Dagsboro News

A Winter Storm Watch in effect from Tuesday afternoon, Jan. 11, about 1 p.m., through Wednesday morning, Jan. 12, about 7 a.m. The National Weather Service is predicting 4 to 6 inches of snow, with low visibility of possibly less than a half-mile and possible dangerous driving conditions on both primary and secondary roads.

The National Weather Service has canceled the Winter Storm Warning for the area. The snow has stopped and roadway conditions have improved. Due to winter weather, the Greenwood, Milton and South Coastal libraries are closed on Saturday, Jan. 8.

The National Weather Service has issued an updated weather report that includes a Winter Storm Warning for Delaware until 8 p.m. Saturday. Up to 4 inches of snow is now forecast, with visibility potentially under a mile, and numerous accidents have already been reported. Between 7:30 and 10 a.m., more than a dozen motor vehicle accidents had been reported in Sussex County due to snow.

The National Weather Service has issued an updated weather report that includes a Winter Weather Advisory for Delaware until 8 p.m. Saturday. Although this snow event is not expected to cause great disruption to the state, state officials are advising residents and visitors to monitor local conditions and exercise caution if travel is necessary.
 
Key points from the NWS update:
 

With all of the talk about universal recycling and the “bottle bill,” the state’s new yard-waste ban seems to have gone under the radar, but there are changes in that area for 2011, as well.

While the limited state of emergency and driving warning was lifted Monday night in all parts of the state, some roads in rural areas remained unplowed or have been covered again by snow, so state officials said that motorists should drive only with caution and might be wise not to drive at all, especially in Sussex County.
 

High winds and continued blowing snow were keeping much of the state in a catch-up mode mid-day on Monday, Dec. 27, as crews tried to clear roads following a day and night of snow. Central and southern Delaware – particularly Sussex County – were still dealing with many secondary roads that had not been cleared, as well as with those roads that were cleared and have drifted over again.

With overnight blizzard conditions lifting, most Delaware roads remained difficult in the southern and central portions of the state Monday morning as crews from the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) continued to battle blowing and drifting snow.

Gov. Jack Markell has issued a limited State of Emergency with a “Level 1 Driving Warning” to begin at 4 p.m. Sunday in Kent and Sussex counties for a storm that is now predicted to dump up to 18 inches of snow on the southern part of the state and up to 8 inches in the north.  The National Weather Service has issued a blizzard warning for the Delaware coastal area.

BLIZZARD WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 AM EST MONDAY... ...WINTER STORM WARNING IS CANCELLED... THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOUNT HOLLY HAS ISSUED A BLIZZARD WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 AM EST MONDAY. THE WINTER STORM WARNING HAS BEEN CANCELLED. * PRECIPITATION TYPE: SNOW. * ACCUMULATIONS: TWELVE TO EIGHTEEN INCHES. * TIMING: NOW OCCURRING AND ENDING AROUND 9 AM MONDAY.

The National Weather Service's Winter Storm Warning remains in effect until 1 P.M., Monday, Dec. 27. Snow has been falling throughout the state and will become steadily heavier in the afternoon and evening. Accumulation of 8 to 12 inches is predicted for Sussex County with the slightly higher accumulations along the coast.

Beebe Medical Center has canceled all elective surgeries for Monday, Dec. 27, due to the winter storm. All satellite facilities also will be closed, including Tunnell Cancer Center and Beebe Outpatient Surgery Center on Route 24.
 
The hospital and its Emergency Department on Savannah Road in Lewes remain open and fully operational.
 
Call 911 in a life-threatening emergency.

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning that is in effect from 7 A.M. Sunday, Dec. 26, until 1 P.M. Monday, Dec. 27. There will be heavy, blowing snow throughout Sunday afternoon and evening, and there is the potential for accumulation of 8 to 12 inches statewide.
 

...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 7 AM SUNDAY TO 1 PM EST MONDAY...  THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOUNT HOLLY HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 7 AM SUNDAY TO 1 PM EST MONDAY.

...WINTER STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY MORNING THROUGH MONDAY AFTERNOON...  A WINTER STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY MORNING THROUGH MONDAY AFTERNOON.  * PRECIPITATION TYPE: SNOW  * ACCUMULATIONS: POSSIBILITY OF SIX INCHES OR MORE  * TIMING: SPREADING NORTH ON SUNDAY FROM SOUTH TO NORTH.

The Blackwater Village community celebrates the holidays with an annual lights display that is growing — and in more ways than one.

Do economic development and good jobs in the energy sector have to come at a cost of environmental degradation? Not in Delaware, said Gov. Jack Markell on Tuesday, along with cabinet members Alan Levin of the Economic Development Office and Collin O’Mara of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.

While Millsboro is the only town that has, to date, held a formal vote on a resolution to support the Route 113 Blue Alternative as-is – the vote passed with only one dissenter, Councilman Greg Hastings – there is plenty of opposition to the plan farther south in the Route 113 corridor and even legislatively – including some from state Sen.

Hundreds of people came together earlier this week to ensure that thousands of others would experience the joys of the Thanksgiving Day holiday. Volunteers from across Delmarva’s churches, schools, American Legion posts and communities teamed up with Mountaire Farms for the 16th Annual Mountaire Farms Thanksgiving for Thousands, providing a holiday meal for more than 45,000 less-fortunate area residents. Nearly 6,600 meal boxes were packaged up this past Monday, Nov. 22, and shipped in time for the holiday.

The U.S. Route 113 North/South Study (according to DelDOT Project Manager Monroe Hite, III, the terms “project” and “study” can be used interchangeably in this case) is an approximately 35-mile-long stretch of highway similar to, but west of, the existing Route 1, that is designed to alleviate congestion and help to deal with growth in Sussex County.

Perhaps best known for his family’s peach business – Bennett Orchards, near Frankford – Hail Bennett, a recent graduate of Clemson University in South Carolina, will be stepping out with a new kind of fruit project in the coming months: blueberries.

Voter information

To be eligible to vote in the state of Delaware, voters must be United States citizens, residents of Delaware (proof required), 18 or older and mentally competent. The general election is set for Nov. 2. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

As a recovering economy and the real estate market slowly rebound toward a more comfortable state for local businesses and communities, developer Michael Daniels is looking to seize opportunity with one of his newest Sussex County ventures. The Cove at Sandy Landing, the furthest-along of Daniels’ five projects across lower Delaware, aims at bringing in 24 new one-acre units to Dagsboro and will simultaneously debut Share-A-Lot – a charitable effort formed to benefit the less fortunate in Sussex.

Local and state police forces this week concluded a four-month investigation into drug sales in the Frankford, Dagsboro and Ocean View areas with the arrest of 18 alleged drug distributors. Police said the Delaware State Police Sussex Drug Unit had conducted covert operations into the sale and distribution of drugs during the investigation, targeting the Frankford area.