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News Briefs 01/19/18

January 19, 2018

Ennis pool still closed after malfunction
The pool at Howard T. Ennis school remains closed after a mechanical failure Jan. 10, but classes at the school have resumed. A failure in the mechanical system of the Lorraine Wray Aquatic Center in the Ennis school was reported Jan. 10 after a strong smell of chlorine was detected throughout the building, said David Maull, spokesman for the Indian River School District. "It wasn't a safe condition for students so we decided to close," he said. "That gave us the long weekend to work on it."

Classes at Ennis were closed Jan. 10 and 11 while workers sealed off the pool ventilation system from the rest of the building, he said. Classes resumed Jan. 16. The pool remains closed to the public and to students with moderate-to-severe disabilities who use the facility for exercise.

High school swim teams are also using other pools for swim practice and meets. Indian River High School is using a pool at Sea Colony for its swim team, and Sussex Central is using the pool at Sussex Academy.

Lewes BPW explains water main break
Most Lewes residents woke up to no water service Friday, Jan. 12. That's because the Board of Public Works had to shut down the entire system due to a broken water pipe in the ground at Savannah Road and Front Street. BPW General Manager Darrin Gordon said crews from George & Lynch had just finished paving the intersection after a weeklong project in the ground when the pipe broke. "We attempted to isolate the break and we were not able to," Gordon said. "We had to make the decision at 3:30 a.m. to shut down the town."

The BPW notified Beebe Healthcare, the fire department and sent out an email to customers about the situation. A second break occurred in the same area shortly after, but crews were able to isolate it and only three customers were affected. Gordon said he is confident George & Lynch workers did not cause the break. Water was restored about 7 a.m., but residents were advised not to drink the water until it was tested by the state. If residents did not receive an email about the incident, Gordon encourages them to sign up for emails at www.lewesbpw.delaware.gov or by calling the BPW office at 302-645-6228.

Dewey to begin town manager interviews
The Dewey Beach Town Manager Search Committee is scheduled to begin interviewing town manager candidates at 9 a.m., Saturday, Jan. 20, in the Dewey Beach Life Saving Station, 1 Dagsworthy Ave. An agenda for the committee meeting calls for a review of the Dec. 18 minutes and then the convening of an executive session for the interviews.

Five Points group meets Jan. 22
The Five Points Working Group will meet for the second time at 6 p.m., Monday, Jan. 22, at the Virden Center on the campus of the University of Delaware's College of Earth, Ocean and Environment in Lewes. The group will receive technical presentations about past studies, traffic safety and congestion, land-use trends, walking and biking, and current DelDOT projects. Public comment will be available at the end of the meeting.

Rehoboth streets committee to meet
The Rehoboth Beach Streets and Transportation Committee will meet at 11:30 a.m., Friday, Jan. 19, in the city commissioners' room to discuss plans for the Junction and Breakwater Trail. Delaware Department of Transportation is updating plans to expand the trail into Rehoboth, and the committee will discuss its role in the project going forward. The committee will discuss issues related to wheeled transportation and determine issues pertinent to the committee. Finally, the committee will discuss signage plans.

Rehoboth to hold special meeting Jan. 19
The Rehoboth Beach commissioners will hold a special meeting at 9 a.m., Friday, Jan. 19, in the city commissioners' room, to discuss legal matters. The meeting will consist of an executive session discussing litigation in three court cases.

Rehoboth Boardwalk committee to meet
The Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk and Beach Committee will meet at 9 a.m., Monday, Jan. 22, in the city commissioners' room, to discuss the committee's role moving forward. They will discuss the history of the Boardwalk, and introduce agenda topics and priority topics such as trash collection and maintenance.

Rehoboth Beach commissioners to meet
The Rehoboth Beach commissioners will meet at 7 p.m., Friday, Jan. 19, in the city commissioners' room to swear in Alderman's Court Judge Renee Bennett for another two-year term as the city's alderman. The commissioners will discuss financial updates on City Hall and the ocean outfall projects. Reports will be given by the Bandstand/Convention Hall/Special Event Committee, the Law Oversight Committee, and the Boardwalk and Beach Committee.

Sussex Sports Center Foundation on agenda
Sussex County Council will meet at 10 a.m., Tuesday, Jan. 23, in the county administration building, 2 The Circle, Georgetown. Included on the agenda are discussions on a possible memorandum of understanding with Sussex Sports Center Foundation, and emergency shelter funding.

The following public hearings start at 1:30 p.m.: Dale Lomas/Seashore Highway Associates LLC has filed an application to rezone a four-acre parcel along Route 9 west of Lewes from AR-1 to CR-1; and Softball World LLC has filed an application to rezone an eight-acre parcel along Route 9 east of Georgetown from AR-1 to CR-1. Public records on the applications are available from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday, in the county's planning and zoning office. A complete county council agenda is available at www.sussexcountyde.gov.

CARC/HPC committee meets Jan. 22
The committee charged with combining the commercial architectural review commission and the historic preservation commission will meet at 9:30 a.m., Monday, Jan. 22, at city hall. The group will begin to discuss the approach to consolidating the committees into one, including a new ordinance to cover both committees' regulations. No public comment will be accepted at this time. For more information, call city hall at 302-645-7777.

Lewes parks and rec meets Jan. 22
The Lewes Parks and Recreation Commission will meet at 7 p.m., Monday, Jan. 22, at city hall. The group will discuss budget items for the upcoming fiscal year 2019. Commissioners will also discuss a request for proposals for tree maintenance. For details, call 302-645-7777.

Lewes drawbridge inspection Jan. 23
The Lewes drawbridge over the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal will be inspected from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 23, pending weather. The Department of Transportation anticipates brief delays for the inspection of the bridge bearings. The bridge will be opening and closing during that time. In the event of inclement weather, the inspection will occur Wednesday, Jan. 24, between the same hours.

Sea level rise topic of Jan. 27 Milton meeting
Sustainable Communities: The Town of Milton and Sea Level Rise Resiliency is the theme at the first Milton Planning and Assessment Project's public workshop for Milton residents, residents of the Milton ZIP code and members of Milton community groups and organizations.

SERCAP and the Town of Milton with the assistance of the Milton Sustainability Committee are undertaking a planning process to enhance the community's resiliency and sustainability in the face of changing environmental and economic conditions.
Philip Barnes, faculty at the University of Delaware School of Public Policy & Administration, College of Arts & Sciences, Institute for Public Administration is the workshop presenter and facilitator Saturday, Jan. 27, with 9:30 a.m. check-in time.

Register through Eventbrite because seating will be limited and number of participants is critical: www.eventbrite.com/e/sustainable-communities-the-town-of-milton-and-sea-.... For more information, contact Gayle Hoffman, SERCAP, at ghoffman@sercap.org or Green.milton.de@gmail.com.

Lewes Greenways Committee to meet
Lewes Greenways & Trails Committee will meet Saturday, Jan. 20, at 9 a.m., in the Rollins Center Meeting Room.
The agenda includes:
• Review & discussion of the Greenways Master Plan
• Presentation on the Natural History of the Monarch Butterfly by Michael McFarlin.
The briefing that McFarlin will be presenting is one that he developed that shows the migration routes, life cycle and habitat necessary for the migrating monarch to continue to exist in today's demanding world. Since the study of monarchs began, the monarch population has dropped from billions to a population of millions. Something needs to be done now.

Sussex Republican Women to meet Jan. 24
The next meeting of Sussex County Republican Women will be Wednesday, Jan. 24, at Kings Creek Country Club in Rehoboth Beach beginning at 11 a.m. The focus of the meeting will be the installation of the new officers by state Rep. Ruth Briggs King. They were elected in November to serve in 2018-19. The cost of the luncheon is $25 per person. For required reservations contact Carole Andrejko – ccandrejko@aol.com or 302-945-8737.

38th District Republicans to meet
Delaware state representative candidate Erin Wienner is the guest speaker at the 38th District Republican Club PAC meeting set for Monday, Jan. 22, 6:30 p.m., at the South Coastal Library, 43 Kent Ave., Bethany Beach. While candidate Wienner resides in New Castle County and will be representing the 10th District in Delaware, she has expressed some solid goals she will work to achieve which concern all districts in Delaware. The top three are revising the failing educational system, being proactive in curtailing the rising costs that are affecting job creation, and the opioid crisis.

Two 38th District members, Rep. Ron Gray and Sen. Gerald Hocker, will give their regularly scheduled report to members and attending guests regarding latest issues on the state Legislature calendar. For details contact Drew Sunderlin, 38thdrcp@gmail.com.

 

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