Ocean View News

The Edison Electric Institute, the association of U.S. shareholder-owned electric companies, offered the following tips for local residents ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Sandy and the anticipated related power outages:

If a severe storm is approaching:
Visit your local electric company’s Web site for the latest updates and guidance on how to prepare for storms.

High water across Route 1 north of Indian River Inlet Bridge has forced Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) to begin the process of closing Route 1 between Dewey & Bethany Beach. Please share with others who may be affected.

Gov. Jack Markell has issued a limited state of emergency and a mandatory evacuation order for flood-prone area within .75 miles of Sussex County’s coastline and major waterways, effective at 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 27, as Hurricane Sandy continues to threaten the Mid-Atlantic region with strong winds, severe tidal flooding and torrential rains that could span Sunday to Tuesday.

Beebe Medical Center has announced Hurricane Sandy-related cancellations, including:
• All elective surgery and elective cardiac catheterizations scheduled for Monday, Oct. 29, will be canceled.
• All Beebe satellite locations, including the Beebe Health Campus and departments that operate Monday-through-Friday schedules, will be closed on Monday, Oct. 29, as well.

Gov. Jack Markell announced at 5 p.m. on Saturday that Delaware was entering a limited state of emergency to facilitate an evacuation over a 24-hour period. Beginning at 8 p.m. Saturday night, communities within .75 miles of the coast in Sussex and Kent counties, as well as flood areas in western Sussex County, should evacuate their homes.

A coastal flood watch has been issued for Sussex County, including the beach areas, running through at least Monday afternoon. According to the National Weather Service, the evolution of Hurricane Sandy into a powerful storm currently predicted to cross the New Jersey coast Monday evening will mean at least two tide cycles of potentially moderate to major flooding.

The Delaware state climatologist and DEMA held a “bridge call” with municipal officials on Friday evening, in anticipation of the arrival of Hurricane Sandy. Officials said that the latest storm track had Sandy making landfall on the Delaware coastline around Cape Henlopen, likely sometime early Tuesday morning.

As of Friday evening, Hurricane Sandy was on track to directly hit Delaware and the Mid-Atlantic in the days ahead, based on forecasts, threatening to lash the region with up to two days’ worth of hurricane-force winds, a 10-foot-high combined surge and tide, and torrential rains that could measure as much as a foot deep in some places.

Take Saturday to prepare, advised Gov. Jack Markell, in light of expected high winds and heavy rain from Hurricane Sandy from Sunday through the early part of next week.

“It is forecasted to be a long-lasting event,” he said on Friday, noting that rain, wind and flooding likely. “The duration is what we are most concerned about.”

UPDATED Sunday, Oct. 28, 11:30 a.m.
Cancellations due to Hurricane Sandy include the following:

Both the Indian River School District and Sussex Technical School District have closed schools and offices on Monday, Oct. 29, and Tuesday, Oct. 31.

All University of Delaware classes are suspended Monday, Oct. 29, and officials were strongly encouraging students to go home.

Delaware Senate District 20 candidate Rick Eakle (D) on Friday asked his fellow Sussex County candidates in the Nov. 6 elections to put aside their political differences ahead of the anticipated arrival of Hurricane Sandy and gather to plan together ways they can help coastal residents weather the storm.

State and local emergency officials are urging residents of coastal Delaware to be alert and prepare as Hurricane Sandy tracks up the Atlantic in the coming days and poses a risk of potential severe weather, up to and including possibly making landfall in the immediate area.

Earlier this week, the Town of Ocean View, along with state officials, dedicated the town’s solar carport.
“Sunny days are more important than ever to Ocean View today,” said Ocean View Mayor Gordon Wood. “An old English proverb goes, ‘Make hay while the sun shines.’ Well, our hay with the new solar array is the about $50 a day we will earn from kilowatt hours produced on a sunny day.”

The Town of Ocean View held a special meeting this week at which they unanimously approved the total amount of funds budgeted for compensation adjustments for salaries of all employees, in accordance with the salary structure they had previously approved.

There is still no decision from the Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission regarding the proposed Castaways Bethany LLC mixed-use project. At their Oct. 11 meeting, Commission Chairman Robert Wheatley did say that a recommendation to the county council would be forthcoming and added that it would “be fair to say we won’t come back until we are ready to act.” He explained that they have to make a recommendation within 45 days from Oct. 5, when the record closed.

Last week, Lord Baltimore Elementary students crowded into their gymnasium for the culmination of fire prevention week, with an awards ceremony for students.

On Tuesday, Oct. 23, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, along with the Town of Ocean View, will hold a private dedication of the Town’s solar carport.

The Bethany-Fenwick Area Chamber of Commerce held its annual Member Celebration and Awards Ceremony last week, and they honored Coastal Point publisher Susan Lyons with the Chamber’s prestigious Lighthouse Award.

The Ocean View Town Council voted 4-0 this week to approve and implement the compensation study — a 43-page document suggesting that the Town maintain a 14-grade pay structure — conducted by consultant Charles Hendricks.

In the past month, Ocean View has been hit with a string of thefts by what police said they believe are suspects looking for cash, and Ocean View Police Chief Ken McLaughlin held a Neighborhood Watch meeting earlier this week to urge residents to contact their local authorities anytime they find something to be suspicious, or if a crime has occurred.

When I recently highlighted recipes from members of VFW Post #7234 at Quillens Point in Ocean View, I met Chef Tom Bowen, who prepares meals Tuesdays through Saturdays all year ’round. I asked him to share some of his recipes with us.

The Ocean View Planning & Zoning Commission met recently to unanimously recommend that an ordinance amending the Land Use and Development Code of the town by restricting the use of outdoor seating areas and providing for “waiting-area bars” in restaurants. The bars would not be permitted to offer live entertainment and music, and service would end at 11 p.m.

Beebe Medical Center representatives on Monday afternoon notified the public that visitor IDs were being checked after a former patient allegedly threatened two physicians affiliated with the hospital through a telephone message that was left sometime during the weekend and received on Monday morning.

No decision has been made yet on the proposed rezoning for the Castaways Bethany project, as the county council deferred action this week while waiting for a recommendation from Sussex County Planning & Zoning commissioners.

The Ocean View Board of Adjustment voted 3-2 this week to reject an application for a variance submitted by Davis, Bowen & Friedel Inc. on behalf of Windansea LLC, the developer of the proposed Ocean View Beach Club community. The variance would have permitted construction of a paved roadway with curb and gutter measuring 30 feet from back of curb to back of curb.