Millville News

In less than two years, the Millville Volunteers – a volunteer organization made up of approximately 30 members from various Millville-area communities – have made quite a name for themselves.

The ladies at Millville’s County Bank branch are not just a bunch of top-notch money crunchers. They also know their way around the kitchen – my kind of people! Not only did all seven provide recipes for today’s column, they also donned aprons for the photo shoot at the bank. (I guess I shouldn’t use “shoot” and “bank” in the same sentence, should I?) Customers got a big kick out of watching the fun.

On Tuesday, Sept. 28, the Millville Town Council met to discuss the proposal it has received from the Town of Ocean View on that town providing Millville with policing and 911 services.

Delaware State Police this week were seeking the suspect in the robbery of the PNC Bank branch located inside the Giant grocery store in Millville. Police said the suspect stole an undisclosed amount of money from the bank on Monday, Sept. 27, after demanding money and implying to the teller that he had a gun.

Delaware State Police on Monday, Sept. 27, were asking for the public’s help in locating a suspect in the robbery of the PNC Bank inside the Giant grocery store in Millville.

Millville Town Council members this week discussed bids received for the planned town hall expansion project. Mayor Don Minyon started the discussion on Tuesday, Sept. 14, by thanking all those who participated in the biding process, before announcing that the lowest “responsible” bid received by the town was from Bunting Construction Corporation, at $335,900.

The Sussex County Council on Tuesday, Sept. 14, approved a review of the public meeting for the Millville Sanitary Sewer District, Contract F, Northwest Expansion. John Ashman, director of county utility planning, explained that they held the meeting on Aug. 25 and had about 100 people there concerning the proposed expansion. It will affect several communities and individual parcels along White’s Neck Road and the Ocean Farm and Denton Mills subdivision.

On Saturday, Sept. 18, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Mountaire will be teaming up with Hocker’s Supercenter for “Back to Natural.” The “Ole’ Timers Day Food Drive,” is designed to a fun-filled event and will be held in the Hocker’s parking lot in Clarksville.

The recent slump in the economy has, without a doubt, had an affect on many small, privately owned businesses throughout the community. One locally owned name that took a hit was Mike and Paul’s Auto Repair in Ocean View. Now, owner Mike Blizzard is hoping that a new location in Dagsboro, accompanied by his decades of experience and knowledge, will help his business find an upturn.

Millville’s 2nd Annual Great Pumpkin Festival will be held Oct. 9, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the Millville Volunteer Fire Company grounds. The five-hour, town-wide event will feature hourly drawings, a pie-eating contest, lots of food and entertainment.

Tropical Storm Earl made landfall near Western Head Nova Scotia around 10 a.m. according to officials. Severe tropical storm conditions are affecting a large part of the province. Meanwhile, coastal Delaware is pleasant with sunny skies.

Ocean View and Millville officials this week confirmed that discussion of the possibility of joint policing of the towns has continued this summer, despite the cancelation of one planned meeting and a lack of externally visible movement on the issue.

Southern Sussex Rotary heard from invited guest U.S. Sen. Thomas Carper on Thursday, Aug. 27, regarding health care and recent insurance reforms. Carper explained that the idea of larger purchasing pools that the Bethany-Fenwick Chamber of Commerce put it motion a few years back was something he had talked up and “didn’t forget about.”

Children who have enjoyed the weekly lessons on marine life, wetlands and other fun outdoor activities at the Bethany Beach Nature Center – and those that have yet to see what the fuss is about – are being invited on a special free guided kayak tour through the inland bays on Saturday, Sept. 11.

The Town of Millville held its monthly town council meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 24, at which representatives from the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) presented the preliminary plans for the first phase of the town’s streetscape project.

Some area businesspeople got to sit down and pick the brain of U.S. Sen. Tom Carper on Friday, Aug. 21. Mike Nally of Miken Builders, along with some of his staff, and Mike Jahnigan of the Sun Group of Businesses, with some of his staff, each met with the senator to talk shop.

To many who visit the area, Millville is that little town on Route 26 that has some grocery stores, several banks and an enormous liquor store. It appears to be based solely on the retail of Route 26, just like many people from other areas consider Selbyville and Dagsboro to be towns that exist only along Route 113.

Combine years of pizza-making and management experience with a Pennsylvania tradition four decades in the making, and you’ve got Fox’s Pizza Den, a new establishment in Millville that is quickly picking up a following. Throw in a 10-mile delivery radius and extended hours of operation, and you have a recipe for instant appeal.

The Friends of the South Coastal Library will host its largest book sale ever on Thursday, Aug. 19, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; on Friday, Aug. 20, from 1 to 5 p.m., and on Saturday, Aug. 21, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The sale will be held in the meeting room of the library, at 43 Kent Avenue in Bethany Beach.

A party to celebrate the cross-country fundraising bike ride of Jack Hogan will be held on Saturday, Aug. 21, from 1 to 6 p.m. The event will be held at 47 Dukes Drive, in Millville, off Route 26, just west of the Fat Tuna. A $20 donation gets participants food, drinks, music and lots of stories. All profits go to Justin’s Beach House.

For close to a decade, McCarthy Stones has been one of the area’s leaders in exterior home improvements and landscaping, but recently they’ve expanded their services to cater to even more clients. Customers can now turn to the McCarthys for equipment rentals, as well as tent and tent accessory rentals for any occasion.

The Delaware State Police are asking for the assistance of the public in identifying suspects in a series of thefts from vehicles in the Millville and Selbyville areas this week. Police said the thefts occurred overnight from Saturday, July 31, to Sunday, Aug. 1, and impacted eight different victims.

Summertime is in full swing, and many have been heading to the shore for a relaxing getaway and time with family and friends. But the increased number of vacationers inevitably leads to higher volume of traffic on the roadways.

Bringing to a close discussions dating back to February, Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) Secretary Collin O’Mara recently announced that the agency has finalized a consent agreement with NRG Energy Inc. that will permanently shut down a third coal-fired electrical generating unit at the Indian River Power Plant in Millsboro by the end of 2013.

Whether doing cannonballs off the boat, taking off from the dock on a personal watercraft or swimming in the open bays, it’s nice to know how clean that water really is. And the Center for the Inland Bays’ second Recreational Water Quality Indicator Report can help in navigating the use of some of the local inland bays.