The public parking lot at the end of Savannah Road in Lewes. It’s all sand.

A tree blocking the eastbound lane of King’s Highway, that’s the road to Cape Henlopen High School and the District office if you’re coming from Route 1 north. School was on time, but then around 8:30 a.m., an hour after the start of the day for many schools, the automated call came from the District Office that you shouldn’t send your child to school if there was flooding in your area…little late, fellas.

Downtown Milton.

The end of Old Landing Road.

Route 1 by Five Points.

The ocean at the Indian River Inlet.

A snowplow keeping Route 1 directly north of the Indian River Inlet Bridge free of sand.

The ocean in Rehoboth Beach, Rehoboth did a good job weathering the storm so far.

A small windmill on a home in Rehoboth cranking out power like a champ.

And, the R/V Russell W. Peterson, the research vessel that Bluewater Wind launched to study the possible impact of their wind farm on avian life, has run into trouble:

From WGMD News:

The Coast Guard responded to a distress call from a research vessel off the coast of Rehoboth Beach. Authorities say two people aboard the Russell W. Peterson activated an electronic positioning radio beacon and reported that the boat was breaking up and taking on water about 14 miles off the coast. A helicopter crew from the Coast Guard air station in Atlantic City, N.J., was on the scene, and two small boats from Cape May and Ocean City were also en route. The vessel, named after a former Delaware governor active in environmental issues, was christened in Wilmington just six weeks ago and was being used by Bluewater Wind to study migratory bird routes in connection with the proposed offshore wind farm.

More to come as the tide rolls in…

And no, I’m not talking about at Irish Eyes….

The goose in Milton I took a picture of last week has two eggs in her nest, and apparently a mate, good for her.

I had to take these pictures in downtown Milton yesterday. I almost caught a heron flying overhead, but it was just too fast. 

Yeah, it’s a turtle on a log, but it was bigger than it looks in the picture.

A goose sitting on its nest on the log next to the turtle.

I went on a tour of the new Cape Henlopen High School and it’s impressive. But what was more impressive was the way EDiS took the time to help out a class of what could be future architects.

Bill Grizwald teaches Architectural Drawing and Engineering Drawing at the high school and his class has been coming out at regular intervals during the construction to see how it all works in the real world. AUDIO Bill Grizwald

The students are given the opportunity to ask questions and even check out the site plans. And here’s a little tidbit from the school board meeting…the project is on time and on budget according to the architect.

Board member Noble Prettyman called the idea “utterly ridiculous,” and one by one Board members voiced their opposition to the idea of reconfiguring Milton and HO Brittingham so that one school was K-2 and the other 3-5.

Milton mom Sharon Davis, who you may remember from the fight to leave the off colored bricks on the new Milton addition white, and won, made a compelling case. Ms. Davis stuck a survey in Milton Elementary School teacher’s mailboxes and got 50 back, with 96% of those teachers against the plan. There was one teacher who seemed OK with it as long as the Board did the same thing to Shields Elementary in Lewes, and Rehoboth Elementary School.

In the end the idea was tabled, and parents were relieved.

MES Principal Sheila Baumgardner proudly gave her “School Improvement Report” to the Board and the large crowd of Milton parents and teachers then said her good byes, since she will sadly be retiring at the end of this year.

After a standing ovation from the crowd, Ms. Baumgardner took the opportunity to slip in a few requests, things that she really thinks the school, and the district need to be more successful:

- At least 2 more special education teachers and at least one new PARA for MES.
- A full time HOSTS coordinator since MES and HOB share one.
- A playground for kindergartners, since MES doesn’t seem to have the same equipment as other schools.
- Another technology technician for the District.

During the budget discussion, the stagnant condition of the District’s “Odyssey of the Mind” program was brought up, and Baumgardner brought up how teachers just don’t have the time for extra activities with all of the extra work they’re getting with No Child Left Behind coupled with state directives.

This Milton Elementary School parent salutes you, Mrs. B., you have certainly set the bar high.

Here’s the budget skinny, at least until it gets a little more dissected and digested….

Dr. Pete Coveleski wants the Board to have more control over the local portion of administrative salary increases, something they found out they had control of last November.

And good news, the district is $3.2 million in the black.

Cape School Board member Spencer Brittingham.

Cape Henlopen School Board member Spencer Brittingham wants the board to discuss “Milton Configurations” at tonight’s meeting. That may sound benign, but what he’s really talking about is a plan where Milton’s two elementary schools, HO Brittingham and Milton Elementary School, would reconfigure so that HOB would be students grades K-2 and Milton would be for grades 3-5.

Apparently this is an idea that’s sprung up before, and this time it may have sprung up over correspondence from an HOB parent complaining that she was turned down when she wanted to choice her kid(s) into Milton Elementary School.

The whole scenario was thrown into the public arena by WGMD’s Dan Gaffney on The Dan Gaffney Show, and what followed can only be described as outrage. So much outrage that Spencer Brittingham showed up at Milton’s PTO meeting last night to answer parent’s questions.

Dr. Stone made his feelings clear, he doesn’t want to mess up either school’s rating by changing them up.

Brittingham had a different take on the situation.

“How long do we allow choice to take away the high achieving students from one school and put them all in another school?” - Spencer Brittingham AUDIO

Meanwhile the Milton parents, joined by one HOB parent, basically told Brittingham that if there was a problem with kids choicing out of HOB for whatever reason, then fix HOB and leave Milton alone. Many parents voiced their concern over breaking up siblings, and the fact that the school has worked so hard to build a sense of community. Needless to say, parents were angry, and they didn’t hold back. Brittingham stood his ground.

The debate will continue tonight at Mariner Middle School in Milton at 7:30.

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.

A member of The Milton Historical Society approached me shortly before Christmas and asked me to video-tape long-time local residents for showing at the upcoming “Opening of the 1957 Time Capsule.” Being a lover of all things nostalgia and amateur film making, I agreed without bothering to check my schedule and wife.

Knowing my involvement with the event, Maria Evans (Editor, TalkOfDelmarva.com, the Blog) asked me to “cover” the event for you, the BLOG readers. Again, I agreed without checking my available time.

In this time, much has happened in Milton… so here it is:

The Time Capsule Opening

When I arrived at the Milton Theatre it was already standing room only! Every seat in the place was taken and folks were milling about in the common area. There was a certain energy and excitement about the crowd. There were folks who had lived their entire lives in the area and people who had recently moved in.

Mayor Don Post did a surprisingly great job as Master of Ceremonies for the event. I saw him to be entertaining and well-spoken on the stage working without a script and dealing with some technical issues.

The announcement was made that they were about to remove the concrete top to the capsule and the standing crowd proceeded out the door to watch. Those with seats tended to stay where they were, eying the size of the crowd who had already gone out to surround the small box.

Not long after, the wooden crate which was inside the outer capsule was carried into the Milton Theater. As it passed people craned their necks to get a glimpse of the contents.

I raised my camera as high as I could getting two shots off as it passed, this one shows what would come to disappoint many in the audience..

Water Damage! Sadly, water had found its way into the capsule during its 50 year slumber, damaging much of the contents.

The good and bad news was that most of the documentation placed in the capsule was redundant! Items such as the High School Yearbook and Sesquicentennial Brochures, posters and even the banner had already been preserved by members of the community and were in better shape than the contents of the capsule!

Local business woman and member of the Milton Historical Society Ellen Passman took the stage and began a lengthy dissertation in “50’s speak” which garnered many laughs.

During the event they showed my 15 minute film of interviews about life in Milton in the 50’s by many local residents which was also a crowd pleaser.

After the show we celebrated with a reception. In all it was a great time to reflect on Milton’s past with an eye to the future as young and old shook hands and got to know each other better to the sounds of 50’s music.

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.

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

A beautiful day at Tower Road.

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

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

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.

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

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

The Rissos dolphin dying on the beach at Tower Road.

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

John Andretti, I met him. How cool.

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

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

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

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…).

The French invade Rehoboth Beach.

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

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

The new seating arrangements for the Cape Henlopen School Board. (From left to right: Coveleski, Wray, Brittingham, Stone, Parker Selby, Redden, Conlon, Prettyman)

Ms. Stell Parker Selby in her new, maybe temporary position as Cape Henlopen School Board President.

As earlier reported, Cape Henlopen School Board President, Gary Wray, has resigned his leadership position, and Board Vice President Stell Parker Selby will be taking that seat until a new President is chosen.

“Remember that we are elected to serve our school community. That is my motto.” - Acting Cape Henlopen School Board President Stell Parker Selby AUDIO

Outspoken Board member, Noble Prettyman, called on Dr. Wray to resign last month after a particularly contentious meeting citing ethics violations:

“Dr. Wray’s actions last night give me no choice but to ask that he be removed as president of the school board,” Prettyman said during an interview Friday, Nov. 9. “As parents spoke, he put his glasses on his head and rolled his eyes in a degrading way. It is unacceptable behavior, and I absolutely feel he cannot be allowed to be the board’s president any longer.”

In addition to inappropriate behavior to Cape’s parents and taxpayers, Prettyman said, Wray’s conduct in taking unilateral action, violating the trust of the taxpayers and soliciting unilateral action by the Stone violated the ethical requirements for board members.

After Wray’s resignation Thursday night, Prettyman had this to say:

“I know he did the right thing, because it’s not about Dr. Wray.” - Board member Noble Prettyman AUDIO

 

Cape Henlopen Educational Foundation Mini grant Award Winners were on hand last night to tell parents, teachers, board members and the public how they are spending their grant money in the classroom. Milton Elementary School second grade teacher Jackie Shockley tells the crowd how she spends the money she received:

“I use the grant money to purchase sound systems for all of the second grade classrooms…to help at risk kids.” - Second Grade Teacher Jackie Shockley AUDIO

Last October a young criminal broke into the home of a 72 year old Lewes woman, tried to rape her, failed, smashed her in the head with a hammer a few times, robbed her then made her drive him to Rehoboth Beach. Well, the nasty pig who allegedly committed that heinous crime was caught by police with the help of a Cape Henlopen School District teacher, Bob Maull.

“I called Bob and he was there in seconds….As soon as he looked at it he told me who these people were.” - Lewes Police Detective John Miller AUDIO

The alleged hammer weilding, attempted rapist, Devonaire Augustus Jones of Milton, was also identified as one of two young men who allegedly broke into the home of a Milton woman last January and raped her at gunpoint. Maull identified Jones and another man, Robbie Robinson, also of Milton, in that crime, too.

Way to go Mr. Maull!

From left to right: Dr. Ed Seibert, Superintendent George Stone, acting Board President Parker Selby.

Cape Henlopen Business Director, Dr. Ed Seibert, was recognized last night for his years of hard work for the Cape Henlopen School District. Seibert, who filed a complaint of “retaliation” against Superintendent George Stone this month with the School Board, was all smiles as Dr. Stone and Acting President Stell Parker Selby honored his hard work.

“…for six years and four months of outstanding service to the Cape Henlopen School District.” - Superintendent George Stone reading Dr. Seibert’s plaque AUDIO

The historic Milton Theatre on Union Street in downtown Milton.

On January 12th, the Cape Henlopen School Board is invited to attend the opening of a time capsule from 1958. The event is open to the public and will take place at the historic Milton Theatre.

Holy teacher shortage, Batman! HO Brittingham Elementary School only has TWO 4th grade teachers. And, yes, this is the same school that had 12 out of the 14 violent felonies committed by students in the district last year.

Why the shortage? Well, apparently one 4th grade teacher requested to be sent back to 1st grade, and the open 4th grade position wasn’t filled, sound familiar?

While giving their presentation on the “H.O. Brittingham Elementary School Improvement Report,” 4th grade teacher Tracey van Rees took the opportunity to ask for…no, not another teacher…but an after school math program for at risk students.

Just thought I’d mention that little tidbit…it’s kind of funny since the district doesn’t seem to be hiring. See above.

Sarah Ross, a Cape Henlopen School Distrit teacher and a member of the Cape Henlopen Education Association, addressed the Board Thursday night about teachers “drowning” in paperwork from federal, state and local regulations and initiatives passed without input from teachers. Delaware State Education Association President Barbara Groff, attended the Board meeting Thursday night to show support for the Cape teachers and voice her concerns:

“They have more to do then they can possibly accomplish.” - Barbara Groff, President, Delaware State Education Association AUDIO

Groff also said that teachers around the state are, “worried about their Cape counterparts.”

Even though other board members seemed to share his doubts, Pete Coveleski was the only “no” vote on the Cape Henlopen School District’s new “Bullying Prevention Policy,” saying it would be “folly to approve this as written.” Coveleski’s reason for voting “no” is that the policy is written too broadly:

“They policy as it’s written now is really open to interpretation.” - Board member Pete Coveleski AUDIO

The School Board can re examine the policy at a future meeting.