Lawmakers on the Joint Finance Committee this week spent part of their time with health officials discussing the state’s high spending on health care, with Delaware Health and Social Services Secretary Kara Odom Walker, saying Delaware does not receive adequate results for the money it invests in health care. The state both pays more than it should and has a less healthy population compared to the nation at large, she said.

• Why do state employees and retirees get lumped in with Medicaid when it comes to the rise in costs. Let’s separate the two and then deal with the issues. Retirees are governed by federal Medicare regulations not state regulations when it comes to what is covered and where they go for treatment. Only when you separate the employee/retiree benefit package from the Medicaid program can you truly get the picture of where the problem lies. — Bob Skuse

• So forcing insurance companies to pay more cost through Obamacare, while at the same time allowing insurance company after insurance company to merge into each other, and while keeping all policies specific to each state and not allowing the crossing of state line isn’t working out for the state? Huh, what a shock, who could of seen that coming from 100 miles away? — Marc Auger

• So this is the calm before the storm, make cheaper rates then tax the hell out of us just like New Jersey is doing to folks.— Donna M. Padden

This is your public forum. We welcome your opinions, which can be emailed to newsroom@newszap.com or posted online under the stories at www.DelawareStateNews.net.

Here’s a solution to the border funding nonsense that should make both sides happy.

1. Put the $5 billion in to the CrimeStoppers fund to be available nationwide.

2. Let the people turn individuals in who they believe are illegal. Provide authorities with names, addresses, vehicle descriptions and tag numbers. Let the authorities do the investigation. If it is determined that the person or persons are here in this country illegally and deported, a reward of $500 per head shall be given to the individual who turned them in.

3. If a company is knowingly employing illegals, it’s an automatic loss of their business license and a $1,000 fine per head.

That should remove around 10 million illegals from this country within two to three years. Our elected officials get to save face and say they had nothing to do with it, par for the course. There would be enough money in the fund to make a living for some. Perhaps it would reduce the unemployment rate even more.

Problem solved. No border wall and we get rid of 10 million who shouldn’t be here in the first place.

Let the crying/whining start.

Jerry Clifton
Felton

Fiction and falsehoods

George Roof’s letter to the editor (DSN, 2/17) “Green New Deal a ‘socialist guilt trip’” contained a lot of innuendos, a large number of falsehoods, and several misleading remarks. In this limited space I shall be able to explain just a few.

Roof says “Trump has been right…the media is the greatest threat to our country.” On the contrary, DSN has generously given appropriate space to a range of opinions from its readers, including Mr. Roof’s right-wing opinions.

It seems to me that mainstream media has been pretty fair since I was a kid in the middle of the last century and continuously since then right up to now. The problem is in right-wing reader bias that only accepts right-wing ideas as “normal.”

Another falsehood is in the detail about the 10 billionaires that Mr. Roof named and talked about. I checked on the Internet and found that six of the 10 that he named are not billionaires. They all had a lot of money but none had anywhere near a billion dollars.

Roof conveys yet another falsehood by connecting wealth to “endurance and dogged determination.” He is right to say that “Most billionaires … had to work to get there.” But that statement conceals the statistic that some 20-25 percent of all wealthy people receive their wealth by inheritance or other arrangements with relatives and not hard work.

Roof also leaves out the fact that the majority of people (two-thirds to three-quarters) who start companies and work hard actually fail (within two years) to reach their goal to become wealthy. In analytical studies published in business journals, the causes of business failures are very often beyond the control of the entrepreneur.

Lastly, Mr. Roof presents the idea that billionaires are some kind of super-hero of society. This is very questionable. There is an old saying that “Behind every great fortune is a great crime.” One example that most people should remember is Enron. Massive profits were woven out of thin air by accounting fraud and zero hard work or endurance.

The economic history of white collar crime is: 1) a very large area of study, 2) well referenced in textbooks on criminology and many monographs on corporate corrupt practices, 3) covered in business media such as The Wall Street Journal, and 4) is a bigger fraction of the economy than most people realize.

Arthur E. Sowers
Harbeson

Delaware’s Senate Bill 50 would grant authority to the Delaware Technical Community College (DTCC) to impose a new statewide tax to endow a DTCC infrastructure fund. If that isn’t enough to get your attention, it would also grant them the authority to raise this tax as their “unelected board” deems necessary. An unprincipled slippery slope!

In a letter late this week to legislators, DTCC President Mark Brainard said, “After meeting this week with a few of our most ardent supporters in the General Assembly, I have decided to ask Senator McDowell and Representative Osienski not to seek passage of Senate Bill 50 at this time.”

Bill Bowden

While this is a step in the right direction, SB50 is simply bad government at any time. They have tried to get this passed in many sessions before, and I fully expect them to try again.

As taxpayers, we have a contract with our government in a democracy. The contract is a two-way agreement: we pay the government taxes to run things, and the democracy gives us a say (a vote) in how they run things. To break this contract, by approving SB50, would be un-American. If passed, this would be a yearly pot of taxpayer money(millions) set aside for DTCC use. In principle, this is the same type of government action that Americans fought against over 200 years ago.

Every year the Joint Finance Committee (JFC) and the Joint Committee on Capital Improvement (Bond Committee) labors through the difficult task of deciding what we can afford to do compared to what we want/need to do.

These are “elected officials” who we can hold accountable if they are not representing our views. Apparently, some feel that DTCC is “special” when compared to the many needs in running our state government. While I believe DTCC is a huge asset to our state and deserving of the support we can afford, I don’t find them any different from the many other agencies, organizations, and courts funded by our state of Delaware’s budget.

While the immediate threat of SB50 is probably going away, they still need to focus on three areas: how can we protect our infrastructure investment and overcome this 100 million dollar mess that DTCC is in, what management actions/inactions caused this huge problem in the first place, and we need to explore opportunities to make DTCC more efficient and effective.

DTCC needs to show more resourcefulness in how they spend their allotted budget, along with tuition fees, to meet their ongoing needs. They should compete for available budget dollars, based on the merits of their needs, and not given a free pass to tax and spend as they see fit. I can’t think of any other entity that would not like this deal and could make the case that they need a special tax as well.

Our legislature should consider three steps to get this in control:

1. Our legislature should fulfill their oversight responsibilities and put DTCC through the Sunset Committee process (or special committee) to understand how they are managing their money. They need to determine where the DTCC board has been as this mismanagement of their budget has evolved into such a huge problem for infrastructure maintenance. Mandated improvements are required.

It seems pretty simple to me, as a homeowner, that if you need a new roof, your heater is broken, and you have leaky pipes causing mold, you don’t spend the only money you have building a new addition or to take your family on a cruise. By ignoring these fundamental needs, it is essentially what they have done.

Last year DTCC got almost 90 million dollars from the state budget. This amounts to over a BILLION dollars since 2006 when they say their deferred maintenance problem started escalating. What have they been spending their money on?

It is reported that when previous president Lonnie George retired, his state pension for life would be about $356,000 a year – which was 78 percent of his annual compensation of $455,000 at the time. It seems to me that this board is out of touch and needs help.

2. Legislators should explore the idea that DTCC should be brought back in-house as another agency? Would they function better by having all the checks and balances provided to state agencies? Could their operation be more efficient and effective by eliminating redundant services like Facilities Management, Human Resources, Management and Budget, and Information Technology?

3. Through the existing JFC and Bond committees or other legislative action, develop a phased-in plan to overcome the $100 million mess DTCC is in. This must include controls to ensure this doesn’t happen again.

While the Delaware Technical Community College is a vital asset to our state, we should not fix their problems by promoting taxation without representation that SB50 represents.

If my memory of American history is correct, I believe Thomas McKean, Caesar Rodney, and even George Read would take an exception to this bill. You should as well! Let your representatives in the legislature know how you feel.

Bill Bowden is a retired Verizon Delaware executive, past president of the Delaware Quality Award, and served for eight years in state government as the executive director of Delaware’s Department of Technology and Information.

DOVER — Unbeaten Dover High earned the No. 2 seed in the DIAA boys’ basketball state tournament bracket that was announced on Friday afternoon.

No. 4 Caesar Rodney also earned a first-round bye when the 24-team tourney gets underway on Tuesday. A total of eight downstate schools made the bracket.

Sanford is the No. 1 seed.

In boys’ first-round games involving downstate teams, No. 9 Sussex Tech hosts No. 24 Milford; No. 20 Delmarva Christian goes to No. 13 Tower Hill; No. 18 Lake Forest goes to No. 15 Christiana; No. 19 Woodbridge goes to No. 14 Mt. Pleasant and No. 22 Delmar travels to No. 11 William Penn. All games start at 7 p.m.

In Thursday’s second round, Dover will host the winner of the Lake Forest/Christiana game while CR will host the winner of the Tower Hill/Delmarva Christian contest.

In the girls’ bracket, three downstate squads — Woodbridge, St. Thomas More and Cape Henlopen — all earned first-round byes as one of the brackets’ top-eight seeds.

In Wednesday’s first-round matchups involving downstate teams, No. 16 Delmarva Christian hosts No. 17 Ursuline; No. 24 Lake Forest goes to No. 9 St. Georges; No. 13 Sussex Central hosts No. 20 Tatnall and No. 10 Sussex Tech hosts No. 23 Wilmington Friends.

In Friday’s second round, No. 4 Woodbridge will host the Sussex Central/Tatnall winner; No. 6 St. Thomas More hosts the Howard/Newark Charter winner and No. 8 Cape Henlopen hosts the Lake Forest/St. Geoerges winner.

St. Elizabeth is the top seed in the girls’ bracket.

One difference with this year’s schedule is that quarterfinal games will not be played at the Carpenter Center this year because both the University of Delaware men’s and women’s basketball teams have home games on those dates.

The boys’ quarterfinals will be played at the higher-seeded team. The girls’ quarterfinals will be split between two sites — Dover and St. Mark’s.

Women’s basketball

Delaware 72, Charleston 60: The Hens (13-12, 8-5 CAA) had four players record double-digit scoring efforts en route to their third straight win.

Charleston (7-18, 3-11 CAA) cut Delaware’s lead to five near the end of the third quarter, but senior Alison Lewis notched all 13 of her points in a 6:15 minute span to spark the Blue Hens to a 16-point advantage mid-way through the final stanza.

Junior Samone DeFreese led UD with 16 points and five rebounds while graduate student Makeda Nicholas and junior Rebecca Lawrence tallied 11 points apiece. Lawrence finished the game with a team-high seven rebounds while Nicholas grabbed six of her own.

College baseball

Liberty 5, Delaware 4: Senior Erik Bowren had a big afternoon at the plate for the Blue Hens, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs, a run scored and his first home run of the season but Delaware fell in a nonconference battle.

On the mound, Jack Dubecq, Ari Silverstein and Justin Tomovich combined for 6.1 innings of scoreless relief, allowing just two hits and striking out three over that stretch.

Jordan Hutchins (Dover High) had a RBI for Delaware.

College softball

LIU Brooklyn 9, Delaware 1: The Hens fell in their first game of the Jacksonville Classic.

Delaware scored its only run of the day in the bottom of the third as Hanna Garber reached on an error and came around to score on three wild pitches.

Valparaiso 12, Delaware State 1: The Hornets committed seven errors as they dropped their second game of the Liberty Classic.

Jordan Casey plated DSU’s lone run on a single to score Jasmine Melgoza.

Michael Primo of CR pinned Jon Knight of Indian River in the 126-pound quarterfinal. Special to the Delaware State News/Gary Emeigh

LEWES — Leading up to Friday’s DIAA individual state championships, Caesar Rodney High coach Dan Rigby wanted to be sure his wrestlers were relaxed and enjoying the moment.

“I think a lot of our guys just do really well when there’s no pressure,” Rigby said. “This week we’ve kind of been relaxed and we told them they have nothing to lose, let’s just go get it. Go out there and leave it all on the mat.”

The Riders brought eight wrestlers to the state tournament, with six of those eight making it through to today’s semifinal round.

“We kind of tried to take a little bit of the pressure off and had them enjoy the moment a little bit,” Rigby said. “That’s what we told the guys to do, go out and enjoy the moment, take it all in, you don’t know if you’ll get here again. I think that’s what they did, and it worked out well for us.”

Michael Primo (126-pound weight class), Patrick Wisniewski (132), Jackson Dean (145), Gabe Degraffinreed (152), Riley Tracy (160) and Kevin Hudson (285) each won a pair of matches for CR Friday night to earn spots in the semifinals.

Smyrna’s Jaxon Al-Chokhachy scored a 5-1 decision over Owen Klinger of Salesianum in the state quarterfinal 126-pound match.

In total, 35 wrestlers from the Henlopen Conference earned spots in the semifinal round.

The semifinals will begin at 11:30 a.m. today at Cape Henlopen High. The finals are set for approximately 7 p.m.

“We brought eight guys and we put six through to the semis, which is really good for us,” said Rigby. “We have two guys who had tough quarterfinal matches and just couldn’t find their way through. Hopefully we can try to get them back on the podium tomorrow.”

“It just feels amazing when you look over and you see your whole team in the corner cheering and yelling for you,” Degraffinreed said. “It just gives you a whole new sense of energy and just makes you go even harder.”

Smyrna High, the Division I dual meet champion with a 35-33 win over the Riders a few weeks ago, sent eight wrestlers to the semifinals.

Gabe Giampietro (106), Joey Natarcola (120), Jaxson Al-Chokhachy (126), Amir Pierce (132), Nick Natarcola (138), Bryce Mullen (145), J.T. Davis (182) and Masen Wilson (195) all earned spots in the semifinal round for the Eagles.

Milford’s Jack Thode trying for back points on Ian Staubach of Indian River in the 113-pound quarterfinal match.

The freshman Giampietro, the top seed in the 106 bracket with a 41-2 record, earned wins by pin and 15-0 technical fall.

Top-seeded Nick Natarcola and Wilson both registered pins in the quarterfinals.

Top-seeded Davis earned a pair of wins, by pin and technical fall, over the No. 16 and No. 8 seeds to grab his spot in the semis.
Milford High, the Division II dual meet champions, put five wrestlers through to the semifinals.

Corey Messick (106), Jack Thode (113), Gaij Copes (160), Bevensky Augustin (182) and Anthony Diaz (220) each have a shot at an individual title for the Bucs.

Cape Henlopen High has four wrestlers in the semis, while Dover High has three and Sussex Central, Sussex Tech and Lake Forest each have two.

The CR junior Wisniewski, seeded seventh in the 132 bracket, pulled off an upset over the second-seeded Carl Willem of Middletown in his quarterfinal bout.

Trailing 5-3 with under five seconds to go in the quarterfinal match, Wisniewski executed a last-second takedown to tie the score 5-5 and send his match to overtime. He went on to pick up the 7-5 sudden victory decision.

Corey Messick of Milford won by decision 3-0 over Matthew Meadows of St. George’s in the 106-pound quarterfinal match.

“That was huge for him,” said Rigby. “He’s just a work horse, that’s just what he does in the room all the time, he’s a grinder and he always finds a way to put himself in those situations to hopefully win at the end. That was an upset for us, but in our minds, it really wasn’t an upset. Patrick can wrestle with anybody.”

“Wiz is that tough kid who just pushes everyone in the practice room, he doesn’t want to be outworked, he’s stingy,” Degraffinreed said of his teammate. “I knew he was going to come out on top.”

Degraffinreed, seeded second in the 152 bracket, matched up with 15-seeded Logan Kosky from Smyrna in the first round and 10-seeded Dontae Ferrara of St. George’s Tech in the quarterfinal round.

He used an 11-1 major decision and a 13-1 major decision to cement his spot in the semis.

“My approach, I just wanted to keep on scoring, score as many points as possible and go into every period thinking it’s 0-0,” Degraffinreed said. “I plan to keep doing that throughout the rest of the tournament.”

Top-seeded Hudson capped the night for CR in the 285 bracket, winning his quarterfinal bout by second period pin over Hodgson Vo-Tech’s Alex Jardon.

“Coach basically said go out there and take it to him, get the takedown in the first period. He doesn’t want any sudden victory wins, so I pushed the pace and that’s what I did,” said Hudson. “We practice hard in the wrestling room and it shows out here. We do what we have to do.”

“I’m really proud of the way our guys competed, we had a lot of close wins late in the match and this is kind of what we’ve been waiting for all year,” said Rigby. “It’s the first time we kind of put it altogether as a team, but better late than never.”

Cape’s Niyashja Mosley shoots against Woodbridge’s Cha’Kya Johnson in the second quarter during the Henlopen Championship at Dover High. Delaware State News/Marc Clery

DOVER — A year ago, Cape Henlopen High finished only 10-10 and missed making the DIAA state tournament.

But that doesn’t mean the Vikings couldn’t set their sights pretty high this season.

On Friday night, Cape added a Henlopen Conference title to its already-impressive resume after beating previously-undefeated Woodbridge, 56-42, in the league girls’ basketball championship game at Dover.

The conference title was the 12th for the Vikings but their first since 2006.

“I don’t think any of those girls are surprised,” said Cape coach Pat Woods, a former player for the Vikings and Wesley College. “Everyone says it was a big turnaround. But we came out from the jump and said these are our expectations.

“When we set team goals at the beginning of the season, this was one of them. It does mean a lot. I think it validates what we’ve doing. I’m just happy for them.”

With junior Abigail Hearn scoring 24 points, North champion Cape (18-3) trailed only once — when the South champion Blue Raiders (20-1) scored the first point of the contest.

After leading 25-19 at halftime, though, the Vikings didn’t really put away the victory until the second half.

Cape stretched its advantage to 39-28 after three quarters before going up by as much as 52-33 with 2:53 remaining in the game.

With most fans arriving early for the boys’ game, the girls’ matchup was played before a sellout crowd, too.

“We knew they were going to trickle in for the boys’ game — especially because it’s a home game for Dover,” said Hearn. “But it was just crazy. I’ve never played in front of this many people.”

“It was fun,” said sophomore Dania Cannon, who added 13 points for the Vikings. “We were just like, don’t be nervous. Just play hard, play together and play our game.”

It was a tough night for Woodbridge, which was trying to capture the program’s first conference crown. The Raiders also lost in the Henlopen title game a year ago.

Cha’Kya Johnson led Woodbridge with 19 points while Janeira Scott and Sierra Smith added nine points apiece. All three players are only sophomores.

“I thought they did a great job of limiting us to one shot,” said Raiders’ coach Emilio Perry. “We felt like this would be great year for us to get things going. We have a good young group (but) we never want to take anything for granted. We tried to seize the opportunity that we had tonight.”

Both teams earned first-round byes when the DIAA state tournament bracket was determined on Friday. Both will open play in the tourney’s second round on Friday.

Woodbridge was seeded fourth and will host the winner of the Sussex Central-Tatnall first-round matchup. Cape Henlopen was seeded No. 8 and will host the winner of the Lake Forest-St. Georges game.

The Vikings have already beaten both Lake Forest and St. Georges this month. They also lost by only nine points to top-seeded St. Elizabeth during the regular season.

“I like where we are,” said Woods. “We wanted to play them (St. Elizabeth) again so we’ll see.”

Dover’s Eden Davis drives to the hoop as Lake Forest’s Jene Sample defends in the first quarter of Friday night’s Henlopen Conference boys basketball championship game at Dover. Delaware State News/Marc Clery

DOVER — Dover High has plenty of room on the walls of its spacious gym for more championship banners.

And the Senators boys’ players were more than happy to add another number to the wall on Friday night.

Taking control from the start, unbeaten Dover downed Lake Forest, 75-56, in the Henlopen Conference championship game played before a sellout crowd of 2,000 in the Senators’ home gym.

Junior guard Elijah Allen netted 31 points as the Henlopen North champion Senators improved to 21-0.

“I asked these guys, what did they want to be remembered for?” Dover coach Stephen Wilson said as his players celebrated with family and friends on the court. “They’re starting to build a legacy for themselves a little bit.

Dover’s Eric White shoots against Lake Forest in the second quarter.

“We’ve got a lot of things to do. But I’m so happy for these seniors to be able to win something like this. They’ll be able to relish this and be part of history.”

“It feels amazing,” said Allen. “We’ve just got to keep pushing to get to where we want to get.”

Against the South champion Spartans (15-6), who were playing in the Henlopen title game for the first time since 2002, the Senators used their defense to spark a 6-0 run to start the contest. Allen had a pair of steals and layups as Lake Forest turned the ball over on each of its first five possessions.

Dover forced 21 turnovers in the contest.

“It was a great start,” said Allen. “Defense is what gets us going. Ever since last March, he (Wilson) has been preaching to us, defense is what’s going to get us to where we’ve got to go.”

The Senators were up 20-7 at the end of the first quarter and 37-18 at halftime after senior Keith Bessicks hit a three-pointer with 11 seconds left before intermission.

The Spartans, who were playing Dover for the first time this season, never got the Senators’ lead under 14 points in the second half.
“I feel like they didn’t miss a shot all night,” said Lake Forest coach Mike Starkey. “They were better than advertised. I knew coming in at 20-0 that they were well-coached and had earned it. But I was impressed. They didn’t give us too many chances to get stops.”

Besides Allen, Eden Davis added 13 points for Dover while senior Eric White had 10.

Jaysem Vazquez tallied 19 points to lead Lake Forest.

Dover’s Keith Bessicks dribbles past Lake Forest’s Nakiem Scott in the first quarter of the Henlopen Conference championship game Friday night.

Ironically, the two teams might quickly meet again in the second round of the DIAA state tournament. Seeded second in the 24-team bracket that came out during the day on Friday, the Senators will host the winner of the Lake Forest-Christiana game on Thursday night.

Seeded 18th, the Spartans will play at No. 15 Christiana at 7 p.m. in Tuesday’s opening round. It’s a rematch of last year’s first round when Lake Forest beat the Vikings, 74-53.

Starkey, of course, would gladly take a rematch with Dover as a reward if his team can make the second round again.

“It’s the first time that Lake Forest has been on this stage (in the Henlopen title game) since 2002,” he said. “When you’re building a program, you’ve got to get to a certain level and experience it sometimes before you’re able to move on.

“Sometimes film doesn’t do them justice,” Starkey said about the Senators. “These guys are quicker and play with a little more desire — hunger — than any team that we’ve seen all year.”

Dover, on the other hand, knows that its perfect record doesn’t mean anything as it tries to capture the program’s first state crown. The only thing that counts now is winning the next game.

“Right now we’re 0-0,” said Wilson. “We’ve got to 1-0 before we can go 4-0 (in the tournament). I don’t like to think about the future too much. I worry about the present.

“Right now we’ve got practice we’ve got to get ready for.”

GEORGETOWN — Senioritis continues to rise in Sussex County.

So does the need to feed the nutritional demands for homebound seniors.

CHEER’s Cooking for Sussex Seniors, a three-year capital campaign launched last March to support a new commercial kitchen at the Warren and Charles Allen Community Center is poised to enter its second year.

Local, county, state and federal officials and representatives got a hearty nutritional boost and an update on the largest capital campaign in CHEER’s 48-year history Feb. 21 at the organization’s 2019 State of Sussex County Seniors Advocacy Breakfast.

Thus far, a total of $416,115 has been raised toward the projected $1,673,160 renovation/new construction project that will position CHEER to meet nutritional needs of a growing senior population decades into the future.

“The expanded kitchen gives us design capacity to produce up 2,650 meals a day,” said CHEER Executive Director Ken Bock. “That number is what we anticipate the demand to be within the next 20 years as the peak of the Baby Boomers moves through the ranks of senior citizens. Growth rates for elderly are four times the rate of the general population. The older seniors, those 85 and older, are growing at the fastest rate of any other age cohort of the population here in Sussex County.”

The new kitchen enable CHEER to adequately serve the senior community for the next 40 years, Mr. Bock said.

The new 6,400-square-foot commercial kitchen at the community center on Sand Hill Road in Georgetown will replace CHEER’s now-rented facility in the Adams State Service Center.

That kitchen was designed and built in the 1980s to accommodate daily production of 800 to 850 meals – about half the meals CHEER currently prepares on a daily basis.

“Public Health has told us that we are doing too much with too little space,” Mr. Bock said. “And that is not going to get better.”

About half of amount raised thus far is $200,000 in state Bond Bill allocations for fiscal year 2019. Funding was requested by State Sen. Brian Pettyjohn, R-Georgetown, who plans to seek additional funding in the state’s FY2020 budget.

“I plan on going to Bond Bill again this year and requesting additional funds for them as well to move them forward,” said Sen. Pettyjohn, who declined to reveal what his ballpark request might be. “There is a critical need.

“This isn’t just a ‘nice to have project.’ It’s something that we absolutely have to do.”

“Really, last year we were hoping for $200,000. That is why I asked for $300,000 last time,” said Sen. Pettyjohn. “This time around I actually am on Bond Bill Committee, so I might have a little bit more push than before.”

The state renovated the current kitchen in the 1990s. However, the size was not increased and much of the equipment was reinstalled by the state. Five years ago, state of Delaware informed CHEER that the state would no longer be maintaining the capital kitchen equipment, Mr. Bock said. Several years ago, the state began charging CHEER rent, at $30,000 annually.

In addition to space and storage issues, equipment at the Adams Service Center is for the most part obsolete.

“We are doing 1,700 meals a day, twice what that kitchen was designed to do, and we are doing it with equipment that is far beyond its designed life,” said Mr. Bock.

He told the several dozen attendees that the commercial dishwasher is so obsolete motor bearings had to be purchased on eBay.

Approaching a near-crisis point, Mr. Bock said the current kitchen infrastructure is “not going to last much longer. We have Band-Aids and duct tape and everything else to keep it going because there are seniors throughout all of Sussex county each and every day that are counting on us to deliver those meals.”

Those senior numbers are growing.

“Two out of every three people who migrate into Delaware to make Delaware their residence are coming to Sussex County. Most of those people are retirees, coming here for the quality of life,” said Mr. Bock. “Those that have come here as healthy active seniors decades ago are now finding it harder and harder to maintain that independence in their homes.”

“Our goal would be to raise the additional money that would allow us to build as early as next year. We need to,” said Mr. Bock. “I’m not sure how many more parts we can find on eBay.”

The total $1,673,160 cost includes $407,480 in new equipment. CHEER plans to seek funding from a variety of potential sources, both public and private, Mr. Bock said.

In addition, Delaware Department of Transportation’s redesign plans for the signalized Rt. 9/Sand Hill Road intersection will require closure of CHEER’s main entrance to the community center.

The new entrance will be located on the back side of the CHEER campus and current plans call for a roundabout, similar but smaller than the one on The Circle in downtown Georgetown.

“We have been working with DelDOT,” Mr. Bock said. “DelDOT has been good to work with.”

DOVER — The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control’s Division of Parks and Recreation reminds visitors to Delaware’s state parks that 2019 entrance fees will be in effect starting Friday, March 1, and will last through Nov. 30.

Revenue generated from park entrance fees is used to manage 17 state parks and more than 26,000 acres of state park lands. Park users generate 65 percent of the revenue utilized to operate and maintain the parks.

The revenue is used for trail maintenance, environmental and recreational programs, visitor amenities, guarded beaches, management of campgrounds, cabins and more.

Daily park entrance fees for vehicles registered in Delaware are $4 at inland parks and $5 at ocean parks. Fees for out-of-state vehicles are $8 at inland parks and $10 at ocean parks.

Where fee attendants are not on duty, visitors should deposit the daily fee in the self-registration envelopes provided at park entrances and place them in the designated secured drop boxes.

Annual passes are a convenient way to access the parks for the entire fee season. A Delaware resident annual pass costs $35 and Delaware residents 62 and older will receive a discounted rate of $18. A $65 lifetime pass is available for Delawareans 65 and older.

Reduced rates are also offered to Delawareans who receive public assistance or who are active duty military or veterans.

Active duty military personnel with an out-of-state license plate can purchase an annual pass at the in-state rate.

Visit www.destateparks.com for further information and requirements.

In addition, the corporate and group pass program offers participating businesses, nonprofits and other groups discounted annual passes. For more information on corporate and group passes visit www.destateparks.com/GroupPass.

Parks officials remind customers that annual passes and surf fishing permits can be purchased online to save time when they visit a park during fee season.

Annual park passes may be purchased online at www.destateparks.com, at all park offices, at DNREC’s main office in the Richardson and Robbins building at 89 Kings Highway in Dover and at seven retail locations.

For more information, visit www.destateparks.com/Know/PassesTagsFees.

The Point at Cape Henlopen to close for beachnesting season

LEWES — The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control’s Division of Parks and Recreation on Friday that the Point at Cape Henlopen State Park, including a stretch of ocean beach and dunes, and a half mile along the bay shoreline, will close beginning Friday, March 1.

The closure is for the benefit of threatened and endangered beachnesters and migratory shorebirds, including red knots, piping plovers, oystercatchers, least terns and other species.

The nesting habitat on the ocean side will reopen Sept. 1. The bayside beach will remain closed until Oct. 1 for use by shorebirds migrating south for the winter.

DNREC’s Divisions of Parks and Recreation, Fish and Wildlife, and Watershed Stewardship have been working together since 1990 to implement a management plan to halt the decline of beachnester and migratory shorebird populations. The Point has been closed annually since 1993.

For more information, contact Cape Henlopen State Park at 302-645-8983.

DOVER — The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control overreached when first ordering a Kent County business to remove solid waste from the property in 2015, according to a court opinion released Thursday.

While DNREC had authority to issue a cease and desist order to Clayton-based McGinnis Auto and Mobile Home Salvage, it could not mandate corrective action, Superior Court Judge Jeffrey J. Clark said in a 13-page ruling.

Thus, the case was returned to the Environmental Appeals Board for further review. The EAB had ruled in favor of the business that dismantles and salvages dilapidated mobile homes.

DNREC initially cited violations following a Feb. 25, 2015, inspection for “improperly storing solid waste and operating a materials facility without a permit. Another site inspection on March 30, 2016 documented the same violations, according to the opinion.

A July 2016 deadline to remove the waste pile within 30 days was issued and “McGinnis allegedly did not comply,” according to background cited in the opinion. DNREC later argued that it had broad statutory and regulatory powers to make lawful orders.

Delaware Code does not define “cease and desist,” the judge reasoned, and no statute language indicates that DNREC can “compel affirmative corrective action.” The agency can seek an injunction or temporary restraining order through the Court of Chancery is violations continue.

Both sides respond

Deputy Attorney General Ralph E. Durstein III argued for DNREC. On Friday, spokesman Michael Globetti said, “DNREC is reviewing the Superior Court decision after having received it Thursday afternoon.”

Attorneys John W. Paradee, Daniel F. McAllister and Stephen A. Spence represented McGinnis. Mr. Paradee released a statement Friday that read:

“My client, McGinnis Auto, is pleased that both the Environmental Appeals Board and now the Superior Court have recognized that DNREC’s view of its Secretary’s power is far too broad. Yesterday’s ruling is a major victory for Delaware private property owners against the specter of administrative overreach.

“The decision prevents an appointed government official like the DNREC Secretary from issuing orders to the citizens of Delaware which are more properly the prerogative of the courts, where citizens have a right to be heard and assurances of due process.”

WASHINGTON — U.S. and Chinese negotiators agreed Friday to extend high-level trade talks through the weekend, and President Trump said he hoped to meet next month at his Florida resort with President Xi Jinping to try to finalize an agreement.
The news followed two days of negotiations in Washington aimed at resolving a trade war that has rattled financial markets and threatened global economic growth.
“We’re making a lot of progress,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “I think there’s a very good chance that a deal can be made.”
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the negotiations, which had been scheduled to conclude Friday afternoon, would continue through Sunday. The Chinese delegation is led by Xi’s special envoy, Vice Premier Liu He, the American team by Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.
Trump had originally warned that he would escalate the tariffs he has imposed on $200 billion in Chinese imports, from 10 to 25 percent, if the two sides failed to reach a deal by March 2. But in recent days, and again on Friday, he raised the possibility of extending that deadline if negotiators were nearing an agreement.
The world’s two biggest economies are sparring over U.S. allegations that Beijing uses predatory tactics in a drive to make Chinese companies world leaders in such advanced industries as robotics and driverless cars.
Those tactics, the Trump administration argues, include cyber-theft, unfair subsidies for state-owned Chinese companies, the use of regulations to hobble China’s foreign competitors and pressure on American companies to hand over technology in exchange for access to the Chinese market.
The administration contends that Beijing has repeatedly failed to live up to its past commitments to open its markets and to treat foreign companies more fairly.
The president has imposed 25 percent tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese imports and 10 percent tariffs on $200 billion worth. The latter grouping would face the 25 percent tariffs, too, if no agreement is reached.
Beijing has lashed back with import taxes of its own on $110 billion in U.S. goods. These tariffs are heavily aimed at soybeans and other agricultural products in an effort to pressure Trump supporters in the U.S. farm belt.
On Friday, the president and his advisers provided few details on this week’s negotiations. Trump did say the two sides had reached some agreement on currency manipulation but offered no specifics. The administration has worried that Beijing would blunt the impact of Trump’s sanctions by manipulating its currency down to give Chinese companies a competitive edge in international markets.
Trump said both sides want to “make this a real deal.”
“We want to make it a meaningful deal,” the president said, “not a deal that’s done and doesn’t mean anything. We want to make this a deal that’s going to last for many, many years and a deal that’s going to be good for both countries.”
Trump raised the possibility that the U.S. will drop criminal charges against Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, saying the issue would be discussed with Attorney General Bill Barr and U.S. attorneys.
The U.S. has charged Huawei with lying about violating sanctions against Iran and with stealing trade secrets.
Asked about Huawei before the Oval Office meeting with Liu, Trump said that a decision on Huawei is pending, but “right now, it’s not something we’re discussing.”
After Trump appeared with Liu, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced that Beijing had agreed to buy 10 million metric tons of American soybeans, tweeting: “Hats off to @POTUS for bringing China to the table.”
China’s soybean tariffs have squeezed many American farmers. In the first 10 months of 2018, U.S. soybean exports to China dropped to 8.2 million metric tons from 21.4 million metric tons a year earlier — a 62 percent freefall, according to the Agriculture Department.
In front of Liu and the press corps, Trump ridiculed members of his own trade team for using the term “memoranda of understanding,” or MOU, to describe the agreements they were working out with the Chinese.
“You either make a deal or you’re not,” Trump said. “To have these other agreements doesn’t mean anything because they’re not that meaningful in my opinion.” Lighthizer at first defended the acronym, describing MOUs as binding contracts, then made light of the rebuke and vowed never to use the term again.
The U.S.-China conflict has rattled markets. It has also fanned uncertainty among businesses that must decide where to invest and whether Trump’s tariffs — which raise the cost of imports on the target list — will last long enough to justify replacing Chinese suppliers with those from countries not subject to the tariffs.
The International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development have all downgraded their forecasts for the global economy, citing the heightened trade tensions.
The Chinese economy, in particular, is decelerating: The IMF expects China to record 6.2 percent growth this year, down from 6.6 percent in 2018.
“The Chinese economy is definitely hurting right now,” said Timothy Keeler, partner at the law firm Mayer Brown and former chief of staff for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. “There’s a lot of leverage for the U.S.”
Myron Brilliant, head of international affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said the two countries have yet to bridge their differences over nettlesome issues such as the forced technology transfer. He said the chamber wants to see an end to the tariffs between Washington and Beijing. But he also said American businesses are demanding a deal that would produce lasting improvement in Chinese trade practices.
“We simply can’t go back to business as it was before,” Brilliant said. Beijing, he said, has “got to deliver the goods.”

Some of Delaware’s top officials blasted President Donald Trump’s recent declaration of a national emergency that would allow him to redirect billions in federal funding to build a wall along the nation’s southern border.

“The president is planning to take money from the military and from drug interdiction programs to build his wall,” Sen. Chris Coons said in a statement.

• No sir. It is you and the other Democrats who refuse to listen and comprehend what is being told to you, and to act accordingly for the welfare of us, the legal citizens of the United States of America. The word
“united” doesn’t seem to be in your vocabulary. — Cindy Burge

• These so-called experts were all on board with a border wall, fence or whatever you want to call it in the past but because Trump wants it now they kick and scream like babies throwing a tantrum. — Dan Neumann

• Legalize cannabis and tax it, use that money to fund programs and schools. — Suzanne Heritage-Madanat

• Since when is securing a nation’s border not a national security issue? — Michael Pepper

• Why don’t you Democrats do the right thing for our country and give him what we need to protect our country. The border control and HLS have told all of you how badly we need to have a barrier or whatever you choose to call it. The Democrats are becoming power hungry bunch of idiots. — Mary Jane Smith

• Coons, if you would cooperate with the president instead of resisting every word, you would realize that this president will always find funds to help our military! Quit trying to cause nonexistent reasons to buck the president. — Lee Henderson

• Then muster a veto-proof, super majority in Congress, and then you can prevent him from doing this. Otherwise, the president is acting completely within the scope of his constitutional powers, and it’s up to the voters to pass judgment on his motivations in 2020. That’s how our democracy works. — John Daliani

• That, Senator Coons is simply not true. It is a disgrace that you and Delaware Democrats have been and are so unconcerned about protecting the American families. Shame on all of you. When tens of thousands of Americans are dying, I would think a person of high moral character would error on the side of caution, doing everything possible to slam the door on the drug cartels and other criminals crossing our borders selling death and destruction. — Dave McGuigan

• Trump’s wall is completely unnecessary. There is already wall or fencing where appropriate. Let’s spend our money more wisely! — Debra Irene

• Have you not seen the interviews with the border patrol stating that it is needed? The interviews with the Texas, Arizona land owners that are begging for a border fence because cartels and coyotes are using their lands to traffic drugs and humans! All while destroying property on their ranches, leaving trash everywhere, not to mention the threat to themselves and their families! — Shawn Vann

• What a shame to think that the voters in Lower Delaware are not represented in Congress! We do not have enough voters in Sussex County to override the voters in Kent & New Castle County therefore our voices are never heard. Voters need to stop voting for Democrats for federal office. They have never represented us and never will. — Susan Moore

• What makes a border expert, except one who has lived the life of one and experienced the challenges at the border. It is not a textbook subject taken as a college course. I wonder if the Democrats are considering themselves the experts? — Chester C. Martin Jr.

This is your public forum. We welcome your opinions, which can be emailed to newsroom@newszap.com or posted online under the stories at www.DelawareStateNews.net.

William Pully of Felton took this photo at Fowler’s Beach on Dec. 18.

Marvin Mailey began as a patrol officer with the Dover Police Department in 1993 and became chief of police in 2017. (Special to the Delaware State News/Gary Emeigh)

DOVER — When Marvin Mailey comes into the Dover Police Department in the morning he does so with a focused sense of pride. He walks with a purpose — and history walks along with him.

That feeling of fulfillment doesn’t just come from Mr. Mailey being the first African-American police chief in the city of Dover’s long history, he said everybody in the department — especially the police officers — are the source of that pride.

It’s never just about him alone.

However, in the two years since Mr. Mailey was sworn in as Dover’s police chief, he has come to understand his role is different from past police chiefs, especially in the eyes of young minority children who can look at him and realize that if they too work hard, they can achieve their dreams.

“I think it’s more significant for young people to know that they have an opportunity to aspire to become what they want to become, and I don’t take that lightly,” Chief Mailey said. “I know I have big shoes to fill and that’s why I work so hard to try and honor the position.

“It’s very important to me and my family. It is an honor being the Dover police chief. I have a great agency. I know that I have a high standard to keep up and to follow all the previous chiefs.”

When Mr. Mailey, 52, was sworn in as Dover’s police chief in May 2017, he became the first African-American to rise to that position since the Dover Police Department was established in 1925.

Delaware State News/Marc Clery
Chief Mailey credits the guidance and advice that many people have given him, including Delaware State Police Superintendent Robert Coupe and Col. Nathaniel McQueen, also of the state police. (Delaware State News file photo/Marc Clery)

Local community leaders were on hand to witness history being made at that city council meeting.

“This is a historic moment for the city of Dover,” the Rev. Rita Mishoe Page said at the time. “This is just what we needed at the right time. I’ve gotten to know (Chief Mailey) pretty well. I’ve sat right beside him on a couple of cases, and I’ve been meeting with him every month, so I know he’s a man of integrity, a man of his word, and he’s going to be fair and just.”

Chief Mailey, who began as a patrol officer in 1993, has been moving forward in his two years as chief.

However, despite declining violent crime statistics within the city’s boundaries the past couple of years, he said there is always more work to be done.

In particular, his police force is facing a tough task with the opioid crisis as well as trying to be fair when confronted with a homeless issue that has an estimated 300 or more displaced people out on the streets of the city of Dover.

“Our opioid problem is first and foremost in my mind,” said Chief Mailey. “One of our strategic goals is to drive that down. We’ve done a very good job in our violent crime numbers and keeping that down, but violent crime numbers are down nationwide as well.

“Another thing we are always concerned with in Dover is the homeless situation. That’s a tough nut to crack for a lot of jurisdictions. I think we handle it appropriately. We realize that being homeless is not a crime, however, there is quality of life issue sometimes that is associated with homeless individuals – panhandling, loitering and so forth. We realize that affects businesses and homeowners. People who want to come to Dover to open up businesses and move in, we realize that impacts their decision.

“Those are concerns that we have because those people are in situations for various reasons, but they deserve the same level of respect as everyone else, but at the same time we can’t let their situation infringe on other people’s quality of life. We have to maintain the balance there and that’s constantly a moving target for us.”

Adjusting to new role

Chief Mailey had served as deputy chief of the department since April 2014. He was named interim police chief for the retiring former Chief Paul M. Bernat on Jan. 9, 2017.

Once he was named Dover’s police chief, Chief Mailey said he wanted to be as visible as possible. However, that is beginning to change lately.

“I want to be visible,” he said. “I know I am the face of the organization in a lot of situations. I like for the officers to be the face of the organization, but for town events, for meetings and so forth, when they want the chief to be there, I certainly want to go out and engage with the public.

Marvin Mailey, 52, was sworn in as Dover’s police chief in May 2017, becoming the first African-American to rise to that position since the Dover Police Department was established in 1925. (Submitted photo/Dover Police Department)

“I feel like they have a right to ask me questions directly and know how I feel about certain things, because I represent them. I not only represent the men and women of the agency, I represent them as well, too, because I’m a city of Dover official, for lack of a better term.”

The police chief added, “I’ve stepped back from that in year two. I really got out in front of it in year one. I wanted everyone to see me out there and to really connect with the community and now I want my officers to fill that gap. I want the community to know my officers because they do a lot of great work, so they need to have the interaction.”

Chief Mailey is a New York native and came to Delaware in 1989 when he began working as a correctional officer.

The most important thing to him, he says, is to never stop learning. And while he learned many lessons while serving as deputy chief, he admitted his chief of police position offers many more difficult challenges.

“I’ve learned so much over the past couple of years — personnel management is one of the big things in my job, (dealing with) a lot of different personalities inside the agency and outside the agency, connecting with community, working with them is vitally important. The business side of running the police department is something that I had some insight into because I was deputy chief for four years under Chief Bernat, but just really running the operation with the assistance of my staff in making the final decision on things – that’s very different,” he said.

“When you’re weighing in and giving your opinion that’s different than saying, ‘OK, this is the direction that we’re going to go and this is why we’re going to go in this direction,’ because I am responsible for everything. I’m responsible for every good thing that happens and every bad thing that happens, and that’s a heavy cross to bear.”

Chief Mailey credits the guidance and advice that many people have given him, including Delaware State Police Superintendent Robert Coupe and Col. Nathaniel McQueen, also of the state police.

“I think it’s more significant for young people to know that they have an opportunity to aspire to become what they want to become, and I don’t take that lightly,” Chief Mailey said. (Submitted photo/Dover Police Department)

He said advice that he received from them, as well as several other people, were instrumental to helping him adjust to his role as head of Dover’s police department.

“I did a lot of growing and I asked a lot of questions,” said Chief Mailey. “I leaned on a lot of people. I have a great network of peers, including other chiefs in the state. Colonel McQueen from the state police … within the first two months of me taking over, he and I sat in his office and had an in-depth conversation and I inundated him with questions.

“I said, ‘What problems did you have? What hurdles did you overcome? What issues do I have coming up in regards to my time here in Dover?’ And he gave me some very good points, some very good topics that I could learn from. He talked about his successes and failures and how I could progress.”

The future is now

It is obvious that Chief Mailey is laser-focused on his job.

However, he does have July 2020 circled on his calendar, because that is when he will be hanging up his sidearm and retiring from the Dover Police Department. It’s all part of his plan.

“I will retire in July 2020,” he said. “I came in knowing what day I would leave. I have a plan. I will work somewhere else and it will be a non-law- enforcement position. It’s time for me to return to being a normal person. I just want to be a normal person.”

The life of a crime fighter is never an easy one. There are long, stressful hours spent keeping dangerous individuals in check.

Chief Mailey is looking forward to the day when he can become plain old Mr. Mailey again. For now, he finds different ways to ease his stress.

“I go to the gym daily to relieve stress,” he said. “I’m an avid golfer … I’m not very good, but I’m getting there. It’s a work in progress. I’m an outdoorsman, I like to fish. I don’t hunt, but I do fish. Golfing has kind of supplanted fishing in my life. Golfing’s all-consuming now and if you’ve never played golf, don’t start. It’s bad. It’s worse than heroin (with a laugh).”

Chief Mailey is looking forward to traveling south to Orlando, Florida, with some friends in April for a four-day golfing excursion.

Then it will be back to work, preparing for his final year as Dover’s police chief. He said he gets his work ethic from his father Marvin Mailey Sr. and his late mother Dollye.

Dover Police Department Chief Marvin Mailey, right, believes in the importance of both he and his officers getting out into the community. (Submitted photo/Dover Police Department)

“I would say my mother and my father had the greatest influence on my life,” Chief Mailey said. “My mother was a registered nurse and she worked hard for over 25 years and my dad worked for General Motors on the assembly line for 35 years, and those were my role models. They gave me my work ethic.

“Without them, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

Holding a piece of history as Dover’s first African-American police chief.

Downstate performers combined for two top-three finishes at the DIAA boys’ swimming state meet on Saturday afternoon.

Nick Hartmann of Caesar Rodney finished third in the boys’ 100–yard freestyle. Hartman recorded a time of 48.78.

Indian River High’s 200-yard freestyle relay team also finished third. The team of Mitch McGee, Max Kohr, Will Douds and Michael Barnes ended the race with a time of 1:30.67.

It was the first time in school history Indian River placed on the medal stand in the state meet.

Salesianum won the team title for the 14th time in the last 15 seasons. The Sals topped the standings with 397 points.

Sussex Tech totaled 65 points to lead downstate teams, good for an 11th-place finish.

Caesar Rodney and Indian River tied for 13th place with 62 points each. Cape Henlopen was 15th with 61 points.

Dover (24 points), Milford (seven) and Sussex Central (six) also earned points in the team standings.

College basketball

MEN, UMES 62, Delaware State 56: The Hornets led by eight points with seven minutes left to play, but faltered down the stretch.

DSU was outscored 15-1 in the final four minutes of the contest. The Hornets lost their third straight game to fall to 4-21 overall and 1-11 in the MEAC while the Hawks snapped a three-game losing streak to improve to 5-24 and 3-11.

The loss overshadowed a career performance by Delaware State senior Saleik Edwards, who led all players with 23 points, highlighted by seven three-point field goals, each a personal best.

The seven threes by Edwards also marked a single-game high for the Hornets this season and were the most by a DSU player since Kavon Waller tied the school record with eight in a 2016-17 contest.

UMES led 47-46 before Edwards scored nine straight points on three three-pointers to give Delaware State its biggest lead of the game. His third three gave the Hornets a 55-47 lead with 7:15 left.

WOMEN, Delaware State 65, UMES 62: The Hawks netted nine of the final 12 points of the contest but the Hornets hung on for the MEAC upset win on Saturday.

The victory snapped a three-game losing streak for the Hornets (3-9 MEAC, 5-18 overall) while the Hawks fell to 11-3 MEAC, 15-12 overall.

Ra’Jean Martin’s three-point attempt for UMES clanked off the rim as time expired. Pollard made one of two free throws to give DSU a 65-62 lead with six seconds left.

DSU held a 62-53 lead with 4:41 left. The Hornets also started the game on a 15-4 run,

Lanayjha Ashe had a team-high 21 points and six assists for DelState with NaJai Pollard adding 20 points and 10 rebounds.

The contest was close throughout, with DelState leading 33-28 at halftime but trailing by a point going into the fourth quarter.

College lacrosse

MEN, Delaware 8, Monmouth 4: The Blue Hens grinded out a third straight win to start the year with a victory over MAAC-favorite Monmouth.

Goalie Matt DeLuca racked up 13 saves, his third straight game with double-digits and 17th in 30 career games. He now leads the country with a 5.10 GAA.

The Hens forced 19 turnovers from the Hawks, led by three from senior Austin Haynes. Delaware forced three failed clears from Monmouth to control the midfield.

Offensively, senior Dean DiSimone notched his second straight hat trick and seventh of his career. Junior Bryce Reid added two goals, while classmate Charlie Kitchen had a goal and an assist.

Wilkes 19, Wesley 7: Adam Tewey recorded a team-high three goals for his first career hat trick in the Wolverines’ loss.

Zach Farnell scored two goals while Leo Kelly and Kyle Mackall-Lloyd also netted a goal each for Wesley (0-1).

On defense, Jack Guzman and Dylan Sicca scooped up a team-high five ground balls each. Sicca also registered six saves.

WOMEN, Rutgers 12, Delaware 11, OT: Delaware led 11-6 at halftime but gave up five second-half goals, including one with 45 seconds remaining to force extra time.

Christine Long led the Blue Hens (1-2) with a season-high five goals for her sixth career hat trick. Sydney Rausa added a hat trick of her own to go along with a game-best four ground balls while Claire D’Antonio posted two goals for Delaware.

College softball

Hens drop two in Fla.: Delaware softball team fell to Harvard, 3-2, and LIU Brooklyn, 7-0, Saturday afternoon during the second day of the Jacksonville, Fla. Classic.

Halle Kisamore had a solo homerun for the Blue Hens against Harvard while Hanna Garber and Kisamore each had two hits.

Garber, Anna Steinmetz and Sarah Coyne had the three UD hits in the nightcap.

Swarthmore 10, Wesley 2: Ashley Royer homered for the Wolverines in their season-opening loss.

Royer and Amanda Curry each tallied a pair of hits. Brooke Retkowski belted a double and pitcher Jessica Anderson struck out four in six innings.

PHILADELPHIA — In a perfect world, Delaware would be playing its best basketball of the season right now.

But that’s just not the case.

The Blue Hens managed only 21 first-half points and their late-game comeback was too little, too late as they fell to rival Drexel, 68-60, on Saturday evening at the Dakalakis Center.

It was the second-straight loss for Delaware (8-8 CAA, 16-13 overall) against a team that’s below them in the CAA men’s basketball standings. The fact that the Hens had a week off since their last game left them scratching their heads a little bit.

“I think we just got complacent,” said senior Eric Carter, who netted 17 points. “They were just tougher and we were settling for first shots instead of making extra passes. We’ve just got to get better right now. We’re in a tough spot.”

“I thought they competed and played harder than we did,” said Delaware coach Martin Ingelsby. “And they wanted it more than we did. We really challenged our older guys at halftime that they have to be better and we have to do it as a group and leave it all out there.

“We were a little tired, no doubt about it. … Scoring 21 points in the first half, it felt like it was a 15-point game at half — and we were only down six.”

True, the Hens were only behind 27-21 at intermission. But the Dragons (7-9 CAA, 13-16 overall) eventually went up by as many as 15 points with 5:37 left in the game.

Delaware did rally in the closing minutes. The Hens closed within 61-56 and had Ryan Allen (18 points) at the foul line with 1:35 still remaining.

But the sophomore guard missed both free throws as well as a jumper 15 seconds later and Delaware never seriously threatened again.

The Hens were just 15-of-24 from the foul line. Drexel wasn’t too much better at 17-of-24, but the Dragons weren’t the team that lost by eight.

The other telling stat was that Delaware was out-rebounded, 39-24, with Drexel grabbing 14 offensive rebounds.

While there were nine lead changes in the first half, the Hens trailed for the final 28:11 of the contest.

“We’ve got guys banged up,” said Ingelsby. “I know Ryan Allen is not healthy, Darian Bryant is not healthy and obviously we’re down a man. Guys were tired and fatigued.

“I just didn’t think we had it together for 40 minutes. We’ve got guys who are searching a little bit — how do they help their team, how do they impact our group. I’ve got to try to find ways to help them.”

Clearly, Delaware misses Kevin Anderson. The sophomore guard missed his third-straight game for what is being termed ‘personal reasons.’

Anderson averages 10.4 points per game with 93 assists this season. Allen, who a team-best five assists and just one turnover on Saturday, has taken over more of Anderson’s point guard duties in his absence.

“I’ve got to focus on getting other people going,” said Allen, who played a team-high 38:17. “With him being such a great point guard, I feel like I’ve got to take things from his game and add it to my game now.

“We’re a more-composed team out there with Kevin on the floor. He gets us into our offenses, he attacks the rim. It helps having another play-maker like Kevin out there.”

With two regular-season games remaining, Delaware is still in fourth place in the CAA standings. The Hens are still in good shape to avoid the conference tournament play-in round by not finishing seventh or lower.

But, while Delaware’s last two games are at home, those contests are against second-place Northeastern on Thursday night and first-place Hofstra on Saturday at 4 p.m.

“It’s bittersweet,” said Carter, one of only three seniuor on the roster. “But it’s going to be fun and exciting. … We have to go back on Monday and continue to watch and get better. If we can have three good days of practice heading into this weekend, we can have a solid run and have some momentum going into the tournament.”

Extra points

The home team has won the last eight meetings in the UD-Drexel series. … Four Dragons finished in double figures led by Camren Wynter with 19. … Carter moved into 30th place on Delaware’s all-time scoring list. … Besides Allen, Bryant played 36:51 of Saturday’s game. … The Hens turned the ball over only six times.

I oppose the legalization of recreational marijuana. Proponents have made multiple arguments in favor of legalization, but none of these rationalizations justifies the impact increasing the availability of cannabis could have on Delaware’s children and young adults. I am deeply troubled over the ample evidence that marijuana use among juveniles undermines their health and academic futures, carrying consequences that will ripple forward throughout their lives.

Colorado was one of the first states to legalize marijuana. According to a state report – “Monitoring Health Concerns Related to Marijuana in Colorado: 2016” – one-in-four adults (ages 18-25) had reported using marijuana in the past month with one-in-eight using daily or nearly daily. The report noted that these numbers had been consistent since retail marijuana sales began in January 2014.

Lyndon Yearick

Marijuana use is also widespread among adolescents. According to one survey, almost one-in-five U.S. high school students reported using marijuana in the previous 30 days. Those percentages increase by grade level.

The 2017 Healthy Kids Colorado Survey (HKCS), which included more than 50,000 respondents, revealed that marijuana use among 9th graders was 11 percent and rose to 25.7 percent by 12th grade. The 2015-16 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) indicated a gradual increase in youth use from 2006-07 (9.1 percent) to 2013-14 (12.6 percent); however, the last two years showed decreased use, with 9.1 percent reporting use versus the national average 6.8 percent in 2015-16. Using the NSDUH, underage consumption of marijuana in Colorado is 33 percent higher than the national average.

Legalization carries with it a message — a government endorsement of marijuana’s safety and relative risk. This belief was validated in a study performed by researchers at UC Davis and Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health published in JAMA Pediatrics (February 2017).

More than a quarter-million eighth- and 10th-grade students were surveyed in Washington before and after that state legalized recreational marijuana.

Following legalization, “perceived harmfulness” declined 14.2 percent among the eighth-graders and 16.1 percent for those in 10th grade. Marijuana use among these students trended up modestly (two to four percent) from 2010 to 2015.

This finding is disconcerting because marijuana use can be quite detrimental to teens and young adults.

Most neuroscientists now believe the brain remains under development through early adulthood.

Staci Gruber, Ph.D., a neuroscientist investigating the impacts of marijuana at McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School, said the brain is still under construction at least until the early or mid-20s. She added that during this period the brain is thought to be particularly sensitive to damage from drug exposure and the frontal cortex — the region critical to planning, judgment, decision-making, and personality — is one of the last areas to develop fully.

Researchers at Canada’s Waterloo University studied what happens to academic goals, engagement, preparedness, and performance when high school students begin using marijuana. Examining nearly 27,000 students in grades 9 through 12, the study found that students who started smoking pot regularly were less likely to get good grades or to pursue a college education.

When students began using marijuana at least once a month they were about four times more likely to skip class; two-to-four times less likely to complete their homework; and nearly half as likely to achieve high grades.

“We found that the more frequently students started using the drug, the greater their risk for poor school performance,” said Karen Patte, lead author of the study.

It is not just juveniles who choose to use marijuana that are under threat. The Retail Marijuana Public Health Advisory Committee – a group established by the State of Colorado – reported in 2016 that at least 14,000 children in that state were at risk of accidentally eating improperly stored marijuana products and at least 16,000 were at risk of being exposed to secondhand marijuana smoke in the home. “The committee found strong evidence such accidental exposures can lead to significant clinical effects that, in some cases, require hospitalization,” the report stated.

Had it been enacted, the bill that sought to legalize recreational marijuana in Delaware last year (House Bill 110) was expected to produce about $30 million in new annual state revenue. This estimate excludes any expenses with the implementation and regulation of the program.

Consider that the operating budget recently proposed by Gov. John Carney for Fiscal Year 2020 budget is $4.4 billion, with public education accounting for more than a third of this spending. In other words, legalizing marijuana would have increased state revenue by less than three-quarters of one percent.

We should not be needlessly risking the academic performance of thousands of our students, as well as the healthy mental development of our young adults, by enabling marijuana use. Mortgaging their future for any amount of monetary gain is a foolish bargain.

Lyndon Yearick is a Republican serving the 34th Representative District, which covers the Camden, Wyoming, Magnolia and south Dover areas.

Caesar Rodney’s Kevin Hudson won in overtime in the heavyweight match against Sussex Tech’s Jamie Schirmer. Special to the Delaware State News/Gary Emeigh

LEWES — A pair of Caesar Rodney High wrestlers earned redemption from a year ago while a Dover High wrestler rebounded from a week ago.

Meanwhile Smyrna High crowned three champions.

Seven Henlopen Conference wrestlers earned state titles on Saturday night during a busy day at the DIAA individual championships hosted at Cape Henlopen High.

Jackson Dean of Caesar Rodney was the first champion of the night at 145 pounds. He recorded a pin in the first period of his final match.

It’s the second championship for Dean, a junior who won his first as a freshman. He fell in the semifinals of the state tournament last season and had to settle for a third place finish.

Smyrna’s Gabe Giampietro defeated Milford’s Corey Messick in the 106-pound match.

“It’s definitely a big relief,” Dean said. “It’s like I had a chip on my shoulder and now it’s off.”

Dean’s teammate Kevin Hudson had the longest match of the night in the heavyweight championship round.

Hudson went to the fourth overtime period and was able to prevent Sussex Tech’s Jamie Schirmer from escaping to seal his title.

It was the first career title for the sophomore. He lost by a point in the heavyweight final a year ago.

“I looked as last year as something that was good for me,” Hudson said. “It helped me sit back and realize what I wanted to do in the future. I worked hard and my coaches did a really good job with me.”

Dover’s Hugo Harp won by major decision over Milford’s Anthony Diaz in the 220-pound match.

Hugo Harp of Dover won his second state championship in as many seasons thanks to a 15-4 major-decision in the 220-pound final.

While Harp is a defending state champion, he did not reach the final round of the Henlopen Conference last week as he fell in the semifinals.

He more than made up for that on Saturday.

“It’s amazing,” Harp said. “I never thought I would be here. Wrestling has changed my life a lot.”

“Last week was my fault, my mistake,” Harp added. “This week is what mattered. Last week helped me focus a lot. It was a big, big wake-up call.”

Smyrna tied with Salesianum for the most winners with three. The Eagles had Gabe Giampietro (106 pounds), Joey Natarcola (120 pounds) and J.T. Davis (182 pounds) all earn the first championship of their career.

In the 182-pound championship match Smyrna’s J.T. Davis won by a 13-4 decision over Christopher Handlin of Cape Henlopen.

Giampietro, a freshman, won with a 12-0 major-decision. Only 10 wrestlers have won four state championships, which Giampietro is shooting for.

“That’s what I’ve been working for this whole time,” Giampietro said. “I knew I needed that first step. I couldn’t do it without this first step. Now I need three more.”

Giampietro isn’t the only possible four-time state champion out there.

Caravel freshman Nick Hall won the 152-pound title. Hall is from Kent County and attended Fifer Middle School before going to Caravel.

“It feels good and shows that I can do this,” Hall said of his title. “Everybody doubted me and I proved them wrong.”

Jackson Dean of Caesar Rodney scored a fall in the first period over Seth Flemming of Lake Forest in the 145-pound match.

Natarcola was a runner-up last year as a freshman and was able to win as a sophomore with a 13-6 decision in the 120-pound final.

Davis won at 182 pounds after finishing third in 2018.

“I put a lot of time into getting my body healthy,” Davis said. “I was eating healthy, drinking a lot of water and doing all the right things, getting in the wrestling room. It feels good for all the hard work.”

The home crowd was able to celebrate another title by Anthony Caruso.

The Cape Henlopen senior won the second championship of his career with a 9-3 decision in the 132-pound final. He also won a title as a freshman and was runner-up as a sophomore and junior.

Salesianum’s Zach Spence won his third career state championship with a victory in the 113-pound finals. Spence became the 33rd Delaware wrestler with three state titles.

Alex Poore of Caravel (126 pounds), Harry Latch of Salesianum (138 pounds), Liam O’Connor of Delcastle (160 pounds), Brian Schneider of Middletown (170 pounds) and Danny Stradley of Salesianum (195 pounds) rounded out the other champions. Latch was awarded the meet’s Outstanding Wrestler award.

SUSSEX COUNTY — With the filing deadline less than a week away, contested races loom in four of six Sussex County public school districts for the 2019 school board elections this May.

Four board of education seats in the Indian River School District expire June 30, and all four incumbents – Dr. Heather Statler of Millsboro (District 3), Dr. Donald Hattier of Dagsboro (District 4) and W. Scott Collins of Selbyville and Derek Cathell of Frankford (both in District 5) – have filed for re-election.

Joining Mr. Collins and Mr. Cathell as District 5 candidates is Jeff Evans of Selbyville. As of Friday, Feb. 22, Dr. Statler and Dr. Hattier were unopposed.

All terms up for election in Indian River are five years, running from July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2024.

In the Cape Henlopen School District, there are two candidates for each of the three terms that expire: incumbent and current board president Alison J. Myers and Calvin D. Jackson II for a Member-at-Large seat; incumbent Andrew W. Lewis and Janet E. Maull-Martin in Area C; and William W. Collick and Charles A. Mowll for another Member-at-Large seat.

In the Seaford School District, Dara L. Savage and Shawn T. Garrahan are the candidates, and in Delmar, incumbent Jason R. Coco and William D. Mills are seeking that five-year board term.

Woodbridge School District has one open seat, held by Steve C. McCarron, who is seeking re-election. Meanwhile, in the Laurel School District, incumbent Brad C. Lee has filed for re-election.

Candidate filing deadline with the Sussex County Department of Elections in Friday, March 1.

School board elections are Tuesday, May 14.