Selbyville

The Sussex County Emergency Operations Center is continuing to monitor the movement of Tropical Storm Hanna, which is forecast to track along the East Coast this weekend and bring gusty winds and heavy rain to Delaware. Forecasters expect Tropical Storm Hanna to pass just to the east of Delaware’s coast on Saturday. However, as the storm’s center moves northward, the system is expected to reach far enough inland to spread heavy rain and strong winds across Sussex County. Rainfall amounts of 3 to 5 inches, with winds up to 40 mph, are possible. Gusts could reach 50 mph, according to the National Weather Service.

Officials at the Sussex County Emergency Operations Center announced Wednesday that they were closely monitoring Tropical Storms Hanna, Ike and Josephine in the Atlantic Ocean.

Delaware Electric Cooperative is asking all Delaware Electric Co-op members to voluntarily conserve or limit energy usage between the hours of 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, when its membership is expected to be using the greatest amount of electricity and, as a result, when the cooperative expects to be purchasing power from the market at extremely high prices.

As summertime winds to a close, many visitors and residents in the beach communities are reflecting on the memories they made this season. Likewise, Patti Grimes, vice president of outreach and programming for the Carl M. Freeman and Joshua M. Freeman foundations, is pleased with the way the season has gone for the organizations.

This week marks the grand opening of one of Sussex County’s newest assisted living programs. Brandywine Assisted Living, now operating in five states, was set to officially open its doors Thursday, Aug. 21, west of Fenwick Island. Located at the intersection of Routes 54 and 20, the assisted living community is already off to a promising start.

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.

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.

“This whole thing has been one miracle after another” said the Rev. Rich Evans of the new Bayside Chapel and the Samaritan Thrift Shop near Fenwick Island. “In the past two years, this church has gone from a dream to a reality by the power of God!”

The Fenwick Medical Complex plans to break ground in September, after not quite four years of planning, including re-zoning, water and sewer development and other preliminary measures.

The Selbyville Town Council met on Monday, July 7, for their regular monthly meeting, and during the meeting the council approved three requests for zoning change from the R3 residential zone to the new R4 zone.

The national real estate market is in tough shape. The local market has been touched, too, though there are signs of improvement. And anyone who follows the news understands that the world in general is paying quite a bit more attention to the environment these days.

CurveSmart, the revolutionary technology five years in the making, is available at two local Curves studios, in Ocean View and on Route 54 in Williamsville Country Village.

Troopers seek information on suspect

The Delaware State Police mid-week were investigating a robbery that occurred Monday, June 30, about10:15 p.m., after a person imposing as a police officer allegedly stopped a motorist and took their wallet.

With a contract for the design and construction of the new Indian River Inlet Bridge expected to be awarded in July, Skanska USA Civil Southeast Inc. is the apparent winning design-build team for the project, which could start construction in early fall, to carry traffic no later than December 2011.

Another local waterway saw a massive fish kill this week, as thousands of peanut bunker were killed in Dirickson Creek, off Old Mill Bridge Road, near Selbyville.

Rich Donofrio told the Coastal Point that he’d spotted the fish kill on Friday, June 13, while riding through the area.

For less than what you would pay at the grocery store or a commercial produce stand, people can buy fresh vegetables at East View Farm on Bayard Road almost year-round.

Selbyville’s 52nd annual Old Timer’s Day this Saturday is sure to be a success. The event was started in 1956 by the town’s downtown merchants and originally ran as a three-day sale to bring people into town. The event was named Old Timer’s Day because the town merchants would dress up in “old timers’” clothing and parade around town for the visitors.

Like many people armed with the right attitude and plenty of determination, Brandon and Kerry Case, owners of Antique Prints in Ocean View, turned something unexpected into an opportunity.

Last week, the Bethany-Fenwick Chamber of Commerce and U.S. Sen. Tom Carper welcomed back Lance Cpl. Jonathan Steele of Selbyville, a Marine deployed to Iraq last October. The Chamber, with support from Carper, sponsored Operation Thank You, a project that ran between Veteran’s Day and Thanksgiving, collecting items for care packages that were sent to military personnel deployed overseas.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, the mission church of St. Ann’s Catholic Church in Bethany Beach, located off of Route 17, is nearing the end of its seven-year gestation.

Selbyville Town Council members on Monday, May 5, approved a conditional use for a 30-acre neighborhood business commercial zone in the town’s R-4 residential district at Hudson Road and Route 54.

Photos from the May 12-13 storm are shown in slideshow format below, with newer photos toward the end. All photos are copyright © Coastal Point, LLC, and may not be used without express permission of the Coastal Point.

The Delaware State Police and Department of Transportation reopened Route 1 between Dewey Beach and Fred Hudson Road/Road 360 north of Bethany Beach and the Indian River Inlet Bridge late Tuesday afternoon, following a detailed inspection of the inlet and surrounding roadways. Remaining closed Tuesday, due to high water, were: Fred Hudson Road in the area of Route 1 and Old Mill Road in Millville, as well as several other roads in the Lewes, Slaughter Beach and Oak Orchard areas.

The fourth- and fifth-graders of Lord Baltimore were treated to a special presentation on April 17, of “Tar Wars” a nationwide program that started in Colorado, designed to educate America’s youth about the dangers of smoking.

Jill Collins, first-grade teacher, was recently named Teacher of the Year at Phillip C. Showell Elementary School in Selbyville.

Mike Lingenfelter, sixth-grade math teacher at Selbyville Middle School, was recently named Teacher of the Year at SMS. In order to win, a teacher must be nominated by either students, parents or a fellow teacher. Through the nomination and observation, a committee picks the winner.

A new Rite Aid store in Selbyville is on track for a 2010 opening near the intersection of Route 113 and Cemetery Road, with the unanimous approval of a preliminary site plan by town council members at their April 7 meeting.

St. Martins in the Field Episcopal Church in Selbyville will hold its first annual Book Fair on Saturday, April 19, at the parish hall from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Ron Shackle, chairman of the Evangelism Committee, said the book fair would provide a venue for local Delmarva authors and an opportunity for them to reach out to potential parishioners.

As a follow-up to last summer’s report of a cancer cluster investigation in the area of the Indian River Power Plant by Delaware Health and Social Services’ Division of Public Health, a comprehensive survey is now being conducted across Sussex County.