Dagsboro News

Picture the Baltimore/Washington area during 1970’s. America is in the middle of the Vietnam War. The social progressive ideals of the late ’60s continue to grow in the public mind. The feminist movement is at large, and pop culture glamorizes sex, drugs and rock-and-roll.

An unnamed storm that lashed the area with high winds and heavy rain late last week caused significant beach erosion and flooding along the Delaware coast and inland bays. The late-September storm, despite falling during hurricane season and exhibiting counterclockwise rotation, was not classified as a tropical system but as simply a low-pressure system and therefore was not named.

The Board of Directors for the Center for Inland Bays bypassed a resolution put forth by the Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) on Tuesday, Sept. 23, and instead passed a different motion, with a vote of 3-2.

Gov. Ruth Ann Minner, Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) Secretary Carolann Wicks, state and local officials, residents and others were on hand at a Sept. 17 event to unveil the design for a new bridge over the Indian River Inlet and present the selected design/build team — Skanska USA Civil Southeast — to the public.

Denise Curtis and her husband wanted to try something different when they moved to Delaware. Their children had attended public school in Montgomery County, Md., and although that public school system is noted as one of the best in the country and was part of the reason they had settled where they did, when they moved full-time to Delaware, they were ready to try something new.

The Sussex County Emergency Operations Center mid-week was monitoring a developing storm system off the eastern United States that threatened to bring heavy rain, gusty winds, and prolonged higher-than-normal tides to the region for the next several days.

On Wednesday, Sept. 17, many area professionals and residents had their questions (and prayers) answered as state and local officials unveiled the new plans for the long-anticipated Indian River Inlet Bridge project.

For Kay Ryan, running for representative for the state’s 38th District will be like an extension of the last seven years of her life before her retirement.

It’s hard to miss the Little Red School House, complete with an antique school bell on top, on Bayard Road. The building, which blends in with the scenery and looks as if it were an actual restored school house, was, in fact, built just 20 years ago by owner/teacher “Miss Debbie” Jahnigen and her family.

By popular demand, Old World Breads is now available at Good Earth Market in Clarksville. On Fridays and Saturdays, Steve Kogler’s Old World Breads, famously known and sought-after at the area farmers’ markets — especially for the cinnamon shorties — will be sold at Good Earth on Route 26.

Update, Sept. 6, 7:14 p.m. -- With Tropical Storm Hanna clear of the Delmarva Peninsula as late afternoon and evening arrived on Saturday, residents and visitors alike turned out by the dozens to check out the storm-tossed waves of the Atlantic and see what, if any, damage had been left in the storm's wake. By and large, the answer to that question was none -- a puddle here, a pile of pinecones and twigs there, and mild to moderate erosion to the front sections of the area's reconstructed beaches.

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.

For Zachary Smith, 27, of Dagsboro, riding a motorcycle just once was all it took for him to be hooked.

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.

The Delaware State Police announced Tuesday, Sept. 2, that they are seeking the public’s assistance in locating a Millville man who is wanted in connection to a residential burglary that occurred on July 28.

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.

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.

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.

Though some local residents are concerned about potentially toxic organisms in the water, last week’s hot, sunny weather is considered a likely culprit in the fish kill that left approximately 30,000 juvenile Atlantic menhaden dead in Dirickson Creek near Old Mill Bridge Road between Sunday, June 15, and Thursday, June 19.

UPDATED: A paramedic and her patient were killed in a single-vehicle crash on Route 24 near Rehoboth Beach in the early hours of Tuesday morning, June 17, after the ambulance swerved to avoid a deer.

Contractors for a Cause and the Justin W. Jennings Foundation will welcome summer with a sold-out crowd at their 4th annual Gala and Auction on Friday, June 20, at 7 p.m. at Cripple Creek Golf and Country Club in Dagsboro. The fundraiser is aimed at helping to build Justin’s Beach House, which will be made available to families affected by cancer.

At a May 29 hearing, the public had a chance to hear about the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control’s (DNREC’s) proposed plan for remedial action for the Burton’s Island Ash Landfill in Millsboro, where ash from the Indian River Power Plant was disposed for many years.

It’s strawberry season on Delmarva, and if you blink, it’ll be over.