Archive for the 'Development' Category

THE GREAT BIG CAPE HENLOPEN SCHOOL BOARD ROUND UP NEW AND IMPROVED WITH MORE WATER AND LESS STAFF

Friday, April 11th, 2008

THE TOWNSEND VILLAGE CENTRE FLARES UP AGAIN
  


The Townsend Village Center, a proposed commercial and residential development that would sit across the street from Cape Henlopen High School, was addressed again last night at the Cape Henlopen School Board meeting, but this time not by a board member.


Terry Bartley told the board that choosing to keep the High School in Lewes shouldn’t mean the Board can’t get involved in the issue.  AUDIO


The proposed development was unanimously shot down by Lewes Planning and Zoning recently, but The Sussex County Council still has the authority (but hopefully not the audacity) to approve it.      


 SHARON DAVIS TELLS IT LIKE IT IS, WAS AND WILL BE
 


Milton Mom Sharon Davis, addressed the Cape School Board Thursday night to stress “fiscal prudence in the current environment,”  AUDIO, among other things:



“The budget that has been presented to you paints a picture of financial health that might tend to bolster confidence in committing to spending as it recommends. After all, it increases expenditures in a number of significant and necessary programs, and still results in an overall surplus. But, knowing what we know about the financial health of this State and not yet knowing fully what the fiscal health of the county may be, does it make sense for you, as those responsible for the fiscal well-being of this district, to simply pass this budget and wait to see what happens next year.” - Sharon Davis  


Mrs Davis went on to urge the Board to “NOT vote on this budget tonight.” The budget was ultimately tabled due to typographical errors, like it had no money budgeted for the library at Milton Elementary School. Whoops! 


 OUCH!
 The State of Delaware wants 10% back from all over the state, and that includes Delaware’s schools. Where will it come from in Cape?  
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Yeah, that says “REDUCTION IN FORCE OF 37 UNITS” which translates into teachers, teachers assistants and paraprofessionals. THAT translates into larger class size.       


THE GREAT BIG  ”SO YOU WANT TO BE A SCHOOL DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT” ESSAY QUESTION OF THE DAY



If you’re the Superintendent in a Sussex County School District, and your every budgetary move is being micro-analyzed by a group of parents who are angry that you balanced the budget by not replacing teachers and increasing class size, how do you walk into a School Board Meeting and announce that you may have to cut staff (i.e. around 37 teachers, teaching assistants and paraprofessionals), in one breath, and then announce that the pool that got shot down in a referendum and a second athletic field for the new High School are back on the table in the next breath? 


 DIFFERENT POTS, SAME “I JUST GOT POKED IN THE EYEBALL” FEELING FOR WORRIED CAPE PARENTS



Even though it was shot down by a District wide referendum, the swimming pool for the new Cape Henlopen High School may be back on the table because of a chunky windfall:      


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So, the money may be there for a pool and a second athletic field for the High School. The other possibility mentioned for the windfall, is giving the extra money back to the School District tax payers, but it’s clear which way District Superintendent George Stone wants to go.  AUDIO 


What the parents attending the meeting wanted, was for the money to be spent on extravagances like more teachers and books and teaching supplies, and, yes, those parents “get” that you can’t take money from one pot and put it into another, but it doesn’t make it any better when you’re worrying about already increased class sizes getting increasier. (See how important a good education is!)


These were the questions people were asking today: Can the money be redirected by another referendum to education instead? What would a referendum cost?  Is Dr. Stone right and this is a great chance to bring some good facilities to the district?


More to come…       

Delmarva Power Releases Land Based Wind Reportish

Wednesday, April 9th, 2008

Just last week Delmarva Power said it wasn’t going to release “preliminary numbers” on purching land based wind power, which lead to this juicy fun:

Cathcart and Rep. Robert Valihura, R-Beau Tree, said senior Delmarva officials and their lobbyist, Joe Farley, met with the House Republican caucus shortly before the break. Both lawmakers said they heard Delmarva representatives promise them cost estimates for onshore wind bids, which they could compare to Bluewater prices, by the time they return next week.    

But Delmarva spokesman Bill Yingling said the company never made such a promise. He said the company only said it would have preliminary numbers by the end of March, and those numbers would not be released.

“Representative Valihura must have misunderstood our statements,” Yingling said.

In reaction, Valihura said, “That’s just a flat-out lie.” And Cathcart added. “If they’re telling you they did not say that, they’re not telling you the truth.”

Yesterday, Delmarva Power released “final” numbers on purchasing land based wind power. You can read what the summary says HERE.  Let’s just say it’s a little short on information.

Does Anyone Smell A Conflict Of Interest?

Friday, February 15th, 2008

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According to the Jack Lingo Realtor website, board member/realtor Camilla Conlon “specializes in Land Development, Commercial and Residential Sales.” Nothing to see here folks….

Should the Cape Henlopen School Board get involved in the battle to rezone land owned by L.T. Associates that sits directly across from Cape Henlopen High School? The proposed 520,000 square foot Townsend Village Centre will be surrounded by hundreds of homes and has been a hot topic in Lewes, and it came up at last night’s school board meeting.

Dr. Gary Wray talked about the large numbers of e-mails he’s getting about the development and said, “I’ve gotten my door beaten down, too.” While Noble Prettyman, the only board member who attended the town meeting about the development, had traffic and safety concerns and asked what the board’s stand was on the issue.

School board member Camilla Conlon, thought the board should remain “neutral,” and took a very vocal stand on the issue. But there’s only one problem with Conlon’s assessment of the situation, she works for Jack Lingo Realty, which coincidentally, is what the “L” in “L.T. Associates” stands for….

“I’ve seen a lot of the e-mails, but I believe that when we chose to keep our school in that location, we already knew about the development anticipated for Gills Neck Road…

Frankly it will bring a lot of tax dollars here if you want to start talking about the pros and the cons, there are some upsides for our district. Shopping centers bring a lot of money and no students. So, you know, I really think we should be neutral…in my opinion as a board of education we’re in the education business not the development business….

Clearly whatever they do with that intersection is going to have the safety of our students at the heart of it…Nobody that works for Deldot is not going to be thinking about the safety of our students, when they design that, and we’re going to be part of the design, you know, we’re paying for part of it and we knew that…from the get-start. So…my opinion is that we should be neutral on this because we’re not in the development business.” - Cape Henlopen School Board Member/Jack Lingo Real Estate Agent Camilla Conlon FULL AUDIO OF CONLON’S COMMENTS

Well, the board may not be “in the development business,” but Conlon sure is, and she works for the company that’s doing the developing. (And please, relying on Deldot to keep our children safe? Think about how funny that statement is the next time you drive over the Indian River Inlet Bridge).

Frankly, even though the majority of the board agreed that they should remain neutral on the development, Conlon should have removed herself from the entire discussion. But hey, if County Councilman Lynn Rogers who stands to make a bundle for his sign business off of the development isn’t recusing himself, why would Conlon? Ethics schmethics, this is Sussex County.

Sussex County Hospitals Overtaxed

Friday, February 1st, 2008

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The intersection where an SUV collided with an ambulance.

I received an e-mail tonight from Judson Bennett and his Coastal Conservative Network that contains an all too familiar description of someone being hospitalized at Beebe Hospital in Lewes:

A friend of mine called me this a.m. and informed me that he had been hospitalized at Beebe yesterday, What was very interesting about the discussion I had with him was:
(a) for lack of any hospital rooms, he had been placed in a single room with six other patents;
(b) he noticed that other patients (not as fortunate as he) had been placed on stretchers up and down the corridors;
(c) a situation he thought Beebe was over-saturated with patients, lacked adequate in-patient facilities and, as well, was under-staffed.

Exactly. But let’s be honest, the problems go way beyond just overcrowding. Back in October, Dr. J. Ludwicki, a pediatrician who practices in Lewes and Milton, expressed his frustration over the way Sussex County newborns in distress sometimes wait 4 or more hours to get transfered to Christiana Hospital in New Castle County to receive critical life saving treatments. Most of the people I speak with in Sussex have no idea this situation even exists until something goes desperately wrong when someone around them gives birth.

As it stands now, if you have a baby in one of the County’s three hospitals and there’s a problem, you have to wait for the state’s only transport team, located at the Christiana Hospital, to come and take your baby to a higher level of emergency care. That would be either Kent General in Dover, a Level 2 facility, or Christiana, a Level 3 facility. The wait can take hours and hours….

And yes, the state has only one transport team. One. And that team could be in New Jersey transporting a baby when a baby with serious health issues is born here in Sussex. The team does have access to a helicopter, but a number of weather factors and the cost make the ambulance trip the more usual method.

Just last week I covered the terrible story of a Sussex County paramedic and two Millsboro EMTs who were stopped at an intersection off of Rt. 5 when their ambulance was hammered by an SUV. The SUV driver was dead at the scene. One of the EMTs, despite his injuries, dragged his damaged body to the side of the paramedic who had been ejected from the rear of the ambulance, and with the help of the other EMT, kept him alive until an ambulance arrived, then passed out.

Two members of the ambulance crew were in very serious condition and had to be flown to Christiana Hospital, the closest Level 1 trauma center, for critical lifesaving treatment. None of the hospitals in Sussex are over Level 3. Kent General in Dover is Level 2. It’s the same as the neonatal situation. Thankfully, the crew is home and on the mend.

And in Sussex we all know not to have a life threatening medical emergency on a Friday afternoon in August on the east side of the County. I can’t help wondering what effect the Townsend Village Centre, which will sit on one of the two main roads into Lewes, will have on the already stressed roadways around Beebe Hospital.

There’s a huge healthcare problem brewing in Sussex County, and something needs to be done about it now.

Breaking Wind

Tuesday, January 8th, 2008

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The background:

On April 6, 2006, House Bill 6 did something amazing, it passed the Delaware State House (34 - 4), and the Senate (15 - 4), and it was signed into law by the Governor, all on that day. The Bill was the General ASSembly’s reaction to a harsh rate spike for Delmarva Power and Light customers, and it started the process for Delaware’s first “cost-effective” utility:

To stabilize long-term pricing in the DP&L service territory, the Act provides for a request for proposals through a competitive process to build cost-effective merchant generation in the State, to be utilized to serve some of the load requirements of DP&L.

When the process was complete, the primary spot was filled by the country’s first off shore wind project, submitted by Bluewater Wind, with a back-up gas plant that would be built by either NRG Energy, (The company that bought the embattled Indian River Power Plant, Delaware’s worst polluter, from Delmarva Power and Light) or Conectiv, (Sister company to Delmarva Power and Light).

(Holy incest, Batman, could that be the reason why Delmarva Power and Light is fighting the wind project…it’s not being built by someone they’re in bed with? Hmmmm…and could that be why DP & L’s President, Gary Stockbridge, wanted to reopen the bidding process after Bluewater was chosen so other companies, like maybe Conectiv, could simply swipe Bluewater’s idea and propose their own wind farm?)

Delmarva Power and Light resisted negotiating, and at one point, the Delaware Public Service Commission deemed the project “not in the public interest” because of pricing issues. But on December 14th, after months of negotiations and Bluewater Wind cutting their price by digging into their profits, the Public Service Commission gave the project a thumbs up:

“Bluewater’s project is a cost-effective mechanism that takes control of Delaware’s energy needs and provides a price hedge against the unpredictable and volatile movement of the PJM market,” the staff wrote in the report.

But despite the PSC’s recommendation, on December 18th our General ASSembly, represented by Russ Larson, tabled the project, citing questions about which Delaware energy customers would pay for the project. HB 6 applied the cost to DP & L’s residential and small business customers, and the PSC could have, without the intervention of the legislature, spread those costs to Delmarva’s large business customers, too, significantly reducing the price.

The wrench in the works was thrown in by a handful of legislators, unknown until just this week, who questioned spreading the cost to all Delaware energy users, including Delaware Electric Cooperative customers. (Is this where I’m supposed to act stupid and think that this group of legislators were oblivious to this entire issue until the day before the final decision was going to be made? It was part of HB 6. Good grief).

So basically the Delaware General ASSembly, the body that passed HB 6 in one day because it was so important, is stalling the process over an issue that’s clearly spelled out in their own legislation, causing Delawareans who have followed the process to roll their eyes so much that the friction is causing the current warm spell.

The interview with Pete Schwartzkopf:

To gain some kind of insight into what happened, last week I spoke with Representative Pete Schwartzkopf, whose 14th District would be the most impacted by the project. Schwartzkopf supports the project, citing, among other things price stability:

“They can tell you on day one and they can tell you on day 3005 what you’re going to pay for power.”

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And the creation of new jobs:

“A lot of jobs would be made, these are things that the leaders of our state should be looking at…” FULL AUDIO

With the proposed wind farm sitting 11.5 miles off the coast of Rehoboth Beach, I wondered what kind of feedback Representative Schwartzkopf was getting from his District:

“I only had one person contact me or give me any negative feedback on the wind farm location. They want the wind, they just didn’t want it off Rehoboth.” FULL AUDIO

A question I often hear from people when discussing the project is why are only DP & L residential and small business customers affected by it? Well, according to Representative Schwartzkopf, it’s partly because Delmarva’s customers were “thoroughly impacted with deregulation” and had to eat a 59% increase. AUDIO There’s also the obvious difference that DP & L is a for profit company while the Delaware Electric Cooperative, Delaware’s other main energy supplier, is non-profit and customer run, and as a non-profit, isn’t under the jurisdiction of the PSC.

Schwartzkopf sent an e-mail to the leadership expressing his disappointment at the project being tabled last month, and asking that they convene a meeting with the independent consultant:

I ask that you join me in requesting the House and Senate leadership to convene a meeting either jointly or separate and allow the independent consultant, not Bluewater Wind or Delmarva or the PSC, to address the many questions that we have followed by an explanation as to what happened leading up to the vote on 12/18/07. If Russ is voting on our behalf, then we need to be fully informed so that we can express our will on our leadership to represent us fairly.

Interestingly, Schwartzkopf told me that no one from the leadership ever asked him if he supported the project or not. The General ASSembly never had a vote on whether or not to table the project on December 18th.

Another issue we discussed was the cost of the project. Contrary to rumor, an extra charge on your bill for wind energy isn’t a given. According to Schwartzkopf, the numbers that we’re hearing attached to the monthly increases are based on, “Today’s prices for coal, and the worst case scenario for wind.” AUDIO

Until I spoke with the Representative, one of my main concerns was that the State would have to absorb the price of the project if it wasn’t completed. That’s not the case. Delawareans aren’t paying for the construction of the wind farm, and if, for any reason, the project is stopped before it’s completed, we won’t pay anything.

“This (the wind farm) is a win, win, win, win all the way around.” AUDIO

Finally, the 14th’s Representative has a message for supporters of the project, “Don’t give up.” AUDIO

We’ll keep you up to date on this issue as it unfolds…AGAIN.

Jud Is Running

Thursday, January 3rd, 2008

You may have heard it unofficially yesterday on some Delaware blogs, or in the News Journal and today it’s apparently more official-ish. “Coastal Conservative,” Judson Bennett, a republican from Lewes, will be running for Sussex County Council.

From Judson Bennett via his “Coastal Conservative Network:”

Press Release:

Retired Delaware River Pilot and former Lewes City Councilman, Judson Bennett, who ran for the 3rd District Sussex County Council Seat in 2004, and lost by only 3 votes to incumbent Lynn Rogers, with 17,500 people voting, has announced he will be running again in 2008. Bennett says, “he felt he had to let his political intentions be known now for the benefit of his many supporters, since he will be away for a significant period of time in March and April.” Bennett has informed all concerned, “that although he and his wife are going to the Florida Keys for a couple of months for a much needed rest and vacation where his wife will be recovering from surgery, he will be prepared to officially announce his candidacy in May, and indeed hit the ground running with a well organized and fully prepared campaign upon his return.”

Bennett is championing HB 239, known as the Adequate Public Facilities Bill, which would, among other things, require developers to ante up for things like future schools and roads.

When I spoke with Bennett this morning, he said that an Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance for Sussex County would be part of his campaign platform, saying, “I prefer county control over state control.”

“I prefer county control over state control.” - Judson Bennett

Bennett will possibly be running against incumbent Milton businessman, Lynn Rogers, who beat Bennett by an amazing three votes in the last election.

2007 In Words And Pictures

Sunday, December 30th, 2007

Every December media outlets recap their favorite and/or biggest stories for the year. In that same tradition, I’ve decided to put up some of my favorite blog pictures of the year and 10 posts I’ve made that I feel changed the course of world history and, of course, saved all of humanity.

My Favorite Pictures of 2007

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A beautiful day at Tower Road.

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A Civil War Reenactment during Milton’s 200th Anniversary.

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Governor Ruth Ann Minner running away from me and out of the Georgia House in Millsboro the night of the 41st District special election.

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Even after his resignation from the State House for ethics issues, John Atkins’ supporters launched a failed write in campaign to send him back to Dover. His campaign signs cropped up all over the 41st.

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The table where Laura Bush ate breakfast at the Royal Treat on Wilmington Avenue in Rehoboth Beach.

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The Cohen brothers, they found the ill fated Rissos dolphin washed up at Tower Road.

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The Rissos dolphin dying on the beach at Tower Road.

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The SINKING South Side approach of the “new” Indian River Inlet bridge and the road it tried to pull down with it.

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John Andretti, I met him. How cool.

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The “Dic Dang” sandwich at the Corner Market Bistro in Milton.

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Lighting the balloons up like lanterns during Milton’s 200th Anniversary celebration.

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Joe Biden talking about Iraq at Browseabout Books on Rehoboth Avenue.

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Jared Morris and Dan Gaffney having fun at the Best of Delaware celebration in Dover. (And yes, Dan always has that light shining above him, it’s the most amazing thing…).

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The French invade Rehoboth Beach.

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Disheveled Barbies from Washington DC spotted loitering on Columbia Avenue after their Dream House furniture was recalled.

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Dr Wray and Stell Parker Selby changing seats at the Cape Henlopen School Board meeting in December after Wray resigned the Presidency.

My Favorite Posts of 2007

# Ten: Your Sussex County Council

# Neuf: The French visit Rehoboth

# Eight: The Atkins Scandal

# Seven: The Indian River Inlet Bridge

# Six: Biden at Browseabout Books

# Five: European Football

# Four: Laura Bush visits Rehoboth Beach

# Three: My interview with John Andretti

# Two: Toy Recalls

# One: The Global Warming

OC Ugly

Saturday, November 24th, 2007

Joni Mitchell sang, “They paved paradise & put up a parking lot”… condo, town house, mini-mall…..    

Yeah – I can play the “I remember when” game when it comes to Delmarva.  I remember when I was a kid when there really wasn’t anything much north of 33 Street except the Carousel Hotel.  I remember when Route 1 in Delaware was pretty much two lanes and bumper to bumper traffic – well some things never change.  But tell me – when did Ocean City turn from a place I used to love to go to as a kid and a teenager – to one pretty ugly town?  

There’s development and then there’s development gone wild.  I know folks in Sussex County say development is out of control, but there are development districts in the county – where development is allowed (like it or not) and other places where there’s no infrastructure to support development – and you can’t develop those areas.  In Ocean City – it seems the entire town is one ginormous development district – and if there’s not the space to build – they’re filling in the bayside wetlands to create more space to pave over!   There’s so little green in Ocean City today – about all that’s left are the ball parks at 3 Street and Northside Park.  Much of the rest of Ocean City today is tar and concrete.       

 

                          
I was watching a DVD recently by an aerial photographer, Jim Whaley.  While his “A Bird’s Eye View” DVD has some spectacular shots of the resort I spent at least part of every summer in since I was a kid – it also made me realize just how “developed” Ocean City has become since I first saw it as a child – and ugly. 

When the condo my parents live in was built in 1975, it was one of the tallest buildings in the lower part of town (basically south of 33 Street).  Height variances had to be obtained to build as high as they did – 11 stories – with a parking garage at the ground level (so 12 stories actually).  There was nothing taller to the south.  Not any more.  While Mayor Cropper dreamed in the 1960s of developing Ocean City to the state line, I don’t know if that dream included what has come to be. 

Some of the ugliness can be attributed to a handful of people – like Buddy Jenkins who started filling in the bayside wetlands to develop 28 Street bayside and gave others the idea to fill in the other bayside wetlands – like Charles Holland – who’s new Sunset Island at 66 Street is one of the ugliest creations I’ve seen.  Those are only 2 examples – there are many.  Of course all that wouldn’t have been possible without the approval being granted for all these projects by the Ocean City planning & zoning commissions and the town councils through the years.

Condo Row in North Ocean City was inevitable, but the bayside was supposed to stay less developed with smaller buildings – like single family homes or town homes.  Even the high density mobile and manufactured home developments like what’s mostly at 94 Street and Montego Bay, while pretty ugly – at least allow for something green – like a lawn.  Not multi-level monstrosities like Rivendell at 81 Street.  A high rise condo on the bayside that was, oops, built taller than what was approved, but the town council has not said – “oh well – it’s already there, so it can stay.  Besides they’re going to pave the sidewalks and powerwash the neighboring buildings as a consequence for being too tall.” 

Right now the centerpiece in the current crop of OC ugly is the monstrosity that’s being erected at 48 Street and the ocean.  The Gateway Grand - a 16-story, 196-unit, oceanfront luxury condominium.  What was wrong with the old Gateway?   Oh – I get it – a motel just doesn’t generate the revenue that these condos will bring in - prices range from $1,000,000 to $2,000,000+.  Just how many Bill Gates and Warren Buffetts do they expect to be moving to town?  The Gateway Grand is just too – everything.  Too big, too tall, too out of scale to the rest of the area and too UGLY (of course that’s totally my opinion). 

Of course it also brings up the questions everyone asks – there’s someplace to house all these folks – but there’s no place for them to go.  Coastal Highway can’t handle the traffic, there’s no where to shop because they’re closing many of the stores to build more housing (45 Street Village), grocery stores are far and few between.   And you just can’t have EVERYONE in town head to the second main attraction in town – the Boardwalk – all those people & their cars just won’t fit.  You just can’t pour a gallon of water into a pint bottle.

At the rate that Ocean City is being developed – both up and out, it’s a wonder they haven’t decided to just fill in the bay and become one with Bishopville, Ocean Pines and Berlin.

I think I’ll stay in Delaware – compared to Ocean City – even eastern Sussex County is the wilderness!

Photo credits - Jim Whaley’s “A Bird’s Eye View” DVD and the GatewayGrand.com

Bluewater Wind on WGMD Radio

Tuesday, November 13th, 2007

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Wednesday night, November 14th, Jim Lanard, Director of Strategic Planning and Communications for Bluewater Wind, will be on WGMD Radio live with wide open phone lines to answer your questions about their proposed wind farm from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m..

If you can’t call in, you can put your questions right in the comment section below, or you can e-mail your questions to maria@wgmd.com.

Think your questions through, because I’ll ask them the way you write them, my goal is for every question to be from you….

The Cape Henlopen School Board Meeting Round-Up

Saturday, October 27th, 2007

All of your Cape School Board coverage located in one convenient, easy to swallow blog post!

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Superintendent George Stone and School Board President Dr. Wray.

It’s so hard to decide where to start with Thursday night’s meeting…but let’s start with the fun stuff….

DEVELOPER DONATES LAND TO THE DISTRICT WITH A TWIST

A few meetings ago, board member Noble Prettyman thrilled his fellow board members and the audience of teachers, administrators, parents and press with the announcement that developer Darin Lockwood was donating 30 acres of land to Cape that butts up to H.O. Brittingham Elementary School in beautiful Milton, Delaware.

At Thursday night’s meeting, Dr. Wray asked the board if anyone had heard from Lockwood about the 30 acres and the answer was, “We haven’t heard a word back.” Well, Georgia Leonhart from the Cape Gazette had a smile on her face because she knew that developer Darin Lockwood didn’t own the land he so generously donated:

Lockwood does not yet, and may never, own the 30 acres.

“He [Lockwood] doesn’t own the land, I can tell you that; in no way, shape or form,” said Gerald Reynolds, who added that he owns the land with his brother-in-law, Willard Workman.

Lockwood also doesn’t own an additional 107 acres proposed to be included in Elizabethtown, effectively putting development of the high-density residential community on the back burner, said a Realtor representing the owners of the property.

You’ve gotta love it.

MILTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL BRICK DEBACLE WILL STAND AS A MONUMENT TO THE BOARD’S INABILITY TO MANAGE STUFF

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The white brick addition to Milton Elementary School. It looks better now, the fences are out and there are shrubs planted in front of it.

Throwing a bone to tired and worried Milton Elementary School parents, the board voted to not mess with the color of the bricks on the new addition to the school. Parent Sharon Davis, who made a plea last month to leave the bricks alone and let the kids move into the space and start learning, made her case again to the board at the beginning of the meeting:

“What you have in front of you is a list of items that are still desperately needed in each of the new classrooms to enhance the comfort and educational experience of every child. Unfortunately, if the decision is made tonight to spend additional monies to replace the brick on the outside, these items will not be able to be purchased.

The white brick on the outside of the addition is a “decorating mistake,” one that was approved by the School Board at the implementation of the project. That was the time to make color changes; not now when the school budget is suffering, and these items are still needed to complete new classrooms INSIDE.” - Parent Sharon Davis

Some of the items on the list were bookcases, area carpets, and cork strips to hang the Sound Spelling Cards from.

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Little brick section in front of the elementary school where someone tested some kind of fix other than tearing the bricks down.

The cost of replacing the bricks was well over $100,000 and the cost of staining the bricks a red brick color would have cost over $10,000.

The parents of many Milton Elementary School children would like to thank the board for giving them this one win, (though they would still appreciate smaller 4th grade class sizes so their kids grow up smart enough to know how to balance a budget without cutting desperately needed staff).

CAPE HENLOPEN HIGH SCHOOL’S NEW STADIUM READY TO GO FOR HOMECOMING WHEN IT STOPS RAINING

The field may have been christened by the Cape Henlopen High School soccer team last Tuesday night, but the big night for the new “Legends Stadium” was supposed to be Friday night’s Homecoming football game against Sussex Central.

Unfortunately it was cancelled due to the weather, moved to Saturday, then cancelled due to the weather. The next Homecoming attempt will be Sunday the 28th at 2:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast by WGMD 92.7 FM.

Cape Principal John Yore spoke at the school board meeting Thursday night and wanted to let fans know that it’s going to be muddy for the game and there’s a “bit of a walk” to the field. If you’re going you’ll want to enter the stadium from the gymnasium and the agriculture building side. Handicapped parking is accessible from the Savannah Road entrance and the 9th grade campus will have parking and a shuttle going back and forth to the field. You can also park at the Administration building on King’s Highway or the high school parking lot also off of King’s Highway. Just don’t park on the circle.

GO VIKINGS!