Bethany Beach News

Delaware State Police this week made one additional arrest and filed hundreds of additional charges against the suspects in an extensive theft ring that was operating in the Ocean View and Bethany Beach area in recent months.

Three years after completing the purchase of undeveloped property on the opposite corner of Route 1 from the town hall and agreeing to some sort of open-space or park use, Bethany Beach officials may finally be ready to start making some concrete decisions on how the property will someday look and operate.

Despite rumors of a substantially slower-than-usual summer season, Bethany Beach has been a relatively busy town this summer, according to Town Manager Cliff Graviet. Graviet gave Bethany Beach Town Council members an update on the season thus far at their Aug. 15 council meeting, providing reports on everything from beach repairs to parking revenue and public safety activity.

Lifeguards are an essential part of summertime enjoyment, providing safety, reassurance and security to vacationers and beach-goers alike. At the head of each lifeguard patrol is the captain, a strong individual who carefully measures the capabilities of their crew, keeping them attentive and reliable.

The Most Reverend Michael A. Saltarelli, bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington, was downstate Aug. 14 for the dedication of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a mission church of St. Ann’s Catholic Church in Bethany Beach.

Ocean View police have filed 56 charges each against a pair of suspects in connection with a widespread series of thefts throughout the Ocean View area in the last two months. Additional arrests in the cases and more than 100 charges against the initial two suspects alone are expected in the coming days.

When Rick Hundley and his wife woke up on July 21 and discovered that their Cabriolet convertible had been replaced in the driveway of their Bethany Lakes home by two bicycles, they were pretty sure it wasn’t a guerilla statement on “green” transportation. They reported the theft to the police.

For 23 years, the “Friends of Summer” have mourned the passing of the summer tourist season at Bethany Beach, Del. The town known as the “Quiet Resort” is the idyllic location where each year a group of faithful mourners respectfully lay to rest their beloved summer season on Labor Day.

The renovation and expansion of the South Coastal Library and Joshua M. Freeman Cultural Center is proceeding on a schedule that should allow for a “grand” reopening in the spring of 2009. Please drive by the Kent Avenue location to see the progress being made (for your safety, please do not enter the “fenced in” construction area).

Hurricane season is again upon us and early indications are that it may well be a very active one. Hurricane and disaster planning is essential and should be a family event.

The Bethany-Fenwick Area Chamber of Commerce’s (BFACC) 30th annual award-winning Bethany Beach Boardwalk Arts Festival is set for Saturday, Sept. 6, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The festival features jewelry, art glass, pottery, sculpture, watercolor and oil painting, basketry, woodworking and much more. And the event is bigger and better than ever this year, according to the Chamber.

The Millville Volunteer Fire Company will be holding a Texas Holdem Poker Tournament on Saturday, Aug. 23, at its firehouse on Route 26. Entry fee is $100, with two $25 re-buys available.

Doors open at 6 p.m.

Dealing begins at 7 p.m. You must be 21 or older to attend. Up to $80,00 in prize money paid out depending on player participation.

There is something fishy happening in the Bethany Beach Loop Canal — or rather something fish-less.

For about six weeks, the manmade canal has had significantly low dissolved oxygen levels. That means that, for fish and other aquatic life in the water, it is getting harder and harder to get the oxygen they need to survive. So, it seems many have simply left.

What in the world?

Hurricane season is again upon us and early indications are that it may well be a very active one. Hurricane and disaster planning is essential and should be a family event.

The Bethany Beach Budget and Finance committee met on July 25 to do a final review of the 2008 budget, review the first quarter budget for 2009 and to preliminarily discuss the budget for 2010. The group also discussed at length the plan for funding the construction of an eight foot extension of the boardwalk on the east end.

At least one person in Bethany Beach apparently thinks the town needs a better view of its shoreline — and they weren’t prepared to wait. Town Manager Cliff Graviet reported to council members on July 18 that an unknown person or persons had relocated a bench to the top of the dune at Third Street sometime prior to the morning of July 17.

Bethany Beach voters will have a chance to go to the polls this September to make their voices heard, as this Tuesday’s deadline to file to run for one of four available seats on the town council passed with seven candidates filing applications with the town.

Three of four incumbents — Steve Wode, Tony McClenny and Jerry Dorfman — filed for re-election.

t’s been a major focus in Ocean View, and now Bethany Beach has become the final partner in a new “Big Four” for the area: the four communities joining an effort to bring a pedestrian and bicycle path to the edge of the Assawoman Canal that would traverse three towns and one private community.

The Bethany Beach Town Council took its first major step on Friday, July 18, toward a major facelift one of the town’s major attractions — its boardwalk. The council on a unanimous vote of all seven members approved having Town Manager Cliff Graviet proceed with engineering documents created toward the eventual goal of widening the boardwalk to the east by 8 feet.