Dewey lifeguards, police adapt to summer staff exodus

With Dewey Beach seasonal employees returning to college, town leaders are navigating the staffing exodus with adaptive measures.

Fresh from a first-place victory in the United States Lifesaving Association’s National Lifeguard Championships, Beach Patrol Captain Todd Fritchman told commissioners at their Aug. 16 monthly meeting that he is contending with a mass of students returning to school while summer is in its prime. 

Stands may not be placed right at each beach crossing as people are used to, Fritchman said. They may be offset to create observation zones equally distributed along the beach, he said, an adaptive method that will be used for the remainder of the guarded season.

Fritchman also asked for help from commissioners. He said he has noticed an uptick in people parking and locking their bicycles at beach crossings. The number of bikes can clog the egress, creating a hazard and making it difficult for emergency responders to get through.

Further, he said, small children are naturally attracted to the bikes and stick their fingers into the gears. Frichtman recommended commissioners prohibit bicycle parking on the beach egress, and renewed his request that commissioners also give lifeguards authority to prohibit activities that pose a danger to the public. 

Beaches will be guarded from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Labor Day Monday, Sept. 2. After the meeting, Town Manager Bill Zolper said if enough lifeguards are available, they may work for a few days after the weekend, but not at all after Sunday, Sept. 8.

“And that’s only if we have enough guards,” he said.

Police Chief Constance Speake said many seasonal officers are starting to return to college, but she hired one as a full-time officer who will head to the Delaware State Police Academy this fall with three other seasonal officers. The last day for most summer officers will be Sunday, Sept. 1, she said.

Speake also shared July statistics. The department recorded 902 calls for service, 35 criminal arrests, 267 traffic citations, 461 traffic enforcement hours, 16 vehicle accidents, 76 civil citations and 111 parking tickets. 

June bugs are here for the whole month now, not just a week, she said, noting citations for underage possession and consumption went from 15 in May to 81 in June and seven in July.

Regarding civil citations for urinating in public, she said officers recorded 11 in May, 35 in June and 57 in July.

“So July is our biggest month for the urinators,” she said.