Ocean View News

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.

The Ocean View Planning & Zoning Commission this week unanimously approved the final site plan for the town’s future public works building.

John Murray of Kercher Engineering presented the design to the commission, noting that the proposed 3,500-square-foot building includes three bays, two of which open straight through.

Members of the Ocean View Historical Society were in Dover last week to present the Tunnell-West House, formerly known as the Shores House, to the State Review Board for Historic Preservation, in the hopes of being added to the National Register of Historic Places.

The Café on 26 in Ocean View has undergone a few changes. One of the former owners, Cathy Berzins, has struck out on her own to develop her own line of gluten-free food products. Maria Fraser is now sole proprietor and has promoted Jason Bostaph to executive chef.

The Ocean View Town Council held the first reading of an ordinance to repeal the existing zoning map and then enact a new map, in accordance with the town’s adopted 2010 Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP).

The first wealth is health.

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

The arrival of January brought a new year – and a visit from the stork – to Shannon Pershing and Kevin Kovach of Ocean View. Their new son, Cody Thomas Pershing, was the first baby born at Beebe Medical Center in 2012.

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. 
 

Delaware State Police and officers from the Ocean View Police Department this week arrested two Ocean View-area residents in connection with a string of armed robberies at businesses throughout the area.

After 34 years of service to the Town of Ocean View, Tax Receiver Betty Jane “B.J.” Keen is retiring from her position.

The residents of Foxwood in Ocean View recently voiced their frustration with the town’s lack of notification to their development regarding the 2010 Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP).

Delaware State Police troopers are investigating the armed robbery of Holts Liquors located on Route 26 on Friday evening.
 

A repeal of the censure against former Ocean View councilman Bill Wichmann was passed unanimously last week by the current town council, but rather than ending the long-running controversy, the vote seems to have ensured that the censure and the issues surrounding it would continue to be discussed this week.

The Ocean View Board of Adjustment voted unanimously this week to approve a variance request from Mariner’s Bethel United Methodist Church seeking to “replace an existing sign to complement the structure by incorporating a number of permissible signs into a single-sided sign of approximately 70 square feet.”

The search committee seeking a new manager for the Town of Ocean View has continued to meet weekly to discuss the committee’s procedures in reviewing prospective applicants following the Nov. 8 unanimous council vote to terminate former town manager Conway Gregory’s employment contract three months early.

The Ocean View Town Council voted unanimously Dec. 13 to repeal the censure of former town councilman Bill Wichmann.

Bethany Beach officials on Dec. 15 announced the results, to date, from a survey the Town sent out to its citizens on Nov. 9 regarding support and opposition to the proposed Assawoman Canal Trail project, which would run along the Assawoman Canal, partly inside town limits.

The Town of Ocean View will hold the 28th Annual Carols in the Park on Friday, Dec. 9, beginning at 7 p.m.

On Monday, Dec. 19, Mariner’s Bethel United Methodist Church will hold its Ninth Annual Live Nativity.

Decorating around the holidays has become a tradition, synonymous with the Christmas season, from lights and garland and stockings on the mantle to the iconic evergreen that seems to flood a room with holiday cheer. But for many, including Craig Thomas, it was the decor below the tree that resonated the spirit of Christmas.

The Ocean View Search Committee met on Nov. 28 to discuss the advertisement and the receipt of résumés for the town manager position.

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

The Ocean View Search Committee met on Nov. 18 to discuss possible motions on the Town’s management structure, as well as job descriptions and salary options for the town manager and finance director.

The Kool Bean Bistro in Ocean View hosted a daylong fundraiser for Lord Baltimore Women’s Club on Nov. 11. Money raised from an auction and 50/50 drawing, as well as a percentage of all restaurant sales that day, helped the group raise nearly $750. All the proceeds will benefit the Women’s Club’s educational projects, such as scholarships for local students and activities at nearby elementary schools.

Following the announcement on Nov. 8 that the Ocean View Town Council had voted unanimously to immediately terminate outgoing Town Manager Conway Gregory’s employment contract with the town, without cause, the council appointed Finance Director Lee Brubaker to serve as acting town manager.