South Bethany

As warm weather begins to creep back into the area, local businesses are preparing for the coming season and shops that have been closed for the winter are beginning to open their doors once again. In South Bethany, McCabe’s Gourmet Market is back in business; and the friendly crew inside are happy to get back to work offering a selection of fresh baked treats and sandwiches.

Numerous projects have been initiated and completed in South Bethany since Town Manager Melvin Cusick joined the team five years ago, and his work has not gone unnoticed. Last month, Cusick was recognized as the 2008 Town Manager of the Year by the Delaware League of Local Governments (DLLG), a statewide organization aimed to improve and assist 57 local governments through legislative advocacy at state and federal levels.

Issued by the National Weather Service, Philadelphia, Pa., 5:40 a.m.:

A winter storm warning remains in effect until 2 p.m.

For the past week, it’s been all work and no play for the staff of at the South Coastal Library, as the move back to their renovated location on Kent Avenue in Bethany Beach got under way. For 14 months, the library operated out of its temporary spot in the Creekside Plaza in Millville, but the move back to the 10,000-square-foot expansion – essentially doubling the original size of the building – appears to be off to a promising start that will be fully realized by the time the library reopens this spring.

The Route 26 Mainline Improvements Project has long been a hot topic for locals living and working near the beach, and for visitors to the southern Delaware shore, as it is a main way to get to there.

In the Coastal Point office, tacked to a wall, is a diagram of the Indian River Inlet, labeled “Construction Update: Beginning May 2006.” The diagram marks areas of planned closure and construction for the state park, campground and marina area near the bridge over the inlet, as officials prepared for the planned replacement of the failing bridge.

There is no question that one of the biggest changes to the Delaware shore in the last five years is the completion of major reconstruction projects for area beaches. After years of suffering from beach erosion and risk to homes near the shoreline, all of the areas municipalities received new dunes and expanded beaches, thanks to the projects sought for years by local town councils and citizens.

The Delaware State Police are seeking the public’s help in locating a 41-year-old Millville man wanted in connection to a Failure to Stop at the Command incident and home-improvement fraud.

Issued by the National Weather Service, Philadelphia, Pa., 3:35 p.m. EST, Wed., Jan. 28, 2009
... Dense fog advisory now in effect until 8 p.m. EST this evening...

South Bethany has big green plans for 2009. Their Water Quality Committee, chaired by Councilman Jay Headman, is tasked with four main environmentally-focused objectives: educating the community about stormwater management and water quality, working with state and federal governments, reviewing current ordinances and creating new ones when necessary, and working closely with the Center for Inland Bays – all with the main vision of maintaining high quality water in the inland bays watershed and beyond.

A 21-year-old Seaford man died in a fiery single-car crash that closed the northbound lanes of Route 1 in Bethany Beach for several hours early on Monday morning, after he fled from Ocean City, Md., police. Delaware State Police reported Monday that Elijah L. Foreman Jr. had failed to negotiate a curve in the road at Jefferson Bridge Road while traveling at high speed in a vehicle about 2:05 a.m.

Organizers of Sussex County’s annual Return Day festivities in Georgetown confirmed Wednesday, Nov. 5, that Vice-President-Elect and Delaware U.S. Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. will be attending this year’s event.

The votes are in!

What is a rain garden? How is it different than a pond? Who should plant one?

Sally Boswell, education and outreach coordinator for the Center for Inland Bays, answered all these questions and more for the Fenwick Island Environmental Committee on Wednesday, Oct. 8, at town hall.

What do you plant to beautify your property when your yard is the beach?

On Friday, Oct. 10, the Town of South Bethany held their regular monthly town council meeting. In addition to regular council business, the Bethany Beach Volunteer Fire Company Ambulance Service was present with one of their new ambulances that will serve the town and the rest of the BBVFC fire district.

An unnamed storm that lashed the area with high winds and heavy rain late last week, combined with the offshore force of Hurricane Kyle, caused significant beach erosion and flooding along the Delaware coast and inland bays.

An unnamed storm that lashed the area with high winds and heavy rain late last week caused significant beach erosion and flooding along the Delaware coast and inland bays. The late-September storm, despite falling during hurricane season and exhibiting counterclockwise rotation, was not classified as a tropical system but as simply a low-pressure system and therefore was not named.

The Board of Directors for the Center for Inland Bays bypassed a resolution put forth by the Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) on Tuesday, Sept. 23, and instead passed a different motion, with a vote of 3-2.

Gov. Ruth Ann Minner, Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) Secretary Carolann Wicks, state and local officials, residents and others were on hand at a Sept. 17 event to unveil the design for a new bridge over the Indian River Inlet and present the selected design/build team — Skanska USA Civil Southeast — to the public.

The Sussex County Emergency Operations Center mid-week was monitoring a developing storm system off the eastern United States that threatened to bring heavy rain, gusty winds, and prolonged higher-than-normal tides to the region for the next several days.

On Wednesday, Sept. 17, many area professionals and residents had their questions (and prayers) answered as state and local officials unveiled the new plans for the long-anticipated Indian River Inlet Bridge project.

For Kay Ryan, running for representative for the state’s 38th District will be like an extension of the last seven years of her life before her retirement.

It’s hard to miss the Little Red School House, complete with an antique school bell on top, on Bayard Road. The building, which blends in with the scenery and looks as if it were an actual restored school house, was, in fact, built just 20 years ago by owner/teacher “Miss Debbie” Jahnigen and her family.

By popular demand, Old World Breads is now available at Good Earth Market in Clarksville. On Fridays and Saturdays, Steve Kogler’s Old World Breads, famously known and sought-after at the area farmers’ markets — especially for the cinnamon shorties — will be sold at Good Earth on Route 26.

Update, Sept. 6, 7:14 p.m. -- With Tropical Storm Hanna clear of the Delmarva Peninsula as late afternoon and evening arrived on Saturday, residents and visitors alike turned out by the dozens to check out the storm-tossed waves of the Atlantic and see what, if any, damage had been left in the storm's wake. By and large, the answer to that question was none -- a puddle here, a pile of pinecones and twigs there, and mild to moderate erosion to the front sections of the area's reconstructed beaches.

The Sussex County Emergency Operations Center is continuing to monitor the movement of Tropical Storm Hanna, which is forecast to track along the East Coast this weekend and bring gusty winds and heavy rain to Delaware. Forecasters expect Tropical Storm Hanna to pass just to the east of Delaware’s coast on Saturday. However, as the storm’s center moves northward, the system is expected to reach far enough inland to spread heavy rain and strong winds across Sussex County. Rainfall amounts of 3 to 5 inches, with winds up to 40 mph, are possible. Gusts could reach 50 mph, according to the National Weather Service.

Officials at the Sussex County Emergency Operations Center announced Wednesday that they were closely monitoring Tropical Storms Hanna, Ike and Josephine in the Atlantic Ocean.

Delaware Electric Cooperative is asking all Delaware Electric Co-op members to voluntarily conserve or limit energy usage between the hours of 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, when its membership is expected to be using the greatest amount of electricity and, as a result, when the cooperative expects to be purchasing power from the market at extremely high prices.

The Town of South Bethany has been very successful implementing its new recycling program, according to Councilman Jay Headman. In September 2007, South Bethany was one of the first towns in Sussex County to adopt a voluntary recycling program with the Delaware Solid Waste Authority (DSWA). Before the program began, only 25 families participated.