The winter-summer dilemma continues. Wednesday I was wearing shorts, not today. I would love to see a good snow storm, and do a little car hooding to boot. Otherwise I will take the warm winter days for some fun outdoors. Fishing has been okay and picking up for some species. We are in winter mode — it may be warm outside but the water is still rather cold. Just as the Lewes Polar Bear plungers we watched over the weekend. They all looked really happy to get out of the water.

White perch is the catch off the week. Those catches are increasing and anglers are doing rather well. Hard part is finding bloodworms for bait. Grass shrimp are easy to find, use a fine mesh net and scrape the marsh grass or bulkheads. Icehouse Bait and Tackle on Route 1 in Sussex County has plenty of bloodworms this week.

The Lewes canal and area tidal creeks are producing some decent white perch as well as short striped bass. Make sure you know the creel limits for the fish you are keeping. Especially if you decide to put a picture up on social media. An undersized fish picture can get you into trouble. Small jigs under a bobber are working well for white perch, yellow perch and crappie. Minnows are working well too. Check all the spillways for some decent action.

Show season

One season we are in is show season. There are all kinds of outdoor shows happening all over the East Coast. The most popular is the Harrisburg show. That takes more than a day to really see everything. I hit a few smaller shows in the last couple of weeks and picked up some new gear to try this spring. I might be able to use this freaky looking crab right now in the surf. That will be a fun lure to test this week. I picked up some soft plastic dragon flies from Clyde’s Cranks recently. I know these are deadly for catching. The next best in show is the upcoming Delmarva Outdoors Expo the last weekend of April. Lot of new features and activities being added this year.

Our favorite local gear maker, DS Custom Tackle, has been busy in the work shop making gear for the year. “We are trying to get as much done now so we have plenty of gear for this coming season. We could barely keep up last year with the demand,” said owner David Okonewski. “We have the crews making gear in the shop and even at their homes, everyone is very busy this winter. We are looking forward to a great season. Our modified mullet rig we debuted last year at the Delmarva Outdoors Expo has become very popular.”

A few hunters took advantage of the unusually warm weather, unfortunately so did the chiggers. Never got chiggers in the winter myself, but it can happen. Everything comes out in spring like weather. I have seen ticks in the dead of winter when it is mild for the year. The question I am wondering is what will summer be like? Mild winters are great for the fishing.

Tautog is still a decent catch for the charters and head boats putting in the time. Check and call ahead for times. There are some nice sized catches being produced. Just dress warm, even on the summer like days the temperature on the water is much different.

Fresh water fishing has been a blast for the pond hoppers. Ice has not been an issue this year so finding spots has been easy enough.

If you want to talk, or learn fly fishing check out the Saltwater Fly Anglers of Delaware club at the Lewes Harbor Marina on Saturdays at 9 a.m. to noon for fly tying and stories. Wear boots, the stories get better every year. This is a great local club that concentrates on fishing and fun.

Don’t forget to look up this Sunday evening just after 5:30 p.m.  NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility will be launching the Antares to the International Space Station.  Watching this up close and personal at the media area is always a thrill for my inner nerd.  The launches can easily bee seen from our beaches and  backyard here in Delaware.  

MILLSBORO — An effort is underway to fill a commercial restaurant void in downtown Millsboro following the closure of the Georgia House nearly a year ago.

A lease/purchase agreement is in the works for a future restaurant venture earmarked for property in the 100 block of Main Street, according to Virgil Ellwanger, part of a partnership that owns the property.

“We have a potential buyer,” said Mr. Ellwanger. “Right now, he is into another project, in Delaware. What he is doing is he is leasing the property from us, so he doesn’t lose it.”

The lease agreement is for one year.

“There will be a purchase agreement fulfilled at the end of this lease,” said Mr. Ellwanger.

Millsboro Town Manager Sheldon Hudson said his understanding is the property is presently “under contract.”

The Georgia House restaurant, a Main Street eatery staple in Millsboro for several decades, closed its doors and went out of business in late March 2019.

“With this person it will be a restaurant,” said Mr. Ellwanger. “We’re being told that it is going to be a nice uptick-type restaurant. It’s going to be a little upscale, not fancy-fancy, but it’s going to be somewhat like The Georgia House, only maybe a little bit stronger. From what we are hearing and being told, it is going to be a really nice sit-down restaurant. We’re looking forward to it.”

Mr. Ellwanger had no timeframe on the potential opening of the Millsboro restaurant. It hinges, he said, in large part on the status of the prospective buyer’s other project.

“Potentially, they are going to have an architect, or some type of firm set up, whatever their design is going to be,” Mr. Ellwanger said.

“He has got another project going. If he were to finish that project ahead of time, the work can commence in the lease at any point when he is ready to start.”

WASHINGTON — Exulting in his impeachment acquittal, President Donald Trump took a scorched-earth victory lap Thursday, unleashing his fury against those who tried to remove him from office while looking ahead to his reelection campaign.

Trump, speaking to a room full of supporters at the White House, declared the impeachment proceedings a “disgrace” and complained anew that it was “a very unfair situation,” echoing his broadsides hours earlier that stunned the crowd at an annual prayer breakfast.

“It was evil, it was corrupt,” Trump declared at the White House. “This should never ever happen to another president, ever.”

“We went through hell, unfairly. We did nothing wrong,” he continued.

As Trump spoke, nearly every inch of the White House’East Room was packed with supporters. Among them: Republican senators who cast some of the votes to acquit him, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Rep. Chuck Grassley, several Cabinet members, including Attorney General William Barr and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, and staunch House allies including Reps. Jim Jordan, Devin Nunes and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

Earlier, speaking from a stage where he was joined by congressional leaders, inc luding Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who led the impeachment charge against him, Trump shattered the usual veneer of bipartisanship at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington.

“As everybody knows, my family, our great country and your president have been put through a terrible ordeal by some very dishonest and corrupt people,” Trump said at the annual event. His airing of grievances came hours before he was to deliver a full response to the impeachment vote at the White House surrounded by supporters.

“They have done everything possible to destroy us and by so doing very badly hurt our nation,” said Trump, who triumphantly held up copies of two newspapers with banner “ACQUITTED” headlines as he took the stage.

His remarks were especially jarring and whiplash-inducing coming after a series of scripture-quoting speeches, including a keynote address by Arthur Brooks, a Harvard professor and president of a conservative think tank, who had bemoaned a “crisis of contempt and polarization” in the nation and urged those gathered to “love your enemies.”

“I don’t know if I agree with you,” Trump said as he took the microphone, and then he proceeded to demonstrate it.

“I don’t like people who use their faith as justification for doing what they know is wrong,” he said in an apparent reference to Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, a longtime Trump critic who cited his faith in becoming the only Republican to vote for Trump’s removal.

“Nor do I like people who say ‘I pray for you’ when you know that is not so,’” he said, in a reference to Pelosi, who has offered that message for the president when the two leaders have sparred publicly.

The House speaker shook her head at various points during Trump’s remarks, but did not appear to interact with Trump personally. Earlier she had offered a prayer for the poor and the persecuted.

She said later that Trump’s remarks were “so completely inappropriate, especially at a prayer breakfast..” She took particular issue with his swipe at Romney’s faith and said that yes, she does pray for the president.

His comments were a clear sign that the post-impeachment Trump is emboldened like never before as he barrels ahead in his reelection fight with a united Republican Party behind him. And it stood in stark contrast to the apology offered by Bill Clinton in the aftermath of his own impeachment acquittal in 1999.

Clinton said then in a White House address: “I want to say again to the American people how profoundly sorry I am for what I said and did to trigger these events and the great burden they have imposed on the Congress and on the American people.”

Trump had avoided talk of impeachment in his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, holding his tongue until the Senate had cast its official acquittal vote.

By the next day, he was already moving to use impeachment as a 2020 rallying cry.

Trump tweeted after the Senate vote that he would mark his acquittal with a statement to the nation at noon Thursday to “discuss our Country’s VICTORY on the Impeachment Hoax!” The president’s supporters were being invited to join him at the East Room event.

Asked what Trump would say, White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham told Fox News Channel that he would talk about “just how horribly he was treated, and you know, that maybe people should pay for that.”

“People should be held accountable. The Democrats should be held accountable,” she said. “People need to understand what the Democrats did was dishonest and it was corrupt.”

The president and his allies have been on a victory lap since Wednesday, sending giddy tweets needling his accusers and Democrats and celebrating.

Indeed, the night of the impeachment vote was one of revelry for members of the president’s circle. In Washington, many, including Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, his girlfriend, former Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle, and the president’s former campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, gathered at the president’s hotel a few blocks from the White House, one of the few MAGA safe zones in the deeply Democratic city.

The president himself remained at the White House but worked the phones, calling several confidants to exult about the verdict, bitterly complain about Romney and to promise that his Thursday noon statement would not want to be missed, according to a person familiar with the calls but not authorized to speak publicly about private discussions.

SMYRNA — The wrestling dual meet regular season has been building up to this moment.

The Henlopen Conference Northern Division title is on the line tonight in Smyrna.

Milford High visits Smyrna at 6:30 p.m. for a contest which will determine who captures the Henlopen North crown. Both teams are undefeated against Delaware opposition so far this season.

Smyrna, the defending Division I dual meet state champion, enters the night 5-0 in Henlopen North play and 10-2 overall. The Eagles still have to face Dover after tonight to finish their Henlopen North schedule, but a win against Milford clinches the championship anyway.

Smyrna’s only two losses came out of state at the Virginia Duals tournament the weekend of Jan. 10-11. The Eagles were banged-up at the event, but their top wrestlers are back healthy, proven last week with a 59-16 victory over Caesar Rodney, followed by a 71-0 win against Sussex Tech Wednesday.

“I’m excited, more excited that we’re recovering from our injuries and that we’re not re-injuring,” said Smyrna coach Aaron Harris. “We’re close to chasing that state title and my boys are ready to go.”

Milford carries a 20-0 dual meet record into tonight and the Buccaneers are 6-0 in the Henlopen North portion of their schedule. Milford’s dual meet success is highlighted by winning the Dundalk Duals in Maryland on Jan. 11 and the Legacy Duals at Hodgson on Jan. 25.

Milford is the seven-time defending Division II champions, the Buccaneers were moved up to Division I this offseason. The Buccaneers always played a tough schedule the years they were in the Henlopen South though, facing numerous Henlopen North and Division I opponents.

The two teams last met in a nonconference matchup in 2018 with Smyrna winning 51-16.

Milford and Smyrna have faced each other nine times since the 2008-2009 season. Smyrna has won every contest.

The closest bout was a 32-30 Smyrna victory in 2016.

No matter who wins tonight both teams are locks to qualify for the eight-team Division I dual meet state tournament which takes place Friday, Feb. 14 and Saturday, Feb. 15. So a possible rematch is certainly in the cards.

Bonus points

• Indian River’s Ian Shaubach earned career victory No. 100 last weekend when the Indians participated in the Martin Luther King Duals in Pennsylvania.

WASHINGTON — The chairman of the Democratic National Committee called on Thursday for a “recanvass” of the results of Monday’s Iowa caucus, which was marred by technical problems and delays.

“Enough is enough,” party leader Tom Perez wrote on Twitter. He said he was calling for the recanvass in order to “assure public confidence in the results.”

With 97% of precincts reporting, Pete Buttigieg, a former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders are nearly tied.

The technical glitches plaguing the first contest on the 2020 nominating calendar have made an already complicated candidate selection process even more complicated, forcing state officials to apologize and raising questions about Iowa’s traditional prime spot in picking nominees.

The caucus crisis was an embarrassing twist after months of promoting Iowa as a chance for Democrats to find some clarity in a jumbled field. Instead, after a buildup that featured seven rounds of debates, nearly $1 billion spent nationwide and a year of political jockeying, caucus day ended with no winner and no official results.

Iowa marked the first contest in a primary season that will span all 50 states and several U.S. territories, ending at the party’s national convention in July.

At issue was an app that the Iowa Democratic Party used to tabulate the results of the contest. The app was rolled out shortly before caucusing began and did not go through rigorous testing.

A coding error yielded problematic results Monday. And backup phone lines for reporting the outcomes were jammed, with many placed on hold for hours in order to report outcomes.

President Donald Trump’s campaign seized on Perez’s announcement and tried to inject an added dose of chaos. Trump and his allies have repeatedly insinuated, without offering proof, that the Democratic establishment wants to deny Sanders a victory at any cost.

Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh tweeted that Perez’s announcement “translated” to “Bernie looks like he’s taking the lead and we can’t have that.”

Much of the political world has already shifted its attention to next-up New Hampshire, which holds the first primary election in the Democrats’ 2020 nomination fight on Tuesday.

The chaos surrounding the reporting breakdown has undermined the impact of Iowa’s election, which typically rewards winners with a surge of momentum heading into subsequent primary contests.

The two early leaders are separated by 40 years in age and conflicting ideology.

Sanders, a 78-year-old self-described democratic socialist, has been a progressive powerhouse for decades. Buttigieg, a 38-year-old former municipal official, represents the more moderate wing of the Democratic Party. Buttigieg is also the first openly gay candidate to earn presidential primary delegates.

Campaigning in New Hampshire, Sanders on Thursday called the Iowa Democratic Party’s management of the caucuses a “screw-up” that “has been extremely unfair” to “ all of the candidates and their supporters.”

Both Buttigieg and Sanders have declared victory. The Associated Press has not called the race.

Updated results released Wednesday showed Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, former Vice President Joe Biden and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar trailing.

MILTON — Punkin Chunkin is hankering for a homecoming.

Or at least somewhere on Delmarva, closer to its founding roots in Sussex County.

Following a sanctioned, but smaller-sized 2019 event staged in Rantoul, Illinois, the World Championship Punkin Chunkin Association is asking to “Bring Us Home.”

“We had a great event in Illinois,” said Frank Payton, president of the World Championship Punkin Chunkin Association. “One of the things was we missed a lot of our ‘family,’ because a lot of the other chunkers couldn’t travel that far. I mean it was essentially a 13-hour drive from Delaware.”

“We’re looking to see if we can bring it a little bit closer. A five-hour radius would be better than the 13-hour radius,” said Mr. Payton. “We promised an event in 2019 and we stuck to our promise. And we want to see what we can do to promise another in 2020 — however, closer to home.”

A press release on Punkin Chunkin’s website states, “Our dedicated World Championship Punkin Chunkin Association family worked tirelessly throughout the year to rebuild what many believed to be a lost cause and create an event that instilled pride in the volunteers, teams and fans in attendance. While we consider the 2019 event a success, we also realize that the distance from our ‘home base’ here in Sussex County precluded many people from attending.”

“Before we commit to taking the World Championship on the road in 2020, we want to see if Delmarva can help bring this event closer to home and closer to our dedicated base of volunteers, vendors, teams and fans that supported us for so many years,” Punkin Chunkin’s release states.

To do that, organizers need someplace willing to hold the event with lots of open space.

Much like the property in Bridgeville that hosted the World Championship Punkin Chunkin for more than 15 years, Punkin Chunkin organizers say an ideal location would have up to 600 acres of land that could be utilized for parking, camping, festivities and, most importantly, the competition. While a smaller area could be utilized, a key feature for any prospective property is the ability for the WCPCA to measure “chunked” pumpkins to a one-mile distance of 5,000-plus feet.

Last year’s event – staged at the former Chanute Air Force Base in Illinois – drew about 30 teams. None were from Delaware.

In comparison, there were 110 teams in 2016 – the last time Punkin Chunkin was held in Sussex County, its home for every previous event since its inception in 1986.

Due to legal and logistical issues, Punkin Chunkin has been held only once in Delaware since 2013.

The event was not held in 2014 or 2015 due to liability/insurance hurdles stemming from a 2013 lawsuit filed on behalf of a volunteer spotter who was critically injured in an ATV mishap during the 2011 event.

The 2016 event held on the Wheatley Farm property east of Bridgeville was marred by tragedy. An air cannon malfunction resulted in serious injury to a female filming company employee, who was struck in the head by a piece of metal. That precipitated a lawsuit, which has been resolved, according to the WCPCA.

Punkin Chunkin’s release further states, “Our roots will always be in Delaware, but without needed legislation limiting the liability that nonprofit organizations and landowners leasing their property may be exposed to from frivolous lawsuits, holding the event on private property within the state is not feasible. A partnership with the state of Delaware or one of our counties to hold the event on state/county-owned land would extend such protections to the WCPCA.”

Mr. Payton isn’t ruling out the First State.

“It could be Delaware,” he said. “We just need state entities or county entities to step in and say, ‘Hey, we have this land that lends itself to have additional protection because of the fact that it is on state land. However, outside of that, I would be very leery on having an event on private property, knowing how there is no legislation protecting anybody from any frivolous lawsuits. I would love to see the state of Delaware have tort reform just for nonprofits.”

“It’s going to take more than a couple passionate Punkin Chunkers to bring this back this way. It’s going to take a community,” Mr. Payton said. “It is really up to them.”

If Delaware is once again not an option, WCPCA will continue to expand its search outside of the state, scouring the Delmarva region for a suitable property.

Maryland, Virginia and beyond hold untapped potential for the WCPCA and, in some cases, already have legislation in place that Delaware lacks, Mr. Payton said.

Mr. Payton said a meeting with the Punkin Chunkin Association membership later in February should shed more definitive light on 2020.

“There is not an absolute drop-dead deadline at this point. We’re hoping that people take us seriously enough right now to be able to start the communication to say, ‘Hey, we can start moving in this direction,’” said Mr. Payton. “We do need to announce something sooner than later because people – the people from all around the world that come to our event – need to make plans in order to get here.”

Ultimately, Mr. Payton says it will come to a point where, “if we don’t have anything solidified by a certain date then we’re just going to have to cancel it.”

WCPCA welcomes any ideas or information on a location that would potentially be a good fit.

For more information about World Championship Punkin, visit www.punkinchunkin.com.

FREDERICA — ILC Dover, best known for outfitting every U.S. astronaut in NASA’s Apollo program with spacesuits — including the dozen that walked on the moon — has a new partner.

ILC Dover announced this week that it has joined forces with New York-based New Mountain Capital, a growth-oriented investment firm with more than $20 billion in assets under management. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

As part of the transaction, ILC Dover’s CEO Fran DiNuzzo and senior management team will remain invested in the company.

Mr. DiNuzzo said the move was made to strengthen the company’s future.

“New Mountain is the ideal partner for ILC Dover as we enter our next stage of growth,” Mr. DiNuzzo said in a statement. “This is an exciting time in our history, and we are confident that New Mountain’s proven track record of business building, while closely supporting management teams through strategic engagement is a real differentiator.

“We look forward to this partnership and the many benefits it will yield for our customers, employees and industry partners globally.”

ILC Dover, located in Frederica, is much more than spacesuits these days.

The special engineering development and manufacturing company specializes in the use of high-performance flexible materials, serving the aerospace, pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, food and beverage, aerospace and defense industries.

Besides spacesuits, other ILC products include the airbag landing devices for Mars Pathfinder and Mars Exploration Rover missions; lighter-than-air vehicles, including airships, aerostats and zeppelins; chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear masks and hood systems; and flexible powder-containment solutions for the pharmaceutical industry.

Paul Cannon, vice president of marketing for ILC Dover, said Thursday the move sets the company up for future growth.

“We’re looking forward to an aggressive growth agenda for our company moving forward,” he said.

“This is exciting for our customers and our employees. For the employees, this will be a great place to be. Everybody wants to be with a growing company and this partnership sets us up for the future.”

It’s the history of ILC’s innovation — which began in 1947 — that attracted New Mountain Capital to join the company as a partner.

“We look forward to partnering with ILC Dover as the company continues to deliver high quality, customized solutions to its customers,” said Andre Moura, managing director at New Mountain Capital in a statement. “Led by a world-class team that brings decades of expertise in their target markets, we see many avenues for growth ahead, and look forward to providing the additional resources needed to help the company continue forward on its impressive trajectory.

“In particular, we see valuable opportunities to expand ILC Dover’s leadership position in single-use solutions used in the bioproduction environment.”

ILC Dover is home to more than 700-plus employees who serve customers around the world across six facilities in North America, Europe and Asia.

New Mountain Capital officials say the firm emphasizes business building and growth, rather than debt, as it pursues long-term capital appreciation. The firm currently manages private equity, public equity and credit funds with more than $20 billion in assets under management.

New Mountain seeks out what it believes to be the highest quality growth leaders in selected industry sectors and then works intensively with management to build the value of these companies.

“Through its history of strong execution, ILC Dover has successfully established itself as a highly innovative and leading engineered solutions provider to its client partners,” said Harris Kealey, managing director at New Mountain Capital. “We look forward to working closely alongside Fran (DiNuzzo) and his team to build upon ILC’s current momentum, unlock strategic opportunities and drive accelerated growth in the attractive markets the company serves.”

MILFORD — It was a little surprising when Bridget Amory, director of student learning in the Milford School District, heard students arguing about who studied more as they walked down the halls.

The excitement for learning traces back to the ELympics, a competition geared toward English language learners in the district. The competition began last year; the second event will take place Saturday at Lulu Ross Elementary.

“The whole premise behind it was to allow the kids, who are working really hard to learn and acquire the English language, to give them an opportunity to showcase their skills in an academic setting without going against monolingual speakers that may have had more supports in the past,” said Casey Cashdollar, an English learner teacher at Ross. “It really allows them to shine and show what they can do, against kids in their own level and their own grade level.”

The competition also helps prepare students for an English proficiency test, to determine how much support they need in language.

Students can participate in the challenge at different levels of proficiency. Individual events have students highlighting their spelling, grammar and math and social studies skills. Team events allow students of different proficiency levels to work together to compete in math, grammar, creative writing and other concepts in a relay format. The event culminates in awards ceremonies where students learn how they placed.

This year’s event add some additional competitions at lower proficiency tiers, too.

“Our goal is to maximize the number of kids that can participate,” Ms. Cashdollar said.

All of the students receive packets ahead of time to study to help even the playing field, Ms. Cashdollar said.

“It gives them a purpose to study, as well, so they’re eager to learn and they’re eager to put those skills to toward something that they know they can be successful at,” she added. “By providing the community this, it allows the parents to see what the kids can do.”

If the students qualify at the school level, they move on to the district competition. One day, Dr. Amory hopes to see a state competition.

Cindy McKenzie, principal of Ross, said that 32 percent of the school population are ELL students.

Districtwide, 19 percent of the student body are ELL students, Dr. Amory said. Downstate, she noted that Milford, Indian River and Seaford school districts have the largest population of ELL students.

“We have a growing population of ELLs in our community, as well as throughout the state. And, a lot of those times, because those kids come across as being average or not necessarily meeting all the grade-level expectations, they’re not often given opportunities to show what they can do,” Ms. Cashdollar said.

“This gives them a sense of pride and a sense of purpose, to show their families and their friends and the community how they have grown, and that they can make achievements when given different avenues of success.”

Beyond the competition portion, vendors will also be at the event, with information on counseling services and library resources. Vendors like Delaware State Workforce Agency, Parents As Teachers, Polytech ESL program and La Esperanza will also have tables.

“We reached out to resources in the community that we thought would be things that would help our families, that they may not think about,” said Montessa Brooks, an English learner teacher at Ross. She noted resources like DSWA or different programming at Abbott’s Mill Nature Center may be things that families don’t know about.

“I mean, it’s right in Milford’s backyard,” she said.

An added bonus, Mrs. McKenzie said, is that it introduces families to the building.

“It gives the families the opportunity to come into school, to just actually be in the building, and then perhaps feel more comfortable about coming to school, for meetings and other things throughout the year,” she noted.

For fifth-graders Yaritza Saucedo and Lupita Gonzalez, the event is just plain fun.

Lupita participated last year, and will be competing again this year.

“It was great,” she said. “They asked me questions and I learned a lot, too.”

Yaritza said she is most looking forward to the speaking part of the competition.

“I want to learn more,” she added.

Overall, the two were looking forward to this year’s challenge.

“It’s like a game where you play with your friends,” Lupita said.

It’s just as fun for the families, too, Ms. Brooks added.

“The families get so excited,” she said. “They’re running up into the aisle to take pictures [during the awards ceremony], which is great. It’s awesome.”

About 75 volunteers — including staff, community members and middle and high school students — will help run the event, Ms. Brooks said.

“Last year was just an awesome day and it was amazing to see everything come together,” Dr. Amory said. “We did set the bar high in part because of the impact it had last year, so we’re really excited, and we’re excited to see it expand.”

Smyrna High runner Demitri Carter is this week’s Delaware State News Athlete of the Week.

The sophomore posted the fastest time in the state this winter in the 200-meter dash with a clocking of 22.22 seconds at the Ocean Breeze Invitational last week. At the same meet, Carter also recorded the second-best time this winter in the 400-meter dash with a time of 50.64 seconds.

Smyrna coach Maura Schafer said Carter is a “track kid” who takes pride in his performances.

“He has been a rising star for the last few years,” said Schafer. “We’ve kept our eyes on him through middle school and now that he is in his second year with us he is really showcasing his speed. Demitri is normally a quiet hard-working presence on our team. He really cares about his ‘craft.’” 

Carter and the Eagles will take part in the DIAA state championship meet on Feb. 22.

Susan Giordano of Lewes took this photo on Nov. 2 from Irish Eyes pub in Lewes.

Yaa Yaa Afriyie’s 31 points led the Polytech girls’ basketball team to a 56-41 victory over Delcastle in nonconference action on Thursday afternoon.

Heaven Hendricks scored nine for the Panthers while Maria Granitto and Jazmin Kellam had six points apiece. Polytech improved to 10-7 overall.

Dover 37, St. Georges 34: The Senators trailed by two after the third quarter but rallied for the nonconference win.

Tamyah Jones paced Dover with 11 points. Z’Naiya followed with nine and Ally Manifold made a pair of three-pointers to finish with eight points.

The Senators upped their record to 12-5 on the season.

Cape Henlopen 79, Smyrna 19: Dania Cannon’s big night was highlighted by 32 points in the Vikings’ Henlopen North victory.

Cannon also recorded eight assists, five rebound and four steals. Abbey Hearn netted 23 points and seven rebounds for Cape Henlopen (15-3).

Mehkia Applewhite earned a double-double with 15 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists and seven steals.

Laurel 47, Milford 42: Na’Kayla Smith scored 20 points to pace the Bulldogs Thursday.

Sincerity McClain also finished in double figures for Laurel with 10 points.

Caesar Rodney 69, Concord 49: The Riders picked up the nonconference win on the road Thursday.

Boys’ basketball

Caesar Rodney 53, Newark 44: The Riders overcame a two-point first quarter for a come-from-behind victory in nonconference action.

Kamal Marvel’s 22 points led Caesar Rodney. Syed Myles added 12 for the Riders (12-5).

Smyrna 80, Cape Henlopen 32: Nahshon Sylvester scored 18, Brandon Smith followed with 17 and the Eagles picked up another Henlopen North win.

Elijah Credle netted 12 points of his own for Smyrna (13-4).

Caravel 64, Polytech 54: James Marvel made five three-pointers to score 19 points but the Panthers suffered a nonconference defeat on the road.

Xavier Brewington chipped in 10 points for Polytech.

Appoquinimink 67, Lake Forest 51: Tyrone Tolson scored 17 points, Jaysem Vazquez had 14 as the Spartans fell in a nonconference contest.

Indian River 67, Sussex Academy 28: The Indians earned a Henlopen South victory on Thursday.

Track and field

Cape boys, Smyrna girls win Henlopen titles: The Cape Henlopen boys’ team recorded 116 points and the Smyrna girls tallied 201.5 to win their respective Henlopen Conference indoor track and field championships on Thursday afternoon.

The Smyrna girls won nine of 15 events. The Eagles were led by Lauren Summers and Sarah Larose who each claimed gold medals in multiple events.

Summers was victorious in the 55-meter dash and the 200. Larose was first in both the 1600 and the 3200.

Kelly Barr won the 800, Sierra Romaine the long jump and Jay’Lynn Pugh the shot put to round out the Eagles’ individual winners. Smyrna also took first in the 4×200 and 4×400 relays.

The only other athlete on the girls’ side to win multiple events was Casey Talamini-Kelemen who won both the pole vault and the triple jump.

Dover’s Jaylene Rodriguez was first in the girls’ 55-meter hurdles while Cape Henlopen won three events led by Tia Jarvis in the 400, Sawyer Walker in the high jump and its 4×800 relay team.

The Cape Henlopen boys won five events, paced by Ethan Edery who was the 1600 and 3200 champion.

The Vikings’ three other titles came in field events. Bryan Ciabattoni was first in the pole vault, Karnell Wise won the long jump and Josiah Miller was victorious in the shot put.

Travon McVicker of Sussex Central was a multi-event champion for the boys. He won the 55-meter hurdles plus the high jump. The Golden Knights also took first in the 4×200 relay.

Another athlete who took home two titles for the boys was Nigel Reeves of Smyrna. He earned titles in the 55-meter dash and the 200 while Smyrna teammate Demitri Carter won the 400.

Dover won three events led by Nathanael Guy in the 800 and the Senator relay teams were victorious in the 4×400 and 4×800.

Ja’Kai Jones of Sussex Tech rounded out the individual champions with a win in the triple jump.

Hearing a really bad cover version of The Surfaris’ “Wipeout” in eighth grade got Ronn McFarlane interested in music.

Hearing the beautiful strains of Renaissance and Baroque music played on the lute while in college kept him there.

Mr. McFarlane, one of the world’s most acclaimed lutenists, will perform Feb. 14 during the Delaware Friends of Folk’s free Old State House concert in Dover.

The Grammy-nominated musician aims to bring the lute — the most popular instrument of the Renaissance — into today’s musical mainstream, making it accessible to a wider audience.

Since taking up the instrument in 1978, Mr. McFarlane, 66, has made his mark in music as the founder of Ayreheart, a founding member of the Baltimore Consort, touring 49 of the 50 United States, Canada, England, Scotland, Netherlands, Germany and Austria, and as a guest artist with Apollo’s Fire, The Bach Sinfonia, The Catacoustic Consort, The Folger Consort, Houston Grand Opera, The Oregon Symphony, The Portland Baroque Orchestra, and The Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra.

He has over 40 recordings, composing new music for the lute. His original compositions are the focus of his solo CD, “Indigo Road,” which received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Classical Crossover Album of 2009.

But it all came back to that day in eighth grade.

“It was during a field day and classmates were playing sports outside, and inside the cafeteria on this makeshift stage were some kids playing ‘Wipeout’,” Mr. McFarlane recalled this week from his childhood home in Ellicott City, Maryland.

“It was probably just the most horrible thing but to my 13-year-old ears, it was the greatest thing. It was like seeing The Beatles. These were people I knew in my class. I figured if they could do it, I could do it too.”

So he went to Montgomery Ward, bought a cheap guitar and learned how to play it.

“I don’t have times in my life where everything turns on a dime. Things always happen gradually for me. But this one instant became my whole life. I couldn’t wait to get home and play. It was the most fun thing I could do. And it still is.”

He went on to play in rock and blues bands while in high school and later got interested in classical guitar to improve his rock playing. But the classical guitar became more interesting to him. He studied classical guitar at Shenandoah Conservatory in Virginia and then at Peabody Conservatory on the campus of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

It was while studying classical guitar that he was exposed to pieces that were originally played on the lute but had been reworked for the guitar. He began to wonder what these pieces would sound like on the instrument for which they were originally composed.

“I fell in love with the music,” he said.

“I think I started to play both for six months and realized that I would never get as far on either one if I continued to play both so I chose the lute.”

He said he was intrigued by the connection the Renaissance music had with the folk and rock music he had played as a teenager.

“The popular music of the 1600s had a lot of the same characteristics as the classic rock rhythms. There was still that chance for improvisation. It had all of the things I love about classical and folk and popular music all in the same repertoire. It was a perfect fit and completed myself as a musician,” he said.

Although he is known now as an acclaimed lutenist, it didn’t start out that way. He remembers the first time he had a lute in his hands.

“I had read all about playing lute music on the guitar so I thought I knew how to do it. I went to DuPont Circle in Washington, D.C. to a shop that is no longer there – David Perry’s Guitar and Lute Shop,” he said.

“I saw a lute on the wall and a person took it down for me and I couldn’t believe how weird it felt. I was used to the guitar being flat in the back and this stuck way out in the back. The neck felt all wrong. I looked so stupid.

“The guy behind the counter said ‘Do you know what you are doing?” Nevertheless, I didn’t give up. I got one soon after that and became more and more at home with it until it eventually felt like an extension of my body.”

Adapting a guitar technique that he no longer uses that employed his fingernails to pluck the strings, Mr. McFarlane became proficient enough to perform on stage in about a year.

“That was probably too soon but the repertoire was not the most virtuosic. It was pretty straightforward,” he said.

He said audiences who have never heard the lute played are often amazed at how much variety in tone the instrument provides.

“There is a whole range of colors of sound if you know how to draw it out,” he said.

“It can sound like a harp, guitar, mandolin or banjo. There is a banjo piece called ‘Pine Tops’ where the lute sounds like a banjo all by playing almost all of it on the first string and giving it a very trebley sound. It has this very rapid-fire texture that is sort of reminiscent of a bluegrass banjo.”

Mr. McFarlane said that not only will he play his original and other compositions in Dover but he’ll also talk about the instrument and its history along with its peculiar nature.

“I try not to nerd out on the instrument but the general public doesn’t know a whole lot about the lute. I’ll probably talk about the controversy that erupted back in the day on how to play it and the different ideas that came about of how to make such beautiful sounds. Not everyone agreed,” he said.

This is the sixth season in the series, which is produced in cooperation with the First State Heritage Park and is supported by a grant from the Kent County Fund for the Arts. The free one-hour performance will begin at 7:30 pm. Seating is limited.

Cheap Trick Saturday

Tickets are still available for Cheap Trick, performing Saturday at Dover Downs Hotel & Casino’s Rollins Center on Saturday Feb. 8 at 8 p.m. Tickets can be purchased by visiting doverdowns.com.

Prices range from $55 to $100.

With over 5,000 performances spanning four decades and 20 million records sold worldwide, Cheap Trick was formed in 1974 and while it has evolved throughout the years, Cheap Trick has continued to reach mainstream and critical success.

Hits such as “I Want You To Want Me,” “Dream Police,” and “Surrender” have cemented the group as one of America’s top rock ‘n’ roll bands.

First Friday activities set

A little romance and a taste of Valentine’s Day promise will fill the air in downtown Dover Friday night as retail stores and restaurants will all be lit up and open for business on February’s First Friday, with musicians and snacks in select stores from 5 until 7 p.m.

House of Coffi will feature live jazz by Dover local Wesley Melvin playing on tenor sax and the Delaware Store and Parke Green Galleries are following suit with saxophonist Grady O’Connor.

“These young musicians are especially skilled with their music and are fun to watch, too. The public is invited to vote for their favorite merchant window décor online at Tinyurl.com/DoverWindows,” said Diane Laird, executive director of the Downtown Dover Partnership.

My Roots will host Wesley College’s Ryan Schumacher on acoustic guitar and friend Samuel on keyboard, playing jazz to more popular tunes in the acoustic style. Just down Loockerman Street at Tina’s Timeless Threads, guitarist Mike Miller will play Americana-themed pieces and Dover favorite Rick Hudson will play guitar and harmonica with a focus on blues, old-time country and contemporary pieces at Simaron Steak Shop.

The Golden Fleece will host a DJ beginning at 10 p.m. Most of the shops are participating in the merchant window contests.

The “In Harmony … Concert Series” will continue from 6:30 until 8 p.m. inside Multi-Purpose Room A and Multi-Purpose Room B at the Dover Public Library with the First State Harmonizers and Voices of DelMarVa.

The First State Harmonizers is a chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society and is a mixed chorus of men and women who perform four-part harmony of classic Americana favorites to include ballads, up-tunes, patriotic and show tunes.

“Both choruses are a blended mix of singers from all walks of life, with a wide range of vocal and musical backgrounds,” Ms. Laird said.

All activities are free. Parking is free on the streets and in permit lots after 5 p.m. this evening and all weekend.

The Shop Downtown Dover promotional “passport for savings” is also available. For more information on obtaining a booklet, contact Ms. Laird at Diane@DowntownDoverPartnership.com. The promotional program runs through June 30.

Now showing

New in theaters this weekend is DC Comics’ “Birds of Prey” with Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn.

On DVD and download starting Tuesday is Matt Damon and Christian Bale in “Ford v Ferrari.”

To share news of your entertainment group, venue or event, contact Craig Horleman at 741-8224 or chorl@newszap.com.

BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese doctor who got in trouble with authorities in the communist country for sounding an early warning about the coronavirus outbreak died Friday after coming down with the illness.

The Wuhan Central Hospital said on its social media account that Dr. Li Wenliang, a 34-year-old ophthalmologist, was “unfortunately infected during the fight against the pneumonia epidemic of the new coronavirus infection.”

“We deeply regret and mourn this,” it added.

Li was reprimanded by local police for “spreading rumors” about the illness in late December, according to news reports. The outbreak, centered in Wuhan, has now infected over 28,200 people globally and killed more than 560, triggering travel restrictions and quarantines around the world and a crisis inside the country of 1.4 billion.

The World Health Organization tweeted: “We are deeply saddened by the passing of Dr Li Wenliang. We all need to celebrate work that he did” on the virus.

Within a half-hour of announcing earlier Friday that Li was in critical condition, the hospital received nearly 500,000 comments on its social media post, many of them from people hoping Li would pull through. One wrote: “We are not going to bed. We are here waiting for a miracle.”

Li was among a number of medical professionals in Wuhan who tried to warn colleagues and others when the government did not, The New York Times reported earlier this week. It said that after the mystery illness had stricken seven patients at a hospital, Li said of them in an online chat group Dec. 30: “Quarantined in the emergency department.”

Another participant in the chat responded by wondering, “Is SARS coming again?” — a reference to the 2002-03 viral outbreak that killed hundreds, the newspaper said.

Wuhan health officials summoned Li in the middle of the night to explain why he shared the information, and police later forced him to sign a statement admitting to “illegal behavior,” the Times said.

“If the officials had disclosed information about the epidemic earlier,” Li said in an interview in the Times via text messages, “I think it would have been a lot better. There should be more openness and transparency.”

In other developments in the outbreak:

YOUNGEST PATIENT

A newborn in China became the youngest known person infected with the virus.

The baby was born Saturday in Wuhan and confirmed positive just 36 hours after birth, authorities said. But precisely how the child became infected was unclear.

“The baby was immediately separated from the mother after the birth and has been under artificial feeding. There was no close contact with the parents, yet it was diagnosed with the disease,” Zeng Lingkong, director of neonatal diseases at Wuhan Children’s Hospital, told Chinese TV.

Zeng said other infected mothers have given birth to babies who tested negative, so it is not yet known if the virus can be transmitted in the womb.

MORE HOSPITAL BEDS

China finished building a second new hospital Thursday to isolate and treat patients — a 1,500-bed center in Wuhan. Earlier this week, another rapidly constructed, 1,000-bed hospital in Wuhan with prefabricated wards and isolation rooms began taking patients.

Authorities also moved people with milder symptoms into makeshift hospitals at sports arenas, exhibition halls and other public spaces.

All together, more than 50 million people are under virtual quarantine in hard-hit Hubei province in an unprecedented — and unproven — bid to bring the outbreak under control.

In Hong Kong, hospital workers demanding a shutdown of the territory’s border with mainland China were on strike for a fourth day. Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam announced a 14-day quarantine of all travelers entering the city from the mainland starting Saturday, but the government has refused to seal the border entirely.

QUARANTINED CRUISE SHIPS

Two docked cruise ships with thousands of passengers and crew members remained under 14-day quarantines in Hong Kong and Japan.

Ten passengers confirmed to have the virus were escorted off the Diamond Princess at the port of Yokohama near Tokyo, after 10 others were taken off the previous day. About 3,700 people were confined aboard the ship.

“It’s going to be like a floating prison,” passenger David Abel lamented on Facebook. He had set out on a 50th wedding anniversary luxury cruise but found himself in his cabin, eating a “lettuce sandwich with some chicken inside.”

More than 3,600 people on the other quarantined ship, the World Dream, underwent screening after eight passengers were diagnosed with the virus.

NEW DRUG

Testing of a new antiviral drug was set to begin on a group of patients Thursday, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. The drug, Remdesivir, is made by U.S. biotech company Gilead Sciences.

Antivirals and other drugs can reduce the severity of an illness, but “so far, no antivirals have been proven effective” against the new virus, said Thanarak Plipat, deputy director-general of Thailand’s Disease Control Department in the Health Ministry. He said there are a lot of unknowns, “but we have a lot of hope as well.”

MORE FALLOUT

From Europe to Australia and the U.S., universities that host Chinese students or have study-abroad programs are scrambling to assess the risks, and some are canceling opportunities and prohibiting student travel.

Central banks in the Philippines and Thailand have cut their interest rates to fend off economic damage from the outbreak in China, the world’s second-biggest economy, with 1.4 billion people. China is a major source of tourists in Asia, and corporations around the world depend on its factories to supply products and its consumers to buy them.

The organizers of the Tokyo Olympics again sought to allay fears that the 2020 Games could be postponed or canceled because of the crisis.

NEWARK — Delaware men’s basketball crowds have always been erratic.

UD’s holiday break goes right into a long winter session that means the Blue Hens play almost two months without school being in full session.

And, of course, Delaware hasn’t always given the students something to be excited about, either.

But Thursday evening was just one of those nights when everything fell into place.

A big crowd showed up and the Hens delivered with their fifth-straight victory, an 84-78 CAA win over Towson before a crowd of 4,675 at the Carpenter Center.

Nate Darling poured in 34 points and Delaware (7-4 CAA, 17-7 overall) trailed only once, when the Tigers (7-5 CAA, 13-11 overall) scored the game’s first basket. The victory allowed the Hens to switch places with Towson for the fourth spot in the Colonial Athletic Association standings.

Delaware’s players said there was definitely a different energy in the arena.

“It was awesome,” said Darling. “I was feeling it. I was screaming at the start of the game. When I sat down, I was like, ‘Man, I’ve got to chill out a little bit.’

“It was fun. We finally had a really big crowd. They were excited and we put on a pretty decent show. I hope we can continue to get crowds like that.”

The Hens started the contest like they were excited, too. Delaware buried three straight three-pointers to open up a 21-9 lead in the first seven minutes.

The Hens went up by as many as 16 in the first half before taking a 42-32 halftime advantage. Darling and Ryan Allen (18 points) both sank four first-half threes.

Delaware was especially glad to see Allen hit some big shots. The junior guard had struggled with his outside shot the last couple weeks.

Allen has also been struggling with illness, saying he lost 13 pounds.

“It felt good,” he said. “But I’m always confident in myself. My teammates are always confident in me. I think the main thing was me getting back in the shape I wanted to be. I just feel better.”

“Welcome back Ryan Allen,” coach Martin Ingelsby said with a smile. “He wasn’t himself. He’s struggled shooting the basketball. But when he’s scoring it like that and confident, we’ve got some weapons out there.”

Of course, the Tigers — who had won eight of their last nine meetings with Delaware — didn’t go away quietly.

Towson whittled the Hens’ lead down to just three points a couple times in the last five minutes.

But Kevin Anderson came down with a big offensive rebound before Darling nailed a clutch three-pointer with the shot-clock running down. The three stretched the Hens’ advantage to 72-64 with 1:38 remaining.

That was Delaware’s last field goal of the night. The Hens ended up making 12-of-14 foul shots in the final minute to keep the Tigers at bay.

They needed most of those points as everything Towson shot went in as they desperately tried to come back. The Tigers hit four threes in just the last minute.

For the game, Delaware was 27-of-32 from the foul line. Darling, who was 7-of-13 from three-point range, also went 9-of-10 from the foul line.

“I was pretty annoyed,” Darling said about Towson’s shots. “‘Rhy’ was like, ‘Can we just get a stop and get out here?’

“But sometimes when teams are in desperation mode they hit tough shots. … We’ve had experience and we’re confident.”

DOVER — A former FedEx manager in Delaware is facing up to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to stealing and reselling merchandise being shipped by the company.

Joseph Kukta, 43, of Laurel, pleaded guilty Thursday to federal charges of interstate transportation of stolen goods and tax evasion. A federal judge in Baltimore scheduled his sentencing for June 18.

Kukta worked as a senior manager at the FedEx facility in Seaford from 2007 through July 2019. The facility handles all FedEx ground and home delivery packages passing through the Delmarva peninsula.

Kukta admitted that from 2009 through June 2019, he stole packages being shipped via FedEx and resold the items to a person currently living in Colorado at roughly half their retail price.

Prosecutors said Kukta then transported the stolen items, using his vehicles and trailers, to the Colorado resident’s father, living in Maryland. From 2012 through 2019, the Colorado resident made 275 payments to Kukta totaling more than $1.8 million for stolen merchandise worth about $3.6 million, authorities said.

Kukta also admitted that he evaded paying more than $660,000 in income taxes on the proceeds of the scheme. To conceal the income, he provided false information to two banks when questioned why he was receiving money from a company controlled by the Colorado resident, telling bank representatives he had been selling items from his father’s estate.

According to his plea agreement, Kukta stole packages containing bulk retail goods and merchandise shipped by suppliers including Sony, Panasonic, Apple and others, that were intended for delivery to a Walmart distribution center in Smyrna.

Authorities said Kukta selected specific packages that he believed contained high-end electronics or other merchandise of value that could be easily resold. In 2018, he also began to steal packages from FedEx trailers intended for delivery to a Nike store in Rehoboth Beach.

Kukta would steal the packages on Sundays, holidays, or other times when employees were not at the Seaford facility, having previously identified which FedEx trailers to target, authorities said. Kukta attempted to avoid detection by turning off the lights at the facility and blocking surveillance cameras with cardboard boxes and other objects.

Prosecutors said Kukta loaded the stolen packages into his SUV or into vehicles operated by FedEx contractors, then stashed them at a rented storage unit in Seaford.

After learning that authorities had subpoenaed surveillance footage from the Seaford facility, Kukta retrieved the remaining stolen items in his storage unit and sold them at an auction house in Lincoln, authorities said.

DOVER — While there remains no cases of the 2019 coronavirus in Delaware, the Delaware Division of Public Health is still working closely with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and local healthcare providers to identify potential cases, officials said Friday.

Two individuals are being monitored in the state but they are not sick and exhibit no symptoms consistent with coronavirus, according to a release from DPH.

Symptoms of 2019-nCoV are most similar to lower respiratory infections with patients having fever, cough and shortness of breath. There is no specific antiviral treatment recommended for 2019-nCoV infection. Many individuals infected with 2019-nCoV recover with rest, drinking plenty of fluids, and taking over-the-counter medications to help relieve symptoms.

DPH will begin reporting the number of returning travelers being monitored, as well as patients under investigation, on its website by Monday, Feb. 10, according to a DPH press release. Numbers will be updated every Tuesday and Friday afterward.

If at any point laboratory testing confirms a case of 2019-nCoV in a Delaware resident, the available details and protective recommendations would be shared with both the affected parties and the public as quickly as possible, according to the release.

Officials said that risk is based on exposure, and only those individuals with recent travel to China or those who had contact with someone who recently traveled and is ill have an increased risk of becoming ill.

All travelers who are not sick or experiencing symptoms arriving from mainland China outside of Hubei Province will be monitored by DPH for symptoms for 14 days after their return.

Asian American/Pacific Islander individuals are at no higher risk of carrying the 2019 novel coronavirus than any other individual, the release stated.

“You are much more likely to become sick with a common cold virus or flu than to be diagnosed with the 2019 novel coronavirus,” DPH Director Dr. Karyl Rattay said in a prepared statement. “Since the start of the flu season, there have been nearly 3,000 diagnosed cases of flu and we just learned of the seventh flu death this season in Delaware. Our Delaware residents of Chinese descent are important members of our community and are not at an increased risk for spreading the coronavirus.”

Brad Richardson of Dover took this photo on Jan. 9 of C & D Canal with St Georges and William Roth Bridges.

DOVER — With the rise of online auto sales from sources such as Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace, the Delaware State Police Auto Theft Unit is receiving a rising number of consumer concerns from individuals who have purchased vehicles and have experienced problems with documents such as titles and ownership papers.

With this in mind, the Auto Theft Unit would like to inform the public of the following guidelines when dealing with possible “not so reputable” sellers.

They suggest to always make sure you know exactly who you’re dealing with, and make sure they have a title to the vehicle in their name. Ask to examine the title before any money exchanges hands.

Check the front and the back of the title, and make sure the VIN (vehicle identification number) of the vehicle exactly matches the title. Also, ensure the title has not been signed over to other persons already. If there’s other persons or businesses listed on the back, the title will not be able to be transferred to a new owner without additional documentation, if at all.

If the person you’re negotiating with states that he is “affiliated” with an auto dealer, you should be conducting all business with that person at that dealership. So called “street corner” deals and parking lot deals are a bad omen and should be avoided.

There are several on-line sources to check the history of any vehicle you are considering to purchase. One such source is www.NICB.org (National Insurance Crime Bureau). On their main page, at the lower left, is a section called “VinCheck.” There, you can enter the VIN of a vehicle and determine if it’s listed as “stolen” or if it’s been listed as a salvage vehicle.

This service is free to the public, but there are many others, such as “Carfax”, that charge a fee for a more detailed report. If you decide to make a purchase of a vehicle, make sure that you receive a properly endorsed title and a Bill of Sale that contains the following information, Date of purchase, the purchase price, the seller’s full name, address and telephone, your name and address and a full description of the vehicle including the VIN.

Both the seller and the purchaser should sign the bill of sale. If the seller cannot deliver a title to you at the time of transfer, Do not complete the purchase. Special note regarding salvage vehicles, as listed on the title/certificate.

There are many laws and state regulations regarding the re-titling of salvage vehicles. If the vehicle in question has already been repaired, it is most likely the current owner’s responsibility to obtain a new title to the vehicle before transfer to a new owner.

If you do decide to purchase a salvage vehicle that has not been repaired, then you are required to make the necessary repairs to the vehicle before you can obtain a new title to the vehicle, and the vehicle MUST be inspected by the DSP Auto Theft Unit PRIOR to the titling process. (See the DE DMV web page for salvage vehicle procedures)

Regarding trailers, make sure a VIN is clearly visible on the trailer. Most trailers will have a manufacturer’s label with pertinent data about the trailer, including the VIN. Make sure the owner has a title to the trailer in their name. If they do not, it is their responsibility to obtain a title prior to transfer, as it is unlawful to sell a vehicle without a title.

DOVER — At this time last season, the Delaware State University women’s basketball team was bringing up the rear in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

Fast forward one year and the Hornets are right in the thick of the MEAC race.

Delaware State heads to MEAC co-leader Norfolk State today only one game behind in the loss column for first place. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.

The Hornets are 5-2 in conference play (9-11) overall after winning just five MEAC games all of last season. The Hornets have already surpassed their season win total from a year ago, which was seven.

The turnaround, under second-year coach Dave Caputo, is thanks to a large roster reset over the summer as the Hornets gained 12 new players. Just current senior Lanayjah Ashe saw extended minutes with the squad last year.

“I’m pleased,” Caputo said. “These kids are working so hard man. They’ve been together for like four months. It’s 12 new kids and we had no summer together. So for them to do this, it’s all them. I’m not playing. It’s pretty special.”

While Caputo doesn’t think the Hornets are satisfied yet with where they are, he still can appreciate the journey so far.

“Me and my staff know, we went through a lot last year,” Caputo said. “It was tough. We were 5-11 in conference and won three late in the season at home. So at this point last year, heck, we were probably 4-16 with maybe one conference win.”

The MEAC race is shaping up to be a tight one.

Norfolk State and Bethune-Cookman are currently tied for first place at 7-1. The Hornets are one of three teams behind the pair who have two MEAC losses.

Both of Delaware State’s MEAC setbacks came to North Carolina A&T, which was selected No. 1 in the preseason poll. North Carolina A&T and Morgan State are the two other teams with two conference losses.

Delaware State does have the tiebreaker currently against Morgan State thanks to its head-to-head victory last month.

High-scoring hoopsters

Delaware’s Nate Darling and Wesley College’s Brian Cameron continue to be among the highest-scoring men’s basketball players in the country.

Darling has averaged 31.7 ppg in the last three contests for the Blue Hens, who take a five-game winning streak into today’s 2 p.m. CAA home game with James Madison. The 6-foot-5 junior guard has scored at last 27 points seven times this season.

Darling is 17th nationally in Division I at 20.6 ppg while his 75 three-pointers rank him fifth in Division I.

Cameron is third in Division III in scoring at a career-high 28.6 ppg. The 6-foot-3 senior guard needs 15 points to reach 2,200 for his career.

The Wolverines (7-1 AEC, 13-8 overall), who are tied for first place in the Atlantic East Conference, host Immaculata today at 3:30 p.m. Wesley has won 10 of its last 12 games.

Local transfer for DSU

Zach Kent, who began his basketball career at Caesar Rodney High, has come back home to Delaware State.

Now a 6-foot-11, 225-pounder, Kent was a mid-season transfer from Tennessee and will be eligible for the Hornets next season after the fall semester. The first Delawarean signed by the Vols, the Magnolia native only got in two college games after missing last season with a knee injury.

After leaving CR, Kent played at both St. Andrews and Blair Academy, N.J. He had a good deal of major-college interest.

Notes

• Dover senior basketball guard Elijah Allen posted on social media that he received a scholarship offer from Delaware State.

• Thomas Aloe, a Caesar Rodney High product, is one of three co-captains for the Delaware men’s lacrosse team along with Matt DeLuca
and Jake Hervada. The Blue Hens open their season at noon today, hosting Mount St. Mary’s.

• Former Smyrna High basketball standout Caleb Matthews, who was a freshman at NJIT, has transferred to Wilmington University.

• A pair of Henlopen Conference football players signed with Division II schools in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference this
week. Masen Wilson of Smyrna signed with Kutztown while D.J. Rawley of Polytech signed with Clarion.

• Sydney Hollinger of Cape Henlopen committed to Wichita State for bowling last week.

• Former Wesley College quarterback Joe Callahan will start the XFL season on the fledgling league’s ‘Team Nine’ roster. Team Nine is a 40-player squad that will keep practicing to have replacement players ready for any of the XFL’s eight teams.

• Delaware is also expected to add Middletown High grad Tamar Teagle, a defensive back who spent last year at VMI, to its football roster.

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has ousted Gordon Sondland, his ambassador to the European Union, who delivered damaging testimony during the impeachment inquiry. Sondland said in a statement Friday that Trump intends to recall him effectively immediately. The action came just hours after Alexander Vindman, the decorated soldier and national security aide who played a central role in the impeachment case, was escorted out of the White House complex.

The decorated soldier and national security aide who played a central role in the Democrats’ impeachment case against President Donald Trump was escorted out of the White House complex on Friday, according to his lawyer, who said he was asked to leave in retaliation for “telling the truth.”

“The truth has cost Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman his job, his career, and his privacy,” David Pressman, an attorney for Vindman, said in a statement.

The Army said in a statement that Vindman and his twin brother, Lt. Col. Yevgeny Vindman, who also was asked to leave his job as a White House lawyer on Friday, have been reassigned to the Army.

Alexander Vindman’s lawyer issued a one-page statement that accused Trump of taking revenge on his client.

“He did what any member of our military is charged with doing every day: he followed orders, he obeyed his oath, and he served his country, even when doing so was fraught with danger and personal peril,” Pressman said. “And for that, the most powerful man in the world — buoyed by the silent, the pliable, and the complicit — has decided to exact revenge.”

The White House did not respond to Pressman’s accusation.

“We do not comment on personnel matters,” said John Ullyot, spokesman for the National Security Council, the foreign policy arm of the White House where Vindman was an expert on Ukraine.

Vindman’s status had been uncertain since he testified that he didn’t think it was “proper” for Trump to “demand that a foreign government investigate” former Vice President Joe Biden and his son’s dealings with the energy company Burisma in Ukraine. Vindman’s ouster, however, seemed imminent after Trump mocked him Thursday during his post-acquittal celebration with Republican supporters in the East Room and said Friday that he was not happy with him.

“I’m not happy with him,” Trump told reporters on the South Lawn of the White House. “You think I’m supposed to be happy with him? I’m not. … They are going to be making that decision.”

Vindman, a 20-year Army veteran, wore his uniform full of medals, including a purple heart, when he appeared late last year for what turned out to be a testy televised impeachment hearing. Trump supporters raised questions about the Soviet Jewish immigrant’s allegiance to the United States and noted that he had received offers to work for the government of Ukraine — offers Vindman said he swiftly dismissed.

“I am an American,” he stated emphatically.

Trump backers cheered Vindman’s removal, while Democrats were aghast.

“The White House is running a two for one special today on deep state leakers,” Rep. Paul Gosar, an Arizona Republican, wrote on Twitter.

A Twitter account used by the president’s reelection campaign, @TrumpWarRoom, claimed Vindman leaked information to the whistleblower, whose complaint about Trump’s call ignited the investigation, and “colluded with Democrats to start the partisan impeachment coup.”

Former Trump NSC official Tim Morrison testified that others had brought concerns that Vindman may have leaked something. Vindman, in his own congressional testimony, denied leaking any information.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the firing was another example of how the “White House runs away from the truth.”

“Lt. Col. Vindman lived up to his oath to protect and defend our Constitution,” Schumer said in a statement. “This action is not a sign of strength. It only shows President Trump’s weakness.”

Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, recalled how Vindman in testimony before the House impeachment panel said that he reassured his worried father that would be “fine for telling the truth.”

“It’s appalling that this administration may prove him wrong,” Clinton said in a tweet.

At last fall’s hearing, when the senior Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Devin Nunes, addressed him as “Mr. Vindman,” the Iraq War veteran replied: “Ranking member, it’s Lt. Col. Vindman please.”

Defense Secretary Mark Esper was asked what the Pentagon would do to ensure that Vindman faces no retribution. “We protect all of our service members from retribution or anything like that,” Esper said. “We’ve already addressed that in policy and other means.”

Alexander Vindman is scheduled to enter a military college in Washington, D.C., this summer, and his brother is to be assigned to the Army General Counsel’s Office, according to two officials who were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and so spoke on condition of anonymity.

Pressman said Vindman was among a handful of men and women who courageously “put their faith in country ahead of fear” but have “paid a price.”

“There is no question in the mind of any American why this man’s job is over, why this country now has one less soldier serving it at the White House,” Pressman said. “Lt. Col. Vindman was asked to leave for telling the truth. His honor, his commitment to right, frightened the powerful.”