Coastal Point • CHRISTINA WEAVER Sunny skies brought visitors to the Bethany Beach boardwalk on Monday, Jan. 30.

Coastal Point viewpoint 02.03.06

Bethany unveils 2006 draft budget
Bethany Beach officials unveiled the town’s draft budget for the 2007 fiscal year Jan. 27, in the first round of discussions by the Budget & Finance Committee.

Committee gets conservative on OV transfer tax
Usually, within 30 days of a property sale within Ocean View town limits, the transfer tax — 1.5 percent of the sold property’s worth — is deposited into the town’s bank account.

Hearings for zoning issues set in Bethany
Bethany Beach has a heavy slate of public hearings set for Friday, Feb. 10, at 3 p.m. The hearings will lead up to a special council session set for 4:30 p.m. that same day, at which at least some of the hearing issues will be voted upon by the council.

County ends clustering moratorium
Sussex County Council unanimously adopted an amendment to the Cluster Development Ordinance at the Jan. 31 council meeting, closing a bonus-density loophole and thereby deactivating the county’s recent moratorium on new applications for clustered subdivision.

Guest column
Sen. Eugene McCarthy’s recent death brought back memories of a long conversation I had with him nearly 20 years ago. The occasion was preparing interviews for a network radio series I was putting together on people who had sought but failed to win a race for the White House.

Fenwick down on building-permit funds
Outside of property and rental receipt taxes, Fenwick Island town officials expected money brought in from building permits to be their largest source of revenue this year.

County P&Z inundated by cluster business
Deer season is winding down, and the number of hunters who managed to get a deer this season, compared to last, is down a little, too, according to park director Rob Gano at the local Assawoman Wildlife Area.

Local rockers head for battle
Bethany Beach resident Colin Carroll, taking a turn on the bass, has joined forces with guitarist Dennis Alexander of Long Neck, lead singer Ben Leisey and drummer Mark Amendt (both of Georgetown), and they’re headed for the ongoing Emergenza Music Festival this weekend in Philadelphia, Pa.

The Agenda

Pro talk
This time, we are “Reminiscing with Andy.”

This date in DE history

Ocean View shop celebrates bird feeding
Outside of a kitchen window in the back yard of the house where Connie Marshall grew up, her father had a bird feeder.

Fenwick Island approves first floor-area reading
Fenwick Island Town Council voted 4-2 on Jan. 27 to approve the first reading of a floor area ratio ordinance, legislation that would limit the size of new homes built in the town.

Steel band to fund trip to Trinidad with 5K
Most kids would tell you that they don’t like school for whatever reason, but John Syphard’s Selbyville School of the Arts steel pan band weathers the school day like a the crew of a sturdy sea vessel waiting until they can see the clouds break. All day long, they look forward to playing their drums — and once the clock strikes two o’clock, a line of anxious percussionist descends upon on a gutted locker room to release that tension.

Obituaries
J. Parker Connor, 79

Wash and wag
Behind two double doors in the back of Muddy Pawz, there is a dog wash, which is like a car wash for dogs, complete with a scrub brush and a dryer. Customers pay $5 to use the wash for eight minutes and can insert money for more time.

Sussex birding
Coastal ducks were the focus of the Sussex Bird Club’s field trip on Saturday, Jan. 28. Club members and guests — 16 in all — gathered outside the Starbuck’s in Rehoboth to hear the agenda from event leader Jeff Gordon.

Wrestler makes turn-around at IRHS
Wrestling in the third period is arguably the toughest aspect of the sport. Strength wanes, the breath gets shorter and only the best prevail. Indian River’s wrestling team is wrestling in the third period now, after logging three wins in four matches, improving its record to 10-3 overall and 7-2 in the conference.

Warhawks ready for season
Military clichés are fairly common in athletics — especially football. Naturally, battle is linked to football because it’s violent and victory is achieved by brute force. But it’s the essence of teamwork that strikes at the root of its common bond. Without teamwork, victory isn’t possible in either arena.

Indians look to defense for help
If it ain’t broke then leave it be — but if there’s a problem then it must be addressed.

Lady Indians look to final weeks for hope
Lopsided losses to Sussex Tech, Sussex Central and Caesar Rodney have left Indian River High School’s Lady Indians basketball team in a heap at the bottom of the Henlopen Conference. B they have a good chance to pull themselves up with a few wins in the south over the final few weeks of the season.