient, as well as safe.

Joe took what he had learned, then designed, built and installed new spray systems for both twin Beeches. He won FAA approval for his new spray systems. They were the first twin-engine spray planes in the East, and so effective that they replaced five of his seven Stearmans. Joe soon became one of the largest aerial applicators on the Delmarva Peninsula, and “one of the first pioneers of the aerial spraying business.”

Reporter Andy Cline named Joe the “crop-spraying pioneer” in 1978, after watching him work a field of wheat. Cline wrote about how the “sleek racy craft banked steeply then zoomed inches from the crop expelling the load.”

After each pass, he said, the plane appeared to “float for a moment” as it turned to make another pass. It would disappear behind the trees, reappear, engine roaring, skimming the tree line, and dropping quickly to the wheat after dodging power lines. Then it was gone and quiet.

Cline watched as the “duster” headed west for home, disappearing into the pink dust. Flying in to the darkening blue-pink twilight, was Joe really thinking “another field with a higher yield because of aerial applications?” Maybe. He did love to fly, but he also did so much good for so many people.

During his flying career, Joe Hudson also helped Beebe Medical Center add facilities, including a wing in 2008 and a helipad to service the Delaware State Police helicopters. In 2014, he donated his beloved Navion Range Master aircraft to the power-plant program at the Delaware Technical Community College.

The airframe and power-plant facility located near the Delaware Costal Airport is now the home of the Theodore C. Freeman Powerplant Education Building, dedicated in 2014 and named after Joe’s best friend. Joe’s wish was that his donated Navion would help the college graduate more students as airframe and powerplant technicians.

As of early 2016, Joe was still a farmer, aviator, business entrepreneur, humanitarian, philanthropist, developer and “dean of Delaware crop-dusters.” Asked what he would say to students today, he said, “Learn to fly. The No. 1 thing is to be good at business, and then make money and make people happy.”

Coastal Point • Laura Walter: Selbyville author B.B. Shamp smiles with her new novel ‘Third Haven: A Novel of Deceit’ at a book signing at Energy Gym.After an explosion shakes the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, a woman escapes to the Eastern Shore with her young son. She spends the next 280 pages figuring out what’s happening and why an unnamed evil is following her.

Local author B.B. Shamp used bits of her own traumatic — but slightly less dramatic — experiences to inform her new book, “Third Haven: A Novel of Deceit.”

In 2008, Shamp fell off a ladder in her D.C. home. In the hospital with a broken back, she suffered a massive pulmonary embolism, then major organ failure. Doctors induced a coma, but Shamp still faced a near-death experience and saw the fabled white light.

That could be a lot to carry when a person wakes up and must re-learn how to walk and speak, hampered by PTSD and a traumatic brain injury.

Over four years, she used “Third Haven” as a map to help understand herself and bury breadcrumbs of trauma and intrigue for readers to follow that journey.

The novel’s initial explosion shakes the main character, Claire, from her everyday frustrations and tosses her into a rollicking plot that pushes her from Maryland’s Eastern Shore to coastal Delaware.

“The plot is engaging … and there are a lot of clues as to who the antagonist is,” Shamp said.

“There’s this evil that’s following her … so she comes to the beach to live a different kind of lifestyle.”

Shamp was a high school educator for 33 years, in a city where the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang was recruiting special-needs or at-risk teens who merely sought a sense of family and belonging.

“[These are] totally fictional characters, but the events that happened during that time period totally informed my writing,” said Shamp, who retired to eastern Selbyville on Dirickson Creek.

The author loves the grandmotherly character, Odessa, since, ‘She’s what everyone wishes they had in a grandma. But I do feel strongly about the relationship between Claire and her son, Sam,” said Shamp. “It’s ultimately the story of three mothers from different walks of life who are dealing with the loss of a child.”

“I think it’s a quick read … so the characters have a tendency to jump off the page. Women say, ‘Oh, I love Odessa,’ and men say, ‘[Detective] Booker’s my man.’“

It’s not just a ladies’ novel. Men enjoy it, too, Shamp said.

Local readers will also recognize familiar settings, including Fenwick Island, Rehoboth Bach and Ocean City, Md.

Since its November release, the self-published novel has earned 4.6 of 5 stars on Amazon.com.

“For me, [writing] was therapy. Traumatic brain injury is one of the least identified injuries … mostly because of falls,” Shamp said. “You don’t have to be old or elderly. … People don’t realize. They think ‘I’ve lost my edge,’ when, in reality, it’s a traumatic brain injury.”

“Third Haven” has even inspired some readers. Shamp said that one friend was inspired to begin volunteering at Sussex Correctional Institution, after reading about Third Haven characters who turned to a life of crime.

That’s fantastic to Shamp, who wants people to reach out and connect, which could help improve the prison system, or someone’s own mental health. Even the smallest actions can bring joy to others and oneself, she said.

Currently, the novel is available through Browseabout Books in Rehoboth Beach and Amazon.com.

Shamp is available for author lectures or book talks, being an avid book-clubber herself. Details are online at www.BBShamp.com.

Concerned that stormwater may be leaking into the Fenwick Island sewer system, officials are proposing to smoke out the problem.

People have been complaining about a stinky, gaseous smell at various spots along Route 1’s commercial zone. The Sussex County Engineering Department has suggested stormwater (or nearby marsh water) may be getting in the pipes. That inflow of extra water in the system can burden the whole system.

“You walk outside and you can smell sewer gas. I know we’ve experienced that,” said Mayor Gene Langan.

Smoke tests allow engineers to test airflow in the system. With high-capacity blowers, County engineers will pump artificial smoke into manholes. In an ideal situation, the smoke will only exit the line through manhole lids and house vents on the rooftops. But smoke will filter out of any leaks, identifying any problem areas. A common problem is broken cleanout valves.

During the testing, smoke may come into buildings, through cracked pipes, garbage disposals or other weak spots. It is not a fire hazard, officials noted, but people should ventilate their homes or businesses if smoke appears inside.

The location of the crack determines who fixes it. Residents are responsible for repairs on their property, while the County will handle anything on its side of the cleanout, said Rodney Marvel, assistant director of the Department of Environmental Services within the County’s Engineering Department.

The testing won’t affect the entire town. Mostly businesses and a few residents will be impacted, officials said. The County will contact them all beforehand to explain the smoke test.

The date for the test has not been scheduled, but it will likely occur during a quiet morning in March. There is no cost to the Town.

Also discussed at the Feb. 24 Fenwick Island Town Council meeting:

• About 26 bicycles can park conformably in the new bike rack at the town park.

• Fenwick will be included in the 28th Annual Beach Grass Planting, hosted March 18, from 9 a.m. to noon at various beaches. Since 1990, the public has helped protect Delaware’s sand dunes by planting Cape American beach grass, providing stability to the ocean and bayside beaches. Register for the planting online at www.de.gov/beachgrass or by calling (302) 739-9921.

• Councilwoman Julie Lee’s “Town Talks” will begin again on March 25 at 10 a.m. at Town Hall, as “an opportunity for us to continue a dialogue beyond the council meeting.” Topics include streets, sidewalks, flooding and road resurfacing.

• All Fenwick citizens are welcome to attend a coffee to welcome new Town Manager Teresa “Terry” Tieman, to be hosted March 24 at 2:30 p.m. at town hall by the Fenwick Island Society of Homeowners (FISH).

• The Business Development Committee will host a community breakfast on Thursday, March 23, starting at 8 a.m., to discuss and promote off-season events planned for this autumn.

• With wild seals often swimming to shore for a rest, the public is being reminded to stay at least 150 feet away from the animal and call MERR at (302) 228-5029, so a volunteer can come to assess its health and watch until it returns to the water. People are being asked not to report the seal’s presence on social media until after the seal has rested and swum away.

• The town council voted unanimously (with Councilman Roy Williams absent) to donate $150 for a program ad in the annual Springtime Jamboree organized by state Sen. Gerald Hocker Sr. All funds raised this year will benefit River Soccer Club.

The Fenwick Island Town Council’s next regular meeting is Friday, March 24, at 3:30 p.m.

Because of the large number of non-English-speaking crime victims locally, Community Legal Aid Society Inc., will now provide free bilingual paralegal services once a week at Selbyville Town Hall.

“We’re pretty proud. It’s us and Seaford. We’re one of two towns doing that,” Selbyville Police Chief W. Scott Collins told the town council on March 12.

The offering could help anyone who can’t get to the Georgetown office easily.

“It makes it a little bit easier for them to get services, whether that be translation services to report a crime,” Collins said, “or whether they’re a victim trying to get their paperwork done to become a citizen — anything dealing with paperwork for the non-English-speaking community.

The aid service will be available on Tuesdays. For more information, call (302) 856-0038 or visit www.declasi.org.

In other news from the SPD:

• The Selbyville PD is benefitting from the social network “Nextdoor,” which has been especially popular with communities on the east side of town. For example, police reported a suspicious vehicle and, within hours, residents had sent license plate numbers and more details.

• A bad batch of heroin got into town lately, but all the people who overdosed were saved, Collins said. SPD officers do not carry the overdose-reversing medicine naloxone, but they performed rescue breathing until an ambulance arrived.

In other Selbyville Town Council news:

• Sworn in for another two-year term were Mayor Clifton C. Murray and Council Members Clarence W. “Bud” Tingle Sr. and G. Frank Smith III.

• The Bethany-Fenwick Area Chamber of Commerce will no longer host the annual Selbyville Christmas Parade, to the Town must find new support to manage the event. The Chamber has recently adjusted its mission, pulling out of many community events (including Fenwick Island’s summertime movies on the beach) to focus instead on business development.

• Construction is currently allowed at any time of day, which concerns resident Mike Adams. “I’ve been in construction 45 years. That’s the last thing I want to hear on Sunday morning, is a Bobcat or saw,” he said, remembering a recent Mother’s Day when a neighbor had heavy machinery at work.

Selbyville does have a general noise ordinance, but no construction times ordinance. Some towns limit construction working hours to perhaps 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and often less on weekends.

Although Clifton Murray and Councilman Jay Murray questioned whether an ordinance was needed, Councilman Rick Duncan countered that an ordinance would give police power to address a problem, especially as the town grows. The council will consider the issue in the future.

• Once again, the EPA has awarded Selbyville high marks for its wastewater industrial pre-treatment report: a 98.1 percent score for 2016.

• Because it would require a $15,000 match, the council opted not to apply for a state grant to study the current state of the town’s entire stormwater infrastructure system. Although Duncan said that Selbyville has many failing storm drains, Tingle said, “I’m not sure you get much bang for your buck with studies,” especially since any storm will alert the town to most deficiencies. Plus, half the town has new systems, council members said.

• Selbyville did not win the comprehensive plan grant that would have allowed it to hire the KCI engineering/consulting firm to do much of the legwork for its upcoming 10-year comp plan update. Selbyville’s updated plan is due to the State by this autumn.

• Selbyville did win an asset-management program grant for water (results of a wastewater grant are pending). That will help create a maintenance schedule for the Town’s massive infrastructure.

• The Selbyville Public Library hosts their monthly “Coffee with a Cop” on March 25 from 10 to 11 a.m. The goal is to build trust between law enforcement and the communities they live in and serve, offering an opportunity to get to know the Selbyville police officers, to ask them questions or just to say “thank you.”

• Recent Planning & Zoning meetings have been dedicated to Jeff Wilgus’s desire to open a pre-owned car sales lot on the Pomeroy property on Route 113. The site plan is newly complete, and the proposed business fits the existing zoning code, without requiring a special exception or conditional use.

In future, the commission may consider changing that type of business to a conditional use only, since there are already four car lots in town, and they questioned whether they want many more.

The next Selbyville Town Council meeting will be Monday, April 3, at 7 p.m.