Mike Starkey

CHRISTIANA — With three minutes left, Lake Forest High certainly wasn’t in control.

But with a five-point lead, the Spartans weren’t in bad shape, either.

And then the bottom fell out.

Fifteen-seeded Christiana reeled off the final 14 points of the game to win going away, 61-52, over No. 18 Lake Forest in the first round of the DIAA boys’ basketball state tournament on Tuesday night.

By avenging a 21-point loss to the Spartans (15-7) in the opening round of last year’s tourney, the Vikings (13-7) earned a trip to Dover to face the second-seeded Senators (21-0) on Thursday at 7 p.m.

Lake coach Mike Starkey was at a loss to explain how the contest got away from the Spartans down the stretch.

“I really thought our habits were good enough to advance us,” he said. “And our habits were what failed us tonight.

“Sometimes that happens with young players. But, at this point of the season, you can’t really call a sophomore a sophomore. They’re juniors. I think we just lost our heads and never really settled in.”

After grabbing a 21-20 halftime lead, Lake Forest never trailed again until the closing minutes.

The Spartans went up by as many as six points in the third quarter and were still in front, 52-47, when Jaysem Vazquez (17 points) drove in for a basket with 3:08 remaining.

Christiana did hit its final four shots from the floor as well as sinking six of its last eight free throws. Still, at times, Lake Forest was its own worst enemy.

In the last three minutes, the Spartans went 0-for-4 from the floor, twice missed the front end of one-and-one foul-shot situations and turned the ball over four times.

The Vikings took the lead for good at 53-52 when senior Luis Brujan (19 points) hit two foul shots with 1:38 on the clock.

Christiana netted six straight points from the free throw line before capping off the victory with a pair of breakaway dunks.

“Every time it felt like we could stretch it to two or three possessions, they would hit a shot or we would miss a shot,” said Starkey. “We just never got it done.”

Several of the Vikings’ big shots came from junior Jahmiel Hollis, who tallied a game-high 20 points and hit five three-pointers.

Vazquez had three three-pointers for Lake Forest. Sophomore Kaheim Kimbrough-Roach (13) and Jene Sample (10) also finished in double figures for the Spartans.

Early on, it was Lake Forest that shook off a slow start to rally into the lead. The Spartans fell behind 9-2 and 19-10 in the first nine minutes.

But Lake Forest closed the first half on an 11-2 run. A fastbreak basket from senior Javon Gibbs gave the Spartans their first lead at 21-20, with 40 seconds left before halftime.

Lake Forest was making the program’s third-straight appearance in the state tourney.

“I thought we would be a little more composed,” said Starkey. “I feel bad for our group because I know that’s not who we’ve been all year long. I don’t take away any credit from Christiana but I’m confused about what group I had out there tonight.”

The Spartans lose only three seniors from a squad that won the program’s first Henlopen Conference Southern Division title since 2002. All that Starkey can do is hope that his players learn from the experience.

“I’m definitely proud of the group,” he said. “I always hate this moment when it ends. The senior hit that realization that it’s the real end.

“It’s going to sting or a while. Those guys coming back have to use that sting to propel them into the off-season and get better.”

Mike Starkey

Julius Cannon

WILMINGTON — The ball rimmed out and for a brief moment it looked like, against all odds, Woodbridge High had forced overtime.

But there was still a second left on the clock.

Mount Pleasant High’s Samahj Gaymon converted on a putback attempt at the buzzer to deal the Blue Raiders a 56-54 loss in the first round of the DIAA boys’ basketball state tournament on Tuesday night. Woodbridge, the tournament’s 19th seed, ended the season at 12-9 overall.

Mount Pleasant (17-4), seeded 14th, will play at third seed Caravel (15-5) in the second round on Thursday (7 p.m.).

Woodbridge trailed three times in the final 1:01 but fought back to tie it each time. The Blue Raiders played the fourth quarter without freshman Deronn Kane who had 21 points before he left the game with an injury.

“We knew the odds were against us coming up here,” said Woodbridge coach Julius Cannon. “We fought until the last buzzer. We played with sportsmanship, played with class and we fought hard.”

Woodbridge never led in the second half but Mount Pleasant’s lead was never larger than seven points. The Blue Raiders closed within 46-43 with 4:01 left thanks to a 4-0 run to set up the furious finish.

Jamon Kane made it a one-point game on a layup with 1:59 left. The Green Knights responded with a bucket until Troy Haynes made a layup, was fouled and converted the ensuing free throw to knot things at 50-50 with 1:01 to go.

Mount Pleasant went on top 52-50 and this time Woodbridge was whistled for a charge. The Blue Raiders stole the ball off the resulting inbounds pass though and Jamon Kane was fouled going up for a layup.

Kane made both free throws to give Mount Pleasant the ball with 42 seconds left. Fah’Mir Ali’s layup then gave the Green Knights the lead again at 54-52.

Once again, Woodbridge tied it on a floater by Richard Massey. There was eight seconds remaining, Ali drove the length of the court and failed on his layup attempt but Gaymon was there with the putback.

“We fought hard especially down the stretch,” Cannon said. “We didn’t give up which is something we tended to do this year.”

The two teams had just played each other at Woodbridge on Thursday night in the regular season finale. Mount Pleasant won that contest 64-48

Things were much closer this time around despite Woodbridge having to go on the road.

“We knew what to expect from them after playing them last week,” Cannon said. “That was good. We watched film, went over their strengths and weaknesses, just tried to execute off that.”

Ali was the game’s top-scorer with 24 points. Gaymon and Charles Russell followed with 11 points apiece.

Troy Haynes was the only other player besides Deronn Kane in double figures for Woodbridge. Haynes finished with 12 points, Jamon Kane added nine while Massey chipped in six.

All three of Haynes, Massey and Jamon Kane graduate at the end of the year.

“My message at the end of the season to my seniors especially is it’s more about life than the game,” Cannon said. “They’re getting prepared for the real world now. My underclassmen, my message to them is that this feeling isn’t good. We got work to do in the offseason to get better.

MILLVILLE – The Indian River Band Boosters largest annual fundraiser is this Saturday, March 2 and this year’s BINGO event offers a plethora of prizes.

“The local business community has been so very generous this year with donations,” said IR Band Boosters president Lisa Bird. “We have more than $1,000 in gift cards to local restaurants and retailers alone, ranging in value from $10 to $90.”

The boosters’ 11^th annual fundraiser will be held at Millville Volunteer Fire Company. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. with games beginning at 7 p.m.

Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door.

Patrons must be 18 or older to play.

Food and drinks will be available.

The list of donated prizes includes:

• a two-night hotel stay in Ocean City;
• Golf for four;
• Photo session packages;
• $200 in landscaping
• Movie and theater tickets;
• Shorebirds tickets;
• Gym memberships;
• Escape room for two;
• Horseback trail ride;
• Massages;
• Bowling;
• Float therapy;
• Mini golf

And that’s not including all the gift baskets the boosters have collected.

“There are just so many ways for participants to win something this year,” said Ms. Bird. “We have 22 games, with a variety of prizes including $800 in cash games (more than double the cash games we had last year).”

Ms. Bird said a survey conducted during the games last year indicated many people wanted more cash games. “So, we listened,” she said.

The raffles are set up as regular raffles (valued at $99 or less and tickets cost three for $5 or six for $10) and High Roller Raffles (valued at $100-plus and tickets cost three for $10 and six for $20).

The boosters will also have their Lollipop tree out. Pick a lollipop with a color on the bottom of the stick and you get to pick a prize. Winnings include free food from Chick fil A and TGI Friday’s, Ms. Bird said.

The BINGO event enables the IR Band Boosters to buy music scores and rights, repair and replace instruments, pay for transportation to performances, as well as other expenses in the 2019-20 school year.

The IR Band Boosters are a 501c3 (Tax ID# 51-0385920) nonprofit, whose mission is to support band, choir and drama at Indian River High School.

To purchase tickets or for additional information, call 539-1544 or email IRBandBoosters@gmail.com.

Sussex Tech’s Ricky Kane tries for two points over Milford’s Tyron Mifflin. Special to the Delaware State News/Chuck Snyder

GEORGETOWN — Just a few days ago Ricky Kane had trouble lifting his arm above his shoulders.

That didn’t stop the Sussex Tech High junior from slamming down a one-handed dunk during a fast break in the second half of Tuesday night’s 80-60 win over Milford High in the first round of the DIAA boys’ basketball state tournament.

“It was real exciting,” Kane said. “I just saw the lane, I took it and went up and the rim was there, so I just dunked the ball.”

After suffering an injury in the Ravens’ Feb. 12 game against Caesar Rodney High, Kane sat out the team’s last regular season game before returning to the court Tuesday night.

“I just started lifting it two days ago,” Kane said of the injury. “I couldn’t shoot at all.”

The rim-rattling fourth quarter dunk, which quickly led to the Sussex Tech student section starting a “Ricky Kane” chant, accounted for two of his 15 points on the night.

Sussex Tech’s Skylar Johnson (2) drives past Milford’s Nicolas Sivels (1) and Jaxson Turner (3).

The ninth-seeded Ravens move on to Thursday night’s second round against No. 8 Salesianum. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

The win in front of a sold-out home crowd, which marks the first time Tech has faced Milford since Feb. 7, 2013, extended the team’s win streak to seven games, dating to Jan. 26.

“It’s huge to be able to have that sixth man and to have your fans behind you, especially in this type of environment,” said Tech coach Damon Ayers. “It’s good to see the fans out supporting our kids. Our student base was excited once they found out we were in the tournament.”

Junior Devon Reynolds put up a game-high 28 points, with Skylar Johnson scoring 18 to go with Kane’s 15.

Reynolds knocked down four of Tech’s five three-pointers, while Kane drained eight of his 14 shots from the free throw line.

“We came out with a lot of energy and we were just knocking shots down,” said Reynolds. “We wanted to come out with a lot of intensity and momentum, and that’s what we did.”

Sussex Tech wasted little time getting things started on offense, piecing together a 7-0 run and forcing an early Milford timeout just 1:40 into the game.

“We came out strong. Coach was just on us about being disciplined, staying active on defense and it helped us,” Kane said.

From there, Tech turned its 7-0 run into a 19-4 advantage after Kane knocked down his lone three-pointer of the evening at the 2:43 mark of the opening quarter.

The Ravens’ Devon Reynolds shoots over the Bucs’ Brock Hilligoss.

The Ravens capitalized from early mistakes and missed shots by the Buccaneers, out-running Milford’s transition defense on fast breaks.

“The game plan was pretty much to get out to a good start and really control the tempo of the game,” said Ayers. “We wanted to make sure we had some energy and intensity because we knew they’re a pretty good team. It was huge to get out on a good start.”

The Bucs went on a 9-4 run to end the first quarter, including five unanswered points from Milford senior Daniel Shockley in the final 1:10, to pull to within 23-13.

The Ravens built up an 18-point lead, jumping ahead 34-16 at the 4:17 mark of the second quarter, but the Bucs once again clawed its way back in it late in the quarter.

The Ravens scored just five points, one of them being a Reynolds three-pointer at the buzzer, in the final 4:03 of the half while Milford went on a 15-5 run to pull to within 39-31 at the halftime break.

“We constantly emphasis to our guys that it’s a game of runs. We felt that they took one of our best shots early on and then we were able to take their best shot and be able to withstand it,” said Ayers. “It was huge for us to be able to weather the storm.”

The Bucs pulled to within six points, making it a 48-42 ball game following a three-pointer from senior Brock Hilligoss at the 3:18 mark of the third quarter.

The Ravens’ Caleb Reid (21) and the Bucs’ Jaxon Turner (3) fight for the ball.

That’s as close as Milford came to completing the comeback attempt, as Tech went on an 8-2 run to end the third quarter and out-scored the Bucs 24-16 in the fourth quarter to pull away for the team’s fourth 80-plus point game of the season.

Shockley scored a team-high 19 points for the Bucs, with Terrell Gibbs and Nick Sivels adding 10 and eight points, respectively.

In total, Kane has missed 15 games this season. The guard missed the first 14 games while recovering from an injury suffered in the fall, but has averaged 13.0 points in his six games this year.

Ayers is happy to have him back out on the court.

“He brings so much to the table,” Ayers said. “He’s a guy who’s able to pass, he can dribble, and he can score with the best of them. Also, he knows how to get his teammates involved, so he’s the missing piece we’ve been missing all year long.”

When the Ravens take the court against Salesianum on the road in the second round Thursday, it’ll be just 12 days since the Ravens defeated Sallies, 54-53, in the team’s Feb. 16 season finale.

“We saw Sallies last Saturday and we’re just going to come out and compete,” said Ayers. “We need to come out and compete at a high level. The good thing about it is we were able to beat them without Ricky, so having Ricky on the floor this go around we like our chances.”

“We’re going up there, it’s going to be tough,” said Skylar Johnson. “If we play like we did the first time they came to us, we’re going to win. We’re just going to play hard like we did, lock down No. 15 (Rasheen Caulk) and don’t let [Jack Brown] go off and we’re straight.”

DOVER — Dover Mayor Robin R. Christiansen said some people might get annoyed when they hear a shrieking fire whistle go off.

However, for the 80 volunteer firemen from the Dover Fire Department, that sound means that it’s time to stop what they’re doing and spring into action to protect lives and property in and around Dover.

“I think it’s a source of pride that the city of Dover’s fire department is an all-volunteer fire department where people are willing to put down whatever they’re doing and serve their fellow citizens, but also save their fellow citizens’ $9.5 million a year,” Mayor Christiansen said, of the volunteer fire force that he is a proud member of. “I give the guys and gals at the Dover Fire Department a tip of the hat because I think it’s a matter of pride and that’s why we all keep showing up when the whistle blows.”

Ron Rhodes, chief of the Robbins Hose Company (Dover Fire Department) presented the annual department report to members of Dover’s City Council inside council chambers at City Hall on Monday night.

Chief Rhodes noted the Dover Fire Department responded to 1,331 calls for service in 2018, an 8.3 percent increase over 2017, with 156 calls in September and 151 in January marking their busiest months. Tuesday’s were the busiest days with 203 calls for service. Monday’s slowest with 178.

A total of 574 calls (43.16 percent) were for false alarms, while 172 (12.93 percent) were for fires and 123 (9.25 percent) for rescue/EMS operations. Incidents caused by cooking accounted for 78 of the fires while 28 were building fires.

Overall, volunteers from the Dover Fire Department produced 9,509-man hours during calls of service for fire-related incidents in 2018. The majority of the hours (2,607) were spent responding to false alarms while 2,187 hours were spent fighting fires under 2018 Fire Chief Carleton “Buck” Carey Jr.

“False calls take up the majority of our time,” Chief Rhodes said. “Smells and bells, as we call them. The majority of those false alarms are cooking fires … unattended cooking, light smoke in an apartment, or something of that nature.”

Fire department members also amassed almost 4,097 hours in State Fire School and In-House training offered throughout the year.

“The officers, men and women of the Dover Fire Department remain the only state capital in the nation to be protected by a 100 percent volunteer fire department,” Chief Rhodes said. “We stand true and steadfast in providing this city with the finest fire protection in the state. We look forward to a safe and prosperous year working harmoniously with city officials and the mayor and council.”

The fire department’s goals for 2019 are to continue its vigilance in protecting the community from fires, make building improvements to Station 2 off Kenton Road in west Dover — including a new roof — and replace one of its fire trucks.

Chief Rhodes, the son of a past chief who joined the Dover Fire Department in 1975, pointed out firemen who were recently honored for service, including: 2018 Fireman of the Year David Knight; 2018 Firefighter of the Year Luke Sadusky; 2018 Chief’s Award Terry Whitham; Life Member/Past Chief Charles Boyer honored for 60 years of dedicated service and Brian Bashista was presented with a plaque for his past three years of service as president.

Mayor Christiansen knows the dedication that members of the Dover Fire Department have. After all, he has spent more than 40 years as a volunteer firefighter himself. He also knows from a city official’s perspective the amount of money the volunteer department saves the city.

“The latest figures that we (city of Dover) have to provide a 48-staffed fire department, that’s 12 men on a shift which would mean two engines and a ladder, would cost the city of Dover $9.5 million a year,” the mayor said. “There are some people that get upset when the fire whistle goes off. I don’t particularly because that means I have to get up and go help somebody, just the same way as all the other volunteers do.

“It’s just what the Dover Fire Department has always done to help our fellow citizens and our community.”

DOVER — While spring doesn’t officially arrive until March 20, merchants in downtown Dover are ready to flip the calendar and start thinking warm thoughts.

With that in mind, Nisha Lodhavia will be presenting a creative paper project for children of all ages at the Dover Art League to highlight the Hindu celebration of Holi, affectionately known as the “Festival of Colors,” to try to speed up the arrival of spring at downtown Dover’s First Friday event this week from 5 until 8 p.m. on March 1. Display windows at the various businesses up-and-down Loockerman Street will be colorfully decorated.

In addition to Ms. Lodhavia’s art creations, Joe Conner will head up jazz and blues selections on keyboard and guitar at the Dover Art League, accompanied by Anthony Taylor on drums and Vernell Armwood Jr. on bass.

First Fridays are indoor events hosted by the Downtown Dover Partnership (DDP) from January through May, before Destination Downtown Dover steps in and takes the monthly event back outdoors and onto Loockerman Street in the warmer months.

“While it’s been a relatively mild winter, I believe we are all ready to get outdoors more, on First Friday and in general,” said Diane Laird, executive director of the DDP.

“The March-like winds (Monday) suggest that spring is right around the corner. It seems even the bulbs are a little late in blooming this year, but we are seeing their greens perk up out of the ground, so I’m thinking that in just a couple weeks we will see spring.”

Lucy Findlay, DDP vice president and owner of Partners in Design in downtown Dover, said she is confident that the community will enjoy visiting the stores and hearing from local and regional artists and musicians.

“Indoor and outdoor programming will ensure an ever-changing variety of things to do in each of the 12 months, and the free trolley bus will make enjoying all First Friday activities convenient and comfortable, no matter what the weather,” Ms. Findlay said. “We are encouraging community members of all ages to participate as artists, shoppers, or simply to enjoy walking from shop to shop to take in the variety.”

Musicians of many styles and genres will be playing inside each of nearly 20 downtown shops, restaurants and the Dover Public Library, extending throughout nearly all of Loockerman Street, including jazz trios and quartets from Wesley College, several acoustical blends, singers/songwriters and an inspirational duo.

Joe Connor

My Roots will feature Steffi and Tim Plimpton, while music will be provided for diners at 33 West, The Grey Fox and Governor’s Café.

Ms. Laird wanted to remind all prospective artists – of any age – are invited to contribute to the Dover Community Mural in a “paint-by-numbers” process at Wesley College. The painting takes place inside Longwood Hall Room 201 on the Wesley campus at 120 North State Street.

Members of the community are welcome to participate on First Fridays from 5 until 8 p.m. and Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2 until 5 p.m. or by appointment by contacting Joshua Nobiling at Joshua@joshuanobiling.com or 302-736-2486.

The free wintertime Jolly Trolley, which is more of a mini-bus that seats up to 18 people, will circle the downtown area in a loop that will begin at the Dover Public Library. Visitors can get on or off the trolley at any of its stops.

Ms. Findlay said not to underestimate the power of the Jolly Trolley, which is sponsored this month by Tidemark Construction of Dover.

“I have friends that have lived (in Dover) for 25 years and ho-hummed about First Friday in the wintertime, but they heard about the trolley and they’re like, ‘Oh, we’re going to come down and take a look at that,’” said Ms. Findlay. “People can ride the trolley who aren’t even familiar with downtown and just look out the window and see what all is down here to come back to.”

Children will receive a colorful lighted bracelet upon boarding the trolley, which will loop between the Dover Public Library, Wesley College, The Green and all of Loockerman Street. Parking is available at the Dover Public Library, Wesley College parking lot E accessed from State Street and all downtown non-residential parking locations for free after 5 p.m.

A program of musicians and a Jolly Trolley Bus loop diagram may be found at tinyurl.com/DoverFirstFridays several days before the event.

Downtown Dover First Fridays is funded jointly by the Downtown Dover Partnership and Destination Downtown Dover, along with a grant from NCALL’s Restoring Central Dover initiative.

Ms. Laird said that the winter First Friday events have been resonating with business owners and customers alike.

“Several of the business owners indicated to me that new customers resulted from the First Friday’s events,” she said. “And despite the February 1 snow, several merchants enjoyed the activities with friends and just a few customers within their stores which created an unexpected opportunity to socialize, suggesting that sense of community that is so often lacking in our typically hurried days.”

The lineup for March 2019 First Friday in downtown Dover:

Event lasts from 5 until 8 p.m.

(Subject to last minute changes.)

Bel Boutique — Daniele and Michael Lundin singing casual acoustic, pop and inspirational music accompanied by her husband on acoustic guitar.

BLUvintage — Leilani Wall, singer/songwriter, accompanied by her 12-string Adamas guitar, plays everything from quiet ballads, classic rock to table-thumping Irish drinking songs.

Dover Public Library — In Harmony Concert Series: An evening of classical and Celtic music with Bethany Jubilee and friends. Bethany Jubilee is a classically trained violinist with nearly 30 years of playing experience and enjoys playing a wide variety of genres including Celtic fiddle and contemporary music. 6:30 p.m. until 8 p.m. Multi-Purpose Room A, Multi-Purpose Room B.

Dover Art League — Joe Conner on keyboard/guitar, Anthony Taylor on drums and Vernell Armwood Jr. on bass, along with a colorful creative paper project for children to highlight the Hindu celebration of Holi, affectionately known as the “Festival of Colors.”

Dover Health Care Center — Mike Miller, on acoustic guitar playing Americana-themed pieces.

Forney’s Too — Tom Hench, singer/songwriter on guitar and harmonica playing a mix of folk type story-telling, with a variety of humorous to serious overtones.

House of Coffi — Mollie Raley Hall, singer/songwriter on guitar, ukulele and mandolin, an eclectic mix of mostly folk and pop.

La Baguette — Rick and Tish Schuman, singers/songwriters, on acoustic guitar and drums with a focus on late 1960’s/early 1970’s and original pieces. Ambient background restaurant sounds.

My Roots — Singer Steffi Plimpton, accompanied by husband Tim Plimpton on piano.

Puffster — Daniel Malone Jr. guitarist and singer/songwriter, low key, easy listening.

Simaron Steak Shop — Earl Reed, acoustic guitarist/singer with a low-key, relaxing blend of classic rock & pop.

The Delaware Store — Bob Frazier and Friends singing and playing guitar and ukulele with a focus on an eclectic mix of songs and tunes. Tom Smith will be spinning more stories about Dover’s Capitol Hotel.

The Loocke — Ryan Schumacher on guitar, Becky on bass and Samuel on piano. From jazz to more popular tunes in the acoustic style.

Wesley College — “Paint Your Part”, the community mural project at Wesley College, Longwood Hall, Room 201, 5 until 8 p.m.

Zuha Trend — Jazz by Anthony Cinque on drums, Victor Rosas-Granda on trumpet and Cambria Luschen on saxophone.

The Grey Fox, 33 West and Governor’s Café — Enjoy various musicians.

GEORGETOWN – Entrepreneurs play a significant role in Sussex County’s economy and employment world.

Unveiled Tuesday afternoon, the 2019 Sussex Profile shines the spotlight on that theme.

“This magazine is the major tool we use here in the county to really promote economic development,” Sussex County Economic Development Director William Pfaff said. “What we tried to do is feature the entrepreneurial culture in this county and how alive it is.”

Hot off the press, this year’s Sussex Profile spans the spectrum, with focus on agriculture, banking, business, broadband, chambers of commerce, education, healthcare, manufacturing, tourism and transportation, to name a few.

“This is a documentation we use throughout the year to highlight what Sussex County is doing, what the council’s vision is and what the staff is implementing,” said Sussex County Administrator Todd Lawson. “It’s a great tool for us. So, thank you very much to Delaware State News and all of your staff for working with us.”

This is the 23rd edition of the Sussex Profile, produced annually in partnership between Sussex County government and Independent NewsMedia Inc. USA.

Among the success stories featured this year: SPI Pharma, a pharmaceutical company based in Lewes that is celebrating is 50th anniversary this year; Tail Bangers, a dog biscuit/treat factory in Millsboro, and Miller Metal and Vanderwende’s ice cream, both in Bridgeville.

Healthcare highlights include Bayhealth’s Sussex Campus, which opened earlier in February; Beebe Healthcare’s expansion with the November 2018 groundbreaking for the South Coastal Health Campus; and Nanticoke Health Services’ planned affiliation with Peninsula Regional Health System.

Of course, the Profile features agriculture and tourism, both so prevalent in Sussex County that stand as the state Delaware’s top two industries.

“That is the message that we are trying to let everyone know, what’s going in this county,” said Mr. Pfaff, who coincidentally celebrated his birthday on Profile unveiling day.

Mr. Pfaff highlighted progress and incentives on the economic development front.

These include economic development zones – Nanticoke, in western Sussex; Broadkill, in north-central and Indian River, in south-central – identified as ripe for redevelopment. These zones were adopted by Sussex County Council.

Complimenting that is the county’s new loan program, designed to provide low-interest, long-term loans for businesses with at least 10 employees that have been in business in the county for two years or more.

Soon, the county plans to launch Economic Gardening. “That’s for more scaling businesses that are really beyond the startup stage and they are beginning to scale,” Mr. Pfaff said. “So, we will work with five businesses in this county over a year’s period. With a company that we hired, we will help them scale their business to the next level. Again, we won’t work with them personally here at the county but the company that we have contracted will.”

Additionally, the county has implemented a software “start-up” program available for towns to host on their website.

“It’s really demographic information. If you want to learn what your competitors are doing or if you want to understand where your suppliers — your primary and secondary suppliers are — you’re going to be able to find that information. That will help you make informed decisions.,” said Mr. Pfaff.

And recently, the county council gave the green light to seek designation of the county’s Delaware Coastal Airport and county-owned industrial park and new Delaware Coastal Business Park as a foreign trade zone.

“That, too, is another tool in our toolbox, to say to people within the region, within Delaware, ‘It’s a great place to do business,’” Mr. Pfaff said.

Darel LaPrade, publisher of the Sussex Profile, acknowledged the partnership with the county and its staff. He also recognized INI staff for their role in the Sussex Profile.

‘It’s pretty exciting,” Mr. LaPrade said.

The Sussex Profile unveiling was attended by numerous county and local government representatives as well as businesses and others from the Sussex community. It was held at the Sussex County Association of Realtors and catered by Bethany Blues.

WASHINGTON — In a damning depiction of Donald Trump, the president’s former lawyer on Wednesday cast him as a racist and conman who used his inner circle to cover up politically damaging allegations about sex and lied about his business interests in Russia throughout the campaign that sent him to the White House.

Cohen, who pleaded guilty last year to lying to Congress, testified that Trump had advance knowledge and embraced the news that emails damaging to Hillary Clinton would be released. But he also said he has no “direct evidence” that the Trump presidential campaign colluded with Russia.

Shaking off incessant criticism from Republicans anxious to paint him as a felon and liar, Cohen became the first Trump insider to pull back the curtain on his version of the inner workings of Trump’s political and business operations. He likened the president to a “mobster” who demands blind loyalty from underlings and expects them to lie on his behalf to conceal information and protect him — even if it means breaking the law.

“I am not protecting Mr. Trump anymore,” he declared.

In one revelation, Cohen said that prosecutors in New York are investigating conversations Trump or his advisers had with him after his hotel room was raided for documents by the FBI last April.

He was asked by a Democratic congressman about the last contact he had had with Trump or any agent representing the president.

Cohen said that happened about two months after his hotel room was raided by the FBI. But he declined to provide more specific details on grounds that the matter was under current investigation by federal prosecutors.

His appearance marked the latest step in Cohen’s evolution from legal fixer for the president — he once boasted he’d “take a bullet” for Trump — to a foe who has implicated him in federal campaign finance violations.

The matter-of-fact testimony about hush money payments and furtive Russian meetings unfolded as Trump met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, offering stark TV counterprogramming to the president’s official duties. At a Vietnam hotel and unable to ignore the drama thousands of miles away, Trump lashed out on Twitter, saying Cohen “did bad things unrelated to Trump” and “is lying in order to reduce his prison time.”

Cohen will soon report to prison for a three-year sentence. At the same time, he is seen as a vital witness for federal prosecutors because of his proximity to the president during key episodes under investigation.

He is the first of six Trump aides charged in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Trump-Russia investigation to testify publicly about crimes committed during the 2016 campaign and in the months that followed.

Cohen gave lawmakers his first-person account of how he arranged hush money payments to a porn actress and a Playboy model who said they had sex with the president. He testified that he was present for conversations in which Trump denigrated blacks as “too stupid” to vote for him. And he said he overheard Trump confidant Roger Stone telling the candidate that WikiLeaks would dump damaging information about Clinton.

“I am ashamed of my weakness and misplaced loyalty, of the things I did for Mr. Trump in an effort to protect and promote him,” Cohen said. “I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr. Trump’s illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience. I am ashamed because I know what Mr. Trump is.”

Cohen’s claims that Trump had advance knowledge of the emails contradict the president’s assertions that he was in the dark, but it is not clear how legally problematic that could be for Trump. Special counsel Mueller has not suggested that mere awareness of WikiLeaks’ plans, as Trump confidant Roger Stone is purported to have had, is by itself a crime.

Cohen also suggested that Trump implicitly told him to lie about a Moscow real estate project. Cohen has admitted lying about the project, which he says Trump knew about as Cohen was negotiating with Russia during the 2016 campaign. Cohen said Trump did not directly tell him to lie, but “he would look me in the eye and tell me there’s no business in Russia and then go out and lie to the American people by saying the same thing.”

Underscoring the deeply partisan nature of the proceedings, Republicans on the House Oversight and Reform Committee sought unsuccessfully to block the hearing as it got underway on grounds that Cohen had not provided his opening statement long enough in advance. Republicans repeatedly pointed out that Cohen had already pleaded guilty to lying to Congress and argued that the sole purpose of the hearing was to bring Trump down.

The committee’s top Republican, Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, called Cohen a “fraudster, cheat” and “a convicted felon.”

“Certainly it’s the first time a convicted perjurer has been brought back to be a star witness at a hearing,” Jordan said.

Cohen called himself a “fool.”

Rep. Elijah Cummings, the committee’s Democratic chairman, sternly reminded Cohen of his past lies and warned him at the outset: “We will not tolerate lying to this Congress.”

On WikiLeaks, Cohen said he was in Trump’s office in July 2016 when Stone, a longtime adviser, telephoned Trump. Trump put Stone on speakerphone and Stone told him that he had communicated with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and that “within a couple of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clinton’s campaign,” according to Cohen.

Trump responded by saying “wouldn’t that be great,” Cohen said.

That month, WikiLeaks released thousands of emails hacked from the Democratic National Committee’s server.

“A lot of people have asked me about whether Mr. Trump knew about the release of the hacked Democratic National Committee emails ahead of time,” Cohen said. “The answer is yes.”

Cohen said he does not have direct evidence that Trump colluded with the Russian government during the election, but that he has “suspicions.”

“I wouldn’t use the word ‘colluding.’ Was there something odd about the back-and-forth praise with President Putin?” Cohen said. “Yes, but I’m not really sure I can answer the question about collusion.”

Concerning a meeting in Trump Tower between campaign advisers, including Trump’s oldest son, and a Russian lawyer, Cohen said that Trump had frequently told him that Donald Trump Jr. “had the worst judgment of anyone in the world” and he “would never set up any meeting of any significance alone — and certainly not without checking with his father.”

Cohen, once Trump’s loyal attorney, has turned on his former boss and cooperated with Mueller’s Russia investigation. He begins a prison sentence in May after pleading guilty to lying to Congress and committing campaign finance violations while working for Trump.

Federal prosecutors in New York have said Trump directed Cohen to arrange the payments to buy the silence of porn actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal in the run-up to the 2016 campaign. Cohen has said he acted out of “blind loyalty.”

He said he was presenting the committee with a copy of the check Trump wrote from his personal bank account after he became president to reimburse Cohen for the hush money payments. He claimed he had other exhibits as well, including some financial statements.

On the matter of racism, Cohen said the president made racist comments “disparaging African-Americans, saying at one point that black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid.”

He said that Trump once privately confided to him that, despite his public explanation of a medical deferment from the Vietnam War, he never had any intention of fighting there.

“You think I’m stupid, I wasn’t going to Vietnam,” Cohen quoted Trump as saying.

“I find it ironic, President Trump, that you are in Vietnam right now,” Cohen said.

DOVER — Delaware lawmakers are proposing to raise the legal age to buy tobacco products from 18 to 21.

A bill introduced Wednesday would apply to all tobacco products and tobacco substitutes, including e-cigarettes and vaping devices.

The legislation also eliminates an existing provision allowing a parent or guardian to buy tobacco for an underage person.

Retailers caught selling tobacco to a person under 18 would be slapped with criminal fines ranging from $250 to $1,000. Those caught selling to people over 18 but under 21 would be subject to civil penalties of similar amounts.

While targeting sellers, the legislation eliminates current punishments for minors who try to buy tobacco. Currently, a minor can be found delinquent in such cases, be fined $50 and ordered to perform community service.

Seven candidates for city council have filed with the city of Milford as they prepare for upcoming elections.

Cindy Schofield, Former Mayor Daniel Marabello and Samuel J. Passwaters, III have filed for Chris Mergner’s seat representing the first ward.

“At this time, I have elected to not seek another term for city councilman Ward 1 seat. While I have valued my tenure on the council, I am looking forward to focusing on my current employment, community involvement, and spending the additional quality time with my family. It is time for someone else to have the pleasure to serve,” Mr. Mergner said in a statement released by city officials.

Ms. Schofield ran against Michael Boyle in the last election for the first ward.

Vice Mayorr Douglas E. Morrow, representing the third ward, will run against Brian C. Baer.

Todd Culotta from the second ward and fourth ward newcomer Jason James, Sr. are both uncontested and will continue their roles within the council without a formal election, according to the city of Milford.

The election for wards one and three will take place Saturday, April 27 from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.

Voters must be registered in the city by Thursday, March 28 in order to vote in this election. To register to vote or to confirm registration to vote in City of Milford Elections, please contact the City Clerk’s Office at 302-422-1111.

GEORGETOWN – Possum Point Players have issued a casting call for auditions for its April 2019 performances of the “Dixie Swim Club.”

Audition dates are this Sunday, March 3 at 2 p.m. and Monday, March 4 at 7 p.m. at the Possum Hall, located at 441 Old Laurel Road, Georgetown.

Auditions are open to all and no prior experience required.  Actors should be prepared to read from the script and other comedy monologues and are encouraged to practice their southern (North Carolina) accent.

Performance dates are April 5, 6, 7 and April 12, 13, 14. All cast members must be available for all show dates.

Directed by Helen Barlow the “Dixie Swim Club” is a hilarious and touching comedy that follows five Southern women from the same college swim team, who reunite decades later in their 1940’s and continue to meet for the next 30 years.

“Dixie Swim Club” is presented through special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc., New York.

For more information or persons with questions, contact Helen Barlow at hbarlow213@comcast.net.

Arthur Weidner of Milford took this photo of a bald eagle at Prime Hook Beach on Jan. 26.

Readers reacted to the recent commentary “SB 50 is an ‘unprincipled slippery slope’” Delaware 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. It was put on hold last week:

• More taxes? How about liberals find a way to reduce expenses. I know balancing a check book requires thinking logically instead of succumbing to emotion as liberals are prone to do, but seriously; grow up. — Willy Beal

•Willy, your boy Trump is increasing your national expenses, including with his personal travel and his wall, while cutting taxes for the rich and corporations, meaning less revenue coming in, increasing the deficit. So why don’t you go to D.C. and teach him how to balance a checkbook? — Bennett Oberfeld

• I paid for my college education. I paid for my children’s college education. Now I am forced to pay for other children’s college education. I had to work to pay for my family’s education. Why don’t the parents of these that are getting free education by the proposed tax from me go to work? — Nick DiGirolamo

• Sad to say it, but you’ve been paying for Delaware colleges for decades. They all come to the state for money every year. Besides, HB 50 died a quick death just the other day. — Dan Fluman

• They withdrew the bill from CURRENT consideration. Watch out for a June end run, during the chaotic last days of this session. — Dennis Mehrenberg

• Just keep one in each county. The only other option for kids in Sussex to receive any post high school graduation is either a really expensive U of D or go to Salisbury University, where they would have to pay out-of-state tuition. Keep the campuses. Figure out a way to quit overpaying everyone. —Doug James

• Close some campuses. We don’t need two of them in New Castle County. Close either Dover or Georgetown. Delaware is small enough that two campuses are all we really need. The rest of it is pork barrel politics. — John Scoggin

• Great letter — completely agree. What vexes me is how such a suggestion to implement a statute authorizing such a tax could even gain traction among our elected state officials. Were there no grown-ups in the room at the time? —Michael Pepper

• I agree with you completely and I wrote and suggested that they cut pay or raise tuition or both. There evidently needs to be some oversight over DTCC. — Tim Shepperson

• Under Lonnie George, the spending on him was unlimited, but left by the wayside for the items now under discussion. Now we have another political favorite in the head seat, pleading for millions more in public funds. Typical Delaware cronyism. And how much is Lonnie really collecting from state coffers, given his former position as Speaker of the House? HB 50 would have opened the coffers for even more prolonged looting of private wallets for the Delaware Way. — Delaware Does It People Politics and Policy in the First State

• I oppose SB 50. No unelected board should have authority to tax citizens. —Dennis Eck

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.

The World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report for 2019 indicates that most experts point to environmental problems as being the most serious threats to global stability — just as they found in the previous two years. That report follows on one in October 2018 by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). It said with “high confidence” that at the current rate of greenhouse gas emissions, “global warming is likely to reach 1.5 degrees Celsius between 2030 and 2052 if it continues to increase at the current rate.” Avoiding the worst-case consequences would require measures that have “no documented historic precedent.”

Mel Gurtov

As Americans see the evidence of climate-influenced destruction, they’re on edge: Seventy-two percent of those polled late last year considered climate change “important,” a 15-percentage point increase over 2015. Sixty-nine percent were “worried” about it.

So here we are again, facing another round of bad news on the environment. Actually, the news is worse this time around. 2018 was the fourth-hottest year on record; 2015-2017 are the other three. The Arctic experienced its second-warmest year ever. The head of the World Meteorological Organization said: “The 20 warmest years on record have been in the past 22 years. The degree of warming during the past four years has been exceptional, both on land and in the ocean.”

Rising sea levels, according to the IPCC, “will continue beyond 2100 even if global warming is limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius in the 21st century (high confidence). Marine ice sheet instability in Antarctica and/or irreversible loss of the Greenland ice sheet could result in multi-metre rise in sea level over hundreds to thousands of years.” Greenland’s and Antarctica’s ice loss has recently received extensive media coverage as scientists have discovered just how far off their earlier predictions were.

Antarctica’s enormous ice reserves are melting six times faster now than they were between 1979 and 1989. Glacier melting in the Himalayas, on which South Asian agriculture is heavily dependent, is proceeding at a very fast pace — so much so that by the end of this century, two-thirds of the glaciers may be gone at current climate change rates, and one-third under the most optimistic climate change scenarios.

Ocean temperatures are the warmest on record, and the warming is occurring at a terrifying pace: 40 to 50 percent faster than the United Nations had previously estimated. That could spell trouble for marine ecosystems, phytoplankton in particular. These basic food organisms sustain the underwater food chain. If they die off or shift, as is already detectable in changing ocean color, the impact on fisheries will be catastrophic.

Rising seas also threaten water supplies and U.S. island-based military installations. No wonder the Pentagon, in its latest risk assessment, considers climate change a threat to national security. It can wipe countries off the map. Kiribati, the island group in the southwest Pacific, is a case in point. A nation disappearing due to climate change is something that’s never happened before and, so far, is something people seem unable to imagine.

Several conclusions are readily apparent from this information. First, planet-wide environmental deterioration is happening faster — much faster — than scientists had anticipated. Second, the kind of deterioration now taking place, involving oceans and glaciers in particular, tell us that life itself is already endangered in many parts of the globe. Third, some consequences of climate change, such as rising seas, are irreversible. Fourth, resistance to scientific findings and their implications for political, economic, and social changes constitutes nothing short of criminal negligence. Fifth, people are more aware of and concerned about climate change than ever before, if the US poll mentioned above is accurate.

Sixth, solutions to the problem must be up to the scale of the problem. Tiny, personal steps to reduce carbon footprints feel good, but it’s panic time, folks. In the US, the renowned environmentalist Bill McKibben suggests two priority steps: switching immediately away from fossil fuels and protecting cities and coastal areas from ocean inundation. Strict efficiency standards for industry and autos, and a carbon tax such as has been enacted in Europe, would significantly reduce carbon emissions.

Then there’s the Green New Deal resolution introduced in the U.S. Congress by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey. The resolution calls for a “10-year national mobilization” to bring carbon emissions down to zero via a combination of renewable energy, infrastructure repairs, and community-level projects.

The next Democratic president should declare a national emergency, identifying climate change as a top-priority national security matter and presenting the Congress with an agenda for climate-change legislation.

As the IPCC report makes clear, mitigating climate change requires across-the-board and multilevel changes, from sustained international cooperation, including funding the most affected developing countries, to addressing poverty and health care deficits. Political leaders, who always have excuses for ignoring problems that will outlive them, can point to other issues that require their immediate attention.

Even the most liberal among them hesitate to embrace the up-front financial costs and social challenges of a serious climate change agenda, though they know full well that the benefits of a green economy — in jobs, energy, reduced waste, and public health, for instance—will outweigh the costs.

That leaves the fight up to this generation of ordinary citizens. How inspiring to learn that all across Europe, tens of thousands of young people are demanding action to save the planet. They are organizing a “global strike” on March 15. But if their elders won’t act, or even acknowledge the urgency of global warming, it is hard to imagine that all the wonderful grassroots environmental and energy initiatives underway around the world will be enough to save us and future generations.

Mel Gurtov is professor emeritus of political science at Portland State University.

Holt’s Landing State Park in Millville is getting a new playground. Submitted photo/Andrew Hansen

A few signs of spring are here, some we like and some we do not. The first being the point closing on March First, but everyone knows that happens. Delaware state parks’ fees go into effect on March First as well, time to pay to play. Only if you want to drive your car into the park, visitors can walk in, or ride a bicycle for free into a Delaware state park and use all the amenities.

There is a new playground at Holt’s Landing State Park in Millville that should be open soon for the summer season. The park also has a lot of great attractions. Parks is just about finished completing the new playground. There are also trails, primitive camping, a pavilion, fire pits, horseshoe pits, a state boat ramp, and a fishing and crabbing pier.

The park also now features a car charging station and a kiosk for park passes. This has replaced the iron ranger at the gate. You no longer have to fill out the envelope, just use the kiosk.

This seal was tagged in New Jersey with the number 13. It dropped by Delaware the other day to rest on the beach. Submitted photo/Paul Collins

Fishing has been sporadic, but if you put in some time you can catch. The winds the last few days made for better beach combing than surf fishing. Not much in the surf right now anyway, catching a skate would be a welcome pull on a line. The water looks like chocolate milk from all the high winds and rain we have had. There are new ponds in all of the fields.

Offshore tautog fishing has been decent when the boats can take anglers out and catch. Some are going pretty far out there to get fish. Last couple of weeks saw better action than this past week. Cod is also on the menu but has been scarce. This time of year most of your head boats and charters take a break to get ready for spring fishing.

White perch and yellow perch are the preferred catches now. Yup, winter fishing abides. Hit up your local shops for minnows or bloodworms for bait. The spillways have seen decent action for white perch. Heard of some shad around but haven’t had the time to get out and fish for them this week, yet. That wind the other day was brutal.

Trout being stocked at Newton Pond by the netful. Submitted photo

Pond hopping is producing the usual suspects, bass, pickerel and bluegills. Crappie action has picked up a little as well.
Trout pond season will start Saturday. March 2nd. Newton Pond in Greenwood and Tidbury Pond in Dover will be open for catching stocked trout. Luckily we didn’t have an issue this year with ice, which will delay trout pond fishing. You can’t stock a pond if you can’t get to the water, nor can you fish it. Fish in a barrel for many anglers, but it’s a good way to get the kids out on weekend and get some outdoors time.

The trout stamp costs very little to add to your fishing license and the money is used to pay for the stocking program.
If you are having issues ordering your surf tags online, go to a park office, especially in Sussex County. The volume of tags being bought and ordered is jamming up the system. Everyone is worried the parks will run out of the limited tags this year.

Cape Henlopen State Park’s disc golf course has new platforms for the golfers. The course in Cape Henlopen is the oldest in the country and maintained by the disc golf players and parks.

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

The Lake Forest High girls’ basketball team never got going and fell in the first round of the DIAA state tournament.

St. Georges, the tournament’s ninth seed, defeated the No. 24 Spartans 65-26 on Wednesday night.

St. Georges (17-4) advanced to play at Cape Henlopen (18-3), the eighth seed, on Friday at 7 p.m. The teams met on Feb. 15 with Cape winning 67-34 in its home finale.

Lake Forest wrapped up its season with a 16-5 record.

The Spartans were held to just two points in the first quarter. St. Georges held a 4-2 lead with two minutes left in the first before an 11-0 run gave the Hawks a 15-2 lead.

St. Georges took a 33-10 advantage into the break. Lake Forest did rally in the second half as Grace Aguilar started the third quarter with a three-pointer.

The closest Lake Forest drew in the second half was within 17 points on back-to-back buckets by Jada Gourdine. The Hawks responded with a pair of threes to push their lead above 20 points again.

Amber Washington of St. Georges was the game’s top-scorer with 25 points. Trinity Brittingham was the only other Hawk in double figures as she finished with 12 points.

Gourdine paced the Spartans with 14 points. Aguilar chipped in seven points and Gabrielle Almonte followed with five points to round out the scoring for Lake Forest.

Sussex Tech 51, Wilmington Friends 30: The Ravens advanced as freshman Sierra Troyer netted 11 points in the first round victory.

Arielle Parker and Nicolette Phillips added nine points apiece. Sussex Tech held the Quakers to single digit points in each quarter except the fourth where the Ravens only allowed 10.

Janiya Stevens and Camille Scott both scored six points while Daniya Dashiell and Mi’Cah Shelton each had five points for the Ravens.
Sussex Tech, the No. 10 seed, will play at seventh-seeded Hodgson on Friday in the second round at 7 p.m.

College softball

Washington 19, Wesley 0: On the mound, Abbey Mayse registered a career-high seven strikeouts through five innings pitched.

Wesley drew two walks in the first game. After being hit by a pitch in the bottom of the second inning, Brooke Retkowski recorded her first stolen base of the season.

All nine of Washington’s starters recorded multi-hit performances.

The second game of the doubleheader between Wesley and Washington was halted due to weather heading into the top of the third with Wesley leading 7-1. A makeup date is still to be determined.

Karina Cardona and Miranda Kinney each drove in two runs in the second game.

The Golden Knights’ Ambria Stratton goes for a basket past Tatnall’s Sophie Kirby. Special to the Delaware State News/Chuck Snyder

GEORGETOWN — When Sussex Central High’s Raeonna Stratton drove inside the paint and made an easy layup under the basket just 14 seconds into the second half Wednesday night, she was sending a message.

The senior didn’t want it to be her last game ever.

Raeonna and her cousin, Ambria Stratton, dug deep and helped the 13th-seeded Golden Knights erase a 14-point third quarter deficit to defeat Tatnall School, 42-39, in the first round of the DIAA girls’ basketball state tournament.

“It’s the state tournament, a win is a win,” said Sussex Central coach Ron Dukes. “I don’t care how you get it, I don’t care who it’s against, it’s tough come tournament time. We’ll take it and advance.”

Ambria, also a senior, scored a game-high 18 points. She scored 15 of those points in the third and fourth quarters.

Sussex Central’s Azayah Garrison, right, and Tatnall’s Kali Clayton fight for a loose ball during Wednesday night’s state tournament opening round game.

Raeonna finished the game with 12 points.

“At halftime, coach said, ‘do we want to go out like this?’ This could’ve been our last game, and we couldn’t go out like that,” Raeonna said of the comeback.

“He said we just have to fight if we want to go get it,” Ambria added. “It’s all on us, if we want to win we better go out there and give it our all.”

The first-round win over the 20th-seeded Hornets sets up the Golden Knights (14-7) with a second-round showdown against No. 4 Woodbridge High (20-1) Friday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Bridgeville.

The win in front of the home crowd marks the seventh consecutive season that the Golden Knights won in the opening round of the state tournament.

“It’s very exciting,” said Ambria. “I can’t wait for the second round, we have Woodbridge, we just need to go out there and give it our all.”

Central’s Brenya Reid goes for a basket over Tatnall’s Aryana Easterling.

Raeonna’s quick bucket sparked Central’s 21-8 third quarter run, erasing the team’s 29-15 deficit early in the second half to take a 34-33 lead heading into the final eight minutes.

“Most people would’ve given up when they were down 12 at halftime, but it was great, our crowd motivated us and we motivated each other and pushed through it,” said Raeonna.

The Golden Knights started the game with plenty of energy and quickly put together an 8-3 lead following a Raeonna three-pointer at the 3:31 mark of the opening quarter.

Tatnall responded with a 22-5 run over the game’s next 10 minutes to take the 25-13 halftime lead.

“We haven’t had a game in over two weeks, so we were rusty. We didn’t know what game intensity was like, we kind of lost that for a couple weeks,” Dukes said. “If you watched the first half, we would get them to take the shot we wanted, and they would end up getting a little bounce or a perfect rebound and put back. Every doggone one of those put backs went in. That hurt us.”

Sussex Central’s Brenya Reid takes a shot over Tatnall’s Aryana Easterling.

Five different Hornets scored points in Tatnall’s 14-point second quarter performance.

Freshman forward Sophie Kirby, Tatnall’s leading scorer with 12 points, knocked down a pair of three-pointers in the first half. Senior forward Aryana Easterling scored six of her eight points in the first and second quarters.

It took some halftime adjustments, but trailing 29-15 at the 6:39 mark of the third quarter the Golden Knights were able to piece together a 10-0 run over a span of 2:08 to pull to within four points.

“I asked them, ‘we’re going to press something, what do you want to press?’ and they wanted to go to a defense we hadn’t practiced in two weeks,” Dukes said of the halftime adjustment. “So that’s what we put out there, a 2-2-1, and it worked at times, sometimes it didn’t.

“But it rushed them, it hurried them up, and it got them thinking a little more and we were able to get a few steals out of it and make some good things happen.”

Following a Tatnall timeout, the Hornets jumped back up by six points, but Ambria Stratton banked in consecutive three-point shots at the 1:12 mark of the quarter to grab a 34-33 lead. It was Central’s first lead since the end of the first quarter.

Ambria hit her third unanswered three-pointer just 12 seconds into the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 37-33.

“They just started falling in,” she simply said.

The Golden Knights managed to fend off the Hornets late comeback attempt throughout the fourth quarter, even using a few long possessions to drain out the clock and pick up the three-point state tournament win.

“We probably killed three minutes or so off that clock at a period of time, then we went back to it for another minute and then they had to foul at that point,” explained Dukes.

“We were ready to fight [in the second half],” Raeonna said. “We couldn’t lose, so I knew I had to be a leader and fight to win.”

When the Golden Knights travel to Woodbridge Friday night, they are hoping to avenge a 62-57 Feb. 5 loss to the Blue Raiders, who went a perfect 20-0 in the regular season.

“Last time we played them, we were actually leading I think going into the fourth quarter and then we just didn’t finish the game. So, we know we can play with them,” said Dukes.

BRIDGEVILLE — Dozens of arrests on hundreds of charges followed investigation into criminal activity in the Coverdale Crossroads community, Delaware State Police announced Tuesday night.

Additionally, 44 court capiases for wanted persons were cleared during the operation that began Jan. 28, spokeswoman Master Cpl. Melissa Jaffe said. Police described the neighborhood as “a well-known open-air drug market …”

Three shooting incidents between Jan. 14 and Jan. 20 also prompted the operation, and police said the search for suspects continues.

As of Tuesday, police said, 94 persons were arrested on 60 felony and 165 misdemeanor counts and 167 traffic charges. No individual arrests were detailed.

“The main focus of this operation is to reduce the gun violence and drug activity in the Coverdale Crossroads community area,” DSP spokeswoman Melissa Jaffe said.

“While there were felony arrests, we did not want to single individuals out, as there was not one or two main suspects involved, therefore we chose not to include names and photos.”

The arrestees were from both inside and outside the community, police said. The operation was a combination of both visible and covert operations and arrests at various times of the day were made when probable cause was established, according to Cpl. Jaffe.

Evidence seized included:

• Seven firearms.

• 40.75 grams of cocaine.

• 22.86 grams of heroin.

• 217 grams of marijuana.

• Various amounts of Suboxone tablets, Schedule III pills, methamphetamine, Topiramate pills, Tramodol Hydrochloride, Oxydone, Suboxone and MDMA pills. I

The effort included the Sussex Governor’s Task Force and Drug Unit, in addition to troopers from Troops 5 and 7. Probation and Parole officers made several arrests, along with the Special Operations Response Team.

Law enforcement will continue to monitor the area.

“Our commitment to public safety through the entirety of the community remains unchanged,” Cpl. Jaffe said. “We will continue to work in the area and in collaboration with community leaders for ways to continue to improve the area and combat crime.

“It is our hope, too, to be able to deliver concrete results from our neighbors providing timely information about suspicious or illegal activity.”

According to Cpl. Jaffe, “Our investigations clearly linked drug sales in the area to the shootings occurring in the community. In the absence of suspect identifications in the shootings, we sought to suppress the root cause of the gunfire – the drug sales, themselves.

“Similar drug investigations are and have been ongoing statewide for generations.”

Shootings detailed

• On Jan. 20 at approximately 5:44 p.m., a 35-year-old female and 36-year-old male suffered non-life threatening injuries after shots were fired at their vehicle from a trailing vehicle on Coverdale Road north of Hastings Farm Road.

• On Jan. 19, no injuries were reported after shots were fired in the unit block of Mill Park Drive at approximately 8:30 p.m. A 33-year-old female and 37-year-old male found there residence was damaged and reported hearing a fight outside just prior to the gunshots.

• On Jan. 14 and roughly 7:30 a.m. a 52-year-old female and 19-year-old male were uninjured after multiple shots were fired at a resident in the 21000 block of Mill Park Drive.

Police asked anyone with information on the shootings to contact Detective C. Simpson at 752-3855. Information may also be provided by calling Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-800-TIP-3333 or online at delaware.crimestoppersweb.com.

DOVER — The commander of the 512th Airlift Wing, Col. Craig C. Peters, has been selected to lead the 439th Airlift Wing, at Westover Air Reserve Base, Massachusetts, reported the Dover Air Force Base’s 512th Airlift Wing.

Col. Peters has been the 512th AW commander since June 2017.

During his time in Dover, he’s led the wing through a unit effectiveness inspection and the wing’s largest deployment since the early 2000s, said the airbase leadership.

“As Steve Jobs once said, ‘Great things in business are never done by one person; they’re done by a team of people,’” Col. Peters said in a statement.

“My tenure leading the Liberty Wing has been easy because of the amazing team of Reserve Citizen Airmen and their families, who sacrifice so much every day to ensure Team Dover is combat ready to fly, fight and win.

“Also part of this amazing team is a community of elected officials, business owners and residents that go above and beyond to make Dover Air Force Base the envy of all who serve our nation.

“It’s been an honor to be a member of this elite team. I will always be Liberty Strong and full of Dover Pride!”

Col. Peters is scheduled to assume command of the 439th AW in April. Col. Norman Shaw, the 512th AW’s vice commander, will lead the wing until Col. Peters’ successor is named.

GEORGETOWN — Constance “Connie” Dick has taken just 30 sick days in nearly 68 years with the Delaware State Police.

One quick stint involved gall bladder surgery and she returned within 48 hours of the procedure.

Ten days were needed to recover from an automobile accident, then it was back to work.

It’s no wonder the 85-year-old civilian employee has over 9,000 hours (four years-plus) of unused leave time.

Her take on longevity and consistency isn’t a complicated matter.

“You just keep going,” Ms. Dick recently explained from her Troop 4 office. “When it’s time, you get up and put on your clothes and go to work. It’s that simple. It’s just part of my life.”

How long a stretch has it been? Ms. Dick served as administrative assistant for current Troop 4 Commander Rodney Layfield, along with his grandfather as well in the 1950s.

“‘Miss Connie’s’ years of dedicated service to the State of Delaware and Troop 4 are unequaled and will likely never be matched,” Capt. Layfield said.

“Most people can’t fathom working 68 years. She has seen a lot and it is always a pleasure to speak to her about the stories of old. She is a classy young lady that deserves great recognition for a monumental feat.”

Currently, the 1951 Harrington High graduate is responsible for processing subpoenas, checking trooper activity sheets with vacation and overtime balances and ordering supplies as needed.

With 90 troopers (including 50 detectives) working from the barracks, the work load is tremendous with just a part-time employee to assist.

“Sometimes people forget to put down what they do, what overtime hours they put in,” she said, acknowledging her responsibility to track it all down.

All that’s OK, Ms. Dick said.

“It keeps me going,” she said. “I don’t think people should go home once they stop working, sit down and die.”

The DSP’s longest-tenured employee has adapted nicely to ever-changing technology while still remembering when switching from manual to electric typewriter was a huge leap.

Decades ago, detectives dictated criminal case reports to Ms. Dick, who took shorthand notes before putting them down on paper. Then came the dictaphone and small cassette that voice recorded details to be transcribed later.

The cases troopers — including her late husband of 52 years, George — faced were much simpler, as well.

“It’s all drugs now,” she said. “There weren’t any crimes like there are today. People just liked to drink beer.”

Computers arrived sometime in the 1980s and “they certainly made everything a lot simpler,” she said.

When her career began, there were just 25 troopers (all men) statewide working out of one barracks near where the Georgetown Wal-Mart is now located. Since then, Ms. Dick has worked with 27 different troop commanders.

Nobody expects to work for nearly seven decades all at the same place, Ms. Dick included. She graduated high school at age 17 and took a DSP secretary’s position a week later “because I needed a job.”