Sussex County Adopts Forest-Preservation Ordinance

The county’s first forest-preservation standards require qualifying residential developments to retain part of the forest already standing on a property.

Sussex County Council unanimously adopted Ordinance 26-05 on September 1 after months of public discussion. Where existing forest would be disturbed by a qualifying development, the ordinance requires preservation of 30 percent of the pre-existing forest in areas designated for growth and 50 percent in rural areas. Required perimeter buffers do not count toward those percentages.

The ordinance covers residential development, including mixed-use development, while excluding minor subdivisions, projects governed by Chapter 72 of the county code and accessory dwelling units. Commercial forestry or silviculture land that will remain forest is also outside the preservation provision. When forest exists at the time of application, the applicant must submit a forest stand delineation prepared by a qualified landscape architect, arborist or forester.

Council amended the effective period from six months to three months before adopting the ordinance. The county packet states that completed applications already on file with the Office of Planning & Zoning are not subject to the new requirements.

Sources: Sussex County’s September 1 meeting packet and WGMD’s report of the council vote.

County Reshapes Ambulance Billing and Replacement

Sussex County approved a voluntary centralized billing program for local ambulance companies and a cost-sharing plan under which the county would purchase three ambulances annually. County officials projected taxpayer savings approaching $500,000 a year.

Delaware Primary: Dates, Hours and Eligibility

Key election information presented without candidate recommendations or endorsements.

A limited exception may apply to automatically registered DMV voters who have not selected a party. Eligibility and polling-place details should be confirmed through the Delaware Department of Elections.

Question 3 Stays on Ballot—with New Wording

Maryland’s Supreme Court ruled that Question 3 may remain on the November ballot but agreed that part of its original description was misleading. The Court directed election officials to substitute language drawn from the legislation’s purpose paragraph.

The proposal addresses which Maryland constitutional criteria apply to congressional districts and whether the General Assembly may give the Supreme Court original jurisdiction to review congressional maps. Two justices dissented from the remedy and argued that the replacement wording remained misleading.

Dover Shooting Investigation Continues

Dover Police said officers responding to reports of shots shortly before 10 p.m. Friday found Foster Trader, 18, of Dover, on a sidewalk outside the CAVA restaurant on North DuPont Highway with multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead shortly after 10 p.m.

Investigators recovered multiple spent shell casings and continued reviewing evidence and the events leading to the shooting. Police had announced no arrest, suspect description or suspect vehicle by early Sunday. Witnesses or anyone who observed suspicious activity may contact Detective Goad at 302-736-7111 or Delaware Crime Stoppers at 800-847-3333.

Federalsburg Church Fire Ruled Arson

The Maryland State Fire Marshal and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives determined that the August 5 fire at the Church of the Nazarene in Federalsburg was intentionally set. More than 60 firefighters brought the one-alarm blaze under control in about 70 minutes; no injuries were reported.

Investigators estimated damage at $350,000. ATF is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of those responsible. Tips may be submitted at 888-ATF-TIPS (888-283-8477) or ATFTips@atf.gov.

Date

August 5

Damage

$350,000

Reward

Up to $5,000

U.S. Strikes Iranian Oil Tankers After Missiles Target Navy Warships

The action marked a renewed escalation around the Strait of Hormuz, where military operations and attacks on shipping have kept pressure on a waterway central to the world’s oil trade.

Fox News reported that U.S. Central Command struck three Iranian crude-oil tankers after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched ballistic missiles toward a U.S. aircraft carrier and guided-missile destroyer. CENTCOM said both warships evaded the attacks and no American personnel were harmed.

CENTCOM said the M/T Downy and M/T Stark 1 were permanently disabled and the unladen M/T Kylo was destroyed after its crew was directed to abandon ship. The command later said the Kylo had sunk in the Gulf of Oman. A U.S. official told Fox that the tankers are central to Iran’s economy and that targeting them forces Tehran into a more difficult decision about further escalation.

The tanker strikes bring an economic dimension to the military confrontation. The Strait of Hormuz is both a contested operating area and a critical shipping route, so attacks involving military vessels and oil carriers can affect security calculations well beyond the immediate exchange.

The Fox report also captured the political dispute at home. President Donald Trump characterized the conflict Friday as “small potatoes” for the United States. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer responded that the description discounted the service members killed and wounded and the pressure of record fuel prices.

Sources: Fox News Radio’s 2 p.m. Saturday report, carried by WGMD; Fox News Digital’s live report, updated Saturday night.

Two Survivors Found Ten Days After Nepal Flood Disaster

Fox News Radio reported that a woman and a man were found alive in separate rescues ten days after catastrophic flooding struck villages and hydropower projects along Nepal’s Himalayan border with China. The man was found inside a 740-foot tunnel at a hydropower project and airlifted to a hospital.

The rescues renewed hope as teams concentrated on 12 damaged hydropower projects. Fox reported that about 900 workers remained missing and roughly 500 were believed to be trapped in tunnels. Search specialists from India, China, South Korea and the United States were working in the disaster area. The network also reported that the State Department said 75 Americans remained unaccounted for.

Sources: Fox News Radio’s 2 p.m. Saturday report, carried by WGMD; and Nepal Ministry of Foreign Affairs rescue briefings.

White Marlin Open: Six Days, 334 Boats and $9.9 Million

White Marlin Open directors—and sisters—Madelyne Motsko Wainglass and Sasha Motsko joined Mike Bradley to look back at the 53rd tournament and the expanding waterfront festival around it.

The first six-day White Marlin Open drew 334 boats competing for an estimated $9.9 million. Three qualifying white marlin reached the scales, led by the 80-pound winner caught aboard Mister Pete. MaxBet brought in a 607.5-pound blue marlin, while Gray Fox became only the fourth boat in tournament history to win two species divisions, topping both tuna and wahoo.

Wainglass and Motsko said Marlin Fest drew more than 50,000 visits during tournament week. They also emphasized the event’s conservation and community work: more than 99 percent of billfish were released, 1,278 pounds of donated fish went to food programs, and nearly $44,000 from an added-entry category was divided among Coastal Hospice, Believe in Tomorrow and the Seaside Athletic Center.

Thursday on Mike Bradley & the Morning Team · Tournament results checked against the White Marlin Open’s official leaderboard.

Delaware Responds to Chronic Wasting Disease

Delaware confirmed its first case of chronic wasting disease in a wild white-tailed deer this year. The fatal neurological disease prompted DNREC to establish a management zone covering Wildlife Management Zones 14 and 16 in central Sussex County and adopt emergency rules intended to contain the disease and increase testing.

Within that zone, baiting and feeding deer are prohibited. Deer taken there during the November general firearm season must be brought to designated check stations, and restrictions apply when carcasses are moved out of the zone. DNREC also prohibited relocating rescued fawns from the zone and imposed a statewide ban on natural urine-based deer lures.

The disease response should not be confused with Delaware’s broader expansion of Sunday hunting and its separate firearms and youth-season changes. Those statewide hunting provisions were adopted separately; the CWD emergency regulations focus on sampling, limiting deer congregation and preventing infected tissue from being moved.