News Briefs 10/20/17
Milton Sustainability Committee to meet
Milton Sustainability Committee will meet at 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 24, at the Milton library to discuss a sustainability planning grant and other business items. For more information or a full agenda, go to www.milton.delaware.gov or call 302-684-4110.
Milton Board of Adjustment to meet
Milton Board of Adjustment will meet at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 24, at the Milton library to review a request for a variance for a property at 504 Chestnut St. For more information or a full agenda, go to www.milton.delaware.gov or call 302-684-4110.
Compass Point gets Sussex approval
The Compass Point subdivision has received preliminary approval from the Sussex County Planning and Zoning Commission. At its Oct. 12 meeting, commissioners voted 5-0 in favor of the plan presented by developers Samuel L. Brenner, trustee, and John David Vincent.
The cluster subdivision will contain 277 single-family lots on 135 acres with access to Sweetbriar and Hudson roads between Lewes and Milton.
Commissioner Keller Hopkins said cluster subdivisions with superior design are permitted uses in AR-1, agricultural-residential, zoning with an environmentally sensitive development district overlay. The project will have 66 acres of open space and be served by central water and sewer service. Among conditions placed on the project, Hopkins said, as many trees as possible must be saved, a vegetated buffer of at least 20 feet must surround the perimeter of the property and sidewalks must be on both sides of all internal streets. Trails are also proposed to connect with the community's clubhouse.
Subdivisions are reviewed only by the planning and zoning commission and not county council.
Lewes Parks and Rec meeting set Oct. 23
The Lewes Parks and Recreation Commission will meet at 7 p.m., Monday, Oct. 23, at city hall. The group will discuss 2018 events in Canalfront Park, review draft specifications for lawn and landscape maintenance in parks for fiscal years 2019-22, and review draft tree maintenance contract specifications. For more information, call city hall at 302-645-7777.
Rezoning request sent to Lewes planners
Lewes Mayor and City Council forwarded a rezoning request from Ocean Atlantic Companies and Vantage Point Retirement Services LLC to change a 16.45-acre parcel from residential to community facilities health care and limited commercial to the city's planning commission Oct. 16. Preston Schell, president of OA Companies, said in a previous interview that the intention is to build a senior-living facility and two medical offices on the piece of property that stretches between Kings Highway and Savannah Road. Kay Carnahan, chair of the planning commission, said she expects the request to appear on the agenda.
Bill improves cancer patient care
Thanks to a bill signed into law Sept. 20 by Gov. John Carney, Delawareans diagnosed with advanced, metastatic cancer will no longer be forced to first fail a series of treatments before getting approved for cutting-edge therapies.
Introduced in March by House Majority Leader Valerie Longhurst, D-Bear, House Bill 120 says insurance companies offering health plans covering treatments for advanced, metastatic cancer or other forms of cancer where the drug is supported by national guidelines or standards would not be able to limit or exclude treatments for patients if the treatments have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and are consistent with best practices for cancer treatment.
HB 120, the Jimmy Carter Cancer Bill, was inspired by President Carter, who was deemed cancer-free after an immunotherapy called Keytruda shrunk his metastatic melanoma tumors. Similar legislation recently passed overwhelmingly in Georgia, and measures have been introduced in Connecticut and Maryland.
Sussex council awards grants to nonprofits
At its Sept. 18 meeting, Sussex County Council awarded the following councilmanic grants: $2,000 to Laurel Fire Department for a trailer; $3,000 to Laurel American Legion Post 19 to support its annual Veterans Day parade; $1,500 to Village Improvement Association in Rehoboth Beach to help fund an archives project; $1,500 to Nanticoke River Arts in Seaford for operating expenses; $1,600 to Georgetown Fire Company for a trailer; and $1,000 to Delmar Public Library to support its capital campaign. Council also awarded a youth grant of $2,000 to Clothing Our Kids to buy clothes for at-risk youth.
Law increases availability of naloxone
A bill expanding community access to naloxone, an antidote to opioid overdoses, was signed into law July 20 by Gov. John Carney. Senate Bill 48 permits pharmacists to dispense naloxone without an individual prescription under the same legal protections afforded to doctors, peace officers, and people who participate in the Community-Based Naloxone Access Program.
The antidote will be available at the pharmacy counter in participating pharmacies to anyone who is educated on its appropriate use and signs an acknowledgement form. The law ensures pharmacists can dispense naloxone responsibly without legal, criminal, or disciplinary adverse actions due to injuries or death sustained in connection with administering the drug. According to a press release from the governor's office, Naloxone was administered in Delaware 1,535 times in 2016 and 866 times in the first half of 2017.
In 2016, 308 people died from overdoses in Delaware, compared to 228 overdose deaths reported in 2015. Through mid-July of this year, there have been 121 suspected overdose deaths. For more information on administering naloxone, accessing treatment resources in Delaware, or to learn about the signs of addiction, go to Help is Here at www.HelpIsHereDE.com.
