CAMDEN — Four years ago, Caesar Rodney High’s boys’ lacrosse team needed a goalie.

Tyler Gross, a young freshman, volunteered to give it a try.

He’s been in the goal ever since.

While Gross’ career at Caesar Rodney is over, he’s not done playing goalie just yet.

He will continue his lacrosse career next year at Susquehanna University, a Division III program in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania.

Gross has one more chance to represent Caesar Rodney during the annual Blue-White Senior All-Star game. The girls’ and boys’ games will be held at Wesley College on Tuesday beginning at 6 p.m.

Tyler Gross finished his senior year with 107 saves and a 6.3 goals against average, while helping CR to the Henlopen title and a berth in the state semifinals. (Delaware State News file photo)

“It’s been a long road,” Gross said. “To look back to being a freshman, my first year playing the position, and then going to play in college now feels great. I’ve come a long way.”

Tuesday also gives Caesar Rodney coach Matt Faircloth one final time to coach Gross.

Faircloth is the head coach of the White team, comprised of Kent and Sussex County schools along with a few schools from southern New Castle County. Gross will be joined by fellow Riders Jacob Pangle, Jacob Copio and Jacob Mollohan.

Gross was an attacking player during youth lacrosse but switched to goalie when Caesar Rodney needed to replace All-State goalie Johnmichael Smith, who graduated in 2013.

“He was a great goalie so I definitely had big shoes to fill,” Gross said. “I said, ‘Hey let’s give it a shot.’ It worked out well for me. I wouldn’t want it any other way. I think it worked because of all the coaches we had here helping me.”

Of course there was a learning curve and Gross took some lumps in the beginning, but he developed to an All-State goalie in his own right, landing on the honorable mention list this season.

Gross finished his senior year with 107 saves and a 6.3 goals against average, while helping Caesar Rodney to the Henlopen Conference championship and a berth in the state tournament semifinals.

“He has physical toughness but even more mental toughness,” Faircloth said. “He’s incredibly smart and knowledgeable of the game. He makes the people around him better because he holds them accountable for matchups, schemes we’re in and where they should be playing.”

Faircloth is going to miss more than just Gross’ on the field play.

Gross is a two-year captain and was an Academic All-American in 2017.

“He’s the complete package,” Faircloth said. “You ask for a student-athlete, he’s it on the field and off the field. It’s been incredible to watch him develop into the person he is today.”

DOVER — The Schwartz Center for the Arts will hold its last public event today before the downtown Dover arts venue closes its door on June 30.

Tracey Miller, president of the board of directors, said Friday the group will vacate the building that day, but keep the Friends of the Capitol Theater entity intact for now.

“What led to this decision is we just ran out of money,” she said.

The directors, seated last May as a working board, labored to raise funds and respond to community feedback with increased and diversified programming, but she said, the nonprofit couldn’t make enough to sustain operations. It does not carry debt.

“We thought we were going to be able to figure out some more revenue sources. We just kind of ran out of time,” Ms. Miller said.

Patrons file into the Schwartz Center for the Arts in Dover for a show in 2012. (Delaware State News file photo)

Wesley College and Delaware State University, which stepped in more than a decade ago to save the Schwartz when it faced closure in 2004, own the building at 226 S. State St.

According to city and county records, the property is exempt from tax assessments.

The higher education institutions, which have provided a combined $120,000 a year to the Schwartz for nearly a decade, decreased and then stopped their financial support last year, but continued to lease the building to the Friends group rent free.

Financial support cut

Ms. Miller said that reduction in financial support, coupled with the loss of rent after a church group moved to a bigger facility, caused too significant of a funding crunch too fast even with ticket sales up 99 percent over this time last year. She cited a variety of other factors that created challenges, from perceived parking and safety problems to insufficient private sponsorships.

“It’s right in the middle of downtown. It’s just going to take us standing in the middle of the road begging people to come in,” she said. “I think the key here is going to be figuring out what the exact combination is to engaging people downtown to just come into the theater. To just try it. “

Paul Weagraff, director of the Delaware Division of the Arts, which has provided the Schwartz with $797,453 in grant money since 2000, mostly for general operating support, complimented its board for aggressively trying to salvage operations. He said the programming they offered this year fulfills the grants received for fiscal year 2017.

“I think the reality is, that given the change in the structure of the organization over the last couple of years, that the change in the organization structure wasn’t accompanied by a change in a funding structure as it was insufficient to sustain sustainable operations,” he said. “They just could not continue to operate under the financial model they were operating under.”

Biggest challenge

While he said having programs that the community wants is critical, organizations need a broad range of revenue streams, from ticket sales, to grants, private contributions, government subsidies and corporate sponsorships.

“I think historically that’s where the Schwartz has had the biggest challenge,” he said. “An organization has to have a variety of funding sources in order to survive. Ticket sales alone won’t cover it.”

A primary function of a nonprofit board is fiscal oversight and fundraising, Mr. Weagraff said, but with the longtime financial support from Wesley and Delaware State, the Schwartz board wasn’t always situated to meet that goal.

John Leventhal and Rosanne Cash perform at the Schwartz Center for the Arts as the Gala Opening act in 2001. (Delaware State News file photo)

“They were for a period of 10 to 12 years extremely generous to the Schwartz,” he said. “During the time, there was not a sufficient fundraising mechanism developed, in part because the colleges were underwriting much of the cost. As the colleges withdrew over the last few years, they weren’t able to replace (that) support with adequate funding strategies.”

“To Tracey’s credit, I think her efforts in building programming and really, (former executive director) Sydney Arzt before her, to build significant programming was substantial. In recent months, they’ve seen an increase in ticket revenues as they’ve been reporting them to us,” he said. “Clearly the Schwartz has been serving a valuable need in the community.”

Partnership changes

SCHWARTZ BOARD
The following is a list of the people who served on the Schwartz Center for the Arts Board of Directors, according to the nonprofit group’s website:
Tracey Miller, president
Candice Fifer, vice president
Tim Paret, treasurer
Laura Howard, secretary
Todd Stonesifer
Joe Baione
Amy Mullen
Sophia Ghanayem
Mike Rushe
Tony Espinal
Larry Friend
Nate Ames
Laura Lee Kirby
Samantha Hemphill
Meghan Garrison

When the Schwartz faced financial woes in 2004, a strategic alliance was formed to collaborate the resources of Wesley College, Delaware State University, and The Friends of the Capitol Theater. A few years later, that alliance became an official partnership.

Delaware State University Spokesman Carlos Holmes said Wesley and DSU have a lease agreement with the Friends of the Schwartz II (also known as the Friends of the Capitol Theater) outlining that the Friends group which runs the Schwartz Center did not pay rent, but would handle routine costs such as utilities and the higher education institutions would take care of major structural repairs needed for the building, such as HVAC issues. That lease began in 2007.

In addition to that lease, Wesley and Delaware State provided regular financial aid to the Schwartz until last year.

“From 2004-2007, DSU and Wesley were involved in a strategic alliance with the Schwartz, in which both institutions programmed some of their events at the theatre. Per the 2007 agreement, from 2007-2016, DSU and Wesley contributed $120,000 annually to the Schwartz ($60,000 per institution).”

Then, Mr. Holmes said, the financial support for DSU dropped to $55,000 in fiscal year 2016. He could not speak for Wesley’s contribution and Wesley President Robert Clark was unavailable for an interview this week.

No plans for building

As for plans for the building, Mr. Holmes said, “No plan is yet in place that addresses its future. There is presently no timetable with respect to the development of such a plan.”

Ms. Miller said it takes more than $100,000 a year to run the theater and an additional $25,000 in liability insurance. That includes $7,000 a month in the summer in electric bills for the three-story, 550-seat theater.

“It’s not like we had huge amounts of people working there or anything like that,” she said. “The building costs a lot of money.”

Ticket sales raise significant revenue, they can’t make up the costs needed to pay acts, which require deposits and fees in addition to their performances.

“In terms of debt, we don’t own the building so there’s no way to go out and get a loan,” she said, and without a long-term lease, it makes it difficult to raise significant capital.

She said within the new board being named in May, members learned in a span of 45 days that they would lose $150,000 with the colleges’ support and the church rental. While she said the board was determined to try and compensate, and had a plan in place, plus the successful Battle of the Schwartz that raised more than $60,000 in February, it simply ran out of time and money.

From left, Belle Shade as Marion Paroo, Josiah Rich as Harold Hill and Logan Williams as Marcellus Washburn in the Music Man. (Delaware State News/Marc Clery)

“There is no cushion. We are day to day,” she said. “There is no way for us to deficit spend.”

She said before the decision in December 2015 to create a new working board, “they had not had an active board since 2013.”

“We tried to figure out seven ways to Sunday to make this work. I really thanked my board for that (Thursday) night. No one gave up.”

She echoed Mr. Weagraff’s opinion that the theater needed supplemental funding and was grateful to the state’s support through the years.

“They have been phenomenal in their help to us. That’s our largest grantor. They really stepped up when they came on board. They did everything possible to keep us afloat,” she said, adding that the Twilley Foundation and the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation also have provided significant aid.

Saddened by reaction

Ms. Miller acknowledged it was frustrating to see some of the public reaction to the Schwartz’s closure on social media. She lamented that people who may be saddened by the turn of events didn’t support the theater to help prevent the current situation.

She said she would talk to people who promised support and attendance for events, but then didn’t come. A free weekday movie for seniors, despite the pre-event hype, wasn’t well attended.

“We do it and then people don’t show up,” she said.

The board considered options from offering valet parking to focusing programming this summer on day camps for local kids. The program slate this year included a Steely Dan tribute show, a hip hop performance and a zydeco band.

Just as she doesn’t believe there is a parking issue — “you park and walk,” she doesn’t believe there is a safety issue in the Schwartz vicinity. “I have walked in and out of there at all times of the day and night and I have never felt unsafe,” she said.

But she said if the theater can’t get past those stigmas and secure regular financial support, it won’t get back to the root of the issue: being able to sell tickets.

“If you can’t get butts in seats. If you can’t engage your community, you’re not going to make it,” she said. “If you can’t get people in Dover to believe, then it’s not going to make it.”

Help from arts peers

SCHWARTZ GRANTS
The Delaware Division of the Arts awarded the following grants to the Schwartz Center for the Arts since 2000.
Arts Stabilization 2009 $8,000
Arts Stabilization 2013 $3,700
General Operating Support 2000 $8,493
General Operating Support 2001 $7,778
General Operating Support 2002 $55,000
General Operating Support 2002 $6,613
General Operating Support 2003 $2,030
General Operating Support 2004 $32,478
General Operating Support 2005 $22,000
General Operating Support 2006 $27,216
General Operating Support 2007 $64,650
General Operating Support 2008 $49,710
General Operating Support 2009 $46,260
General Operating Support 2010 $41,070
General Operating Support 2011 $41,010
General Operating Support 2012 $41,765
General Operating Support 2013 $36,080
General Operating Support 2014 $89,850
General Operating Support 2015 $61,000
General Operating Support 2016 $80,000
General Operating Support 2017 $64,000
Special Project 2012 $5,000
Special Project 2015 $3,750
Total: $797,453

The board reached out last fall to representatives from theaters and arts groups throughout Delmarva and invited them to tour the Schwartz and discuss ways to make it succeed.

Fred Munzert, executive director of the Milton Theatre, was part of that roundtable discussion, as was Clear Space Theatre in Rehoboth Beach and the Freeman Stage at Bayside near Fenwick Island.

“We were all sad to hear the news. Everybody was really rooting for the venue and the organization that was there. So much time, effort and money has been invested in that thing over the years,” Mr. Munzert said. “Live art is so important to a community and humanity.

Anytime a community has a theater that’s not functioning, it makes me sad.”

With 38 years working various roles in the arts business, he knows how difficult it is to keep a venue operating successfully. Knowing that funding from government and private sources fluctuates in good and bad fiscal times, he said the key for nonprofits is having community support.

“What really makes it work is when a local community supports an effort,” he said, which means patrons buying a painting at an art show, purchasing a ticket to a show and paying to see a film.

He sees that happening in Milton, where neighbors bring friends to expose newcomers to the theater’s offerings and people putting one dollar in a jar at the door makes a difference.

“That’s where the majority of any support comes from. I don’t like the climate and the talk around current funding. It just creates a negative thing. The funding is helpful and necessary, but in the end, it’s people in the seats … that makes it happen,” he said. “That’s my hope that on a grass-roots level, people are becoming more aware of that and supporting.”

“We’ve seen it here in Milton for sure. I know they’ve struggled with it in Dover.”

Underlying challenges

Mr. Munzert, who led the effort to reopen the Milton Theatre three years ago in June of 2014 after it had been closed for four years, agreed with Ms. Miller that there are varied underlying challenges to running a successful community theater. He named ticket prices, having varied programming and offering shows and movies that the community wants. While it is important to stick to one’s mission, he said, groups also have to be willing to try offbeat events that expose people to new arts areas.

“I think we touch on just about every genre and people group,” he said, ranging from Frank Sinatra tribute shows for the mainstay older audience to an annual drag show.

Saturday night’s performance of “The Vagina Monologues” was 75 percent sold out as of Friday morning and he said he wasn’t sure if anyone would even come when the show was first planned.

“My goal was to kind of offer a lot so people could explore, too.”

The Delaware native was told he shouldn’t host the drag show, but, “They come and they laugh and they have fun. It introduces them to a new kind of art they may not have been exposed to before.”

While Mr. Munzert said major donor drives and capital campaigns are needed for special projects, he said it is a balance for arts groups not to rely on those revenue streams for day-to-day operating costs.

“Honestly I think the greatest error nonprofits make is to lean on endowment, to lean on donations. The primary focus is what is your programming is doing and how are you raising money for that?” he said. “The programming has the ability to bring funds in. Even at $5, you have a revenue stream.”

Loss for arts in Delaware

Mr. Weagraff and Mr. Munzert emphasized the significance of the historic theater’s closure.

“In terms of the impact, I think the closing of the Schwartz Center is a great loss, not only to downtown Dover, but central Delaware. It is a gem of a facility. It’s a shame if it doesn’t get utiltized for what it is,” Mr. Weagraff said. “We don’t envy them the anguishing decision that they’ve made, but really feel they have thought through the process carefully,” Mr. Weagraff said. “And really been responsible in their decision.

The state arts division, as it does with other groups in Delaware, he said, had provided support beyond the general operating fund grants and awarded grants for consults to build new strategic plans designed to boost fundraising and increase community engagement.

“That’s where we’ve stepped in a number of times with them and are still open to doing that.”

Mr. Munzert lauded that type of help from the Division of the Arts and Delaware leaders in general, who have created strong support for the arts in Delaware, offering grant funding and educational support.

“There’s a vibrant group of people here in the state that want to see the arts thrive and be alive,” he said. “I love the Schwartz. I wanted to see that work for a million reasons. I hate to see (small theaters) sit dark.”

DOVER — As Dover recovers from the temporary population explosion it saw over NASCAR race weekend it’s already steeling itself for the next giant wave of event-goers coming to town.

The Firefly Music Festival will kick off at The Woodlands near Dover International Speedway starting Thursday through June 19.

If, as organizers hope, the attendance reaches last year’s total, an expected 90,000 fans will pack the outdoor venue with some coming in as soon as Wednesday.

For Chicago-based Red Frog Events, producing Firefly for the past six years has always proven to be a “colossal undertaking.”

Planning the following year’s Firefly often begins as soon as the current year’s ends.

Workers put the finishing touches on The Main Stage VIP Viewing Area in the Woodlands at Firefly Music Festival at Dover International Speedway, (Delaware State News/Marc Clery)

“We’ve been recruiting staff for Firefly this year since shortly after last Firefly — it takes an enormous amount of people to run this thing,” said Michael Coco, senior director of operations with Red Frog Events.

During the music festival, now in its sixth year, Mr. Coco said approximately 1,000 people arrive on show days to help out — volunteers, temporary employees and event vendors among them.

Although Firefly draws a little over half of their manpower from out of state, Mr. Coco said they do place an emphasis on pulling from the local labor pool as much as possible.

“We put out a general posting to hire local people interested in helping, but we also offer opportunities to groups trying to fund raise like local high school athletic clubs, community organizations and local churches,” he said. “A lot of folks come over from the Dover Air Force Base booster club to help out every year.”

Hard at work

Firefly ‘s ‘Glamping” tents have portable Air Conditioning units located in the infield at Dover Downs International Speedway, (Delaware State News/Marc Clery)

The majority of staff don’t fully mobilize until a few days before the event, but key teams have already been hard at work on the site for weeks. Mr. Coco said they started a few smaller projects as early as May 3.

“There are parts of the site that NASCAR doesn’t use like the north campgrounds and some parts of our main stage field that we’re able to work on in advance,” he said.

“Since May, we’ve been putting in fencing and doing some other prep work. We had a ton of equipment and supplies delivered so we could get started right away once NASCAR weekend was over.”

Red Frog Events officially got the run of the site last Monday after race weekend. This year, the schedule is pinching Firefly staff a bit more than last year.
“It was a bit later than usual because NASCAR was pushed back a week(than it’s been scheduled in the past),” said Mr. Coco. “We’re on a tighter timeline than we have been in the past, which has put us to the test a bit, but so far so good. We officially took over on Monday and have been moving quickly since.”

Gary Camp, spokesman for Dover International Speedway, which rents The Woodlands venue to Red Frog Events — said this year will be the shortest turnaround between NASCAR and Firefly.

A food vendor kiosk being set up in the Woodlands at Firefly Music Festival at Dover International Speedway, (Delaware State News/Marc Clery)

“To only have two weeks to set up is the tightest it’s ever been, but they’re moving really fast and appear to be on schedule,” he said.

Rain leading up to June has also made the festival ground prone to ruts and potholes. Organizers have leveled off gravel roads, and put in extra flooring in certain low spots to help address potential mud issues though, Mr. Coco noted.

Lighting, fencing, tent and construction teams were all on site going into this weekend, laying all the requisite infrastructure for the event. As of Thursday, Red Frog Events had 17 of their full-time staff members on site and 28 contractors working on site assembly.

New features

As the venue begins to take shape, some of the new features this year are starting to show.

Firefly will have the most stages in its short history this year — 11 total — but several key ones have received a makeover.

“We’re actually doing a lot of really cool things with the Backyard Stage this year that our design teams worked on that’ll add a really unique feel to it,” said Mr. Coco.

A igloo styled tent is a new feature in the Firefly ‘Glamping” area at Dover Downs International Speedway, (Delaware State News/Marc Clery)

“We’ll also have a Rambler stage this year, which is essentially a mobile stage that we’re putting on the back of a Humvee. It’ll move around and do some really cool pop-up performances.”

Late last year, Red Frog Events announced that they’d be allowing fans of the festival to have a hand in deciding on what new attractions would be on display this year.

The fruits of this fan-curated festival theme has helped guide the aesthetics and some of the features via online fan votes. Two notable examples are that the event’s annual art installation that will be adhering to a “jellyfish” motif and a new bar called The Fort.

“Our lighting and design teams are working on the jellyfish installation now and we’re excited to see how it turns out,” said Mr. Coco. “They’re also just finishing the construction and welding rails on The Fort. It should be completed in a few days.”

Firefly will also offer something they call a “Spruce Up” pass this year for $79. Visitors will be able to rent access to private showers, lounges and air-conditioned bathrooms for the duration of the festival to refresh and get out of the heat.

Safety first

Infrastructure assembly is only one component of preparing for the festival. Jim Hosfelt, director of public safety for Dover International Speedway, has been assembling his teams as well.

“We’ll have five security agencies participating for the event, including the Delaware State Police,” he said. “EMS and fire teams are always on standby for the whole event as well.”

In light of the recent terror attack at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, Mr. Hosfelt said he’s been briefed by terrorism professionals and is encouraging staff to be even more aware and cautious.

He noted the speedway has always taken the highest level of precaution to ensure the safety of all their events. Although not providing an exact figure of full-time security personnel, he noted that the number was “extensive” and it has included partners from the FBI and several DSP bomb teams.

Growing relationship

Although six years is fairly young in terms of music festivals, Firefly’s roots seem to be growing deeper into Dover. Mr. Coco said that not only is the location ideal for the future, with each passing year, they get more efficient at planning and executing with the resources available locally.

“The fact that we’re on the East Coast is great because we’re close to so much,” he said.

“It’s easy to get materials and equipment shipped from the nearby big cites. We have to have 600 golf carts delivered — that would be a little more tricky if we were out in the middle of nowhere. Each year has it’s own unique challenges, but for the most part, things have gotten easier with experience running it.”

The relationship with Firefly and the speedway has been reciprocal. Each year, they work to refit the venue to their needs — improving it along the way, officials say.

“They have a longer term lease on about 400 of our 800 acres,” said Mr. Camp. “The more they use the property, the more they’ve been reinvesting in it. They’ve been doing a great job working on drainage, landscaping and filling holes in the gravel roads. They even recently built two storage buildings at the back of the property so they can keep some supplies here year-round.”

On the opposite side, Mr. Coco said that the speedway saves Red Frog Events a lot of time and money by acting in a support capacity.

“The maintenance team does a ton for us,” he said. “They smooth over a lot of the roads for us and help us handle some of the mowing. They even allow us to borrow some signage and countless other little physical assets they have that we need. In the long run it saves us a lot of time and money, both of which we need a lot of to host a really good festival.”

Although music will start in the campgrounds on Wednesday, gates to the festival will officially open at 5 p.m. Thursday.

This year’s headliners include Muse, Bob Dylan, Chance the Rapper, The Weeknd and Twenty One Pilots.

For more information on the festival and a full listing of bands appearing, visit fireflyfestival.com.

Four-day passes ranging from $309 to $2,499 and single-day passes from $89 to $249 are still available online.

The Delaware General Assembly should not vote to violate federal law, risk the health and safety of children and teens, put our education system at risk, cause significant employment problems, strain our social services systems, and endanger all who use Delaware’s roads by legalizing and commercializing the recreational use of marijuana as proposed by House Bill 110.

We understand that there is a significant amount of misinformation and wishful thinking surrounding the discussion of this issue. In order to have a more productive conversation about the legalization and commercialization of recreational marijuana, it is important for us to separate the myths from the facts:

Myth No. 1:

Delaware needs to legalize and commercialize the recreational use of marijuana for people who wish to use marijuana for medical purposes.

FACT:

Delaware passed legislation allowing medical marijuana use in 2011.

Myth No. 2:

If Delaware legalized and commercialized the recreational use of marijuana, then, our prisons would not be overcrowded.

FACT:

No one is in prison for smoking a joint. Delaware decriminalized the possession of up to an ounce of marijuana in 2013, and according to police, even before that time, the only people who faced jail time for possession either had the drug near a school or were also in possession of an illegal weapon. Even prior to decriminalization in 2015, an analysis of 2013 possession-of-marijuana cases by the Delaware Statistical Analysis Center found that no defendants were sentenced to incarceration for possession of marijuana alone. Same for 2014, the last year for which statistics are available.

Myth No. 3:

If Delaware legalized and commercialized the recreational use of marijuana, then, the state would make a lot of money.

FACT:

Nearly all revenue brought in from marijuana sales in Colorado goes towards the bureaucratic infrastructure needed to oversee the program and to increased law enforcement to address increased dangers on the roads. What money is left over does not cover costs associated with increased roadway deaths, increased emergency room visits for people who ingest marijuana candy, and increased workplace accidents and absenteeism. A recent working paper about another Eastern state, Rhode Island, demonstrated that even this limited subset of costs outweighed projected revenues – just like with alcohol or tobacco, which are big money-losers.

Myth No. 4:

Legalizing and commercializing the recreational use of marijuana will not lead to more drivers using marijuana

FACT:

Following the legalization and commercialization of recreational marijuana in Washington state, 44 percent of drivers in a roadside survey said they had taken marijuana within two hours of driving in the previous year.

Myth No. 5:

Drivers who use marijuana are safer behind the wheel than those who drink alcohol.

FACT:

Marijuana impairs psychomotor skills and cognitive functions, including reaction time, distance perception, lane tracking, motor coordination, and attention span – all of which are needed for safe driving. Marijuana use at least doubles crash risk.

Myth No. 6:

If we legalize and commercialize the recreational use of marijuana, then, illegal-drug dealers will be put out of business

FACT:

Officials in states that have legalized recreational use report the black market for marijuana either remains the same or grows because of those who do not want to pay taxes or abide by other limits imposed by regulators. A recent report by the Oregon State Police indicated that 70 percent of all marijuana market activity there is illegal – that is, black market!

Myth No. 7:

There is no connection between the tobacco industry and the marijuana legalization movement.

FACT:

We live in a nation that has largely closed the door on tobacco, a drug that does not impair driving. Meanwhile, we have opened the door to marijuana with open arms. Marijuana today equates to what cigarettes were in the 1950s. Nobody overdosed on cigarettes, but we soon learned how harmful they were. In the U.S., 160,600 people die from smoking-related cardiovascular and metabolic disease each year. Already in Colorado, Washington and elsewhere, massive special interest groups and lobbies – “Big Pot” – have emerged to protect the marijuana industry, using the same tactics as “Big Tobacco.”

Myth No. 8:

Recreational marijuana stays at home and doesn’t affect workplaces.

FACT:

The number of workers testing positive in Colorado rose 11 percent; in Washington – 9 percent. The rates of increase in these states, the first to legalize pot, were more than double the increase nationwide in 2016.

As representatives of organizations concerned with health, medical, safety, economic development, addiction, recovery, mental health, and law enforcement communities, we ask the members of the 149th General Assembly to review the facts and oppose House Bill 110.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Keep Delaware Safe and Healthy Coalition is made up of: AAA Mid-Atlantic, atTAcK addiction, Delaware Police Chiefs’ Council Inc., Delaware Healthcare Association, Medical Society of Delaware, Sunday Breakfast Mission, Delaware State Chamber of Commerce, Delaware School Nurse Association, Delaware State Troopers Association, Smart Approaches to Marijuana, Thresholds Inc., Ability Network of Delaware, Delaware Council on Gambling Problems Inc., Robert Walter, MD, FAAP (pediatrician), Siobhan Irwin, MD, FAAP, FASAM (pediatrician), and Rita M. Landgraf, atTAcK addiction Advisory Board Member and former Secretary of Delaware DHSS.

Dennis Hallock of Dover started a fundraiser at Central Middle School eight years ago that has grown to raise a cumulative total of over $24,000 for the Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition. He is wearing a T-shirt designed by Dover High School students for the campaign. (Special to the Delaware State News/Dee Marvin Emeigh)

DOVER — Dennis Hallock just wanted to help.

When one of the senior secretaries at Dover’s Central Middle School was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010, Mr. Hallock, the school’s Parent Teacher Organization president, decided to organize a fundraiser to benefit the Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition.

“We raised a few hundred dollars,” he recalled.

Over the years, more of the schools in the Capital School District got involved until every school and educational office in the district went “pink.”

“They did walks, and hat days, pink pizza days, sold glow bracelets, and Dover High School even created its own T-shirts. It’s been amazing,” he said

Because of Mr. Hallock’s commitment to and encouragement of volunteerism, the “few hundred dollars” has accumulated to a grand total of $24,000 in donations over the last eight years, a feat that Lois Wilkinson, Education and Survivorship Program manager of the DBCC, finds incredible.

“These were $1 to $5 donations,” she explained.

On Friday, June 2 at the Chase Center in Wilmington, Mr. Hallock became the recipient of the DBCC’s Spotlight on Philanthropy Award at their Shining Light Awards ceremony.

“I’ve always felt that giving back is important,” Mr. Hallock said.

Among the criteria the reviewers look for are a proven record of exceptional philanthropic generosity, leadership skills in volunteer fundraising, and encouraging philanthropy in others. All these and more made Mr. Hallock the ideal choice.

“I’ve worked hand in hand with Dennis to give him whatever support he needs for events and I can’t thank him enough,” Ms. Wilkinson adds.

The Shining Light Awards began in 2014 as a way for the DBCC to honor individuals and organizations who have made a difference in the local battle against breast cancer. Nominations are open to the public for those most deserving of recognition. Applications are then reviewed by a selection committee comprised of survivors, health care professionals and volunteers.

Among the achievements required for the Spotlight on Healthcare Delivery and Research Award are a proven record of exceptional contribution to improved health care outcomes, exceptional innovative skills in health care delivery to meet the needs of breast cancer patients, and demonstrated leadership skills.

This award was received by Dr. Mahendra Parikh, who founded Mid-Delaware Imaging of Dover in 1990.

His son, Dr. Anush Parikh, who joined the practice in 2008, explains that his father chose radiology because it encompasses all fields of medicine.

“Imaging is utilized from head to toe and a radiologist plays a vital role in the patient’s care and in the overall clinical team. We are often the first to provide the diagnosis,” he said.

Privately owned, MDI was the first facility in Kent County to offer digital imaging in 2009, and became the first to offer 3-D mammography (breast tomosynthesis) in 2015.

In their ongoing efforts to stay ahead of the curve, they are also the only facility offering double read mammograms, where two separate radiologists review the images. Recent studies have shown this procedure to be more effective at detecting cancers than single reads.

“Our practice being given the Shining Lights Award gives us all a sense of pride for being recognized for the work we do on a daily basis. We perform breast imaging to help the patients of our community and it’s a true honor to be recognized by a group that we truly respect, the DBCC,” noted Dr. Anush Parikh.

Of the five awards presented by the DBCC, two recipients currently reside in Kent County and a third, Deloris Donnelly, lived here for many years before recently moving to Florida.

“Deloris started the Nurture with Nature Program, for which she is receiving the Spotlight on Survivorship award,” Ms. Wilkinson said.

“I am excited that we have so many Kent County winners this year.”

Dee Marvin Emeigh is a freelance writer living in the Milford area.

DOVER — Some notes and quotes between headlines and deadlines …

***

The May 26 edition of the Delaware State News ran a letter to the editor with the headline, “Clean Dover up before producing a short film.”

The reason we mention that today is that it fell short of our standards for a letter to the editor.

We have learned the author was not the person listed.

And, now knowing this, we feel it is important to acknowledge the concern to our readers. We owe the public candor and honesty regarding our own performance.

We were duped by someone who sent this in via email. We have not identified the real author.

There are other recent letters we are reviewing for the same reason.

Within our newsroom, we are tightening the letter to the editor verification process.

We require name, address and phone number, preferably a listed phone number. (Only the name and hometown are published.)

If there is any doubt, the letter will be left out.

We will do our best to keep the Opinion page open to as many voices as possible.

***

In recent weeks, we have had a number of readers contact us regarding the omission of Parade magazine from Sunday editions.

Parade reduced the number of copies available to the Delaware State News. We’re doing our best to remedy this to best serve our subscribers.

Certainly, if you feel part of your Sunday newspaper package is missing, contact our Reader Services team at readerservices@newszap.com or (302) 741-8298.

***

Music fans will be flocking to Dover this week for the Firefly Music Festival.

According to HotelsCombined, the average room rate will be $223 per night June 15-19.

A week later: $141.

One of the nearby hotels, the report said, is asking $1,777 for a five-night stay.

***

Sahil Langote, 11, of New Castle, deserves kudos for his efforts in the recent Scripps National Spelling Bee.

The P.S. du Pont Middle School sixth-grade student represented Delaware in the bee.

He correctly spelled “prehensile” and “sequential” in the opening rounds, but unfortunately did not score high on the preliminary written test to advance.

The bee website said “Sahil has loved reading since his early childhood days, and he likes to read fantasy novels. His favorite subject is science, especially chemistry. Sahil loves music, particularly dubstep music released from NoCopyrightSounds. His favorite song is ‘Why We Lose.’ In addition to playing the piano, Sahil loves to play the harmonium and sing Indian classical music.”

***

Kent County has been taking a survey for its Comprehensive Land Use update.

Of more than 500 responses, 39 percent ranked creation of job opportunities as the most important issue facing the county.

The county should promote business expansion and retention to help with jobs, according to 30 percent of respondents.

About 18 percent said the county should refurbish older buildings for new uses.

These preliminary survey numbers were shared on June 6.

***

There isn’t a clear picture of the state budget emerging just yet.

The final night of the General Assembly is June 30.

In the headlines over the next 19 days will be talks about income tax, gas tax, prevailing wage, minimum wage and more. Lots of wrangling ahead.

Gov. John Carney’s message to legislators to kick off the week:

“We can’t responsibly cut our way to a long-term budget solution, or rely on one-time gimmicks that will make our financial problems even worse.

“I get it — nobody wants to raise taxes. I don’t either.

“But our plan would raise new revenue in a way that’s fair and keeps us economically competitive. It’s time for legislators to step up to the plate, vote on our revenue proposal, or offer a responsible alternative. We can’t afford another short-term, short-sighted solution.”

Fox Post-2 split a doubleheader against Stahl Post-30 on Saturday afternoon in American Legion baseball.

The Dover area squad won the first game 5-4 before falling 7-1 in the second.

Noah Lanouette threw a complete game to record the victory in game one for Fox Post. Avery Tunnell led the offense with a pair of hits.

Post-14 drops a pair: The Smyrna American Legion team fell two the Post-10 Generals 10-9 and 14-9 in a doubleheader played at Smyrna.

Nanticoke sweeps: Nanticoke Post-6 won a pair of games against Durney Post-27 at St. Eliza-beth.

The Sussex County squad won the first game 15-2 before a 26-0 shutout in the second.

Tommy Pomatto of Fox Post 2 drives the ball in 2nd part of a double header against Stahl Post. (Special To The Delaware State News/Gary Emeigh)

Fox Post 2 hurler Matt Atkinson delivers a fast ball in game against Stahl Post Saturday in Dover. (Special To The Delaware State News/Gary Emeigh)

Tre Armstrong (17) of Stahl Post is tagged out by Fox Post’s Sean Quirk while trying to steal second in the second game of a double header Saturday in Dover. (Special To The Delaware State News/Gary Emeigh)

Smyrna quarterback Nolan Henderson hands off to Dover’s John Castro at Sunday’s Blue-Gold All-Star Media Day at the University of Delaware. (Special To The Delaware State News/Gary Emeigh)

NEWARK — There’s no shortage of quarterbacks in the senior all-star game for the Gold team.

And the three from the Henlopen Conference all have something in common that has nothing to do with football — they all are All-State baseball players.

Smyrna High’s Nolan Henderson, Delmar High’s Jimmy Adkins and Laurel High’s Perez Nichols each chose to compete in the senior all-star football game instead of the baseball all-star game. The 62nd annual Blue-Gold football contest is scheduled for 6 p.m. Saturday at Delaware Stadium in Newark.

The baseball game is set for tonight at 6 at Wilmington’s Frawley Stadium. State rules dictate that a player can only play in one all-star game per season.

Adkins and Nichols are both playing baseball in college while Henderson will be on the University of Delaware football team next year. Adkins will play shortstop and pitch for Delaware State and Nichols is headed on a full-ride scholarship to Broward College in Florida.

Adkins and Nichols have one last chance Saturday to play football before their athletic careers become solely baseball.

“This is my last time playing football so I figured I might as well take this chance,” Adkins said during Blue-Gold Media Day Sunday in Newark. “This is my last chance to play football so I’ll do all I can with it. I’m looking forward to getting in there. Once I get my time, I just got to show what I can do.”

“Football was always exciting to me,” Nichols said. “So it’s nice to be here with a great group of guys and have fun.”

Gold quarterback Jimmy Atkins of Delmar. He will play baseball for Delaware State in the fall. (Special To The Delaware State News/Gary Emeigh)

“It’s an honor to be here,” he added “Only a select few are picked for it. You have to be good in school and in your community so to be recognized is an honor.”

For Henderson, giving up the baseball all-star game wasn’t a tough decision. The week surrounding the Blue-Gold football game is what swayed him.

The football game is presented by the Delaware Foundation Reaching Citizens with intellectual disabilities and since 1974 has paired players with a “buddy” between the ages of 4 and 18 with an intellectual disability.

“All along I knew I wanted to play in this game,” Henderson said. “I heard how fun this week is with the other stuff. It was a pretty easy decision. All the events we do, hanging out with our buddies, it’s real cool. It’s one of the best weeks of your life people say.”

It also gives Henderson one more week around his high school coach Mike Judy. Together the pair has won back-to-back Division I state championships and saw Henderson win the state’s Offensive Player of the Year award this season.

Smyrna has a strong contingent on the roster as well. The Eagles also have offensive lineman Jerren Carter, linebacker Josh Hutchinson, defensive lineman Jamier Smith and defensive back Jake Soroko, a late addition, representing the Gold.

Judy is the head coach of the Gold team for the first time in his coaching career.

“I wouldn’t want to coach this game without Nolan,” Judy said. “He’s such a joy to be around. I’m gracious to have him here and gracious the University of Delaware is letting him play.”

Of course with the depth at quarterback, it provides a challenge trying to get all of them equal playing time.

But that’s a challenge Judy is looking forward to.

“If there’s anything we can do, we can be very creative,” Judy said. “All three of those guys are super flexible athletes. We’re going to find a way for all those guys to showcase what they can do.”

Nearby residents of Dover Park participated in a walkthrough of the park on May 27 to point out areas of concern and gave their ideas for improvements at the facility. (Submitted photo)

DOVER — A lap around Dover Park shows a recreational area where certain corners have fallen into disrepair due to criminal activity, neglect and misuse.

Tables in the park’s pavilion have been used for beds for homeless people, benches have been burned during the winter to produce heat and graffiti and vandalism scar the area.

However, City Councilman Roy Sudler Jr. and community members who reside near Dover Park, at 1210 White Oak Road, see an opportunity to revive the park and bring a new energy to the area — along with a new indoor recreational facility.

Mr. Sudler hosted a community meeting, called “Starting Below Ground Zero!,” regarding the future of Dover Park at City Hall on May 25 and also had a walkthrough of the park and get-together with individuals interested in the facility’s future on May 29.

“My top priority is having discussions with residents that live in that area [East Dover],” Mr. Sudler said. “We have to give them something to do, and it’s not just about sports activities, but it’s about being able to provide life-skills programming as well.

“I was extremely excited to see the willingness from diverse communities throughout the city of Dover, so eager and enthusiastic about restoring Dover Park and recreational facilities. But what impressed me the most was the open and honest dialogue between the community and officials pertaining to the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of Dover Park.”

Looking for funding

Dave Hugg, acting city planner, submitted a couple of applications to the state just prior to Mr. Sudler’s community meeting in hopes of receiving some matching grant money to get the Dover Park Master Plan started.

“At this point they don’t have a guarantee of funding or a commitment of town money, but we’re hoping that they will be able to come through and we will be able to match the grants,” Mr. Hugg said.

“One of the applications we’ve submitted is to do a Master Plan for Dover Park that was one of the recommendations that was very high priority in the (city’s 2015) Recreational Needs Assessment – that all of our parks need a master plan that lays out how the parks are going to be used and what kind of facilities (they need).”

He said that the master plan could lead to discussion regarding the construction of a new indoor recreation center, as well as other improvements.

“The second application that we’re submitting, assuming the Master Planning project gets funded and starts probably in late fall, is that by early 2018, we should have enough information to start to decide what kind of indoor recreation facility makes sense at Dover Park,” said Mr. Hugg.

“So they’ve also added money to do some design and engineering work on a facility, which is kind of vague at this point in time as to how big and what it (will encompass), but both of those things will need a lot of input from the users and public for what they want to see and how they want to see the park system operate.”

Acting City Manager Donna Mitchell said Dover could match some of the grants if the state elects to provide assistance, but not all of them.

“The city does have a parkland reserve account for us to maintain the parks,” Ms. Mitchell said. “We do have money set aside that will help with the matching grants.

“When it comes to a new building, we will have to look for some other financing, because there’s not going to be enough (money) there to cover a new building.”

On May 27, community members also shared their ideas on how they can improve the level of safety and the number of activities at Dover Park, located off White Oak Road in East Dover. (Submitted photo)

Safety is a key concern

At Mr. Sudler’s community meeting, many of the 20 individuals or so in attendance indicated they wanted to have a place they could use without fearing for their safety.

“My concern is it’s close to summer and the kids are going to be out of school,” said Lewis Charles Jackson. “If these kids don’t have nowhere to go and positive places to hang out, then, they’re going to be on the corner.

“It’s up to us to make a way for these young kids. If we don’t, it could be a lost cause. They’re going to be lost. We have to do something. We can’t just sit around and let these young lives be wasted.”

Dover Park once had an indoor recreation facility. However, city council voted to demolish it in 2014 because the recreation center, built in the 1970s, was aging and time had taken a toll on the building, and between deterioration and water penetration, it had become obsolete.

The park is currently comprised of 28.2 wooded acres that includes softball fields, a playground, pavilions, basketball courts, tennis courts, disc golf and more.

Safety is the key to turning Dover Park around, according to residents of the area.

The survey also showed that 56.49 percent of people who use the park do so for walking and jogging, 33.05 percent use the playground equipment and 24.69 percent are involved in league activities, such as softball and field hockey. (Delaware State News file photo/Marc Clery)

“If we took the time to police the areas more then there wouldn’t be people out there who have time to do any damage to the area,” Stephen Fountain said. “It belongs to the city of Dover and for the people who have use for it.

“There’s plenty of ground for an (indoor facility) to expand to be able to have a lot of things in there for kids and for adults to be able to do things and allow them to have a better perspective on their life.”

Amanda Carey, a 14-year-old resident who uses Dover Park, believes the improvements will only be a positive.

“I know how older people may see it as a problem with kids going to the playground just to do the wrong thing,” she said, “But I also think that expanding the playground and making the building would also help all ages and it gives people (a reason) to go have a good time instead of going around doing wrong things.”

Mr. Hugg sees a great deal of potential in the East Dover property.

“Dover Park is unique in that we’re going to also include a landscape architect for arborists (in funding application) because the stand of trees that separates the park into two pieces is actually a very valuable woodland that contributes a lot to outdoor recreation quality to wildlife,” he said.

“It’s very valuable forest cover, so we need to figure out how to use that in the park system in a way that provides benefit and doesn’t become an obstacle or a safety concern.”

Is indoor center necessary?

With the state and cities throughout it looking to cut back on funding and balance their budgets, there are many who wonder if an indoor recreation center should be high on the list of priorities.

The city’s 2015 Recreational Needs Assessment showed that 52.01 percent of the city’s residents say they don’t use Dover Park and 19.87 percent use it two to three times a year (out of 448 respondents).

The survey also showed that 56.49 percent of people who use the park do so for walking and jogging, 33.05 percent use the playground equipment and 24.69 percent are involved in league activities, such as softball and field hockey.

As far as improvements, 50.15 percent of survey respondents said they would like to see indoor bathroom facilities at the park, 40.25 percent wanted a new indoor recreation center and 41.49 percent would like to see a paved trail system for walking and jogging.

One of the residents who got up to speak at Mr. Sudler’s meeting did not feel a new indoor recreation center was necessary and that Dover’s Parks and Recreation Department could put up tents on the weekend to gauge interest in possible programs, such as arts and crafts, among other things.

He said the city should gauge interest before going all-in on a new indoor facility, especially when places such as the Dover Public Library facilitate so many programs.

“When we heard from residents back in 2015, an indoor facility was kind of in the middle to the lower range of priorities, but there is a note that says it’s important to provide a location for an indoor facility in Dover Park in the future as that need will increase,” Mr. Hugg said.

“The state outdoor recreation plan, which is kind of a guideline for us, very clearly said that indoor recreation is one of the more highly ranked needs in the city of Dover.”

Now, it’s just a matter of securing money to make the needed improvements.

“It’s a competitive process statewide but I think we have three viable projects (including Schutte Park improvements) that we can get funded,” Mr. Hugg said.

Actress Vivica A. Fox stands with co-star Paul Anthony on the red carpet Sunday as the film “Jason’s Letter” premiered at the Schwartz Center for the Arts. The majority of the movie was filmed in Dover earlier this year. (Special to the Delaware State News/Jon Lloyd Jr.)

DOVER — A movie’s opening served as the closing act for the Schwartz Center for the Arts on Sunday afternoon.

The first showing of “Jason’s Letter” — about 75 percent of which was filmed in Dover in January — was indeed a bittersweet experience.

Out-of-town cast members and visitors hadn’t heard of the venue’s financially fueled demise which was announced Thursday by the theater’s board of directors, and expressed immediate disappointment.

Actor Jamol Manigault, who plays the title role in “Jason’s Letter,” is all smiles. (Special to the Delaware State News/ Jon Lloyd Jr.)

“What a shame, what a shame,” said Joseph R. Gannascoli, who played mobster Vito Spatafore in HBO’s hit series “The Sopranos” and was cast as a school principal in Sunday’s film.

“This is a very intimate place to be. It’s got so much character. What a shame.

“What is this (expletive) world coming to?”

Just as surprised was Deborah Washington, who traveled from Philadelphia to watch her younger cousin on the big screen as part of the “Jason’s Letter” cast. Her eyes grew wide when told of the farewell performance of which she was about to be a part.

“Oh, no, is that so?,” she said. “It’s a beautiful venue. It’s so sad and you don’t want to see it go away.

“It seems like this can be used for other things. They need to try marketing, outreach, social media, something. The area around it is gorgeous, I can’t believe it can’t be used for something.”

The audience filled about 90 percent of the floor-level seats for the movie that started about 30 minutes late, and received a rousing round of applause as the closing credits were shown.

The film, which stars Vivica A. Fox, Michael Pare and Quinton Aaron, centered around a fictional Delaware town — Hayden Heights — and its uneasiness between mostly black residents and white police officers due to unarmed shootings (or killings as some described in the movie) and a 12-year-old boy’s solution for stopping the violence.

It the show’s climactic final few scenes, Dover Mayor Robin R. Christiansen and Councilman Bill Hare were featured several times and acted with thoughtful looks on their faces as the boy promoted his plan. Mr. Christiansen even had a brief speaking part as he and Mr. Hare rushed out a doorway after another shooting.

Mr. Hare described taking part in the film during a 12 1/2-hour work day as “fun. I think it will be fun when it comes out and I can record it or get the DVD and show to the grandkids.”

Karen Wallerr Martin interviews actor/producer Brian Hooks Sunday afternoon. (Special to the Delaware State News/Jon Lloyd Jr.)

Though the 550-seat Schwartz will close on June 30, Mayor Christiansen vowed that it would not be the last show ever there. He planned to pull community members together in the next couple weeks to brainstorm ways to bring the performing arts center back.

“We’re going to get some people, some ‘rain makers’ in a room and figure this out,” Mr. Christiansen said.

“Today showcases what can be done in Dover. We’re going to get some more movies here and try to become the Hollywood of the East,”

With a red carpet, several cast members and camera crews conducted interviews and the well-dressed audience certainly enjoyed a small touch of big-time entertainment.

For one afternoon at least, all was right at the Schwartz.

“It’s so bad that it’s going away,” Dover resident Cari Fielder said while standing outside the center on South State Street.

“I’ve talked to some of the volunteers here and this is definitely a bittersweet experience. This is one of the biggest events that’s been held here and to think it’s the last is said.”

Whether the film, which has yet to find a buyer, entertained or not, Dover’s Lloyd Wheatley said before the showing that just being at the Schwartz was “an experience within it self” and noted the nostalgia, popcorn smell and everything associated with a site that opened as the Dover Opera House in 1904.

From left, actors Paul Anthony and Claudia Jordan, director Terrance Tykeem and actors Vivica A. Fox and Jamol Manigault. (Special to the Delaware State News/Jon Lloyd Jr.)

History of the Schwartz Center for the Arts

• The building at 226 S. State St. that holds the Schwartz Center for the Arts was originally constructed in 1904 and known as The Dover Opera House. George M. Schwartz expanded it into a movie theater in 1923 and called it The Capital Theater.

• After flourishing for years, the theater in the 1970s fell into a state of disrepair. In 1982, the doors were closed.

• After an intensive statewide fundraising campaign, The Friends of the Capitol Theater raised enough money to develop an extensive modernization and expansion project, with repairs to the auditorium and lobby.

•In November 1997, the Friends group unveiled a capital campaign at a gala event attended by more than 200 people. Frank A. Fantini, then-president of the Friends group, announced a $3.3 million dollar capital campaign driving the project. Plans included a control room, elevator, marquee, box office, three dressing rooms, classrooms and offices. The late John W. Rollins and his wife, Michele, donated $1 million toward the project, and the auditorium is named for the donors.

• In July 1998, the General Assembly approved $1.3 million for the project, with community redevelopment funds set aside in the state’s bond bill.

Moviegoers Shani Benson, left, and Alexis Huttie pose on the red carpet. (Special to the Delaware State News/Jon Lloyd Jr.)

That money joined $1.2 million the Friends group had garnered in grants from philanthropic groups, including the Longwood Foundation and Delaware Community Foundation. A variety of sources, including corporate and private donations, ultimately made the project possible.

• In 1999, then-U.S.-Sen. William V. Roth announced a $500,000 grant for the theater. Funding came from a targeted grant program under the Economic Development Initiative, part of the FY 2000 VA-HUD Appropriations bill.

•The $8.5 million facility reopened in October 2001 under the name The  Schwartz Center for the Arts.

•On a late October Friday night, the doors to the former Capitol Theater opened to the public for the first time in 19 years after four years of renovation work. Approximately 600 people attended the opening.

• In 2004, a strategic alliance was formed to collaborate the resources of Wesley College, Delaware State University, and The Friends of the Capitol Theater, to maximize usage and position the historic venue as the premiere performing arts center in central Delaware.

• In January 2007, the relationship was formalized with the three entities becoming equal partners in the operation, management and programming of the Schwartz. The agreement created a new 501(c)(3) organization with a board, that oversees fund-raising and philanthropic activities.

• In October 2011, the Schwartz kicked off its 10th anniversary season.

• In 2015 the Schwartz launched an entertainment series designed to inspire a rebirth in the Schwartz.

• In 2016, Wesley College and Delaware State University ceased providing monthly financial support to the nonprofit group, but continued to provide the facility rent free. A new working board was seated.

• On Aug. 10, 2016, Sydney Arzt, the final executive director of the theater, announced her resignation after an 18-month stint.

• On June 8, the board of directors announced that June 30 would be the last day of operations for the Schwartz Center for the Arts.

• On June 11, the film “Jason’s Letter” premiered at the theater, marking the final event.

— Compiled from Delaware State News archives and the Schwartz Center for the Arts website.

DOVER – Three young brothers were injured in a single vehicle crash Sunday night, including an 8-year-old boy who was hospitalized in critical condition with a head injury, police said.

According to Dover Police, the boys’ mother, Ashley Shaffer, 31, of Smyrna, was charged with multiple traffic offenses after her vehicle crashed while traveling northbound on Bay Road at approximately 6:40 p.m. The Chevrolet Blazer was approaching the north intersection of the Blue Hen Corporate Center when it swerved to the left, then right before rolling over at least three times, authorities said.

The three boys ages 4, 5, and 8 were ejected from the vehicle, Dover Police said. All three children had been seated in the rear of the vehicle but were not wearing seat belts and car seats/booster seats were not in the vehicle, according to spokesman Master Cpl. Mark Hoffman.

Ms. Shaffer allegedly said she was changing the radio as she approached the intersection and noticed the light had turned red, police said. The driver suddenly swerved to avoid traffic that was in the intersection at the time, police said.

The 4- and 5-year-old children were treated and released from Bayhealth-Kent General Hospital with minor injuries. The 8-year-old was listed in critical condition at A.I. DuPont Children’s Hospital on Monday.

DELMAR — Last week was a rough week at Delaware International Speedway.

On Tuesday, track promoter Charlie Cathell was severly burned in a fire and explosion while transferring racing fuel at the track. He was airlifted to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, where he is in stable condition recovering from burns on his arm and torso.

Cathell’s family hopes that he will be able to be released sometime during the coming week to complete his lengthy recovery at home.

On Saturday night a blown circuit breaker for part of the track lighting delayed the program for more than an hour while a replacement was located and installed. With the first appearance of the Mid-Atlantic Super Sprints on the program and a total of 124 cars in the pits, it was a race against time to get the program in before the 1 a.m. curfew.

Two red flags in the first five laps of the MASS feature — one requiring emergency transport — ended the feature just before curfew and forced the speedway to add the RUSH Crate Late Model and Mod Lite features to the June 24 program.

The first appearance for the Mid-Atlantic Sprint Cars Series did not get off to a smooth start.

Twenty-three cars took the green but the red was out before the first lap was completed when Bobby Scherft and Bronzie Lawson locked horns and did a double flip off the third turn. Both drivers were OK but their cars were not.

After the restart, it took only five more circuits before the red was out a second time. Fire erupted on Bobby Sandt’s car and he slid to a stop in the third turn.

Safety crews quickly extinguished the first but Sandt was transported to the local hospital after suffering burns in the incident.

Just when it appeared that leader Kevin Darling had the race under control, he slowed going down the front straightaway and rolled to a stop in the first turn to bring out the yellow.

Tim Tanner found himself back on top and held off Tommy Carberry for the remaining distance to post his first win of the season.

A full field of 24 NAPA Big Blocks competed. Jamie Mills was hammer down from his ninth starting spot and moved on top by lap nine before posting his second straight victory.

In the Super Late Models feature, Mark Pettyjohn got a great restart on lap five and beat Herb Tunis to the first turn on the restart. Pettyjohn stayed in control from there to earn the win.

The 15-lap AC Delco PSC 602 Sportsman feature turned out to be a great battle between second-place starter David Jenkins and former champion Scott Hitchens.

After a late-race restart, the pair did the rub-rail grind down the front straight. Hitchens was able to get to the first turn first to lead with four laps to go and race to his third straight victory in the division.

In the Delmarva Charger 12-lap feature, Tanner Marvel started in sixth before driving to his second win this season.

Truitt takes Super ET at U.S. 13: Action at U.S. 13 Dragway moved to Friday night this past weekend.

Coming out on top of the all “Door Slammer” Top ET final was Phillip Truitt of Salisbury, Md. in his ‘80 Malibu.

Chad Thurman of Seaford drove his ‘69 Camaro to the win in Mod ET and Chris Lynch of Ocean View rode his Hayabusa to his first win in Pro Bike. Other winners on the night included: Sara Davis of Laurel in Hot Rod; Ronn Carey of Dagsboro in Street; Chase Huber of Queen Anne, Md. in Jr. Dragster 1 and Hope Clarke of Parsonsburg, Md. in Jr. Dragster 2.

Truitt faced Billy Groton in his ‘90 Camaro in the Top ET final. Truitt had a .006 reaction to Groton’s .010 and ran a 10.601/119.84 on a 10.57 dial-in for the win. Groton was quick running an 8.453/152.05 on an 8.40 dial.

Action continues this Friday night. Gates open at 3:30 p.m. with time runs starting at 4:30 p.m. and eliminations beginning at approximately 7:30 p.m.

DOVER — The top senior high school players in boys’ and girls’ lacrosse as well as softball will be in action in all-star games slated to be held in Dover Tuesday evening.

The boys’ and girls’ lacrosse contests will be played at Wesley College. The girls’ game begins at 6 p.m. with the boys’ game to follow.

The softball game will be played at the Dover Little League Complex at Schutte Park at 6 p.m.

Here are the rosters for the games:

LACROSSE

Boys

South Team

Nick Smith Attack Delmar

Jake Kaiser Attack Smyrna

Cross Ferrara Attack Appoquinimink

Jake Soroko Attack Smyrna

Dan Wilson Attack Sussex Tech

Matt Kaczowka Attack Red Lion

Jacob Pangle Attack Caesar Rodney

Dallas Rhodes Attack Milford

Jacob Copio Attack Caesar Rodney

Jacob Davis Midfield Polytech

Cole Sterling Midfield St. George’s

Cohen Bonneville Midfield Milford

Parker Sard Midfield Lake Forest

Jack Kidner Midfield Red Lion

George Martin Midfield Indian River

John Paris Midfield St. Andrews

Zach Bowen Midfield Appoquinimink

Zach Mahue Midfield Polytech

Ryan McNary Midfield Caravel

Erik Stankofski Midfield Cape Henlopen

Brian Davis Midfield Smyrna

Jacob Mollohan Defense Caesar Rodney

Holden Kammerer Defense Cape Henlopen

Joe Godek Defense Caravel

Jakai Miles Defense Dover

Niklas Cook Defense Hodgson

Jordan Davidson Defense Middletown

Jarod Cook Defense Delm. Christian

Connor Graser Defense Appoquinimink

Michael Judson Defense Milford

Nathaniel Renegar Defense Delmar

Dillon Mocci Defense Cape Henlope

Nick Bowen Defense Appoquinimink

Tyler Gross Goalie Caesar Rodney

John Thompkins Goalie St. George’s

Noah Givens Goalie Appoquinimink

Hayden McWilliams Goalie Indian River

Coaches

Matt Faircloth, Caesar Rodney

Bob Gilmore, Polytech

Chris Rutter, Appoquinimink

Girls

White team

1-Sierra Duman Smyrna Attack

2-Elicie Edmond Smyrna Midfield

3-Mira Prisco Dover Midfield

4-Kristin Moffett Dover Defense

5-Elizabeth Ward Dover Attack

6-Evelyn Shoop Cape Henlopen Midfield

7-Cailey Thornburg Cape Henlopen Attack

8-Katie Klabe Cape Henlopen Midfield

9-Iseabal Cryne Cape Henlopen Goalie

10-Blair Atkins Wilm. Friends Midfield

11-Simone Veale Wilm. Friends Midfield

12-Taylor Lambeth Appoquinimink Attack

13-Erica Steinmetz Appoquinimink Defense

14-Alyssa Schusteritsch Appoquinimink Defense

15-Maggie Malloy Archmere Defense

16-Lorin Donovan Archmere Defense

17-Skylar McCarthy Newark Attack

18-Georgina Martinez Christiana Goalie

19-Madi Bada Sussex Tech Midfield

20-Hannah Clay Brandywine Attack

Coaches

Molly Phillips, Dover

Amy Musto, Smyrna

Blue team

1-Cecilia Massey Hodgson Midfield

2-Julie Clark Hodgson Goalie

3-Lindsay Wolfe DMA Midfield

4-Melanie Setting DMA Midfield

5-Tiffany Flowers DMA Attack

6-Emma Redman Caesar Rodney Attack

7-Mikayla Williams Caesar Rodney Defense

8-Kimmie Riordan Sanford Midfield

9-Katie Mariner Tatnall Midfield

10-Lillia Schmidt Tatnall Midfield

11-Grace Stang Polytech Defense

12-Meggie Luke St. Andrew’s Midfield

13-Hannah Sailer St. Andrew’s Attack

14-Olivia Duarte Caravel Midfield

15-Kendall Adkins Wilm. Charter Midfield

16-Rebecca Dolan Wilm. Charter Goalie

17-Hope Abbott Wilm. Charter Defense

18-McKenzie Schurman St. Mark’s Attack

19-Lexi Haden Indian River Midfield

20-Erin Haden Indian River Midfield

21-Sara Saylor Indian River Defense

Coaches

Deb Yingling, Caesar Rodney

Sam Kotowski, A.I. DuPont

SOFTBALL

Blue team

Jordan Virden Cape Henlopen

Hannah Jones Cape Henlopen

Jermiah Groce Christiana

Hailey Henshaw Christiana

Sarah Bessel Conrad

Alexis Howerin Caesar Rodney

Alexis Heritage Hodgson

Morgan Heritage Hodgson

Sierra Anderson Newark Charter

Jude McGough Newark Charter

Lilly Wingo Newark Charter

Taylor Beres Red Lion

Kristina Hawke St. Georges

Haley McCabe Sussex Central

Mariah Rogers Sussex Central

Kasie Simpson Sussex Central

Shannon Lord Sussex Tech

Brooke Ward Sussex Tech

Madison Watson Sussex Tech

Rylee Shockley Sussex Tech

Coaches

Jessia Calderone, Newark Charter

Tom Lundy, Christiana

Shannon Timmons, Cape Henlopen

Gold team

Mackenzie Short Appoquinimink

Rachel Durham Appoquinimink

Haley Jones Appoquinimink

Liz Smith Caravel

Amanda Ladzinski Caravel

Erin Bailey Concord

Avery Wheatley Delmar

Makenzie Collins Indian River

Madi McGee Indian River

Mya Maddox Lake Forest

Kerrigan Simpson Lake Forest

Jordan Cooke Middletown

Megan Fry Milford

Rejene Bowe Milford

Nia Bowe Milford

Amelia Giordano Padua

Abby Cunningham Padua

Julia Casson St. Elizabeth

Janelle Hessler St. Marks

Jessica Behonar William Penn

Coaches

Sean Brennan, Milford

Missy Pullan, William Penn

Lauren Rizzo, St. Elizabeth

John Rodel Castro

NEWARK — John Rodel Castro probably shouldn’t be on a football field.

The recent Dover High grad stands only 5-foot-5, 160 pounds.

And, with his family moving to Delaware from the Philippines when he was 9, he grew up not knowing anything about the sport.

It’s not really surprising then that, when Castro first tried out for the Central Middle School team in seventh grade, he was cut.

“I didn’t know anything,” he says with a smile. “I didn’t know what a corner was, I didn’t know what a linebacker was. … It just hurt. After I got cut, I saw people walking around with a jersey, it just hurt.

“I was like, I’ve got to do it again. I can’t give up on myself. I’m no quitter. I’m the type of guy that, if I start something, I finish it.”

With all that in mind, it’s a pretty remarkable story that this week Castro is lining up with the stop senior football players in the state.

He’ll be Dover’s representative in the 62nd annual Blue-Gold All-Star Football Game, slated for Saturday at 6 p.m. in Delaware Stadium. Run by the DFRC, the event has raised over $6 million for Delaware programs that benefit individuals with intellectual disABILITIES.

John Rodel Castro had over 1,000 yards in all-purpose yards for the Senators as a senior. (Delaware State News file photo)

Castro realizes he’s come a long way from his humble beginnings in the sport.

“People who started over me back then (in middle school), they wanted to be here,” he said. “I’m pretty blessed to be in this spot right now.”

What Castro lacks in physical size, he makes up for with a lot of speed. He finished third in the Division I state 100-meter dash this spring in a time of 11.12 seconds.

That speed makes Castro a dangerous player with the ball in his hands. He totalled over 1,000 yards in all-purpose yards for the Senators as a senior.

But all that speed wouldn’t matter much in football if Castro wasn’t also a really determined kid. Despite his size, he also played free safety for Dover — a position he expects to play in the fall at Wesley College.

First-year coach Rudy Simonetti said Castro impressed him with the way he studied film during the season.

“It’s definitely something he wants to work at and get better than what he already is,” said Simonetti. “When I talked to opposing coaches, they always asked about him. There’s a respect factor. When you played us last year, Jon was probably a focal point in game planning.

“I don’t judge kids by their size. I judge them by their hard work, their speed and their physicality. That equals a football player to me. That’s John Castro.”

Castro, a team captain for Dover last fall, is used to things not coming easily.

When he first moved from the Philippines, it was just him, his father and his little brother. It took another five years for Castro’s mother and younger sister to make it to the U.S.

“Basically my dad was working all day, non-stop,” said Castro. “I grew up, for part of my life, not having my little sister and my mom around. I thought sports was the perfect thing to kill some time and not to be alone.”

Playing football also helped him learn English, said Castro.

When his family was finally reunited during his sophomore year at Dover, Castro said “it was a beautiful moment.”

“I was so happy,” he said. “Ever since then, it’s like my life has been better and better.”

Castro said his mom actually isn’t a big fan of watching him play football.

“My mom doesn’t like it,” he said. “I’m the smallest one on the field. She still goes to the games but she gets nervous.”

Small or not, though, Castro has proven he belongs on the field.

Extra points

Both teams are scheduled to hold scrimmages at 5 p.m. on Thursday. The Gold’s scrimmage will be at Milford High with the Blue’s at Tower Hill. … The Gold had two last-minute replacements to its roster on Sunday. Smyrna’s Jake Soroko and Caesar Rodney’s Kenneth Shahan are now on the Gold team. … DFRC executive director Tony Glenn said he’s been told that the Blue-Gold game is now the oldest high school football all-star contest in the country.

DOVER — Delaware Democrats on Saturday elected Erik Raser-Schramm as the new party chairman.

The Democrats attending the party’s annual state convention also voted in a new vice chairwoman, national committeeman and national committeewoman.

Mr. Raser-Schramm, who has previously served as the party’s executive and the House Democrats’ chief of staff, succeeds John Daniello.

Mr. Daniello had been the party’s chairman since 2005.

“The hard work starts today,” Mr. Raser-Schramm said in a statement. “And it starts with helping our legislative leaders in Dover balance our state budget responsibly, in a way that preserves funding levels and critical core services that our students, educators and working men and women deserve.”

Delaware’s Republican Party also recently chose a new leader, electing Mike Harrington Sr. in April after former chairman Charlie Copeland announced he was stepping down.

Betsy Maron, the former chairwoman of the New Castle County Democratic Party and daughter of Mr. Daniello, was selected as vice chairwoman, replacing Lisa Goodman. Kristin Dwyer and Sean Finnigan replace Karen Valentine and Bob Gilligan as the national committeewoman and committeeman, respectively.

Linda Cavanaugh was re-elected as secretary, while Helene Keeley was selected once again as treasurer. Jim Hussey, vice chairman since 2004, earned another term in the position.

The chairman, vice chairwoman, national committeeman and national committeewoman all serve as superdelegates to the national party with a vote in the Democratic presidential nominee selection process.

The party’s platform, drafted over the course of a year, was approved Saturday. The party claims it is “the most inclusive platform” in Delaware history.
The core elements include:

* Raising the minimum wage from $8.25 at the state level and $7.25 at the federal level to $15 an hour

• Fighting the 2010 Supreme Court Citizens United case, which allowed greater spending on campaigns by outside groups

• Combating “income inequality”

• Ending Super PACs, groups that are not restricted by the government in how much they can spend on political campaigns

• Establishing equal pay for everyone, regardless of gender, age, race or any other criteria

• Incarcerating fewer people

• Lowering the cost of college

• Expanding “green energy”

• Reforming mental health and substance abuse treatment

• Placing greater limits on Wall Street

“Throughout the course of the platform process, we were thoughtful in representing the wide range of views held by Delaware’s Democrats, tied together by the common themes of inclusivity and opportunity,” Ms. Maron said in a statement.

“We have a lot of work to do to bring our country back together, but I have unwavering faith in our ability to engage and empower Delawareans to help us fight to ensure our economy works for everyone instead of just those at the top as well as to overcome these divisive times.”

WILMINGTON — As a leadoff hitter, Luke Oliphant wants to reach base whenever he can.

Oliphant did just that for the Gold team in the Blue-Gold senior baseball all-star game on Monday night.

Oliphant, of Sussex Tech, won the team Most Valuable player award for the Gold, after he reached base all three times up, scored twice and stole one base.

“I just tried to set the table for my team,” Oliphant said. “I tried to get on to score runs and steal bases. That’s my game. It definitely feels great.”

The Gold team came up just short, falling to the Blue 6-5 despite a late rally in the annual all-star game for seniors hosted at Frawley Stadium in Wilmington.

Carter Chasanov of Polytech connects with the ball in the 2017 Blue-Gold All Star baseball game at Frawley Stadium in Wilmington on Monday. (Special to The Delaware State News / Doug Curran)

The Gold outhit the Blue, 13-8 but were hampered by five errors. Gold represented Kent and Sussex counties along with Middletown-area schools. The Blue was made up of the rest of the New Castle County teams.

The Gold trailed 6-2 entering the ninth inning but was able to bring the potential winning run to the plate in the inning. The contest ended with two runners left on base.

Evan Nibblett of Seaford pitches in the 2017 Blue-Gold All Star baseball game at Frawley Stadium.

Polytech’s Joey Haass had a RBI-double in the ninth to make it a 6-3 game. Haass’ teammate from Polytech, Cole Garey then drove him in with an infield hit.

Sussex Central’s Trey Toppin followed with a double to score a courtesy runner to make it a 6-5 game, but that would be the final run of the night.

Haass also led the Gold on the mound tossing a pair of shutout innings with two strikeouts.

Gold team players stand ready on the field after introductions.

The Gold did lead 1-0 after the first inning when Oliphant singled and eventually came home on a base hit by Appoquinimink’s Ryan Steckline. The Blue answered with three runs in the second inning highlighted by a two-RBI double by Chris Ludman of St. Mark’s.

Oliphant scored again on a Steckline single in the fifth.

“It’s definitely a big honor to play in this game,” Oliphant said. “I’m just humbled to be out here.”

Dover’s Avery Tunnell stole a base while Milford’s Ethan Hurd had a single. Woodbridge’s Doug Avery pitched one scoreless inning with two strikeouts to round out the top downstate performers.

Carter Casanova of Polytech scoops up a ball.

For some of the Gold players, this isn’t their last time representing their high school baseball teams.

Several are on the Delaware South roster for the Carpenter Cup tournament this week in Philadelphia, featuring teams from New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware.

Delaware South’s first game is Friday afternoon at 12:30 p.m. at the Urban Youth Academy Showcase Field in Philadelphia’s Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park. If Delaware South wins, it will advance to the quarterfinals on Monday, June 19 at 2 p.m.

The semifinals are Friday, June 23 and the finals are Saturday, June 24. Both will be hosted at Citizens Bank Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies.

So there’s still been plenty of baseball to concentrate on since the season ended.

“We graduated two weeks ago so since then I’ve tried to stay focused and in the game of baseball,” Oliphant said. “Carpenter Cup is coming up so I’ve been trying to get out and hit and throw. It’s nice to be here and play with my friends I know from downstate and upstate.”

DOVER — A local sanitation services company will be picking up an estimated 9,186 cans for the city of Dover following the city council meeting Monday night.

The city’s curbside recycling services contract now belongs to BFI Waste Services, LLC (Republic Services of Delmar), based out of Felton, after council voted unanimously 8-0 in favor of the company’s bid proposal at City Hall.

“I thought (the bid proposal process) went well,” said Donna Mitchell, acting Dover City Manager. “The current vendor (Inland Waste Solutions, LLC) chose not to bid.”

A large portion of Mrs. Mitchell’s recent job has been getting the city’s Fiscal Year 2018 budget in order.

One thing that Mrs. Mitchell had already told city council members to expect in the upcoming fiscal budget was an increase in sanitation service fees for the city’s residents.

So it was no surprise that sanitation services for Dover residents will jump from around $17 to $21 per month, a 23.5 percent increase to cover cost of service, during the next fiscal year.

The contract with Republic Services of Delmar, which will cost the city around $413,370 in fiscal year 2018, is for three years with the option to extend for two additional one-year periods.

The city had $295,800 in its budget for curbside recycling services in FY 2018, based on its prior contract.

“We will be adjusting some of the other operations in that department to make up the difference so that we will still be within our budget,” Mrs. Mitchell said.

The city’s current contract with Inland Waste Solutions, LLC, will expire on July 31.

However, an early contract termination date of June 30 has been requested by the contractor.

So Republic Services of Delmar will begin its service to Dover residents no later than Aug. 1, but could actually start as early as July 1, depending on that potential contract termination.

During the city’s evaluation of proposals, Republic Services of Delmar received an evaluated score of 83 and beat out proposals submitted by Waste Industries of Delaware, LLC (Townsend), which was graded at a 75, and Waste Management of Delaware, Inc. (Wilmington), which received a score of 60.

Republic Services of Delmar did qualify for a three percent price evaluation reduction due to the local vendor preference rule 2.

City Councilman Bill Hare expressed some concern that Republic Services of Delmar’s bid came in at a much lower figure than its two competitors.

The estimated annualized costs for the first year of the curbside recycling services contract for Republic Services of Delmar are $400,968.90.

For Waste Management of Delaware, Inc., those costs were $468,486 and for Waste Industries of Delaware, LLC, they were $468,118.56.

“One of my concerns is (Republic Services of Delmar) was the lowest bidder by about $70,000 over the other two,” Mr. Hare said. “I don’t want to see us get in the same kind of situation where we were with what we’ve got now, who was the lowest bidder, but provided probably the worst service.

“I’m just bringing that up, because the least expensive isn’t always best and I don’t want to see us getting into something that we don’t change what we’ve got now. It’s just a concern, that’s all.”

Mrs. Mitchell said she has confidence that, following the bidding process, Republic Services of Delmar has shown it can handle the job.

“Based on what we have today and what we’re understanding is we’ve checked the references of this company further, I don’t think there is going to be any problem,” Mrs. Mitchell said.

LEWES — Miss Delaware 2016, Amanda Debus, will place a crown on the head of the newest Miss Delaware in only a few days.

“It’s bittersweet to be giving up the crown because I’ve had such an amazing year as Miss Delaware, but there are some very deserving girls competing to becoming Miss Delaware 2017,” she said.

“I get to go back to being just Amanda and another girl will be given the same great experience I had.”

After a few years of holding the competition at Dover Downs, Friday night’s 2017 pageant will be held at Cape Henlopen High School in Lewes.

“We’re very excited to be moving back down south to reignite that tradition that lasted 47 years,” pageant director Laura Moylan said.

Miss Delaware contestants stand on the stage during a concert on The Green in Dover on June 8th. (Delaware State News/Marc Clery)

As part of the competition, contestants don’t only wear fancy dresses and walk around in swimsuits, their minds are also put to the test.

“We have an interview portion where the contestants could be asked anything from current events, what’s in the news or something political,” Ms. Moylan said. “We get to see how well the girls are informed, how they think on their feet and handle themselves under the pressure.”

Miss Dover Donata Leckie introduces herself during a Miss Delaware contestant concert on The Green in Dover on June 8th. (Delaware State News/Marc Clery)

Another large portion of the competition is talent. Contestants can perform any talent they have which this year ranges from dances to monologues and even xylophone playing.

Most of the contestants find the talent portion to be the most exciting part of the competition.

“I’ve always been a performer,” said Taylor Johnson of Laurel, Miss Blue-Gold. “I saw a pageant a few years ago and thought to myself, ‘where has this been my whole life?’”

Ms. Johnson’s talent is singing. She’s been doing it since she was a little kid.

Miss Delaware 2016 Amanda Debus performs during a concert on The Green in Dover on June 8th. (Delaware State News/Marc Clery)

“At this point, I feel totally comfortable singing in front of almost any crowd, but the crowd at the pageant is probably going to be the biggest one so far so I’m a little nervous, but more excited than anything,” she said.

Pageants are almost always associated with perfect makeup, pretty hair and beautiful dresses. But most of the women are in the competition for something very different – scholarship money.

In 2016, the Miss Delaware organization was able to provide more than $28,000 in scholarship money. For the 2017 pageant, organizers say they’re on track to award more than $30,000.

“Through pageants alone, I’ve been able to pay off my tuition and live debt-free,” said Miss Brandywine, Jenna Hitchens of Georgetown.

“I didn’t realize that the Miss America organization gives out so much scholarship money,” said Middletown’s’ Lauren Haberstroh. She holds the title of Miss Southern Delaware while being a full-time student at the University of Delaware.

“It’s amazing that doing something fun like this can help us through college and at the same time, with the experience you get, it can help skyrocket your career after graduation,” she added.

In addition to scholarship money, most the contestants believe one of the most significant aspects of becoming Miss Delaware would be the opportunity to promote their platform.

Ms. Debus’ platform was allergy awareness. Over the past year, she’s traveled across the state to elementary and middle schools to teach kids that allergies aren’t a joke. She should know — she suffers from a severe allergy.

Miss Wilmington Rebecca Gasperetti of Magnolia sings during a Concert on The Green on June 8th. (Delaware State News/Marc Clery)

“Kids can easily be bullied about allergies and in some cases, an allergic reaction might be life-threatening,” she said. “It’s not OK to make light of something so serious and sometimes kids don’t realize that.”

Ms. Hitchens’ platform also focuses on kids – Victim to Victor, helping sexual abuse victims.

“I am a victim of sexual abuse and I’ve been able to speak out and play a part in Erin’s law,” she said. “I’ve been able to find my voice and others need to do the same. And I hope with me being open about sexual abuse, other victims will realize that they’re not alone and that it’s OK to talk about.”

If she wins the Miss Delaware title, Ms. Hitchens plans on putting a lot of time into Erin’s Law — a law which requires all public schools to teach students age-appropriate techniques to recognize sexual abuse and how to tell a trusted adult about it. Erin’s Law also includes training educators on the signs of sexual abuse.

Miss Diamond State Rachel Buckler’s platform is March of Dimes — a fighting chance for every baby.

“I was born premature so it’s an organization my mom has always been involved in and something that’s been a part of our lives since I was born,” said the Georgetown resident.

“If I become Miss Delaware, I’ll take the time to go to children’s hospitals and actually talk to families and share my personal story with them.”
For Ms. Haberstroh, becoming Miss Delaware would allow her the chance to give back.

“In high school I went on a couple missions which were amazing, but I haven’t had the opportunity since then to do more big projects that allow me to give back. But I think Miss Delaware would give me that opportunity,” she said.

Her platform is Women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). As Miss Delaware she would go into schools and encourage young girls to follow careers in science.

Even though all 14 contestants hope to be crowned Miss Delaware this weekend, the girls insist that the sisterhood formed in the pageant world is genuine and everyone is happy for one another.

“A lot of people think that it’s fake but I’ve formed some great friendships through pageants and Miss Delaware, it’s a real sisterhood,” Ms. Buckler said.

“I’m a different person than I was when I started doing pageants,” Ms. Johnson said. “You meet so many new people and get to form bonds that I know will last a long time.”

Tickets are $50 for the orchestra section and $35 for the mezzanine. They can be purchased at missde.org. The pageant begins at 7 p.m.

Ashton Brown is a freelance writer living in Dover.

I am an Anglican priest who is a member of two organizations, Anglicans and Priests for Life.

I participated in the rally on the steps of Legislative Hall yesterday [June 6] to support a “NO” vote on the SB 5.

I do advocate that Roe v Wade should be overturned, but I also respect that it is currently the law of the land. I feel it is the duty of every minister and priest to uphold the sanctity of all life, from conception to natural death. We are to do this with truth in love, and, as Paul says to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:24-25: “And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponent with gentleness.” As ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we are to teach, preach, and live out what our savior Christ taught and lived. In Matt. 19:14, Jesus says, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belong the kingdom of heaven.” It is Christ’s instruction to us by His words and deeds that children are important to Him; after all, He is the creator of life. If you are a Christian minister or priest, this is a tenet of the faith.

I saw many pastors at the rally for life, but I was cognizant of the fact that I seemed to be the only one in my clerics. Where were the men who possess the “collar” of our servitude to Jesus Christ? Where were the priests, the presbyters, the reverends and bishops? You were not there. Have you abandoned the Gospel of Jesus Christ, have you abandoned the orphans and the widows, and those, the most vulnerable, who reside in the womb? Have you sold out to the culture of death that is swallowing up Delaware?

I posit the question; you must answer.

I will answer in the words of Joshua 24:15: “And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Presbyters, priests, and bishops: Whom do you serve?

Rev. Canon Jack Clark

St. Peter’s Anglican Church
– RE, ACNA

Clayton

WILMINGTON — Sanctions against a doctor accused of faulty record keeping and a pattern of negligence were upheld in Superior Court on Monday, according to a 15-page order.

Dr. Nathan L. Centers was placed on probation for six months by the Delaware Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline for his actions as medical director at Kent Sussex Community Services, a judge’s ruling indicated.

Records within the outpatient addiction, mental health and/or HIV/AIDS treatment nonprofit were scrutinized after a registered nurse – identified in papers only as M.S. for privacy reasons – came under investigation for possible prescription fraud at an unspecified date, Judge W. Ferris Wharton Jr. noted in his decision.

Kent Sussex Community Services has offices in Dover, Laurel and Georgetown.

The Delaware Division of Professional Regulation subpoenaed Dr. Centers for records of M.S. – who he had prescribed Adderall – on July 16, 2015, according to the order.

The doctor sent six pages of records to the DPR, documents said, including a list of prescription dates and evaluations regarding the Adderall.

The DPR then contacted the Delaware Department Justice regarding investigation off Dr. Centers.

A DPR hearing was held on April 4, 2016, papers said, and Dr. Centers provided the lone testimony. A finding of inadequate records resulted on May 6, 2016.

Although Dr. Centers “testified that patient records were for his own keeping, the Hearing Officer noted (his) failure to recall certain details regarding his treatment of M.S. at the hearing demonstrated that his records did not adequately inform himself, let alone any other medical providers,” according to records.

The records indicated Dr. Centers’ “inattentiveness to properly document patient records over an extended period of time,” the order cited.

The Board affirmed the recommendations on violations on July 20, 2016 and supported discipline “in order to properly protect the public.”

In addition to the half-year suspension, the Board required Dr. Centers not practice medicine independently during that time, pay for an independent audit at his expense, and participate in three hours training each for ethics and safe prescribing of controlled substances, according to documents.

Dr. Centers appealed on Aug. 19, 2016, claiming the findings were not supported by any recorded evidence. Among other contentions, the doctor argued that an audit was impossible since he was a full-time State of Delaware employee and “the records on the patients that he sees are not in (his) dominion, custody, or control.”

Also, according to documents, the doctor claimed “his testimony reveals he met, and even exceeded, the standard of care with respect to his record-keeping practices.

“(He) argues that no evidence was offered to rebut his testimony. Without such evidence, the conclusion that his record-keeping practices did not meet the standard of care cannot withstand scrutiny on appeal.”

Judge Wharton found “substantial evidence” supported the Board’s decision and claims of proper records were “simply untrue.

“(Dr. Centers’) own testimony, upon which the Board relied, reveals that his records of M.S. were replete with errors and deficiencies.”

Also, Judge Wharton believed, “the Hearing Officer articulated factual findings proving that (Dr. Centers) was careless in documenting records over the court of writing approximately 24 prescriptions of Adderall for M.S.”

Attorney Daniel A. Griffith represented Dr. Centers in the matter, while DOJ attorney Stacey X. Stewart spoke for the Delaware Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline.