38 Special will perform at Dover Downs Oct. 13 at 9 p.m. (Submitted photo)

DOVER  – Southern rock legends 38 Special, led by guitarist/vocalist and co-founder Don Barnes, will perform at Dover Downs Hotel & Casino on Friday, Oct. 13 at 9 p.m.

Tickets will go on sale Tuesday  at noon and can be purchased online by visiting doverdowns.com. Ticket prices range from $25-$55.

With more than 20 million albums sold, 38 Special has been a staple of the rock scene since their self-titled debut album was released in 1977.

Since then, more than a dozen albums have followed, which include hit singles “Hold On Loosely,” “Rockin’ Into the Night,” “Caught Up in You,” “Fantasy Girl,” “If I’d Been the One,” “Back Where You Belong,” “Chain Lightnin’,” and “Second Chance.”

38 Special’s latest album, “38 Special Live from Texas” was released in 2011. The group’s last studio album, “Drivetrain,” was released in 2004.

Band members include Mr. Barnes, guitarist/vocalist Danny Chauncey, bassist Barry Dunaway, drummer Gary Moffatt and keyboardist/vocalist Bobby Capps. The group makes more than 100 tour stops annually.

WILMINGTON — A 17-year-old Delaware girl convicted in a school bathroom attack that left a 16-year-old classmate dead was sentenced Monday to six months in a juvenile facility.

Donald Trump has been president for a little over 130 days now, but it seems like two years; in fact, I believe that we should count the length of his presidency in dog years. Surely, one full year will seem like seven from any other president!

So, what do we know now about our 45th president? Are there any surprises? Nothing about him surprises me, except for the fact that he is even worse than I thought he would be.

The most important thing we have now learned is that our nation’s greatest security risk works at the desk in the Oval Office. His blurting out of top secret information to Russians – Russians! – damaged our intelligence-gathering operations against ISIS, our most worrisome threat, and confirmed the fact that the President of the United States cannot be trusted with sensitive information. His son-in-law’s effort to set up a secret channel of communication with the Russians six weeks before his inauguration, and then, trying to keep that meeting a secret, looks extremely suspicious, occurring less than a month after the election in which Russian hacks and misinformation helped Mr. Trump win. If that weren’t enough to illustrate this point, consider that the president waited 18 days after acting Attorney General Yates warned the White House counsel that Security Advisor Michael Flynn had lied about his call to the Russian ambassador and was thus a security risk.

Why wasn’t the president so enraged and distressed about this that he didn’t fire Mr. Flynn on the spot, but waited until the situation was made public in the press?

Didn’t he even care that his national security advisor had lied about this crucial matter? Or did he know about it all along?

Another thing that is now crystal clear is that even though Mr. Trump swore an oath on Inauguration Day to “preserve, protect, and defend” the Constitution of the United States, he actually knows virtually nothing about it. He obviously does not understand that, in our system of checks and balances, we have an independent judiciary and a semi-independent FBI. When his travel ban was blocked in court, he referred to a “so-called judge,” and when James Comey would not pledge personal loyalty to him, he fired him.

His travel ban order was, as every court has agreed, a violation of our First Amendment protection of freedom of religion, and his attacks on the press as “enemies of the people” sound more like something Josef Stalin or Joseph Goebbels would say. His labeling CNN, The Washington Post, and The New York Times as “fake news,” while being a devoted fan of nut cases like Alex Jones of InfoWars, who believes that the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School was a hoax, is beyond irresponsibility; it is frightening.

It also goes without saying that, in not really divesting himself from his family business and allowing his sons and other family members to cash in on his presidency, he has, since January 20, been violating the emoluments clause of Article I of the Constitution, which is supposed to prevent a president or any other public official from profiting from foreign states. Indeed, it could be argued that after only 130 days, this is already the most corrupt presidential administration in American history. He still refuses to release his tax returns, despite the real questions about his financial ties and susceptibility to blackmail or extortion by his lenders.

Speaking of American history, the president demonstrates almost daily that he knows nothing about it. Anyone who thinks that Frederick Douglass, who was born a slave and died in 1895, is alive and working today, or that President Andrew Jackson, who died in 1845 and, more to the point, was one of the largest slave-owners in the country, could have somehow prevented the Civil War, proves his appalling ignorance. He also clearly has no knowledge that “obstruction of justice” was the key charge levied against Richard Nixon in the impeachment hearings in 1974, when Trump was very much alive.

You can call me old-fashioned, but I believe that if you seek to lead a country, you should have at least a basic knowledge of how its government works and its history. Donald Trump clearly has neither.

The most appalling fact about Mr. Trump is that he is, at heart, an autocrat who would like to run the country like he ran his business, and the only people he admires are other autocrats. Somebody recently observed that he is the most autocratic leader we have seen since King George III, and I believe that is no exaggeration. On his recent trip, he was clearly most comfortable and friendly with King Salman of Saudi Arabia, who leads probably the most repressive monarchy in the world, and whom he refused to lecture about anything, while he was visibly uncomfortable with the democratically elected leaders in Europe, whom he lectured and insulted throughout his visit.

The only world leaders he has expressed admiration for are Erdogan of Turkey, who is rapidly stripping the last vestiges of democracy in that country; Duterte of the Philippines, who is a deranged killer; and, of course, Vladimir Putin of Russia. We have truly come full circle in 70 years when the chancellor of Germany can be depended upon to stand up for democracy and human rights, but the president of the United States can’t.

As to his policies thus far, he is on record in favor of a bill that would take health insurance from at least 20 million people, thus literally causing many of his fellow citizens to die unnecessarily; a huge tax cut for wealthy people that would be a true bonanza for him and his fellow plutocrats, several of whom are in his cabinet; and a budget that would make the rich even richer while cutting food stamps by over $190 billion, reducing funds for the opioid epidemic, medical research, environmental protection, national parks and heating assistance for low-income people (entirely eliminated), and gutting every other program that might benefit ordinary and working Americans, many of whom, of course, voted for him.

In addition, he is anxious, along with his party in Congress, to emasculate the Dodd-Frank Act and free the big banks from what are termed “excessive regulations,” thus turning the banks loose and making a financial collapse like 2008 much more likely – indeed, almost inevitable.

As I wrote last year, Donald Trump is a pathological liar who doesn’t seem to understand the basic concept of truth or facts, because he just makes things up as he goes along, and sometimes seems totally delusional.

His obsession with the crowd size at his inaugural (and his insistence on how it was “the largest in history,” even though photographs proved otherwise) was just the beginning; his false charge of being wiretapped by President Obama, and his (at first) phony story about why he fired James Comey, are other cases in point. His tweets continue to illustrate that he has the emotional maturity of a 5-year-old child, not to mention the speaking vocabulary of a kindergartner; it seems that “fantastic,” “amazing,” and “terrible” are the only adjectives he knows.

He now has access to the nuclear codes and is the commander-in-chief of our armed forces. To paraphrase Ms. Monahan, may God HELP the United States!

Daniel Pritchett
Dover

DELMAR — The NAPA Big Block Modified turned into a “family feud” on Saturday night at Delaware International Speedway.

JoJo Watson and his uncle, Jamie Mills, put on a great lead battle in the race.

It became a father-son battle on lap four when Bobby Watkins got around Daniel Johnson, Jr. and went to work on catching his son, Brandon, last year’s Rookie of the Year in the division.

While that was happening, Watson and Mills were threading their way through the top ten and up into third and fourth.

On lap 12, Watson and Mill got together in the second turn. Watson did a 360-degree spin but kept moving as did Mills.

Mills got by Watson on the restart and moved in to challenge Bobby Watkins. The pair made contact with Watkins getting around, bringing out the yellow.

On the restart, Watson got by Mills and took the lead from Brandon Watkins. With four laps left to go, Mills turned up the wick and moved on top to stay.

Mills took the win with Watson second.

In the S.R. Pete & Sons Super Late Models, leader Nick Davis narrowly escaped disaster on lap five when he made contact with a slower car and then had another spin directly in front of him.

With clean air in front of him Davis again was able to speed away from the field on the restart, eventually taking the checkered flag.

The AC Delco PSC 602 Sportsman division competed in a 20-lap Fall Championship qualifier.

After starting 10th, Scott Hitchens was up to third just prior to halfway. Later on, Hitchens flat-footed it into turn three on the outside to take the lead with five to go before holding in for the victory.

Derek Magee took full advantage of his pole starting spot in the 15-lap RUSH Crate Late Model feature. He survived two mid-race cautions and made no mistakes as he held on for his first win of the season.

In the 15-lap Mod Lite feature, James Hill came from the rear of the field to take second before making a pass at the halfway sign and driving to his second straight win.

In the Vintage Stock Car feature, Mark Williams edged out front by lap eight to take the win.

A great three-car battle developed from the drop of the green in the 12-lap Little Lincoln/Street Stock feature. Kirk Lawson led until lap five when he got trapped behind a slower car.

Landy Adams shot into the lead and held off Lawson and Mel Joseph, Jr. the rest of the distance for the win.

Garnett, Farmer post wins: What was scheduled to be a big two-day Memorial Day weekend event got cut short last weekend at U.S. 13 Dragway.

Saturday night, the track was able to work around the weather to get in the 3rd Annual Hot Rod Reunion. On Sunday, only time runs were completed before the rain washed out day two.

Taking wins on Saturday night were Glenn Reese of New Castle in his ’64 Chevy II while Ben Garnett of Smyrna made it two in a row in his sharp-looking ’71 Ford Maverick and James Farmer of Milford rode his Hayabusa to the win in Pro Bike.

Garnett was back in the Mod ET final facing Cody Mariner in his ’78 Malibu. Mariner left early and fouled and Garnett took the eighth-mile win with a 5.750/119.36 on a 5.74 dial.

The special Nostalgia final was won by Ronald Nichols of East New Market, Md. Craig Palmer of Perkasie, Pa., drove his ’‘63 Plymouth to the 422 All-stars final and veteran Funny Car driver, Bruce Larson and Bobby Toth split the vintage Funny Car runs.

Other winners on the day included: Ryan Lecates of Salisbury, Md. in his ’88 Chevy S-10; William Wilkerson of Laurel in his ’84 Dodge; Chase Huber of Queen Anne, Md. in Jr. Dragster 1 and Brett Holston of Felton in Jr. Dragster 2.

RESULTS

NAPA Big Block Modified: 1. Jamie Mills; 2. JoJo Watson; 3. Scott VanGorder; 4. H.J. Bunting; 5. Brandon Watkins; 6. Robert Dutton; 7. Michael White; 8. Matt Hawkins; 9. Howard O’Neal; 10. Dale Hawkins; 11. Kenneth Peek; 12. Carson Wright; 13. Daniel Johnson, Jr.; 14. T.J. Williams; 15. Westley Smith; 16. Jordan Watson; 17. Jeff Brown; 18. Bobby Watkins; 19. Kevin Sockriter; 20. Kyle Fuller.

S.R. Pete & Sons Super Late Model: 1. Nick Davis; 2. Mark Pettyjohn; 3. Ross Robinson; 4. Herb Tunis; 5. Donald Lingo, Jr.; 6. Kerry King; 7. Dylan Evans; 8. Amanda Whaley; 9. Andrew Mullins; 10. Rob Schirmer; 11. Kevin Scott, Jr.; 12. Jason Dean; 13. Bob Geiger; 14. Reese Masiello; 15. Kellie Lewis; 16. Geoff Carey; 17. Max Robichaud.

AC Delco PSC 602 Sportsman: 1. Scott Hitchens; 2. Jason Rush; 3. Matt Smith; 4. Jordn Justice; 5. Joe Tracy; 6. Danny Smack; 7. Ryan Riddle; 8. Trey Hicks; 9. Brandon Dennis; 10. Adam White; 11. Nick Alberti; 12. Robert Riley III; 13. Jeff Marker; 14. David Jenkins; 15. Dwayne Crockett.

RUSH Crate Late Model: 1. Derek Magee; 2. Brandon Sturgis; 3. Joe Warren; 4. Matt Gladen; 5. Sparky White; 6. Matt Hill; 7. Mike Wharton; 8. Chip Disharoon; 9. Wes Clifton; 10. Tyler Reed; 11. Mike Wilson; 12. Paul McGinley; 13. Travis Justice; 14. Trevor Collins; 15. Robert Paczkowski; 16. Richard Harden; 17. Scott Tessman; 18. Charles Shawver; 19. Kevin White.

Mod Lite: 1. James Hill; 2. Ray Gulliver; 3. Tim White; 4. Nick Nash; 5. Jake Nelson; 6. Curt Miles, Jr.; 7. Aaron VanVorst; 8. James Wood; 9. Brian Gladden; 10. Harry Mears; 11. Kirk Miles, Sr.; 12. Jason Musser.

Vintage: 1. Mark Williams; 2. Ron Myer; 3. C.J. Schirmer; 4. Oscar Fields; 5. Josh Smith (1st Sportsman); 6. Todd Miller; 7. Kelly Putz; 8. Kerry King; 9. Don Davidson; 10. Chris Loveland; 11. David Tucker; 12. Dwayne Heck; 13. Todd Lapp; 14. Dave Schamp; 15. John Burton; 16. Freddy Brightbill.

Little Lincoln/Street: 1. Landy Adams; 2. Kirk Lawson; 3. Mel Joseph, Jr.; 4. T.J. Henry (1st Street Stock); 5. Joe Tracy; 6. Matt White; 7. Bunky White; 8. Jordan Herbert; 9. Wesley Smack; 10. Dave White; 11. 69 SS; 12. 22. SS: 13. Shawn Smith.

Dover High grad Nick Spadafino was Delaware’s starting pitcher against Arizona in Saturday’s NCAA Tournament regional game. (NCAA photos/John Weast)

DOVER — Before he threw his first pitch in the biggest game of his life, Nick Spadafino took a moment to appreciate where he was.

A lot of hard work had gone into being the starting pitcher for Delaware in its NCAA Division I Tournament game on Saturday afternoon at Texas Tech.

“I was telling someone, this is what I’ve played my whole life dreaming about,” said the 21-year-old Dover High grad. “Playing in a game like this, against a team like that … this is what all the hard work has been for. It’s kind of pointed me toward this spot.

“It was kind of awesome taking a deep breath before I threw the first pitch. It was like, ‘Wow, I’m playing in this stadium, pitching against this team in a regional.’ It was just kind of surreal.”

More than six hours after Spadafino threw that opening pitch, the Blue Hens fell to Arizona, 6-5, in 12 innings to be eliminated from the bracket.

But that doesn’t mean the afternoon wasn’t a success for Delaware.

Both the Hens and the Wildcats earned some new fans by not only how hard they played baseball but by how hard they could play — period — during a two-hour, 18-minute rain delay.

With the contest tied 5-5 after 10 innings, the players did a little bit of everything to pass the time and entertain the crowd while they waited for the rain to stop.

They played tick-tack-toe on a baseball that was rolled between the two dugouts. They ‘bowled’ with a baseball and some Gatorade cups set up in front of each dugout.

And they held a ‘slow-man race’ with the slowest sub on each team racing to the centerfield fence.

Cellphone cameras sent it all to the internet.

“It was kind of like that Little League World Series-type atmosphere,” said Spadafino. “I think I’ll always remember how awesome that experience was.

“I played the most intense hacky-sack game of my life, having all these fans cheering for us while we’re playing. We’d never meet those guys ever in our lives if we’re not playing in this game. It was just cool to see how we can instantly connect over a little game like that.”

As for the baseball game, Spadafino did his job for the Hens.

The junior right-hander allowed only one run and four hits in 5.1 innings before being taken out. In his first season as a full-time starter, Spadafino went 7-3 with a 4.46 ERA in 16 games.

“Being competitive, I wanted to go longer than five innings,” said Spadafino. “But, at the end of the day, it’s what we did all year. … I felt pretty satisfied with how I did and how the team did.”

Despite finishing 0-2 in the program’s first appearance in the NCAAs since 2001, Spadafino would like to think the Hens proved they belonged. Delaware’s other setback was a 5-2 loss to fifth-ranked Texas Tech.

The Hens received a few standing ovations from the Red Raiders crowd during the weekend.

“Hey, west Texas, you’re my home away from home,” Delaware coach Jim Sherman said after the Arizona game. “Our kids, they’re going to remember it for a lifetime.”

“We all know that we left everything out there on the field,” said Spadafino. “If a pitch or two goes our way, we could be in a different situation. But I think everyone is pretty happy.

“I think everyone kind of realized all the hard work that we’ve done and the kind of baseball players we are. Regardless if they had ‘Arizona’ and ‘Texas Tech’ on their jersey, we still had to play a baseball game and we were pretty darn good as a team competing with those teams. I think it was a really great experience even though things might not have gone our way.”

Dover Police received this photo via Twitter, allegedly of Greenwood resident John Infanti on the Delaware International Speedway turn 4 catch fence Sunday. (Submitted photo/Joshua Joyce)

DOVER — A 43-year-old Greenwood man was arrested after he climbed atop a fence during Sunday’s NASCAR race at Dover International Speedway, police said.

John Infanti was coaxed down from the perch above the Monster Mile track at approximately 4:58 p.m. and arrested by Dover Police after a quick confrontation, according to spokesman Master Cpl. Mark Hoffman.

DIS private security — Contemporary Services Corporation — responded to Mr. Infanti scaling the fence and were able to get him down as Dover Police officers awaited.

“While being taken into custody, Infanti refused to comply with officers commands, kicking one in the knee during the process,” Cpl. Hoffman said.

The officer who Mr. Infanti allegedly kicked did not suffer serious injuries, according to police.

Authorities believe Mr. Infanti was under the influence of alcohol at the time. The AAA 400 Drive for Autism race continued under a green flag during the alleged incident.

John Infanti

Pending charges included second-degree trespass, disorderly conduct, felony resisting arrest with force and offensive touching of a law enforcement officer.

He Mr. Infanti had not been arraigned in Justice of the Peace Court as of late Monday morning and remained in Dover Police custody.

Dover Police said the weekend was mostly uneventful from their perspective — three theft cases were investigated and an offensive touching complaint brought an arrest.

hree reported fights and five disorderly conduct calls yielded no arrests.

There were no injuries in a parking lot accident, Cpl. Hoffman said.

While police investigated several “complaints such as suspicious person/packages, intoxicated persons, possible trespass, etc.,” Cpl. Hoffman said, “most, if not all, were unfounded and resulted in little to no action.”

DOVER — The executive director of the Delaware Board of Education says she was caught off-guard by lawmakers voting to get rid of the group.

The board was one of several casualties of May 30’s meeting of the Joint Finance Committee.

While that action could still be undone it appears for now the long-standing group is going away.

“This action on Tuesday was very much a surprise to the board,” Donna Johnson, the board’s director since 2011, said last week. “We had not received any communication from them or any request for information at all.”

First formed at least 142 years ago the Delaware Board of Education has a host of duties: Approving regulations, authorizing new charter schools, receiving federal Perkins Grants and hearing appeals from the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association and local school boards.

Although it works closely with the Department of Education, the board is distinct from the agency.

While the decision to eliminate the board at least outwardly stems from a desire to save money, Ms. Johnson said the cut would not help the state’s budget hole.

“The state board actually does a lot of things under its responsibilities and by cutting that $213,000 you’re actually cutting more money long term than you’re saving with your short-term cut,” she said.

The board was allocated $223,000 in the current fiscal year, with about $91,000 of that funding going to pay Ms. Johnson’s salary.

JFC co-chair Rep. Melanie George Smith, D-Bear, expressed confidence the board could be done away with through epilogue language in this year’s budget bill, but the multitude of duties handled by the board appears to make that unlikely, something noted by the other co-chair, Sen. Harris McDowell, D-Wilmington.

Rep. Melanie Ceorge Smith

According to Ms. Johnson, the group approves key requirements such as graduation standards. It is responsible for granting final approval for charters in every district except Red Clay Consolidated School District, which has opted to handle authorization itself.

Additionally, eliminating the board could put the $4.2 million in Perkins Grants the state is receiving in jeopardy, Ms. Johnson said.

“If we did not have a state board we would not have an identified eligible agency for Perkins Grants,” she said.

The board consists of seven members appointed by the governor, including the secretary of education, and meets monthly.

It has been criticized for what detractors say is a tendency to operate behind closed doors and overstep its boundaries.

“I am extremely, extremely, extremely disappointed by the lack of transparency by the board when it comes to commenting on legislation or taking positions on legislation,” Rep. Jeff Spiegelman, R-Clayton, said in March. “I’m quite frankly rather frightened by that.”

The group was reviewed by the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee earlier this year and while the committee considered axing it entirely, members ultimately went in a different direction.

Lawmakers recommended at the time making the board’s duties better defined and its meetings more accessible to the public.

That did not stop JFC from creating a more drastic proposal two months later.

There was little discussion on the vote last week, which passed 10-1, with one legislator abstaining due to a potential conflict of interest.

Ms. Johnson said board members have been reaching out to JFC to ask it to reconsider the decision. She said she was “excited” to implement the changes recommended by the Sunset Committee, starting meetings later and possibly holding gatherings in different counties and adding non-voting members.

“We feel now more than ever it’s really important to have that citizens’ voice serving as a check and balance,” she said.

Dan Shelton, superintendent of the Capital School District, said in an email he was unsure of how eliminating the board would impact school districts.

Approving regulations could be transferred to the Department of Education, he said, noting another agency or group would have to handle appeals.

Gov. John Carney in a statement avoided mention of the board, noting only that lawmakers should consider his budget proposal and not a “short-term, short-sighted solution.”

Teri Quinn Gray, president of the board, could not be reached for comment.

A few years ago three freshmen made the varsity baseball team at Polytech High.

Fast forward to 2017 and those three are All-Staters.

Polytech placed Carter Chasanov, Joey Haass and Cole Garey on the Delaware High School Baseball Coaches Association’s All-State teams. The Panthers had the most players of any of the Kent County teams.

Chasanov, a second baseman, was one of three Henlopen Conference players to make the first team. He was joined on the first team by Sussex Tech third baseman Anthony Hitchcock and Laurel High outfielder Perez Nichols, both seniors.

Chasanov recorded a .356 batting average and stole 20 bases. Chasanov is signed to play baseball next year with East Stroudsburg University.

Polytech senior second baseman Carter Chasanov. (Delaware State News file photo)

This was the second year in a row Chasanov made the first team. He joined his older brother Conner (2014) and father Heath (1987) as having been named first team All-State

Garey was named to the second team as a first baseman while Haass was honored on the second team as a pitch.

Garey, who signed with Delaware State University, batted .395 this season with five home runs and 23 RBI. Haass, a University of Delaware commit, went 7-1 on the mound with 63 strikeouts and a 1.50 earned run average.

“Those kids are why you coach,” said Polytech coach George Eilers at the end of the season. “To be able to coach kids like that. We developed great relationships with them and hopefully with the younger guys, we can develop those relationships when they can come back next year. We’re looking forward to that.”

Polytech ace Joey Haass. (Special to the Delaware State News/Gary Emeigh)

Two other Kent County players made the All-State teams.

Seniors Nolan Henderson, an outfielder from Smyrna High, and Avery Tunnell, a senior utility player from Dover High, were named honorable mention.

Cape Henlopen High had the most players honored from the Henlopen Conference with four.

The Vikings had junior shortstop Zack Gelof and senior designated hitter Noah Piper on the second team while juniors David Erickson (pitcher) and Austin Elliott made honorable mention.

Junior outfielder Bryce Greenly and senior utility player Abraham Mow were the two Milford players on the second team. Senior Will

Cole Garey of Polytech . (Special to the Delaware State News/Gary Emeigh)

Kimmel was honorable mention at catcher and was joined by fellow Milford senior Ethan Hurd at designated hitter.

Sussex Tech’s senior outfielder Luke Oliphant was the final Henlopen Conference player on the second team.

Delmar High’s Jimmy Adkins was honorable mention at both pitcher and shortstop while Trey Toppin of Sussex Central, a third baseman, rounded out the local players on the honorable mention list.

We are dismayed and disappointed that Rep. Osienski and Sen. Townsend have introduced HB 190 at the 11th hour in the General Assembly. Delaware’s Coastal Zone Act (CZA) is an iconic piece of legislation that has stood the test of time. Changes, tweaks or legislative reinterpretation to it deserve an open and thoughtful public conversation. Specifically, we are calling for more constructive and thoughtful conversation than will be afforded the public in the legislative committee meeting that will be held today in Dover. Their bill and their process to date fall short of their claim that “it would maintain the goals and spirit of the CZA.”

The goals and spirit that helped galvanize the passage of the CZA were clearly articulated by Russell Peterson in 1969 and are well worth repeating here:

Concern yourselves with the kind of state we want to pass on to our children and grandchildren. We have two great opportunities right now, but we can’t capitalize on both of them. They are incompatible. One choice is to participate in one of the world’s rapid industrializations, build refineries and port facilities, and live with all the growth and benefits and problems they will bring.

The other choice is to leave most of the coast as it is, so people can enjoy the hunting, boating, fishing and peace and quiet, the quality of life the coast now affords us. I believe the second way is the better way. But let’s have a statewide discussion of the choices.

Though the choices now may not be as stark as they were back in 1969, there are many negative consequences to moving forward with the passage of HB 190 without an inclusive and transparent discussion of the need for the changes that the bill’s authors claim. Osienski and Townsend claim that 14 sites in the coastal zone that are identified in their bill are currently not being cleaned up and are abandoned and remain polluted.

Fact: Nine of the 14 sites are currently in the process of being cleaned up. In most cases, this will allow for reuse for numerous uses currently allowed under the existing CZA. The other five sites are still operating facilities. DNREC has not presented any evidence to the public that the environmental remediation at any of these sites is substandard or deficient.

Osienski and Townsend claim that their bill will require these 14 sites to meet a very high threshold of planning, remediation, and regulatory control.

Fact: History does not support this claim. DNREC, the agency tasked with implementing their bill, has a checkered history when it comes to regulatory control. The CZA was law in 1970, and it took DNREC 27 years to promulgate regulations. Again, in 1998, when regulations were adopted, the required environmental indicators program that was agreed to by all stakeholders was never developed by DNREC. As was noted by one of the stakeholders in the process, while business received their flexibility the days the regulations were promulgated, the environmental indicators program was never developed (by DNREC).

Equally as troubling is the environmental impact analysis required in HB 190 for a conversion permit. Fact: Delaware has no regulatory standard for what an environmental impact statement or analysis should look like and what it should contain. The bill’s conversion permit is not an environmentally value-added provision or an improvement to the current administration of the CZA.

HB 190 is a seriously flawed bill that is suspect and does not honor the original intent or purpose of the CZA. The need and rationale for the bill, as articulated by Representative Osienski and Senator Townsend, is dubious and needs much more public input and expert vetting than an end-of-legislative-session committee hearing will allow.

The reasonable and responsible action to take on this bill is to have the authors withdraw it from consideration. In so doing, they and all Delawareans would be well served by committing to an initiative that includes a clear problem statement that identifies real issues that may exist with the CZA and a specific commitment to move forward with an open and transparent process that is inclusive of all stakeholders to address any actual problems.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Andrew T. Manus has worked 38 years in conservation as executive director of University of Delaware Sea Grant College Program, director of the Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife, director of Conservation Programs for Ducks Unlimited Mid-Atlantic Office and as director of Conservation Programs for the Delaware Chapter of The Nature Conservancy. He resides in Clayton.

Roger L. Jones is the former Delaware state director and vice president of The Nature Conservancy. He lives in Hockessin.

The Wesley College football team was ranked eighth nationally in the Lindy’s Sports annual Division III preseason poll that was released to newsstands this week.

Also for the Wolverines, senior offensive tackle Matt Gono was tabbed as a preseason All-America by Lindy’s.

A two-time D3football.com All-Region first-team and All-New Jersey Athletic Conference first-team honoree, Gono paved the way for a Wesley offense that gained 5,338 yards of total yards in 2016, which was the most in the NJAC. Gono along with fellow seniors Samer Manna, Blake Roberts and Isaiah Ingram, were named captains following spring practices.

Wesley made its 12th consecutive trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament after collecting a share of the NJAC regular-season championship for the second-straight season and the conference’s automatic bid to the playoffs.

Jimmy Twisselmann with Sons of Pitches connects for a hit against the Bucks during Dover Mens softball at Schutte Park on Tuesday. (Delaware State News/Marc Clery)

American Legion baseball

Post 3-Milford 2, Nanticoke-Post 6 Patriots 0: Milford opened the Delaware American Legion baseball season with a shutout victory on Tuesday night.

Blue Hen Construction’s third baseman Brian Palmer fields a grounder against Delaware Co Op during Dover Mens softball at Schutte Park on Tuesday.

There are five South squads in the 11-team league this summer with newcomer Smyrna joining previous members Fox Post 2, Middletown Post 25, Milford and Nanticoke.

Dover’s Fox Post 2 is slated to open up at Milford on Thursday at 6 p.m.

College basketball

UD coach fills out staff: New University of Delaware women’s basketball coach Natasha Adair has completed her coaching staff with the hiring of two assistants.

Adair, who was hired on May 15 as the fourth head coach in program history, welcomes Sarah Jenkins and Mykala Walker as assistant coaches while former Blue Hen player Kayla Miller will remain on staff for her third season as the director of operations. David White will fill the role of assistant director of basketball operations and program management.

Delaware Co Op’s Nathan Schreppler rounds third base for home against Blue Hen Construction during Dover Mens softball at Schutte Park on Tuesday.

Jenkins played four seasons at Georgetown, where she was a Big East Academic All-Star, served as a two-year captain and finished her career among all-time leaders with 54 career three-pointers.

Walker, who will work with Delaware’s post players, played at Wake Forest.

Softball

Delmar’s Wheatley wins Gatorade award: Delmar High’s Avery Wheatley has been named the Gatorade Delaware Softball Player of the Year.

The 5-foot-9 senior shortstop led the Wildcats to a 20-5 record and a berth in the state championship game. Wheatley owned a .662 batting average with 19 RBI, 40 runs scored and 23 stolen bases through 21 games.

A first-team All-State selection, she is also a two-time All-Henlopen Conference honoree.

Wheatley has raised funds to benefit cancer awareness and has volunteered locally on behalf of the Good Ole Boy Foundation holiday drive and a special-needs softball team.

Bucks pitcher Trent Yoder against the Sons of Pitches during Dover Mens softball at Schutte Park on Tuesday.

“When you watch or coach against her team, you notice Avery Wheatley’s presence on the field immediately,” said Cape Henlopen coach Shannon Timmons. “She’s a triple threat: she fields well, possesses an arm to throw out anyone who challenges her, and at the plate, she can hit away or slap, and she has great speed on the base paths.”

Wheatley has maintained a 3.14 GPA in the classroom. She has signed a National Letter of Intent to play softball on scholarship at Appalachian State University this fall.

Special Olympics

Delaware games this weekend: The 47th annual Special Olympics Delaware Summer Games will be held at the University of Delaware on Friday and Saturday.

Nearly 800 athletes and Unified partners (peers without disabilities) are scheduled to compete in six sports — aquatics, bocce, power lifting, tennis, softball, and track and field — during the two-day event.

A gala opening ceremony takes place Friday at 12:30 p.m. at the Bob Carpenter Center. All events are free and open to the public. For more information visit www.sode.org.

DOVER — Three Kent County men were arrested in separate felony driving under the influence investigations last week, according to police in court documents.

Leven E. Scott, 58, of Felton, was charged with a third offense DUI of alcohol and a traffic violation Friday after a single vehicle crash on Little Mastens Corner Road in the Harrington area, authorities said in papers. Mr. Scott entered not guilty pleas.

Brian H. Frazier, 39, of Houston, was arrested Saturday at approximately 1:03 a.m. on a fourth offense DUI of drugs after a traffic stop in Felton for an alleged speeding violation, a Delaware State Police trooper said in a probable cause affidavit. He later pleaded not guilty to all charges in Justice of the Peace Court and was scheduled for a preliminary hearing on June 16.

Thomas J. Spencer, 53, of Hartly, was charged with a seventh offense DUI on Sunday, along with a proper lane citation. He was given a $5,125 secured bond at Justice of the Peace Court 3.

According to police in court papers, Mr. Frazier said he hadn’t consumed any alcoholic beverages during a stop on U.S. 13 and Lake Andrews Road after he was allegedly seen driving a Pontiac G6 71 mph in a 55 mph zone. He told an investigation trooper “there was marijuana inside of the center console of the vehicle,” the affidavit stated.

Police said a green leafy substance was allegedly found in the vehicle and later tested positive for 4.01 grams of marijuana.

According to police in documents, Mr. Frazier declined to take a field test for possible impairment or consent to a blood draw. A computer check indicated DUI convictions in 2004, 2008 and 2014.

Leven E. Scott

Mr. Frazier was given a $5,101 secured bond in Justice of the Peace Court 3, which was posted.

Brian H. Frazier

Police said Mr. Scott was struggling to maintain balance and speaking incoherently when contacted at approximately 6:16 p.m. The Silver Kia he was driving was disabled in a grassy field went of the edge of the roadway, according to documents.

Authorities said Mr. Scott reportedly denied medical treatment by fire department EMS.

Charges included third offense DUI and failure to remain in single lane, Mr. Scott entered not guilty pleas. He was given a $2,001 cash bond which was not immediately posted. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for June 16.

Thomas. J. Spencer

According to court records, Mr. Scott was convicted of DUI in 2013 and 2016.

DOVER — After a presentation by Little Creek Mayor Glenn Gauvry and other town officials and residents during the Kent County Levy Court’s committee meeting on Tuesday night, commissioners agreed to add funding a dog park to their new business agenda for June 13.

Little Creek, a town of about 225 people, recently completed planning the dog park on a small piece of town-owned parkland just south of the post office.

Town representatives had already posed the idea to Levy Court in April and asked for funding. At the time, they were told to plan it, seek support and suggestions from residents and return to the court with a detailed pitch.

Mayor Gauvry said they received a fairly large crowd at a May 24 public workshop the town held to discuss the project.

“I was kind of surprised to see so many people there — not just residents, but people for the general area,” he told the committee. “So I sort of just started by asking if there was anyone opposed to it, but no one said they were, so that was encouraging.”

Although the town is small, residents feel that the dog park may act as a community meeting place and help draw more attention to the area.

“We recently updated our comprehensive management plan, and as part of that, I sent out a questionnaire,” said Mayor Gauvry. “One of the things the community said they’d like to see done is finding a use for that park. Right now it’s manicured, but it doesn’t get used very often. We had a volunteer firefighter pose the idea of a dog park, and we thought that it might fit really nicely there.”

Mayor Gauvry selected a 150-foot by 130-foot section of the park that the town would fence off. He said a fact-finding missions to both Tidbury Park and the Milford Dog Park earlier in the month helped him build a template of the project’s scope.

The detailed plan he presented to the Levy Court put the expenses at nearly $35,000 and included a concrete sidewalk and entry pad, fencing, benches, trash cans and existing fence renovations around the town’s parkland. The Little Creek volunteer fire department has offered to pay for and install two water pumps for patrons to use and the town said they’d provide signage. Additionally, the town would plan to take responsibility for maintaining the park once it’s complete. However, because of the town’s small amount of revenue, matching any funds the county may provide would likely not be possible, said Mayor Gauvry.

Several commissioners expressed support for the idea, but concerns about continued maintenance and other liabilities were raised.

Commissioner Eric Buckson said that his concern lied with setting a precedent whereby applicants seeking county funds for community projects don’t need to become equal “financial partners” to get them.

“I often have requests from my district to fund certain things like this, and every single time we’ve had to make it clear that they had to be a partner financially,” he said. “We find a way to blend the approach and match contributions. I just want to make sure we’re not opening a door we can’t close. For instance, with Bowers Beach Maritime Museum, we required them to come up with X amount of dollars before we matched the funds, so by doing this, what are we going to tell other parties trying to fund projects?”

Were the project to be funded, Kent County Administrator Michael Petit de Mange noted that the money would come out of an account known as the community assistance fund — which currently has a balance of approximately $600,000.

If the project receives funding, it’ll be the latest in a consistent line of recently constructed dog parks — Dover’s Tidbury Park in 2008, the Milford Dog Park in 2014, and most recently Lewes Unleashed Dog Park last August. According to BringFido.com, a resource that aggregates dog amenities, Delaware has about 35 “off leash” dog parks.

Members of the public have an opportunity to comment on the proposed dog park at the next Levy Court business meeting on June 13 at 7 p.m. in the Levy Court chambers, Room 203 of the Kent County Administrative Complex, 555 Bay Road in Dover.

DOVER — Kent County’s new bid process for selecting trash pickup providers held up last week after a company’s claims of unfair practices were discounted in court.

Camden-based Charlie’s Waste Services alleged in Chancery Court that its low bid for a service contract was improperly dismissed in favor of two contractors chosen by a three-member committee and approved in Levy Court.

A 16-page order issued on May 31, however, recounted the county’s troubles associated with past automatic low bid selections and positively noted the criteria and evaluations that ended with the choice of Waste Industries of Delaware and Republic Services of Delmarva to handle local waste removal.

Vice Chancellor Joseph R. Slights III pointed to supposed shortcomings in Charlie’s quest for the contract, including a submitted bid with erroneous insurance information, lack of required financial, no letters of recommendation and no bid bond.

“As the County correctly points out, any of these omissions provided grounds for the County to reject Charlie’s bid without any further consideration, as it was entitled to do by statute and the (Invitation to Bid Contract),” Vice Chancellor Slights determined.

Describing his review of the matter as done “carefully” Mr. Slights wrote “I am satisfied that the County officials charged with overseeing the award of this contract believed, and ultimately determined, that Charlie’s was not qualified to perform the particular work required to fulfill (the contract put out for bid.)”

Significant concerns remained after Charlie’s added information to the bid, according to the order.

The Vice Chancellor referenced county concerns about Charlie’s aged equipment and ability to service it with an apparently inadequate staff.

“In this regard, Charlie’s bid materials indicated that it had arranged for only one mechanic to service its fleet of older equipment,” Vice Chancellor Slights said.

“And it was not clear that this mechanic would be located in Kent County or that Charlie’s service facility would be located in Kent County either.”

The Court cited the county’s concern that Charlie’s had not previously administered such a substantial municipal service and “did not convince the County that it could ramp up to handle a contract of this scale.”

A dearth of staff to answer complaints was also a concern regarding Charlie’s candidacy, the Vice Chancellor wrote.

“All of these deficiencies were deemed even more troubling by the County officials given the County’s immediate past history of having awarded the trash collection contract to the lowest bidder only to find that that contractor was wholly unprepared and unable to deliver the necessary services,” he said.

Issues, requirements

According to the order, Kent County was dissatisfied with current trash services — determined by low bid during the last procurement — “and has, in fact, determined that the contractor was not qualified to do the required work. Vice Chancellor Slights listed ongoing issues, including:

•Missed pickups.

•Destruction of trashcans and other property.

•Poor vehicle maintenance.

•Poorly trained personnel.

“In fact, the County has had to hire others on an emergency basis to fulfill the contract as a stopgap,” Vice Chancellor Slights said.

The county thus expanded its process for selecting upcoming trash services, requiring prospective providers demonstrate:

•A history of providing equipment and services of comparable specifications, scope and value.

•The background, experience, resources, reputation, financial resources, years in business and references.

•Customer service i.e. method of addressing missed cans, special events, guaranteed turnaround times for cart maintenance, and other customer service items.

•The bid and pricing structure.

Also required for consideration were a bid bond, three work-related references, three letters of recommendation from current municipal contracts in the State of Delaware and documentation of insurance coverage with a General Aggregate Limit of Liability of $5,000,000, the order read.

The county enlisted three staff to evaluate the bids — Director of Public Works Andrew Jakubowitch, Director of Finance Susan L. Durham, and Administrator Michael J. Petit de Mange.

In unanimous fashion, the trio of evaluators scored Waste Industries and Republic as the most qualified bidders and recommended them for the contracts, the order stated.

According to Judge Slights, Charlie’s contention that one evaluators score of 91 out of 100 qualified it for the contract fell short because “Nothing in the record indicates that the lone voice of an evaluator or a Commissioner would have any binding effect on the County’s ultimate decision regarding the award of this contraction.

“Moreover, the fact that one of the evaluators gave a score of 91 does not undermine his clear testimony … that he deemed Charlie’s not qualified to perform the contract.”

Program manager for Department of Homeland Security John Fortune explains how the Resilient Tunnel Plug operates after inflation at ILC of Dover on Tuesday. (Delaware State News/Marc Clery)

FREDERICA — ILC Dover’s motto is: creating what’s next. On Tuesday, the company made it clear that inflatable tunnel plug technology and other anti-flooding solutions is what’s next.

The high-performance flexible material design, production and engineering firm, headquartered in Frederica, hosted a tour and demonstration to showcase their new resilient tunnel plug — a project they’ve been working on with Department of Homeland Security, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and West Virginia University since 2008.

The concept was cooked up originally in 2007 when the DHS began brainstorming possible technologies capable of protecting tunnels from flooding in light of climate change, rising sea levels, increasing storm intensities and possible terroristic threats explained John Fortune, the program’s manager with DHS.

In 2012, Hurricane Sandy caused massive flooding in New York City’s subway system. It impacted seven tunnels and several stations. The South Ferry station, which flooded with 15 million gallons of salt water, was closed for almost five years and racked up restoration costs of $350 million. These hazards and costs are the ones DHS hope to see mitigated by the new tunnel plug and associated technology.

“We started looking in 2007 for a way to protect tunnels from flooding due to natural hazards or man-made ones,” he said. “When the idea of an inflatable tunnel plug came up initially, a lot of transportation experts were telling us that it probably couldn’t be done. But, we were funding some high risk, innovative programs at DHS and we reached out to Pacific Northwest Labs and West Virginia University to give it a try.”

Senior Design Engineer with ILC Dover, Jon Hinkle, shows a completely inflated Resilient Tunnel Plug at ILC of Dover on Tuesday. (Delaware State News/Marc Clery)

After a year of work on a concept plug, the project team deployed a prototype in one of Washington D.C.’s metro system tunnels. The test successfully met the projects main criteria and encouraged DHS to pursue it further.

“The test proved three things to us that were crucial: that we could fold the deflated plug up and store it compactly without affecting train functions, that we could inflate it fully within minutes and that it was capable of fully sealing off the tunnel,” said Mr. Fortune. “However, what the test didn’t do was prove that the plug could hold back flood water sufficiently. Our plug was made out of lightweight material — we needed it to be made out of a high strength fabric, that’s why we decided to include ILC Dover.”

ILC Dover is well known for its work in material science and engineering, perhaps gaining most renown for designed and manufacturing space suits since the Apollo era. The project team was confident that ILC Dover’s background in high strength fabrics would transform their prototype into a usable and widely distributable product.

Greg Holter, an engineer with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory outlined the six main criteria they wanted the tunnel plug to achieve when the development was moved to ILC Dover.

• It needed to be compact and easily fold-able so it can be easily stored.

• It needed to have operational readiness and be able to deploy quickly.

• It needed to be made with the strongest material available to withstand the tremendous pressure floodwaters apply.

• It needed sealing capacity against a variety of surfaces and tunnel shapes.

• It needed to be designed for integration into existing tunnels and transit system — intuitively designed for installation.

• It needed long term reliability and reusability.

According to Dave Cadogan, director of engineering and product development at ILC Dover, the firm has more than met those expectations with their design.

“Our plug is 16 1/2 feet in diameter, 32 feet long,” he said. “It weighs about 1,700 pounds and when inflated, it gets pressurized to 17 PSI. When folded, it fits into a very small container that’s essentially 4 1/2 feet by 3 1/2 feet. It’s like an airbag that conforms to the shape of the tunnel.”

Mr. Cadogan says that the material the plug is made of is where it really shines.

“The inside layer is a urethane coated nylon which holds the air, outside we have a Vectran material webbing,” he said. “The way it’s woven together make it extremely resilient. It can sustain a fair amount of damage as well because of the way that it redistributes load.”

ILC Dover built a test tunnel specifically to examine the performance of the plug. The half tunnel is designed in a way to simulate a flooding subway tunnel and allows engineers to pressurize water behind the inflated plug to gauge its performance.

From a fully stowed position, the plug can inflate to its target 17 PSI in about 12 minutes, which was within the response time desired by the DHS. Testing has shown that although a small amount of water does sneak past the plug as the flood water pressure rises, the standard subway tunnel pumps are able to divert the amount of water that escapes at an acceptable rate.

Ten years and about $15 million taxpayer dollars after the project started, the day these resilient tunnel plugs will be deployed seems to be approaching.

“Back in February and March, we did three very important validation tests and the plug performed acceptable every time,” said Mr. Fortune. “Several of the tests were for one hour, but one of them was for three weeks straight to see how the plug performed over a length of time. We’re at a critical point in the project. It’s a proven technology and could be rolled out in a matter of months. We believe that it will save money, property and potentially lives.”

Although there are several parties interested in the tunnel plug, ILC Dover is keeping the unit and installation prices confidential in the face of competing technology.

Adjacent projects

Since getting involved with the project, ILC Dover has been a part of the conversations with various transit authorities and tunnel operators about the eventual uses for the plug. In 2013, this blossomed into some complimentary products that are already in use in New York City.

“We were talking to the New York Transit Authority in 2013 and they were very interested in the plug, but they also really wanted to look in to more ways to stop flood waters at the surface before the got into the tunnels,” said Mr. Cadogan. “They had us look into other options which led us to develop three other types of solutions we call: Flex-Gates, Flex-Walls and Flex-Covers.”

Because cities like New York City have so many openings to their tunnel system they need to cover or block during storms, getting every one covered is often a manpower and cost struggle, said ILC Dover officials. Existing equipment used to block up tunnel vents and entrances during a storm often have to be stored elsewhere and hauled to the opening and installed before a storm.

The flexible gates, walls and covers ILC Dover designed are made of high-strength fabrics, can be deployed quickly, can be customized to fit a variety of openings and be stored at the point of use — solving many of the issues transit authorities face.

DOVER — Legislation that would codify abortion law is now awaiting action from Gov. John Carney after the House passed it Tuesday. The governor, a Democrat, will sign the bill, which passed 22-16, with three lawmakers absent. Two Democrats joined the Republicans in voting against it.

The measure, Senate Substitute 1 for Senate Bill 5, would strike provisions from the Delaware Code that have been ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court and guarantee access to abortion in the event a landmark federal court case is overturned.

Technically, Delaware’s current state law allows abortions only if the pregnancy results from incest or rape, the baby will probably be born with serious deformities or disabilities, or the pregnancy is likely to seriously harm the mother. In addition, under state law all abortions must be performed within the first 20 weeks of pregnancy.

While the law is superseded by the 1973 court case Roe v. Wade, some abortion rights advocates fear that if a U.S. Supreme Court justice retires or dies, President Donald Trump will nominate a conservative justice who would shift the balance on the high court and lead to Roe v. Wade being overturned.

The states would then determine whether to authorize abortion, unless Congress acts.

It’s because of that possibility, supporters of abortion rights say, that Delaware must update its laws. Opponents, however, counter abortion is “murder” and the bill would expand the time period in which an abortion can be performed.

The bill would allow abortions for any reason and would expand the timeline to let a doctor terminate a pregnancy any time before the fetus is “viable,” defined as “the point in a pregnancy when, in a physician’s good faith medical judgment based on the factors of a patient’s case, there is a reasonable likelihood of the fetus’s sustained survival outside the uterus without the application of extraordinary medical measures.”

An abortion could be performed after viability in the event of potential harm to the mother or the fetus being unlikely to survive outside the womb.

The proposal, if it becomes law, would not change anything unless Roe v. Wade is struck down.

Tuesday’s discussion was a tense one, with debates not just over the merits of the bill but over the constitutionality of several amendments. Proposals to ban abortion after 20 weeks, tighten the definition of viability and require a 24-hour waiting period before an abortion were struck down as unconstitutional or irrelevant, angering Republicans.

Members of the GOP spoke out in frustration after the second amendment was tossed, causing House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach, to bang his gavel and threaten to begin removing people from the chamber if they did not quiet down.

After a break of more than 50 minutes to allow Republicans to draw up new amendments, the House reconvened. As expected, Democrats then voted down the two proposed changes.

Viability was a sticking point for opponents, with Republicans unsuccessfully attempting to change the definition several times.

Lawmakers in the minority did most of the speaking in the hourslong debate: Rep. Joe Miro, R-Pike Creek Valley, blasted the legislation as “a license to murder,” and Rep. Tim Dukes, R-Laurel, read a letter from Ben Carson, a former neurosurgeon who is now the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, in opposition to the bill.

Democrats defended the bill as bringing the Delaware Code up-to-date with the precedent set by Roe v. Wade and guaranteeing access to legal abortions.

“Whether I agree with abortion or not, I just believe in a woman’s right to choose,” Rep. Andria Bennett, D-Dover, said.

Before lawmakers went into session, more than 100 people gathered outside Legislative Hall to protest the bill.

“While 20 other states have passed reasonable limits on abortion after five months in the last several years, Delaware is headed backwards,” anti-abortion activist Ellen Barrosse said in a statement.

Susan B. Anthony List, a national pro-life group, said it spent close to $100,000 opposing the bill.

Gov. John Carney, center, talks about Delaware’s plan in Investing in the Department of Correction as from left, Rep. Larry Mitchell, Rep. Kevin Hensley, Commissioner of Corrections Perry Phelps and Rep. Gerald Hocker look on during a press conference at Legislative Hall on Tuesday. (Delaware State News/Marc Clery)

DOVER — Gov. John Carney said Tuesday he is disappointed criminal charges have not been filed in the Feb. 1 inmate uprising at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center, which killed one correctional officer.

The governor, speaking as a news conference, said he has not asked the Delaware State Police when the investigation will be complete because he did not think it would be “appropriate.”

Gov. Carney called the press gathering to respond to a report issued last week by a former state judge and federal prosecutor on the incident at Vaughn. The report was created at the governor’s request, and while it went into detail about issues at the prison and failings in the state’s correctional system, few of the offered conclusions were new.

Though the governor sought to provide what Sen. Bruce Ennis, D-Smyrna, called a “blueprint” to fix the Department of Correction’s problems — staffing shortages, low morale, lack of trust between rank and file and management, inadequate training and more — most of the recommendations laid out Tuesday had been previously announced.

Gov. Carney’s plans include buying new cameras for Vaughn at a cost of $2 million, increasing pay for correctional officers, eliminating shortages in the department and creating a temporary assistant to lead reforms within the agency.

But even as the governor touted his ideas, he admitted they may fail to solve problems that have in some cases existed for a decade or more.

“If we’re not doing very well, which is a possibility, probably a high possibility given what we are talking about, then our feet’ll be held to the fire,” Gov. Carney said.

The report, a final version of which is due in August, says a variety of issues may have contributed to the inmate revolt.

Minor mistakes such as “errors in classification calculations, failures to follow procedures and/or mistakes made by fatigued and inexperienced staff … were exacerbated by perceived injustices, grievances, overcrowded and/or poorly maintained facilities, a lack of programming and work opportunities, inappropriate staff-inmate interactions and the inconsistent application of policies and procedures by corrections staff,” it says.

Those problems come to a head Feb. 1 when inmates took several correctional officers hostage. The ensuing standoff lasted 19 hours and ended with Lt. Steven Floyd dead.

Under Gov. Carney’s proposal, a special assistant would seek to improve communication within the department and improve its inner workings.

“The goal in all of this is frankly to change the culture,” the governor said.

The Department of Correction has more than 100 vacancies, and the Correctional Officers Association of Delaware has said for years the state struggles to recruit and keep officers because of low pay.

According to the report, starting salaries for officers at Vaughn are about $32,000 in the current fiscal year, while officers who have 20 years under their belts make $41,000.

The state is working with the Correctional Officers Association to renegotiate contracts to raise salaries, and union President Geoff Klopp said the talks are “progressing.”

Gov. Carney in March proposed adding 50 officers at Vaughn and 25 in Baylor Women’s Correctional Institution. Tuesday, he said the state will strive to create a plan for filling every vacancy.

Mr. Klopp said the governor’s recommendations are a “breath of fresh air.”

“So far, the governor’s been a man of his word and I believe he will continue to be a man of his word,” he said. “What’s important now is that the General Assembly figure and do their job to raise revenue so that the governor has the ability to finally fix what the General Assembly hasn’t fixed for the last four years.”

DOVER — DNREC’s Division of Fish and Wildlife is launching Delaware’s new Conservation Access Pass July 1.

Starting on that date, a Conservation Access Pass will be required for any registered motor vehicle used to access Division of Fish & Wildlife state wildlife areas for recreational activities such as birdwatching, wildlife photography, hiking and horseback riding, as well as hunting.

The annual pass for Delaware-registered vehicles is valid from July 1 thru June 30 and will cost $32.50 when it goes on sale July 1. A three-day pass valid for three consecutive days costs $10.

For vehicles with out-of-state registration, an annual pass costs $65 and a three-day pass costs $20.

The Conservation Access Pass is assigned to a single registered vehicle, but may be transferred to a different vehicle under the same ownership for an additional $10.

Starting July 1, the pass may be purchased online at Delaware Licenses, at authorized license agents throughout the state, or from DNREC’s licensing desk in the Richardson & Robbins Building at 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901.

Also starting July 1, Delaware hunters will receive one free annual vehicle pass with the purchase of a hunting license. To purchase a Conservation Access Pass, wildlife area users will need to show the registration card for the vehicle in which they will use the dashboard pass.

Some locations managed by the Division of Fish and Wildlife are exempt from the Conservation Access Pass requirement, including the Michael N. Castle Trail on the C&D Conservation Area near Delaware City, and designated boating and fishing access sites listed in the 2017 Delaware Fishing Guide. Educational and shooting range facilities operated by the Division also are exempt, including the Little Creek Hunter Education Center, Aquatic Resources Education Center at Woodland Beach Wildlife Area, DuPont Nature Center at Milford Neck Conservation Area, and Ommelanden Hunter Education Training Center and Public Shooting Range in New Castle.

For more information about Delaware’s Conservation Access Pass, visit www.de.gov/fw or call the Wildlife Section at 302-739-9912.

You may also want to check out frequently-asked questions about the Conservation Access Pass.

For questions about purchasing the pass, call the Division’s Recreational Licensing Office at 302-739-9918.

Well, it’s raining …again!

We are having the craziest weather this year, but at least it is keeping the water temperatures in the low 60s around the Delaware Bay and the upper 60s around the inland bays — great temperatures for the fish to stick around, and even let the summer fish show up at the same time. That makes for a nice variety to catch.

The bluefish are still here but not in huge numbers. The catches have gotten less and less for the big gators but the summer blues are here and they are decent in size. The smaller summer blues are not here yet, but will be at some point. They are still hitting green mullet rigs the most as far as color. Bunker chunks are working okay,but mullet has been better.

The summer flounder are hitting regularly in the Lewes Canal, the upper Delaware Bay and now at the inshore flounder grounds. The Indian River Inlet has produced a few large flounder up to seven pounds.

Drifting minnows are the best baits, but chartreuse or nuclear chicken gulp are working well on rigs. The inland bay action has been slow, but hopefully will pick up. The bluefish still being in some areas is pushing fish elsewhere.

Corey Joseph holds a summer flounder form the offshore flounder grounds. (Submitted photo)

Kingfish are being caught at Broadkill Beach and Beach Plum Island. The ocean beaches are seeing more catches as the larger bluefish are heading north. Not too many fish want to hang around those beasts. The kingfish are hitting bloodworms,squid, and fishbite’s bloodworm formula.

Croaker and spot are being caught at the Cape Henlopen fishing pier which is good news for many anglers. Lot of people like to catch these “hardheads” for the table. They are a good flaky white fish just a little bony. They will hit bloodworms, Fishbites, and squid, or clam. Top and bottom rigs can double down on them just make sure you have good hooks. D. S. Custom tackle makes top and bottom rigs with owner hooks, they are the best in Delaware. These hooks don’t snap and with proper care will last a long time. Good hooks catch more fish, cheap hooks break.

Black sea bass action is great offshore just hire a local charter or head boat to get you out there. Most days the boats are filling the boxes.

Striped bass action has been good for shorts in tidal creeks and inlets. Some decent keepers in the mix as well. Look along grass banks and structure for the schoolies.

Blowfish or puffers are being caught around the inland bays and Delaware Bay, and the surf. using squid, bloodworms, or clam. Some spotted hake are in the mix for the Delaware bay being caught around structure.

Catfish and white perch are hitting in the C&D canal with short striped bass on occasion.

This constant rain is keeping the salt line lower than normal. Bluefish have made it as far up as Port Mahon.

Freshwater fishing action is great when the weather is cooperating. Because who likes to fish in the rain? The fish don’t care,and on most days neither do I.

Rich King’s outdoors column appears Thursdays in the Delaware State News.

Joe Brennan

MILFORD — February was a rough month for Sean Brennan and his family.

While his father, Joe, had been battling diabetes, the elder Brennan’s death on Feb. 7 came as a shock.

Sean was still coping with it when his Milford High softball team opened preseason practice on March 1.

“At the end of that first day of tryouts I got all teary-eyed,” said Brennan. “They (the players) were like, ‘Coach, what’s wrong?’ I was like, ‘This is the first day without my Dad where I had to do a sport.’

“They’re all like, ‘We’re so sorry,’ and they all gave me a hug and everything.”

Brennan had already been impressed with the maturity of his older players and the way they helped the younger ones. He remembers walking away from practice that day thinking that he had a really good group of kids.

Milford Head Coach Sean Brennan sends batting signals during the state championship game. (Special to the Delaware State News/Chuck Snyder)

“Seeing them prepare for the season that day,” said Brennan, “I knew how special this team really was.”

Last Tuesday night, the Buccaneers proved again they were pretty special when they downed Delmar, 17-9, to capture just the program’s third DIAA state crown.

Seeded only 11th, Milford is probably the lowest-seeded team to capture a softball state title — the Bucs that won the state championship in 2009 were No. 10.
Milford also overcame a 4-4 start to the season and had a remarkable power surge in the state tournament, launching 18 homeruns in four games.

“To see what those girls accomplished. … to see a dream placed in their heart and see it come to fruition was jut a humbling experience,” said Brennan. “It was great, It was an awesome time.”

Milford’s Darby Brennan throws to first base after making the out at second. (Special to the Delaware State News/Chuck Snyder)

For Brennan, getting to share a state championship season with his daughter, Darby, made it a spring the family will never forget. A junior, Darby Brennan starts at second base for Milford.

Of course, the two were also united by the loss of Sean’s father.

Sean Brennan said his dad tried to always call Darby before she had a field hockey or softball game or a swim meet.

“He always talked to her and made sure it was going to be a good day,” said Sean. “Me, too. We talked every day. And, so, when you don’t have that, there’s a big hole.”

“I know every time I played, I could just feel his presence,” Darby said about her grandfather. “I could feel him with me. I took every step for him, every ball I took for him. I tried to make the best of it — like he was here.”

This actually wasn’t the first time that the Brennans experienced a state championship game together.

In 2010, Sean Brennan took the Bucs to the state finals as a first-year head coach.

Darby, who was only about 10 at the time, was a regular at Milford’s games. She clearly remembers the way it felt when the Bucs lost to Caravel, 6-2, in the title game.

“Seeing the heartbreak on the girls, on the parents, on the coaches. …,” said Darby.

“That day, I was like, ‘This is where I want to be, I want to do this with my Dad,’” she said. “‘I want to win a championship with my Dad.’ He’s coached me all my life in softball. We’ve had accomplishments all along the way but nothing compared to this. This is just amazing.”

Darby said several other current Milford players were there that day in 2010 not to mention parents who were there last Tuesday when the Bucs won their state crown.

Sean Brennan said he couldn’t ask for better fans, assistant coaches or players.

Indeed, the Milford coach couldn’t help but be amazed how the whole thing came together — like it was somehow all meant to me.

Brennan said there were more than a few times during the season when he found himself having a mental conversation with his dad.

“There were a lot of times I’d be at third base just saying, ‘Hey Pop, can you just give Darb a hit,’” said Brennan. “Or, ‘just give her a pitch to hit.’ … And it would just happen. Things would just happen.

“When you can’t explain things like we did in the tournament, I give that up to God. That’s coming from somewhere other than here, where all the parts just fit together.”

Darby, too, remembers thinking about her grandfather after the Bucs won their state championship.

“I know that night, I was sitting at home and I had the trophy,” she said. “I was just like, ‘Wow, we really accomplished this.’ And I know if he (her grandfather) was here, he would be so proud of not just me but (all) the girls.”

Notes

Brennan will be one of the Gold coaches in the Blue-Gold All-Star Game, which is slated for Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Dover Little League. … Three Milford players — Megan Fry, Rajene Bowe and Nia Bowe — are also slated to be on the Gold roster. … Along with the 18 homers in the state tourney, the Bucs also had 12 doubles and a triple in the four games as 31 of their 59 hits went for extra bases. … That’s a big reason why Milford also scored 55 runs in the tournament, which may also have been a record.

DOVER — A development plan for Capital Station Dover, which hopes to revitalize the site of the abandoned Playtex factory at the intersection of U.S. 13 and Division Street, continues to press forward.

The city of Dover’s Development Advisory Committee met with applicants from Capital Station, as well as three other projects, in the City Hall conference room on Wednesday to discuss possible issues with their site development plan applications.

Brian Finnegan, principal at Whitewoods Capital Advisors LLC, which is developing Capital Station, said the project is moving along nicely and could eventually change the look and feel of the area.

“This is your one chance to develop a site like this,” Mr. Finnegan said. “Once it’s developed, it is what it is. It’s an important corner for the city of Dover.

“You’re looking at an old industrial building and it’s an eyesore, even for the neighborhood across the street. That’s not really what you really want to see driving into the governmental center.”

The old Playtex plant in Dover is being considered for demolition. (Delaware State News/Marc Clery)

An Aldi grocery store is the proposed anchor tenant of Capital Station. They are also hoping to draw a Starbucks with a drive-thru window.

“Those two tenants (Aldi and Starbucks), we’re still in negotiations with, we’re not final on either of them,” said Mr. Finnegan. “To get this far in the process you obviously have to show conceptionally what they intend to do with the site. We’re getting there.”

The Capital Station project is calling for 60,285-square-foot of commercial development that will call for the demolition of the site of the former Playtex plant and water tower on the property.

The development is proposed to include a 23,310-square-foot retail and restaurant multi-tenant building, a 6,625-square-foot retail and restaurant multi-tenant building, a 5,224-square-foot retail or restaurant building, a 6,080-square-foot restaurant building and a 19,055-square-foot Aldi grocery store, directly at the intersection of U.S. 13 and Division Street.

“The Route 13 corridor certainly has a number of properties that are opportunities for redevelopment and this happens to be one of them,” said Dawn Melson-Williams, principal planner in Dover’s Department of Planning and Inspection. “It’s a significant corner, certainly.”

On Wednesday, the Development Advisory Committee met with four applicants to review and comment on their applications which will be considered by the Planning Commission at its meeting on Monday, June 19.

Mr. Finnegan said that Capital Station will be quite an involved project, considering it will have to demolish a rehabilitate the old Playtex site.

“The key to this project is it’s an industrial building that’s been vacant for 17 years and, it being an industrial building, the environmental concerns that are out at the site, we’ve got to approach that the right way,” he said. “It will be a probably an eight- to 10-month-process of demolition and abatement for the building.

“Once that’s done we’ll have a site work, probably over a four-month period, and then we’ll go vertical with the buildings.

“I think the demolition and abatement process will probably coincide with the majority of the process here with the city of Dover as far as approvals.”

On Wednesday, it was all about discussion of tweaking minor details about projects before they possibly turn into big ones at the Planning Commission meeting.

“I don’t think so much there are obstacles,” Mr. Finnegan said. “I understand the city of Dover sees this as the gateway (to the city), and very much so it is. You can see by the architecture that we’ve put together, it’s in keeping with what you see down here. There’s a lot of brick. We’re trying to give them a project that’s in keeping with this whole straightaway with this site.

“I think what we propose here is in keeping what’s going up and down with the commercial aspects of what’s going on, but it is going to look much better than what they’ve had for 17 years there in an abandoned state.”

Among other applications reviewed by the DAC on Wednesday before they go to the Planning Commission included:

• The Dover Dialysis Center at 107 Mont Blanc Boulevard. An application to permit construction of a 10,000-square-foot, one-story office building and associated site improvements. A total of 6,500-square-foot of the building will be used as a medical office with the remaining 3,500-square-foot reserved for future commercial/professional office tenants. The property is located between Mont Blanc Boulevard and Saulsbury Road, south of Walker Road. The owner of record is CCD Properties LLC and the equitable owner is MRMS Associates II, LLC.

• Dover Station at 655 West North Street. An application to permit construction of a 20,000-square-foot, two-story office building and a 6,000-square-foot group home, as well as associated site improvements. This project adds to the existing development at 645 West North Street and will share site access. The property is located on the north side of West North Street east of Clarence Street. The owner of record is Faithworks, LLC.

• Eden Hill Farm TND – Professional Office, Medical and Financial District: Revised Implementation Plan. Review of a revised implementation plan for the professional office, medical and financial district component of the traditional neighborhood design project known as Eden Hill Farm.

The district is located on two parcels of land consisting of around 25.47 total acres. The revision is for the area east of Banning Street (known as Lot 2B) consisting of around 7.33 acres.

The proposed overall plan for the district consists of six buildings, parking areas, open space areas, and the street layout. The parcel is zoned TND (Traditional Neighborhood Design Zone) and is located at the southeast corner of West North Street and Banning Street. The owner of record is Dover Medical Properties LLC.