MAGNOLIA — Last Monday a jury of 11 women and one man returned a verdict for Obadiah Miller — one of the 18 inmates accused of perpetrating the 2017 Vaughn prison riot that left Lt. Steven Floyd dead.

They found the 26-year-old man not guilty of conspiracy, kidnapping and assault, but remained deadlocked on two counts of murder and a count of riot.

Ultimately, they delivered a “no decision” verdict to the judge on the three counts.

Tanya Butler, a frequent onlooker from the New Castle County Courtroom gallery over the course of the five-week trial, made her decision about Miller eight years ago when he pleaded guilty to killing her 10-year-old son Lionel “Diddy” Butler.

“That boy took everything from us,” Ms. Butler said of Miller. “There’s no doubt in my mind that he should spend the rest of his life in jail.”

According to State News archives, then 18-year-old Miller surrendered to authorities in late November 2010, several days after fatally shooting Lionel in Magnolia — where both of them lived. Miller was charged with first-degree murder and firearm charges and held without bail. However, in February 2011, a Kent County Superior Court grand jury indicted Miller on the lesser charge of manslaughter.

“The charge got reduced because they were saying it was an accident,” Ms Butler said. “It was outrageous. I couldn’t wrap my head around how it was possible that an 18-year-old man could just up and shoot a 10-year-old boy and only have to serve a couple years in prison. I couldn’t believe it.”

Originally sentenced to 10 years, the Department of Correction said Miller was scheduled to be released this October before being charged with the riot.

Miller’s future, for the moment is unclear, as the Department of Justice must decide whether to pursue and possibly retry the charges for which the jury entered “no decision.”

The shooting

In 2010, the Butlers lived in a mobile home park on Nascar Lane off Irish Hill Road in Magnolia. Miller lived in an adjacent park, Ms. Butler said.

Miller had a reputation in the neighborhood as a “trouble-maker” who’d gotten into frequent conflicts, Ms. Butler alleged. She noting several prior altercations between him and her older son, Tim, who was 15 at the time.

“He’d stolen Tim’s bike earlier that summer,” Ms. Butler claimed. “I chased him down the road myself. Also, a month before he killed Lionel, the kids were down by the field riding their dirt bike around and Obadiah showed up and was trying to fight with Tim.”

Tim says he recalls that he first met Miller when he used to come to their neighborhood to play basketball and tag.

“He was OK at first, but then he changed and he started getting into trouble — real trouble — like, people were always looking for him,” said Tim, now 24.

A particular incident Ms. Butler says continues to “haunt” her is when she claims to have intervened on Miller’s behalf in a potential confrontation.

“Obadiah was in our neighborhood when these boys from Woodside pulled up in a Durango and one of them got out to fight him,” said Ms. Butler. “Then I saw the other boy get out of the car and he had a gun. I knew these boys so I got in the middle of all them and told them to stop. I convinced them to leave. That was about a month before Obidiah shot Lionel. So I helped save him a month before he killed my son.”

When Ms. Butler returned home from work on Nov. 24, 2010, her kids said they were hungry so she took her daughter Natanya Johnson, a second-grader at the time, and drove to a nearby Subway. Lionel and Tim were playing together outside when she left, Ms. Butler said.

By Tim’s recollection, they were playing with BB guns when they saw Miller approach brandishing what appeared to be a small-caliber handgun.

“Lionel kept asking (Miller) if it was a real gun, but he said, ‘No, it’s just a BB gun,’” said Tim. “I saw the front of the gun and didn’t look like a regular one — it looked like it was real old.”

Then, Miller threatened to shoot Lionel with it, said Tim. Thinking it was a BB gun, Lionel said ‘Do it then,’ Tim recalled.

“I remember hearing the shot because it was really quiet and there was a lot of spark — that’s why I think it was an older gun, too,” he said. “Then Lionel fell down and I tried to catch him. And the boy (Miller) just stood there for a second at first and said ‘Get up, quit playing.’ Then he took off running.”

Tim said he chased Miller to the edge of the park, but didn’t catch him.

Ms. Butler said her neighbor called and told her Lionel had been shot, so she rushed home. Once there, she found Lionel laying on the ground with a gunshot wound to the chest. She remembers trying, unsuccessfully, to resuscitate him.

“I was trying to revive him, but he was already gone,” she said through tears.

Ms. Butler rode with Lionel to Bayhealth-Kent General Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

At the time of the incident, police said Miller was thought to have run home after the shooting where he told his mother that he had a gun and that he had “accidentally” shot a child. His mother told police that she’d driven him to a residence in Capital Park in Dover. He remained at-large for about four days until eventually turning himself in.

Tanya Butler with her son and daughter.

Though Miller was ultimately convicted on a manslaughter charge, Ms. Butler has never believed the shooting was an accident and has long claimed that the attorney general’s office at the time handled the case poorly.

“I just could not understand why they were dropping it to manslaughter — they were telling me that no jury was going to convict him otherwise so the plea was the right move — but there were five witnesses who all were saying the same thing,” said Ms. Butler.

She also had misgivings about the gun used in the crime. Allegedly Miller’s defense was that he’d thought the safety was on before squeezing the trigger.

“If it was an older gun or revolver like Timmy saw, a lot of those don’t even have safeties,” Ms. Butler said.

Asking around, Ms. Butler believed she determined the person who gave Miller the gun and told police in an effort to aid the investigation. But, she claims they never followed up on the tip.

Police told this paper at the time of the incident that the gun used in the crime was unidentified and never located.

“I don’t think they did anything to find that gun,” Ms. Butler said. “I have no faith in the justice system. This wasn’t an accident, but they gave him manslaughter anyway — even after me and Timmy went in to talk to them again. What it boiled down to for me, was that my son just didn’t matter to them.”

Riot charges

While at work as a Dairy Queen manager in October 2017, she overheard that inmates were charged in connection with the deadly prison riot earlier that year.

“I heard they charged 18 of them so I pulled up the article and started scrolling through it — then I saw his (Miller’s) picture,” said Ms. Butler. “I started screaming. I had to leave.”

Long feeling her son was denied “justice,” Ms. Butler said she was filled with rage the day she first saw Miller’s name and face in the paper. But, the more she talked to her family and reflected, she began to hope Miller would finally face the sentence she always thought he deserved.

“It was awful that the riot happened and terrible that Floyd lost his life,” she said. “But I’ve always believed that everything happens for a reason — I’ve had to — so I thought he’d finally be in jail for the rest of his life.”

She anxiously awaited the start of Miller’s trial and was surprised to see that it began on Jan. 14 — Lionel’s birthday. Skipping that first day of to stay home and celebrate his birthday, she attended about a week’s worth of the trial in the time she could get off work.

Thinking she’d “break down” seeing Miller again, she said she only felt angry. “I stared at him the entire time,” she said. “I know he’d seen me, too, but he wouldn’t look at me. He knows exactly who I am.”

Initially encouraged, Ms. Butler believed that the prosecution’s evidence against Miller would be enough for a murder conviction.

“I mean, they had DNA evidence and I listened to the testimony from his cell mate myself — I believed every word of it,” she said. “He described him (Miller) coming back to the cell after the riot started all covered in blood, with the way he spoke, it was convincing.”

However, defense attorney’s hammered on “contradictory” inmate eyewitness testimony during the course of the trial. To varying degrees of success, they were able to identify inconsistencies in statements inmate eyewitnesses had given investigators — in affect undermining their testimonies.

As for the DNA evidence, it was the state’s primary, and only, positive DNA match to implicate any of the 18 inmates. But defense attorneys cast doubt on it during the trial as well. The sample, which was a dot of blood, came back from the state’s DNA lab as a positive match for both Lt. Floyd and Miller. The sample had been collected in the mop closet Lt. Floyd had been held captive and allegedly beaten in.

However, during Miller’s defense attorney Tony Figliola’s cross-examination of the state’s DNA expert, it was explained that Lt. Floyd was the majority contributor to the sample while Miller was only found to be a minor contributor.

Though it’s not uncommon that a single crime scene sample can contain genetic material from several individuals Mr. Figliola pursued a line of questioning that suggested to the jury that Miller’s contribution to the sample could have easily been “touch DNA” such as sweat, skin cells and the like — especially since it was impossible to deduce who’s blood the sample contained.

Further, Mr. Figliola demonstrated that because Miller was a “tier man” — an inmate with prison janitorial duties — it wouldn’t be unusual to find trace amounts of his DNA in the mop closet.

“If someone had regular access to this mop closet, would it surprise you to find their DNA in there?” Mr. Figliola asked during the trial.

“No, I wouldn’t be surprised,” replied a state DNA expert, Lauren Rothwell.

Ultimately, the case laid out for the jury was not enough to convince them unequivocally of Miller’s guilt.

Conceding that the circumstances of the crime made an investigation difficult and the volume of testimony likely left jurors bewildered, Ms. Butler still can’t help feeling that the state’s justice system has “failed again.”

“After everything this boy (Miller) has done, this is who you’re going to let out?” she said. “I just can’t believe it.”

While the DOJ must still decide if they will pursue the “no decision” counts, for Ms. Butler, it’d be an easy choice.

“I really hope they do,” she said. “Maybe it’d be different if he was on trial on his own. I think that became an issue with the trial: trying four inmates together. Having four defense attorneys all go in a row, that’s a lot for one jury to take in and process.”

For her part, Ms. Butler said she’s beginning to make preparations to move to Florida with her children to be near family. If Miller is released, Ms. Butler said she can’t be nearby.

“I just can’t be driving my car one day and see him walking down the road,” she said.

Lionel’s legacy

Holding fast to her belief that “everything happens for a reason,” Ms. Butler said her family will continue its focus to remember Lionel for who he was in his all too short life.

“Everyone loved him,” she said.

Lionel played basketball on the CYO at Holy Cross Catholic Church and was well-liked by his teachers and fellow classmates, Chester Cox, then-principal of Star Hill Elementary School told this paper in 2010.

“Anybody who knew Lionel, students and staff, they couldn’t help but love the kid,” Mr. Cox said at the time.

The Caesar Rodney school district hasn’t forgotten Lionel either, Ms. Butler noted. The family received an honorary diploma on his behalf from Caesar Rodney High School last year — when he would have graduated. During the graduation ceremony, a robe was slung over the chair where he would have sat.

By his sister Natanya, Lionel is remembered as her “best friend” — a playful, but faithful protector who would hold her hand when they walked to the bus and sometimes give away his hide-and-seek spot by his inability to conceal his “big afro.” Tim remembers Lionel as his beloved little brother and a great basketball player.

Ms. Butler remembers Lionel as a boy who had friends everywhere he went. She noted he was the kind of kid who’d go out of his way to stand up for the other kids on the playground who were getting bullied.

“He loved to cook — the night before he passed, him and Natanya helped me cook dinner,” she said. “He made the dippy eggs and set the table. We were having breakfast for dinner. He loved to dance, too. I remember pulling out in my car to go to the Subway just before he was shot; he had the radio in the window and he was just dancing around in the front yard. He would have been a great young man. Obadiah ruined our lives the day he took Lionel from us.”

WILMINGTON — So far, with two trials complete, only one inmate accused of perpetrating the 2017 prison riot has been convicted of murder.

Some stakeholders are raising questions about the strength of the state’s case given that outcome.

The latest in the four-trial series to determine the fates of 18 inmates charged in connection to the riot at James T. Vaughn Correctional Center that left Lt. Steven Floyd dead ended last Monday with no convictions.

Of the four inmates on trial — John Bramble, Abednego Baynes, Kevin Berry and Obadiah Miller — the jury acquitted Baynes and Berry and returned several “no decision” verdicts for Miller and Bramble. All were accused of murder, kidnapping, riot, assault and conspiracy, but after hearing the state’s case against the men, the jury of 11 women and one man were deadlocked on Miller’s murder and riot counts and Brambles assault and riot charges — after deliberating for nearly five days.

In the first trial, which wrapped up last November, the jury returned verdicts of guilty for Jarreau Ayers and Dwayne Staats and innocent for Deric Forney. Ayers picked up convictions for riot, kidnapping, assault and conspiracy. Staats was convicted on all of those charges plus murder.

Leaving the New Castle County Courthouse on Monday, Bramble’s defense attorney, Tom Pederson, suggested that the state’s success in seeking convictions merited a rethink of strategy.

“Given the two sets of verdicts now, I think the state really has to give their case some serious thought and serious consideration,” he said. “The witnesses they have called have told so many different stories and there are so many contradictions that I don’t know how they will ever convince any jury beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Others agree

Two more attorneys, one who sued the state on behalf of the riot’s victims and another who’s suing the state on behalf of inmates claiming they were abused during the quelling of the riot, agree.

To all questions related to the ongoing trials, the Department of Justice has given a resounding: “no comment.”

Wilmington Attorney Thomas Neuberger called the prosecutors’ task of obtaining convictions on the remaining nine inmates awaiting trial “impossible.” Mr. Neuberger represented Lt. Floyd’s family and the survivors of the riot in a lawsuit against the state in 2017. Much of the complaint rested on the state’s alleged failure to provide a safe working environment for its employees and long-ignored staffing issues within the DOC and how those failures led to the incident on Feb. 1.

However, the case never made it to trial. The state settled the lawsuit with 11 claimants in December 2017 for $7.55 million — believed to be the largest state-paid settlement in Delaware history.

“Of course, the prior Attorney General had to try to obtain justice for (victims) and their families by bringing criminal prosecutions,” Mr. Neuberger said last week. “But the task was impossible. Due to Governors Markell and Minner’s follies, there were no cameras in the prison to record who did what and when to whom. So there was no objective forensic or other evidence to prove a murder charge. Instead our prior AG had to rely on the oral testimony of convicted criminals. No jury would ever regularly convict all the murderers and their co-conspirators on such oral testimony riddled with inconsistencies and unreliability. As convicted felons they are assumed to be liars. The state is lucky with two trials to have gotten one (murder) conviction.”

Lack of strong evidence?

Bemoaning the lack of convincing evidence, Mr. Neuberger suggested that the state reconsider their strategy.

“I am satisfied that justice was attempted for all of my clients and nothing more can be done by the office of the AG,” he said. “There cannot be justice for the loss of Stephen Floyd’s life. If asked, I would suggest to our new AG, Kathy Jennings, that the task is impossible. Thank you for trying, but now devote your limited resources to other murder cases.”

On the other end of the table, Stephen Hampton, a Dover attorney representing the more than 100 inmates housed in C Building (the site of the riot) during the incident, agrees.

The 80-page complaint he filed late last year alleges “inhumane conditions” at Vaughn, and states that for many years prior to the riot prison personnel “illegally abused, mistreated and tortured inmates with virtually nothing being done by their JTVCC (Vaughn prison) or DOC supervisors, to stop them.”

He alleges that the DOC’s handling of the riot scuttled the ensuing investigation.

“All of the criminal prosecutions against inmates arising from the revolt on Feb. 1 were irreparably harmed when correctional officers and police went into C building on Feb. 2 and began to systemically torture non-resisting inmates,” said Mr. Hampton. “Beating and abusing all the inmates before taking any statements, means all statements were taken under duress, and in most cases involuntarily. The taint on these statements cannot be undone by the AG’s office. Any future trials will be marked by inconsistent testimony like the last trial. Yet, the state seems intent on spending millions of dollars on tainted prosecutions, when most of the charges should be dropped.”

Given the ongoing litigation, the DOJ and Governor’s Office have refused to comment on Mr. Hampton’s lawsuit. During the just-concluded trial, a correctional officer who was part of the response team responsible of retaking C Building during the riot admitted that force was used on inmates, but claimed it was only used to the extent needed to gain compliance from those who resisted. During the trial, the vast majority of inmate witnesses who testified — even those doing so on the prosecution’s behalf — claimed to have been beaten during the retaking of the building, regardless of their compliance.

Changing strategy?

Not all stakeholders want the state to abandon its pursuit. Geoff Klopp, president of the Correctional Officers Association of Delaware, said the prosecution ought to “revisit its strategy and try to bring a better case forward,” but he is hoping that it remains resolute in pressing its charges against the remaining nine inmates and revisits the no decision verdicts on Bramble and Miller.

“They absolutely should continue and follow this through,” he said. “But, I’ve sat in on a lot of the trial and saw for myself that they need to bring a more convincing case. So they should take the time they have now and revisit everything to make sure they’re laying out the best case possible for the future juries. All I can say on behalf of the correctional officers in the state of Delaware who lost a brother, is that it’s going to be hard for us to stomach this if they don’t get to the bottom of it and hold the perpetrators accountable.”

It’s unclear what changes, if any, the DOJ will make ahead of the next trial or if they plan to pursue the no decision verdicts against Miller and Bramble. However, the prosecution did drop some charges against the four inmates in the last trial prior to its start and the trial schedule has been significantly stretched out since the verdicts were delivered on Monday.

According to the DOJ, the “intentional murder” count lodged against the four inmates who just stood trial was dropped. The “nolle prosequi” — formal notice of abandoning all or part of a suit or action — was entered onto the record “verbally” on Jan. 3 — prior to the beginning of the trial. However, it appears the counts weren’t officially dropped until Feb. 4 when paper copies were filed.

“The decision was based on the evidence expected to be introduced at trial against the defendants scheduled for trial,” DOJ spokesman Carl Kanefsky said earlier in February.

Notably, the intentional murder count was the only one to have been eluded by all three inmates who stood trial in November.

It’s unclear whether the same murder count will be dropped against the nine remaining inmates awaiting trials.

“Decisions about charges in the upcoming trials will be made at the appropriate time,” said Mr. Kanefsky.

Trial start dates for the remaining two trials were originally March 11 and May 6 respectively, but shortly after verdicts were delivered this was bumped out to May 6 and Oct. 21.

DOVER — There was plenty to reflect on at the Dover Library late Saturday morning.

A 150-member audience first listened with rapt attention to Dr. Reba Ross Hollingsworth’s 70-minute presentation on segregation and desegregation during the middle of the 20th century.

A 35-minute question and answer session with the 93-year-old educator followed, with some inspired attendees even recounting their own experiences.

Contributions came from an engaged and diverse crowd in the same room that would have been unimaginable decades ago.

“African Americans have been called colored, Negro, black and (the ‘N’ word),” Dr. Hollingsworth said. “Well, we’re all people of (some) color, which means all of us are related.”

“The Memories of How Dover Desegregated” event was sponsored by the Friends of Old Dover as part of its ongoing series of talks.

Prior to presenting a certificate of appreciation, city Mayor Robin R. Christiansen recalled his time as a student at Dover High where Dr. Hollingsworth served as a guidance counselor.

“Have you ever met someone who was really, really, really unique in your lifetime?” he asked the crowd made up mostly of senior citizens.

“Well, I met such a lady at Dover High School. Dr. Hollingsworth influenced me and took my energies that weren’t (positive) as a student as they should be and she fixed me up.”

To Dr. Hollingsworth black and white folks are all essentially on the same plane in life, though she experienced plenty of life when it wasn’t. She remembers when Delaware law promoted African Americans as “only needing to read, write and count a bit. Well I knew how do all that before I started to school (thanks to my parents).”

Limiting learning spoke to a fear that white people had that educated blacks “could better carry out their dastardly plot to denigrate white people.

“It was a time when the thought was that if you taught them to read and write there would be a revolt.”

The audience at Dover Public Library reacts to Dr. Hollingsworth’s remembrances in a presentation on Saturday.

Dr. Hollingsworth and those her age, younger and older emerged from a separated society as equal and obviously capable citizens as anyone else.

She pointed to the accomplishments of students who transferred from William Henry High to Dover High during segregation, ones who became doctors, lawyers, engineers, business executives, television news anchors, dentists, speech therapists and the first female president of Delaware State University, Dr. Wilma Mishoe.

The guest speaker used her life story to illustrate her generation’s trials and tribulations in the path toward equality for all.

Growing up in Milford with six brothers and sisters in a three room house, everyone “had to develop skills on how to get along with one another and respect one’s property. We had to develop skills in how to get along in life.”

Thus, Dr. Hollingsworth learned how to sew and knit early in life, cook meals, split wood for the kitchen stove while handling an axe and earn money by dressing hair, for 25 cents, 35 cents with a shampoo included.

“We all had to be industrious,” she said.

After scraping enough money together through work and loans to pay for school, Dr. Hollingsworth graduated from Delaware State College in 1949 with a Home Economics degree. She later earned a PH. D in counseling from Pacific Western University in Los Angeles, California in 2001.

“Being poor and being black are no excuse to be ignorant and uneducated,” the Delaware Women’s Hall of Fame inductee said. “Ignorance breeds poverty and I know we were not as stupid as believed to be.”

Nellie Stokes Elementary School fifth-grader Addison Hall, 11, arrived early and sat near the front of the room to take it all in.

“Our school does a lot during Black History Month,” he said. “I’m in the chorus there and we do songs about that and we have assemblies and I think it’s important for me to learn more here today.:

Longtime acquaintance Ossi Beck knew the guest speaker as one of his regular customers at a Ritz Camera store.

“I think she’s one of the most incredible people I know,” he said. “She’s always friendly, always positive and always has something productive to say.”

WASHINGTON — In town halls, television interviews and social media posts, Democratic presidential candidates are touting their support for “Medicare-for-all,” higher taxes on the wealthy and a war on climate change. But foreign policy, one of the chief responsibilities of a president, is largely taking a back seat on the campaign trail.
Former Vice President Joe Biden is seizing on that opening to position himself as the sole global policy expert in a crowded Democratic field if he decides to run for president.
In a series of speeches over the past month, Biden portrayed himself as an authoritative counterweight to President Donald Trump’s isolationist and nationalistic impulses. Last week, he told an audience in Germany that his vision of America “stands up to the aggression of dictators.” The problems of the 21st century, he later said at the University of Pennsylvania, can’t be solved “without there being cooperation.” His advisers have endorsed his foreign policy credentials to key political operatives and allies in early-voting states.
The moves reflect the vulnerabilities Biden, a 76-year-old firmly aligned with the Democratic establishment, could exploit in a crowded primary with rivals who are decades younger and working overtime to appeal to the party’s liberal base. In that kind of race, Biden could carve out space as a battle-tested statesman with the experience to stabilize America’s role in the world.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat who has already pledged to support Biden over home-state colleague Kamala Harris, recently summed up his advantage: “Huge international experience,” she told reporters. “And a knowledge that’s really unparalleled in terms of what’s happening in the world.”
Scott Mulhauser, Biden’s former deputy chief of staff, said focusing on foreign policy and national security “is a smart way to draw distinctions” in the primary field.
But running on foreign policy could carry risks. Although the election season is in its infancy and a crisis could shuffle priorities, it’s not clear that foreign policy is a top issue on voters’ minds.
AP VoteCast, a nationwide survey of the American electorate, found that 5 percent of 2018 midterm voters said foreign policy was the top issue facing the country. That falls well behind the percentage saying health care (26 percent), immigration (23 percent) or the economy (18 percent) topped their list.
Trump’s foreign policy has alarmed longtime allies and spurred criticism at home. A January AP-NORC survey found that 35 percent of Americans approve of the president on foreign policy, while 63 percent disapprove. Trump’s slated second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un next week will provide a fresh opportunity for the president to rebound or fall further, as well as for his Democratic would-be opponents to draw sharp contrasts with his self-proclaimed “America First” diplomacy.
But that doesn’t mean that Democrats, who are sorting through the most diverse and wide-open primary field in a generation, will warm to a Biden campaign focused on foreign policy.
“He’s got the experience, but I don’t want him to run,” said Julie Neff, of Ankeny, Iowa, home to the nation’s first caucus. “I would vote for a ticket that promised to put Biden in the Cabinet, like as secretary of state.”
Biden’s potential 2020 rivals are working to build their own foreign policy credentials, even if they’ve yet to spend a lot of time touting them to voters. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren this month proposed legislation that would prevent the United States from using nuclear weapons as a first-strike option, saying she wants to “reduce the chances of a nuclear miscalculation.” Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has helped lead the charge on Capitol Hill to extricate the nation from the violent civil war in Yemen.
Yet Democratic candidates have generally avoided specifics when criticizing Trump’s foreign policy, in part because voters often press them on other topics.
In a series of Harris town halls in South Carolina and New Hampshire — her first events in both states as a declared candidate — voters did not question her on foreign policy, instead focusing on a range of domestic issues including health care, education and labor.
In Iowa Saturday, that changed, when a man asked Harris to explain her approach to the war in Yemen.
Harris generally criticized the Trump administration’s withdrawal from multilateral diplomacy, and joked it was her “intention to not conduct foreign policy by Tweet.”
But she steered clear of details, offering a general principle of engagement. “It is also about creating and conducting foreign policy in a way that understands that we are strong when we stand together with our allies,” Harris told more than 700 people during a town hall-style event in a suburb of Des Moines.
Asked by reporters about the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela after a meeting of Latino and Asian activists in Des Moines, Harris stopped short of suggesting how to get U.S. aid into the country.
“We need to take it very seriously,” she said. “But I don’t know that at this point we need to, and I would not condone, military action at this point.”
Because the campaign season is just beginning, Democratic candidates will have plenty of opportunity to build out their foreign policy agendas. Warren, who delivered a major speech on global affairs last year, aligned herself with Trump’s use of “diplomatic pressure” in recognizing a new interim president of Venezuela before criticizing his “saber-rattling” during an interview last week with the liberal Pod Save America. Sanders, for his part, recently declined when asked by Univision to urge socialist Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to step aside in favor of new leadership.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., a prominent foreign policy voice who’s pushed alongside Sanders to end U.S. involvement in Yemen, urged his colleagues running for president to make foreign policy “a wedge issue.”
“I think he’s deeply vulnerable on national security,” Murphy said of Trump in a recent interview. “The national security gap has always been a huge liability for Democrats, and Trump’s mishandling of foreign crisis after foreign crisis gives us an opportunity to eliminate that gap.”
___
Beaumont reported from Ankeny, Iowa. Associated Press writer Emily Swanson in Washington contributed to this report.

FREDERICA — A 30-year-old Frederica man was arrested Friday on drug and weapon charges, Delaware State Police spokeswoman Master Cpl. Melissa Jaffe said.

At 6:15 a.m., authorities said, DSP units conducted a traffic stop on Northeast Front Street in Milford. Driver Joseph Whaley was known to have active felony warrants, police said. He was taken into custody without incident.

Joseph Whaley

Troopers responded to the 200 block of Market Street in Frederica to execute a residential search warrant. Four juveniles were present in the residence and the following items were recovered: A .22 caliber handgun; five .22 caliber Ammunition rounds; two dosage units of a Schedule 2 controlled substance; 1,441 bags of suspected Fentanyl weighing approximately 10.087 grams; over $1,100 in suspected drug proceeds.

A follow up search warrant of the vehicle in which Whaley was driving located 16 bags of suspected Fentanyl weighing approximately .112 grams, police said, and over $200 in suspected drug proceeds.

Possession charges included firearm by person prohibited, ammunition by person prohibited, firearm during the commission of a felony, with intent to distribute Tier 4 Fentanyl, Tier 5 Fentanyl, intent to distribute Fentanyl (two counts), schedule 2 controlled substance available by prescription only and drug paraphernalia (three counts), and endangering the welfare of a child (four counts).

Mr. Whaley was arraigned and committed to Sussex Correctional Institution on $82,400 cash bond.

Susan Giordano of Lewes took this photo of sunrise at Rehoboth Beach on Jan. 31.

I am writing in response to the article titled (“Another Chesapeake crossing could change Delmarva”) Feb. 17.

I have mixed emotions about a new Chesapeake Bay bridge crossing on Delmarva. My opinion is based on where on the peninsula I livem which is the town of Smyrna. If we want to travel to Baltimore, we have to go south and west to the bay bridge then back north to Baltimore or go north toward Newark and back south on I-95 to Baltimore.

A bigger issue is anyone in Kent and Sussex wanting to travel to Lancaster or Harrisburg, Pennsylvania have to deal with northern Delaware traffic chaos in the Newark-Wilmington area then travel west through Pennsylvania which has terrible two-lane roads and aging infrastructure as well. I like choices 1 through 4 but it will create even more population in Kent and Sussex counties.

Most people who have recently moved to Delaware the past decade are running from high taxes and will create the same issues here they are running away from. Realistically I think they should build a new span next to the current bay bridge. This will help keep our farmers and environment in better shape. Not to mention our population on Delmarva won’t skyrocket anymore than it already is!

It’s sad how much farmland we’ve lost in the last 15 years. Now for the purpose of why I think they want to build an additional bridge. It’s to get people to and from the Delmarva beaches as quickly as possible. All these beach towns can’t handle the traffic and population we have now.

Many of us in Kent County don’t want to hassle with traffic south at the beaches so if we want to get away for a weekend we travel west to Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

Many great small towns with things to do and waterfront businesses. No matter where they put a new bay bridge, whether it be north or south of Kent Island, it will create more housing developments and traffic on Delmarva.

I wouldn’t want to be the one who makes the decision on where a new bay bridge would go but I hope the best choice will be made for our environment and residents.

John Messina Jr.
Smyrna

This is in response to a commentary column regarding Delaware’s new voting system. (“The high price of voting in Delaware,” Feb. 17)

First, I need to correct inaccurate information in the column. Delaware’s current voting machines cannot be “hacked” since they are not now or never have been connected to the Internet. I have responded to this charge before, however, Common Cause persists in promoting this fallacy.

Delaware’s current voting machines were reaching the end of their life cycle. Replacing a voting system is not something that is done overnight, so we started with a request to the legislature for a task force to review what types of voting systems Delaware might want.

Elaine Manlove

We had presentations from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and the National Conference of State Legislators regarding how other states vote. Following those presentation, various vendors came to Delaware to demonstrate voting by mail, voting on paper which would go through a scanner, voting on a small electronic device with a voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) or a larger model, similar to what Delawareans have always voted on, but with a VVPAT.

Delaware then issued a RFP (Request for Proposal) but did not specify any one type of voting system. The RFP had four sections: voting system, electronic poll books, new voter registration/election management system and a new absentee system. Our hope was to be able to replace all four systems, but that was dependent upon the responses to the RFP.

We received responses from seven vendors and they were given to 12 individuals to score independently. We could not discuss with anyone or each other. The team included employees from the Department of Election, the Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Technology and Information.

Following the scoring process, all vendors were invited to Delaware for three days of demonstrations. The scoring team again evaluated and unanimously voted on not only the vendor but also the same voting system.

Ms. Hill alleges that we were not forthcoming about the price but that is not true. What we spent for this first year is under the $13 million threshold of funds ($10 million state and $3 million federal) that were available to Elections to purchase a new voting system.

Of course, there are costs in the years to follow. There are maintenance and licensing fees on any system and these will replace fees from our current vendors. She also does not allow for the fact that those fees cover much more than the voting system. We were able to purchase electronic poll books, a new absentee system and move from the state’s aging mainframe to a new election management/voter registration system.

All of these changes will improve the experience for voters in Delaware. This is truly the best of both worlds. Delawareans will not see a dramatic change in the way they vote but they will see a paper trail to be used for recounts and audits.

Elaine Manlove is Delaware Election Commissioner.

Delaware State used a four-run sixth inning to top North Carolina Central, 4-3, and earn a split of a non-conference baseball doubleheader on Sunday evening.

The Hornets (2-3) lost the opener, 4-1.

The second game was scoreless until DelState scored four runs in the sixth. John Weglarz had an RBI single in an inning in which the Eagles also committed a pair of errors.

North Carolina Central rallied for three runs in the bottom of the sixth before falling short.

Winning pitcher Garrett Lawson (Dover) allowed just two runs with eight strikeouts and five walks in five innings. Reliever Jeremy Carrow (Smyrna) gave up only two hits with three strikeouts and a walk over the final two innings.

In the opener, Miguel Rivera (Caesar Rodney) drove in the Hornets’ lone run while Tripp Kimmell (Milford) had a pair of hits.

Liberty 11, Delaware 0: The Blue Hens dropped to 0-6 with the shutout loss.

Sophomore pitcher Chris Ludman kept Delaware within striking distance for the early part of the game, tossing six strong innings, while striking out six and walking none. Senior co-captain Kevin Mohollen led the six-hit offensive attack with two of his own, including one of Delaware’s two doubles.

College basketball

WOMEN, UNC-Wilmington 72, Delaware 64: The Blue Hens received career games from Alison Lewis and Rebecca Lawrence but had their three-game winning streak snapped.

Lewis finished the game with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field. The senior added a team-high seven rebounds and two assists for the Hens (8-6 CAA, 13-13 overall).

Lawrence registered 19 points on 9-of-11 shooting and also contributed four rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots.

Delaware went 8-of-9 from the foul line but in the end shot just nine free throws to UNCW’s 29.

College softball

Delaware 6, Harvard 1: The Blue Hens (5-7) put the game away by scoring four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning at the Jacksonville, Fla. Classic.

Brittney Mendoza drove home two runs with a double to leftfield. One out later Ali Davis delivered a two-run single to center, making it a 6-1 game. Davis finished 2-for-3 with three RBI.

College bowling

Hornets make MEAC tourney: Delaware State earned a berth in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament after finishing third in the final regular-season league standings.

The Hornets had a team pinfall of 9,119 (3-2 won-loss record) in Baker matches at the second MEAC round-up on Sunday to finish conference play with total of 17,139 (12-6 record), trailing only No. 1 Maryland-Eastern Shore (17,485) and runner-up North Carolina A&T (17,430) in the standings.

The top six teams will compete for the conference tournament title in Virginia Beach next month.

College lacrosse

WOMEN, East Carolina 16, Delaware State 2: The Hornets led 8-0 midway through the first period before downing the Hornets in their season opener.

Delaware State scored its first goal of the season on a free position shot by Olivia Summerville. Emmy McGill closed the scoring for the Hornets.

College golf

UD women in second: The Delaware women’s golf team carded a 288 during Sunday’s opening round at the Kiawah Island Spring Classic to end the day in second place out of 49 schools.

The Blue Hens’ score is one shot off the UD single-round team record of 287 set twice during the fall season. Coastal Carolina leads the field with a 286.

Delaware senior Valentina Mueller is tied for 10th place after she fired a one-under par-71 on the par 72, 5,964-yard Osprey Point Golf Club course. Mueller carded seven birdies, and ended her round with an eagle on the seventh hole.

Swimming

Henlopen swimmers earn fifths: Henlopen Conference swimmers brought home six fifth-place finishes as the DIAA girls’ swimming state meet concluded on Saturday night in Newark.

Caesar Rodney High sophomore Danielle Stewart was involved in three of those top fives. She took fifth in both the 200-yard freestyle (1:56.93) and the 500-yard freestyle (5:16.89) while teaming up with sisters Victoria, Alex and Georgia May to place fifth in the 400-yard freestyle relay (3:48.96).

Other downstate fifth-place finishes came from Cape Henlopen’s Aya Daisey in the 100-yard butterfly (1:02.07); Cape’s Aya Daisey, Amaya Daisey, Madelyn McGreevey, and Erin Morrissey in the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:43.09); and Sussex Tech’s Kylie Mitchell in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:11.40).

Newark Charter won its second-straight team state title with 284 points. CR took ninth with 88 points, while Cape Henlopen finished 12th with 85.

Corey Messick of Milford won by decision 3-0 over Matthew Meadows of St. George’s in the 106-pound quarterfinal match. (Special to the Delaware State News/Gary Emeigh)

LEWES – Don Parsley is about to do something he’s never done in his nearly three decades at the helm of the Milford High wrestling program.

He’s going to take the week off.

His Bucs squad just wrapped up the 2018-19 wrestling campaign Saturday night with four wrestlers earning second-place finishes at the DIAA individual state championships hosted by Cape Henlopen High.

While he and his team typically get right back to work the Monday following the individual championships, this year he’s trying something different.

“How about that? I’m taking Monday off, and actually I’m going to stay out of the room for a week,” said Parsley. “I need a break, we’ve had a great run here and the kids need a break. We’ll get back that first week of March and we’ll be in there a couple days a week.

“I know what I’m going to do,” he continued, with a smile. “I’m just going to go home after school and make dinner, play with my dog and wait for my wife to come home.”

Sophomore Corey Messick, freshman Jack Thode and juniors

Milford’s Gaij Copes, left, and Caesar Rodney’s Riley Tracy wrestle in the 160-pound title match on Feb. 16.

and Anthony Diaz each placed second in their respective weight classes, falling just short in Saturday night’s finals.

“You put four guys in the state finals, that’s a pretty good weekend,” Parsley said. “We had six guys in the top six overall. I’m just real pleased with the effort all weekend. Certainly, you’d like to have a champion or two, or three or four, but the competition’s real stiff and all our guys left it all out there on the mat, which is what we’re here for.”

Sophomore Rafael Mejia (170) placed sixth and junior Bevensky Augustin (182) placed fourth to round out Milford’s top six finishes.

Messick lost by 12-0 major decision to Smyrna High freshman Gabe Giampietro in the 106-pound weight class finals, but it was a big step up from his freshman campaign.

“Last year I didn’t place, so being a state finalist is a really big step this year. I’m proud of myself for that,” Messick said.

It marked the third time the two wrestlers faced each other this season, with the first showdown coming at the Milford Invitational in December and the second time happening at the conference meet last weekend. Giampietro won all three matches.

“I knew he is really tough,” he said. “When we wrestled at conferences, he wrestled really well and I wasn’t really on my A-game that match. Again, today, he came out really tough so hat’s off to him.”

Thode capped his first high school wrestling season with a second-place finish in the 113 class, getting pinned by three-time state champion Zach Spence of Salesianum in the finals match.

Third-seeded Copes battled the top-seeded Liam O’Connor from Delcastle in the 160 finals match, falling by 3-1 decision.

“It feels good,” Copes said. “I came up a little bit short of my goals, but I’m coming back next year and I’m coming hard. It’s going to make me work harder than ever.”

Copes was able to close the gap a bit after dropping a 10-5 loss to O’Connor earlier in the season.

“I wrestled him at Battle at the Beach, and it was 10-5 I believe, so I just wanted to close it down a little bit and stop some of the low shots he took, which I did, but he just came out on top,” he said.

Diaz, the top seed in the 220 class, dropped a 15-4 major decision to Dover High’s back-to-back state champion Hugo Harp.

Diaz reached the state semifinals last year as a sophomore, but had to drop out of the tournament due to an injury.

“We all got out there and wrestled hard,” Messick said. “It’s not like any of us didn’t give it our all, and to be a state finalist is a really big accomplishment. I’m proud of our guys for that.”

“All of our finalists are returning, so I’m really excited about that,” Parsley said.

After earning the team’s sixth straight Division II dual meet title Feb. 9, taking second at the Henlopen Conference championships Feb. 16 and placing six in the top six at states Saturday, the Bucs are ready to move up to Div. I next season.

“We’re small-town Milford. We’ve had a great season, we’ve done some things that people in Delaware sport don’t do,” said Parsley.

“Six consecutive state titles, the division championships, having guys regularly earn All-State recognition, put four guys in the finals. It shows that we can compete with the toughest in Delaware and that we really are among the best, even though we’re a Division II school.”

When the Bucs get back to work in early March, they’ll be preparing for next season’s Div. I competition against schools such as Smyrna, Caesar Rodney, Sussex Central and Cape Henlopen.

“We’ll continue to progress towards that ultimate goal of now being a Div. I state champion,” Parsley said. “Certainly, if that’s not what’s going to be in the cards for us, we’re going to make everyone feel like we’re a threat to them.”

KSI presented 78 certificates to employees with perfect attendance in January.  Alphabetically recognized are:  Rosa Acevedo, Dale Adams, James Ater, William Bailey, Tevon Baines, Amber Barr, Megan Behornar, Vincent Bendolph, Austin Bohenko, Michael Bolden, Betina Bonville, Tim Brokenbrough, Brandyn Bryant-Davis, George Bull, Robert Bullock, Arthur Bunting, Ann Burton, Natasha Burton, Patrick Butler, Renee Castro, Craig Chandler, Patrick Clendaniel, Susan Dorow, Robin Drew, Andrea Driscoll, Amy Ellis, Romany Evans, Dorethea Forrester, Steven Forshey, Melvin Freeman, Renee Garrison, James Gerding, Zachary Green, Anita Greenlee, Mark Hanzer, Mark Hemrick, Douglas Hume, Jesse Hunt, Keenan Johns, Eric Johnson, James Johnson, Todd Johnson, Julio Jordan, Rhonda Kelly, Chris Kerr, David King, Willie Lopez, Heather Mack, Dale Mast, Jerome Matthews, Ogden McKinnon, Annie Momot, Evelyn Moore, Tracy Morgan, Silas Mow, Wanda Norwood, Trevon Pressley, Joseph Pryor, Lorraine Routh, Jean Schieferstein, Michael Schiappa, Julia Secrest, Emily Sharp, Michael Skeens, Sally Skweres, Chris Smith, Patrice Smith, James Snead, David Strail, Kim Sullivan, David Taylor, Jeff Townsend, Tanndra Tucker, Gilliean Walsh, Ashley Webb, Nikia Welch and Ronnie Woodus.

KSI is a private, not for profit agency providing vocational training, employment, supported employment, community integration, transportation, day habilitation, life enrichment, and nutritional services to individuals with disabilities in Kent and Sussex Counties.

KSI is committed to making all reasonable accommodations, in order to ensure that our programs and services are as accessible as possible, to as many people as possible.

For more information about KSI, call Alicia Hollis at 302-422-4014 ext. 3015, or visit our website at www.ksiinc.org.  Like us on Facebook, www.facebook.com/ksiworks.

Kent County Tourism Sales and Events Manager John Doerfler opens the Tourism Talk held Feb. 19 at the Delaware State Police Museum in Dover. (Delaware State News/Craig Anderson)

DOVER — After snow canceled last month’s Kent County Tourism Talk, there was plenty to cover at Tuesday’s gathering.

Before touring the host Delaware State Police Museum with new Executive Director Peggy L. Anderson taking the lead, the 30 or so attendees got a leadership search update, learned of proactive marketing pushes, big weekends ahead and more.

Delaware International Speedway’s Gary Camp filled in those in the conference room about the ongoing process to fill KCT’s vacant president’s position — pre-screening phone interviews and in-person interviews will determine who emerges as the choice, likely in March.

Delaware Bayshore Byway Program Coordinator Michael C. Hahn speaks at the Kent County Tourism Talk Forum held Feb. 19 at the Delaware State Police Museum in Dover. (Delaware State News/Craig Anderson)

Venturing to the most recent American Bus Association’s annual marketplace meeting for a second straight year, KCT Sales and Events Manager John Doerfler said he had over 20 one on one visits with members of the group travel via motor coach industry. Of particular interest were locations within a four-hour radius of Kent County said.

“They’re looking for itineraries, they’re looking for things to do,” Mr. Doerfler reported.

On a similar note, a Maryland Motorcoach Association reception for group tour leaders will be held March 27 at Dover Downs Hotel and Casino, followed by another day of activities.

South Frederica’s DE Turf has posted it’s tournament schedule online at deturf.com and Mr. Doerfler said, “It’s every weekend. They are driving a lot of visitors here.

“There are a lot of teams from out of state coming.”

The organization’s nationally recognized Certified Tourism Ambassador Program gained 120 members in under a year, smashing the initial goal of 50. Volunteer members join the KCT mobile visitor center “Villager” vehicle at events to promote the area and ongoing activities at the site.

“We want to greet folks with a welcoming attitude and try to create an impression with them that leaves a good feeling about their stay in Kent County that makes them want to return,” program director Juli Maichle said.

A four-hour class is required to become an ambassador along with passing a 27-question open book examination that’s graded on the spot. There is a one-time non-refundable, non-transferable application fee of $30 per person and an annual renewal fee of $30 person. An annual re-certification process is required.

According to the CTA manual online, “The program teaches front-line employees and volunteers best practices and ensures that they understand their role in increasing tourism.

“Delaware’s Quaint Villages Tourism Ambassadors helps your front-line increase their knowledge of the region; provides answers to the variety of questions received from visitors; and gives your front-line a chance to meet one another, learn from each other’s experiences and celebrate together.”

The next ambassador training program is from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, March 20 at the Delaware State Police Museum at 1425 N. DuPont Highway in Dover. More information is available online at visitdelawarevillages.com.

Big weekends ahead

Vendor space and sponsorships remain available for the Downtown Dover Days celebration on Saturday, May 4, the middle of a most busy weekend for events and activities:

•It’s NASCAR weekend May 3-5 at the Dover speedway, with the a 50th anniversary celebration of the Monster Mile and 100th Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race adding to the fun. Notable past drivers will attend, along with the Harlem Globetrotters. Outside the oval FanZone activities are free and open to the public.

The JEGS 200 Gander Outdoors Truck Series Race runs Friday (green flag at 5 p.m., checkered to be determined), followed by the Xfinity Series Dash 4 Cash Race Saturday (1:30 p.m. start) and NASCAR Cup Series Race Sunday (2 p.m.). Tickets can be purchased online at doverspeedway.com.

•The 16th annual Milford Bug and Bud Festival is slated for the Kent and Sussex County border town. The upcoming event is described at downtownmilford.org.

•The Air Mobility Command Museum in Dover will commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day, complete with two paratroopers who landed during the allied invasion of France. The museum’s website is amcmuseum.org.

•The “Running From The Greenheads” 5K Run/Walk debts in Slaughter Beach on May 5. Further details are available at slaughterbeach.delaware.gov.

“We need volunteers,” Mr. Doerfler said. “Anyone who has a day off, we can use your help.”

•The Fifer Orchard Strawberry Festival in Camden-Wyoming follows on May 18, and the customer appreciation day is set for Aug. 10. The orchard opens April 5.

Online information is available at fiferorchards.com.

•Large crowds are expected for the Firefly Music Festival (fireflyfestival.com) in Dover on June 21-23, Delaware State Fair (delawarestatefair.com) in Harrington running July 19-28.

•The seventh annual Bowers Beach Buccaneer Bash is set for May 25-26, and includes live music, scavenger and treasure hunts, pirate trading cards, horses, train ride and boat cruises. The day is hosted by the Maritime Museum in North Bowers. The event is described online as an “Encampment of pirate reenactors doing demonstrations and skits to educate about the pirates of the Delaware Bay. Vendors, food, music and activities for adults and children.”

SMYRNA — The Delaware State Police are continuing to investigate a serious crash involving two vehicles that took place on Del. 1 in Smyrna, late Saturday afternoon.

The initial investigation has determined that a 2007 Chevrolet Impala was traveling southbound on Del. 1 approaching the Del. 6 overpass when for an unknown reason the vehicle traveled into the center grass median. The Chevy began to spin counter-clockwise as it crossed the median, continuing into the Del. 1 northbound lanes, and directly into the path of a 2019 Toyota Tacoma, driven by a Pennsylvania man. The front end of the Toyota struck the passenger side of the Chevy, pushing it northbound for a short distance before both vehicles came to a stop in the center of the roadway.

The Chevy was occupied by four male subjects. The driver and right front passenger of the Chevy were transported to the Christiana Hospital in critical condition. A left rear passenger was transported to the Christiana Hospital in stable condition. The right rear passenger was transported to Kent General Hospital in stable condition.

The driver and sole occupant of the Toyota was transported to the Christiana Hospital in stable condition.

The investigation is in the very early stages with further details being released as they become available.

Del. 1 northbound was closed for approximately 4 hours while the scene was investigated and cleared.

Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to contact Cpl. J. Lane of the Troop 3 Collision Reconstruction Unit by calling 302-698-8457.

Information may also be provided by calling Delaware crime stoppers at 1-800-TIP-3333 or via the internet at http://www.delaware.crimestoppersweb.com.

Justin Ohl

LINCOLN — A Lincoln man was arrested Sunday for allegedly striking and choking a female victim Friday night.

The Delaware State Police have charged Justin R. Ohl, 30, with multiple felonies resulting from a domestic related assault.

The incident occurred at approximately 11 p.m. at a residence on Clendaniel Pond Road, in Lincoln.

Police said Ohl returned to the residence at which time he became engaged in a verbal altercation with the female victim. The altercation turned physical when Ohl proceeded to strike the victim multiple times in addition to grabbing her throat which restricted her breathing. Ohl also threatened her with a baseball bat and took possession of her car keys when she attempted to leave the residence. The victim was ultimately able to flee the residence.

Ohl was taken in to custody Sunday at his residence without incident and then transported to Troop 7 where he was charged with the following: assault 2nd degree, possession of a deadly weapon during the commission of a felony, strangulation, aggravated menacing, unlawful imprisonment and terroristic threatening.

He was arraigned in Justice of the Peace Court No. 3 before being committed to the Sussex Correctional Institution in lieu of $25,000 secured bail.

Keith Sterling of Dover took this photo of a snowy day on Silver Lake in Dover on Feb. 20.

U.S. House Democrats last week introduced a resolution to block the national emergency declaration that President Trump issued to fund his long-sought wall along the U.S-Mexico border.

• The Dems barely won the House in this last midterms and lost even more ground in the Senate. Showing how power hungry they are by siding with drug cartels is a great way to ensure they’ll never have a foothold again. — Willy Beal

• Right, because being overrun with criminals and drugs and gang members as well as families who want to live off us isn’t an emergency. Getting those low-information voters is. — Dana Watford Kavanagh

• Low information voters? You do realize the average level of education of Trump supporters vs. the average education of non-Trump supporters, right? Maybe try getting your information from sources other than Fox and Breitbart. International sources will really blow your mind. If you thought Obama was given no respect, we are literally a laughing stock with Trump. — Jess Mortillfem

• The president has the constitutional authority to declare a national emergency. Congress gave him the power to do it. — Mark Schmalhofer

• Regardless of what Congress does, Trump’s emergency funding theft from Paul to pay Peter will be defeated in court. — Jim Kelley

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.

Every year raises are given out, but it seems to miss the retirees who need it. The cost of living keeps going up and we have to try to live on the same income for years.

I assume the people doing the budget will never need their retirement to live on. If they did, they would be increasing it so that they would have a decent retirement. Every year retirees talk to the governor and our representatives, to no avail.

What do we need to do get a raise like everyone else? We’re not asking for a lot, just a little piece of the pie. We’re hungry too.

Sandra Evans
Townsend