Bethany Beach News

With a contract for the design and construction of the new Indian River Inlet Bridge expected to be awarded in July, Skanska USA Civil Southeast Inc. is the apparent winning design-build team for the project, which could start construction in early fall, to carry traffic no later than December 2011.

The skies over coastal Delaware will light up over the Fourth of July holiday weekend with a variety of pyrotechnics displays.

But not all of them will be legal.

What better way to celebrate Independence Day than with the charm of a small-town parade? In the Bethany Beach area, parade lovers have the opportunity to attend two! In addition to the traditional downtown Bethany Beach parade, the Ocean View community of Bear Trap will celebrate the Fourth of July in style with a parade of its own.

Diversify. Diversify. Diversify. As any investor will say, that’s the key to success. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket and don’t have just one basket. For Ken Lloyd of Ken Lloyd Builders, his new basket is a crane.

For Steven and Jenn Geib of Connecticut, coming to Bethany Beach to celebrate the Fourth of July with their three children and extended family is something they look forward to all year long. They get to see the parade, fireworks and, most importantly, family. And this year is no different.

Troopers seek information on suspect

The Delaware State Police mid-week were investigating a robbery that occurred Monday, June 30, about10:15 p.m., after a person imposing as a police officer allegedly stopped a motorist and took their wallet.

With a contract for the design and construction of the new Indian River Inlet Bridge expected to be awarded in July, Skanska USA Civil Southeast Inc. is the apparent winning design-build team for the project, which could start construction in early fall, to carry traffic no later than December 2011.

It had become somewhat doubtful over the past year that Delaware would ever have an offshore wind farm. But, in a compromise reached this week, it appears the wind park could be built about 12 miles off the coast of Rehoboth Beach by 2012.

Life in Bethany Beach is nearly back to normal after the May 12 nor’easter that severely damaged the town’s new dune and stripped away a widened stretch of beach. Town Manager Cliff Graviet reported at the town’s June 20 council meeting that work to restore the hard-packed dune crossings was to begin on June 23, after getting a go-ahead from the U.S.

Bethany Beach Town Council members met for a workshop on Monday, June 23, aiming to review proposed changes to the town’s zoning code and to decide whether to continue holding their workshop meetings.

Dan Costello and Gene Jordin, market masters for the Bethany Beach Farmers’ Market, are looking forward to the market’s 2008 season with their new logo and slogan, “Our growers, Our neighbors.” The two friends, who are also neighbors, got involved last year, when the market was in its infancy.

Late spring and early summer thunderstorms have brought a bevy of rain to the area, causing lawns to explode with growth and grass to grow well higher than a grasshopper’s eye. For some area property owners, that has meant extra time spent mowing their lawns. For others, it has meant letters from town hall, official citations, fines and even expensive mowing fees.

The winds of change may soon be sweeping through Delaware with renewed force.

On Monday, June 23, the powers behind the offshore wind farm - Delmarva Power and Babcock & Brown - announced they had reached an agreement.

Turnout at Bethany Beach Town Hall on Friday, June 13, somewhat resembled a church meeting, with a capacity crowd of members of St. Martha’s Episcopal Church that pushed the meeting from an upstairs meeting room to the main town hall meeting room.

For Barbara Farrell of Ocean View, the Ocean View Police Department’s Senior Check-in Program is one of the best things about living near the beach.

“I’m a widow and I’m here by myself. And just knowing that they’re looking out for me, I’m not afraid to be here. I really can’t say enough about it,” she said about the program.

Author Wendy Ulmer is no stranger to local shores.

“We’ve been coming down since I was a little kid. I grew up in Pennsylvania and my parents brought us down to Dewey Beach for many, many years,” she said this week.

In the wake of flooding that left many Bethany Beach homeowners with swimming pools for yards during and immediately after the May 12 nor’easter, U.S. Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) arrived in the town May 29 to see how well the town had recovered from damage to its newly reconstructed beach and from the extensive flooding.

Contractors for a Cause and the Justin W. Jennings Foundation will welcome summer with a sold-out crowd at their 4th annual Gala and Auction on Friday, June 20, at 7 p.m. at Cripple Creek Golf and Country Club in Dagsboro. The fundraiser is aimed at helping to build Justin’s Beach House, which will be made available to families affected by cancer.

This year’s Ecumenical Vacation Bible School (EVBS) will be called “Rainforest Adventure” and will be held at Mariner’s Bethel United Methodist Church in Ocean View, at Route 26 and Central Avenue, from Monday, June 16, to Friday, June 20, from 9 to 11:30 a.m. each day.

Last week, the Bethany-Fenwick Chamber of Commerce and U.S. Sen. Tom Carper welcomed back Lance Cpl. Jonathan Steele of Selbyville, a Marine deployed to Iraq last October. The Chamber, with support from Carper, sponsored Operation Thank You, a project that ran between Veteran’s Day and Thanksgiving, collecting items for care packages that were sent to military personnel deployed overseas.