“I am extremely pleased and very proud. They have been a tremendous help to the town,” he said.

Crump and McGlotten smiled bashfully. Both said it’s been a good summer.

“We learn something new every day,” said Crump, a Lincoln resident and rising junior at Cape Henlopen High School. He shared the story of how he and McGlotten learned to install crosswalk signs on the Route 1 median – with difficulty. But soon, the pair found a way to get the signs up quickly and easily.

“Definitely a new task every day,” said McGlotten, a Seaford resident who graduated from high school several years ago. “But it gets done.”

Crump and McGlotten came to Dewey with Delmarva Clergy United in Social Action’s Summer Youth Program. Based in Ellendale, Delmarva Clergy was the only organization in Sussex County to receive money through the Department of Labor, a stimulus grant totaling $384,000. Worksite coordinator Terry Neal said Delmarva Clergy has been able to employ more than 200 young people throughout the county.

Worksites are selected through an application process, Neal said, and are required to treat Delmarva Clergy’s workers as employees, not children.

“We want them to work – it’s not free money,” Neal said. “There’s labor involved.” Youth program participants work 24 hours a week, but no more than 240 hours between June and August.

Huffman said he’s pleased to see Crump and McGlotten get the recognition they deserve. Before they came to Dewey, he said, he was solely responsible for Dewey’s upkeep. On occasion, Dewey resident Larry Tush helped out.

“It’s a lot of work for one person,” said Crump.

“I lost 10 pounds this summer,” Huffman said.

Crump laughed. “I gained it,” he said. “I go home, and all I do is eat.”