Coastal Point • RUSLANA LAMBERT Scott Evans lassoes up some fun at the Springtime Jamboree on Saturday, April 8.

Coastal Point viewpoint 2006.04.14

Dagsboro project hits zoning snag
Dagsboro’s Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) has been mainly occupied with residential projects of late since its reactivation in November 2005. But commission members added a commercial project to their list in recent weeks, with William Mills’ application for several retail buildings near the intersection at Warrington and Sussex streets on the north end of town...Or did they?

Millville banks robbed--suspects nabbed
Just after noon on Tuesday, two men allegedly robbed the Wilmington Trust and First Shore Federal Banks in Millville using handguns.

Bethany Beach considers map publication
Bethany Beach officials have a variety of mapping projects in the works, and along with zoning descriptions and official maps for town documents and infrastructure documentation, there may be yet another map in the town’s near future.

Millville changes its application process
At a Tuesday council meeting, Millville officials addressed some issues with their subdivision application process and amended the ordinance. Previously, the town charged developers an application fee based on the number of lots on a subdivision.

Struggle over Bethany museum continues
The relationship between Bethany Beach’s Cultural and Historical Affairs Committee (CHAC) and the Bethany Beach Historical Association (BBHA) has always been complicated.

Legislature accepts electric phase-in
One thing is for sure. On May 1, Delmarva Power residential and commercial customers will face anywhere from 47 percent to 117 percent electric-rate hikes caused by rising fossil fuel prices.

Fenwick's commercial future a concern
With the open format of Fenwick Island’s workshops-without-agenda (WWAs), nearly anything can come up for informal discussion and often does. At the town council’s April 8 WWA, the topics focused around the town’s commercial district and how it and the town as a whole will look in the future.

The Agenda

Event to raise funds for memorial scholarship
After well-known area resident Phillip Townsend died from injuries sustained in a July 27, 2005, motorcycle accident on Route 113, about 700 people attended his memorial services, his wife Deborah Townsend said.

UD lecturer talks about area's quality of life issues
The University of Delaware’s James Falk, of the Sea Grant Advisory Service, presented area residents with a few quality-of-life-related facts and figures in recent weeks, at the College of Marine Studies in Lewes.

Millville by the Sea presents Main Street plan in workshop
Fenwick Island residents appear to be divided on the issue of floor-area ratio (FAR). The proposed control on overall home size has been instituted in other coastal towns, such as neighboring South Bethany and Rehoboth Beach. But it is inevitably controversial, since it could substantially limit property owners’ ability to build homes on the higher end of the size scale.

Hocker questions state budget priorities
Gov. Ruth Ann Minner’s proposed operating budget for the 2007 Fiscal Year shows a modest 5.7-percent growth, from last year to this. But local Rep. Gerald Hocker (38th District) suggested in recent weeks that he wasn’t holding out much hope for a single-digit spending increase, by the time state legislators finished with her proposed budget.

Proposed elections and fishing regs concerns
While the bulk of the Fenwick Island Town Council’s April 8 workshop-without-agenda (WWA) focused on the town’s commercial district and its comprehensive development plan, the meeting’s open format naturally made it the venue for discussion of other topics, ranging from proposed changes to municipal voting regulations statewide to the potential impact of a new saltwater fishing license requirement.

Obituaries
Johnnie M. Beebe, 69
Elaina Fritzinger, newborn
Norman McGinnis, 68
Kenneth J. Pennell, 56
Ruth M. Watson, 79,
Gary Lee Sagers, 52
Winifred E. Davis, 87
Oscar Edward ‘Sport’ Harmon, Jr., 69
Kielee Michelle Lewis, 25
Elizabeth Ellen Burton Smith, 97

Rape not a taboo subject throughout April
Rape. The very word is still so taboo that in one Sussex County school, it is banned. “Our counselors have to say ‘sexual assault’ instead of ‘rape’ when they provide informational programs for students,” said Tina Buckingham, director of Rape Crisis Services for CONTACT Delaware.

DelDOT talks bike safety for Summer 2006
Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) Bicycle/Pedestrian Coordinator Anthony Aglio and Ocean View Police Chief Ken McLaughlin presented local Chamber of Commerce members with plans for stepped-up bike safety, last week. There had already been some movement in this direction, following a vehicle-bicycle collision near Millville last summer.

Culinary delights
I was in New York City last week, having a low-key hang-out time, and I thought: “What a great thing to write about!”

Signs of the times
In 1985, Rick Weber graduated from the Art Institute of Pittsburg with a degree in illustration. Soon after graduation, with dreams of becoming a magazine illustrator, Weber started working as a freelance illustrator, while painting on the side.

Lady Indians can't climb all the way back
Last season, the Delmar Lady Wildcats served Indian River’s varsity soccer team its only regular-season loss (2-1, in overtime). Indian River made the playoffs and beat Dover in the playoffs but lost to A.I. DuPont in the following game, leaving the Lady Indians with a respectable 14-2-1 final record and the Southern Henlopen Conference Championship.

Lady Indians softball steamrolling opponents
The No. 2 Lady Indians continued their hot streak and easily downed Smyrna, Nandua and Caesar Rodney to improve to a 9-0 start. Despite losing 7-4 on April 6, Smyrna was the only team on the Lady Indians’ three-game bend to play the entire game. The Lady Indians finished Nandua in 5.5 innings and the short-handed Lady Riders in 4.5, by a combined score of 31-7.

Indians hope to get better starts
If you ask any Indian River baseball player, they’d probably tell you that they shouldn’t have lost a game this year. They beat the defending state champs St. Mark’s in the season opener and avenged last season’s state tournament loss to Newark with a 5-4 win, but not everything has been extra base hits and pine tar.

Tennis teams ace Central
The boys and girls varsity tennis programs at Indian River High School both beat Sussex Central on April 6 and surpassed last season’s production at this point in play. The boys varsity team has a winning record at 4-2 (rather than 1-5) and the girls team doubled its win total from last year (2:1).

Indian River sets Nutter's Crossing course record
Indian River reclaimed its conference-championship swagger by setting a course record in a 155-176 win over Delmar at Nutter’s Crossing in Salisbury, Md., on April 11. Usually, they’d play Delmar at the Shawnee Country Club — where just the day before they handed Milford a 37-stroke 168-205 beating and posted their fourth-best round of the year — but that simply wasn’t the case this time.