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Millville Town Peddler to host exhibit by Emily North

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The Millville Town Peddler announce this week that it is hosting artist Emily North for a month-long exhibit.

North recently graduated from St. Joseph’s University with a major in art education. In the fall, she will begin teaching art in Baltimore City Public Schools.

“I have always been passionate about art and work in many media,” she said.

North is currently working on alcohol ink landscapes, as well as some digital photography.

“I am looking so forward to the opportunity to exhibit and sell my work!”

The collection will be displayed at Millville Town Peddler, in the rear section, starting July 1 and running through the month. The show depicts North’s images and paintings. The art portrays worldly character through North’s imagination.

North’s art exhibit is free and open to the public. North’s art will be available for purchase. Members of the community are being invited to enjoy the art and take part in sale specials. For more information, contact Millville Town Peddler, 35308 Atlantic Avenue, (302) 381-5891, mtpeddler@verizon.net or visit www.Facebook.com/MillvilleTownPeddler and www.facebook.com/ReynoldsBackDoorSurf.


McWilliams, McCormick attend leadership seminar

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Hayden McWilliams and Griffin McCormick, students at Indian River High School, recently attended the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Seminar held at Wesley College in Dover. They joined more than 70 other young high school leaders from the region June 5-7.

Each spring, select area sophomores from public and private high schools convene at one of the 70 State Leadership Seminars across the country to recognize their leadership talents and apply them to becoming effective and ethical leaders.

Student participants (known as HOBY Ambassadors) take part in hands-on activities, meet leaders in their state and explore their own personal leadership skills while learning how to lead others and make a positive impact in their community.

At the end of their seminars, HOBY Ambassadors are challenged to give back by serving at least 100 volunteer hours in their communities. HOBY Seminars have taken place in Delaware for 34 years.

Frankford teen wins state’s Youth Fishing Tournament

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Warm breezes and sun after a light morning shower greeted 175 young anglers and their families who gathered Saturday, June 6, at three Delaware ponds for DNREC’s 29th Annual Youth Fishing Tournament. All fish caught in the tournament were weighed and released, as young anglers got a first-hand lesson in conservation.

The New Castle County location, Lums Pond in Bear, drew 81 children and young teens casting lines, while at Kent County’s Wyoming Pond, 23 youngsters turned out. Sussex County reeled in 71 young anglers at Ingrams Pond in Millsboro. Fish species caught included catfish, white perch, yellow perch, largemouth bass, crappie, bluegill, carp, golden shiner and pumpkinseed.

When the day was done, 13-year-old Kelly Phillips of Frankford came out as overall statewide winner, as well as the Sussex County winner, with fish weighing in at a total of 4.08 pounds.

The biggest fish of the day — all of them largemouth bass — were caught by: Shelly Mutschler, 9, of Seaford, 2.5 pounds; Katrina Wigmore, 10, of Smyrna, 1.41 pounds; and Anthony Sylvestro, 11, of Pennsville, N.J., 2.34 pounds.

The smallest fish of the day were caught by: Jonathan Pollock, 7, of Middletown, 0.019-pound sunfish; Steven Swann, 15, of Dover, 0.02-pound bluegill; and Autumn Tice, 14, of Milford, 0.03-pound mummichog.

The winners received fishing rods and tackle boxes, as well as trophies, and all participants received prizes. This year’s county winners and the overall statewide winner will be invited to a special trophy presentation by Delaware Governor Jack Markell on Governor’s Day, Thursday, July 30, at the 2015 Delaware State Fair in Harrington.

In addition to Sussex County and statewide winner Kelly Phillips, other Sussex County winners at Ingrams Pond, by age group and total weight of fish caught, were:

• Ages 4 through 7 — first place, Luke Hitchens, 7, of Dagsboro, 1.54 pounds; second place, Kylie Henry, 5, of Chadds Ford, Pa., 1.04 pounds; honorable mention, Brayden Stewart, 2, of Georgetown, 1.66 pounds;

• Ages 8 through 11 — first place, Camrin Croney, 9, of Ocean View, 2.54 pounds; second place, Shelly Mutschler, 9, of Seaford, 2.52 pounds; third place, Andrew Wertz, 8, of Lewes, 2.16 pounds;

• Ages 12 through 15 — first place, Dylan Fodi, 14, of Millsboro, 1.89 pounds; second place, Jamin DePasquale, 14, of Millsboro, 1.30 pounds; third place, Robert Thompson, 13, of Millsboro, 1.15 pounds.

The Youth Fishing Tournament was established to introduce youth to the sport of fishing and to teach the catch-and-release approach to conservation. The free tournament, held annually in June, is open to youth ages 4 through 15. For more information on the Youth Fishing Tournament, call (302) 739-9913.

Dewey Beach Lions, Lewes Harbour Marina supported the Youth Fishing Tournament with $2,050 donation On May 27, the Dewey Beach Lions Club presented a check for $2,050 to the Fish & Wildlife Volunteer Association to benefit the Youth Fishing Tournament. The money was raised from the Lewes Harbour Marina Flounder Tournament held on May 15.

Lewes Harbour Marina and the Dewey Beach Lions Club have been strong supporters over the years, assisting Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police with monetary support for outreach activities.

The program is part of Delaware’s Children in Nature Initiative, a statewide effort to improve environmental literacy in Delaware, create opportunities for children to participate in enriching outdoor experiences, combat childhood obesity and promote healthy lifestyles. Delaware’s multi-agency initiative, which partners state and federal agencies with community organizations, is part of the national No Child Left Inside program.

Millsboro book sale set for July 17 at the Hut, next to library

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Millsboro is preparing for its unique annual book sale. Already, many have contributed books to the sale, and supporters are working to organize non-fiction books by subject, such as cookbooks or biographies. For fiction readers, popular (and not-so-popular) authors are sorted and displayed in alphabetical order. Books for children and young adults are sorted by approximate age level.

For those who prefer e-books, how about shopping for gifts? Many of the books are considered to be of bookstore quality. For summer reading, gifting or just browsing for that elusive book, the sale may have just what people want.

Those interested in perusing the selection should go to the Hut next to the library at 219 State Street in Millsboro on Friday, July 17, from noon until 6 p.m. or Saturday, July 18, from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.

Anyone who is afraid all the “good books” will be picked over may become a member for $5 and come to the sale on Thursday evening, July 16, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. for the member preview.

Paperbacks will sell for $1, hardbacks for $2 and a bag of books on Saturday for $4. For information, call Sandy Stevens at (302) 934-8865 or Jan Thompson at (302) 732-3216.

Hudson’s General Store celebrates 25 years, brings back antique show

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Coastal Point • Laura Walter: Since building Hudson’s General Store 25 years ago, Melody and Richard Hudson have filled the shop with antiques, folk art and good shopping ever since.Coastal Point • Laura Walter: Since building Hudson’s General Store 25 years ago, Melody and Richard Hudson have filled the shop with antiques, folk art and good shopping ever since.After 25 years, a local shop might be considered retro. But Hudson’s General Store is all about the antique. Now, to celebrate 25 years in business, Hudson’s is bringing back its massive outdoor antique sale on Saturday, June 20.

Under the big tent in Clarksville, 30 to 40 dealers from across the East Coast will sell one-of-a-kind treasures from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“People love antique shows, and I think the young people are starting to come back and want retro things,” said owner Melody Hudson.

And this is where people can dive in.

“They can find anything. They can find pewter, clocks, furniture — just about anything in the antique line,” Hudson said.

“[Antiques] are all different. They’re not mass produced,” Hudson said. “You never know what dealer’s gonna bring what.”

There’s excitement in finding the perfect piece or talking with vendors and other collectors.

“We antique dealers call it a disease. We can’t get it out of our system,” Hudson joked.

The twice-annual show grew for 17 years before the Hudsons decided to take a break. But the vendors wanted more.

“The dealers have been begging for it. We thought … we’ll chance it one more time,” Hudson said.

The shop’s regular folk artists will display work on the store’s front porch at Route 26 and Iron’s Lane. Individual vendors will accept various payment options.

Celebrating 25 years

Hudson’s General Store features these items all year ’round, plus gifts, American folk art, porcelain, redware, candles, home-mixed potpourri, teas, candy and greeting cards.

Hudson’s own mother, Anne Bassett, bought and sold antiques her whole life.

“I was raised up in it. My mother was a spotter for about five antique stores. That’s how she made extra money. She had dealers that wanted certain things, and she’d find ’em.”

Hudson grew up loving antiques.

“As a child you’re at auctions, and you see this excitement, and I just grew up with it,” she said.

Hudson did antique shows herself, and then she and her husband, Richard, just decided to open their own store.

They never know what shoppers may be looking for. That’s why they have a little of everything.

“We try to keep local products,” Hudson said.

Local artists make primitive-style furniture, wreaths, hooked and penny rugs, baskets, beeswax candles, decoys and more.

Hudson’s own daughter does Scherenschnitte (paper cutting) and mixes the potpourri.

They also sell American pewter, English soaps and hand-done linens by a couple in New England.

This month, they were reassembling a Christmas display upstairs, so summertime visitors can enjoy a bit of the winter season’s spectacle.

Anyone who looks up won’t be disappointed in the store. And that begins at the front entrance, where a wide mural greets customers. The landscape shows a map-like version of coastal Sussex County, painted in a simplistic style, reminiscent of Rufus Porter.

Hudson said some friends who own a Maryland shop painted the mural about 15 years ago. It subtly shows area history, from the Fenwick Island Lighthouse to a dramatic ocean rescue by the Indian River Life-Saving Station. Landmarks include Blackfoot Town (old Dagsboro), Bethany’s Loop Canal, the Old Blackwater Church and more. Hudson moved to Selbyville in fourth grade, and her husband’s family goes back several generations in Bethany Beach.

Hudson’s General Store is open Thursday through Sunday, with parking on-site. For more information, call (302) 539-8709 or visit www.hudsonsgeneralstore.com.

Thompson builds outdoor learning facility en route to Eagle Scout

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Special to the Coastal Point • Sam Ellis: Gunnar Thompson, inset, built an outdoor learning center at Ingram’s Pond in Millsboro. Thompson earned his Eagle Scout status with this project.Special to the Coastal Point • Sam Ellis: Gunnar Thompson, inset, built an outdoor learning center at Ingram’s Pond in Millsboro. Thompson earned his Eagle Scout status with this project.To earn the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest honor in the Boy Scouts of America, Indian River High School senior Gunner Thompson knew that he had to select a service project that would make an impact.

He also knew that the school district’s designated outdoor learning center at Ingram’s Pond in Millsboro had plenty of potential projects that they needed help with. So when he called up to inquire about some of them, it was well-received, and he eventually decided to construct an easily accessible learning area for local students and teachers.

“I knew that they had projects that they needed,” Thompson explained. “I brought that up with them, and they seemed to love the idea, so we went forward with it.”

Timed appropriately with the installation of a new wetlands area, Thompson said that the location of the project was planned accordingly.

“We wanted to put it there — that way, instead of taking a half-mile hike into the woods, they could just take the kids five minutes from the actual facility,” he explained.

However, selecting the perfect project and perfect location was only half the battle, as Thompson took on a new role as senior patrol leader, though which he helped impart his already budding carpentry skills onto four other scouts who assisted with the project.

“You’re in charge of everything,” Thompson said of the position. “It teaches you a lot of leadership skills.”

Those newfound leadership skills were tested as the project went on for six months until completion, resulting in nine brand new benches and a podium — cut, constructed, sealed and installed in concrete to stand the test of time.

“It’s all marine-grade lumber, so it won’t be coming apart anytime soon,” Thompson explained. “Once we had everything together, we sanded it down, stained it and put a little bit of clear coat on it to seal it up.”

The end result was an overall success and warranted passing his Eagle board review; but to Thompson, it encompasses a goal that he’s been working toward for years.

“It means a lot to me,” he said of the honor. “I was a Cub. I started a little bit later than most people. I moved up in my own troop, and there were a lot of guys in there that I looked up to and most of them got Eagle. It kind of motivated me to be a little bit more like them.”

The example that he followed as a Cub Scout is the same as the one that he hopes to set now that’s he’s earned his own Eagle.

“I feel like people expect a lot more of me,” said Thompson of his expectations going forward. “I’m trying to be the person that they expect me to be.”

Thompson has passed his board of review, he officially received his Eagle Scout badge on June 13. He is already planning to use the skills that’s he’s learned and developed in the Scouts going forward, hoping to start his own carpentry business after graduating college.

“It’s a great opportunity for you to do a lot of cool things. In general, it teaches you a lot of life skills — it’s helped me in school,” Thompson said of the Eagle program’s merits. “It teaches you to go above and beyond.”

Phillip C. Showell student wins Carson Scholars Fund Award

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This spring, outgoing fifth-grader Brynn McCabe was named a 2015 Carson Scholar, capping her experience at Phillip C. Showell Elementary School.

The Carson Scholars Fund awards $1,000 college scholarships to students in grades 4 to 11.

PCS guidance counselor Cheryl Carey figures the best way for students to win prestigious awards is just to apply. Every year, she invites top students who meet the 3.75 GPA requirement to write the essay for a school-wide contest. This year, after McCabe’s was chosen from 15 submissions, she forwarded the application, essay and recommendation letters to the national scholarship committee.

PCS has had eight other winners since 2001, all listed on a school trophy.

“If you don’t ever try, you won’t ever win,” Carey said.

Of two essay topics (“How does helping others make you feel good,” or

“Why do you love reading,” McCabe said), she chose the latter.

“I’ve always loved to read, and I thought I would have more evidence for that one,” she said.

She was particularly drawn to the biography of Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas.

“Her family had, like, no money and they lived in their car,” McCabe said. “And then she went to go train, and she left her family just to do what she loved, and that, like, inspired me.”

A fan of dance and gymnastics herself, McCabe was inspired that the gold-medalist was willing to take such risks to pursue her dream.

Because the national scholarship is all about academics and community service, McCabe also started volunteering more, to become well-rounded.

In school, McCabe was a mentor to a second-grader. Outside, she volunteered at Selbyville’s Community Food Pantry and the local beach cleanup.

McCabe was “really surprised” when her award was eventually announced over the loud speaker at school. At a recent dinner in Baltimore, McCabe and other winners met neurosurgeon Ben Carson himself, and received a signed copy of the book “Gifted Hands: the Ben Carson Story.”

McCabe offered some competition advice to other students: “Just try it, because even if you don’t get it, you at least participated in an opportunity.”

Tickets on sale for RAL’s 66th Annual Cottage Tour of Art

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The Rehoboth Art League will hold the 66th Annual Cottage Tour of Art on July 7 and 8.

The Cottage Tour Committee has worked for several months to present this year’s selection of eight private homes in the Rehoboth Beach and Dewey Beach areas. The homes on this year’s two-day self-paced tour have very different landscapes, interior and architectural designs, ranging from historically significant to contemporary and eco-friendly. Some homes have quite an evolving history and many homeowners showcase memories and collections in creative ways.

The Art League’s Historic Peter March Homestead will be transformed with furnishings and décor by the tour underwriter J. Conn Scott. Richard Scott, Lisa Scott and Steven Bendyna. They will blend modern furnishings and decorations to complement the historical design in the three main rooms of the Homestead.

In previous years, this has ranged from a white, slipcovered cottage look to a more colorful red and turquoise theme and last year a throw-back to the ’50s and ’60s, with bright orange. They said they love making each year’s presentation a special surprise.

The ticket for the tour is a commemorative program booklet with an image and description of each home on the tour. Tickets cost $30 per person (appropriate for ages 13 and older). Tickets are available on the RAL website at rehobothartleague.org or by calling (302) 227-8408.

The booklets can then be picked up at either Art League location beginning June 20, at 12 Dodds Lane, Henlopen Acres, Rehoboth Beach; and RAL Art Studios on Route 9, 12000 Old Vine Boulevard, Lewes. (Note: Tickets purchased on the RAL website and by phone must be picked up at one the RAL locations.)

Also beginning June 20, tickets will be available at: in Rehoboth Beach, at Bellinger’s Jewelers, Browseabout Books, Early Attic Antiques, Farmer Girl Exotic Gardens, J. Conn Scott Showhouse, Tomato Sunshine, Windsor’s Flowers & Plants, and on Tuesdays at the Rehoboth Farmers Market; in Fenwick Island, at Carolina Street in Lewes at Community Bank of Delaware and Lewes Gourmet; and in Bethany Beach, at Sea Needles.

Tickets for the tour are also available the day of the tour at any of the homes, based on availability, and at both Art League locations.

This year, parking is very limited at several of the house locations, particularly Dewey Beach. Free parking will be available at the Rehoboth Elementary School parking lot located at 500 Stockley Street, Rehoboth Beach. The Art League is providing Jolly Trolley transportation for Cottage Tour ticket holders. Shuttle service will begin running at 9:45 a.m. and continue until the tour ending each day.

The Cottage Tour of Art is underwritten by J. Conn Scott and sponsored by Boardwalk Builders and Jolly Trolley.


Holts Landing to celebrate anniversary facelift with Family Fun Nights

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As Holts Landing State Park on the Indian River Bay gets ready to celebrate its 50th anniversary this month, it is receiving a facelift thanks to the efforts of the newly-established Friends of Holts Landing State Park. In just a little more than six months, the group has been able to clean up the park’s trail system and make other improvements to the park. Now it has a new face for its half-century celebration.

The State Parks and Friends will be celebrating the 50th anniversary with three Outdoor Family Fun Nights, on June 30, July 21 and Aug. 18, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.

The celebrations will include music by the Backbay Strummers, stargazing led by State Park naturalists, a bonfire with marshmallow roasting, kids’ seining with fish identification, crabbing and yard games, including horseshoes, corn-hole, ladder golf and Frisbees.

Groups are being encouraged to come out and bring their own picnic dinners to enjoy at the pavilion’s new picnic tables.

The Friends group gets much of the credit for the park’s new spruced-up look. The group was co-founded by local residents Chuck Schonder and Bob Chin, who were concerned to learn about the deteriorating conditions at the park at a presentation by Doug Long, superintendent of the Delaware Seashore State Parks to the Inland Bays Foundation.

Soon after hearing about the conditions at Holts Landing, the pair visited the park and felt that it looked neglected. Yet they were inspired by the park’s beauty and its central location in the area.

The park has 204 acres of unspoiled upland forest, as well as 2,000 feet of waterfront on Indian River Bay. It has the only public boat/kayak access on the south shore of the Indian River Bay from Millsboro to the ocean inlet.

The park also features a 220-foot fishing/crabbing pier, a picnic grove, a picnic pavilion that seats 80 and includes a barbecue grill, and three 20-acre wilderness campsites. DNREC is hoping to secure funding from outside sources in the near future for a state-of-the-art playground.

Schonder and Chin discovered that minimal public funds had been designated for improvements to Holts Landing in 10 to 12 years. Funds to parks are based on the number of people using the facility, and best estimates showed that only about 6,000 people visited the park in 2014.

“It was kind of a Catch 22 situation. Since use of the park was low, few funds were made available for improvements. As the amenities aged and minimal funding was provided for improvements, participation kept going down. The situation needed to change,” said Schonder, who serves as the Friends president.

The pair got to work to do something about the situation, meeting with the superintendent and others and going through the extensive process to get a charter from the State Parks Division of the Delaware Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Control (DNREC) to create the Friends group.

Established in October 2014, its mission is “to protect and enhance the park’s pristine natural resources and to unite with other non-profits to advocate for the park.”

Monthly trail cleanup days from January through May of this year resulted in a complete cleanup of the park’s two trails that combine for a total of 3.1 miles. The Friends have installed all new trail markers and signs. With the guidance of DNREC’s trail experts, they have reconfigured the trail design to provide for projected sea-level rise over the next 20 plus years. Four new rest/viewing benches designed and made by Boy Scout Eagle Candidate Thomas Polk have been installed along the trails.

The Friends group now has about 25 members and is growing. It has received support from state Sen. Gerald Hocker and state Rep. Ron Gray and groups including the Delaware Seashore Preservation Foundation, the Delaware Seashore State Parks, the Inland Bays Foundation and the South Coastal DE AARP chapter.

Individual annual memberships in Friends are available for $15, or $10 for students or seniors 62 or older, and family memberships for $25. Friends members are available to talk to area groups about its mission and programs. For more information about the group or to receive a membership application, contact Chuck Schonder at (703) 881-2491 or cschonder3@gmail.com.

Holts Landing is located on Route 346 near Millville. Daily admission to the park costs $4 per vehicle for in-state residents and $8 per vehicle for out-of-state residents. Annual passes are also available for $35 for in-state residents and $18 for seniors age 62 and older. Out-of-state rates are $70 or $35 for seniors.

The park offers two trails for hiking. The Seahawk Trail (1.3 miles) winds through wide paths that are covered with pine needles and a series of hidden freshwater ponds. The Seahorse Trail (1.8 miles) meanders through the wilderness campsites and a large meadow (home of numerous birds including osprey).

Boomers beware: Lumbar spinal stenosis cases are on the rise

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If you haven’t heard of lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS), those of us of a certain age may become all too familiar with it very soon. Some doctors are sounding the alarm about the rapidly increasing number of cases of LSS.

Right now, about 11 percent of the population is suffering with this painful problem, but Baby Boomers are changing all that. Medical experts are warning the trends don’t look good. By 2021, they expect more than 2.4 million Americans will be afflicted with the condition.

Do you know what LSS is and how it happens? Do you know what your treatment options are and what the latest medical research has discovered about the most effective treatments? Did you know that aging is the primary factor, but not the only factor, that can cause LSS?

As I so often tell you here in the Coastal Point, understanding the problem and getting the information you need to be an informed consumer can make a critical difference for you or someone you know.

LSS is a narrowing of the spinal canal. When that occurs, it will put pressure on your spinal cord, along with the nerves that travel through your spine.

The best way to understand it is to think about how your spine is structured. You have 24 vertebrae in your spine that sit in a line, with each one sitting on top of the next. You also have disks that provide space between vertebrae.

This stack of vertebrae — your spinal column — forms a bony sort of ring in the rear of the vertebrae and together they form a long tube. The tube is your spinal canal. It protects your spinal cord, and when it narrows, you have problems.

The causes of LSS are many. One of the most typical causes is the aging process. From age 50 on, the spine is undergoing changes that can lead to problems with disks, the vertebrae themselves, as well as the ligaments and muscles. As we age, the wear and tear that we’ve inflicted on our spine can led to a flattening of the disks. This is serious because the lack of space spells trouble.

Osteoarthritis is another leading cause of LSS. As the cartilage between joints degenerates, the body often tries to compensate for the lack of support by creating bone spurs. These spurs tend to cause pressure on the nerves of the spine.

Other causes of LSS include herniated disks, spinal injuries that can occur from a car accident, a serious fall or any incident that causes traumatic injury to the spine, tumors, and thickened ligaments, which can push into the spinal canal.

How do you know if you have LSS? The most typical symptom is pain in the legs that you will feel whenever you walk. When you’re sitting, you will probably feel comfortable, but you can see what that means for even the simplest daily activities.

The symptoms can often be like a yo-yo, as they vary between periods of severe pain, periods of lesser pain and so on. There is no rule of thumb, because it’s different for each person. You may also experience tingling in your lower back, buttocks and legs, as well as some numbing or weakness.

If you’re experiencing these symptoms, you should make an appointment to see your doctor immediately. Make sure you write down some key information to bring with you that will help with your diagnosis.

Tell the doctor when the problem began and whether it has gotten worse. Let your doctor know if you’ve had any kind of injury that could have damaged your back. Make sure you also tell your doctor about any other health problems that you have and remember to bring your list of medications and any supplements you take.

You can expect your doctor is going to ask you a number of questions and give you a thorough exam to understand the full picture, and your medical professional may also order a number of tests. The reality is that LSS can be a challenge to diagnose because there are many other conditions with similar symptoms.

Once diagnosed, it is more likely than not that your recovery plan will largely involve physical therapy. Just this April, a study that appeared in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine found physical therapy so effective it should be considered as a first-choice treatment option.

You can expect your doctor and physical therapist will work together to create a plan that reflects your specific needs and takes into account your full health situation. Keep in mind that the purpose of your physical therapy program will be focused on easing your pain and helping you return to your normal, daily activities.

To do that, your therapist is going to look at a number of factors, including the right approach for you to build your endurance and strength, your flexibility, address the stability of your spine and the many other critical factors that are key to getting you functioning properly again.

A combination of manual therapy, exercises, stretching, strengthening and other techniques will help you get by those nasty symptoms and prevent the condition from getting worse.

Whatever you do, don’t decide to self-diagnose and don’t wait to see a doctor if you are experiencing what may be the symptoms of LSS. Nobody likes to go to a doctor, but letting the situation continue is a recipe for disaster. Your quality of life matters, and it’s up to you to take those logical steps to maintain it. Do yourself a favor and take care of it before it gets a whole lot worse.

Bob Cairo is a licensed physical therapist at Tidewater Physical Therapy. He can be reached by calling (302) 537-7260.

Nguyen wins Cresson scholarship award

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Tuyet-Kha Nguyen, a recent graduate of Seaford Senior High School, is the 2015 recipient of the Jim Cresson Scholarship, named for the late Cape Gazette reporter.

Nguyen has been a member of the National Honor Society, Business Professionals of America, Technology Student Association and the Yearbook Club. She was the valedictorian of her class and a 2015 Secretary of Education scholar.

Although she is “academically inclined,” writing and literature have always been Nguyen’s greatest passions. She makes time every day to write, whether it is poetry, short stories, or just “snippets” — as she says, “You never know when inspiration will occur.”

She plans to continue publishing her works online while attending George Washington University in Washington, D.C., in the fall and hopes one day to publish a novel.

Cresson, a Sussex County native, was a journalist and photographer in Delaware. A Vietnam veteran, outdoorsman, artist, and musician, Cresson had a great love for his country and nature, and a particular fondness for Native American history and culture. He spent the final years of his journalism career writing and taking photographs for the Cape Gazette before dying in an automobile accident in 2005.

The Jim Cresson Memorial Fund Scholarship recognizes a Sussex County high-school senior who, through an essay contest focusing on interests that Cresson shared, demonstrates the character of Jim Cresson. Administered by the Greater Lewes Foundation, the Jim Cresson Memorial Fund was established by friends of Cresson to perpetuate his memory.

Seashore State Park to host ‘1-Day’ Day Camp

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While many of the state parks in Delaware have been offering weekly summer camps for many years, Delaware Seashore State Park is offering its first camp this summer. Each Wednesday, from June 17 through Aug. 12, park staff will be hosting a “1-Day” day camp.

Thd camp, geared toward 7- to 11-year olds, will last just four hours, and will give parents the option to drop their children off for a morning of coastal exploration.

Campers will partake in activities such as seining, marsh walks, science experiments and crafts. The theme for each week will alternate between “Salt Marsh Explorers” and “Junior Marine Biologists.” The camp will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and costs $25 per child. Pre-registration is required.

For more information or to make a reservation for a child, call the Indian River Life-Saving Station at (302) 227-6991.

Kayak eco-tour offers inside look at marshes and history of park

Delaware Seashore State Park is offering kayak eco-tours through the salt marshes of Rehoboth Bay this summer. In addition to learning about the ecology of the Inland Bays, participants will get a taste of local history along the way.

Tours will be offered Tuesdays through Fridays at 9:30 a.m. until Aug. 14. Participants will meet at Savages Ditch Road, where they will launch their kayaks into a section of Rehoboth Bay known as “Station Cove.” Along the way, park interpreters will discuss the history behind that name, as well as identify the birds, plants and marine life that call the salt marsh home.

The fee for this program is $35 per person and participants must be at least 13 years old. Closed-toe shoes, drinking water and sun protection are a must. Pre-registration is required, as space is limited.

For more information or to pre-register, call the Indian River Life-Saving Station at (302) 227-6991 or visit destateparks.com.

Squid dissection activity offered at Delaware Seashore State Park

The public can join park staff at the Indian River Life-Saving Station for a fun, educational and unique activity — a squid dissection class; back by popular demand. Participants can learn cool facts about this highly specialized sea creature, enjoy a seafood snack and keep the kids’ minds sharp while they’re away from school this summer.

Participants will each receive their own squid specimen to examine, and a park interpreter will be there to guide the class through the dissection process. Not only will participants gain an understanding of how the squid moves, feeds and reproduces, but at the conclusion of the class, their study specimens will be deep-fried for an early-afternoon calamari snack.

The class will be held every Tuesday at 10 a.m. starting June 16 and continuing through mid-August. The fee for the program is $8 per person and is suitable for those 8 or older. Space and materials are limited; pre-register by calling the Indian River Life-Saving Station Museum at (302) 227-6991.

Learn how to catch crabs and clams at state park

Some of the most popular activities to enjoy while visiting the Delaware beaches are crabbing and clamming. For many visitors, though, and even locals, crabbing and clamming can be somewhat of a foreign concept. If someone did not grow up learning to crab and clam, it might be a bit intimidating to learn.

The staff of Delaware Seashore State Park is offering help, with a “Crabbing 101” program and a “Clamming 101” program each week from mid-June through mid-August. Crabbing 101 will take place on Wednesday afternoons at 2 p.m., and Clamming 101 will be on Thursday afternoons, also at 2 p.m. Staff will provide all the necessary materials and instruction for participants to catch and release their own crabs and clams.

The minimum age for Crabbing 101 is 5 years old, and the minimum age for Clamming 101 is 8 years old. Closed-toe shoes are required for Clamming 101. The fee for each program is $6 per person, and children must be accompanied by a paying adult. Pre-registration is required. For more information or to make a reservation, call the Indian River Life-Saving Station at (302) 227-6991.

Programs for Children, all summer long, at state park

Delaware Seashore State Park will be offering a variety of children’s programs all throughout the summer, from mid-June to mid-August.

Back by popular demand is the “Jelly, Jelly, Jellyfish” program, which will be held on Thursday afternoons at 1:30 p.m. The program is geared towards 3- to 6-year-olds and pre-registration is required. Children will get to see and touch real bay critters, including jellies — the non-stinging species, or course. Children must be accompanied by an adult; limit, one adult per child. The fee for the “Jelly, Jelly, Jellyfish” program is $4 per child.

On Friday mornings, park staff will be hosting a “Build and Fly a Kite” program at 10 a.m., for ages 5 and older. All children will have the opportunity to construct and design their own kite, and then the whole group will head out to the beach to launch their kites with the help of coastal breezes. Pre-registration is required for this program, as space and materials are limited. Children must be accompanied by an adult on this program, as well; limit, one adult per child. The fee for the “Build and Fly a Kite” program is $6 per child.

A brand new program is also being offered to introduce park visitors to the maritime history of Delaware’s coast. This program, titled “Shipwrecks and Buried Treasure,” will give participants the chance to learn about famous local shipwrecks and how the surfmen of the U.S. Life-Saving Service performed heroic rescues.

The group will then learn the basics of “geocaching” and head out to the beach with GPS units to locate “hidden treasure.” The program will take place on Thursday mornings at 10 a.m. It is geared toward ages 5 and older, and children must be accompanied by a paying adult. The fee is $4 per person, and pre-registration is required.

For more information or to make a reservation for any of these programs, call the Indian River Life-Saving Station at (302) 227-6991.

What’s new for summer 2015 in Delaware

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With 2014 barely in the rear-view mirror, 2015 is already showing signs of being a tempting year for Delaware as a great vacation destination, according to the Delaware Tourism Office. Aside from the annual crop of new shops and eateries (especially in and around the beaches), Delaware is gaining some new attractions and events, ranging from two new country music festivals to a lineup of new brewpubs at the beach.

Music festivals galore

This could be the year Delaware becomes the music festival capital of the East Coast. First, Firefly is lighting up the scene this week, and now the state is about to add two new music festivals, both packed with top country acts, and both well-suited to an extended on-site camping trip.

First to debut will be the Big Barrel Country Music Festival, June 26-28 at Dover International Speedway’s Woodlands. Headliners include Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood, along with a slew of supporting acts. The new Delaware Junction Country Music Festival is set to premier Aug. 14-16 in Harrington, with headliners including Jason Aldean, Florida Georgia Line and Toby Keith.

At other major venues — such as Dover Downs, the Delaware State Fair and Freeman Stage at Bayside — crowds will get to enjoy such acts as Meghan Trainor, the Beach Boys and Heart this summer.

Get ready for more beer … and wine … and spirits

When it comes to artisanal beer, wine and spirits, Delaware’s quickly becoming a go-to state, especially with the recent expansion of the Delaware Beer, Wine and Spirits Trail and the start of the Vintage Atlantic Wine Region trail.

Now, Delaware’s hand-crafted and gourmet beverage market is about to get even bigger. At the beaches, there are six businesses with a focus on beer and spirits that are new, newly expanded or in-the-works during summer 2015:

• Beach Time Distilling (Lewes): Facility is under way.

• Crooked Hammock Brewery (16989 Coastal Highway, Lewes). “Coming soon” for 2015.

• Dewey Beer & Food Co. (2100 Coastal Highway, Dewey Beach). Now open for 2015.

• Fins Ale House & Raw Bar (Rehoboth). New on-site brewery up-and-running for 2015.

• Forgotten Mile Ale House (20859 Coastal Highway, Rehoboth). Work under way for 2015 opening.

• The Meadery (Lewes). “Honey wine microbrewery” may open toward the end of 2015.

Upstate, there’s more brewing (both this year and late last year):

• Blue Earl Brewing Co. (210 Artisans Drive, Smyrna). Now open for 2015.

• Grain Craft Bar + Kitchen (270 E. Main St., Newark). Opening July 2015.

• Stone Balloon Ale House (115 E. Main St., Newark). Now open for 2015.

• Trolley Tap House (1616 Delaware Ave, Wilmington). Opened late 2014.

• Two Stones Pub (Wilmington, Newark). Planning to brew own beer.

With beer comes the festival fun …

The new brewing attractions aren’t limited to restaurants. This August, the America on Tap Festival will make its inaugural Wilmington stop, and earlier this month, the state celebrated the first-ever Delaware Beer, Wine & Spirits Weekend.

Firefly Music Festival — on TV

In 2015, fans who head to Firefly Music Festival in Dover just might end up on national/global TV. In late 2014, AXS-TV announced that it would be televising 15 hours of music live from the four-day festival on the grounds of Dover Motor Speedway. Set for June 18-21, Firefly is quickly becoming considered one of the top outdoor music festivals in the country, and is being heralded as the East Coast’s premier event.

New hotels open their doors

This summer, travelers will get to check out two new hotels at the beach — the 112-room Bethany Beach Ocean Suites and the 94-room Fairfield Inn and Suites in Rehoboth. They arrive after a year that saw the opening of the Westin Wilmington on the Christina Riverfront and the 136-room Hampton Inn Wilmington/Christiana in New Castle County.

New campgrounds are waiting

A new campground and other amenities have been unveiled at Delaware Seashore State Park in time for summer. The $10 million project features a new camping area on the north side of the Indian River Inlet with 80 full-hookup RV sites, new bathhouses, pavilions, playgrounds, parking and a new promenade connecting the campgrounds. On the south side, enhancements and new construction have added 145 RV hook-ups, 41 tent sites, 94 all-purpose campsites, renovated bathhouses and a promenade to the beach.

Libraries serving children free meals all summer

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This summer, all local children are being invited to eat free meals at the Selbyville and Frankford public libraries, no questions asked.

“It will help to fill the gap with food insecurity throughout the summer,” said Frankford Public Library Director Rachel Wackett.

The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) was created to help fill food gaps during summer months, when the free and reduced-price school lunch program is unavailable. The meals are designed to meet federal nutrition requirements.

Locally, meals have been served since school ended on June 11 and will continue until the last week of August.

The Selbyville library serves food Monday to Friday: lunch at noon, a snack at 3 p.m. The Frankford library serves lunch Mondays and Fridays, from noon to 1 p.m., and it serves a snack on Thursdays from 4 to 5 p.m. The times often coincide with other programs.

Children eat on-site, in the libraries’ community rooms. Meals are offered on a first-come, first-served basis for anyone 18 or younger. Sign-up is not required.

“All children qualify. There’s no income restrictions,” Wackett said. “Just show up.”

Children don’t need to give their names or show eligibility documents.

Library staff members were trained to dispense food.

“The kids in the library, most of them are within walking distance,” Wackett said. “We definitely feel this is the right way to go,” especially for older children who may have to look after younger siblings.

The Delaware Department of Education administers the state program, although it’s federally funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Today, Delaware’s program has about 30 sponsors and 371 feeding sites, which will increase in the coming weeks.

Sponsors range from the YMCA to public schools and even the City of Wilmington. Volunteers pack and deliver meals each morning to libraries, churches and other community groups.

The Food Bank of Delaware is a major sponsor. When it gave a call for action, four Sussex County libraries volunteered, including those in Delmar and Seaford. This is the first time Food Bank has specifically partnered with libraries.

“They really did recognize the role libraries play in the community, particularly with school-aged children,” said Wackett.

“Our job is to recruit sites who have access to kids at risk of hunger over the summer,” said the Food Bank’s Kim Turner. “If there are other sites who want to come on board throughout the summer, we are always adding other sites. Really, we just want to help build awareness.”

For more information, call the Frankford Public Library at (302) 732-9351 or Selbyville Public Library at (302) 436-8195.

To find feeding sites in Delaware, call the Delaware Help Line at 211 or text “FOOD” to 877-877. Or find complete list online at www.fns.usda.gov/summerfoodrocks, using the “Find sites” pull-down menu.

Nearby summer sites currently include:

• Delaware Adolescent Program Inc.

• American Legion Auxiliary Unit 28

• Oak Orchard Boys & Girls Club

• Dagsboro Boys & Girls Club

• Frankford Public Library

• Hickory Tree 4H

• Selbyville Public Library

Old Timer’s Day returning to Selbyville on Saturday

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Coastal Point • FILE PHOTO: Classic cars are shown along Church Street in Selbyville during last year’s event. The car show is a large part of the Old Tymer’s Day event. Last year’s attendance is estimated at about 2,000, a record number.Coastal Point • FILE PHOTO:
Classic cars are shown along Church Street in Selbyville during last year’s event. The car show is a large part of the Old Tymer’s Day event. Last year’s attendance is estimated at about 2,000, a record number.
Beloved and much missed after a one-year hiatus, Selbyville’s classic summer festival is returning. Old Timer’s Day is scheduled for Saturday, June 20, in downtown Selbyville. Church Street will close to traffic and turn into a sunny street fair from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. that day

“There is just so much going on. There’s a little bit of something for anybody. It’s great for whole families,” said organizer Lauren Weaver. “In the spirit of Selbyville, … it’s just kind of a nice step back into time and a festival for families.”

Children will be able to engage in active play in the play zone near Town Hall. They’ll also be able to enjoy fire truck rides, a moon bounce, an obstacle course, multi-sport games and pony rides from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., reflecting back to a time before people had cars to get around.

But when automobiles came to town, they came in style. So, a classic car show will line Church Street itself — the youngest automobile being from 1979. People are being invited to show their classic cars, trucks, emergency apparatus and farm vehicles.

“Hot Rods for Hospice” is the name of this year’s classic car show, with Delaware Hospice being the beneficiary of the 50/50 raffle.

Car show registration costs $10 and can be done online at www.bethany-fenwick.org or on-site from 9 a.m. to noon. Judging is from noon to 2 p.m. Besides the award ceremony at 3 p.m. at Town Hall, door prizes will be announced throughout the day.

Cash prizes will be given for everything from best engine compartment to best paint job, and of course, the best vehicles.

This is the first time Bethany-Fenwick Area Chamber of Commerce is hosting the festival for Selbyville, although “We already work with them for the [Christmas] parade, and we have a really great relationship with them,” said event manager Weaver. “We really enjoy working in Selbyville. Working inland is always a nice experience.

“We have tried to keep it true to form,” Weaver said of the historic nature of the event. “They did an amazing job building up the pony ride and events for kids.”

The Rail Road Station Museum will be open for free. That’s where families can also catch free fire truck rides with the Selbyville Volunteer Fire Company.

The Selbyville Public Library will also have special events, Weaver said, including crafts, music and more.

The Bo Dickerson Band will play classic country and rock-and-roll hits near Town Hall.

Festival food will be nearby, too, with everything from “fried chicken livers to burgers and hotdogs, desserts and ethnic food. You name it, it’s going to be there,” Weaver said.

Other craft vendors will bring their best wares to sell, too.

Handicapped-accessible parking is available, with transport, at PNC Bank on Church and Main streets. Guest parking is available on all side streets, municipal lots and the Southern Delaware School of the Arts parking lot.

Church Street is closed to vehicle traffic from 5 a.m. until 4 p.m. on June 20.

Pre-registered vehicle entrants can also enjoy the free Poker Run on Friday night. On June 19, they can drive to five local sites to pick up one playing card at each stop.

“It’s just like a hand of poker. It’s like a scavenger hunt without the riddles,” Weaver said. “Everybody pre-registered can show up. Every place they stop, they get a poker card, and then they come back at the very end. We’ll have a little party and entertainment,” and play the poker hand for prizes.

Pre-registration is June 19 from 8:30 a.m. to noon at Selbyville Town Hall, and is required to be eligible for that day’s Poker Run and the next day’s car show.


FEMA draws a crowd at South Bethany maps meeting

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South Bethany Town Hall may never have seemed so small when 100 people tried to fit inside for a public meeting about the future of local flood mapping. Most of them wanted to know exactly why their flood-risk designation changed, and what they can do about it.

After planning to lower some flood elevations in South Bethany, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) did new analysis, triggered by a council member’s concerns, which led to an even higher flood zone than in the first place.

This June 12 meeting replaced the regularly scheduled town council meeting. It was meant as a dialogue between people and government, not an appeal.

“This is not a negotiating meeting,” said Mayor Pat Voveris. “This is not a meeting for appeals. This is a meeting to hear what they have to say.”

South Bethany is currently operating under the previous 2005 FIRM (Flood Insurance Rate Map), although Sussex County’s new FIRM was enacted in March. FEMA is repeating the county-wide process on a smaller scale within South Bethany, after an outcry from residents, and the council, too.

But new scientific analysis is the only thing that will change FEMA’s mind.

“Something comparable to what we’ve done,” said Jon Janowicz of FEMA. “We’ll share everything we’ve done with you. … Find something wrong with what we’ve done … or something superior in its presentation.

All of the Army Corps of Engineers reports are online at R3coastal.com.

FEMA will send a flood hazard determination notice to the Federal Register in mid-July, with an estimated publication there and in two area newspapers around September.

That would trigger the official appeals period, which would run from autumn to early 2016.

After considering all appeals, FEMA could issue a Final Letter of Recommendation in spring of 2016. The new maps would then be effective in the fall of 2016.

This is a very tentative timeline.

To map a floodplain…

During the regular map revision process, FEMA had updated information that showed the oceanfront had a decreased risk of flood damage, with a VE-10 designation.

But then, “We received new, better scientific data that showed that the risk actually increased,” said Peter Herrick Jr. of FEMA Region 3. “The area changes over time,” he said, even if people don’t physically see it.

“FEMA’s main goal here is to reflect the risk as much as possible. They don’t change BFE [base flood elevation] lightly. There was a lot of review of this analysis,” said Christine Worley of Risk Assessment, Mapping & Planning Partners (RAMPP), which performed the new wave and erosion analyses.

Pulling data from different sources, FEMA studies topography, storm surge, erosion and wave patterns and more.

Terrain data from more than 30 years ago was not very detailed.

“Technology has changed. The models that we’re using now are much better, much more accurate,” Worley said.

The 2005 changes were mostly based on analysis from the 1980s, some as early as 1981. The 2015 changes came from data ranging from 2005 to 2012.

FEMA officials received “new data,” including surveyed elevation data from Ocean Drive and Route 1, collected in 2013 and 2014; historic photographs of storm damage; beach elevation profiles surveyed by the Army Corps; and more.

But it wasn’t just historic newspaper articles recounting storm damage (the scientific validity of which some citizens debated).

For example, erosion analysis of the dunes was revised to show that a sharper slope forms during erosion, which can cause dramatic wave run-up.

So, most areas increased from the 2005 map to the proposed one. Portions of the west increased from 5 to 6 feet in the AE zone, due to the bays.

Beachfront houses on Ocean Drive were increased from VE-12 to VE-13 (a particularly painful blow for homeowners, considering FEMA had planned to decrease that area’s designation).

Maps are found online at http://maps.riskmap3.com/DE/Sussex. People can create a profile for their individual property, then compare the current and proposed maps.

South Bethany has the highest oceanfront numbers, although parts of North Bethany were also moved to VE-13. Most surrounding areas were placed at 10 or 12 feet.

“FEMA’s goal is always to reflect the most accurate information,” Worley said. “The news article was just one piece of information that we received.”

“Most of the oceanfront communities did receive revisions to their maps based on concerns that were expressed,” clarified Mike Powell, of Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Control. “The Town of Fenwick Island contacted FEMA with concerns about early revisions of the maps that would have removed part of Bunting Avenue from the flood plain [as did Dewey Beach]. This idea that the surrounding communities didn’t get scrutiny … or comment, or that the risk was understated is not true.”

Why don’t the dunes count?

South Bethany’s sand dunes have been a sore spot for residents. Although the state and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) constructed 16-foot dunes in 2008, FEMA’s analysis didn’t consider dunes as protection for the town.

Besides a three-year nourishment cycle to rebuild dunes to original specifications, South Bethany received several special refills after storms including Nor’Ida and Hurricane Sandy, which typically returns them to pre-storm conditions.

However, the dunes are sacrificial by design, said Jason Miller, chief of Flood Plain Management Services Branch of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Philadelphia.

Dunes aren’t permanent structures, so they have the potential for reduced protection over time, especially if Congress does not continue funding maintenance of the project. Miller couldn’t say if a 2016 replenishment has been officially funded yet.

USACE’s design is built in the most economically beneficial way, not specifically to protect in a 50- or 100-year storm event.

Plus, South Bethany’s dune hasn’t been around very long, and it doesn’t show the stability and long-standing vegetation FEMA wants, Miller said.

“It’s not common that FEMA will use the nourished dunes in the beach profiles in coastal analysis,” Worley said later.

She said the dunes of Hilton Head, N.C., might be a rare exception to that.

Paying for insurance

Insurance specialist Rich Sobota (FEMA, NFIP) said he was disappointed that there were no insurance agents in the room that evening.

“Every single one of your insurance agents should be your best friend and most knowledgeable source of information … because after I’m done, I’ll be gone, but they’ll still be here,” said Sobota.

If a house exceeds its BFE, the owner will get a discount on their flood insurance.

“When FEMA changes the map and you wind up in a higher risk zone than you were in, what happens to you? It depends,” Sobota said.

Typically people can be “grandfathered in.” Pre-FIRM structures that have had continuous insurance coverage can pass that on to subsequent property owners (in South Bethany, the first FIRM was written in 1971). Someone who built later “is grandfathered into that map because that structure was built in compliance and continues to be [until it is substantially improved or damaged]. Then all bets are off.”

He gave some history of the program that currently enforces 5.3 million flood insurance policies.

Ultimately, NFIP saves the country money by reducing pure disaster relief efforts. When NFIP had a shortfall, it borrowed from the U.S. Treasury, always paying back those funds with interest. But with Hurricanes Katrina, “We got blown out of the water,” paying out more money than in the program’s 37-year history, Sobota said.

And that was before Hurricane Sandy arrived. Now, policy holders are paying an extra fee, which will slowly take the place of subsidies. Sobota clarified that no tax dollars pay for existing subsidies. Any shortfall is paid for by loans from the U.S. Treasury.

How to make an appeal

Making an appeal is not just a matter of writing an opinion letter.

“We have to have scientific data to show that the map is not correct, [or] that we applied what we have in error, or that you have superior data that you can give us,” said Dave Bollinger of FEMA.

Residents would submit their appeal to the Town of South Bethany, which will forward to FEMA.

The type of consultants they may need depends on what type of information they want to challenge. Different engineers analyze storm surge, topography, beach profiles and so forth. But that could get expensive, and the data would cover a chunk of town.

Even after the entire process ends around 2016 with a final determination, people can still request to pull individual homes out of the floodplain. A Letter of Map Change may let people prove their individual house is not located in the floodplain. FEMA could change the zone designation for that individual property.

Brad Gough attended the meeting to see the maps for himself. He has no mortgage on his house at Elizabeth Way, which he finished in 2004, so he’s never purchased flood insurance, figuring his insurance savings will pay for any potential damage.

But he’s still thinking about finances and potentially reduced property values.

“If you were going to buy a house, would you buy a house in the floodplain or out of the floodplain?” Gough mused. “It just went the wrong way for me, for all of us.”

He said he personally saw floodwater come up the road for the first time during Hurricane Sandy. (FEMA officials said Sandy wasn’t even a “1 percent” storm when it hit Delaware.)

His neighbors, David and Jutta Dunaway didn’t really think there were any surprises at the meeting, but they’re already thinking of the next step, which may be the Letter of Map Change.

Historic complex offering free tours this summer

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For the second year, the Ocean View Historical Society (OCVHS) is offering community members and visitors the chance to visit their historic complex free of change on Wednesdays in the summer months.

“Last year, we had restored our historic buildings to the point where we thought it would make a good display for the public to visit,” said Carol Psaros, president of the society.

Every Wednesday through Sept. 2, from 1 to 4 p.m., docents will be at the complex, welcoming visitors with the opportunity to learn more about the area’s history.

The Tunnell-West House, the society’s first renovation project, was saved from demolition in 2008. The Gothic-revival house was built around 1860 by John Tunnell of Muddy Neck and is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. Currently, the house is furnished in period furniture, most of which was donated by the West family. During the past four years, the society has been able to raise approximately $100,000 to restore the historic home.

The complex also boasts the Town’s first post office, built in 1889 as a source of income for Annie Betts.

“She was a widow; her husband was a sea captain who got lost at sea. She was the postmistress who also, besides putting the mail out for everybody every day, she had a hat shop in the back of the post office, so she could make additional money,” shared Psaros.

The property also has an 1860s outhouse and functioning water pump, which would have been the sole source of water for the home until the early 1930s.

“We do have an outhouse now. It’s a two-seater that came from a property in Ocean View, donated by the Archut family.”

Through fundraising efforts, the society was able to build an exact replica of Cecile Steele’s 1923 chicken house, which is identified by a State of Delaware Historic Marker.

In 1923, Steele was mistakenly delivered 500 biddies instead of the 50 baby chicks she ordered, inadvertently jumpstarting Sussex County as the broiler chicken capital of the world.

“The chicken house is outfitted with water fountains, feed troves, old crates, a coal stove, and a corn grinder — all the implements that you would have found in a 1923 chicken house.”

Along with its free Wednesday tours of the complex, the society also does community outreach by hosting free history lectures and public open houses and participating in the town’s annual Homecoming event.

“When people come to the complex, we have an information sheet that describes all of our buildings.”

Last month, 120 Lord Baltimore Elementary School fifth-graders were able to visit the complex and learn about the town in which they go to school.

“That was really successful that day,” said Psaros. “I was dressed up as Cecile Steele. We had other people dressed up in period garb, and we had students play period games. The kids really enjoyed it, which made us think, ‘Oh, good! This is why we did it!’”

The society’s goals include the development and operation of a Coastal Towns Museum, which will include the towns of Fenwick Island, South Bethany, Bethany Beach, Ocean View and Millville.

“We have wonderful plans to create a Coastal Towns Museum in the Evans-West House,” which was deeded to the society by the Brunner family last year. “We are working with representatives from area towns to think about how we might go about creating a Coastal Towns Museum in that house we will receive.”

According to the society’s annual report, by 2017, the society hopes the complex will be “an antique village for visitors to stroll through along landscaped paths.”

The garage that sits to the rear of the property will be demolished, “pending successful fundraising to [build an exact replica of] Hall’s General Store, a public meeting area and educational center for the complex.”

Psaros said it is important to keep the past alive, and teach those who both live and visit Ocean View about region’s rich history.

“History can talk to us about the important things about today. We can learn from the past. Whatever time period it is — whether it’s the Civil War era or the Depression area of the 1930s or World War II — there’s so much Delaware history that we can read about and see how people reacted in that time, how they banded together and held up under all kinds of pressures and met those pressures.

“I think it’s a wonderful thing for us all to learn about how our forefathers and -mothers coped with challenges. History, if you can bring it back and bring it alive, can teach us a lot from those stories.”

The Ocean View Historical Complex is located at 39 Central Avenue in Ocean View. Free parking is available at Ocean View town hall, located at 32 West Avenue. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/oceanviewhistoricalsociety.

Sussex County rebrands airport with new name, logo

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Coastal Point • Submitted: The new logo for the Delaware Coastal Airport was created by Ben Muldrow of Milford, and his firm, Arnett Muldrow & Associates.Coastal Point • Submitted: The new logo for the Delaware Coastal Airport was created by Ben Muldrow of Milford, and his firm, Arnett Muldrow & Associates.With a majority vote, Sussex County Council this week approved the rebranding of the Georgetown Airport as Delaware Coastal Airport.

“We need to tell our story and position this facility for future growth,” said County Administrator Todd Lawson.

Rebranding is the latest step in a more-than-decade-long, nearly $40 million effort to modernize the facility and boost economic development, which includes extending the main runway, leasing new hangar space and replacing airport lighting.

Prior to the vote, Lawson said the airport has suffered from an “identity crisis.”

“Depending on who you speak to, many people refer to the facility by a number of names, including the County Airport, the Sussex County Airport, or the Georgetown airport — which most locals call the facility.

“In fact, just last year, a businessman and his associates landed their Falcon jet at the airport and came to realize they were not where they were supposed to be. They were in the wrong place. They were in the wrong state; they were in the wrong county. They were supposed to be in Sussex County, N.J., not Sussex County, Del.”

Lawson said the new name better reflects the airport’s location and service capabilities for its desired clientele.

Garrett Dernoga, owner of Georgetown Air Services, said there has been an increase in airport activity after the numerous facility upgrades, noting that earlier in the week they had run out of jet fuel.

“We really appreciate the investment by the council over the years.”

The new brand and logo were developed, with input from County staff, by Milford resident Ben Muldrow of Greenville, S.C.-based Arnett Muldrow & Associates. The firm has created brand identities for communities including Milford, Milton, Millsboro, Bridgeville and Georgetown.

“If we were going to rename it, we wanted to hit a homerun,” said Muldrow of the steering committee. “We wanted to name it something that people would automatically adopt, and we also wanted it to be a name that would be relevant and prevalent on a statewide level.”

Councilman Sam Wilson said he was concerned the public was unaware of the rebranding efforts.

“I don’t think the general public knows what we’re doing here,” he said. “I’ve talked to the general public all in Greenwood, Seaford, Bridgeville — nobody knew anything about this.”

He also questioned if there was a significant need to change the airport’s name.

“It has been Georgetown Airport since 1943… All of a sudden now we have to have a name change. I think it’s a poor excuse. Somebody lands in the wrong airport, so we have to change our name to satisfy those people? To me, that’s a poor excuse.”

Councilman Rob Arlett commended those who had worked on the rebranding of the airport.

“We obviously want to preserve the history here in Sussex County. I think nobody in this building or, for that matter, nobody in this county does not understand the history of Sussex County,” said Arlette. “But at the same time we have to learn from our mistakes and learn how to be better. I think having an identity, having a focal point, and having a visual would be very, very beneficial in all aspects. ‘Coastal’ does not mean the ocean; ‘coastal’ means we live on Delmarva, surrounded by water.”

The council voted 4-1 to approve the name change, with Wilson opposed.

Lawson said the County must now seek the official name change with the Federal Aviation Administration through “a paper process that doesn’t take much consideration.”

In other County news:

• The council, following a public hearing Tuesday, June 16, unanimously approved the proposed $128.6 million budget for the 2016 fiscal year, which begins July 1. The approval keeps the County’s property tax rate at 44.5 cents per $100 of assessed value. The average County tax bill for a single-family home will remain around $100 annually, not including independent school district taxes.

By law, Sussex County is must adopt a balanced budget by June 30 each year.

• The council approved a resolution starting that the County joins the “National Association of Counties in opposing the Waters of the U.S. rule, and urges Congress to support H.R. 1732 in repealing the final rule, and further urges Congress to compel the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to work collaboratively with local governments in developing reasonable regulations that continue to protect and promote clean water across the United States,” regarding the federal rule defining the Waters of the U.S.

According to the resolution, the Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule would expand federal oversight of collection and control systems, including ditches, many of which historically have been regulated by local governments.

The council voted 4-0 to send an official copy of the resolution to Delaware’s U.S. senators, Tom Carper and Chris Coons, for consideration.

Councilwoman Joan Deaver abstained from voting, stating she had “doubts about the appeal.”

• The council will meet next on Tuesday, June 30, at 10 a.m.

Human trafficking isn’t just a big-city problem

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Coastal Point • Laura Walter: Yolanda Schlabach talks about the ugly truth of human trafficking in Delaware.Coastal Point • Laura Walter: Yolanda Schlabach talks about the ugly truth of human trafficking in Delaware.Christine McCoy was completely shocked the first time she heard Yolanda Schlabach speak about the ugly truth of human trafficking in Delaware.

“To me it was always oversees, or cities — not right here in Sussex County. And the more people that are aware, the better we can start fighting it,” said McCoy, president of Southern Sussex Rotary Club, where Schlabach spoke in May.

“Apparently, southern Delaware is a hotbed for this type of activity because of the rural nature of our communities and several other factors,” McCoy stated.

“Human trafficking is modern-day slavery and involves the use of force, fraud or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act,” according to U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

If a child is caught in prostitution, that is automatically labeled “trafficking,” not child prostitution. There is no need to prove force or fraud. And human trafficking is one of the largest organized crimes in the world.

“I think it’s a problem that we never realized, and a lot of us with teenage kids don’t really want to acknowledge it, because it’s too scary to think about,” McCoy said.

“We have children and grandchildren in our area that need to be protected,” said Schlabach, executive director of Zoë Ministries, a Delaware non-profit aiming to provide a safe place for sex-trafficking victims and minors.

Signs of human

trafficking

“We want to help you know what to look for,” Schlabach said, “when you see what you suspect to be human trafficking.”

Some buzzwords in Internet ads may point to minors, including “new,” “extra-small” or “petite.”

“In-call” means clients go wherever the victims are kept, sometimes a cot in a beauty spa. “Out-call” means the sex worker will travel to the client.

Can’t the FBI just bust someone for placing a suspicious ad?

No, Schlabach said. The pimp could just call it an “escort service” between consenting adults.

One warning sign is spas that advertise prices “by the hour” instead of a cost per service. While driving down Route 113 that morning, Schlabach said, she had seen several potential locations of trafficking.

Such spas also offer legitimate services, but Schlabach once saw three men enter a beauty spa that charged by the hour.

“I saw three construction workers walk into the spa. After 15 minutes, they came out with their big ol’ work boots on. They were not getting pedicures,” she said.

“What did you do?” a Rotarian asked.

“I made a call to this number,” Schlabach said.

Citizens should report any perceived instances of human trafficking by calling the police and trafficking hotline 1 (888) 373-7888. Tips are accepted online at www.traffickingresourcecenter.org.

The National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) hotline only received 24 Delaware-based calls in 2014.

Schlabach said the more calls that come in, the more powerful the statistics can be.

Delaware has money for victim services but needs to figure out the best way to help women with it. The average trafficking victim will not identify himself or herself as such.

Teens tumble

into trafficking

Children can be kidnapped, but they’re usually running away from home, not toward prostitution. Around 60 percent of trafficked people are from the foster system, Schlabach said.

“When a girl is lured away,” she is charmed by an older man “because he tells her all the things she didn’t hear at home,” Schlabach said.

Then the “boyfriend” coerces that first degrading act, perhaps with another man who will “pay enough money for their rent.” After that, she’ll either be shamed by the photos he took, or afraid of the violence he inflicts.

She learns that “she will do what she is told, with or without the beating,” Schlabach said. “That’s why you have 15- [or] 16-year-olds willing to meet people in a hotel, without a gun to her head.”

She learns that it’s just better to avoid the beating.

Some girls are tattooed with vulgar language as a sign of ownership. While doing a presentation for people in Salisbury, Md., Schlabach said, “They were falling off their chairs, because they’ve seen this.”

An 18-year-old prostitute has probably been trafficked for three to five years, Schlabach said.

The sex slaves are often moved around, with false ID, kept in ignorance of the time and location. For example, they may be shuttled up and down the Route 95 corridor.

At a recent presentation, Schlabach met a woman who had a terrible childhood at the hands of her mother. She always just considered it abuse, but now realized her mother had trafficked her out for years, sometimes for as little as cigarettes and a Pepsi.

Girls have “a quota to meet, and hell to pay if they don’t.” One girl could be forced to make $500 a night, which might equal five partners if she’s paid well, and not cheated or robbed.

An average pimp oversees three to five girls, but sometimes up to nine. He takes all of their earnings.

Why don’t these girls run away?

“Where’s she gonna go?” Schlabach countered.

The average life expectancy is seven years for a girl trapped in this life, mostly likely dying from homicide, suicide or drug overdose.

Pimps may get the girls hooked on drugs. Addiction is fast, and it binds women in desperation to a lifestyle that gets them money for a drug that eases their pain.

“They don’t have to keep them in the handcuffs,” Schlabach said of the pimps. Sex slaves remain trapped in their own fear and addiction.

Fixing the problem

Delaware has had no human trafficking prosecutions, despite passing a law relating to it in 2014, Schlabach said. Prostitution, drugs and related offenses are still being prosecuted.

“Let’s move away from arresting the girls,” Schlabach said, and focus instead on helping them.

Ultimately, Zoë Ministries aims to build a facility for minors who survived sex trafficking, with access to drug/alcohol detox, trauma therapy and more. The group wants to partner with other state agencies already specializing in related work.

The group’s website is at www.zoe-delaware.org.

Frankford discusses refreshed bids for water tower care

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The Town of Frankford held a workshop earlier this month to discuss the repair of its 125,000-gallon elevated water tower.

“We have to do something,” said Council President Joanne Bacon at a June 15 workshop. “The main thing is how are we going to pay for this? I think that’s going to be a huge question.”

The Town sought updated proposals for the work from two national companies based on the East Coast.

In March, representatives of Southern Corrosion, based in Roanoke Rapids, N.C., visited the town and inspected the water tower. The company handles maintenance and repair for all Artesian tanks. Their estimated cost was $111,000, which includes pressure washing the exterior of the tank, cleaning rusted areas, painting it and sterilizing the tank’s interior.

Pittsburg Tank & Tower Maintenance Co. of Henderson, Ky. also provided a refreshed bid of more than $180,000 for work to the tank; however, they did not visit the site.

Councilwoman Velicia Melson asked if neighboring towns with their own water towers, such as Bethany Beach, Millsboro and Dagsboro, had been contacted to ask who they have contracted for such services.

Resident Jerry Smith asked the council if the repairs to the water tower are urgent.

“I think it’s urgent that we get it done,” said Bacon.

Smith said that, while he understands the water tower needs to be taken care of, he was unclear from the proposals presented to Town if the integrity of the tower was compromised to the point where work needed to be done as soon as possible.

“I think, Jerry, we need to be more proactive than reactive,” Bacon responded.

The council requested that Town Administrator Terry Truitt provide the two estimates to engineer Steve Lewandowski of CABE Associates for his comment and recommendation.

Smith also recommended that Lewandowski do a comparison of the two estimates and the scope of work, to see what, if any, difference there is between the two proposals.

Bacon said the Town has received $10,000 from a Sussex County Economic Development grant.

“It’s probably too late to look to our legislators for any money,” she said, noting the Town may need to hold a referendum if it seeks to borrow money to pay for the repairs.

Bacon said it is also important that the Town hire an attorney prior to making their final decision.

The Town is currently advertising to fill its vacant town solicitor position and hopes to have applicants by the July 6 council meeting.

Councilman Charles Shelton agreed that action needed to be taken, as previous councils have discussed the needed repair and maintenance but taken no action.

“The more we wait, the worse we are.”

Bacon said she hopes to have a response from Lewandowski by the next council meeting.

Also at the workshop, council members were provided with a draft employee handbook composed by Bacon. She requested they review it and stated that another workshop would be held to discuss the handbook.

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