Dining with Progressives meets March 21
Dining with Progressives dinner and town hall meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m., Sunday, March 21, at Fish On in the Villages of Five Points. Ed Lewandowski, executive director of the Center for the Inland Bays, will moderate the meeting and discuss the responsibilities of federal, state and local agencies in restoring and protecting the Inland Bays. Lewandowski will also talk about regulations he believes are needed to protect and improve the Inland Bays, wetlands and waterways of Sussex County. Dining with Progressives provides a nonpartisan forum for civil and open discussion and welcomes all interested individuals. Those planning to attend are asked to RSVP to jcabry@gmail.com or call Joanne Cabry at 226-5019.

Water committee to meet March 24
The Source Water Protection Citizens and Technical Advisory Committee of the Source Water Assessment and Protection Program will meet from 9 a.m. to noon, Wednesday, March 24, in Conference Room 220 A and B in the Kent County Administrative Offices on Bay Road in Dover. The agenda includes a program updates on the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Source Water Assessment and Protection Program, the drinking water state revolving fund, groundwater availability in Sussex County, U.S. Geological Survey samplings of public wells in the unconfined aquifer and the Christina basin pollution control strategy. For more information, contact John Barndt at 302-739-9945.

Horseshoe crab survey training dates set
The Delaware National Estuarine Research Reserve wants volunteers to help with this year’s horseshoe crab survey at the Ted Harvey Wildlife Area, Kitts Hummock and North Bowers beaches. Training will be at St. Jones Reserve, 818 Kitts Hummock Road, Dover, from 10 a.m. to noon, Saturday, April 10, and 6 to 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 28. Counts begin Wednesday, May 12, and continue through the end of June. To register, contact Kimberly Cole at 302-739-3436.

Delaware records seventh H1N1 death
The Delaware Division of Public Health has reported the state’s seventh H1N1-related death Sunday, March 7. A 47-year-old Kent County man was hospitalized Feb. 8, and he tested positive for H1N1 Feb. 19. The man had several underlying health conditions. For more information, visit flu.delaware.gov.

Dewey to discuss towing contracts
Dewey Beach commissioners are expected to discuss contracts for towing and for beach concessions during a town meeting at 9 a.m., Saturday, March 13. Also on the agenda are an election resolution, a resolution to ratify committees, a proposal on professional services and other matters. The meeting will be at the Lifesaving Station on Dagsworthy Avenue.

Council to vote on Plantation Road project
Sussex County Council is back from its winter break. A vote on a conditional-use application for offices on 4.7 acres at the intersection of Plantation and Cedar Grove roads is on the Tuesday, March 16 agenda. Residents from neighboring developments, including Sandy Brae, Plantations East and Aydelotte Estates, have been lobbying council members to deny the application. Developer Todd Bariglio has plans to build two, 22,500-square-foot buildings on the parcel, a proposal approved by the county’s planning and zoning commission. Council meetings are at 10 a.m., in the county administration building on The Circle in Georgetown.

Sussex officials serious about collections
Sussex County’s amnesty program is bringing new cash into county coffers. Since the program began, the county has collected more than $192,000 in delinquent school and county property taxes on 520 accounts. About $8 million - $6 million to Sussex school districts - is still outstanding. The county has collected more than $296,000 in delinquent sewer and water district billings. The programs allow for a 50 percent reduction in accrued interest and penalty charges. County Council President Vance Phillips, R-Laurel, said county administration should be prepared for the next phase of the program and put serious collections measures into place. “Following the amnesty program, we need to ratchet up collections,” he said. He also suggested the top 10 or 20 tax delinquent names be published on the county’s website.

Bus plan requires early start at Cape
A plan to remedy long rides on overcrowded school buses would alleviate those problems by starting and releasing Cape Henlopen High School 15 minutes early. Cape business director Oliver Gumbs said the state is not offering funding for new bus routes. District office staff recommended the school board approve starting the high school day early by dropping high school students off first, then sending 14 buses out to pick up elementary and middle school students. The plan would spare elementary and middle schools from changing start times, Gumbs said, and the new times would benefit high school athletes, because they would miss less instructional time at the end of the day when they have competitions.

OSHA cites Allen Family Foods
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited the Allen Family Foods Inc. poultry processing facility in Harbeson for exposing workers to a variety of workplace safety hazards. Proposed penalties total $182,200. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) initiated an investigation Sept. 9, in response to a referral made by Maryland Occupational Safety and Health after numerous serious and willful violations were issued at a similar processing facility in Maryland. OSHA has cited the company with 45 serious violations and proposed a penalty of $182,000, and two other-than-serious violations with a proposed penalty of $200. The serious violations address hazards with industrial trucks, falls, personal protective equipment, machine guarding, electrical hazards, process safety management, respirators and emergency response. OSHA issues a serious citation when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result and the employer knew, or should have known, of the hazard. The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the citations and proposed penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. For more information about OSHA, visit osha.gov.

County to auction vehicles March 13
Sussex County will hold an in-house auction of surplus vehicles and other equipment Saturday, March 13, in the parking lot of the Sussex County Emergency Operations Center. Prospective buyers can begin inspecting vehicles at 10 a.m. that day. The auction will follow at noon. Twelve automobiles and several diesel generators will be for sale. Only cash payment will be accepted. Proceeds from the auction will go directly to the county government. Anyone from the public is invited to bid, but the auction is closed to county employees. For more information, contact Deputy County Administrator Harold Godwin at 854-5060 or hgodwin@sussexcountyde.gov.

Recycling council to meet March 17
The Recycling Public Advisory Council will discuss recycling legislation when it meets from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., Wednesday, March 17, at the Delaware Department of Transportation Administration Building, 800 Bay Road, Dover.
For more information, call 302-739-9403.

Donahue nominated for leadership program
Newly appointed Cape Henlopen High School Principal Brian Donahue has been nominated for a Delaware school-improvement program, said Robert Fulton, Cape director of secondary education. Run through the University of Delaware by the Delaware Academy for School Leadership, the program trains administrators in leading change, using data to improve student achievement, making productive school structures and developing instructional capacity, Fulton said. Fulton said the district would learn if Donahue was accepted into the program by the end of March. He said Donahue’s track record of improvements at Mariner Middle School, where he is currently principal, was a key qualification.

Fatal crash yields five-year sentence
A Georgetown man charged in the crash that killed Milton resident Henry “Hank” Huff was sentenced to five years in prison. Judge Richard Stokes delivered the sentence Feb. 26, almost a year after the Feb. 20, 2009 crash. Officials said James K. Harrington was high on PCP and driving at a high rate of speed when he hit Huff’s Chevy Silverado on Sand Hill Road. Harrington pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide, driving under the influence and other charges. In an October 2009 email, Huff’s niece Shelby Stevens said her family still struggles to forgive Harrington. “I cannot understand the lack of concern in a person who should certainly know better, and nothing makes his actions excusable,” she wrote. “I will always miss Hank, but holding grudges only makes us all suffer.”

Dewey group picks ECI for Bayard project
Dewey Beach Infrastructure Committee Chairman Rick Judge said his group will recommend Engineering Consultants International to produce the design for a project to alleviate flooding on Bayard Avenue. Judge said the Rehoboth Beach firm competed against five other firms to win the committee’s recommendation. He said all had excellent proposals, but Engineering Consultants International (ECI) was the clear winner. Town council will review the committee’s recommendation at the Saturday, March 13 meeting. ECI project leader Mike Cotten said his firm has worked on several flooding and drainage projects, making his company an ideal choice for the Bayard Avenue project. “We have a reputation of getting things done,” Cotten said. “We look forward to working with Dewey to the best of our abilities – if they so choose.”

Dewey citizens help police buy van
Two Dewey Beach citizens have donated money to help town police buy a new prisoner transport van. Police Chief Sam Mackert said Robert Mcneil and his wife donated $2,000. James Goodwill donated $100. Mackert said the cost of the van was partially covered by funds from the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act. The donations cover the remaining cost, he said.

Thomas, LaPorte to stay on Lewes CARC
Lewes Mayor Jim Ford said Christine Thomas and Rusty LaPorte will continue serving on the Lewes Commercial Architectural Review Committee. Their terms had expired, but Ford announced Feb. 18 that the two will resume their roles.

Website keeps progress reports on turbines
Construction is about to begin on a 2-megawatt land-based wind turbine at the University of Delaware College of Earth, Ocean and Environment campus in Lewes. The public can follow its progress at www.ceoe.udel.edu/wind. The site provides background on the project, a detailed timeline, updated news and events, and images of the turbine’s installation once construction begins in early March. The turbine is expected to be in operation and generating electricity in April.

Rehoboth planners to discuss Oak Grove
The Rehoboth Beach Planning Commission will once again take up a major subdivision application for Oak Grove Motor Court, 43 Canal St. The owner, Oak Grove Motor Court Inc., is looking to divide the property into 15 lots ranging from 5,015 square feet to 7,381 square feet. The commission will review, discuss and possibly vote to set a public hearing on the major subdivision. The commission will also discuss the status of the city commissioners’ review of the final draft of the comprehensive development plan.

River deepening contract awarded
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has awarded a $24 million contract to Norfolk Dredging Co. to deepen a stretch of the Delaware River shipping channel from 40 feet to 45 feet. Deepening the stretch between Wilmington and the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal will begin after Feb. 26, said corps spokesman Ed Voigt. That date was set as part of a recent federal court ruling. Voigt said the corps had until Saturday, March 13, to exercise its option for deepening with Norfolk Dredging, which is performing maintenance dredging on the shipping channel.