Bethany Beach

While recent weeks have been filled with feedback and commentary from Bethany Beach citizens regarding proposed zoning amendments, council members at their May 17 council meeting adopted all but one of the amendments unanimously, and with little additional comment from those present at the meeting.

With the arrival of another summer season in the area’s resort towns also come a number of changes, both from the winter months and from how visitors to the area may remember things being last summer.

The end is near for Route 26 lane closures, but further away than was planned and many had hoped. The Delaware Department of Transportation has now given utilities and road crews permission to continue closing lanes on Atlantic Avenue until June 30. The original end date for the work was May 15.

Bethany Beach officials last week continued their discussion of proposed breaks for non-profits on building fees the Town charges, tailoring their previous workshop discussion down to a few ideas that could become town policy.

The Town of Bethany Beach, with the help of the officers and members of VFW Post 7234 in Ocean View, will host a Memorial Day service on Monday, May 27, at noon at the boardwalk bandstand.

Operation SEAs the DAY is still looking for homeowners who would like to donate their beach homes for a week of rest and relaxation for wounded veterans affiliated with the USO Metropolitan Washington and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, and their immediate families, for the week of Sept. 3-8.

Artists from across the country are coming to Bethany Beach boardwalk to showcase their skills at the annual Bethany Beach Seaside Craft Show on Saturday, June 1. Now in its ninth year, the juried fine crafts show pairs its artwork and craftsmanship with a beautiful seascape from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., rain or shine. Artists submit an application in the wintertime, and more than 100 craftspeople were accepted to display their work in the June sunshine this year.

Bethany Beach officials this week were looking forward to the completion of the first phase of the town’s Streetscape project, which was held over a week or so longer than originally hoped, due to weather delays and the belated discovery of water pipes that weren’t where they were supposed to be.
Town Manager Cliff Graviet said at the town council meeting on Friday, May 17, that while the project was originally supposed to have been completed by May 15, the contractor on the project had promised him just a half-hour prior to the meeting that they would finally be done by May 22.

Bethany Beach Town Council members were set this week to discuss and potentially vote on a series of proposed zoning amendments that have been met with opposition from some property owners in the town. The council has on its May 17 agenda all but one of the amendments, opting to not yet put up for a vote what might be the most controversial element of the package — the proposed rezoning of two residential-zoned parcels to commercial zoning in a nod to their existing and proposed uses.

Developer Jack Burbage was reaching out this week to offer what he says is a more accurate picture — literally and figuratively — of the hotel project he’s trying to bring to downtown Bethany Beach, where it would replace the longtime Bethany Arms Motel.

Last week, the Bethany-Fenwick Chamber of Commerce announced that Kristie Maravalli would become its new director of membership.

The 25th annual CROP Walk will be held this Saturday in Bethany Beach, starting at the bandstand at 11 a.m. The event will kick off with the Nautical Sounds providing entertainment. The actual walk starts at noon, and afterwards there will be refreshments offered at Bethany Beach Christian Church downtown.

Exactly six months after Hurricane Sandy scrubbed the East Coast, replacing basements and roadways with floodwater and debris, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is poised to rebuild Delaware’s Atlantic shoreline.

Last week, the Delaware Attorney General’s office announced that an investigation of Bethany Beach Police Department Lt. Richard Haden by its Criminal Investigations Unit had resulted in his arrest.

The Delaware State Police are seeking the public’s help regarding an incident in which a large rock was thrown through a car window north of Bethany Beach, injuring a 22-year-old woman.

In America, “poor” is relative. It can be easy to take for granted the simple things in life, such as water, when it is abundant in a seemingly endless flow. But, for people across the globe, access to clean water is still an uphill battle and poverty has a whole different meaning.

On Tuesday, April 30, at 2 p.m., chef Charles Oppman will offer a special adult program on Cajun cooking.

Spring has returned, and so have the cyclists, as the Bethany-Fenwick Area Chamber of Commerce prepares for the annual Ocean to Bay Bike Tour.

Bethany’s Mind, Body & Sole has added an infrared sauna treatment to its list of services, which also include yoga, ionic detox and reiki.

D’Ortone’s Homestyle Italian Restaurant & Tap will host a dine-and-donate event on Thursday, April 25, from 4 to 9 p.m. during their dinner service, and patrons don’t even have to do anything extra to help raise funds for Justin’s Beach House! The restaurant will donate 20 percent of all the proceeds off regularly-priced menu items to the respite house in Bethany Beach.

The Bethany Beach Nature Center will host its second annual Earth Day celebration on Saturday, April 20, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event is the brainchild of the Bethany Beach Nature Center Club, or BBNC, made up of kids ages 8 and older, under the guidance of nature center Director Lisa Daisey.

The South Coastal Library is growing their digital offerings to patrons, proving it’s no longer your father’s (or mother’s) library.

Registration has begun for the annual Justin’s Beach House Memorial Day Weekend 5K Run/3K Walk. This year’s event will see a few changes, ending the race with a grand finale where the finish line will be on the Bethany Beach boardwalk.

The race takes off Saturday, May 25, at 7:30 a.m.

ResortQuest Real Estate announced this week that Michael Kappes has joined the firm’s Bethany Beach office on Coastal Highway.

How would you like to treat yourself to a relaxing spa night, all for a good cause? Local spas and salons are partnering for the first annual Beauty for the Beach House fundraiser, in memory of Elizabeth Shoemaker and benefiting Justin’s Beach House.

New markets join in Bellefonte, Dover

The Delaware farmers’ market season launches this month, featuring new markets in Dover and Bellefonte, with farmers and markets fresh off a record-setting sales season of nearly $2 million last year.

Following a long-standing tradition, the Southeast Sussex Ministerium will hold an Ecumenical Easter Sunrise Service on Sunday, March 31, at 6 a.m., at the bandstand in Bethany Beach. In the event of inclement weather, the service will be held in the sanctuary of St. Ann’s Catholic Church on Garfield Parkway (Route 26).

ResortQuest Real Estate announced this week that Christina Meiklejohn Antonioli has joined the firm’s Marketplace office on Coastal Highway near Bethany Beach.

Sea Colony Tennis Center, located just south of Bethany Beach, has announced it will host a trio of United States Tennis Association- (USTA-) sponsored tournaments in April and May.

By M. Patricia Titus
With its history firmly rooted in the presence of church groups in the resort town, modern-day Bethany Beach is now having to consider how much of a break it wants to give to religious groups when it comes to town fees.