The Millville Town Council this week unanimously approved a preliminary design plan for the Town’s new municipal building.

In January, the council had unanimously approved a $106,942 contract for the design of a second Town municipal building, plus other services. Architectural design, permitting and soil testing will be done by George, Miles & Buhr LLC (GMB).

On April 28, the council heard a presentation from civil engineer Andrew J. Lyons Jr. of GMB about the preliminary design of a two-story addition to the current town hall that would be used by both the Town and the Delaware State Police.

Lyons said the stormwater flow on the property would stay the same, with water draining back to the tax ditch. He said that they still needed to meet with the Soil Conservation District.

“I’ve done some preliminary calculations. We qualify for the standard plan, as it is now.”

Councilman Robert Gordon asked if there would be an issue with the water behind town hall, if the Town eventually paves its parking lot.

“Talking with the Conservation District, because it’s gravel, they look at it as if it’s already paved, because they assume it will be paved at some point,” he said. “Paving it will add a little bit of stormwater. We’re looking into pervious paving, if we can get money for that, because it is an added expense. Then that would infiltrate right into the soil.”

Morgan Helfrich, a project architect, with GMB said the two buildings would be connected by a glass link.

“What we decided to do was create a link in the center between the garage addition and the existing building, basically that is vertical circulation,” she said, noting it would house an elevator and egress stairs for both sides of the building. “The reason we did that, also, as you know, this building is 4 feet above grade, and obviously our garage building is at grade, so we had an elevation change that we needed to take care of in the design.”

The new building would extend to have three garage doors, with a total of four garage bays — three for the Town and one wash bay to be used by the Delaware State Police. Additionally, the first floor would house two secure interview rooms, an IT closet, a handicapped-accessible restroom and janitor’s closet.

The upstairs would feature two bunkrooms, a kitchenette, a 31-seat classroom and two full bathrooms.

Along with second-floor access from the elevator and stairs that will be located in the link, there will also be exterior stairs.

“These two fire stairs need to be remotely located from each other, in case there is a fire and it’s blocking one of your exists,” explained Helfrich.

She noted that the exterior stairs would be built 48 inches wide between the railings.

“That’s to assist handicapped persons down the stairs, because, as you know, you can’t use an elevator in the event of a fire.”

Gordon asked if it would pay off for the Town to incorporate plumbing for a future sprinkler system into the building when it is eventually constructed.

Helfrich said that, after meeting with the Office of the State Fire Marshal earlier in the week, it was confirmed that sprinklers would not be required in the additions upstairs. She added that the second floor of the current town hall would not need sprinklers either, if the building’s capacity “zone” was changed.

“The entire design, including the existing below 10,000 square feet, doesn’t require sprinkler. We’re at 9,977. … We’ve pushed the limit as far as the limit can go,” she said. “Anytime you’re over 50 people in a space, that puts you in a sprinkler requirement zone. What the Fire Marshal has suggested we do is call this an ‘open office,’ which in the future it’s going to be. That takes your occupancy load down to 100 square feet per person, instead of 10 square feet per person. That gets you under the requirement of having sprinklers on the second floor.”

Code & Building Administrator Eric Evans asked whether, if the Town submitted a sprinkler system plan for the new building, they would then be required to have a sprinkler system installed in the current building.

“Yes,” responded Helfrich. “I’m pretty sure, but I can verify that.”

Helfrich said the new building would keep with the current town hall’s residential look, and use matching siding materials, roof pitch and asphalt shingles.

Councilman Steve Maneri asked where the Town would place its generator.

Lyons said the existing generator can sit where it is but noted that they are looking into placing a second small generator to handle the new building. The existing underground propane tank would have to be moved, and GMB is looking into digging it up and doing an aboveground tank next to the generator, in an enclosed space behind the parking lot. He noted, however, that those were just preliminary ideas.

Capt. Sean E. Moriarty of the Delaware State Police, Troop 4, said he thought the preliminary design looked great, and he thanked the Town for their partnership.

“We really appreciate the opportunity to continue our partnership here. The building is fantastic. We’re very, very grateful,” said Moriarty. “We’re looking forward to having adequate representation, if not greater representation, down here.

“I think it’s going to be a win-win, with increased state police visibility and access, but also for providing emergency care — whether it be a storm or routine patrol. We appreciate everything the Town and council have done for us. … I think this is really going to be a great endeavor.”

The council voted 5-0 to approve the preliminary design plan for the Town’s new municipal building.

“It’s been a really good win-win for us, the Town of Millville and state police,” said Mayor Gerry Hocker. “It gives state police a presence in the area without the Town of Millville having to have a police department, which is a win for the entire town and the taxpayers in the town.

“Our goal is to keep taxes low, and that’s one area where we have tried to figure out a way to have police protection in the area without having to have our own police department, and I think this has been a huge step forward.”

Hocker said the new building has been a work in progress and that it has been a privilege to work with everyone on the project.

“GMB has been absolutely fabulous. The state police has had a lot of positive input, I think, through the group effort,” he said. “It’s going to be exciting for the town of Millville and exciting for the whole entire area. That’s the main thing — it’s not just the town of Millville. This whole beach community — Ocean View, Bethany — it’s good for everybody.”

The next Millville Town Council meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 12, at 7 p.m. at town hall.

UPDATE:
As of 12:20 p.m., the lockdown was lifted at Indian River School District. Delaware State Police determined that the threat at East Millsboro Elementary was not credible. School and afternoon activities will continue as usual.

East Millsboro Elementary School received a threat on the morning of Tuesday, May 5, according to an automated phone call sent by Indian River School District officials.

As a precautionary measure, all schools have been placed on a low-level lockdown, they said.

All children are safe and instruction is continuing, district officials emphasized.

There will be no outdoor activities permitted, and visitors will be closely monitored.

The Delaware State Police are investigating.

In addition to school security staff, local police are maintaining a presence at schools until the end of the school day, according to Ocean View Police Chief Ken McLaughlin. However, an early dismissal is not anticipated.

Further information will be forthcoming.

DNREC Division of Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police officers between April 20 and 26 made 729 contacts with anglers, hunters, boaters and the general public, including 115 vessel boardings for boating safety and fishing regulation compliance checks. Officers responded to 30 complaints and issued 17 citations.

Citations issued included: two citations for operating a motor vehicle off an established roadway on a state wildlife area; two citations for operating an unregistered motor vehicle on a state wildlife area; damaging state property; four citations for possession of undersized conch; one citation for failure to check a commercial gill fishing net within required 48-hour timeframe; five citations for fishing without a license; possession of undersized white perch; and possession of over-the-limit bluegill.

On April 24, AFC Joshua Hudson took the Division of Fish & Wildlife’s Operation Game Theft trailer afield and talked to more than 200 children in grades K-5 at Eagles Nest Christian Academy in Milton about boating safety, fisheries and wildlife enforcement.

On April 20, Officer Adam Roark also used the Operation Game Theft trailer for a presentation to Boy Scouts in Lewes about native Delaware wildlife and wildlife enforcement that allowed the scouts to earn their wildlife merit badge.

On April 24, Roark spoke to approximately 120 children in grades 1-4 during career day at Long Neck Elementary School, about the daily job duties of a Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police officer.

With Delaware’s 2015 wild turkey season open through Saturday, May 9, DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police reminded hunters to review Delaware’s turkey regulations before heading out into the field. Regulations include:

• Hunters must carry their hunter education card certifying completion of Delaware’s mandatory one-day turkey hunter education class.

• Hunting on public lands is by preseason lottery permit only.

• Hunters must carry their public lands permit while hunting on public lands and may only hunt the designated area and season segment/dates specified in the permit.

• Bag limit is one bearded bird per year.

• Birds without beards (hens) may not be taken.

• Hunting wild turkeys over bait is prohibited.

• Hunting wild turkeys with dogs is prohibited.

• Temporary blinds of vegetation or camouflage are permitted.

• Artificial turkey decoys are permitted.

• Non-electric calls are permitted.

• For safety reasons, hunters should not imitate the male gobbling call.

• Shotguns in 20-, 16-, 12- and 10-gauge and smooth-bore muzzleloading shotguns may be used with #4, #5, or #6 steel or lead shot.

• A longbow, compound bow or crossbow with a minimum broadhead width of 7/8 inches may be used.

• For safety reasons, wearing any visible garment having red, white or blue is prohibited.

• Hunting hours are a half-hour before sunrise until 1 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

• All birds taken must be checked by 2:30 p.m. on the day of the hunt at an authorized turkey check station.

Coastal Point • File Photo: The town of Selbyville will once again be home to the annual Old Timer’s Day classic car show on June 20, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.The Bethany-Fenwick Area Chamber of Commerce announced this week that Selbyville’s 58th Annual Old Timer’s Day, presented by Bunting & Murray Construction, is returning as the town’s traditional summer festival after a year’s hiatus, featuring a classic car, truck, tractor and military and emergency vehicle show.

The event will take place on June 20 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Church Street in Selbyville. Judging in the car show will take place from noon to 2 p.m., followed by an awards ceremony at 3 p.m. Themed “Hot Rods for Hospice,” all proceeds from the 50/50 raffle will go directly to Delaware Hospice.

The long-standing event is a tradition in Selbyville, attracting car enthusiasts, families and tourists with something for all ages. During the event, Church Street is closed and lined with classic cars, trucks, tractors and military and emergency vehicles from 1979 and older. The occasion will also feature door prizes, food, vendors, live classic country and rock entertainment from the Bo Dickerson Band, and children’s activities including crafts, pony rides, a moon bounce and an obstacle course.

Participants can register their 1979 or older vehicle for a $10 fee, to compete for a range of awards and cash prizes including Best of Show Cars & Trucks ($100), Best of Show Tractors ($100), Best of Show Emergency Vehicles ($50), Long Haul ($20), Best Paint ($20), Best Interior ($20), Best Engine Compartment ($20) and Henry Haygood’s Pick ($50).

Additionally, those registered for the car show are being invited to cruise the Quiet Resorts in the official Old Timer’s Day Poker Run, to be held on Friday, June 19, the day before the main event. Cash prizes include $200 for first place, $100 for second place and $50 for third place. Poker Run participants should report to the Selbyville Town Hall on Church Street for instructions on Friday at 8:30 a.m.

For more information on the event, visit www.the QuietResorts.org.

The Sussex County Committee of Safe Kids Delaware has just scheduled its 2015 Safe Kids Day for Saturday, June 20, and is looking for vendors to participate. Safe Kids Day will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Lowe’s on Route 1 and Plantation Road in Lewes.

The annual event, which will be held rain or shine, aims to bring safety and health professionals together to ensure the community has a great start to the summer season. Safe Kids is looking for vendors who can provide information or interactive displays on topics relevant to child safety and injury prevention. There is no charge to vendors or participants.

Past displays have included: summer/water safety, bike safety, medication safety, fire safety, heart/AED awareness, healthy eating and youth crisis services. Additionally, displays by local fire, police, LifeNet and the Delaware State Police Aviation unit have been very popular, organizers said. Food vendors are also being encouraged to participate. In 2014, there were more than 20 vendors at the event.

Vendors who are interested in joining this year’s event should contact the chairperson for the Sussex County Committee of Safe Kids Delaware, Cheryl Littlefield of Beebe Healthcare, at (302) 645-3100, ext. 5192, or via email at CLittlefield@beebehealthcare.org. Approval of vendors is at the discretion of the event planning committee.

More information on child safety and injury prevention is available on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SafeKidsDelaware and on Twitter at @SafeKidsDE, and at www.safekids.org.

Fenwick Wine Cellars will host a creative afternoon of wine and decorating lighted wine bottles with Vocal Vinyl on Sunday, May 24, at 12:30 p.m.

The $25 price of admission includes one lighted wine-bottle lamp, high quality outdoor pre-cut vinyl in beautiful colors and designs, and instruction from the owner of Vocal Vinyl to create an Ocean Devotion-themed bottle lamp to take home.

Those purchasing two or more tickets can save $2.50 on each by using the promo code FRIEND15. For tickets, call (302)436-1500 or get them online at http://tinyurl.com/I8toky7.

Fenwick Wine Cellars is located at 38016 Fenwick Shoals Boulevard, Selbyville, and can be reached by calling (302) 436-1500. Their website is located at www.fenwickwinecellars.com. Vocal Vinyl can be reached by calling (301) 339-3107 or emailing terry@vocalvinyl.com, and is online at www.vocalvinyl.com.

Vacation home sales have increased nationally for the fourth straight year and have now soared to levels not seen since before the start of the Great Recession, according to data released recently by the Sussex County Association of Realtors (SCAOR) and the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

NAR’s “2015 Investment and Vacation Home Buyer’s Survey” reveals that vacation home sales throughout the country rose to an estimated 1.13 million homes last year, the highest since the national real estate trade association began the survey in 2003.

That mirrors the most recent data from SCAOR, which details the latest in a string of steady real estate gains in Delaware’s southernmost county and an increasing number of buyers purchasing their homes with cash. The latter is true especially of the second-home market in southern Delaware.

Sussex County is also the most popular area in the state for the sale of vacation homes — particularly because of the 26 miles of Atlantic coastline and the burgeoning real estate market in the county’s beach communities, they said.

“Southern Delaware has certainly seen the growth in vacation home sales that our colleagues at the national level have witnessed, with homebuyers continuing to invest in our beautiful beach resorts,” said Fred Dean, 2015 president of SCAOR. “We saw a bit of a downturn in preceding years, as everyone did, but our coastal market has certainly returned with a flourish.”

Nationally, vacation home sales accounted for 21 percent of all transactions in 2014, the highest market share since the survey was initiated.

“Affluent households have greatly benefitted from strong growth in the stock market in recent years, and the steady rise in home prices has likely given them reassurance that real estate remains an attractive long-term investment,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun in a statement issued by the association.

“(It) also reflects long-term growth in the numbers of Baby Boomers moving closer to retirement and buying second homes to convert into their primary home in a few years.” Vacation homes are defined by NAR as “recreational property purchased primarily for the buyer’s personal use.” That differs from the category of investment homes, which are purchased primarily to rent to others, or to hold for financial or investment purposes.

Earlier this year, SCAOR reported that more than $1.45 billion in real estate had changed hands in Sussex County during the 2014 calendar year, which was an 8 percent increase over the previous year.

Single-family home sales for 2014 rose 5 percent over the previous year, with the average three-bedroom home in the county selling for a median price of $366,157 during 2014. Much of the growth, according to SCAOR, was a result of the dynamic coastal market enjoyed in Sussex County, where the highest percentage of the 4,700 properties were sold during 2014.

“While most areas in Sussex County are up, there’s no doubt that the biggest gains have been realized in the coastal areas. But that’s not unusual, given that vacation homes nationally are accounting for an ever-growing piece of the real estate pie,” said Dean. “People from other areas continue to buy homes at our beaches, and we don’t foresee that changing anytime soon.”

To read more about issues related to Sussex County’s real estate industry, visit SCAOR’s website at www.scaor.com.

The Board of the Delaware Botanic Gardens announced this week that Susan Ryan, owner of Good Earth Farm & Markets, has been selected to become the new president of the Delaware Botanic Gardens.

“I am honored to take on this responsibility and look forward to finishing the job that Mike Zajic has started,” Ryan said. “The Board that we have created, the Advisory Council members we have recruited, and the private-sector contractors we have attracted to this project will enable us to move forward successfully.”

After three as DBG president, Mike Zajic recently asked the board to accept his resignation. The DBG Officer’s Succession Plan, which Zajic had initiated earlier this year, called for then-Vice President Susan Ryan to succeed to the DBG presidency.

“Building a first-class botanic gardens is a major undertaking,” Ryan said. “We had no illusions when Mike started this effort that it could well take longer than any of our terms on the Board. It is always sad when an organization loses its founder.

“We are all very proud of what has been accomplished with Mike’s leadership. I am confident that all our supporters and members will continue their interest and generosity to the Delaware Botanic Gardens. I know we all look forward to walking the Delaware Botanic Gardens with Mike.”

Delaware First Lady Carla Markell, chair of the Delaware Botanic Gardens Advisory Council, said, “I know that all the members of the Advisory Council greatly appreciate the initiative and vision which Mike Zajic has brought to this project. It is a great credit to him to have recruited such a talented board and to have such an energetic, recognized leader like Susan Ryan ready to assume the leadership of this important project.”

Zajic has accepted the invitation from Markell and the DBG Board to join the DBG Advisory Council, with the title of DBG founder.

Ryan created Good Earth Market & Organic Farm on Route 26 in Clarksville and Good Earth Market on Route 1 in Rehoboth Beach. She is a founder of the local farmers’ market movement, a leader in organic farming and the “farm to table” concept and active in the Delaware Agritourism Association.

“Fortunately, we have a great reservoir of talent on our board. I have asked Sheryl J. Swed to become our full-time executive director, Raymond Sander to move from treasurer to vice president and David Green to become our treasurer. Ptery Iris will continue as our very capable secretary and Gregg Tepper, DBG director of Horticulture, has been made a full member of the Board. This will ensure that we will have an orderly transition and a seamless continuation of our project.”

The Delaware Botanic Gardens is a 10-year, multi-phase plan to bring to the area a major public garden that reflects southern Delaware’s unique coastal plain. Its mission is to create inspirational, educational and sustainable gardens in Delaware for the benefit and enjoyment of residents and visitors alike. The gardens will be located on 37 acres along Piney Neck Road, near Dagsboro. The parcel has a mix of farmland, woodland and tidal waterfront on Pepper Creek.

Learn about and follow the progress of the non-profit Delaware Botanic Gardens on the website at www.DelawareGardens.org.

Coastal Point • File Photo: Some children enjoy a merry-go-round during a precious Ocean View Homecoming event.This weekend, the Town of Ocean View will hold its 2015 Homecoming event, inviting the community to come together and enjoy fellowship and fun.

According to Richard Nippes of the Ocean View Historical Society, Ocean View’s Homecoming originally started in the early 1900s.

“The reason why was because there weren’t many jobs other than farming, so a lot of people would leave to go to Philadelphia and other places to work. They all tended to miss the camaraderie that existed in town because of family and friends — it was a tight-knit community.

“They started an event held in August where they invited all the people who had left to come back and renew family ties and friendships; just to get together with old friends and have a good time.”

However, with the start of World War II and the rationing of gasoline, Nippes said, the event ended.

The event returned to the town in 2010, with Nippes’ help, and has been growing steadily ever since.

“The current town manager, Dianne Vogel, has done a phenomenal job,” said Nippes.

Homecoming 2015 will be held on Saturday, May 9, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in John West Park, rain or shine. The event is free and open to the public.

The event will open with Ocean View Mayor Walter Curran overseeing a flag-raising ceremony.

This year’s event will also feature more than 25 crafters, along with entertainment provided by Randy Lee Ashcraft & the Saltwater Cowboys.

Kids can enjoy a giant rock wall, shark slide, carnival rides and face-painting.

Free ice cream will be provided to the first 200 people by Vanderwende’s Creamery.

Shuttle service and parking from designated parking lots will be provided by the Bloody Mary Shuttle.

The event is sponsored by the Town of Ocean View; Morris, James, Wilson, Halbrook & Bayard LLP; Fulton Bank; WSFS bank; Sussex County Council; Lyons Companies; and Kercher Engineering Inc.

During the event, the historical society’s adjacent complex will be open for tours. Those attending will be able to learn more about the town’s first post office, an 1800s outhouse, a replica of broiler-industry pioneer Cecile Steele’s first chicken house and the Tunnell-West House.

“All of our historical buildings will be open, and there will be docents present,” said Nippes. “This year, we’re hoping Dr. [Donald] Hattier will bring some military equipment in from World War II and have it set up for people to tour.”

Nippes said continuing the town’s historic Homecoming event is important, especially with so many individuals moving to the town from other states.

“I think it can be summed up in the fact that, a community, as it grows, tends to lose its identity. It has a name, but you have different neighborhoods and the people there they have very little interaction with other neighborhoods,” he said. “In my opinion, it’s not a cohesive community as it was. ... What you try to do is remember the past and traditions, and it tends to give the newer people in the community a sense of where the community has come from.”

Nippes said he hopes community members from across the county will attend the event, meet their neighbors and learn a little bit about the town.

“Hopefully, the people of Ocean View will begin to develop an appreciation for this tradition and it’ll bring people from the various neighborhoods together to remember this was something that started in the past.”

John West Park is located at 32 West Avenue in Ocean View. For more information, call (302) 539-9797.

Coastal Point • Maria Counts: Accomplished pianist Bethany Beach native Matthew McLaughlin created the Austin Piano Festival in Austin, Texas. The nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing the musical culture of Austin and surrounding areas by providing multiple educational opportunities and world class concerts.When he moved to Austin, Texas, 10 years ago, Bethany Beach native Matthew McLaughlin decided to bring with him two things he loves: his music and a piece of his hometown. And that was the beginning of his business and his passion — his own piano studio, the Bethany School of Music.

“I started teaching, I think, before I could drive. My first student was when I was 15 years old… I think I had a learner’s permit. His name was Scottie, and he must’ve been in his 70s, and he would come in a pickup truck and take lessons every week,” recalled McLaughlin.

“It was a real learning experience for me because I was this kid… You couldn’t be more disparate than this, right? I was this kid teaching this gentleman how to play. He was really sweet and understanding. I don’t know how he put up with me and, of course, I had no idea what I was doing.”

He had students throughout his high school career and into college. McLaughlin even had one student who went on to study music and another who went on to get a vocal degree.

“I was teaching a lot from an early age. I didn’t really think of it that way, but in retrospect it was really good for me, because it got me a head start,” he said. “In Austin, I taught through grad school. Within a year of moving to Texas, I was able to establish a good-sized studio.”

McLaughlin also started a website, PianoBlog, which he views as an extension of his private studio. Offering weekly posts about bettering one’s piano studies, McLaughlin has just started offering merchandise for teachers and students on the site.

“It’s my chance to share day-to-day stuff, as well as my own ideas, tips, tricks, advice and the like surrounding piano study,” he explained.

McLaughlin’s latest endeavor is the Austin Piano Festival — a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the musical culture of Austin, Texas, and surrounding areas by providing multiple educational opportunities and world-class concerts. McLaughlin is one of the founding members of the festival and currently serves as the board’s president.

McLaughlin started playing piano at the age of 7, taking lessons with Ruth Jones in Ocean View. He later went on to study with the late Gene Yenni of Lewes, at the age of 12. While in high school, McLaughlin also participated in the Governor’s School for the Arts. Studying with Yenni, said McLaughlin, was influential for him as a musician.

“I played all around. Gene would always organize these concerts, so I would perform in whatever venue was available,” he said. “There were concerts all throughout Delaware. At the time, it was smaller, so there weren’t a ton of opportunities, to be honest.

“I always loved music, so I danced and sang. Mom was always in musicals, and there was a piano in the house. I think I gravitated toward the piano because it was there.”

At the age of 15, McLaughlin performed Mozart’s “Piano Concerto in C Major No. 21” with the Salisbury (Md.) Symphony Orchestra.

“As a kid, playing with the orchestra was pretty important,” he said. “That was a big deal for me at the time… I actually played a concerto for harp that could be played with piano instead, with their youth orchestra.”

McLaughlin also studied with Dr. Lee Mitchell, formerly of the Peabody Conservatory.

“I first played for him in a master class he gave when I was 13. Then I started studying with him when I was 15,” recalled McLaughlin. “He was a pretty major step up. He was coming from a very professional background, because he studied and taught at Peabody, and had studied with Leon Fleisher, who’s one of the most important teachers in the 20th century. So it was a big step up in what was expected of me at the piano.”

Following his graduation from Indian River High School in 1999, McLaughlin matriculated to James Madison University.

“I knew music was a big part of my life, but I was also into philosophy. When I started at JMU, there was a month where I was a philosophy major,” noted McLaughlin.

However, his stint as a philosophy major was short-lived, as the music department quickly got wind of McLaughlin’s talents.

“I don’t think there was a formal audition. They just said, ‘You’re kind of going to be a piano major,’” he recalled with a laugh. “I got an easier pass into that than I think most people, and the rest is history.”

McLaughlin graduated from JMU in 2004 and then matriculated to the University of Texas at Austin in 2005. He graduated from the university with a master’s degree in music theory while studying with pianist Anton Nel.

“He was the main driving force for my coming here,” said McLaughlin of Nel.

McLaughlin is also an alumnus of the Aspen Festival & School, where he studied under Jean-David Coen.

His love of music and his positive experience at the Aspen Festival motivated him to purchase the website domain AustinPianoFestival.com 10 years ago, when he moved to Austin — long before he had any real plans for the festival.

“I just thought, ‘It’s funny that this isn’t taken, and it’s funny that nothing exists called the ‘Austin Piano Festival.’ For years, I just held onto it, thinking, ‘Someday there’s going to be an Austin Piano Festival.’”

Then, four years ago, he emailed a few of his friends and said, “I want to actually do this.”

“We’d been talking about how it would be fun to have an excuse for us all to get together and play. So we got together, had a meeting and just did it. We had our first meeting right before Thanksgiving,” he said. “Six months from ‘We’re going to do this’ to ‘We have international people flying into town and we’ve arranged concerts.’ It was a really, really fast-moving thing. It was a trial by fire. I was on the radio, I was being interviewed, I was being asked to play things, gather support and market.”

McLaughlin said the lack of a piano festival was perplexing, as Austin is a quickly growing city with a rich musical culture.

“Most cities in Texas have some sort of piano-centered festival or organization,” he said. “For instance, if you go to Dallas-Fort Worth, there’s the Van Cliburn, which is a world-famous competition, but it’s also a famous piano festival and piano institute. Just a little bit south of us is San Marcos, and they have an international piano festival. San Antonio has a piano series.

“It’s just interesting, because UT is known for its piano faculty, and there are an incredible amount of classical performers here in Austin and really world-class musicians. Of course, in Austin you get overshadowed a little bit, because it’s kind of the pop-rock-indie capital of the world, so to speak. But there’s also a very strong classical community.”

He said there have been good performances through the university and Texas Performing Arts, but there wasn’t a society dedicated solely to the piano and to piano concerts.

“It was sort of a no-brainer. I love the piano and I’m a pianist, and there’s not a piano organization in one of the fastest-growing cities in the U.S.”

This year, the festival will be held May 8 and 9, and May 15 through 17. The festival includes an opening and closing gala, numerous recitals and master classes.

“The atmosphere should be very warm and congenial,” said McLaughlin, who expects that more than 100 people will attend each concert. “This year, we feature a really cool concert of Debussy Préludes where we’re projecting onto a screen images and paintings that the preludes are based on.”

“We try to keep it very classy and absolutely top-notch, to keep it very relevant and interesting.”

In its third year, the Austin Piano Festival invites middle school and high school piano students from all over the state of Texas to compete.

“They perform, really, at the highest level of playing that you can imagine,” he said of the students.

The festival has two rounds of competition: first, a pre-screening round by audio recording and then, a final round, in which the students travel to Austin and perform live in front of judges.

“Those winners go on to participate in a whole bunch of festival activities,” said McLaughlin. “They perform live on the radio. They perform in our closing gala, which is a really cool gala. They perform in master classes with a lot of the visiting artists and guest teachers.”

This year, master classes will be held over four days, featuring pianists Michael Schneider, Johan Botes Nancy Weems, John Weems, Kris Pineda, Chris Guzman and Gregory Allen. All of those classes are free and open to the public.

McLaughlin said the competition is great in and of itself but is even better because it is heavily integrated with the festival.

“The participants in the competition get something more from it than just coming and playing in the festival. They get to become an integral part of what’s going on in the festival,” he said. “For the performers, anyone who’s grown up studying music and is kind of serious about it — if you’re 14, 15, you’re working your butt off.

“It can be a little bit hard to see what is at the end of that road… There’s a lot ahead of you. One thing that’s really great is that these performers in the festival get to interact with some people who are at the top of their field.

“For instance, if you have a master class with Chris Guzman or Spencer Myer, it’s not just a lesson, it’s an interaction or a class with someone who is on the world concert stage … that you might be aspiring to.”

McLaughlin said that, for a young musician, this kind of interaction can have an enormous impact.

“I think for me, when I was younger, whenever I had an inspiring teacher, that was sometimes the thing that kept me going. That person personified what it was in music that I loved or what it was that I wanted to become. I think it’s a great opportunity for them to interact with those people.

“And, on top of it — this is really why I like the closing gala so much — they get to be on the same stage as those people. So, not only are they performing, but the program will read, ‘Student A,’ ‘Student B,’ and then ‘Christopher Guzman’… It’s really cool to be playing in a recital where the next person on the program is a world-famous concert artist. That’s a big deal for these kids. I think it’s tremendously valuable.”

Approximately 25 students are in the final round of this year’s competition, and most will be participating in the festival’s master classes, while about seven of the winners will participate in the closing gala.

McLaughlin said that, in its short life, the festival has grown in terms of recognition and community involvement.

“When it started out, it was basically me and two other people who knew about it… Since then, gradually over time, there has been a lot of support and involvement from arts organizations, people who are associated with music. The local radio station, KMSA, has been a huge supporter. Not only do we go there for interviews, but they have finalists perform on air. KUT has become a supporter, through radio host John Ailey.”

“The community support I’ve seen has been really incredible. When I first started out, it was ‘How can I get people to recognize me?’ Now, it’s ‘How can I allocate my time? Because people want attention.’ John Alley actually called me, which is really amazing. There’s just a lot of community support. I think people recognize it’s a valuable thing.”

He added that the festival is starting to be recognized by the Texas Performing Arts, a university-based arts center, as the two are now working together to cross-promote.

“I’m at the point now where I’m getting emails from some pretty major artists asking, ‘How can I come to this festival?’ I want it to become something where there’s enough of a structure in place, where if I were to travel to Australia or New Zealand, the festival would continue.”

Another big step this year is that the festival venue has moved to the University of Texas at Austin campus.

“It’s a big deal, because they have world-class facilities. It’s just a little bit of a step up for us. We’ve definitely grown in terms of how many people are aware of the festival.”

In the future, McLaughlin said, he would love to see the festival continue to grow and believes it will, through the help of enthusiastic volunteers and arts lovers.

“I have a student who is a big supporter of the festival, and she’s one of those people who have said, ‘I’ll do anything to help it.’ I’m looking for people like that — who are committed, and I would like to form a more formal organization moving forward,” he said. “I would love to see concerts throughout the year, so that it’s not just something that happens in two weekends.”

He added that he would like the festival to do more educational outreach.

“I’d like to see things that are geared toward a wider swath of pianists. I’d love to see something for all ages. … And I think that the competition could grow into something that’s not just Texan. I think it could be a national or international competition.”

McLaughlin said that expanding the festival would require a lot, including a great amount of funding, but he believes it can happen.

“Austin is poised for that sort of international recognition. I think it’s a city that deserves it, and I think we’re moving with the tide when we’re thinking about good projects like that,” he said.

“Classical music is sometimes viewed as dry or more suited to an older audience,” he added. “I think if people have that perception, they should come to one of our concerts and meet some of our performers.”

“When people say ‘classical music,’ if they’re not from the classical music world, they have this idea of what that means that is usually not spot on. If there’s any effect I would have on people’s thinking in regard to classical music, it would be to just be open to the profound, life-changing effect that it can have… the real, absolute depth of feeling and emotional impact it can have on the listener, the person that’s engaged in it.

“Sometimes people may not realize just the strength classical music can have in that regard. If you have this idea that it’s high-class or snooty or a pretentious thing, then you’re really missing the point. My God — if you read the biographies of these musicians, it was anything but that.

“The point is the emotional connection, the message that’s being communicated. That connection between the performer and the audience can be so incredible and so strong. It’s not all the time, but sometimes, it’s transcendent. You just can’t get that anywhere else. I think if people have that perception, they should come to one of our concerts and meet some of our performers.”

McLaughlin spends a great deal of time planning the festival. He joked that as soon as the festival ends, planning for the following year’s festival gets under way.

“Sometimes I ask myself, ‘What’s my motivation?’ … If there’s just one person who for 10 minutes can be really deeply moved… if I have that sort of artistic impact even through behind the scenes work, even though I’m not playing on stage, it’s worth it.”

McLaughlin said he believes supporting the arts is crucial, and he invited everyone to take the time to learn a little bit more about the Austin Piano Festival and the importance of arts education.

“If you want to become a supporter of the arts and know that every dollar of your money is being spent well, because it is, go to AustinPianoFestival.com to make a donation,” he said, adding, “Come visit Austin. It’s a cool town. You’ll like it. And come during the Austin Piano Festival!”

For more information about the Austin Piano Festival or to make a donation, visit www.austinpianofestival.com. For more information about McLaughlin and his teaching methods, visit www.pianoblog,com.

Coastal Point photo: The Coastal Point staff attended the Maryland, Delaware, D.C. Press Association’s 2014 Editorial Awards Luncheon on Friday, May 1, picking up first- and second-place division awards for columns, reporting and photography, and even a Best-of-Show win for Technical Director Shaun Lambert’s photo of the Antares rocket explosion. Pictured, from left, are staff reporter Maria Counts, News Editor M. Patricia Titus, Lambert, staff reporter Laura Walter, Editor Darin McCann and Publisher Susan Lyons.Members and supporters of the Maryland, Delaware, D.C. Press Association came together last Friday, May 1, at a luncheon program to honor excellence in journalism by recognizing the winners of the Editorial Contest, which celebrates print and online work completed in 2014.

The contest, governed by the Association’s Editorial Committee, admitted nearly 2,000 entries from member publications among 50 categories. There are six divisions in the contest, which group member publications into daily and non-daily categories, then further group them by circulation. One Best in Show award is given in each category across all divisions.

The winners from the Coastal Point, in Division E, were:

• Local Column/Critical Thinking, First Place – Robin Williams – M. Patricia Titus;
• Local Column/Feature or Humor, Second Place – A Message from Above – Susan Lyons;
• Feature Story/Profile, Second Place – When the Germans Started Shooting at Us: WWII POW – Laura Walter with special contributor Kathy Jacobs;
• State Government, Second Place – Minimum Wage Hike a Hot Topic – Laura Walter;
• Public Service, First Place — Heroin Series — Maria Counts;
• Spot News Photo, First Place – Antares Rocket Explosion – Shaun M. Lambert;
• Feature Photo, Second Place – Beach Snow – R. Chris Clark;
• Sports Photo, Second Place – Hurricane Arthur Surfing – R. Chris Clark;
• Sports Feature Story, First Place – Behind the Face Mask – Tripp Colonell; and
• Arts/Entertainment Reporting, Second Place – Southern Girls – Maria Counts.

Additionally, Lambert’s division-winning photo of the Antares rocket explosion at Wallops Island was also selected as Best of Show for Spot News Photo, from amongst winning submissions that included those from the Baltimore Sun and Washington Post.

For a full listing of winners and their award-winning work, visit www.mddcpress.com.

Coastal Point • Laura Walter: South Bethany volunteers got down and dirty to beautify their town on Earth Day.In South Bethany, a green thumb also means blue waters. Volunteers donned gardening gloves on Earth Day to landscape along the Anchorage Canal. Located next to Route 1, the canal’s forebay needed some love. The South Bethany Community Enhancement Committee and other townspeople “adopted” the canal end on April 22, planting everything from holly to petunias and native grasses.

Councilwoman Sue Callaway paused from scooping buckets of mulch to talk about the projects.

“It’s a lot of fun,” she said, expressing her gratitude to all the volunteers working nearby. She emphasized the importance of “just being involved in your community.”

For three years now, the CEC has tackled a different site each Earth Day. It also sponsors the Town’s Adopt-A-Canal program, in which volunteers maintain landscaping on canal ends in their own neighborhoods.

But the Assawoman Canal is different from most of the town’s other canals. It collects stormwater runoff from Route 1, which brings with it potential pollution from northern South Bethany, Middlesex Beach, Sea Colony and the southern tip of Bethany Beach.

That day’s planting was a nibble among the many little projects planned for the watershed. South Bethany is designing eight more retrofit projects in the Sandpiper Pines neighborhood — a mixture of rain gardens and infiltration trenches.

The rain gardens, or bio-retention areas, are just like the gardens already placed inside the Route 1 medians in the town. They’re beautiful, but they serve a purpose by collecting pools of rainwater and filtering them naturally though plants and the ground.

The infiltration trenches are underground, completely filled with rocks, but covered with gravel and perhaps light landscaping. Rainwater fills the underground trenches and soaks out naturally through the bottom and sides. Councilman George Junkin said it does not compromise the ground’s overall stability.

“The purpose of all these things is slow [water] down, give time for nutrients and sediment to come out,” said Junkin, head of the Town’s Canal Water Quality Committee.

Meanwhile, the Anchorage garden and nearby future rain gardens will add color, beauty and wildlife habitat.

The Center for Inland Bays added its stamp to the Earth Day event by dedicating a new information board in the Anchorage garden. It explains the ongoing stormwater improvement projects, such as the medians.

“It’s a good opportunity to educate people on stormwater. This is a demonstration project area,” explained Chris Bason, CIB executive director.

The sign also commemorates the ongoing partnership between the CIB and South Bethany as they work to address issues related to the town’s environment.

Coastal Point • File Photo: Singer-songwriter Melissa Alessi will be among a wide variety of performers who plan to take the stage at the Millsboro Lions Club Diamond Jubilee Variety Show at Sussex Central High School on May 9.For the first time in more than 60 years, the Millsboro Lions Club will be holding a variety show. To mark the club’s 75th anniversary, the Diamond Jubilee variety show will be held to help raise money for the club’s various endeavors.

“In the state of Delaware, there are 35 Lions Clubs, and only two of them still do a variety show,” said Mitch Rogers, the first vice president of the Millsboro club and show director.

“I always really enjoyed the other shows and thought, ‘We can do this.’ I’ve been attending one of them for eight or 10 years, and I just love it. I always wished we could do one in our local Millsboro club, and I said, ‘Now is a great time, because this is our 75th anniversary of the Millsboro Lions Club.’”

The show will be held on Saturday, May 9, at 7 p.m. at Sussex Central High School. Tickets to the show cost $6, and may be purchased in advance from a Millsboro Lion, at the Millsboro Edward Jones office or at the door on the night of the event.

The Lions Chorus, which is made up of club members and some spouses, will open and close the show. In between, there will be a number of musical and comedy acts for attendees to enjoy.

Local singer-songwriter Melissa Alesi will be performing during the show, as will Danita Robinson, who also performs in the Springtime Jamboree.

“One gal is going to be a Dolly Parton imitator,” said Rogers, adding that one comedy segment will feature a parody of the popular song “Happy.” “Everybody knows Pharrell Williams — so a parody of that. I hope everyone will be dancing in the aisles.”

Aaron Webster, 11, will also be singing, accompanied by his stepsister Courtney Tull.

“I went to the Bridgeville show last year. This little kid gets up on stage — I guess he was about 10 — in a cowboy hat, jeans, and sings his heart out. I like country music, and he sings a song I know by heart myself and just nails it,” said Rogers of Webster. “He’s the first one I called.”

The approximately two-hour program will have an intermission, during which attendees can purchase refreshments from Millsboro Boy Scout Troop 89.

“It should appeal to all ages,” said Rogers. “This is going to be a lot of fun; it really is. It’s going to be a fun time. You’re going to hear some magnificent entertainers.”

Those who attend will also receive a program book, with advertisements from local businesses that support the show and the Millsboro Lions Club.

“We’re very grateful for the local businesses that have advertised in our program book,” Rogers said.

The Millsboro Lions Club has 27 members, including former state Sen. Richard Cordrey, and focuses on providing eyesight services to the community.

“Sight service is what Lions are all about. We do a lot of other things, but that’s what we were founded on. We were challenged by Helen Keller herself to be ‘knights for the blind.’ That’s one of our mottos that she bestowed upon us, and challenged us to do.

“Our most major project is to assist individuals with eye exams and glasses. Over the past two years, we have averaged 70 individuals each year, at roughly a minimum of $100 each. That’s the main reason we raise money,” said Rogers. “Our second, other service project is to screen every kindergarten child at East Millsboro and Long Neck Elementary Schools.”

A number of years ago the Millsboro Lions Club, along with three other local clubs, teamed up to buy a Spot Vision Screener, which gives a complete screening for eye disorders, including myopia and stigmatisms.

“Three other local clubs and ourselves went together a few years ago and bought a digital screening camera that immediately prints out the results that say whether the child should be referred to an [eye] doctor or not. That device cost about $7,000, and we had a grant to help us cover the expense.”

Rogers said the club’s only other fundraising efforts are through its Fritter Shack, open on Main Street in Millsboro in the fall.

Rogers himself has been a member of the club since 2002, after being invited by former District Gov. Tim Shockley.

“I was proud to be invited. A past district governor came to my office and sat in that chair one day and said, ‘I’d like you to join,’” he recalled. “He was the father of our current president.”

Rogers said the variety show is a great way to mark the club’s 75th anniversary, which is quite a milestone.

“It is huge. We were chartered in 1940. A lot of clubs were chartered in and around wartime. That’s when a lot of Lions clubs were chartered, because the men were coming back and looking to join social organizations and help the community out.

“They’d been off saving the U.S. and saving the world, and came back wanting to serve the community at home.”

Over those 75 years, the club has sponsored the Millsboro Little League’s first baseball team and purchased an ambulance and siren for Millsboro volunteer fire company, as well as providing scholarships to area students.

Rogers said he hopes the community will attend the variety show and support a local organization that has supported the community for three-quarters of a century.

“There’s going to be some good talent there,” said Rogers. “Come out and have a good time. I think it’ll really be a fun night.”

Sussex Central High School is located at 26026 Patriots Way in Georgetown.

Coastal Point • File Photo: The Fenwick Island-based Barefoot Gardeners Club will be holding its annual plant sale this Saturday, to raise money for the club’s community outreach projects.The Fenwick Island-based Barefoot Gardeners Club will be holding its annual plant sale this Saturday, to raise money for the club’s community outreach projects.

“We offer planters, planted containers, flowers, herbs, some vegetables, and succulents,” said Susan Caldwell, one of the club’s founders and its current president. “There will be people there from the club that can help buyers with what they may want to plant, to help them organize their container or help them put together a good combination of plants.”

The plant sale will be held Saturday, May 9, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., rain or shine, in Fenwick Island, at the home of Vivian Jennings.

“We’re thankful for her making her property available for the sale,” said Caldwell. “She maintains her yard beautifully.”

Caldwell said the plants come from Paul Woods, a grower out of Parsonville, Md.

“He also goes to the farmers’ markets in the area.”

The club is celebrating its 11th year, and it has held its plant sale for nine years.

Caldwell said the club currently has approximately 55 members. The club’s next meeting will be May 11, at which Carol McCloud will take over as president. Anyone interested in joining the club may simply contact a member to get more information, or attend the plant sale and inquire there.

The money raised from the sale will help the club do various projects, including funding its scholarship program.

“We have a scholarship program where we help a local student who’s going into agriculture or horticulture.”

Caldwell said the club has been involved with the landscaping at Justin’s Beach House’s since its inception and is still involved there. They also maintain the grounds at the Fenwick Island Lighthouse.

“We also have a story hour for children in the summer at the park at town hall in Fenwick and maintain the butterfly garden there,” she said. “It’s very popular with the children.”

The group also devotes a lot of time to beautifying the town of Fenwick Island.

“We planted all the daffodils in the center island of town — thousands of bulbs. This year, in addition to that, we’ve planted red tulips in the Town pots that are getting ready to bloom. After they bloom, we will change them to summer flowers.”

Recently, the club donated $2,000 to Indian River High School to help beautify its entrance.

“Donating money to the agriculture department at Indian River High School to help with plantings at the entrance that goes back to where the athletic fields are and the parking lot — I think that’s a pretty good thing,” she said. “We do a lot of things locally.”

The plant sale is one of the biggest fundraisers for the club, but they also host a harvest party in the fall.

“We raise a lot of money in our silent auction,” she said of that event.

Coldwell said the outreach work the Barefoot Gardeners is able to do through such funding does great things for the local community.

“These programs are important because we want to educate and help beautify the community.”

The sale will be held at the corner of Coastal Highway and James Street, bayside, in Fenwick Island, across from The Pottery Place.

The Ocean View Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7234 will be hosting a 50th Commemoration of the Vietnam War on Saturday, May 9. Beginning at noon, a ceremony, sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars and Vietnam Veterans of America Delaware, will be held in order to thank and honor veterans of the Vietnam War.

“This is important to us to remember and commemorate the men and women that died over there. It’s the 50th anniversary of us going in to Vietnam. That’s bittersweet sometimes, depending on who you talk to,” said Bob Corsa, service officer for the post, as well as the president of the Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 1105. Corsa is co-chairing the event, along with Post Commander Fulton Loppatto.

The ceremony will honor personnel who were held as prisoners-of-war (POWs), or listed as missing-in-action (MIA), for their service and sacrifice on behalf of the United States, and to thank and honor the families of those veterans.

“What we’re going to do is recognize the 122 soldiers from Delaware that died in Vietnam,” said Loppatto. “I do have two Gold Star sisters coming. They’re the sisters of soldiers who died. The important thing about this is to recognize the spouses and the families at home,” he added.

At the commemoration, there will be a presentation of colors, playing of the national anthem, a wreath-laying ceremony and a picnic following the ceremony. Loppatto said the event will be a “welcome home and thank you” to those who served in the Vietnam War.

“It’s a long overdue welcome home, because nobody was really welcomed home,” he said.

Loppatto said numerous dignitaries are expected to attend the event, including Delaware National Guard Maj. Gen. Frank Vavala.

“Sen. Tom Carper, who is a Vietnam veteran will be our keynote speaker,” he added.

VFW Post 7234, which has 1,300 members — about 50 of whom are combat veterans — is a commemorative partner recognized by the Department of Defense to conduct a program to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War.

“We’re reaching out and including all of the veteran organizations in the state — we’ll have Vietnam Veterans of America, the Delaware Commission, to include the American Legions, Korean War veterans,” said Loppatto.

“We’re really reaching a lot of people. The whole theme is ‘welcome home.’ It’s to honor and thank Vietnam veterans and their spouses and families. We will be giving carnations to all the spouses and female family members, and giving coins out to the Vietnam veterans.”

During the event, each attendee will be asked to sign a commemorative book, which will be added, with other items, to a time capsule, which will be opened at the 100th anniversary, in 50 years.

Additionally, veterans are being asked to bring any items that they would like to have added to the capsule to honor those who served in Vietnam.

Welcome posters made by students from the Indian River School District will be on display for all those in attendance.

Satellite parking will be available at James Farm Ecological Preserve and at the former Harris Teeter near Salt Pond, both located on Cedar Neck Road. Those with boats are welcome to anchor offshore at the Post.

Sponsors for the event include FedEx, Bethany Blues, Taste of Italy, Sysco, Utz, Pepsi of Salisbury, Md., Bethany Florist and VFW Post #7234 Ladies Auxiliary.

Corsa served in the U.S. Marine Corps from December 1964 to December 1968, with the Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 26th Marine Regiment 4326.

“We operated out of the I-Corps quandary area up north, where a lot of the fighting went on,” he recalled. “It’s strange — as a Marine infantryman, my experience in Vietnam was much different from a lot of the fellas. You could’ve been a military policeman down in Saigon, and the duties were just completely different… Where I was, we were being shot at pretty much 24/7. In some of the other locations, that was not happening, but Saigon came under siege…

“It was a war where we didn’t know where the enemy was, or who the enemy was. It’s very similar today with Afghanistan and Iraq. You take away the jungle and give us sand. And the insurgents or the terrorists become guerilla fighters. War is a terrible thing. There’s no getting around it. Young men die for older men’s decisions.”

Loppatto served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. He said that, when coming back home from serving, his greeting was very different from soldiers’ greetings today.

“When we all came back from Vietnam, there were no welcome-back parades,” he said. “Everyone knows it was a very controversial… It’s fine. We went on with our jobs. Most of us went on to our civilian jobs.

“When we came back, there weren’t any parades. When I came back, it was only my wife — who was my fiancée at the time — who welcomed me back… That was my welcoming committee. It wasn’t like World War II, where there were big parades.”

“I was 18 years old,” added Corsa, noting his age when he became a Marine. “I was a young man and believed wholeheartedly in what my country told me about communism. I grew up believing that we should end communism — it was a bad thing, and, in my opinion, is still a bad thing.”

Corsa said it’s important to recognize those who served and are serving to protect the freedoms of the country.

“It’s important to me. I didn’t receive the homecoming that many of the guys did receive, and it was terrible,” he said. “I hope the Vietnam veterans from Sussex County and their families come out to the event. I think it’s a wonderful event, so many years later, for us to even be remembering this and starting to deal with it, which a lot of fellas haven’t done.”

Corsa said he himself has suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is something that many of his fellow soldiers didn’t know about when they came home.

“It’s not a bad word. I can say it now without being ashamed, and we can thank our brothers and sisters over in Iraq and Afghanistan for that… I realize today what I was dealing with… If I only knew then what I know now, I might’ve dealt with the whole thing differently.”

Corsa said all are welcome to attend the commemoration and thank the veterans for their service.

“I would like to say to all veterans — but Vietnam veterans in particular, ‘Welcome home.’ Please come out and join our patriotic ceremony out at the VFW in Ocean View,” said Corsa. “It should be a very, very pleasant event — a very memorable event.”

VFW Post #7234 is located at 29265 Marshy Hope Way in Ocean View. For more information, call (302) 539-9981 or visit www.vfw7234.com/vietnam.htm.

Coastal Point • File Photo: The Gardeners by the Sea will host their third annual hydrangea sale on Saturday, at York Beach Mall in South Bethany, offering a choice of ‘toddler’ and ‘teen’ hydrangeas in baby-boy blue and baby-girl pink, complete with adoption certificates for the new plant parents and gift-recipient moms.The Gardeners by the Sea club will hold its third annual hydrangea sale this Mother’s Day weekend. The sale will be held on Saturday, May 9, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., in front of McCabe’s Gourmet Market in the York Beach Mall in South Bethany. If the club does not sell out of plants on Saturday, they will be selling the remainder on Sunday, May 10, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

At this year’s sale, “toddler” and “teen” hydrangeas will be sold to the public — offering a gift-shopping opportunity for plant-loving mothers.

“We have different sizes this year. They start at $8, and the larger ones will be a little bit more, but not to exceed $16,” said Lisa Arni, who created the sale three years ago. “We have the chemicals to make the hydrangeas ‘pink for girls’ and ‘blue for boys,’ and we’re going to wrap them in pink or blue, and will give out an adoption paper.”

New this year to the sale will be the attendance of a Master Gardener, who will answer any questions those attending may have.

“We’re going to have a Master Gardner at the sale to answer any questions about the hydrangeas or any other gardening questions, which we haven’t had in the past. They can really ask anything when they come,” said Arni, who is a Master Gardener herself.

Delaware has nearly 300 Master Gardeners — who collectively volunteer more than 20,000 hours per year to the Delaware Cooperative Extension’s home horticulture program.

In order to become a Master Gardener, one must apply to the program through the Delaware Cooperative Extension. The 16-week course is only offered every other year.

“What a Master Gardener does — after training, we are obligated to give back hours to the community in education, programs. We monitor and man information tables at different events, things like that,” explained Arni. “We give back to the community a minimum amount of hours every year… We also man a hotline that you can call, particularly in the growing months, and get any questions answered, if you have a problem with a plant or tree.”

She said the addition of a Master Gardener to the plant sale will be an asset to all those who attend.

“I think that will help give everybody a good head start in whatever they purchase that day. But they don’t have to purchase to speak to the Master Gardener.”

Last year, the club sold out of plants the first day. Arni said those who wish to take advantage of the limited supply of hydrangeas should plan to attend the sale on Saturday. She said the baby hydrangeas that will be sold at the sale were actually propagated by a number of the club’s members.

“Some of us have better luck than others. We had several members propagate the hydrangeas for sale. We purchased some, because we wanted to have some bigger ones. I’ve got 15… It’s not that easy. They don’t all proliferate.”

According to Arni, the hydrangea is a wonderful plant to have in this region and takes little care.

“The hydrangea is an excellent plant for our area. It can be planted in part shade and some sun. They do require water — the world ‘hydra’ means water,” she said. “Once established, they really are an excellent plant for the area. They are great in bouquets, they dry well — you can keep them all winter, dried. Some of them bloom more than once; some bloom for the whole season intermittently; and some just bloom the one time.

“You can always have the seed heads dry on the bush, and then you can cut them, bring them indoors and enjoy them inside. They’re a great garden plant. They do well here, because they like our climate.”

Currently, the club has 45 active members and 10 associate members. Arni said they are considering increasing membership, and she noted that they do not meet in July or August.

The money raised by the sale will go toward helping the club fund its various community outreach programs. Throughout the year, the club participates in local activities such as beach cleanups and the Beach & Bay Cottage Tour, which benefits the Friends of the South Coastal Library. They also provide flower containers for Habitat for Humanity.

“The houses they build, when they move in, they have two nice containers at their house filled with flowers. They appreciate that.”

Each year, the club also participates in Delaware Hospice’s Festival of Trees.

“We usually hand-make the ornaments for a 6-foot tree that is then raffled off by the hospice and all the funds go to the hospice.”

They also do some work beautifying John West Park and landscape the rain garden at Lord Baltimore Elementary School.

“We have a sunshine committee that puts little notes and cards for Meals on Wheels,” she added.

The club also offers garden therapy at the Cheer Center in Roxana.

“It’s a really nice program we do there. Several members go and meet the folks who are bussed to the Cheer Center and they do a lot of flower arrangements that they can then take home,” she said, adding that it’s a program they’ve offered for at least four years.

The club also offers scholarships to area students looking to study horticulture.

“This year, we’re actually giving three scholarships — two for Del Tech and one for the University of Delaware, for $1,000 each,” she said. “We really do a lot. This little sale is just a little bit.”

Those looking to help with those projects can do more this week than buy hydrangeas. On Wednesday, May 13, from 5 to 8 p.m. the club will hold a dine-and-donate at Fox’s Pizza in Millville. A portion of the profits from food sales that evening will be donated to the club.

The club plans to hold other fundraising events in 2015, though they will most likely be in the fall.

In the future, Arni said, the club hopes to do more with the area’s youth.

“We do a little bit now, like with the Kiwanis. We’re looking to perhaps do more with youth in the area. They don’t know what gardening is,” she said.

In September, the club will host Rick Mikula, also known as “Butterfly Rick,” and hopes that event will help spur more interaction with the community’s youth.

“He wrote a book about butterflies and will be coming to do a presentation for our club. We’re hoping to get some of the kids from Lord Baltimore. He brings live butterflies, and he dresses up like a butterfly. He’s really a character,” she said. “Hopefully, we can have it for the kids who are studying butterflies at that time.”

York Beach Mall is located on Route 1, bayside, at the southern end of South Bethany. For more information on Gardeners by the Sea or to become a member, call Arni at (302) 537-6238.

Coastal Point • Maria Counts: OVPD Chief Ken McLaughlin runs through a use-of-force simulation with Cpl. Rhys Bradshaw.In an effort to continue providing quality officer training, the Ocean View Police Department recently acquired a use-of-force training simulator.

“It’s a great tool for us to be able to gauge performance and make sure guys are performing properly here, making the right decision in this environment,” said Ocean View Police Chief Ken McLaughlin. “If they’re having any problems, we can catch them here and address them here.”

McLaughlin said the department had previously been using a similar system owned and maintained by the Delaware National Guard.

“That system was no longer available, and we felt it was a very important part of our overall use-of-force training program that we have in place.”

The new system was installed in the Wallace A. Melson Municipal Building’s multi-purpose room and is self-contained. A computer cart holds the computer and controls for one officer to run the simulator, while an overhead projection system is able to project a 12-by-8-foot image onto a wall.

“They sent somebody here to show us for three days how to use this machine,” said Cpl. Rhys Bradshaw of Ti Training, the company that manufactures the simulator.

Bradshaw said the simulator offers at least 600 scenarios that are organized into various categories.

“Some scenarios — not all of them — have different branches. So the operator can make the subjects do different things — I could have them pull a gun on you, or I could have them pull a knife. I could have them comply with you.”

During a simulation, an officer may use one of the simulator’s three handguns, an AR3 223, Taser, that have been modified with sensors or a service baton (ASP).

“What’s nice is in these scenarios you don’t always shoot. The person will come out with their hands up and we’ll pause it, and have someone go up and stand in as the suspect, and say, ‘OK, go ahead and finish that arrest.’”

Following each scenario, those participating go through a debrief process.

“After every scenario, we always play it back and we talk about it. Basically, who, what, where, why, when? What happened? What force did you use? Was it justified? Was the force effective?”

For instance, in one active-shooter scenario, Bradshaw discharged seven rounds in less than two seconds in order to get a suspect with a weapon to the ground and away from his gun.

“When people ask, ‘Why did you shoot so many times?’ This just shows you how fast I can get rounds off, and that it took that many to get him to no longer be a threat… I think it’s important for people to see that.”

McLaughlin said going through varying scenarios helps officers work on their basic marksmanship but also to work on judgment in the field.

“You have moving targets — you have to look, identify there’s a threat and gauge the threat. It’s a lot of stuff.”

Bradshaw said other police departments have already stopped in to check out the simulator and run through scenarios.

“We want other people to come and use it. It’s not just for us. My backup is not always Ocean View — it’s Bethany, South Bethany, State,” he said. “This will make us all better.”

The department received $36,000 State Law Enforcement Asset Forfeiture Grant to pay for the system, funded through proceeds from auctioned items seized by law-enforcement agencies in the state.

McLaughlin said the department’s new simulator is on the less expensive side of the spectrum.

“This is a very, very inexpensive system. It’s not unusual for these systems to run over $200,000,” he said. “We think it works very well. It’s a really good system.”

Bradshaw said the simulator can help the department train in other ways, as well.

“We sent the company our course of fire that we use for qualifying our handguns. They’re going to load it into this system — so not only are we going to be qualifying four times a year on the actual range, but we can come in here another four times a year and qualify with this. It’s just another way we can become more proficient with our weapons.”

Ti Training can also customize scenario locations for training purposes, as well.

“What we’re going to do in the future is do some filming of our own. What we want to do is our school, all our banks and churches, those types of public buildings,” explained McLaughlin. “We shoot the videos here and send the video to them. We’ll tell them the type of scenarios we want… They have actors at their facility in Colorado who play up the scenario with the green-screen behind them and put that into our video.”

Last month, the OVPD held an Officer for a Day program, in which community leaders were invited to learn about some of the situations that police officers can face every day.

“We’re thinking about bringing the same group of folks back in to do a little bit of this, and run through some of the scenarios,” said McLaughlin.

Bradshaw said McLaughlin has encouraged his officers to use the simulator when they have free time and that the additional training opportunities it provides will benefit the officers and the community.

“We’ve gotten good use out of it already,” he said. “It’s a great machine and helps us become better police officers.”

Dagsboro Town Councilman Bill Chandler spoke about the importance of precedent before the council at Monday’s council meeting before they voted on a motion to extend a five-year sunsetting provision on site plan approval for Vines Creek Village.

“We have, in the past, denied extensions,” Chandler cited. “So I worry about the equities of granting some and not granting others.”

Chandler went on to explain the purpose of sunsetting provisions in the first place, saying they are set to keep a law — in this case, a zoning law — in effect until a certain date.

With that date in September approaching, the developers of Vines Creek Village were requesting a one-year extension from the present five-year period before sunsetting an ordinance to amend Chapter 238 of the Municipal Code of the Town of Dagsboro titled “Subdivisions of Land, “Sunsetting of Major Subdivision Approval,” “Zoning” and “Sunsetting of Site Plan Approval.”

“That’s the purpose of sunsetting provisions,” Chandler stated at Monday’s Town Council meeting. “It ensures that the developments are done in a timely way. The beauty of a sunsetting provision of five years is that it operates with crystal-clear clarity the same way, across the board.”

“Would this open up a can of worms,” Mayor Norwood Truitt asked when debating the issue, “in the respect of someone thinking that they’ve been treated unfairly?”

Of course, considering the hardships of land developers in a period of tough economic times, some members of the council did try to see the issue from the other side to spark discussion of the matter; however, ultimately, concerns about setting a precedent won out and a vote to deny the request passed unanimously.

“We have to look at precedent,” said Truitt, “for both this council and for future councils.”

The council also voted at the April 27 meeting to appoint Board of Adjustment Member Marjie Eckerd to a new five-year term.

The Millsboro Town Council had planned to take action on the updates to town’s current building code and supplement existing inspection regulations at Monday’s regularly scheduled town council meeting. However, after deliberation, they decided to table the discussion.

Concerns about whether the council was ready or needed to take action at that time were sparked by Councilman Tim Hodges.

“I think we need to look into exactly what this code says before we just adopt it,” said Hodges. “I recommend that we hold off and study it for 30 days.”

Hodges said his concern was with the effect the code might have on remodels — specifically, in regards to energy-usage regulations.

“I have an issue with the 2012 energy code,” Hodges stated in the meeting. “The difference between the 2009 energy code and the 2012 energy code is significant.”

No other member of the council objected to Hodges’ suggestion to study the code over the course of the next 30 days.

Also at the May 4 meeting, the council voted unanimously to apply for a grant for a new wastewater and drinking-water asset management incentive program that could help the Town yield some possible savings for reinvestment.

“It’s a very competitive grant,” said Millsboro Council Treasurer Michelle Truitt. “But we like to think that we have a good shot.

“It also qualifies you for a loan, where the interest would be [cut in] half.”

No specifics were given as to possible reinvestments for the Town if they were to receive approval for the incentive program, but the possibility was mentioned.

The next regularly scheduled Millsboro Town Council meeting is set for Monday, June 1, at 7 p.m. at Millsboro Town Hall.

Coastal Point • Laura Walter: Jennifer Cordrey, center, poses with all the IRSD Teacher of the Year school winners.For 14 years, Jennifer Cordrey has inspired students, delighted parents and earned praise from her administrators at Indian River High School. Now the agri-science teacher has been named IR School District’s Teacher of the year.

The surprise announcement was made April 30 at the annual Teacher of the Year celebration, held near Long Neck. She was chosen as the district’s overall winner from a pool of 16 candidates — one from each school.

The audience watched video presentations about each candidate. They chuckled to see Cordrey handling a dog in her classroom. A voiceover described Cordrey’s dedication to education, as written by her coworkers, students and their parents.

“Mrs. Cordrey’s encouragement shaped me into the person I have always wanted to be, and her faith in me unlocked the potential I never thought I had,” one student said.

Cordrey thanked her school administration for their support of “crazy ideas, like having five dogs in the classroom.” She also thanked her extended family for their support, allowing her to attend so many student events, conventions and community-service projects. She also mentioned district Assistant Superintendent Mark Steele, who first hired her and introduced her to her now-husband and teaching partner, Kevin Cordrey.

All night, at Cordrey’s side was “my loving husband, the other half of the Ag Department. I wouldn’t honestly be half the teacher I am today,” if not for him, she said.

Cordrey also gave a shout-out to her students and Future Farmers of America (FFA) members (“You are the reason I do this every single day.”) and to her coworker, Michelle Peeling, who proofread the entire application.

An English language arts teacher, Peeling later revealed that she nominated Cordrey.

“The kids love her,” Peeling said. “Yes, I think she’s a good teacher, but I teach many of the same students. I love how they talk about her. I love how inspirational she is for them, how many of them she’s inspired to go into careers.”

“As an administrator, I could never ask any more than Jennifer Cordrey gives every day,” IRHS Principal Bennett Murray stated. Besides the success her students earn in the classroom and agricultural competition, Murray said he has seen in her a teacher who genuinely cares and dedicates herself to the students’ lives, activities and community.

“We’re a team,” Peeling said. “We all work together. It’s a great school, and she’s an integral part to that.”

At each school, teachers are nominated and specially selected by committee. A district committee then judges their portfolios and actual classroom lessons to determine the finalists.

The three teacher finalists were asked to create a stronger application, in preparation for the state competition. That included writing an official “platform” to promote.

Since her students are always working hands-on with an animal or in the soil, Cordrey highlighted the benefits of Career & Technical Education (CTE).

“The education field is ever-changing. There has been one constant, through the 15 years that I’ve been teaching, and that is the positive impact that CTE has on the students,” Cordrey said. “CTE gives students the opportunity to take the information that they acquired in the classroom and apply it to real-world experiences.”

Cordrey herself earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and a master’s degree in applied technologies from the University of Delaware.

In teaching horticulture and animal science, Cordrey also heads the school’s FFA, which was ranked in the top 200 U.S. FFA programs in 2011.

She has twice been named Delaware Agricultural Teacher of the Year. During her tenure, Indian River received the Delaware Agricultural Department of the Year award in 2013-2014.

As the district’s Teacher of the Year, Cordrey is now eligible for the state Teacher of the Year Award, which will be announced in October.

“I’m very excited, extremely nervous, and I really hope I represent IR very well,” Cordrey concluded. “Thank you very much.”

Greatness in every school

Superintendent Susan Bunting lauded all of the school Teachers of the Year, the top 16 among their 801 peers. They have many diverse backgrounds and subject areas, but they all bring a special spark to their schools.

“They chose to invest their multiple talents, their caring spirit and their tireless energies to enriching the lives of our students,” Bunting said of the teachers. “Among your peers, you’re the very brightest stars.”

The annual Teacher of the Year awards are meant to focus public attention on excellence in the classroom.

“Every one of us in here is deserving of it,” said Cordrey, praising her fellow teachers.

The other two teacher finalists were Kelsea Dell (Selbyville Middle School) and Helen Morrow (Howard T. Ennis School).

Other school Teachers of the Year for 2014-2015 in the IRSD were: Denise Adkins (Southern Delaware School of the Arts), Terri Evan (Millsboro Middle School), Marci Ginsberg (John M. Clayton Elementary School), Joan Glasco (Georgetown Elementary School), Melissa Grunewald (Phillip C. Showell Elementary School), Maria Hazzard (North Georgetown Elementary School), Cathy Henderson (District Kindergarten Center), Dana Lambert (Lord Baltimore Elementary School), Andria McCabe (East Millsboro Elementary School), Margot Newbold (G.W. Carver Academy), Jennifer Polly (Long Neck Elementary School), Mark Throm (Georgetown Middle School) and Jonathan Tietz (Sussex Central High School).