Coastal Point • Jason Feather: The Indians’ J.J. Killen takes a homerun swing in the second inning.Early on Tuesday, May 1, it looked as though the Indian River High School baseball team was going to right the ship of what had been plaguing them the past two games.

However, an inability to eliminate mistakes, walks and a lack of execution at the plate led the Indians to their third straight loss. This time, it was a non-conference setback to Delmarva Christian, 8-6.

“It’s the same thing over and over again, and it’s the mistakes that are starting to pile up,” Indians manager Derek “D.J.” Long said after the game. “We have a double-play ball there in that last inning that hits third base, and then a dropped fly ball that gets us into trouble.

Delmarva Christian, he said, “got hits early in the game, but they weren’t hitting later in the game. At-bats-wise, we have first and second, with nobody out there in the sixth, don’t get the bunt down, end up strikeout. Next guy hits a shot to right, unlucky right to him.

“Either way, it comes down to errors, and our energy level has not been where it should be at this point in the season. The second half of the year is going to be big, whether we make the playoffs or don’t make the playoffs.”

Despite falling behind 1-0 after one inning, the Indians recovered with a four-spot in the bottom of the second inning.

Junior J.J. Killen led off the home half of the second with a home run to deep right-centerfield. Cole Hitch and Grant Argo followed with singles, then Kyle Firle added a single of his own to plate Ian Shaner, who was running for Hitch.

After Brock Wingate lined out to center, Tyler Kramer laced a ball to center that was dropped by the Royals’ defender, which loaded the bases. A RBI fielder’s choice ground-out by Jacob Anderson made it 3-1 Indians as Argo crossed the plate, and the fourth run scored in the form of Firle on a wild pitch.

The Royals would get one back in the top of the third, to make it 4-2, and it would stay that way until the bottom of the fourth, when IR struck again.

A beautifully placed bunt by leadoff hitter Tyler Kramer got things started, but he was retired on a double play by Jacob Anderson. However, Derek Bellemare would get things going again with a walk, and then Mark Smith roped a double to right to score Bellemare. Killen again came up big with his second extra-base hit of the game, this time a double to center that scored Smith, making it 6-2.

But the fifth inning would see Delmarva take advantage of the walks and errors to which Long alluded. A pair of walks and two Indian miscues led to four Royals runs that tied the game at 6-6.

More walks and three more errors in the top of the seventh would allow Delmarva to score their go-ahead and winning runs, to make the score 8-6.

“I don’t think that we have been playing with enough emotion and energy,” Long assessed of his squad. “I feel like we are kind of just going through the motions, honestly. Luckily, this wasn’t a conference game.

“Coming back, we have Laurel on Thursday, and Milford next week, then Central next Friday, which are conference games. It’s still gonna come down to winning conference games. We are 5-3 in the conference, so we’re still very much in the mix with a lot of conference games left.”

Extra bases: Delmarva’s Wes Hobbs and Joseph Jones each had three hits for the Royals, with Hobbs coming up a home run shy of the cycle. For the Indians, Killen, Argo and Firle each had multiple-hit days, with Killen driving in a pair of runs. Six different IR players scored runs in the game. Chase Hall took the mound loss, while the Royals’ Riley Culver picked up the win.

Coastal Point • Submitted: Bryan Muzik is returning to the DiFebo’s family of restaurants. Above, Muzik stands outside the new Berlin, Md., DiFebo’s location.One could argue that Bryan Muzik has been in the restaurant business since he could walk, having “joined” the staff of DiFebo’s when his mom became the restaurant’s accountant.

“My godparents, Bob and Charlotte DiFebo, brought my mom on as the accountant,” said Muzik. “Literally, the school bus would pick me up and drop me off at DiFebo’s. Big Bob would cook me breakfast in the morning — a scrapple sandwich with ketchup and then a cheesesteak with ketchup and pickles after school. It’s kind of where it all started.

“Being in the restaurant so much — probably a little younger than I should have, probably 10 or 11 — buttering bread for Big Bob, busing tables here and there, washing dishes… I grew up in the restaurant. As DiFebo’s evolved, I evolved with it. I started in the deli, and then moved to the line, food-runner, server, through all the positions.”

Muzik, an Indian River High School graduate, would go on to graduate from the Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park in 2004. He would later return to Delaware and work for SoDel Concepts.

“I had the opportunity to work with Matt Haley. It was a great opportunity; it was a great fit, a super-fun time. I also got to work with Scott Kammerer, who is the president now, and really learned a lot from him in terms of how the business works.”

Three weeks ago, Muzik returned to DiFebo’s as the restaurant group’s director of operations.

“When Lisa [DiFebo-Osais] called me this time, it just felt right. I love it. It’s great to be back,” he said. “The history of DiFebo’s is family. I feel like I’m coming back home.”

In his new role, Muzik will be dividing his time between the three restaurant locations, in Berlin, Md., in Rehoboth Beach and the original in Bethany Beach.

“I see a lot of people that care. It’s a family-run business. We try to run like a family-run business,” he said. “I feel like my job title is to give my staff in each restaurant the tools they need to be successful. Those tools may differ— one day I may focus on the kitchen, one day I may focus on the front… It’s a wild ride to be back in this business, for sure.

“My main goal is to build up a restaurant culture at DiFebo’s, where it’s a safe, fun, happy place to work. The restaurant business can be a grind.”

Those who work with the DiFebos become a part of the family, said Muzik, noted that, although his mom, Pat, passed away almost seven years ago, the office in which she once worked is still lovingly referred to as “Pat’s office.”

“My mom’s remembered every day. Now I get to go back and call it ‘Mom’s office.’ There’s some sentimental value there, for sure. There’s a lot more pride in it.”

DiFebo’s newest location is in downtown Berlin, where the space not only includes the restaurant and bar area, but a separate, private event space that can seat between 50 and 60 people, as well as a Wood Stone pizza oven.

“I grew up in Bethany, but Berlin’s location is a pretty special place. Rehoboth’s location is special in its own right, but I think being on Main Street in Berlin, down here, is a great thing. I think this is a unique area, just with the buzz that Berlin has been getting the past couple of years — getting the ‘Coolest Small Town in America.’

“We do have an events room upstairs for meetings, parties. That’s a new avenue for us. We do offer that in all of our locations, but here we have a separate space.”

Cassie Stuart, the general manager of the Berlin location, has been with the restaurant since they got the keys in October.

“They have become family to me very quick,” said Stuart of the DiFebos. “They’ve treated me like family since the get-go.”

Describing the food as “fresh, beautiful and flavorful,” Stuart said she knew opening a location in Berlin would be an amazing addition to the town.

“I just love it.”

“We make good, authentic, home-cooked Italian-style food. When you come in, you feel welcome — everyone has a smile on their face. We have a one-time opportunity, in most cases, to make a first impression,” added Muzik. “Let’s make it a special, special thing. I want everyone to feel the same experience all the way through.”

The opportunity to return to DiFebo’s has given Muzik, and his young family, the chance to return to his roots, and his family.

“I feel like I’m back home,” he said. “I’m born and raised Sussex County. I love the state of Delaware through and through. I’ve had opportunity to live in New York, Napa Valley… I always came back here. We live in a pretty unique part of the world,” he said. “It’s a pretty cool place to be, for sure.”

For more information on DiFebo’s restaurants, visit www.difebos.com.

Coastal Point • Shaun M. Lambert: Eileen Uecker shows off a hand-written thank-you card from the recipient of her Quilt of Valor.While on a flight with a friend, Ocean View resident Eileen Uecker found a $100 bill in her seat.

“I reached in to pull the seatbelt across, and there was something in the slot there, and it looked like a dollar bill,” recalled Uecker. “I pulled it out, and it was a hundred-dollar bill. I thought, ‘Oh, dear — this means I have to do something good with this money.’”

On the second leg of her flight, Uecker took the middle seat, flanked by her friend and a stranger wearing a U.S. Air Force baseball hat.

“As the flight ensued, we chatted and talked, and I learned he was a retired veteran. I said, ‘You don’t look old enough to be retired.’ He said, ‘Well, I’m 100 percent disabled.’ I said, ‘You look OK.’ He said, ‘It’s because you can’t see the injuries.’ Apparently, it was his back…”

As Uecker and the vet chatted, she asked him if he’d heard of Quilts of Valor, a foundation that awards patriotic quilts to “U.S. military service members and veterans who have been touched by war.” The veteran had not heard of the foundation.

Uecker, a member of Delmarvalous Quilters — a quilting guild that meets on the fourth Thursday of each month in Georgetown — asked her veteran seat-mate if he would like a quilt.

“He said, ‘Absolutely — anything that is patriotic, I would love,’” she recalled. “I got his name and telephone number, area code 302, which I thought was uncanny.

“I got the quilt made. I made all 20 blocks myself, and then I had the rest of the group in our quilt guild help do the next steps, and I used the $100 to have it quilted by a long-arm quilter. There was a small balance left over from that, and she just put it towards the next quilt that was going to be done. So, the money was put to good use.”

Once the quilt was completed, Uecker tried to contact the veteran, leaving him three voicemails, with the last stating should would send him the quilt.

“I never heard back,” she said.

But that didn’t stop Uecker from following through. With the help of a computer and internet savvy friend, Uecker was able to get an address for the veteran, in Magnolia, Del..

Three months later, Uecker received a hand-written thank-you card from the veteran, with a heartfelt sentiment that made her cry.

“This really touched my heart, because my dad was a disabled Army veteran. So many in my family have been in various wars. My husband was in the service, my older brother, all my brothers-in-law… my dad, my uncles — oh, my goodness, it goes way back. We’re very much a veteran family.”

Since its inception, Quilts of Valor has awarded 185,874 quilts, and has a national list of recipients. The name of Uecker’s veteran was placed on the list.

“It makes my heart feel good that I can do something,” she said. “I think that’s just it — that’s why it meant so much to me… I’ve made all these quilts, and I never know who they go to. This means more because I knew who it was going to.”

This was not Uecker’s first Quilt of Valor; she has helped the Delmarvalous Quilt Guild make many quilts, including quilts given to the veterans who visit the area through Operation SEAs the Day.

“Mostly I would just make blocks, because you can just sit and have the TV on and sew,” she said. “They don’t have to be, but the ones I make are red, white and blue in a 9.5-inch block. The other ladies do the finishing. You put a sashing around each block and then put the blocks together. Then you put the boarder around the outside of that. Then you have the batting and the backing, and then the quilting and then the binding. It’s a many-people process. When everyone is pitching in, it really makes things go faster.”

Uecker first started sewing as a child and kept growing her skillset over the years.

“When I was a kid, I made doll clothes by hand. My mom would have extra pieces or something. It was something I could do and enjoyed doing, I guess,” she said. “The first class I went to was, gosh, in the 1970s. I remember the block very well — it was called ‘Stained Glass.’ They were tiny little pieces.”

The Delmarvalous Quilters have more than members of all ages and skill sets. Uecker said the group is “absolutely” always looking for new members. And if they don’t know anything about quilting? No problem!

“We’ll teach you!” she said enthusiastically. “We have a terrific guild. Everybody is so gracious. They have certainly helped me over the years. I’ve continued to learn the ins and outs and different things.”

The guild also hosts workshops and a variety of other programs, which are open to members.

“We do things called ‘comfort quilts’ that are distributed to a wide variety of places,” said Uecker. “Then we have kits for Quilts of Valor. They can take a kit for one block home and do it at home.”

And for those who are wary of driving to Georgetown at night — don’t fret, there are members who carpool to the monthly meetings.

“A lot of seniors don’t like to drive at night. In fact, I don’t. I always grab a ride with somebody else. They usually try to set up a carpool meeting at the Giant parking lot.”

The guild also offers more than just the opportunity to quilt, but also a great deal of comradery.

“Not only do you get the socializing but you learn things and make good friends. It’s just a really well-rounded way to be a senior,” Uecker said.

For more information on the Delmarvalous Quilt Guild, visit http://www.delmarvalousquilters.com or https://www.facebook.com/Delmarvalous-Quilters-1466206796985389. Those who wish to donate to the Delmarvalous Quilters may do so by sending donations to Delmarvalous Quilters, P.O. Box 66, Georgetown, DE 19947.

Hundreds of beach houses will be renovated for this summer, as happens every summer. But there’s one home renovation near Fenwick Island that will benefit everyone.

Next door to the Fenwick Island Lighthouse, the Delaware Division of Historical & Cultural Affairs will eventually open the 1882 keeper’s house to the public. Exterior renovations begin on May 7 to restore its historical character while eventually transforming the house into an interpretive center.

The Fenwick Island Lighthouse holds a special role as a local icon and historic site. It helped sailors navigate around the treacherous shoals in the Atlantic Ocean. The 87-foot lighthouse is located just outside town limits, mere feet from the Maryland border and a centuries-old Transpeninsular Line stone marker.

First illuminated in 1859, the Fenwick Island Lighthouse was decommissioned in 1978 by the U.S. Coast Guard. But in the 1850s, the lighthouse was a lonely tower set among the Fenwick sands. Always on alert, lighthouse staff lived right next door.

Now, in the new millennium, Delaware state agencies have rolled up their sleeves to keep the site relevant for another century or two.

“We expect the abatement contractor for lead paint to be onsite starting May 7,” said Lynn Riley, a division planning manager. Workers will also safely remove any asbestos. “This is very typical for historical properties.”

Construction should continue daily throughout summer, weather permitting.

“The entire team is very excited, from the contractor to the architects to the Friends organization,” Riley said. “Everyone is very excited about the project.”

One goal of the project is minimal impact to the public. No weekend work is anticipated. The lighthouse site will remain open to visitors despite the construction zone around the keeper’s house.

Moreover, the electric-powered beacon will continue to shine through the classic Fresnel lens, as it has since 1982.

“The rehabilitation project will involve the removal of modern additions; construction of a new porch and new wooden steps and landings; replacement of existing windows; repair of miscellaneous wood trim and wood-shingle siding; exterior painting; and the re-laying of the existing brick sidewalk,” officials said.

The first phase of the work is all State funded, at $382,500. The Delaware Division of Facilities Management will serve as project managers, with architects Bernarden and general contractor Kent Construction.

In the future, the State will install landscaping or pathways to create a more cohesive campus between the two buildings. They’ll also add restrooms and handicapped access to the keeper’s house.

In all, the renovations are expected to take three to five years. The timeframe depends on State funding.

The lighthouse and the keepers

The State of Delaware has long owned the lighthouse and more recently acquired the newer keeper’s house, just next-door to the west. Today, like most coastal real estate, the two tiny lots only combine to make a fifth of an acre, surrounded by beach houses, hotels, condos and summertime trailers at 146th Street.

In fact, the tower is surrounded on both sides with houses of historical significance. The eastern house was built first — a cramped quarters for the keeper, the assistant keeper and both their families. It is still privately owned by a family.

Tired of overcrowding in 1882, the keeper’s family moved into the western house, which was recently obtained by the State and now undergoes renovations.

“It was designed in Victorian Gothic style, with gable- and rafter-end decoration typical of much coastal-area government construction in the last quarter of the 19th century,” officials said.

“It’s a very unique coastal resource. There are very few lighthouses that remain standing, and that … it is still lit,” Riley said. “We’ve had a long maritime history in Delaware, and people come from all over. There are lighthouse enthusiasts all over the country and all over the world. They come to photograph the site, to learn about it, and we’re very excited to be a partner in that. … We just hope they will see it and come and enjoy it.”

Friends keep site open to public

Due to a grassroots effort, the lighthouse was transferred to the State of Delaware in 1981, which leases the property for the New Friends of the Fenwick Island Lighthouse to oversee on-site tourism.

Thanks to the nonprofit group, the public can visit the lighthouse site and view historic artifacts in the summertime. The volunteers have done the legwork to fundraise, landscape, welcome visitors and do other day-to-day work. But space is so limited that the volunteers display historic artifacts in the outdoors.

Although visitors can enter the lighthouse, they are not permitted to climb the narrow tower. There are no current plans to offer that option.

“It’s a pretty small place,” Riley said of the keeper’s house, “but we do hope that the Friends will have a place to put displays and information and objects. They have a lot of wonderful stories about the history of lighthouse keepers. Many of the Friends are descendants of the keepers,” Riley said. “We’re very excited to be working with the New Friends of the Fenwick Island Lighthouse … to make this an even better public site than it already is.”

The National Park Service must also approve changes to the lighthouse, listed since 1979 on the National Register of Historic Places.

Learn more about Delaware’s historic sites and programs at http://history.delaware.gov.

The nonprofit Friends group shares history and visitor hours online at www.fenwickislandlighthouse.org.

This weekend, people can celebrate Mother’s Day early while also helping raise scholarships funds for Lighthouse Christian School, at the annual Learning Assistance Program breakfast fundraiser.

“Basically, this allows help to families that have a desire to send their students to Lighthouse Christian School. It helps us keep it open to more families,” said Lighthouse Director Terri Menoche of the Learning Assistance Program.

The breakfast will be held on Sunday, May 6, from 8 a.m. to noon, in the Dagsboro Church of God Ignite building. Attendees can enjoy pancakes or French toast, sausage, juice, coffee, tea or milk, all prepared by Ocean View Family Restaurant.

“Ocean View Family Restaurant always chips in and donates,” said Rudy Viguie, whose wife, Pat, is the event planner for the school.

Tickets for the breakfast cost $6 for adults or $3 for children 2 to 12. Tickets may be purchased at the door the day of the event. For those who can’t dine-in, take-out is also available.

“We have families of Lighthouse that serve, and then we have some of the students that come who will clean off tables, or maybe refill your drink — that sort of thing,” said Menoche. “They assist us in keeping the tables clean, but they don’t actually serve the food.”

This is the fourth year of the breakfast fundraiser, which will help 15 families attend the school.

“Normally, it ranges from 15 to 20 different families per year,” Menoche explained. “Sometimes it’s used for emergency situations. If a family falls upon hard times — a job change happens — sometimes it can bridge a gap. There are a lot of emergency-type situations where this can help be one less thing to worry about when you’re trying to get so many other things back in order.”

Lighthouse Christian currently has 160 students and educates students from pre-kindergarten to eighth grade.

“I would say it’s important to make sure, academically, they have a good, sound education, but also spiritually they’re grounded in the Word so they can grow up to be folks who are impacting their community for the good,” she said.

“It takes spiritual, it takes manners, it takes character, discipline, obedience, respect — it’s all of those things we try to do in partnership with our families. So that they’re not just hearing it from mom and dad, they’re hearing it from other places. It’s all those amazing, little things that add up to big-deal things as we grow up and live out this life to the best that we can.”

Lighthouse is going into its 22nd year of educating Sussex County students — something Menoche said was a great honor.

“Someone told me one time before, they had given a donation that started our Learning Assistance Program, and he’d said, ‘There’s no greater payback than putting into a child.’ Meaning, he could put the money into CDs or the money markets and all these things., but there is no greater dividend than what he was able to sew into a child. And I just thought, ‘That’s a really neat way to look at your finances. That’s really amazing.’”

For those who cannot attend the breakfast but still wish to contribute to the Learning Assistance Program, Menoche said donations may be made through the school’s website or by telephone.

Menoche said the breakfasts have been well-attended in the past and she hopes the community will continue to show their support.

“Praise the Lord — hopefully, it will be well-attended, and it will meet the needs, whatever those needs are.”

For more information about Lighthouse Christian School, visit www.lighthousechristianschool.com or call (302) 732-3309. Dagsboro Church of God is located at 28157 Lighthouse Crossing, on Route 113 in Dagsboro.

Two women sat with a handful of others in the South Coastal Library on Monday, April 30, listening to pro-cannabis-legalization activists, and their perspectives could not be more different.

Both listened intently to the facts and figures presented by Zoë Patchell, president and board chair of the Delaware Cannabis Advocacy Network.

The woman who spoke first seemed to be the only person in the room who was not pro-cannabis. She said she has neighbors who use cannabis, which is the scientific name for the marijuana plant.

“They are lazy. They don’t want to do anything. They stay stoned all the time,” she said.

The other woman was Terri Lawson of Frankford. Lawson told the group that her first exposure to cannabis came about because her 37-year-old daughter uses medical marijuana to ease the pain caused by Stage 4 cancer.

Patchell, also 37, spoke to both women with equal enthusiasm. For the first woman, she pointed to herself as an example of a more “typical” cannabis user.

“One of the things I like to do is break down the stigma,” Patchell said. “I’m a cannabis consumer, and I’m a good person. I am a productive member of society,” she said. A community organizer for almost 10 years, Patchell said, “I work every day to make this world a better place. We’re very busy,” Patchell, a paralegal for a Dover law firm, said of herself and other cannabis users. “We’re not lazy stoners.”

Howard told the group that her daughter has obtained medical marijuana from the Lewes dispensary and said the staff there has been “so kind” to her.

“They want her to get the medical help she needs,” Howard said. Her daughter, she said, “doesn’t want to inundate her body with further pharmaceuticals,” in addition to those she is using to fight her illness.

“She’s never stoned. She’s managing her pain,” Howard said.

In addition to the current legalization in Delaware of marijuana for some medical uses, Patchell and Delaware CAN Vice President John Sybert said legalizing the recreational use of marijuana would simply regulate an existing industry and make it safer. House Bill 110, they said, would create 145 new cannabis businesses in Delaware, resulting in $100 million in economic growth.

The bill would also create safer communities, they said, by out-competing the illegal marijuana market. The organization says that 61 percent of Delaware residents support the taxation and regulation of marijuana for adults 21 or older.

“The biggest thing to keep in mind is that this is an already existing industry,” Patchell said. “The people that want to consume cannabis are already consuming cannabis,” Nowhere that recreational marijuana has been legalized — no state, nor country — has seen an increase in consumption following legalization, she said.

H.B. 110, Patchell said, “is not going to create a new industry. It just decides who controls it.” She added that Delaware CAN has no stake in the potential business aspects of legalizing recreational marijuana.

“We’re doing this to stop the arrests. We’re doing this to stop the racial disparity. We’re doing this to stop the civil asset forfeiture.”

Patchell said minorities are three times more likely to be arrested for marijuana use than white users, while usage rates between races are virtually the same.

Civil asset forfeiture clauses in current laws allow law-enforcement to seize the property of someone arrested for marijuana use if there is any cause to believe that property is connected in any way to the marijuana possession. Getting property back afterwards can be a long and costly process, she said.

Delaware CAN views cannabis prohibition as “a costly, failed policy that is just as ineffective and as problematic as alcohol prohibition,” according to the organization’s literature. The group maintains that cannabis-related arrests divert manpower from “real public safety concerns,” toward “a completely victimless act.”

H.B 110 was released from committee a year ago but stalled in the Delaware House. In the interim, a task force was formed to produce a report on the issue. The report was approved for release in March.

Delaware CAN is sponsoring several local events in the coming weeks, including a Global Cannabis March event in Rehoboth Beach on Saturday, May 5. The march begins at 2 p.m. at Surfside Park and ends at the Rehoboth Beach bandstand, with speakers and other activities.

The organization is also participating in Cannabis Lobby Day on May 8 at Legislative Hall in Dover from 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. Participants are being asked to “dress professionally” and can register for the event online at www.delawarecannabis.org/lobby. There will also be a meet-and-greet at the Big Chill, south of Dewey Beach, on June 10.

More information on Delaware CAN’s positions and upcoming activities is available at www.delawarecannabis.org.

Coastal Point • Laura Walter: Courtney White of North Georgetown Elementary, front-center, who was honored as IRSD Teacher of the Year, gathers with the other building winners from the school district. (Not pictured is building winner Mallory Anderson.)Being an educator is no easy feat, and the Indian River School District this week celebrated the teachers who bring passion and skill to the classroom every day.

Courtney White of North Georgetown Elementary School was honored as the IRSD Teacher of the Year for 2018-2019. The announcement was made at the district’s annual Teacher of the Year celebration on April 26, honoring each of the 16 teacher candidates — one from each district school.

“You represent the many outstanding educators in our district who work hard every day to provide our students with inspiring instruction that allows them to thrive and be the best they can be, each and every day,” said IRSD Board of Education Member Jim Hudson.

“From the first day they walk in to kindergarten to the last day they walk out as a graduating senior, the most influential people in the life of a student is a teacher,” said Superintendent Mark Steele.

It’s not just writing grades in a book, but taking “a real honest interest in those kids,” Steele said. “You’re all winners in my heart. … We need you, and we want you.”

One educator from each school was selected a Teacher of the Year for 2018-2019: Mallory Anderson, Selbyville Middle School; Sue Keefer, G.W. Carver Academy; Dara Callaway, East Millsboro Elementary School (finalist); Kathryn Gichner Curl, Georgetown Kindergarten Center; Christine Purcell, Georgetown Elementary School; Brian Murphy, Georgetown Middle School; Corinne Elliott, Howard T. Ennis School; Nate Mohler, Indian River High School; Michelle Truitt, John M. Clayton Elementary School; Lori Hansen, Long Neck Elementary School; Jennah Truitt, Lord Baltimore Elementary School; Robert Syphard, Millsboro Middle School (finalist); Courtney White, North Georgetown Elementary School (district winner); Nichele Lobo, Southern Delaware School of the Arts; Joseph Macaluso, Sussex Central High School; and Kelly Namorato, Phillip C. Showell Elementary School.

Each school selects a building winner who embodies their school and colleagues. The winners then submit to a multi-tiered IRSD selection process. The IRSD winner continues to the state and possibly the national level.

In the audience at the April 26 event, White was surrounded by family and coworkers who erupted into cheers. White appeared happy and emotional as she took the stage.

“I’m blown away with all the amazing teachers that are in this district. To be recognized this way is — well, there’s nothing like it,” White said. “To be able to get up every day and do something that you love with an amazing, amazing community in the Indian River School District, as well as my family at North Georgetown Elementary School with some amazing leaders is — well, I feel very lucky. So thank you very much for this honor, and congratulations to all the Teachers of the Year.”

“I know you will fill my shoes, and then some,” said Lisa Richardson, IRSD Teacher of the Year for 2017-2018.

As an educator, White said she closely considers who each student is and where they’re starting.

“I got into this profession because it’s challenging and we want to inspire students to learn and grow,” she said in a video presentation. “But we need to make sure we teach our students how to collaborate and work with their peers. I suspect, with this focus, students will know how to attack their unknown future…”

“My job is to help each of them get empowered and reach their goals. We can do that by teaching them that effort can help them achieve anything and that they can be resilient in challenges that they face,” she said.

“Especially with some of the hardships we face with funding and poverty levels, and when I think of the challenges of North Georgetown and to see your Teacher of the Year come from that, I’m very proud,” said state Rep. Ruth Briggs King (R-37th).

Arriving at North Georgetown in 2016, White has been a teacher leader for years. She was the Seaford School District’s Teacher of the Year in 2010-2011, having worked there from 2003 to 2016.

She was also a Delaware Dream Team teacher in 2016, a TeachFest Delaware Spring Academy teacher in 2015; and the co-creator of the Personalized Virtual Summer & Intersession Academic Program at Central Elementary School in Seaford from 2014 to 2016.

She has also taught in the Wilmington University graduate program and the Delaware Tech certificate program.

White holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Goucher College, a Maryland State Elementary Education Certificate from the College of Notre Dame in Baltimore and a master’s degree in applied technology from Wilmington University.

White has been repeatedly praised by her colleagues and administrators for her use of technology in the classroom, her own willingness to learn and her inspiration to help other teachers improve.

“It is evident that students are expected to make mistakes in order to learn and grow. Mrs. White spends time building a culture of respect, not only between her and the students, but among the class,” according to one colleague’s nomination.

“She has taken the time to create a safe learning environment, where cooperative learning takes place and students know they can take risks…,” another colleague wrote.

“There are many great educators in the Indian River School District that are more than worthy of this honor, but I have met few educators as passionate as Mrs. White,” said North Georgetown Principal Heather Cramer. “I feel she was an amazing addition to our district, and we are lucky to have someone with the willingness to continue to learn and grow as an educator. Her classroom environment she has created is one that I wish my own child could have experienced.”

In 2017, the Town of South Bethany paid thousands of dollars to have its police department and employment policies evaluated. The reports prompted the town council to change policies, police rankings and even the town charter.

Now, in 2018, the police chief and town manager will finally get to see the results of those studies.

The town council voted unanimously to give redacted copies of the Dr. Gregory A. Warren report and the Center for Public Safety Management (CPSM) report to Police Chief Troy Crowson and Town Manager Maueen Hartman.

Although Crowson and Hartman have said they’d prefer to see the whole report, they’ll get the redacted version for now.

Because the June 2017 letter from some of the Town’s police officers, alleging they had not been properly paid or promoted and demanding corrective action on the Town’s part, is still floating around, council members said, the town council will evaluate which sections of the reports to leave redacted based on their attorney’s advice.

In May, they will review a “highlighted” copy of the redactions, deciding whether to give more information to the managers or, eventually, the public.

“Anything that has to do with attorneys, communication with attorneys — I’m not interested in,” Crowson said, “just the actual study. … I’m just only interested in the data that was derived from those studies.”

The town council had requested the CPSM study be submitted to South Bethany’s employment attorney, rather than to them, so the document could be kept private under attorney-client privilege. That, they said, is because the reviews started before, but continued after, they received the police demand letter from June 2017.

“We have never resolved the situation with the police demand letter. … Legally, we’re still sitting here with that over us,” Mayor Pro-Tem Tim Shaw said.

Indeed, the council rejected the complaints made by six fulltime police officers (excluding the chief) regarding holiday pay, promotions and pension issues. The officers never followed up with official legal action.

Both of the letters are already available to the public. People can request to see the documents by submitting a Freedom of Information Act request to Town Hall.

Prior to the letters being submitted to the council, both reports had already been started. Crowson and the council had wanted to clean up an employee handbook that was sometimes at odds with itself, due to years of writing and rewriting laws and policies.

However, the reports and attorney’s notes were partly clouded by the demand letter, especially because the CPSM report was delivered to town council through the attorney.

There are also some potentially private or embarrassing details in the reports. But, the council said, the police chief and town manager are professionals who deal with confidential employment matters on a regular basis.

“We just did have a request about two months ago from a constituent to release the report,” which was rejected, Councilman Timothy Saxton said. “Troy has asked us repeatedly to be able to see the report because it helps him with managing his staff. … I think we need, to at this point, honor Troy’s request to see it. I do believe it will help them.”

Additionally, seeing the reports may help the management understand why the town council decided to take certain actions.

“We didn’t take every recommendation that CPSM made by any means. So, you can look at the whole report and obviously see what changes we didn’t make,” said Councilwoman Carol Stevenson.

“I think it’s time for closure,” said Councilwoman Sue Callaway, who supported immediately releasing the report to Crowson and Hartman. She emphasized the value of having clarity so the chief and manager can pick areas of improvement from the report while rewriting the Standard Operating Procedures. “That’s what you do when a consultant does something. You pick and choose” how to use it.

The town council has already viewed the full reports and voted months ago on policy changes.

Councilman Don Boteler agreed that working under attorney-client privilege allowed the elected officials to work privately, “but I think we signaled an intention to share once the dust had settled.”

Discussion will likely continue May 11, during an executive session.

Even after the managers read the redacted report, and if they’re given an un-redacted report, and if town council makes the report open to the public, the documents still won’t be posted on a bulletin board or online.

“You have to request it” via Freedom of Information Act paperwork at Town Hall, Councilman Frank Weisgerber said.

“And at this time, no one in the public can submit a FOIA report and get it,” Hartman said.

Both Crowson and Hartman said they are ready to move forward together, as they’ve accepted contract renewals for another two years of service.

“I am pleased … our Town is well-served with these dedicated professionals at the helm of operations,” Mayor Pat Voveris wrote.

(Maintenance Supervisor Don Chrobot, however, will be retiring in August.)

Town waiting on approval of charter changes

The Delaware State Legislature is deliberating the proposed amendment to South Bethany’s town charter. Although it passed the Senate, the House added a clarifying amendment, which the Senate must consider.

Primarily, the charter change would specify that all departments, including the Police Department, report directly to the town manager regarding administrative, personnel and financial decisions. (However, the police chief will still be in charge of law enforcement-related policies and matters for police officers, although he’ll keep the town manager informed on those also.)

Further housekeeping changes outline the town manager’s responsibilities for the police department; eliminate the need to use an ordinance to appoint a town manager; and eliminate the organizational details of the beach patrol.

The changes are already in place, but staff are awaiting formal process of the charter change, expected this summer.

Meanwhile, the town’s police station may be getting renovations soon. Bids are scheduled to be opened on May 7, and the town council will review them at the May 11 meeting.

This is the second time South Bethany is accepting bids for the proposed renovation, although officials said they hope the amended plans will produce lower bids than the first round.

The goal is to redesign the floorplan and reduce some major liabilities in the building. By changing a few rooms and walls around, Crowson hopes to improve safety of staff, visitors and detainees; personal privacy; weapons safety; evidence security; and escape prevention.

And with two vacancies on the police force, town leaders are interviewing to fill one position, but leave the other empty, which returns the SBPD to staffing levels of just a few years ago.

The council has also agreed to take the fulltime dispatcher position back to part-time. Crowson requested that as he prepares to train a new dispatcher and said he would like more flexibility before making it a permanent position with benefits.

The individual would also work as a weekday administrative assistant from late morning to early afternoon. Beyond that, telephone calls would be forwarded to the duty officer’s cell phone. Most Sussex County 911 calls are already dispatched through SUSCOM in Georgetown.

By Coastal Point staff

Residents get to help decide the future of the Indian River School District this month, as the IRSD school board election will be held Tuesday, May 8, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Only two of the district’s five geographic voting districts have contested seats for 2018. Three of the school board’s 10 seats were up for election this year.

Candidates Dana Probert and Leolga T. Wright are competing to serve a five-year term representing District 3, which includes south Millsboro and north Dagsboro on both sides of Route 113. The District 3 polling locations are East Millsboro Elementary School at 29346 Iron Branch Road and Long Neck Elementary School at 26064 School Road.

Candidates Derek E. Cathell and Carla M. Ziegler hope to represent Selbyville, Gumboro and parts of Frankford. (Jeffrey W. Evans has withdrawn from the race.) In District 5, the winning candidate will just serve one year, finishing the full term for another board member who had moved away this winter. The District 5 polling location is Selbyville Middle School at 80 Bethany Road.

Board Vice President Rodney M. Layfield will automatically serve a five-year term, as there were no challengers for his seat representing District 2 (northern Millsboro and southern Georgetown).

All terms begin on July 1. Board member terms are staggered, so the second representative seat in each of the districts will be up for election in 2019.

Residents do not need to register to vote. Eligible voters must be 18 or older; a U.S. citizen; a Delaware citizen; and a resident of the voting district for which they’re casting a ballot. Proof of identity is required in order to vote.

Absentee voting will be permitted at the Department of Elections until noon on Monday, May 7. For more information, email absenteesc@state.de.us, call (302) 856-5367) or visit Department of Elections Sussex County Office, 119 N. Race Street, Georgetown.

All election details are online at https://electionssc.delaware.gov/school_absentee.shtml.

Editor’s note: Per our longstanding policy, in order to give candidates the last word before the election, Coastal Point is not publishing letters-to-the-editor regarding the IRSD election in this issue. Following are the question-and-answer series the candidates agreed to take part in, featuring District 3 candidates first, in alphabetical order:

District 3

Dana Probert

Q. How are you qualified for this position?

A. First and foremost, I am qualified to become a member of the school board because I care deeply about the future of our community and the role that education plays in ensuring that future. Our area needs educated young people for a sustainable future. We will always need small-business owners, skilled tradespeople, medical professionals, educators, caregivers and more. Through my work as an engineer and businesswoman, I have developed skills in analyzing the returns from an investment. A big part of our job as the school board is to ensure that the public is receiving solid returns for their tax investment.

Q. What is your perception of the board’s relationship with the public? How would you personally improve public relations and garner public support for a likely upcoming referendum for capital building projects?

A. On the whole, the current school board is perceived as being out of touch with the day-to-day challenges faced by teachers, staff, students and parents. While most meetings are open to the public, many residents feel the board is unapproachable and lacks transparency.

I believe that school board members should immerse themselves into Indian River School District culture as much as possible. I am currently working on developing relationships with all of the principals and teachers in District 3 schools, and I will work to expand that to all of IRSD. I will continue to visit schools, classrooms, special events and PTO meetings. I have had good success using social media as a communication tool in the past.

I’d like to work with the board and my constituents to find a platform that helps busy people stay informed. We’d also include some ways to foster constructive conversation and a two-way dialog between board members and the public.

As the capital building projects develop, it will become even more important to involve the public. Many residents of the school district are juggling work, children, elder-care, volunteer responsibilities and more. It is not always possible for folks to drop everything and come to a workshop or board meeting. Without some sort of virtual portal, we are missing out on many opportunities to gather feedback and tap into the creative ideas of our residents.

Q. What other issues do you hope to address? What new initiatives would you like to bring to the table if elected?

A. As far as issues I’d hope to address, I’d like to see the school district and school board do a better job of clearly defining success. What types of outcomes are we looking for, and what are the most effective ways to drive those outcomes?

As a school board member, I will be relentless on the subject of success metrics and return on investment. I believe strongly in evidence-based decision-making. It is not enough that something “seems” effective — let’s dig in and see what has been proven to work. I’m interested in learning more about what the community sees as issues and then working to find solutions.

I’d like to find creative ways to balance school choice between our elementary and middle schools as a way to help both improve outcomes and make the best use of our current school buildings. I’d like to improve the outcomes and perceptions of our middle and high schools to keep more IRSD students in-district. I am passionate about STEM education, skilled trade education and hands-on learning. I will work to strengthen and expand current programs that have proven results.

Q. What else would you like to tell voters before Election Day?

A. My husband and I settled down in this area because we loved the small-town feel, rural setting and low taxes. We certainly want to ensure that our three school-aged children have a quality education, but any investment in our schools should be done carefully. I am not interested in simply throwing money at problems. Let’s work together to ensure the entire community is seeing measurable results from your tax dollars.

Leolga T. Wright

Q. How are you qualified for this position?

A. I have been a member of the IRSD Board of Education for six years. In those six years, I have gained a wealth of knowledge into the operations of the district with regards to finances, student enrollment and various requirements that are issued by the Delaware State Board of Education.

Q. What is your perception of the board’s relationship with the public? How would you personally improve public relations and garner public support for a likely upcoming referendum for capital building projects?

A. Mr. Mark Steele has done a commendable job in keeping the public abreast of various issues, i.e., our financial situations, the past referendum and the concerns of our overcrowding within some of our schools. Transparency and honesty is key to garnering public support. We will need to be able to sit down with parents, organizations and other stakeholders and listen to their ideas and concerns.

Q. What other issues do you hope to address? What new initiatives would you like to bring to the table if elected?

A. We continue to have difficulty is getting bus drivers, resulting in some buses picking up students at different times. While I have no really new initiatives, I would like to see us continue to address the needs of all of our students and afford them an environment conducive to learning.

Q. What else would you like to tell voters before Election Day?

A. I hope I can get the support to be re-elected, and I will always make myself available to discuss any concerns one might have with the IRSD.

District 5

Derek E. Cathell

Q. How are you qualified for this position?

A. Some of the qualities I feel that I bring to the board are common sense, a true concern for the best interests of both our students and employees, and some leadership qualities that I have developed from serving with the Delaware State Police for the last 20-plus years. I also realize that I don’t have the answer to all the issues that arise in the school district and am always eager to hear what other board members, school administration and the public we serve have to offer.

Q. What is your perception of the board’s relationship with the public? How would you personally improve public relations and garner public support for a likely upcoming referendum for capital building projects?

A. I feel that the relationship is improving and, to continue to do so, I think the board and the district as a whole need to maintain a transparent relationship with the public with all decisions that we make.

Q. What other issues do you hope to address? What new initiatives would you like to bring to the table if elected?

A. I feel we need to continue to address the issues we have with the growth in the district and try to provide the best solutions possible to handle the growth. I also want to ensure that the district continues to maintain our safety measures we have in place as far as our constables and school resource officers. The safety of the children we are entrusted to educate is one of my top priorities.

Q. What else would you like to tell voters before Election Day?

A. I care about our district and its students. My children attend schools in the district, and my wife is employed by the district, so decisions we make as a district affect my household. It has been a pleasure to serve on the board since January of this year. I have really enjoyed my time on the board and have learned a great deal about the operations of the district. I hope to get the opportunity to serve on the board for another year and do the best job I can do for the Indian River School District.

Carla M. Ziegler

Q. How are you qualified for this position?

A. Occupation: owner/operator Traveling Tutorz; owner/operator Carla Ziegler Multi-family Homeschool; teacher in the Delaware Public School System for 16 years (5th, 6th and 8th grade) Certified Reading Specialist. My undergrad is in education and my master’s is in reading. I am currently DOE-certified in Reading K-12, Primary K-4, Elementary K-6, Exceptional Children K-12, Middle Level English 6-8, Teacher of Middle Grades 5-8 and Teacher of Social Studies 6-8.

Because I tutor in the district, as well as in other districts, I have a knowledge of the current benchmarks and curriculum still being used in the district. Throughout my teaching career I have participated within the district, and on the state and federal level in regard to curriculum writing as well as benchmark and assessment alignment with the prior state standards and now the common core standards.

I was a member of the Smarter Balanced Consortium Committee in which we vetted assessments, curriculum, teacher development workshops that were submitted throughout the nation. This participation was for the ongoing development and operation of the assessment system. We worked together with other national experts to ensure the assessments accurately measure student progress and growth toward college and career readiness.

Q. What is your perception of the board’s relationship with the public? How would you personally improve public relations and garner public support for a likely upcoming referendum for capital building projects?

A. We need to continue to increase voter trust in the superintendent, as well as the school board, administrators, and teachers and staff.

The Mission of the Indian River School District is to assure that students attain the knowledge, skills, and attitudes, needed to realize their potential, meet the challenges of their life choices, and fulfill their responsibilities as citizens of the State of Delaware, United States and world through a partnership of students, parents, staff, administrators, Board of Education and community.

We need to utilize a variety of media and perform a survey process to find out how our community feels we are doing regarding this Mission. We need to find out what the specific gaps are with our community and the district. We need to listen empathetically to the needs of the concerned parents and students regarding the curriculum we use to teach the common core standards. I would personally help to initiate these.

Q. What other issues do you hope to address?

A. Teachers “packing” guns.

Q. What new initiatives would you like to bring to the table if elected?

A. Curriculum modifications.

Q. What else would you like to tell voters before Election Day?

A. I am not interested in becoming a board member for my own self-gratification or any “free” handouts or advantages for my own children, as they are not in the school district. There is no monetary gain in becoming a board member as I am quite happy in my current educational career.

So, what is it? It is clear it is to be an empathetic and inspirational advocate for students, parents and teachers. It is an un-wavering volunteer service on how I can give back to my community.

Let us get involved again!

Coastal Point • Kerin Magill: Bill McGowan, a community development consultant, discusses the vast size and different personalities of Sussex County at South Coastal Library as part of the 38th District Democratic Committee’s ‘Lower Sussex Conversations’ series.

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Bill McGowan may be a native Delawarean, but having grown up in Wilmington and moved to Sussex County in 1980, he’s still considered a “brung here” — having moved to the area for a job.

McGowan — now a community development consultant — spent 25 years as an extension agent with the University of Delaware, followed by a stint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He frequently speaks to groups across the state about how to connect with each other.

He brought his multimedia presentation to the Sussex County 38th District Democratic Committee on Sunday, April 29. The presentation is the first in a series of talks to be held at the South Coastal Library, titled “Lower Sussex Conversations.”

McGowan began by asking the audience, while they watched a video with highlights of Sussex County life, to fill in the statement “To me, Sussex County is…”

McGowan filled in his own sentence with words like “pragmatism — almost too pragmatic,” “independence” and relationships.

He strongly encouraged those at the meeting — most of whom live in or near the beach area — to reach out to fellow Sussex residents to the west. McGowan said that is the key to truly understanding the county as a whole, and that not nearly enough eastern Sussex residents know what is going on a few miles to the west.

“I was in the Lewes library with 80 people one night and I asked ‘Has anybody been to Laurel?’” McGowan said. “How many hands do you think went up? None! I was the only one in the room… It’s the other end of Route 9!” he said.

“I do not need you stuck within one mile of water,” McGowan said. “I need you to get the hell out of Ocean View. I need you in Seaford. I need you in Laurel. I need you in Bridgeville.”

He said one way to start the “conversation” between the resorts and the more rural, western side is to find common ground. He pointed to groups that form around specific, countywide issues — often called citizens’ advisory committees or similar names — as good ways to meet and increase understanding of those in other parts of the county. “You find this communal issue,” he said, and often, broader conversations can result.

“You can shape ways to have conversation,” McGowan said. “It’s finding things that are important to us,” he said, listing “families” and “the environment” as topics in which all residents can find common ground.

McGowan said he is particularly fond of the 25 towns in Sussex County.

“I call them the jewels,” he said. “I’d love to see every town crankin’ and popped up and rockin’. I really would.”

He pointed to Berlin, Md., as a town whose residents and business owners got together during the hard times in the 1980s when industry was leaving the area, and turned things around by essentially remaking the town into a destination for tourists and day-trippers.

Seaford resident Cookie Garfield told the group that she welcomes any chance to meet with those across the county who share similar concerns.

“I appreciate everything I heard you say,” Garfield said. “I grew up in Federalsburg, and after 40 years in New York, I’m back home, and I so love Sussex.”

Garfield said she has had to adjust to the pace in “lower slower” Delaware.

“I had to get used to it being ‘lower slower,’ and take forever for somebody to move and get something done,” Garfield said.

The 38th District Democratic Committee’s “Lower Sussex Conversations” will continue on May 20, at 3 p.m. at the South Coastal Library, when “The Press & the People” will be the topic. The speakers will be University of Delaware professor and former CNN correspondent Ralph Begleiter and Darin McCann, executive editor of the Coastal Point.

Coastal Point • Laura Walter: From left, Rosie with owner Ron Wohlust, BB with Sandi Roberts, Logan with Helen Delvecchio and Lucy with Mary Buckley.With a long snout and elegant legs, the greyhound has captured hearts of some Delawareans. Greyhound Pet Adoptions of Delaware (GPAD) is a volunteer group dedicated to finding homes for retired greyhounds.

The dogs are all former racing dogs who have outlived their usefulness on the track. With competition having once been thrust upon them, the retired animals are sent north for adoptions.

Once a month, the GPAD volunteers meet at the Millville Petco to encourage pet adoptions and introduce available dogs to curious visitors. Last year, they found homes for 50 dogs.

All of the humans said they fell in love with greyhounds when they first met the tall, slim creatures.

For such an athletic animal, greyhounds are surprisingly docile, like “45 mph couch potatoes,” Mary Buckley said.

“They sleep like they race,” Ron Wohlust joked, boasting that the dogs are easygoing, rarely bark and are good with other animals and small children.

People can meet greyhounds at the GPAD booth on the second Sunday of each month from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Petco in Millville.

GPAD will also have a booth at Companions at the Campgrounds, a family-friendly event on Saturday, May 12, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at The Resort at Massey’s Landing, 20628 Long Beach Drive, near Long Neck.

The group also hosts greyhound meet-ups and walks around Sussex County. Details and schedules for Greyhound Pet Adoptions of Delaware are online at www.gpadelaware.org.

As part of a global movement to encourage sustainable development, the World Fair Trade Organization each year designates the second Saturday in May as World Fair Trade Day, and locally, the event has been celebrated each year at Made By Hand in South Bethany, which specializes in fair-trade goods.

“All people should be treated with respect and dignity and paid fairly for their work and that business can be ethical and support good things,” said Kimberly Grimes, who owns Made By Hand with her husband, Marco Hernandez.

“It was in the late ’90s… Together, all of us fair-traders decided to have a World Day — kind of copying Earth Day. We thought, that way, if we had a special World Fair Trade Day, the second Saturday of every year, it would help drive attention to people to think about where they shop, how things are made.”

This year, World Fair Trade Day will be held at the shop on Saturday, May 12, from noon to 5 p.m. During that time, those who visit Made By Hand will experience a celebration of the Amazon jungle.

“We’re very excited, because every year we pick a group or a country or a region to focus on. This year is the Amazon, which is a place very near and dear to our hearts. When I was a professor at [the University of] Delaware, I used to take students abroad there, to the Peruvian part of the Amazon.”

Grimes said the director of the Center of Amazon Ecology at Penn State will be in attendance at the store all day and will be sharing “all kinds of wonderful things,” including a virtual reality tour of the Amazon.

“He filmed 360 degrees with his camera in the Amazon. He’s going to bring those so you can put them on and see what it’s like walking around in the Amazon. I’m really excited about that,” she explained. “He’s also going to bring some videos where we can watch people making things.”

There will also be a sampling of rainforest fruits for those in attendance to taste.

Kids will also be able to put together a jigsaw puzzle of Amazon images and even playing pin-the-eye-on-the-tree-frog.

“Obviously, it’s like pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey,” Grimes explained with a laugh. “We’re going to put some Amazon animals in the store. The kids are going to try and figure out what animal is an amazon animal. They’re going to make a little list, and if they find all five, they win a prize.

“This is our first time we’ve had a lot of activities for all ages. I’m really excited about that,” she said.

Awareness of fair trade and practices has grown over the years, which Grimes said has a ripple effect.

“It has really grown since when we first started in 1996. We would say to people, ‘fair trade,’ and they would have no idea what we were talking about. Fortunately, 20-plus years later, we can say ‘fair trade’ and people are like, ‘Oh, yes!’” she said, adding that Made By Hand also has a one-page flyer on the topic for visitors to the store.

“We have these core values — treat people with respect and dignity. Pay people fairly. We create long-term relationships with groups. The group we started working with 22 years ago, we still work with today. When we take on new groups, it’s kind of a life-long commitment to those folks. So, they can plan… They can build a school for their community, they can help improve nutrition — all those things we want to see happen.”

Grimes said the relationships built with artisans is not simply of a business nature, but of friendship.

“Marco and I have been very fortunate in that we’ve been able to go visit many of our groups. It’s just fantastic,” she said. “Each group and each store has its own unique way of being. Every store doesn’t buy from the same group. There’s lots of producers, lots of artisans in the world. They all are members of the Fair Trade Organization. That ensures they’re making things in a democratic way, sharing the money, and all the good stuff we profess — so there’s certification there.”

Each fair-trade store is unique in its own way, which gives consumers the opportunity to find a variety of one-of-a-kind items.

“We kind of try to figure out what the local environment is. So, not every store is going to be the same. The store in the big city is going to be different from the store here in a tourist area. At the same time, we follow all the same principles while also all being unique,” she said.

The inter-personal connection with the artisans is what makes supporting the fair-trade community so special, she said.

“We try to go even further, so if they pick something up and they want to know more about it, we can tell them how it’s made, who made it, give them the phone number of the person who made it. If they want to go visit them in Guatemala, we can give them an address. That kind of real, direct connection they can feel with the person.”

Grimes said it’s important for consumers to think about where the goods they’re buying come from and in what ways they were produced.

“You can make a difference in the world with every single purchase. By just knowing who you’re buying from — just like buying from local farmers’ markets supporting our local farmers. We have all the power in how the world runs, if we just think about it and do it.”

Grimes said she hopes those in the community visit Made By Hand on Saturday to learn more about the Amazon and the importance of fair trade.

“It’s supposed to be gorgeous weather. I’m really excited. I hope a lot of people will be able to come out.”

Made By Hand is located at 34444 Coastal Highway, in York Beach Mall in South Bethany. For more information, call (302) 539-6335 or visit www.madebyhandinternationalcooperative.com.

Coastal Point • Kerin Magill: Michele Wright and Joe Harmon look over a guest book from the Rosedale Beach Hotel & Resort from the late 1960s during a Nanticoke Elders Gathering on April 28 at the Nanticoke Indian Center in Millsboro.For much of the 20th century, the Rosedale Beach Hotel was a popular resort and gathering place on the banks of the Indian River Bay near Millsboro.

Nothing remains of the hotel now, although a state historical site marker tells a bit of its story.

During the era of segregation, Rosedale was a rare spot where the color of one’s skin did not prevent entrance. It became — for African-Americans who came by the busload and Native Americans who often walked down the road to the beachside resort — a summer haven, a gathering place and an entertainment hub.

Townhouses now sit on the 9-acre site that for years hosted some of the nation’s top entertainers, including Stevie Wonder, Dionne Warwick, Lena Horne and James Brown. But a recent Nanticoke Elders Gathering brought together several in the community who recalled its glory days.

Moderator Mike Harmon started the discussion at the Nanticoke Indian Center by reading from a 1981 newspaper article detailing plans to auction off equipment at the hotel. At the time, there were hopes that the property might become a state park, but that never happened and, today, the Gull Point townhouse community is located there.

Harmon said that when he came back to Sussex County after years away, he couldn’t believe the changes in the area, including the disappearance of the Rosedale resort.

“It’s hard to grasp, sometimes, the building and development that has gone on,” he said. “But we can’t stop progress.”

The once-grand hotel — which boasted white-tablecloth dining service and 32 guest rooms, as well as more casual dining, a bar, a canteen for teens, a boardwalk and a merry-go-round, in addition to its popular stage — was by 1981 “a weathered building, an empty shell bearing the quarters of Mrs. Donelda Burton, surviving wife of Harris Burton, who died in 1972” the article said. By 1974, the hotel had been “phased out,” leaving only the snack bar and bar in operation. The bar closed in 1981.

What caused the downturn in Rosedale’s fortunes was integration — no longer were people of color subject to legal segregation that allowed “whites-only” establishments in many parts of the country.

The Burtons were the hotel’s last owners. Many at the Elders Gathering recalled an earlier proprietor, Floyd Vause, and his wife, Mae, who ran the hotel at the height of its popularity. But Cassandra Anlage, who currently lives in New Jersey but is in the process of relocating back to Sussex County, reminded the group of the origins of the name Rosedale: two of its former owners.

Coastal Point • Kerin Magill: Layman Jackson, left, and Mike Harmon look at memorabilia from the Rosedale Beach Hotel & Resort at the Nanticoke Indian Center in Millsboro during a Nanticoke Indian Elders Gathering on April 28.“My grandfather was David Street, and they also called him ‘Dale,’” Anlage said. “My grandmother’s name was Rose,” which was short for Rosetta. So when you put the two together…” she said. “I have cousins in the room here, so they’re all part of Rose and Dale,” she added.

One of the documents on display at the gathering was a handwritten deed, dated 1925, conveying the property from Noah and Eunice Harmon to David and Rosetta Street for the sum of $450.

Warren “Tobby” Jackson, 78, recalled the “Negro entrepreneur” Floyd Vause, who managed the hotel from 1945 to 1960, after his cousin, Philadelphia businessman Jesse Vause, bought the property. During that time, the original five-room hotel was torn down and replaced by a 32-room facility.

Many of those who spoke at the elders’ gathering recalled Floyd Vause and his wife, Mae, as gracious hosts who maintained the property as a high-class establishment. Michele Wright especially remembered the Vause’s private quarters, where she was particularly captivated by a “coffee table with a blue mirror in it, and on that was a globe with roses.”

Jackson recalled that, even though Delaware had a “blue law” at the time, “Somehow, through politics, the owner of Rosedale Beach got a license to sell alcoholic beverages on Sundays. It was the only place open in the area, and people used to flock there on Sundays just so they could drink beer,” Jackson said.

He recalled Vause as “a gentleman” who “brought the best kind of entertainment, black entertainment, down here.”

“Back in the 1940s and ’50s, there was no place for us to go, because everything was segregated,” Jackson said. “We couldn’t go to the white beaches if they knew what we were… It was bad here,” he said. “Sussex County was almost like the deep South… everything was segregated.”

Jackson recalled going to a local comic store for ice cream as a child, and being told he could not eat his ice cream in the store.

“They said take it outside and eat it. That was racism, and there was a lot of racism here,” he said.

But the Rosedale, Jackson said, was different.

“It was a great place at the time,” he said.

One of his earliest memories of the place was as a boy of 9 or 10.

“I stood at the dance hall door, and they had a wooden stage with the musicians up on it. And I actually looked up and watched Little Stevie Wonder — they called him ‘Boy Wonder’ back then… and he was just a boy my age, up on the stage, playing his harmonica and singing.”

Layman Jackson, 92, remembered seeing the legendary singer Lena Horne on the Rosedale Beach stage.

Isaac “Rye” Jackson, 78, told a story about a day when James Brown was due to perform. Although an announcement had been made that Brown would not perform that evening, while another singer was performing, Brown jumped from a hotel window onto the stage “and hit the concrete doing the moonwalk. He was a showman,” Jackson said.

“I remember on a Tuesday night they had Louis Armstrong,” he continued. “Rosedale Beach was a lot of things to a lot of people,” Rye Jackson said. “It was a place to gather, it was entertainment. It was entertainment that we never would have seen.”

Running like an unbreakable thread through the afternoon full of memories was the somber reality of segregation.

Mike Harmon talked about “as a youngster, putting that ‘other’ on.”

“Tobby” Jackson recounted that “if we wanted to go to the movies, we had to sit upstairs.”

Along with Harmon, he recalled that on applications for such everyday things as jobs and driver’s licenses, there was no “box to check” that indicated their Native American heritage as a recognized ethnicity. “It was just ‘other,’” Harmon said, “and it was a tough’ other’ time. I remember that, and I’m sure so many people in here remember that, too.”

There was also laughter heard throughout the recollections, particularly when memories popped up of the “medicine man” who sold “Kickapoo joy juice” — among other things — on the premises.

Former Nanticoke Chief William Daisey said of the popular tonic, “If you inhaled it too strongly, you felt like your head was going to be blown off. It was potent stuff… probably illegal. We used it for everything, you know.”

Joe Harmon, 75, had detailed memories of the “medicine man,” whom he described as “dressed up. He didn’t have a horse and wagon, but he had an old truck and it was covered with everything you could think of.”

Many recalled the frequent baseball games played at Rosedale Beach — involving local teams, as well as segregated semi-pro teams of black and white players who came to play.

There were also plenty of recollections of the many “holes in the fence” surrounding the property, through which locals tended to gain entry to the resort without paying the entrance fee.

Another popular way to experience the resort’s entertainment was to pull up in a boat in the bay.

In the resort’s earliest years, apparently, it was a popular wintertime activity for teenage boys to pull their Model-A Fords out onto the ice that formed in the bay.

Sylvia Davis Pinkett, 90, said that, for her, Rosedale simply offered a welcome break from farm work when she was a child.

“My dad, living on the farm, always had work for us to do,” Pinkett said, but “every Fourth of July, he gave us a quarter to go down to Rosedale. With that quarter — candy was a nickel, so I had a good time with that quarter.”

“You really appreciated what was there,” former Chief Daisey said. “Because you didn’t have options” that are available today, he said. “When you started getting options, the place started going down.”

But while the resort itself is no more, the memories of its place in local culture — and a period in time — linger on with those whose own stories were set at Rosedale Beach.

On Saturday, May 12, the fellowship hall at Mariner’s Bethel United Methodist Church will be transformed into “Art in the Park” for a very special afternoon tea.

The event is a fundraiser for the church’s planned Hope Center, a community-center facility that will offer gathering spaces for area groups and programs.

The tea will feature four courses: soup, scones, sandwiches and dessert, according to committee chairperson Fran Milio. Harpist Joyce Slavens will perform during the tea, which will be from 1 to 3 p.m.

Thanks to plants donated by Lord’s Landscaping and art contributed by committee members, “It will not look like the normal church social hall” on Saturday afternoon, Milio said.

This will be the second year for the event, which Milio said sold out last year and had a waiting list of people who hoped to be able to attend. This year, as of Coastal Point press time on Wednesday, there were still “a few tickets left,” Milio said, citing the number school graduations competing for attention this year.

Last year’s event, Milio said, was the result of the fundraising committee looking for an “upscale event” to add to the Cookie Walk at Christmas and the Wings & Things Super Bowl event to raise funds for the Hope Center.

“It was a tremendous success,” she said of the inaugural tea. She added that quite a crew of volunteers is needed to pull off the event. “We have bakers, we have decorators, we have people making centerpieces, we have a set-up crew,” she said.

Mariner’s Bethel hopes to break ground on the community center by late summer or early fall, Milio said.

Tickets for the Art in the Park event cost $35 per person and can be reserved by calling the church at (302) 539-9510.

Coastal Point • Laura Walter It’s a wonderful spring for Sue Keefer, who won Teacher of the Year at G.W. Carver Academy and whose nonprofit just dug a new well in Africa.Sue Keefer was away from the office when she received news about winning Teacher of the Year at George Washington Carver Academy. And she wasn’t just out of town. Keefer was out of the hemisphere.

But her trips to the Democratic Republic of Congo started with her love of children and teaching young elementary students at G.W. Carver, an alternative school for the Indian River School District, addressing the academic, behavioral and personal needs of about 70 K-12 students at any given time.

“Our goal here is to get them back to their home schools” with coping mechanisms to help get them through tough times, she said.

It’s a little classroom with seven children, from kindergarten to second grade. Even assisted by a para-educator and a one-on-one specialist, Keefer’s always on her toes, planning and readjusting.

“We’re trying to get them to think about their emotions in this classroom. Because they come in with all kinds of things in their head,” and stresses from home and the outside world, which they must overcome to focus on schoolwork.

“I love the idea that I can make a difference,” said Keefer, who wants to ensure her little ones know they’re loved. “I want to work on making a change for their lives, because their lives are struggles, and I come here every day hoping that one thing we do will brighten their day for them.”

She celebrates even the smallest victories with high-fives and encouragement.

Now in her third year at Carver, Keefer previously taught special education at Sussex Central High School for seven years.

Regardless of age group, her mission remains the same: “I want them to be successful.”

She’s proud to represent her school as Teacher of the year for 2018-2019.

“You just want to make the school shine. … This building, in particular, is harder because of what we do here,” Keefer said. “For people to understand what we do in this building would be lovely. It’s a place for kids to get themselves together and get back out there with more tools, giving them the right tools.”

At Carver, teachers have a long road ahead, but they are fortunate to begin with a written history, to understand where students are coming from. Keefer admitted that if she didn’t know a child’s background, she might react to bad behavior a lot differently.

“I feel that the biggest challenge is that we don’t recognize trauma in children of all ages,” Keefer said. “We don’t recognize what is happening to our students in their personal lives, and we expect them to come right in, ready for education, when their whole life outside of here is falling apart.”

Her job starts with empathy, connecting with children and their personal lives, so they can be successful. And her colleagues see it.

“Mrs. Sue Keefer is a phenomenal educator who goes above and beyond each day with her students. Her dedication and love for learning is evident in all that she does,” one stated at the district’s Teacher of the Year celebration in April. They honored her experience, passion and compassion.

Teaching was always Keefer’s dream, and special education was her specialty. She worked at summer camps for people with handicaps, as well as eight years as a Special Olympics coordinator. She has earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Clarion University of Pennsylvania.

Originally teaching in Pennsylvania, Keefer had retired to raise her first two children. That’s when the pianos rolled around.

Her husband, Ed, owned a music store that sold, among other things, old-fashioned player pianos. When both supply companies stopped producing them, the Keefers bought one of the companies, built a factory and built pianos for 20 years.

“We were the only one in the world producing roll-player pianos,” in addition to regular uprights and grands.

She returned to teaching around 2002, when the piano industry was selling down. Enticed by “that one wonderful week of vacation” each year at the Delaware seashore, the Keefers moved to Sussex County about 10 years ago.

They also created a nonprofit foundation serving children in the Democratic Republic of Congo, (not to be confused with the Republic of the Congo).

It all started with a 2010 mission trip, where she fell in love with the children. Then, on a 2011 mission trip, she bonded with a child named Miriam. Their hearts just connected, and the little girl refused to leave Keefer’s side.

In 2013, the child’s father died, and the Keefers stepped up to adopt her. During her 30-day wait for Congolese paperwork, Keefer volunteered at the nutrition center, taught and played games with the children. Her ties to the nation grew even stronger, and she saw the poverty.

The Keefers knew they couldn’t feed each of the thousands of starving children, but they could help some.

They founded Miriam’s Table in 2014 to provide one nutrition-packed meal each day to local children in the Mpasa region, just outside of capital city of Kinshasa. They also help supply medicine and mosquito nets.

“Our mission is to improve the physical and spiritual well-being of the children and families of the Democratic Republic of Congo,” the website states.

“And we just finished drilling a freshwater well, through the Rotarians,” said Keefer, grateful to the Rotary International, including Delaware and African branches.

They’ll supply the community with fresh water and also host sanitation training. After all, typhoid fever spreads by contaminated water, causing fever, rash and severe intestinal irritation. The well pump will be solar-powered, since there is no electricity. Miriam’s Table is also getting new toilets. (Details are online at www.miriamstable.org.)

Back at home in Lewes, Keefer loves family activities, such as bike rides and time on the water. She and Miriam still visit Congo every summer.

For a teacher, summers aren’t just vacation. It’s a time for training, teaching summer school or writing lesson plans for next year.

“Teachers are really here to make a difference for their students, and they work hard. … I think for me and most people, it’s your life, thinking about your students,” Keefer said. “It’s not just a job. It’s a way you live your life.”

With acts of violence seeming to take center stage both nationally and globally, the Ocean View Police Department is working to make citizens feel safer in their community.

With that in mind, the department will be hosting CRASE — Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events — on Thursday, May 17, at its headquarters from 5 to 7 p.m.

“We just did one in Frankford and had about 50 people turn out,” said OVPD Sgt. Rhys Bradshaw. “We’ve gotten great feedback.”

The class, which is free and open to the public, will be taught by OVPD Chief Ken McLaughlin and will teach civilians how to “avoid, deny and defend” in the face of an active shooter situation.
“Unfortunately, we’ve been seeing a lot more of these incidents,” said Bradshaw. “It basically teaches civilians what to do in case of an active shooter at their place of employment, or wherever they’re at. And an active-shooter situation — it doesn’t just mean somebody with a gun. It could be someone with a knife. Vehicles are being used more often. It’s just teaches civilians how to protect themselves and others.”

Those who attend will also be taught by Sussex County Paramedics how to handle injuries.

“They’ll also go through some basic first aid — stop the bleed and hands-only CPR — so they can treat themselves or someone else,” Bradshaw said. “Sussex County EMS will have people there with hands-on stations where they can practice tourniquets, stuffing wounds, things like that.”

The program is taught in cooperation with Texas State University and the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training.

The course focuses on having civilians gain an understanding of what emergency services do in such a situation, so they may be prepared and understand the response.

“It’s important for everyone to be on the same page — all the emergency-response teams are on the same page; all the citizens are on the same page. It’s just going to make for a more effective response and hopefully a better outcome,” said McLaughlin. “They’re going to be there, be present… In fact, they’re going to be there before we’re going to be there, so they need to understand how to protect themselves, No. 1, and, No. 2, how to conduct themselves when police and fire get to the scene.”

McLaughlin said the course can be empowering for those who attend, because they learn what to do in case such a tragic situation were to occur.

“Even if they have a basic knowledge of what’s going on,” he said, they can benefit from the course.

For more information or to register a large group, contact OVPD Chief Ken McLaughlin at (302) 539-1111 or email Kenneth.mclaughlin@cj.state.de.us.

The Millville Town Council has unanimously approved a shooting ban inside town limits, but assuaged the concerns of some by making allowances for hunting.

No one may fire any firearm, air gun, bow and arrow, slingshot or “any weapon capable of propelling a missile by explosion of powder, compression of air, springs, or any other means,” states Ordinance 19-01. The ban does not include BB guns.

However, law-enforcement may fire weapons in their official line of duty. Also, property owners can shoot on any parcel of land at least 15 acres, except within 200 yards of any residence or 15 yards of any road serving more than just that parcel. Visitors shooting must carry written permission from the owner.

People must also abide by Delaware code, which lays out hunting rules in Title 7, Chapter 7: “No person, except the owner or occupant, shall discharge a firearm within 100 yards of an occupied dwelling, house or residence or any barn, stable or any other building…”

The issue was raised by people in the more residential areas of town who were concerned about bullets flying around the neighborhood, including when a bullet hit a house in Millville By the Sea.

“It’s very disconcerting. From spring to winter, there can be shooting out there two, three, four times a week, depending on the weather,” said Cathy Scheck, who lives in a housing development near open land. “There’s a lot of traffic going by, my house backs up to it.

“I don’t have a problem with gun ownership, especially legal ownership, but as we have more and more residential [homes], cars going by, traffic going by, pets, people — it’s a challenge. It’s only going to increase.”

But hunters made their presence known.

“We live off the land. All our kids, we raise ’em to be like that. And I’d hate to see something like that taken away from us,” said Ted Banks, a fourth-generation property owner in Millville. “If you have the land, you should be able to do what you want to do with the land. … It’s just a Sussex County thing.”

In April, the town council has originally considered a complete shooting ban, until hunter James Powell reminded them that hunting still occurs on large parcels, especially where deer and birds are overpopulated.

Mayor Bob Gordon said he was grateful for the public input, since “15 acres is a far cry from where this code started. Thank goodness Mr. Powell brought that to our attention.”

David Hudson said he supported the ordinance, but he discussed the broader impacts of development.

“We have a farm here. It’s our way of life, and it puts money in our pocket and food on the table,” said Hudson, a 43-year resident. “One issue we have with all the building recently is the crowding of the geese,” due to open land being converted into houses with stormwater management ponds.

“Now we have resident geese that are tearing up our field, like snow geese ripping out our winter wheat. … What makes it beautiful is the open air and the open fields and woods that we have here. We want to maintain that. If we’re not able to maintain that and be profitable, we’ll be looking to sell off more farmland and diminishing what I think is a beautiful area.”

Millville’s new law only impacts the firing of weapons, not gun ownership or transport.

Council rejects townhomes

The town council unanimously rejected a conditional-use permit request that would allow Millville Residential LLC, to build a neighborhood of townhomes, although it was initially intended as such when part of the Millville Town Center 3 subdivision.

The property (TMP#134-12.00-396.00) butts up against the rear of fire company property, with a panhandle entrance from Dukes Drive.

It is zoned RPC, which requires a mixture of housing, said Ring Lardner Davis, representing engineering firm Davis, Bowen & Friedel Inc. He proposed 24 townhomes on 4.2892 acres, which is less than the 10 acres required in town code. The site was initially part of a larger project, which would have allowed it to meet the density goals.

Council members cited the density, traffic issues and the town comprehensive plan’s goal to preserve open space.

But, eventually, something will be built there, pointed out Council Member Ron Belinko.

Nearby residents opposed the plan, saying they were concerned with increasing traffic near the future playground; increased population and density (although a previous town council had previously approved higher density there).

The density would have been about 5.6 units per acre, which is less than the 6.2 units per acre standard, and even less than some places in Millville By the Sea, which is 8 units per acre in some areas, said Town Manager Debbie Botchie.

They brought more detailed plans than required, but the council and the public shouldn’t truly debate the site layout until later in the site plan approval process, officials said.

Legally, the site is zoned RPC, which requires a mixture of housing types, such as apartments, townhomes and single-family. The parcel was initially intended as another phase, to diversify the housing options in the neighboring Villas at Cedar Cove. When they couldn’t connect the utility points, the 4.2892-acre parcel was left over, and the permits expired there after three years of no building.

Now, a neighborhood of just townhomes could only be built with a conditional-use permit, or the owner could rezone the parcel as residential to build a few houses.

The town solicitor reminded the council that their job this week was to consider the effect on neighboring properties, intent of the Town’s comprehensive plan, adequate parking and more.

The proposed 24 units would be 20 or 22 feet wide, 60 feet deep and three stories high. The Sussex Conservation District and the local tax ditch association supported the proposed stormwater plans, Lardner said.

Because they would bring sewer and water down Dukes Drive, they even suggested a partnership to share costs with the future town park, which will be located two lots away.

In other Millville Town Council news:

• The Planning & Zoning Commission will meet on May 22 at 2 p.m., to review a conditional-use application from Cellco Partnership, d/b/a Verizon Wireless, requesting cellular infrastructure at the top of the existing elevator penthouse building located at 35786 Atlantic Avenue (My Eye Doctor).

• Two residents complained of the Millville Volunteer Fire Company’s audible siren. Michelle Lips said that people with medical problems cannot always fall back asleep when awakened by the town-wide call.

Longtime MVFC member Harold Lloyd countered that when people hear the alarm, they can be grateful that their house isn’t on fire and their families are safe, and, “Then you can roll over and go back to sleep.”

“In today’s day and age, there are ways to manage the alarms without disturbing the public. … The [fire company] could utilize alternative methods for connecting with their staff, instead of a method that disturbs the public at large,” said Valerie Faden.

• Town Clerk Matt Amerling was honored for his nearly six years of service, in recognition of Municipal Clerks Week.

• Administratively, rules for temporary tents were moved out of the zoning code and into licensing procedure for special events.

The Millville Town Council’s next workshop meeting is Tuesday, May 22, at 7 p.m.

The Indian River School District’s Board of Education will keep the same lineup for 2018 to 2019. Three incumbents kept their seats in the May 8 elections, according to unofficial results from the Delaware Department of Elections’ Sussex County Office.

In District 3, Leolga Wright defeated challenger Dana Probert, 349-92, for a five-year term.

“I thought the voting spoke for itself, and the support that was in all communities spoke volumes … so I’m excited and glad to retain my seat,” said Wright, thanking all the voters.

Wright said she is ready to tackle IRSD’s next five years of challenges: “I’m excited about seeing Howard T. Ennis [School] come full circle and be a new school … and looking forward to how were going to alleviate overcrowding in our district,” which will likely involve renovations and new buildings, she said, adding that she is also “looking forward to new ideas on educating our students and making sure they have viable pathways to move forward in the community.”

Constituents can contact her at Leolga.Wright@irsd.k12.de.us. District 3 includes south Millsboro and north Dagsboro on both sides of Route 113.

In District 5, Derek Cathell defeated Carla Ziegler, 95-27.

Cathell was just appointed by the board in January to fill a vacancy. With this election, voters approved him to finish the final year of that term. District 5 covers Selbyville, Gumboro and parts of Frankford.

“I’m looking forward to serving on the board for the next year, and I’m excited about what we can get done,” he said.

“The big thing is … continuing with our school safety programs and [ensuring] that they stay in place with the standards we have now,” he said.

Also, regarding the need for building expansions, “I think we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us and decisions to make. I’m eager to hear input from the public and ideas they may have.”

Constituents can contact him at Derek.Cathell@irsd.k12.de.us.

In District 3, Board Vice President Rodney M. Layfield automatically received a new five-year term, as there were no challengers in District 2 (northern Millsboro and southern Georgetown). Constituents can contact him at Rodney.Layfield@irsd.k12.de.us.

All three terms begin on July 1.

On the evening of Tuesday, May 8, around 8:05 p.m., an Ocean View police officer attempted to stop a 2015 Ford Mustang after a check of the vehicle’s tags showed it was flagged in Pennsylvania as an uninsured motor vehicle.

“When we tried to stop him, he failed to stop, which led to a pursuit that lasted several minutes,” said Ocean View Police Sgt. Rhys Bradshaw, noting that it was a high-speed pursuit. “At some point, speeds reached in excess of 75 miles an hour. In this area, with these back roads, that’s pretty fast, especially if you don’t know the area.”

The Mustang eventually came to a stop at Kent Avenue and Garfield Parkway, at which point the OVPD officer was assisted by an officer from the Bethany Beach Police Department.

The driver, who was later identified as Joseph A. Cook of Malvern, Pa., was told to exit the vehicle, which police said he refused to do.

“The officers tried to take him into custody. They had him at gunpoint, and he was trying to get away, brought his car forward — and that’s when he struck the officer with his car and then took off,” said Bradshaw, noting that the Ocean View officer did not sustain any injuries from the impact.

Police said Cook abandoned his vehicle at an occupied home on Parkwood Street, where he then fled on foot and was not apprehended at that time.

The OVPD prepared warrants for Cook’s arrest, Bradshaw said, and was able to track Cook to a home on Ogre Drive off of Muddy Neck in Ocean View.

“He was taken into custody at approximately 5 a.m. this morning, without incident,” said Bradshaw on May 9.

While investigating Cook, officers also found that Cook had been arrested multiple times in Pennsylvania on DUI charges.

“Pennsylvania further told us that Cook was sentenced on May 8 — which was the day of this happening — in Chester County, for nine months of probation on a DUI charge from October 2017,” said Bradshaw.

“The fact that Cook violated his probation only hours after sentencing shows his total lack of respect for the law and the courts,” said Ocean View Police Chief Ken McLaughlin.

Cook was charged with failure to have insurance, reckless driving, careless driving, speeding, disregarding a police officer’s signal to stop (a Class G felony), offensive touching of a law enforcement officer, reckless endangering, resisting arrest and driving without a license.

Bradshaw said the department was grateful to neighboring agencies — the Bethany Beach, South Bethany, Dewey Beach, Fenwick Island police departments and the Delaware State Police — for their help in the incident.

“We are a small-town agency. The only way for us to have successful police-work in this area is cooperation from neighboring agencies, which happened last night, and which is always nice to see,” said Bradshaw.

Additionally, on the morning of May 8, an Ocean View officer had made a traffic stop that resulted in the confiscation of suspected marijuana and suspected THC oil.

During the stop, the vehicle’s passenger Cody Miller, 27, of Bishopville, Md., handed the officer a green container containing some suspected marijuana, police reported.

“The officer could also smell marijuana emanating from the vehicle,” said Bradshaw, “at which time both people were taken out of the vehicle. A search was conducted, and we were able to locate 61g of marijuana, which is over the threshold of what is considered personal use — which is 1 ounce, which is 28.35g.”

The officer also located suspected THC oil and 11 “one-hitters” (pipes used to smoke THC) filled with suspected THC oil.

Miller was charged with three counts of possession of marijuana over a personal quantity. He released on bond pending an appearance in the Court of Common Pleas.

Coastal Point • Submitted: Cameron and Lisa Travalini enjoy time together during her tour of the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt.When Cameron Travalini was deployed with the U.S. Navy on the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt, his mom, Lisa Travalini, worried.

That’s what moms do.

After all, she knew there was always the possibility that the Roosevelt could be called into dangerous duty at any time.

Like any mom, she tried to imagine what life was like for her son — her middle child — onboard the carrier. She savored the chances she got to talk to him, especially the occasions he was able contact her by Facetime and she could actually see his face.

But it was hard not being able to see for herself where he spent his days — and nights — aboard the ship.

So when she learned she could spend a week on board the ship with him, through the Navy’s Tiger Cruise program, she jumped at the chance. So, last week, Travalini boarded the Roosevelt in Hawaii and set off on a voyage she called “extraordinarily fun.”

She said friends and family questioned her sanity somewhat when she decided to take that trip — because, after all, an aircraft carrier does not have the accommodations of an average cruise. But she was not deterred.

“I looked at it as an adventure,” she said.

Plus, how could she miss any chance to spend a week with her son?

“You sleep on these small bunks,” she said. “The food was mediocre; it wasn’t gourmet food,” Travalini said, although she added, “We did get fruit all the time.”

While the cruise, which added about 600 friends and family members to the crew of 5,000, gave Travalini a chance to experience some of Cameron’s life aboard the ship, she couldn’t see where he actually works. Having completed two years of training at the Navy’s Nuclear Power School in Charleston, S.C., last year, he works on the nuclear equipment that runs the ship, which is off-limits to visitors.

Coastal Point • Submitted: The Travalinis and another crew member on board the Roosevelt.During the Tiger Cruise, Cameron didn’t have to work, though, so the two spent quite a bit of time together. Given that the carrier, which is 20 stories tall and almost 1,100 feet long, is a small city within itself, there was plenty to do during the week. But Travalini said that, without a doubt, the “most awesome thing” for her was the air show.

“It was like the air shows in Ocean City, except much closer to you,” she said. “They put on this fantastic display. They fly the planes off right in front of you. … They drop bombs and shoot guns in the water.” During the show, organizers explain the equipment being used, which Travalini said she found very interesting and educational.

“It was all new to me,” Travalini said.

The whole week, she explained, was a taste of what goes on each day on the ship. Cameron had to be with her whenever she moved about the ship, and she said that was a good thing, because “All the doors look alike,” as do many of the hallways, and she had trouble getting her bearings. “It’s such a large boat, I probably didn’t even see half of it.”

She also said she now has a new understanding of what it must be like to be on the ship for months at a time.

“There’s really no concept of time on the ship,” she said.

The cruise has helped give her a comfort level about Cameron’s safety, she said, and an understanding of life aboard the ship. While he was deployed, Travalini said, it was difficult sometimes, not knowing where he was when she hadn’t had any contact with him in a while.

“Tears were shed, trust me,” she said. Now, though, “I see how long and how hard they work, and I know he’s probably just busy working” when he’s out of touch, not necessarily somewhere in the midst of a conflict, Travalini said.

The Roosevelt, also known as “The Big Stick,” has been deployed to such places as the Persian Gulf, the Indian Ocean and the Philippines. Although he can’t tell her where he is when the ship is deployed to a location, it is possible to find out after the fact, Travalini said. When he can, he sends her pictures of the “magnificently beautiful” places he sometimes gets to visit while deployed.

Another part of the trip Travalini said she found particularly meaningful was meeting the families of other crew members. She heard stories of families being separated during crucial times, she said, that were “heartbreaking.” She met a crew member who was about to meet his 7-month old baby for the first time.

“That, to me, was a huge sacrifice,” said the mother of three grown children — Cameron, his brother Cody and sister Whitney.

She said there is good support for family members; she finds the Facebook group for families of Roosevelt crew members particularly helpful.

Technology has made communication “from ship to home” so much better today that it was years ago, for which Travalini said she is grateful.

“I don’t know how they did it with snail-mail,” she said.

The time on the ship, “just spending quality time” with the son she calls “my overachiever,” was balm to Travalini’s soul — she said it had been years since she had spent such one-on-one time with him. “Just sitting in the mess hall talking” was a treat, she said.

It helps take away the constant worry she feels when she can’t spend time with him. When she’s back home in Millville, she said, “I just pray.” A bus driver for the Indian River School district, Travalini said, “When I get on the bus in the morning, I just pray all the way down. It’s all you can do as a mother,” she said.

Overall, Travalini said of the Tiger Cruise, “I’d do it again. I have a higher level of respect now that I see what goes on” for those on the ship, she said. “It’s definitely not an easy job,” she emphasized, as she learned the temperature in the bottom of the shop reaches 104 degrees, and “the hours are unbearably long.”

Travalini said she has always been proud of Cameron and all of her children, and that the Tiger Cruise gives her even more pride in her Navy son and his career choice.

“It exuberates out of me,” she said.