Sussex County

Last week, Sussex Technical High School special education and sociology teacher Charles Coursey, 38, was arrested for allegedly having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old female student.

Year-end sales data recently released by the Sussex County Association of Realtors (SCAOR) revealed several positive economic indicators as the county, the state and the nation continue to emerge from a years-long recession.

Applications are now being accepted for the 55th annual Little Miss Georgetown and 7th annual Junior Miss Georgetown Pageant. The program this year will be held on Sunday, March 11.

An earthquake, Hurricane Irene and her tornados could not keep ABC’s “Extreme Makeover-Home Edition,” Schell Brothers and a few thousand volunteers from building the Jusst Sooup Ranch in only one week last September, yet a lull in contributions could cast a cloud over the ministry’s near- and long-term goals to care for hundreds of Delaware’s hungry and homeless each week.

Sussex County Council held a public hearing on the Community Development Block Grant program at their meeting this week. The Community Development and Housing Department of Sussex County applies for the grant funding on behalf of local municipalities that request assistance from the county on behalf of their residents and on the behalf of county residents.

The Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission at their Jan. 26 meeting once again deferred action on an ordinance to amend Chapter 115 of the county code relating to “off-premise” electronic messaging signs, which are typically in the form of billboards.

After years of construction, delay and turbulent waters, the Indian River Inlet Bridge opened to traffic last Friday, with Gov. Jack Markell taking the maiden ride across its span.

Public defenders for Derrick Powell, the 24-year-old Cumberland, Md., man who was found guilty of first-degree murder of Georgetown police officer Chad Spicer, earlier this month filed a 42-page appeal of Powell’s conviction and sentencing to the Delaware Superior Court.

Sussex County has scored yet another financial gain, recording a $3.48 million surplus for the 2011 fiscal year – the most significant gain for the County government in five years – despite a continued sluggish economy, a new audit shows.

An appeals process has begun for 24-year-old Derrick Powell, the man who was convicted in February 2011 of fatally shooting Georgetown police officer Chad Spicer on Sept. 1, 2009.

The Sussex County Council completed its transfer of property to an Ocean View man this week. The parcel is located at the back of the property on Daisy Avenue, where the county has its sewer-system pumping station. At the March 22, 2011, county council meeting, the council had accepted a $20,500 bid from Robert Witting to purchase the 75-by-242-foot piece of county-owned land. This week, they settled that transfer.

The Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission deferred action at their Jan. 12 meeting on an ordinance to amend Chapter 115 of the county code relating to “off-premise” electronic messaging signs, which are typically in the form of billboards.

Despite the testimony of numerous constituents who spoke in opposition to an ordinance change that allows a property owner to perform site work or construct improvements without posting a bond, Sussex County council on Tuesday decided 4-1 to approve it, albeit with a caveat of it automatically expiring in two years.

In an effort to move the Route 54 Improvement Project toward completion, the Department of Transportation (DelDOT) announced Thursday, Jan. 5, that contractor Mumford & Miller, will be doing paving operations this weekend.  Unseasonably warm weather will allow a portion of the project to be paved now instead of in the spring, officials said. 
 

The Supreme Court of the State of Delaware this week affirmed the March 2011 decision of the Delaware Superior Court that ruled in favor of Sussex County in the case of Sussex County vs. the State of Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC), over the agency’s authority to impose its Pollution Control Strategy.

In keeping with the Civil War sesquicentennial commemoration underway since April 2011, the Delaware Public Archives has chosen to honor five men who served in Delaware units with a display that features artifacts and personal narratives. According to Curator of Archeology Charles H.

Sussex County Councilman Vance Phillips is home in Sussex County, just in time for Christmas. He had spent more than a month at Magee Rehabilitation Hospital in Philadelphia, where he has been recovering from injuries sustained in an aircraft accident in Virginia in October. Phillips left Philadelphia late Tuesday morning and arrived home later that day.

In the age of seemingly unending financial uncertainty, the hits just keep on coming.

The Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission has recommended approval for an organic yard waste and composting facility near Millville.

Sussex County Council, at their meeting this week, recognized the Division II state champion, undefeated Indian River High School football team. Todd Lawson, county administrator appointee, joked that, as a “[Sussex Central] Golden Knight, it brings me much pain…but duty calls.”

On Dec. 2, Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) officials gave State Senator Tom Carper an update and tour of the Indian River Inlet Bridge as it nears completion.

Sussex County council amended their windmill ordinance this week to further clarify what is acceptable.

Sussex County offices will close for a two-hour period on Friday, Dec. 9, to allow employees to attend the annual Mildred King Luncheon. County offices will close from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. on that date. Members of the public with business to conduct at County facilities are being asked to plan accordingly for the temporary closure. County offices will re-open promptly at 1 p.m.

Selbyville police arrested Jeffrey Paddock, 49, of Ocean View on Wednesday, Nov. 23, for his alleged involvement in a string of local burglaries.

The Sussex County Council at their meeting this week adopted a policy regarding economic development incentives. Outgoing County Administrator David Baker said that the policy pertains to supplemental economic incentives for businesses, with the goal of growing jobs in Sussex County.

The Sussex County Council voted at their meeting Nov. 29 to extend for another year the County’s dog-control contract with the Delaware Animal Care & Control/Kent County SPCA, starting Jan. 1, 2012, and going until Dec. 31, 2012. The county receives 24/7 dispatch coverage for staff, vehicles and services that include the pick-up of stray animals and vaccinations.

The 28th annual Caroling on the Circle event is set for 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 5, in downtown Georgetown. The kickoff to the event this year started earlier than in year’s past, with a call for canned goods starting more than five weeks ago, since the event doubles as a food drive for Sussex County’s hungry and food-insecure.

No decision has been made about a proposed organic/yard waste composting facility near Millville. The Sussex County Council deferred action after a Nov. 15 public hearing on a conditional-use application from Jeremy W. Smith of Ocean View. The county’s Planning and Zoning Commission had also deferred action on Oct. 27, at the first public hearing on the application, and deferred action again on Thursday, Nov. 17.

The Sussex County Council, at its Tuesday, Nov. 15, meeting, adopted a redistricting ordinance and accompanying maps that establish new council districts through 2021, after last year’s U.S. Census showed significant growth and shifts in the population between 2000 and 2010.

Representatives from the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) spoke to members of the Bethany-Fenwick Chamber of Commerce on Nov. 3 about the progress of both the Indian River Inlet Bridge project and the Route 26 Mainline improvements project.