An expert on promoting early literacy for all children though sign language, Baltimore author Kathy MacMillan will sign her new book, “Little Hands and Big Hands: Children and Adults Signing Together,” on Tuesday, July 15, at 7 p.m. at Bethany Beach Books. She will also offer a hands-on storytime for parents and kids of all ages at the store on Wednesday, July 16, at 9 a.m.

MacMillan brings her background as a nationally certified American Sign Language interpreter, a children’s librarian and a mother to the book, which features everyday signing activities she said parents can use to ease transitions, develop language and literacy skills, and promote bonding.

In “Little Hands and Big Hands,” parents, grandparents, educators and caregivers can learn about the benefits of signing with young children of all hearing abilities, including reduced frustration, expansion of spoken vocabulary and stimulation of multiple senses.

The book features songs, rhymes, crafts and other signing activities that can be used throughout the day, whether at mealtimes, during diaper changes or in a waiting room. Each activity is accompanied by clear photographs and descriptions of relevant signs.

The activities were born out of MacMillan’s “Little Hands Signing” classes, which she has been teaching since 2005.

“There are many great books out there about the basics of signing with babies,” said MacMillan. ”In ‘Little Hands and Big Hands,’ I wanted to go beyond just the signs and give parents specific, age-appropriate activities they could use to make everyday life with their kids more harmonious while also enhancing early literacy.

“Many people assume that signing is something you do only until your child is speaking, but in fact there are tremendous benefits to signing with preschoolers, as well — signing gives them more tools in their language and communication toolbox! That’s why the book includes activities for kids ages birth to 6.”

MacMillan has more than 17 years of experience as a children’s librarian and storyteller, and has been a nationally certified American Sign Language interpreter since 2006.

She co-authors the “Storytime Magic” series of librarian/educator resource books (www.storytimestuff.net) and has been presenting American Sign Language programs and workshops for families, educators and businesses since 2004 (www.storiesbyhand.com). “Little Hands and Big Hands” is her first book for a general audience.

For more information on MacMillan’s author event, check out the author’s website at www.kathymacmillan.com.

Coastal Point • Submitted: The beautiful softshell crab dish at a(MUSE.) Owner and chef Hari Cameron shares a few of his recipes with Marie Cook.Major changes have taken place in Chef Hari Cameron’s career since I first highlighted him in June 2009. He is still a chef, but now he’s chef/owner of his own restaurant in Rehoboth Beach — a(MUSE.), located at 44 Baltimore Avenue.

On a recent drive to Rehoboth Beach, I stopped at Sue Ryan’s new Good Earth Market at 14 Midway Shopping Center (on Route 1 behind the Pottery Place), and although Hari’s appearance has changed since I last saw him, he’s easily recognizable by the colorful fruits and vegetables tattoos that line his arms.

We enjoyed a big hug, and Sue raved about the meal she had enjoyed on Mother’s Day at a(MUSE.). She said his soft-shell crab was the best she’s ever eaten, and the mustard sauce was fantastic. She also raved over a potted chicken that Hari says is always on the menu, because regular customers insist on it.

“The potted chicken is similar to a dish I enjoyed on a trip to France,” he said. “I’ve redone it Delaware-style, with layers of shredded confit, poached chicken, chicken liver and foie gras mousse and reduced chicken stock (aspic). I serve it with toast points, a pork reduction and Malden flake sea salt, alongside a little jar of pickled vegetables which change with the seasons, as well as three types of mustard.”

Perhaps you think I’ve erred in typing the name of his restaurant. I have not. Hari smiled when he explained how he came up with the name.

“I wanted the name to call out our food philosophy — food-fun, amuse. A ‘muse’ is inspiration. Each dish we prepare is inspired by something — perhaps seasonal spring peas, or summer tomatoes, or even an inspiration from nature. I’m a guy who loves to cook things. I have a general love for people and food — delicious food which pleases people,” he said.

Hari had no trouble defining the cuisine at a(MUSE.).

“It represents modern or progressive Mid-Atlantic cuisine. We try to highlight all the best ingredients of this area — seasonal, regional, American food — but we also use ingredients like bok choy, which some folks consider non-American; but when you get right down to it, bok choy is just another type of cabbage.”

With more than 1,600 cookbooks in his collection, one of his go-to favorites is the classic “Joy of Cooking.” In fact, one entire wall in the dining room is papered with pages from the classic cookbook.

This summer, a(MUSE.) celebrates its third year. I asked Hari about his nomination for the coveted James Beard Rising Star Chef of the Country award.

“It was a great surprise,” he said. “My restaurant had been open for just over a year when I received a note from a friend on social media congratulating me for being nominated. That was how I found out. It was quite an honor.

“Nominations are for chefs 30 years old and younger who are making a significant impact in the culinary world. The majority of those who are nominated are chefs at Michelin Star restaurants who have already published cookbooks, so I was thrilled to be a nominee. In my niche, only 26 people in the entire country were mentioned. For me, just being nominated was a win!”

The nominations process is secretive. Unannounced, judges dine at restaurants, searching for qualified nominees, so you’re clueless that they’ve even been in-house, let alone what they ordered. Hari said that, nationwide, 44,000 chefs “hats” are sent in, so you can see why just being nominated would be such a triumph.

Much closer to home, in a recent issue of Delaware Today magazine, it was announced that the Delaware Restaurant Association (DRA) had awarded Chef Hari Cameron Reader’s Choice Best Chef Down State, Best Small Place and Best Pastries (Hari is also a trained pastry chef).

“I closed the whole restaurant,” he said, “and took my staff to Dover Downs to accept the awards, because we all won these awards; without day-to-day teamwork, we would be nothing. In my acceptance speech, I honored my wife, Stephanie, because she’s the gluten that keeps the bread together,” he said.

When I first interviewed Hari back in 2009, he told me that he had difficulty in high school because of dyslexia and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). He graduated from Georgetown’s Sussex Central High School and tried one semester at Delaware Technical Community College, discovering very quickly that traditional college courses were not for him.

He floated from one job to another, trying to find a home, working at the Rehoboth Outlets and doing landscaping, but he was always drawn to restaurants.

“I didn’t find food,” he said. “Food found me.”

He decided to become a chef and earned his culinary degree from Walnut Hill College in Philadelphia, Pa., graduating at the top of his class.

I asked him about dyslexia and ADD. Did he receive professional help for either, and if not, how does he function with the demands of running a restaurant, including the mathematics needed to develop recipes?

“I did not receive professional help,” he said. “I dealt with dyslexia and ADD by developing a way to retrain my brain. I learned how to focus better through stretching, meditation, finding new coping skills and choosing a career in culinary arts. Through these efforts, I made new neuron connections in my brain, and I continue to look for tools that work for me.

“For instance, I must do math every single day, and because math is not always easy for me, I discovered that by measuring everything in grams, it simplified my life. By measuring in grams, it’s easier for me to double and triple amounts. ... Measuring in grams channels my energy to cope better.

“Because of the demands of running a restaurant six days a week, I try to find the balance I need by spending time in nature. I love the beach and enjoy sitting beside a swimming pool. I also enjoy foraging for wild ingredients, which is a type of meditation for me — just being alone with myself and my thoughts.”

Many online sites exist offering all types of measurement conversions. I often use www.metric-conversions.org when I want to convert gram ingredients into metric. For example, in Hari’s seasoned flour recipe, he calls for 500 grams of Wondra Flour. At the website, you put in 500 grams and it converts to 17.637 ounces. I’m not dyslexic, but math has never been fun for me, so instant conversion sites like this are a blessing. You can specify grams to teaspoons, grams to ounces, etc.

I asked Hari if he has advice for parents or young people today who experience similar difficulties upon high school graduation — unsure of what they want to do, or where they fit in. He admitted to having terrific parents who supported and believed in him in every direction he turned.

“Kids need lots of love and support,” he said. “No matter what, always keep a positive attitude. Not everyone in life will immediately find a job or career that they’re passionate about. But when you choose something you think will work, practice it, study it, immerse yourself in it. Work for free if you have to. Work clean, work smart, work hard, and you’ll do all right.”

Hari was named after the famed Hare Krishna from the Bhagavad Gita, often referred to as simply “The Gita” — a sacred Hindu text. “My first name, Hari, means a person who removes miseries and illusions and delivers from sorrow,” he said. The Gita calls for selfless action and inspired many leaders, such as Mohandas Gandhi, who referred to the Gita as his “spiritual dictionary.”

I asked Hari if his wife, Stephanie, also cooks. He laughed and said, “No, she doesn’t, but she’s a great cleaner, so this works great for us.”

When he cooks at home, Hari keeps things more simple than at the restaurant: basic roasted chicken, grilled steak and vegetables, and pasta. “Pasta is fun,” he said, “like having fun with Play Dough.”

Hari is being touted as gifted, creative, inspired, innovative — skills deserving of a position in a five-star restaurant. “Is that on your horizon?” I asked.

“I’ve already had opportunities to do that,” he said, “but this is my home and, for me, the quality here at the beach is five-star. I compare our cuisine at a(MUSE.) to many five-star restaurants. But we’re not as expensive as they are, and we have no tablecloths or pretense; and you can even walk in our door with sandy feet, right off the beach.”

The restaurant, located at 44 Baltimore Avenue in Rehoboth Beach, is open seven days a week, beginning with Happy Hour from 4 to 6 p.m.; dinner service begins at 5 p.m. You can make reservations for two or more people by calling (302) 227-7107, or online at www.amuse-rehoboth.com.

Hari promised Sue Ryan that he’d provide the recipe for the dry mustard sauce that she raved over. He said that many of his customers ask for the recipe, so he’s more than happy to provide it. Some of the ingredients he uses cannot be found locally, but if you want to reproduce this five-star soft-shell crab entrée, searching out ingredients online will only add to the fun. Otherwise, create your own substitutions.

Cleaning a soft-shell crab is not for the lily-livered. But Hari noted that many quality fishmongers will do the prep work for you. You can bet that I’ll be seeking that fishmonger!

How to clean a soft-shell crab:

(1) Using very sharp scissors, cut the front of the crab, removing eyes and mouth.

(2) Insert scissors into body cavity; making sure crab is dead, feeling no pain.

(3) Lift up sides of crab and remove crab’s lungs (often called “the devil’s fingers”).

(4) Make one more cut, removing the crab’s reproductive pouch.

(5) Set crab on paper towels for about five minutes to allow liquids to drain.

(6) To turn out, flour the crabs in seasoned flour and sauté in light cooking fat. Place mustard sauce on plate. Place potatoes next to mustard sauce. Cut the crab in half; place claw-side up. Add roasted bone marrow (if using), mustard powder, and any leafy garnishes.

Soft Shell Crab

Flour Mixture:

? 500 grams Wondra Flour

? 100 grams corn starch

? 3 grams fine salt

? Pinches of cayenne pepper, black pepper and garlic powder

Blend all dry ingredients. Flour the prepared soft-shell crabs in seasoned flour. Sauté on high heat in light cooking fat until crispy — four minutes per side. Take caution, because soft-shells will pop!

Mustard Sauce:

? 300 grams whole-grain mustard

? 300 grams Dijon mustard

? 200 grams Mirin (sweet cooking wine)

? 50 grams white soy sauce (also known as shoyu)

? 1 gram smoked paprika

Whisk to combine.

Mustard Powder:

? 300 grams mustard oil

? 200 grams tapioca maltodextrin

? 2.5 grams salt

? .3 grams powdered citric acid – just a pinch for a scant amount of extra acidity (Ball makes a good one.)

Whisk all ingredients until homogenous.

Potatoes:

? 500 grams marble potatoes (new potatoes)

? 50 grams rendered bone marrow tallow (bone marrow roasted at 400 degrees for 20 minutes), or fat of your choice

? 3.5 grams salt

Toss potatoes in rendered bone marrow tallow, or the fat of your choosing. Roast 20 minutes at 350 degrees F. until tender.

Hari’s attention to detail was so much fun to watch. He used tweezers to carefully place several lovely garnishes. And, lucky me, I took home the results. You were right, Sue — delicious!

(Editor’s note: If you have recipes to share, or recipes you want, contact Marie Cook, Coastal Point, P.O. Box 1324, Ocean View, DE 19970; or by email at ChefMarieCook@gmail.com. Please include your phone number. Recipes in this column are not tested by the Coastal Point.)

During a long school day, any physical activity can be a welcome break. That’s why Robert “Bob” Hahn makes physical education a positive thing at G.W. Carver Academy, where he was named Teacher of the Year this year.

“I’m here to teach them to try to keep themselves physically fit, find things that they like to do to keep them active and try to keep them out of trouble,” he said.

Carver Academy is an alternative school in Frankford focusing on individual Indian River School District K-12 students’ academic, behavioral and personal needs. They keep up with their home schools’ academics until ready to return.

Hahn was called a “mentor, motivator and friend on a daily basis” in a film montage presented at the district Teacher of the Year ceremony.

“He takes genuine interest in the students,” said one staff member. Students enjoy his class, they said, not just because it’s gym, but because they know they are truly supported there. One student even thanked him for redirecting their life.

“I’m always there for the kids. I always have their best interests” in mind, Hahn said, whether planning lessons or dealing with their behavior. “I don’t just jump down their throats [when frustrated] … I try to keep a positive outlook on everything.”

Now working fulltime in his fourth year at Carver, Hahn also split time with Phillip C. Showell Elementary for several years.

Now with class sizes of about five to 15 students, Hahn gets in more one-on-one instruction. Younger children just have P.E., while older students also have health or strength and conditioning (such as weightlifting).

“It’s a nice way for them to channel some of their energy. I’m able to focus some of their energy,” plus see their athletic improvement, Hahn said. “A lot of them have some really good athletic ability.”

“Their favorite thing is basketball,” Hahn noted. “It helps keep them on-task. If they behave, they get five minutes of basketball at the end of class.”

With a small population, Carver students also get extra gym time for behaving well. Hahn often takes a group of lunchtime students to let loose at the gym.

Typically found in the afternoons at Indian River High School, Hahn coaches football and track-and-field.

“My grandfather was a teacher and a coach. So was my grandmother,” explained Hahn, also saying he also wanted a profession that would keep him close to athletics. “I enjoyed sports and sharing them with people.”

He enjoys working with young people in the schools and in the surf, having taught surfing in Ocean City, Md.

What’s the best part of teaching?

“Being able to help students to, hopefully, find something they can connect with, stay physically active for the rest of their lives,” Hahn said. “Just try to give them time where they can get release and still learn.”

He likes interacting with students, he said, but “It’s rewarding when they work their way out of Carver. … You helped them work out.”

Carver Academy has a transient population, with students coming as needed and returning to their home schools when ready. Hahn said the biggest challenge is behind the scenes, “making sure how you’re dealing with the student fits the mold with what everyone wants for the year,” fitting lesson plans to school, district, state and national requirements.

Plus, kids are pulled out of class for their respective testing sessions — more challenging because the school houses all grades.

Originally from Pennsylvania and having attended West Chester University, Hahn was a summertime local at the Delaware shore and now lives in Fenwick Island. He still loves surfing, hunting and fishing.

The Millsboro Art League (MAL) will host its Second Annual Joint Members Show, inviting participation from members of the Art League of Ocean City, Rehoboth Art League, Milton Arts Guild, Milford Art Guild, Mispillion Art League and Nanticoke River Arts Council. The show will be open through the month of July, with a reception to be held on Saturday, July 12, 2 to 4 p.m., in MAL’s gallery at 203 Main Street in Millsboro Town Center.

The show is being presented as “a cooperative venture designed to facilitate collaboration” according to Tom Keeley, MAL’s events chairman.

Participants from each art league will submit two pieces and a “Best in Show” cash prize, as well as “Honorable Mention” ribbons for each art league, will be awarded. Both participating artists and public viewers will vote on the awards through Friday, July 11, so that presentations can be made at the July 12 reception, which is open to the public.

MAL’s gallery hours are Fridays and Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Sundays, 1 to 3 p.m. For more information on MAL programs and membership, visit www.millsboroartleague.com.

The 2014 Historic Georgetown Art Crawl will be held on Saturday, Sept. 13, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in downtown Georgetown. The Art Crawl is a rain-or-shine juried art event and will feature artists and artisans, as well as area art leagues and art guilds from throughout the region.

Artists who are interested in participating in the arts program will find the 2014 Georgetown Art Crawl application with this year’s Rules & Regulations online at https://www.georgetowncoc.com/event/community-events/historic-georgetown.... The deadline for applications to the event is Aug. 1.

Georgetown’s inaugural Art Crawl last year had more than 40 participating artists, and many more can be accommodated and are expected this year. A small fee will be charged for individual 10-by-10-foot artists’ vendor space, but arts organizations distributing general information can set up free of charge.

The Historic Georgetown Art Crawl will be held in conjunction with the Annual Farmer & Foodie Festival on The Circle, which celebrates local farmers and their farm-fresh foods. Proceeds from the Georgetown Art Crawl will benefit local arts programming and arts education.

Contact the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce at (302) 856-1544 or email info@georgetowncoc.com for more information.

The Centre for the Inland Bays wants to improve the water quality in South Bethany’s canals, and they’re floating a couple new tools for their environmental toolbox there: islands and oysters.

CIB Restoration Coordinator E.J. Chalabala told those gathered at a special lecture organized by the Fenwick Island Environmental Committee on June 27 that, in the wake of indeterminate initial results for South Bethany’s canal diffuser test project in the first of its two years, efforts in using “bio-enhancement to improve estuarine habitat and water quality of poorly-flushed residential canals” (the new project’s official title) are the next thing they’ll try.

“Not much water flows through there in the first place, so how can we improve that?” he said of the question the project asks. “The bubbler systems didn’t work very well, so now we’re trying oysters and floating wetlands.”

The bio-enhancement, in this case, will mean establishing both oyster cages and floating wetland “islands” in an effort to increase habitat for micro-invertebrates and directly use the growing oysters to filter the water in the dead-end canals throughout the west side of the town. If the effort proves successful, it could be expanded to other locations in the Inland Bays watershed, including Fenwick.

According to a report this spring from the South Bethany Canal Water Quality Committee, in its first year, the diffuser project involving two of the town’s canals seems to have helped eliminate the stratification of the canal waters with layers having extremely low dissolved oxygen (DO), which has caused fish kills in the past. However, the diffusers installed in the Petherton canal not only haven’t increased overall dissolved oxygen levels but have caused DO levels to drop, the committee found.

“The apparent reduction in DO level where the diffusers are located does not make intuitive sense,” the report notes. “The diffusers are adding oxygen, but where is it going? One explanation is that the oxygen is being used to reduce ‘muck’ on the bottom.”

That could indicate that an improvement might be seen over the longer term, but additional muck measurements going into the second year of the pilot project are planned for comparison.

“Time will tell. That is why the project is scheduled for two years,” committee members noted.

In the meantime, the CIB is looking to proceed with the new proposal, involving the oysters and floating islands. Chalabala said high-density oyster cages would be installed in one canal, with the floating “wetlands” adjacent to them, in an effort to pull pollutants from the water.

One goal will be to prove that the oysters can be massed in higher densities (something already tested to some degree in Fenwick’s oyster gardening project) and that they can survive several growth seasons and spawn.

Chalabala said they will work to document that oyster communities can reduce total suspended solids and chlorophyll (associated with algae growth) and that the wetlands will help increase dissolved oxygen levels and the biological diversity of the waters in which they are used. The effort will focus on a natural and aesthetic approach to making water quality improvements in back-canal areas, such as those in South Bethany.

He said a major aim of the project is to prove to officials with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) that such project can, indeed, improve water quality in the canals. Plus, he said, “Nobody has come up with any other solution, other than drilling out to the ocean for flushing” the canals with a new tidal source.

Swimmable and fishable are goals for now-stagnant canal waters

In all, South Bethany has 5 miles of poorly-flushed dead-end canals, Chalabala noted. Poorly flushed, in this case, means that the average “residence time” for the water in the canals is more than three months before it moves out to get freshened up again, leading to stagnation and anoxic conditions, which such projects are hoped to eliminate.

In South Bethany, the end goal has been fishable, swimmable waters, which Chalabala said will be two of the three objectives for the project. For fishable waters, they will be checking for levels of dissolved oxygen, water temperatures, salinity, nitrogen and phosphorous levels, and turbidity (cloudiness). Aiming for swimmable waters will involve measuring bacteria present in the water. In addition, he said, they’ll aim to collect accurate rain data to address related stormwater issues.

The plan for the new project will involve placing oyster cages in the York canal in South Bethany, each containing about two bushels of young oysters — about 15,000 to 20,000 oysters in all. Chalabala said that number of oysters can be expected to filter 22 percent to 30 percent of the canal’s water volume, which is 2.689 million gallons at high tide. A single oyster can filter between 20 and 40 gallons of water per day.

“If we’re correct on the amount that doesn’t flush, we know we can at least hit that 22 percent mark,” he added.

The floating wetlands are already being used in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, he noted, and now they’ll become part of the York canal, with eight islands encompassing 600 square feet and 1,200 plants. Each island will include about 10 to 12 marsh hibiscus, 80 black needlethrush and 60 smooth cordgrass plants, which Chalabala said were selected not just for their ability to improve water conditions but for their aesthetic value along the residential canal area.

“When we grow these plants, a nice root mat comes down, putting in dissolved oxygen,” he explained. “We hope to document some kind of water quality improvements.”

While the York canal will be the study site for the project, the Carlisle canal will serve as a control, with three monitoring stations (two in York and one in Carlisle) to be installed to continuously measure DO, turbidity, salinity, temperature and depth.

The oysters themselves will be monitored for mass and content (including both tissue and shell growth.

“We’ll monitor how big they’re getting, what they’re eating,” over the course of 18 months to two years of growth, he explained.

Protection of project area, aquaculture program a focus

In addition, the project calls for continuous video monitoring, both underwater and above ground.

“We hope to see fish swimming around the root systems,” Chalabala said, adding that the scientists know the water is comparatively cloudy but that it does clear up a bit during the winter, and that the above-ground monitoring will aim to prevent vandalism.

That’s not just to protect the oysters and the project data, but from a public health standpoint as, he said, DNREC officials are extremely concerned that people might be tempted to steal the growing oysters and eat them.

That would be a very bad idea, he explained, as temperatures in the canals could kill some of the oysters or they could become diseased, which could make people sick were they to eat the oysters used in the water quality project.

“That would give the oyster aquaculture program a black eye,” he noted of the potential impacts of such a situation, extending beyond its impact on the water quality project and into the brand new commercial aquaculture program in Delaware, which hasn’t even seen its first oyster cages put in place.

To make sure that point gets across to even the casual observer, the project will include marking the locked oyster cages with a “skull and crossbones” sign, indicating that the oysters within are dangerous and potentially deadly to eat.

“You don’t want to eat some of these. This is probably the worst water quality that is in some of these canals. It’s full of [harmful] nutrients, especially in the summer,” he emphasized. “We’re going to do everything we can to not allow that.”

Chalabala pointed out that Delaware is one of the only U.S. states that hasn’t yet seen the presence of the oyster disease vibrio, which can cause potentially fatal sepsis and cellulitis in humans who ingest the safe-seeming oysters or even just handle them.

That means the state’s oyster harvesters have four or more hours before their catch is legally required to be chilled, as opposed to the hour limit seen elsewhere, which requires harvesters to have on-board refrigeration. It also speaks to the impact that human illness contracted from oysters illegally taken from the water quality program could have on the state’s fledgling commercial oyster industry.

Chalabala said another concern for the project is the cages’ and islands’ impacts on boating — something upon which he said the CIB was trying to work with boaters.

The project will use the York canal — the widest in South Bethany’s canal system — as its testing ground, with the Carlisle canal for a comparison. The monitors will be placed at both ends of the system, to see what the water is like coming in and going out.

The oyster cages and wetland islands would, ideally, be distributed in clusters along the entire York canal, he noted, but could also be positioned in a layout such as nine groups at the end of the canal and five more at its inlet. Each of the oyster cages would be positioned between some of the floating wetlands.

“We do need some more permissions from South Bethany,” he added of the immediate future of the project.

Timeline set for project

A monitoring permit for the project was obtained in June of 2014, and a permit for the oysters also submitted last month. Monitoring equipment could be deployed this month, with the wetland islands put in place later in July or in August. In September 2014, the oyster cages would go into place.

Come December, Chalabala said, they would move to harvest dead vegetation from the above-ground sections of the wetland islands, both to help it grow better and to make it look more attractive.

The islands and oyster cages would stay in place in the canal until December of 2015, with analysis of the project’s impact taking place from then until May of 2016, with the final report due in September of 2016.

With a positive report, Chalabala said, the CIB could go to other municipalities in the Inland Bays watershed and say, “This is something we might like to try.”

“This is something we could try on your canals,” he told the Fenwick Islanders. “It could show a substantial difference.”

One of the differences could be in the growth of algae in the canals, which has been particularly heavy this year and in past years has required harvesters to remove it from the waters in South Bethany.

“There is too much nutrients in our bay,” Chalabala explained of the rampant growth of the algae, noting that people over-fertilize their lawns and ornamental plants, and that many still have septic systems that lead to harmful nutrients moving into the groundwater. “The algae grows and grows so quick because it has so many nutrients to eat,” he said.

Chalabala said solving that problem is one of the goals of such projects. “We want to see if we can make the water quality impact enough to decrease the nutrients and minimize the algal growth you’re seeing,” he added, saying that the “overnight” growth of massive amounts of algae has not been unusual in the Inland Bays during the last 10 to 20 years.

Beyond the aesthetic impacts of the algae on humans, he noted, the eventual sinking of the algae turns it anoxic, which means clams and eel grass present in the water will die, further reducing the viability of the habitat for a variety of fish and invertebrates and negatively impact the entire ecosystem.

“They know there is a problem, but they can’t fix it,” he said of efforts to get rid of the algae in the canals. Moves to eliminate septic systems in favor of central sewer, to encourage people to use less fertilizer and to keep “gray water” (such as the wastewater from outside showers) out of the canals have been made in recent years as part of organized work to reduce the nutrient load in the watershed.

Chalabala said he expected the planned change in the outfall of the Rehoboth Beach water treatment plant from the Lewes-Rehoboth canal to the Atlantic Ocean would be a boon for the northern Inland Bays, since it will remove that point source of excess phosphorous and nitrogen from the bay waters.

In addition, water quality projects such as the South Bethany canal project are hoped to reduce pollutants in the Inland Bays, which haven’t had a substantial natural oyster population in more than 30 years, according to the CIB.

“Without more oysters and more filtration from these bivalves, we’re going to continue to have a nutrient and algae problem,” he said. “It takes all of us to do the work,” he added.

The Rehoboth Beach Film Society will be conducting festival film review sessions during the summer months at South Coastal Library in Bethany Beach.

The festival film review sessions, open to the public, are used to assist with the film selection process for the Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival (Nov. 5-9).

Each session will include the screening of a documentary or a feature and a short, time permitting. Reviewers are asked to complete a rating form and may also join in the post film discussion. Festival Program Director Joe Bilancio will facilitate the reviews so viewers can take part in stimulating discussions about what factors determine a film’s suitability for a festival.

Screener copies of films are provided as a courtesy to the film society for the specific purpose of reviewing for consideration as a festival entry, and the copies may be of lesser technical quality and are not designed to be projected on the big screen.

Despite those circumstances, review sessions provide a unique opportunity for film enthusiasts to see a broad scope of films from emerging directors.

Festival film reviews will take place July 7 and 28, and Aug. 4 at the South Coastal Library in Bethany. Film screenings will begin at 7 p.m. Admission is free.

For more information on this series, other events, or to become a member, visit the Rehoboth Beach Film Society website at www.rehobothfilm.com, or call (302) 645-9095.

The 25th annual Sea Witch Halloween & Fiddlers’ Festival is set for Oct. 25-26, celebrating a quarter-century of “wicked, wild and wonderful,” organizers announced this week. And along with the traditional parade, fiddlers festival and fall-themed fun, Sea Witch will include a number of new features for its big anniversary.

To ease parking woes, satellite parking areas will be available for visitors traveling on both northbound and southbound Route 1 on Saturday, Oct. 25. Shuttle service will operate from all satellite parking locations on Saturday to bring festivalgoers into the resort area. Details and more information are forthcoming.

Also new to the festival are the “Lucy & Ricky Tribute Show,” including appearances by a “favorite redhead” as she mixes and mingles with festival spectators on Oct. 25. Then, on Sunday, Oct. 26, there will be two 60-minute shows at the Rehoboth Beach Convention Hall, at 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. The musical comedy tribute to Lucille and Ricky Ricardo is performed by two look-alike, sound-alike impersonators of the famous TV characters.

The fast-paced show features sketch material and musical numbers including: “Cuban Pete,” “Babalu,” “By the waters of the Minnetonka,” “We’ll Build a Bungalow,” “California, Here I Come,” “I Love Lucy” and more. There will also be reenactments of those classic “Lucy moments” that fans know and love, including the “Vitameatavegemin” commercial.

The show boasts interactive elements, including audience participation, as audience members become “Ethel” and join the Ricardos in a sing-a-long. Another audience member could find himself in the role of “Little Ricky,” playing the conga with his daddy. Everyone can join in the fun for the “Conga Line.”

The Bag of Tricks Trail, sponsored by Kiwanis of Coastal Delaware, will allow young Sea Witch magicians to collect their tricks while walking through downtown Rehoboth Beach. Participants can begin their enchanted training on Sunday, Oct. 26, from 10 a.m. to noon, at the information table located in front of the bandstand.

The 2014 Sea Witch festival will feature two trick-or-treating opportunities in the resort area, two nights in a row. People can trick-or-treat in Dewey Beach on Friday, Oct. 24, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., and then again with the Rehoboth Beach Downtown Merchants on Saturday, Oct. 25, also from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

An enhanced bandstand schedule will feature new acts including The British Invasion Experience and extended sets by artists including Neon Swing X-perience, Jimi Smooth & HitTime, The Funsters and New Sweden.

Kid and family

entertainment on offer

Also this year, kids can keep a lookout for strolling balloon artist Wes Holly and his twisted balloon creations.

Friday’s kick-off for the festival features fun for the little ones and families, with the Tyke Bike on the Boardwalk, where children 8 or younger can dash down the boardwalk on their trikes and bikes from 3 to 4 p.m. The Delaware 87ers will also be on hand to help participants shoot some hoops and test out their basketball skills.

Choo Choo Express Train rides will be taking small children (8 or younger) on a short ride through Grove Park on Friday, from 3 to 6 p.m. An outdoor movie in the park at 6:30 p.m. on Friday will allow families to bring lawn chairs, blankets and refreshments for an outdoor movie showing.

There are no fees for the Friday outdoor activities, but donations will be appreciated. Limited parking will be available at Grove Park.

Parade, fiddlers’ festival set for Saturday, Oct. 25

Parade fans can join the Woodland String Band mummers, thousands of costumed participants, local bands, decorated cars and the Nur Shriners for the 25th Annual Sea Witch Halloween & Fiddlers’ Festival Costume Parade at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 25.

The parade will be led by the Sea Witch Clipper Ship and 2013 Business of the Year Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats! The parade will proceed east on Rehoboth Avenue, from the Convention Center toward the bandstand. The parade will then continue on the avenue, westward, finishing at Village by the Sea. The top 25 walking, top 10 rolling/motorized entries and best band, as chosen by designated parade judges, will be awarded prizes.

All motorized entries, bands and walking groups larger than 20 people must pre-register and submit an application for review. No more than 50 decorated, motorized entries (floats, antique cars, etc.) and up to six education-affiliated bands will be accepted.

In the event of inclement weather, the parade may be postponed until 11 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 25, in which case only walking participants who can meet the requirements of the boardwalk (size, etc.) may participate in the costumed walking parade on the boardwalk. (There is no scheduled rain date for floats or motorized vehicles.)

The Sea Witch Halloween & Fiddler’s Festival is Delaware’s Official State Fiddlers’ Festival, featuring fiddlers and banjo players in a full day of foot-stompin’ entertainment. Visit www.beach-fun.com for the Fiddlers’ Festival registration form and complete program information.

In the contest featuring cash prizes, there is both an adult and children’s competition for best fiddle, bluegrass and banjo playing. The Fiddler’s Festival will be held from 1 to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 25, at the Rehoboth Beach Convention Hall.

There are no fees for the Fiddlers’ Festival; donations are appreciated. Concessions will be available for purchase in Convention Hall.

Old Fashion Beach Games, Sea Witch Hunt planned for Saturday

Children are also being invited to participate in the Old Fashion Beach Games, to be held on the beach at Rehoboth Avenue on Saturday, Oct. 25, beginning at 2:30 p.m. All participants will be given participation ribbons. Events will include the Peanut on the Nose Race, Pumpkin Dash beanbag race, Slippery Swords race, Hula Twist-Off hula-hoop fun, Frog Hop, Duck Crawl waddle and the (hands-free) Beach Ball Roll.

Festival-goers of all ages will get a chance to toss their numbered broom on the beach, with the longest distance winning. All participants walk away with a ribbon, proclaiming them as an official “Sea Witch Broom Tosser,” while the celebrity Broom Toss event will name the “Boss of the Toss,” all at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 25.

The Sea Witch Hunt will begin at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 25. Participants must check in with the official clue-keeper and pick up a 100-plus clue location list. (Clues run in no particular order.) Hunters visit the locations listed on their clue location list, and each location has a clue that helps locate the Sea Witch. Hunters must turn in their best guess by 5 p.m. The earliest correct guess wins a cash prize. The winner will be announced at the bandstand on Sunday, Oct. 26, at 2:30 p.m.

Walks and 5K,

Costumed Dog Contest planned for Oct. 26

The Sea Witch 5K Fall Classic and 1 Mile Fright Walk will begin at Grove Park at 9 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 26. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. Many of the more than 500 runners, including entire families, arrive in costume. Prizes are presented not only for completion time, but also for the best costumes. Past winners have included cartoon characters, cheerleaders, various farm animals and monsters.

Those looking for a slower pace can take part in the 1st State Webfooter Walks. Registration begins at 8 a.m., with the latest starting time at 2 p.m. Walks begin at the Henlopen Hotel. Participants should visit the Webfooter registration starting point for walk information.

The Best Costumed Dog Contest is set for Sunday, Oct. 26. Dogs and owners will parade down the boardwalk, letting the crowds get an eyeful. Former bow-wow critters include those outfitted as lifeguards, Egyptians, chickens, cowboys, chefs, police, etc.

Participants should be prepared for a 1.5-mile walk, including lineup, parade and return to Rehoboth Avenue from the Laurel Street exit. Registration begins at 2 p.m. Dogs and their owners will register on Lakeview Avenue, next to the Henlopen Hotel, where they will receive their entry number and parade ribbon. The registration fee is $5 per dog. Dogs will be judged immediately following registration. All registered participants will line up at the north end of the boardwalk parallel to the beach

The four-legged monsters will wag their way down the boardwalk beginning at 3 p.m. The lengthened parade will proceed south on the boardwalk from the Henlopen Hotel to Star of the Sea Condominium at Laurel Street. “Monster police” will be positioned on the boardwalk for spectator control and parade route passage.

Participants will exit the boardwalk and disperse down Laurel Avenue, turning right onto King Charles Avenue/First Street. From King Charles Avenue/First Street participants can proceed back toward the Rehoboth Bandstand and boardwalk via Rehoboth Avenue. Winners will be announced at the Rehoboth Bandstand at 4:30 p.m. and showcased on stage. (Floats, wagons, etc. may be used on the boardwalk but may not be brought on stage; only leashed or carried pets will be received on the stage. No livestock, wild animals or reptiles are permitted in the contest.)

Other events lined up for the 2014 festival include: Scarecrow Making on Saturday, Oct. 25, and Sunday, Oct. 26, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., while supplies last; pony rides on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; hay rides through Rehoboth Beach Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m., with tickets on sale at the Visitor Center at 501 Rehoboth Avenue.

Monster Art will take place on Saturday and Sunday in the Grove Park Pavilions from noon to 5 p.m. All artists will receive a participation ribbon. The artwork will be sent to U.S. troops overseas via Operation Gratitude. Jack Noel will also perform magic in Grove Park on Saturday and Sunday from 2 to 2:30 and 3 to 3:30 p.m. each day.

Horse shows will take place on the beach on Saturday and Sunday at 4 p.m., while Scales & Tales will have wildlife on display on Sunday, Oct. 26, from 10 a.m. to noon, next to the information table.

The festival is the winner of Delaware Tourism Awards for “Outstanding Special Event” and “Annual Hall of Fame Event,” as well as Business News’ “Top 250 Events,” five-time winner of the American Bus Association National “Top 100 Events,” winner of Delaware Today’s “Best Annual Event” and Delaware State’s Official Fiddler’s Festival.

For more information on the festival and a complete program, visit the website at www.beach-fun.com. For more festival or area information, contact the Rehoboth Beach-Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce at 1-800-441-1329, ext. 0, or (302) 226-2233, ext. 0, or via email at rehoboth@beach-fun.com.

Coastal Point • Submitted : A surfer catches some air on a Boom Surfboards Mamba 2, hand built by Eric Nygard. Nygard custom builds his boards for the local waves, which can be really hard on regular boards.Surfboard shaping is an art form. No two hand-shaped boards will ever be exactly same. And each board is designed for something different — big surf, small surf, more speed, more maneuverability, a different type of wave. And much like no two boards will ever be shaped the same, no two breaks are the same — and certain breaks require certain board features.

Eric Nygard, local surfer/shaper and owner of Boom Surfboards, knows this and has dedicated his craft to designing boards specifically for surfers looking to take on the often-unforgiving Delaware beach breaks.

“I like shore break,” Nygard said. “It can be by and far the most beautiful wave ever when it’s on, but it also wreaks havoc on surfboards, so I have focused everything I have on making stronger, lighter, more resilient performance boards without passing any extra cost to the consumer.”

After an influx of broken boards in his repair days, Nygard was inspired to start shaping on his own — determined to create a stronger board. At first, however, he started with skimboards.

“I started off with skimboards because I was in school doing research on composites,” he recalled. “I was just always focused on making a stronger board. They were starting to sacrifice strength, and it would break — especially in shore break like we have.”

While Boom still makes skimboards, Nygard eventually moved on to shaping surfboards, using similar glassing principles and techniques in the process.

“I try and just use really good materials,” he explained. “I use epoxy and a higher-grading glass. They’re much stronger than pretty much every board you’ll walk into a surf shop and see. I just wanted to make boards for [surfers] like myself who loved to go hard but couldn’t afford the right equipment.”

It wasn’t long before Nygard found the right surfers to test his products, both locally and in Puerto Rico — a popular surf-trip destination for East Coast surfers.

“For a while, I was flying back and forth to Puerto Rico like every two weeks,” Nygard said of testing his boards in Boom’s early days. “I’ve been the luckiest guy in the world, stumbling into the right people — Matt, John, Tito, Troll, Lief, Jordy, Dave, Tom, Zane, the entire island of Puerto Rico — I just had so many guys running mini focus groups as I was shaping. It wasn’t hard to dial in even the finest details. It’s the best feeling in the world seeing someone rip on something you’ve put your life into.”

Soon after, Nygard began to produce some of his now-signature boards, including the Mamba 2 — a step-down rounded pin and his personal favorite.

“It’s like a one-board quiver,” he said of the versatile shape. “It’s pretty much the perfect East Coast storm board. It holds in really well. Even when it’s small, it works really well. You can still turn it around.”

Other signature Boom shapes include the Lucy, a deep single-concave with constant rocker and plenty of “hidden float”; the Filet Mignon, a standard-shape double pin; the Slay Mignon, ideal for contest surf, with a wider performance nose; The Twerk, a loose and fast shortboard; and The Stick of Death, a full-rails rounder pin.

“We have a few more shapes, but these are the go-to’s,” Nygard explained. “They all have their place, but I try to make everything pretty versatile, so you’re solid with one board if that’s all you can afford. [They’re] all available in different constructions, from our entry level e-vac all the way to the ridiculously strong pro-vac, which is insanely light.”

Originally getting into shaping in order to surf and travel more, Nygard has since found that the time required in the shaping bay has left his passport unstamped for a while. But now he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I thought once I started making boards it would allow me to travel and surf more, but its non-stop in the shop,” he explained, “which is perfect, because other than surfing, all I want to do is tinker.”

To see more Boom shapes and find out more about their other products, check out their website at www.boomsurfboards.com, or visit the shop at 20340 Coastal Highway in Rehoboth Beach. Boom is also on Facebook, at www.facebook.com/
Boom-Surfboards.

Coastal Point • Laura Walter : Charlie’s Fenwick Fries features all things fried. From deep-fried Twinkies, churros, chicken and fries, the establishment offers all the fried foods that make for a classic, summer day at the beach.Let’s be honest — Twinkies and Oreos are already pretty delicious. But when deep-fried, warm and gooey, they’re a guilty pleasure perfect for nights at the beach. Charlie’s Bay Side restaurant has brought that quick-serve decadence to Fenwick Island. With an outdoor counter attached to the restaurant, Charlie’s Fenwick Fries now serves deep-fried treats, made to order.

“My wife, Laura, and I like to get to the boardwalk and walk. Every place had deep-fried Oreos, funnel cake and french fries,” said owner Charlie Getz. “But there’s nothing up here, nowhere you can get it.”

In a world increasingly obsessed with health food, Getz said there’s still room for sweets.

“Everybody’s doing healthy, and there’s no calorie-counting on vacation. We just wanted to do something different.”

The Village of Fenwick shopping center already has plenty of walking traffic, where the most popular dish is funnel fries (like funnel cake, but smaller, Getz said).

“What people are surprised about — we do a deep-fried Twinkie. It doesn’t taste like Twinkies,” he noted.

Dipped in pancake batter, then cooked in canola oil, the Twinkies are topped with powdered sugar and chocolate sauce.

Churros come with a spicy-sweet raspberry sauce, and Oreos transform into a huge, soft cookie.

Other deep-fried sweets include brownies and candy bars, served each day by business partner Melvin Shifflett.

Anyone looking for more savory munchies will find chicken tenders, cheddar cheese fries, nachos and jalapeño soft pretzels, plus sodas to wash it all down.

Food prices range from $3 to just under $6.

Charlie’s Fenwick Fries is open from noon to 11 p.m. daily, the same as Charlie’s Bay Side Restaurant, which can be reached at (302) 539-3526.

Coastal Point • File Photo: The unofficial Fenwick Island Fourth of July Parade, as brought to you by the residents of W. Virginia Avenue, back in 2010.­Some Fenwick Island visitors may be surprised to learn that Fenwick Island has had its own little Fourth of July parade for nearly 20 years, wrapping up each year just in time for the fireworks.

In 1996, Marge and Jack Hayman started a little street parade for their family to celebrate Independence Day.

“[Marge] said, when they were kids her mother always insisted, on the Fourth of July, that the kids put red, white and blue on and go down the street,” recalled Barbara Beam, whose family has been participating in the parade for all but two of those years. “Marge said to me, ‘My parents said, “It’s the Fourth of July. We’re going to celebrate.”’ It was just a tradition that started with her parents.’

“The first year it was very small — just she and her husband. We ourselves didn’t participate the two years because we always had a big family picnic out in the country. After that, I said to my kids, ‘We’re going to participate. We’re here. It’s our neighbors. We can have our picnic another time.’ We have been part of it ever since.”

On July 4, residents from Oyster Bay Drive will have a small potluck block party in the early afternoon, and then all get together and begin the small parade from intersection of Coastal Highway and Oyster Bay Drive, down Oyster Bay, make a loop, go back to the highway and then down South Carolina Street.

Beam said the parade can start anywhere between 6 or 7 p.m., depending on when the potluck is over, but they welcome area visitors to view their patriotic promenade.

Beam said her family, along with the Hayman family, the Garriott family and a few other families, will be participating in the parade.

“It’s very minimal, but that’s the way it is,” she said. “We put a trailer and make a little float. Our neighbor down the street, he would have a golf cart and decorate it and pull something behind it.”

In past years, Beam said, the parades would feature live music, and sometimes they still do, depending on who’s in town to celebrate the holiday.

“Sometimes we have one of my grandchildren on a float playing a keyboard. It depends on who jumps in and what happens.”

Beam said she helps out with the potluck, but her husband, Harold, helps put together a float for their family, which includes 10 grandchildren.

“It’s a family affair,” she said. “It’s a family thing for them and us.”

Beam, whose family has had a house on Oyster Bay Drive since 1952, said the parade has become a multigenerational event, with some residents’ great-grandchildren participating.

“They enjoy it. It’s a lot of fun,” she said.

Coastal Point • File Photo : Bear Trap Dunes will be hosting its own Fourth of July Parade again this year, on Saturday, July 5, at 9 a.m. Above, these children participate in the 2012 parade.For more than a decade, Bear Trap Dunes has been hosting its own Fourth of July Parade to commemorate Independence Day. This year, the parade will be held on Saturday, July 5, beginning at 9 a.m.

The parade route will start at the Village at Bear Trap Dunes Pavilion, continue down October Glory Avenue, take a left onto Sycamore Street, followed by a left Willow Oak Avenue and then head back toward the Pavilion.

“We have residents and nonresidents participating in the parade,” said Lance Kerr, the pavilion manager. “We try to solicit as many people as we can possibly get.”

The parade may also be viewed by anyone who wishes to continue their Fourth of July celebrations and will feature the Ocean View Police Department, the Bethany Beach Volunteer Fire Company and even Ocean View Mayor Walter Curran.

“The Baltimore Ravens mascot is coming down, and we’ll have a stilt-walker. All of our lifeguards are going to decorate a float and ride on it. Then we have a bunch of different businesses, and things like that are going to be participating by putting floats and cars in the parade,” he said. “It’s nothing like the Bethany parade, but for a community parade, it’s pretty big.”

Kerr said it’s always great to see kids participate in the parade and get decked out for the celebration.

“It’s an exciting way for the kids to come out and have a fun summer activity to do before heading to the beach for the day. It brings the community together for the day, to participate in something that everyone enjoys.”

Later that day, from noon to 3 p.m., Bear Trap will hold a Kids’ Day for the community — its owners and renters and their guests.

“We’ll be selling hotdogs and ice cream. There’ll be a variety of pool games and activities.”

Kerr added that he hopes many families will attend the celebration and that it continues to grow for years to come.

“I hope we get as much participation as possible. It’s an event where community participation really makes or breaks it. I’m hoping we can get the word out and have a lot of people come out,” he said. “We’re hoping this year it’ll be a little bit bigger. We have a lot of new things this year, so it’ll be interesting to see how it turns out.”

Bear Trap Dunes is located at 7 Clubhouse Drive in Ocean View.

Coastal Point • File Photo : The bonfire at Fenwick Island will celebrate its 10th annual event on Saturday, July 5, from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m.If the parades and fireworks haven’t provided enough Independence Day fun for 2014, Fenwick Island will offer the chance for people to spend some time with family and friends during the holiday weekend, at the town’s annual Bonfire.

Fenwick Island’s 10th annual Bonfire will take place on Saturday, July 5, from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. on the beach at Dagsboro Street, with a rain date of Sunday, July 6.

“It’s something where all the neighbors can come to see each other, and all the visitors, as well,” said Liz Lear, a member of the Fenwick Island Beach Committee, which organizes the event.

The bonfire is free to all visitors and locals who would like to attend. Throughout the night, there will be games for the kids, as well as dancing to music provided by D.J. Batman.

“While it’s light, there are lots and lots of games for the children, and the lifeguards are the ones that organize the games for the kids. That’s really, really fun,” said Lear, noting that there are a half-dozen games planned, ranging from relay races to three-legged races.

“We give out glow sticks that the children can wear. When it starts getting dark, even the adults want to wear them. By the time it’s dark, you see all these people with glow sticks wrapped around their arms, necks, ankles… It’s just a fabulous sight on the beach.”

Lear said that each year the event grows, drawing more people who enjoy the fun festivities.

“We’ve estimated that, last year, we had roughly about 1,000 people,” she said.

T-shirts will be for sale, and there will also be a silent auction on the beach, offering attendees the chance to take home official Fenwick Island Beach Patrol swag — from bathing suits to sweatsuits to hats.

“People really want them,” said Lear.

The bonfire is provided; but those who wish to eat alongside the flames should bring their own food and beverages.

“Each year, people have learned that they have to bring a really long stick to toast their marshmallows or whatever they’re going to cook on the bonfire. People come down with their beach chairs, sit around and have a great evening.” (The size of the bonfire should not be underestimated — the longer the stick, the better, for your marshmallow-roasting pleasure.)

“Fenwick is just that kind of a place — a family-friendly place,” Lear added. “It’s just who we are. We hope everyone comes out and has a good time.”

For first-timers, don’t worry — there will be lights on the beach, so that everyone will be able to see after sunset.

“When it gets dark and all those people are on the beach, the fire’s going and all the glow sticks are going — it’s just an amazing sight. It truly is.”

The bonfire event was originally created to help raise funds for the Fenwick Island Beach Patrol (FIBP), to help offset costs of different activities and events the patrol is involved with — most notably, regional and national lifeguard competitions.

“Sometimes it can get very expensive traveling to the various places in the country where they hold the national lifeguard championships,” said FIBP Capt. Tim Ferry, who’s been running the patrol for 11 years. “Last year, we were in Manhattan Beach, Calif.”

Currently the FIBP has 30 guards, 12 of whom were in the FIBP’s Junior Lifeguard Program.

“That has really taken off. It has grown every year,” said Ferry of the youth program. “We have an advanced group that takes them to about 15 or 16, and I can hire them at 16. I have watched them progress on the beach.”

Ferry said that, aside from the physical skills necessary to guard, he looks for guards who understand the responsibility that comes along with the job.

“We take a lot of pride in the job that we do out there,” he said. “They really take their job seriously. They know how to do that, as well as have fun at the same time. They’re motivated to do that, so they push one and other in a great way. It makes my job that much easier when I have a group of young men and women who take this type of approach to the job. They’re just a great group of kids and lifeguards.”

Ferry said the patrol has grown during his tenure, in both numbers and responsibilities.

“As the patrol grew, the patrol has expanded, not only in size but in our responsibilities on the beach. As we have done that, all the training regiments, protocols and policies that we have put in place, the standards that we have, are very high. We’ve just taken great strides over the years to provide the Town of Fenwick with the best possible trained lifeguards that we can.

“The results have been fantastic,” he added. “Not only do we have a great lifeguarding staff, but our training regimen prepares them physically to compete not only at the regional but at the national level. In these 10 years, we’ve won three national championships. I think that’s a direct result of our hard work and level of expectations.”

A local competition was created to include both male and female guards, explained Ferry, and to give all guards the opportunity to compete in a friendly manner.

“We started a local competition series about 15 years ago. Bethany, Middlesex, Sea Colony, Dewey Beach, Rehoboth Beach — they all hold one. It gives the lifeguards the opportunity to hone their skills,” Ferry noted. “There are different events — running events, swimming events, paddling events. Most of them mirror the types of events they’ll see at the regional events, as well as at the nationals.”

After the local competition, the winners move on to the U.S. Lifesaving Association regional competition, where they compete again guards from New York to Virginia. Ferry said the regionals are typically the qualifying competition for the nationals, which include guards from all over the country.

This year, the USLA National Lifeguard Championships will be held in Virginia Beach, Va., in August.

“Guards from L.A. County to Boca Raton, to Jones Beach,” he said. “You’re talking about over 1,000 competitors. For our patrol to do some of the things they have done on the regional and national stage, they really deserve a lot of accolades. They work their butts off in the morning and during the day to prepare themselves mentally and physically.”

Even though the FIBP has received three national titles, Ferry said his guards have always focused on their main responsibility — protecting those who are enjoying Fenwick Island’s beach.

“There’s a certain level of pride that we take in our accomplishments, but it doesn’t diminish the fact that they are great lifeguards first, great competitors second.”

Ferry said that the patrol would not be what it is without the ongoing support of the Town.

“The Town of Fenwick has been absolutely phenomenal. They bought into the program that we started here and the quality of service that we needed and wanted to provide to the town. They have been behind us every step of the way,” he said. “With the help of the Beach Committee and the bonfire, it has allowed us to take our lifeguards to that next level and compete.”

Ferry said his guards always enjoy participating in the bonfire, as it is representative of the town, its residents and visitors.

“It’s just really a neat and unique event that the Town has put on. It has gotten bigger and bigger but has really stayed a family event. It fits perfectly with the Quiet Resorts character and providing a great outlet for the kids and the adults.”

Ferry added that the bonfire is a great time for all who attend and provides an opportunity for the lifeguards and beachgoers to get to know each other.

“The bonfire is a great way to interact with the beach patrons, whether they’re visitors or transients. It’s a great family event,” said Ferry. “Our lifeguards are involved with it. They run the games for the kids. We maintain the bonfire. We provide items for the auction. It’s just a really well-rounded family event that has continued to grow every year, just like our patrol.”

Fenwick Island Beach Patrol lifeguards will be guarding Fenwick Island beaches seven days a week, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., through Labor Day, and on the two weekends after.

Coastal Point • File Photo : Participants in last year’s Millsboro youth parade show off their patriotism.For seven years, the youth of Millsboro have been parading in celebration of the Fourth of July, and they’ll continue that tradition this year.

The youth parade was started by Dorothy LeCates, a Millsboro resident, who was the driving force behind the installation of the labyrinth at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Millsboro.

“The whole world is kind of confused right now. If we get quiet within ourselves, we go about our daily business with a little more intention in a mindful manner,” said LeCates. “The labyrinth, the walking meditation and prayer center, was built for the community by volunteers on church property but was donated for the use of the community.”

The labyrinth’s construction was started in March of 2006, and it was dedicated on July 4, 2006.

“The Fourth of July is not only the birthday of this country but is the birthday of our labyrinth,” said LeCates.

This year, the parade will be held on July 4 itself, beginning at 10 a.m. at the labyrinth, with an opening ceremony.

“Cathy Gorman will sing ‘God Bless America’ and will open the program on the labyrinth, with the cross and American flag. Our Boy Scouts will do the color guard. Our young Marines will present the colors. And then we’ll introduce our special guest.”

This year’s parade theme is “Uncle Sam Wants Kids,” and Uncle Sam will be the parade’s special guest.

“A lot of children these days don’t know who Uncle Sam is. I was born back in the ’40s, when Uncle Sam was on every mailbox in this country, for the draft. So we’ll do a little history and then we’ll introduce our special guest. He will have everything from a sequined red-, white-and-blue jacket to a real beard! He will be real, and the kids can touch him.”

During the opening ceremony, the four Macaulay children of Indian Head, Md. will give a special presentation.

“I have little children, ranging from 12 down to 5, who are going to travel three hours, all the way from Indian Head, Md. They recite the preamble of the Declaration of Independence. They are incredible children,” said LeCates. “I am thrilled that they’ll be special guests. They’ll knock your socks off… The youngest, he’ll come dressed as George Washington. They will be an inspiration.”

Following the ceremony, kids will parade down to the town’s Cupola Park, where Mayor Robert Bryan will present awards.

“The American Legion Post 28 Auxiliary will give an American flag to every child in this parade. All these kids will dress in red, white and blue. They’ll dress up their dogs and decorate their bicycles — there are no motorized vehicles allowed. A little kid on his bicycle with red-, white-and-blue tassels — that’s something for a little kid! And I’ll be bring up the tail end of the parade on my big old tricycle,” said LeCates with a laugh.

“The Millsboro police will stop the traffic on [Route] 24, coming and going, until we cross over on foot, go down to the fire hall, and go down to Cupola Park. Linda Draper will sing a few patriotic songs in the park. The mayor will present prizes to the kids who are Best of Show, Best Bicycle, Best Stroller, Best Wagon and Best Dog, and we have a 90-year-old veteran, pushed in a wheelchair, playing ‘Taps’ for the kids.”

LeCates said the parade has continued to grow over the years, with approximately 27 children participating in 2006 to now having about 100 kids.

“We get a few more every year,” she said.

LeCates said families are being encouraged to bring picnic lunches and enjoy the rest of the day in the town’s beautiful park.

“If, in keeping this parade alive, a little bit of patriotism is kept alive, carried through the life of a youngster, we will have done our job. Patriotism sure needs a boost in this country,” said LeCates. “I hope it’ll grow stronger and that every child will leave with a little more patriotic spirit that has been instilled in them. If we touched their hearts in some way, then our goal will have been accomplished.”

Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church is located on W. State Street in downtown Millsboro.

Coastal Point • File Photo : Independence Day is celebrated with a huge parade in?Bethany Beach. These young ladies pass out candy while wearing some patriotic gear.Bethany Beach is set for an all-day Fourth of July celebration this Friday, with a parade, live music, awards ceremonies, fireworks and more.

One of the biggest events of the day will, of course, be the Bethany Beach 4th of July Parade, which this year will feature Grand Marshals Phil and Marry Rossi — who have helped organize the parade for the past 10 years, leading the volunteer committee that has handed over the reins to the Town of Bethany Beach for the first time in 2014.

“It’s a great honor that they would even consider us for this,” said Phil Rossi. “I enjoyed the 10 years — we met a lot of nice people and had a lot of support from the Town to make it a success. It’s a big event, and it means so much to the Town and the visitors that come to watch the parade. The T goes all out. I think it’s great it’s continuing.”

This year’s parade theme is “anything patriotic.”

“We’ll see how red, white and blue we can make this town,” said Bethany Beach Events Director and Media Coordinator Julie Malewski.

The parade will start at noon, beginning at the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and Garfield Parkway, going on a 2-mile route downtown through Bethany Beach.

It will feature six marching bands and five entertainment groups on trucks, with marching units including Tidewater Brass Band, Delmar District Bag Pipe Band, Delaware National Guard, Trilby String Band, Back Bay Strummers, Downtown Dixieland Band, German Oompah Band, Honeycombs, Paddlewheel Strutters, Nautical Sounds, Chester County Emerald Society Pipe Band and 1st State Detachment Marine Corps League.

Those wishing to participate may register floats and bikes the day of the parade from 9 to 11:30 a.m. at two registration desks. Floats can register at Route 1 and Central Avenue, while kids joining the bike brigade can register at the Christian Church grounds.

According to Malewski, this year’s parade could see a crowd of up to 40,000 people, so she encouraged the general public to arrive early.

“The best piece of advice is ‘Be patient’ — get here early to try to get a good spot,” she suggested.

Official Bethany Beach 4th of July Parade T-shirts will be on sale from 9 a.m. to noon on the day of the parade, across from the post office). The cost is $15 for adults, $10 for child sizes.

After the parade, the traditional horseshoe-throwing contest will be held at the southwest corner of the Christian Church grounds. Then, at 7:15 p.m., the awards ceremony for parade entries takes place. Prizes will be awarded for “Best in Parade,” “Most Patriotic” and also for both business and family floats. There will also be a 50/50 raffle, followed by live music from the Warrior Spirit Band.

“Warrior Spirit Band is comprised of disabled or combat-wounded veterans who share their musical talents in order to empower other wounded soldiers and support their recovery programs,” said Malewski, noting that the band’s genre is an eclectic one, “missing rock and blues/country to appeal to diverse age groups while crossing social barriers.”

Paul Delacerda, the group’s founder, is a former infantry paratrooper and musician who was injured in an IED blast in Iraq. In May, 2009, he was told his injuries would prevent him from ever playing drums again.

“Paul’s military training to persevere over obstacles is what led him to form the Warrior Spirit Band.”

Bethany Beach Mayor Jack Gordon said, “Our parade traditionally features the 1st State Detachment Marine Corps League and the 287th National Guard Band. Warrior Spirit Band is an ideal addition to a lineup that shows community support for military veterans and their transition to civilian life.”

“We’re really excited about that, because they have a nice story and they’re picking up traction,” Malewski said regarding the band. “They’re launching their tour in Bethany Beach, so that’s exciting for us.”

Following the musical performance is the main event — the Bethany Beach Fourth of July fireworks show, which is set to begin at dusk, with prime viewing on the beach.

For more information on the Fourth of July activities, visit the Town’s website at www.townofbethanybeach.com.

Putting it in World Series terms, Delaware has just made a “cleanest sweep,” for the fourth straight year, capturing the crown for the country’s cleanest beach water quality. The acclaim came from the National Resources Defense Council, the non-partisan international environmental advocacy group that annually assesses all beaches in the 30 coastal states.

The NRDC based its latest rankings on new and more stringent water quality parameters from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and once again, as has happened every year since 2010, Delaware’s beaches topped the nation for cleanliness.

Also, in its report, “Testing the Waters” in Delaware, the NRDC once again recognized DNREC’s Recreational Water Quality Testing Program as one of the most comprehensive in the nation.

The NRDC made its rankings for clean beaches based on the EPA’s beach action values (BAV) measurements, “a more protective threshold than the national allowable bacteria levels used in previous years to trigger beach advisories.”

A total of 15 of Delaware’s 24 beaches — almost two in three — had zero percent of water samples exceeding the BAV threshold. Statewide in 2013, there were 3 percent exceedances. Sampling from 17 selected beaches using the more stringent BAV threshold, Delaware had 2 percent exceedances, which put the state first the nation.

“I’m proud that Delaware has once again earned the distinction of having some of the best beaches in the country. Under Gov. Markell and [outgoing] DNREC Secretary Collin O’Mara’s leadership, clean water and conservation are a priority in Delaware,” said U.S. Sen. Tom Carper. “Those efforts, combined with infrastructure projects and beach and dune replenishment, have helped make our coastline a great tourist destination in America and a strong part of Delaware’s economy.”

“Delaware has a well-deserved reputation for having some of the best beaches in the country. That’s been confirmed again this year with the state’s fourth consecutive top rating in beach water quality,” said U.S. Rep. John Carney.

That report also found that beach tourism provides more than 10 percent of the state’s total employment, taxes and business production.

“With the state once again rated No. 1 nationally for beach water quality and one of Dewey’s beaches recognized as a ‘Superstar Beach’ — and through the continued success of our nationally-recognized beach nourishment projects — Delaware has really emerged as a premier beach destination, “ said newly installed DNREC Secretary David Small.

Up-to-date water quality results are posted on DNREC’s website, at http://apps.dnrec.state.de.us/RecWater/ and are also available by calling DNREC’s toll-free, 24-hour “Beach Hotline” at 1-800-992-WAVE (9283) or by signing up to receive Beach Monitoring updates at http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/Pages/DNRECLists.aspx.

A $1 lease might be the best deal that anyone will get in Sussex County. But the Delaware Botanic Gardens (DBG) is also helping to fulfill Sussex County Land Trust’s (SCLT) mission to preserve open space by leasing 37 acres near Dagsboro as part of their aim to “create a world-class, inspirational, educational and sustainable public botanic garden in Southern Delaware for the benefit and enjoyment of the public.”

The DBG this week jumped to the next stepping-stone in a years’ long process by securing a renewable 99-year lease for Delaware’s first public botanic garden.

To be located on Piney Neck Road about 1 mile east of Dagsboro, the gardens include wetlands, mature forest and 1,000 feet of waterfront on Pepper Creek, a tributary of the Indian River Bay.

“This botanic garden will become a special place that will enhance the quality of life here in Sussex County,” treasured by residents and visitors, said Dennis Forney, chair of the SCLT board. The garden “will also serve to educate all to understand the value of conservation … [and] pass on the best of our values to the next generation.”

Michael Zajic, founder and president of the DBG board, thanked the SCLT board for their vision to preserve natural land.

“My board and I are equally committed to living up to the high standards the SCLT has set and to creating a beautiful, educational, public space for all Sussex residents and for visitors from our state and from across Delmarva.” Zajic said.

Groundbreaking on the gardens is planned for the early fall of 2014, with a public opening targeted for June 20, 2016, (timed to the summer solstice). The first phase of garden development will include a canal with freshwater plants, woodland gardens, wetlands walkways and temporary buildings for teaching and events.

In 10 years and three phases, the entire 37 acres should be fully blooming, with room to grow hundreds of thousands of plants.

Right now, the next step is operation “Open the Garden Gates.” The $7 million fundraising campaign offers naming opportunities and more. People can also volunteer their time to the effort.

The gardens board has also received $100,000 worth of professional engineering, design and legal pro bono service contributions from Delaware companies, as well as support from local, state and federal officials.

Zajic said he especially thanked “the management and engineering expertise of Mark Davidson and the entire Pennoni organization” and “great legal work of Heidi Gilmore of Baird Mandalas Brockstedt LLC and Jim Fuqua of Fuqua, Yori & Willard PA.”

The Southern Delaware Botanic Gardens Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Donations may be sent online via www.DelawareGardens.org or to Southern Delaware Botanic Gardens (SDBG), P.O. Box 176, Nassau, DE 19969. Learn more online at www.DelawareGardens.org.

As Fenwick Island prepares to start its new fiscal year on Aug. 1, some things are changing, while others will remain the same.

One thing that won’t change is the makeup of the town council, as only incumbents Diane Tingle, Gardner Bunting and Bill Weistling Jr. filed to run in the council election for 2014. That means the planned Aug. 2 election has been canceled, with four seats up for election in 2015. New voters can continue to register with the Town, since there is no election cutoff looming.

Perhaps the biggest change Fenwick Islanders will see in the coming year is in who is collecting their yard waste. Starting July 17, it won’t be a contractor who gathers up leaves, grass clippings and broken branches once a month — it will be the Town’s Public Works Department.

Town Manager Merritt Burke told the council at their June 27 meeting that the basics of the yard-waste service are going to remain the same. It will still be picked up once a month through the summer (five months in all, followed by a hiatus until spring), using the same rules for packaging up the waste that have been in place.

“We hope to offer better customer service than the private sector,” Burke noted. “We’ll look to exceed expectations while saving the Town money.”

Public Works Supervisor Bryan Reed noted that some property owners and residents have had problems complying with the yard-waste rules, including 10 who had recently been notified by the Town that they’d violated one or more elements of those rules.

“We’ll explain the problem if they’re home, or we’ll leave a note on the door or in the mailbox if they’re not,” Reed said of the low-key treatment of first-time violators. “We tell them we will pick it up this time but not the next time.”

One particular problem area in terms of the yard waste collection rules has been people putting the yard waste out in black plastic trash bags, Reed noted.

“That’s not allowed by state law,” Burke emphasized, noting that the Town has to pay additional fees if any of the yard waste it delivers is in the forbidden bags.

“We’ve picked up quite a few of the black plastic bags,” Reed added. “People need to go to … hardware stores and get paper bags, which are acceptable to the local recycler.”

Burke also pointed out that the Town had recently revised its solid-waste collection calendar, which will mean changes for when services take place, so property owners and residents should make sure they’re using the updated calendar.

Burke said plans were to re-evaluate the yard-waste service options during the budget amendment process later this year and in the spring of 2015.

Budget approved

The council last Friday also voted unanimously to adopt the proposed 2015-fiscal-year financial plan and schedule of fees.

Burke said changes from the core 2014 budget were minimal, with those changes including business license fees increased from $50 to $75 for smaller businesses and from $150 to $175 for larger businesses. The Town’s returned-check fee increased from $50 to $100, while the issuing of collection letters is increasing from $150 to $200. The fee to rent town hall is also increasing, from $20 to $40.

Burke emphasized that there was no planned change in the Town’s real estate tax, which remains at $1.95 per $100 of assessed property value.

The 2015 financial plan was described by Burke as “the highlight of my appointment as town manager,” as he noted the time spent with department heads and thanked the staff, budget committee and town council for their work on the plan.

The Town’s operating budget for the fiscal year is balanced, at $1.7 million, though that was accomplished using $14,000 in 2014-fiscal-year surplus funds from an uptick in building permits for new homes and renovations. There is no planned tax increase, but an increase in property tax revenue is expected from new homes.

Burke reported that the local construction economy “seems to be robust, especially with renovations,” and said the Town had received numerous phone calls about projects planned for the fall and was already $81,000 over the budgeted amount of anticipated related revenue in the current fiscal year.

Burke said the Town will allocate 10 percent of its transfer tax revenue to a dedicated street fund and will maintain 24/7 public safety coverage. The move to in-house yard-waste collection will save the Town at least $10,000, he noted. The solid waste fee, however, will still increase from $269 to $299.

The rising costs of workers’ compensation insurance has significantly impacted the Town, he explained, with costs up 15 percent for that “major cost-driver” for the Town, as is the case with local retailers, construction companies and other businesses, he added.

Some revenue decreases were also anticipated, with the reduction of participation in the “Fenwick Island Sponsorship Program,” which offers use of Town lifeguard stands for advertising. Burke said the program had brought in $13,000 the prior year and was budgeted at $10,000 this summer, though only $7,000 or so had been lined up to this point.

“It’s still a good program for local businesses to advertise,” he emphasized.

The Town has also lost some revenue from its beach rental concession, which had been bid at $13,000 in its first year but only got a single $3,000 bid this year, after initially not getting any bids.

A 4 percent increase in expenses has been budgeted, between the workers’ compensation costs, a small increase in health insurance costs, the costs of the Town’s new second municipal building, personnel costs and general inflation, which Burke said averaged 2.5 percent over the last 10 years.

The 2015 capital improvement budget has been set at $227,000, including replacement of a 1997 truck and plow, drainage projects and road-protection projects involving laying down some stone — now about a third done on the bay side, Burke said, and about 20 percent done on the ocean side.

The police department will also get a replacement vehicle this year, as well as ammunition, and will see costs from repayment of a bank loan. Administrative expenses include $5,000 for IT projects, including efforts to possibly accept credit cards at town hall, as well as another $5,000 for emergency services.

Burke said he had been working with state Sen. Gerald Hocker (R-20th) to secure funding for the Bay Street drainage project and had gotten the project fully funded. The Town has $30,000 in Municipal Street Aid funds, but Burke emphasized that the Town doesn’t budget MSA funding or transfer tax revenue, both of which can vary widely. Its reserve accounts, as of May, had $2.119 million in funds, which have been used for capital projects in the past.

Council members voted unanimously, 7-0, on June 27 to adopt the financial plan and fee schedule for the 2015 fiscal year.

Burke also told the council on June 27 that plans called for work on that Bay Street drainage project in mid-July, while state transportation officials and Hocker were also looking obtain funding for a sidewalk project from Cannon Street and Route 1 to the second/west entrance to the community park as part of the state budget bills to be adopted on June 30.

All of the drainage and stormwater projects from the 2014 plan had been completed, he reported, with plans to finish work on Borabora and a small project on Farmington where there had been flooding.

Parking information, coastal construction recommendations distributed

The Town has also recently put out a new double-sided rack card regarding parking in Fenwick Island, which is planned to also go to Realtors and retailers this summer, as well as being available on the Town website and to be mailed out next year.

A second rack card, containing general information about the town, is in progress, to replace the tri-fold information pamphlet the Town has offered. It will condense the existing information into a format that Burke said would be “handy to put up on the refrigerator.”

He also reported this week the approval of two grants to the Town — one for a sea-level rise vulnerability assessment, with an October 2014 delivery date, and the other for surface water planning, which could involve recommendations for lifting up properties on Dagsboro Street, as well as a water-quality component.

Weistling joined Burke in discussion of a coastal construction workshop both had attended in Lewes recently. Focusing on flood hazard mitigation, the workshop has a large booklet available for those interested in learning more. Weistling said presentations at the workshop encouraged municipalities, communities and home owners to “go beyond the existing code,” noting $71 billion in damages from Hurricane Sandy — mostly from flooding.

“Go high,” Weistling said they had been advised, with the cost of adding 2 feet in height to a new home adding just 2 percent to its cost. But he acknowledged that building height restrictions can cause problems with those aiming to build higher. Some people are trying to build now to beat the implementation of new flood maps that could reduce the effective height to which they can build, he noted.

Weistling said it was predicted that flooding problems will increase and that it might be less expensive to raise an older house rather than paying additional costs for insurance that will compensate for the increased flood risks. He said they’d also be advised not to build homes with wide-open areas and large windows and to use open foundations and pilings, rather than cinderblock foundations, to allow floodwaters to flow through/under a home rather than tearing it apart.

Finally, Weistling said they’d been advised to encourage home owners of existing properties to have old roofing and siding removed, rather than covered, when installing new surfaces on a home, reducing the risk of major damage from wind.

“You can have the best design and contractor,” Weistling added, “but the guys in field — if they don’t install the proper anchors, that design is worthless.”

Town honored for healthy initiatives, looks at events

With the summer season fully under way, Fenwick is celebrating the healthy recreation options it offers to residents and visitors alike, all of which recently netted the town an honorable mention — a special recognition for a small municipality — in the State’s Healthy Communities initiative.

Highlighted were its smoking ban for parks and beaches, its Environmental Committee, the two town parks, beach accessibility improvements, walkability through sidewalk improvements along Route 1, its fishing club, junior lifeguard program, bike safety day, annual Turkey Trot event and farmers’ market.

Mayor Audrey Serio noted the approaching holiday, along with heavier holiday traffic. “But that’s kind of why we all live here,” she said of the things that draw people to the area for a weekend or a week or longer. She particularly thanked the town’s public safety workers, from the beach patrol to the fire company, ambulance service and police.

“We’re lucky to have … those folks to help us out,” she said, also noting the upcoming town bonfire on July 5 (rain date of July 6), which will benefit the beach patrol.

Some of the town’s businesses are increasingly looking to hold special events, and that has raised the issue of how the Town should regulate such events. Weistling noted that the Town currently only requires a permit for a special event on public property, such as the beach, while most other local towns have a detailed ordinance regulating events — even those on private property — including requiring liability insurance and having a “hold harmless” clause to protect the municipality.

In Bethany Beach, he said, the Town requires that event sponsors pay for police coverage at the going wage rate when events are held on public property, while the town manager can deny a permit if deemed appropriate, owing to concerns such as heavy traffic or multiple events planned at the same time.

Weistling said he felt they should try to make Fenwick’s ordinance more detailed and that he, personally, felt the issue of the Town’s liability needed to be addressed.

Serio said she wondered who would be required to fulfill that requirement when some of the events are organized cooperatively by multiple merchants, as well as others organized by non-profits.

Tingle wondered what liability issues might be involved in events such as the Fenwick Flicks, and Serio said she felt a “hold harmless” clause might make more sense for the Town’s requirements. Burke suggested officials consult the town solicitor and find an approach that doesn’t go as far as some of the larger towns, such as some sort of waiver.

“We don’t want to draft a five-page ordinance,” Weistling added, “but we don’t address this [now].”

Weistling also discussed on June 27 a proposed change to the zoning code that would update regulations for the town’s commercial zone, in work more than a year in the making that would follow guidelines established in the Town’s comprehensive plan.

He said the changes were focused on encouraging owners to develop commercial buildings located closer to Route 1 on their properties, by reducing front setbacks from 25 feet to 15 feet, requiring a vegetated buffer zone in the rear of properties west of Route 1 (helping to filter water runoff heading into the canals) and increasing the rear setback form 10 feet to 20 feet.

The resulting buildable lot size would remain the same, with the increased rear setback being offset by the reduced front setback.

Also part of the proposed changes are efforts to encourage developments of sidewalks, which would be required for new construction, along with a requirement to provide lighting for pedestrian and cyclist safety at businesses within 10 feet of Route 1.

Beach access and safety get attention

Reed reported that 30 of the Town’s 37 accessibility-enhancing Mobi Mats were already in use on the beach. He said some people had expressed dissatisfaction with the condition of the W. Atlantic Street dune crossing, and it had been rearranged, with one more mat added.

“They’re extremely happy with it now,” he added, noting that he still plans to add mats to the areas near handicapped-accessible parking.

Burke acknowledged that the slopes of the dune crossings are steep and said the Town was working to mitigate the risk and provide universal access.

“If there’s a problem on part of a street, we will go down that day and evaluate it and implement their suggestion if it merits it,” he said.

Tingle said she’d nearly been forced to call a lifeguard to help her back off the beach during her first summer outing, due to the slope of the crossing.

“We’ve had quite a few of those incidents this summer,” Beach Patrol Capt. Tim Ferry acknowledged.

“If there’s an area we can improve access, we will,” Burke added, saying the Town had contacted DNREC and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers about the situation and had been told they were not coming back to grade or improve the dunes. “And we’re not allowed to.”

The Fenwick Island Beach Patrol was recently recertified by the U.S. Life Saving Association, Ferry reported on June 27, making it one of less than 100 beach patrols in the U.S. with that certification.

He said crowds were already picking up and that, as testified to by recent drownings in Ocean City, Md., the guards had been “extremely diligent” in their work, and they were “making sure our guards are prepared every day for anything they could face.”

Ferry said the guards are also preparing for the regional lifeguard competition in Rehoboth Beach on July 9, as well as running the junior lifeguard program, and had also hosted special guests from a life-skills program for adults. “They had a lot of fun out there,” he said.

Returning to one of the biggest areas of concern for the region’s lifeguards this year so far, Ferry said a rip current workshop being hosted by Sea Grant and NOAA was set for July 10 at the DNREC marina, with an expert from Sydney, Australia, also planning to come to Fenwick “to see what we’re dealing with on a daily basis.”

Ferry said he’d also recently been contacted by a 14-year-old musician with “an impressive résumé” who was hoping to expand her existing charity fundraising work with an August concert on the beach that would benefit the beach patrol.

He said there were concerns over issues of parking, crowds and emergency services, and that it had been suggested that the best site for the “family-fun event” might be Fenwick Island State Park, owing to its parking facilities and bathhouse. Or, if the crowd might be smaller, he said, perhaps the town park could accommodate it.

The police department is also preparing for its July 15 bicycle safety event, organized with the Office of Highway Safety and Delaware Bicycle Safety Coalition, at which helmets and lights will be distributed. The replacement police vehicle purchased to replace one that was totaled was also expected to be in service within the next week or two.

Special to the Coastal Point • Submitted by MTV: Solana Alvarez meets with Yaniv ‘Nev’ Schulman and Max Joseph, from MTV’s ‘Catfish: The TV Show’ in March.Who would have thought MTV would ever come to Sussex County? But when Solana Alvarez told television producers about her close friendship with a young man she’d never met, the entire crew of “Catfish: The TV Show” descended on Ocean View in March.

The episode “Solana and Elijah” just premiered on Wednesday, June 18.

Based on a documentary of the same title, “catfish” means to pretend to be someone else online, by providing false information or photographs, usually to gain someone’s trust and love.

Now living in Virginia, Alvarez told the story of Elijah Prok, a boy she befriended online at 14, who helped her through tough times.

Then suddenly he disappeared — his MySpace account was deleted, and she couldn’t contact him.

Now, she’s 20 and was surprised to receive a Facebook message from someone claiming to be this close friend from years ago. She began texting Elijah again, but he claimed not to have neither phone, nor webcam, but just an iPod texting app.

Was this the real Elijah?

“Catfish” hosts Yaniv “Nev” Schulman and Max Joseph flew to the East Coast in March to solve this mystery and find the real Elijah — if he was real — once and for all.

“I just need to solve this thing because it’s been lingering,” said Alvarez, who had a new, local boyfriend, Danny. “It’s basically been holding me back from Danny, and that’s not fair to him … I don’t want to wonder ‘What if?’ about this person for the rest of my life.”

“This cyber-courtship needs to end,” Joseph said.

“Or perhaps begin,” she countered.

Alvarez first met Joseph and Schulman via webcam, then at her work at All About U! salon and spa in Ocean View.

They made plans to find Elijah Prok, 20, in Minnesota.

“I’m at a point in my life where it’s basically now or never,” Alvarez said in the show. “I know it’s short notice, but I think it would be really worth it.”

“What if I’m not what you imagined?” was his response.

The man behind

the texts

A day later, and a time zone away, the travellers nervously knocked on the door, Elijah didn’t answer. His mysterious brother opened the door, then left to find Elijah, leaving the visitors and camera crew alone to wait.

Finally, a familiar face entered the room. The real Elijah had arrived.

He and Alvarez looked nervous, but amazed to see each other.

Although she had talked to him for years, Alvarez said she never knew 100 percent who was behind the texts.

“It was more weird when Max and Nev found the all the stuff” online, including other names attached to his many copycat web accounts.

MTV was a staple for Alvarez when she was younger, and “Catfish” seemed the perfect opportunity to meet her distant friend.

Making reality into TV

“It’s very long days,” she said of the filming. “I had to be ready early in the morning and then film all day.”

A professional aesthetician, Alvarez did her own hair and makeup, flawlessly setting her platinum blonde hair, ruby red lips and jet black eyeliner. MTV staff only asked to approve her wardrobe, devoid of trademarked logos or brand names.

“Timing” was the biggest difference between reality and television. Alvarez said she wrote to MTV before she even met Danny, “so it’s weird that they even replied to me.”

Surprisingly for viewers, the two ended the trip with matching shoulder tattoos: a lion and lioness.

“Me and Elijah had talked about getting tattoos for a very long time. We’re both very into artwork and tattoos,” Alvarez told the Coastal Point.

With MTV footing the bill, getting inked was a no-brainer.

“We’re still friends. We’re cool. We’ve always been kinda off and on. We’re both in different parts of our lives.”

The show’s epilogue ended on a surprising note a month later: Alvarez was now married. To Danny, the hometown man who made her happy. They married in April and now live in Portsmouth, Va.

“People still think that Elijah and the brother are the same person,” Alvarez later told the Coastal Point. One can almost hear her shaking her head over the phone. “Yeah, they’re different people,” she confirmed.

Filming in Delaware

Back in Ocean View, locals were sworn to silence until the “Catfish” premiere.

With confidentiality contracts now ended, Maria Fraser shared the excitement of hosting film crews Café on 26. In March, she said, producers were looking for a “cute” café to film Joseph’s and Schulman’s online research scene. She still laughs, bluntly wondering, “Why are you in little Ocean View?”

“The associate producer asked, ‘Have you ever heard of Catfish?’ I said, ‘We serve catfish here all the time!’”

When he mentioned MTV, she asked if it was a cooking show.

A day later, packed into four black SUVs, a fleet of directors and cameramen did a final inspection.

“I cracked up ’cause you’d think Obama was here,” Fraser said. “Half of them were New Yorkers; the other half were California dudes.”

The director walked around, peering though the rectangle of his fingers, already envisioning the shots.

Filming began a day later.

“It was everything we expected, but it’s amazing how every light, and every angle, and every sound matters to them.”

With super-sensitive microphones, the crew asked café staff to stop laughing in the kitchen. Fraser said they were barely tittering above a whisper.

“They just taped for eight hours … all that tape condensed into 20 minutes,” she mused.

Although the café was never identified in the show, Fraser said the staff knows the location, and they can see their friends’ artwork on the walls.

Locals can also pick out familiar spots, as Joseph and Schulman drove down Route 1 and Route 26 in snowy March to solve the mystery of Elijah.

New episodes of “Catfish” premiere Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on MTV. The “Solana and Elijah” episode can be viewed online at www.mtv.com/shows/catfish/video.

Millsboro residents could find themselves directly linked to the nation, as DART prepares a public transit plan that not only makes the basic bus stops, but also allows for deviations up to a mile away.

Although called a “flex” route, the bus would follow the same rules as fixed route service. It would travel the same roads, cost the same amount and be included in the DART Daily Pass.

But it goes farther.

People could call that morning and request a deviation. For an extra $1, the bus will leave the fixed route, up to one mile as the crow flies, to collect people on side streets or outside town limits.

The Millsboro route would begin north in Georgetown, loop downtown, head south to the BJ’s shopping center, loop downtown again and return northward. There are six Millsboro bus stops planned, plus Georgetown Transit Hub.

That line costs $1.50 per person.

As part of DART’s Transit Redesign Plan, Delaware Transit Corporation (DTC) hosted a June 26 public information session to get more ideas and fine-tune the proposal.

The entire Sussex County plan includes increased service between Delmar and Georgetown, plus the pilot program for flex bus services in the Georgetown, Millsboro and Seaford areas.

“That’s what we’re thinking, but we want to ask people,” said Julie Theyerl, DTC/DART public affairs officer. “Nothing is set in stone.”

Public hearings will be held in August to present the official proposals. People can make official comments at that time.

“The schedule would be built to allow for deviations,” she said. “We want the frequencies to be hourly. For transit to work,” she noted, buses must come frequently enough that people to catch a second bus if they miss the first.

Sussex County is piloting this program for the entire state, aiming to compensate for its comparative lack of public transit (Kent has 14 routes and New Castle has 44, plus Amtrak).

Existing buses, which look similar to para-transit buses, would be used, Theyerl said. There are also “flag zones” for people to catch a ride.

“I think it’s great for my community, Millsboro Village, the whole Millsboro community,” said resident Konica Castro, who was relieved to hear that low attendance at the public information session wouldn’t diminish DTC’s plans for Millsboro. “Even if they don’t come out today, [people] still need rides.”

Currently without a car, Castro said public transit would give her more options for employment because she could reach farther distances.

“I’m happy they’re getting it now,” Castro said. “I’m just grateful for transportation.”

Millsboro is just one

of many changes

After years of financial trouble and rider complaints, the entire Delaware public transit system is being overhauled by DTC, a subsidiary of the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT).

Sussex County only has two regular routes, plus a summertime beach line, so the biggest service it offers today is para-transit.

Despite carrying only 7.8 percent of riders, statewide para-transit cost about 45.4 percent of the public transit budget. Traditional bus lines (fixed route) carried 82.8 percent of riders and used 46.6 percent of the budget.

“It’s difficult for us to expand or get new service,” Theyerl said. “And yet we spend the same amount on both services.”

To fix the unsustainable model, DART has increased fares for the first time in 13 years for Kent and Sussex counties, and even more in New Castle County.

In February, fares became $1.50, or $2 for inter-county travel.

On July 1, para-transit fares increased to $3.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) required Delaware to provide para-transit “that is comparable to the level of service provided to individuals who use the fixed-route system.”

However, Sussex and Kent actually provided benefits to people beyond that criteria, sometimes not requiring the same application process for all, or allowing elderly riders ADA benefits, although they lacked an ADA-qualifying disability.

Most often, para-transit riders got special door-to-door service, even outside of the 3/4-mile radius DART is required by ADA to provide beyond the regular bus route.

People (even non-ADA folks) were grandfathered into the new rules, so they’re still allowed to ride, and currently, at the same ADA price, although that will likely increase in the future, and other ride options may arise.

As a fixed-route incentive, ADA riders would pay just 60 cents for a fixed-route base fare, instead of the general $1.50.

Plus, people can call in the morning to reserve a ride on the flex route deviation. Paratransit required reservations a full day in advance.

“We want people to tell us what they like and what will work,” Theyerl said.

The full presentation is available at www.dartfirststate.com/rightfit, with more information at 1-800-652-DART, option 2, for Customer Relations.

Comments may be sent to DTC Information Session; P.O. Box 1670; Wilmington, DE 19899-1670 or to DelDOT_Transit_Redesign_Mailbox@state.de.us.