The Coastal Point encourages the exchange of ideas. Letters to the editor must be signed by the author with phone number included for purposes of verification. Please send your letters to P.O. Box 1324, Ocean View, DE 19970.

Darin J. McCann

Life is full of interesting lessons.

We learn from our parents, our teachers, our clergy and our friends. We learn from television shows, newspapers, talk radio and stunningly-handsome Irish-American columnists. We learn from touching hot stoves, drinking spoiled milk and getting sick in the back of a limo during our senior prom after some pinhead you considered a friend convinced you that drinking four different kinds of wine coolers with a vodka chaser would ...

But I digress.

The point is, we learn. That, or we doom ourselves to a cyclical life of failures and never-get-theres.

Or, in some cases, regret.

I heard from a friend last week — the kind of friend I think of often, but only get the opportunity to talk to every couple months. Be it my work schedule, or the events of his life, we don’t get to talk nearly as much as either of us would like, or, for that matter, as much as we should.

Like me, he has ink in his blood. He loves newspapers and, unlike me, he is extremely gifted in his craft. He is like our own Shaun Lambert in that he is a magician around a computer, and he is also a wizard with a quote. The highest compliment I can afford him professionally is that he is an honest-to-goodness newspaper man.

The highest compliment I can afford him personally is that he is a man. He is stand-up and honest, funny and emotional. He was my one true mentor when I was just getting started in this game.

And he’s dying.

As much as I would like to ramble on in this column about what a tremendous person he is — and I could truly ramble on for days — I’d rather take a different route, and discuss the lessons I’ve learned. Besides, it’s his life and not my place to discuss it.

Those who know me well realize how I deal with things that are personally difficult. I laugh them off with a joke and do everything in my power to change the subject. The typical mode for me is not going through the progressive stages of grief, I go straight to denial and cling to it until I need to keep a bottle of Tums in a holster on my side. My mother once said she always knew when something was bothering me because I acted like nothing was wrong.

Yeah, I don’t get it, either. But she’s my mom. What can you do?

I have had others close to me pass on after long illnesses, and I didn’t react in a way that makes me very proud. Quite honestly, I did the selfish thing by keeping my distance. However, this is what we talk about with personal growth, and learning by mistakes.

I’ve learned that keeping my distance from someone in such an instance not only cheats them of an assumed shoulder to lean on, but also robs myself of precious moments with that person I will never have again. For those who have never faced this situation, let me stress this again: You will hate yourself if you don’t visit or call that person every last chance you have. And you will truly treasure those memories from each opportunity you have to interact with that person.

I made an effort with my grandparents when they were at the end. I drove to Dover to help them move into an assisted-living home when the duties of their own home became too much, and I visited my grandmother in the hospital during those last few days of her extraordinary life. It is the last cluster of jokes she made to me that still bring a smile to my face, and it was that last distant smile on my grandfather’s face that runs through my brain. My father tells me to remember them when they were healthy and closing down bars on a regular basis, but I can’t as readily as I can remember them at the end.

And I treasure those memories.

But, like I said, we learn things from our own experiences, or we don’t. I’ve learned that it’s important to be a friend when a friend is needed, that the weakest link in any organization is the link that is most critical ... and that Heather Wiles should never be allowed to use a staple remover. Funny story behind that, but we’ll wait.

Enough is enough is enough with the shared-municipality possession of Lord Baltimore Elementary School.

The school — a true entity of history for generations of local families in the community — is currently sitting on a parcel of land that is divided between Ocean View, Millville and the wild, wild west of unincorporated Sussex County. There have been discussions over who is responsible for police jurisdiction at the school, and what town, if any, is in charge of the perimeter properties. In short, for all the words that have been tossed around regarding who controls what at the elementary school, the one word that has not arisen is the one idenitfying true claim.

And now, as the school prepares for major renovations, thanks to last year’s succesful referendum, the question of jurisdiction is shining through again.

As members of the Indian River School District attempt to get approvals on plans for the school, we are left once again wondering exactly what will happen. Greg Weer, representing the school district, and the engineer for the project approached the Ocean View Planning & Zoning Commission last week regarding the plans.

Apparently, Sussex County is willing to back off their claim to the property and allow Ocean View to review and set conditions for the plans. Millville, in the past, has shown a willingness to allow Ocean View to take reign of the school as well, at least as far as police jurisdiction. There is no reason to believe Millville officials will push this issue, either.

But, even if this ends up working beautifully, hasn’t this gone on long enough?

The school district is interested in having Lord Baltimore annexed into the town of Ocean View. Now is the time for officials from Ocean View, Millville and Sussex County to get together and hash this out once and for all.

Heck, have the meeting in our office. We’ll buy the donuts.

The entire staff of the Coastal Point was relieved to hear that Bethany Beach Town Council Member Wayne Fuller is apparently doing well following recent heart surgery. He has consistently served this community well, and we wish him nothing the best in his recovery.

Beebe Medical Center thanks community for support
Editor:

Beebe Medical Center hosted its First Annual Community Heart Fair at the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center in partnership with the American Heart Association on Tuesday, Feb. 15, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event generated a terrific response from the community. An estimated 1,000 residents from throughout our service area attended the event, which featured free entertainment, food and screenings for health risks including aneurysm, peripheral vascular disease, blood pressure, cholesterol, body fat and glucose. 

Beebe Medical Center was fortunate to have Lt. Gov. John Carney serve as the honorary chair of the event and speak about his Fitness Challenge — a campaign to encourage Delawareans to eat “Five a Day” (fruits and vegetables) and become, or stay, physically active. The event also provided an opportunity for Jeffrey Fried, Beebe Medical Center president and CEO, to welcome the community and highlight Beebe’s upcoming interventional cardiology and heart surgery programs, which are scheduled to begin next year. 

Beebe Medical Center is grateful for the sponsors that helped make the event possible, including Medtronic, Integrilin and Ladies Workout Express.  Delaware Cardiovascular Associates helped sponsor the wonderful food for the day and Kings Creek Country Club provided the American Heart Association’s “Go Red for Women” pins.

The event would not have been possible without the help and support of a host of volunteers and Beebe team members, including: Lynn Amey, Esther Zuppo, Gainor Johnston and Ruth Myers of the Vascular Lab; Ingrid Mick and Liz Hazzard of the Lab; Marie Berntsen and Dot Chimienti of Orthopaedic Services; Sue Lodge, Pam Partsch, Michele Crowe, Beth Mosely and Sharon Kesterson of Patient Financial Services, as well as Holly Ferebee who played a key role in designing the displays; Nancy Cummings, Michelle Beckett-Danilenko, Kay Malone, Cathy Ward, Sandy Roberts, Doris Hensler, Dawn West-Atkins, Joan Whitney, and Chad Jenkins (intern) of Community Health; Jerry Whitcomb, Warren Wiley and Bob Horner of Plant Engineering; and our wonderful volunteers:  Ann and George Chambers, Cathy Triboletti, Betty and Jack Houseman, Jane Forgie, MaryAnn Dzedzy, Audrey McMeekin, Rose Carr, Harriett Chassereau; and members of our Auxiliary: Joan Wentzel, Joan Brown, Lillian Menige.  Additional volunteers included Hugh and Joan O’Neill, Ronnie Malone, Janet Lydick and Ann Crawford. The Department of Public Health, Bayside Health Association, Delaware Cardiovascular Associates, Jennifer Rodgers, LMT, and Cathy Robinson, LMT, also provided healthcare services. We hope to have included everyone that assisted, because each person made a great contribution to the success of the event.

Since the turnout was tremendous, we recognize that some members of the community were not able to receive all of the screenings offered at the event. Beebe Medical Center’s Community Health Department will continue to schedule similar screenings throughout the community on an ongoing basis. Please look for dates and locations in your local media and through our Web site: www.beebemed.org.

As it was our first year, we look forward to an even better event next February. Thank you, everyone, for your support of Beebe Medical Center.

The Public Relations and Community Health Department
Beebe Medical Center

Resident thanks local community for support
Editor:

A special thank you to all my relatives and friends for their flowers, cards, prayers and visits during my recent stay in the hospital and Healthsouth.

Violet E. Hudson
Dagsboro

IRHS weightlifters deserve recognition
Editor:

Congratulations to the Indian River weight lifting team on their first place finish at the 13th Annual Snow Hill “Bench Press” Championship. In the past five years, Indian River has placed first twice, along with three second place finishes.

The Indians earned four first-place finishes, two seconds and one third-place finish. The team scored 27 team points to edge out last year’s champion Queen Anne’s, who received 24 points. Sussex Central finished third with 21 points, followed by Snow Hill with 15 points. Seven teams competed in this year’s championship with over 70 competitors in attendance.

There were 10 different body weight divisions with points awarded for first, second and third place. Individual wins were then added together to determine the final team point standings.

Congratulations to Zach Long, Billy Powell, John Timmons and Kyle Johnson on their first place finishes. Also, congratulations to Jessica Spencer and Nate Kortvelesy for finishing second place, and D.J. Singleterry, who finished third.

Many thanks for a job well done goes out to P-Nut Mitchell, Bobby Boyce, Perry Townsend and Rusty Baker, who rounded out I.R.’s team.

Again, you have made your school and community very proud.

Jim Bunting
Indian River High School