Bethany Beach News

On Friday, Feb. 8, the Indian River Life Saving Station will be offering a unique way to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

Delaware Department of Transportation officials, community leaders and state legislators gathered in Millville on Jan. 29 for the second Route 26 Working Group meeting ahead of construction of the Route 26 Mainline Improvements project. Even DelDOT Secretary Shailen Bhatt attended.

Bethany Beach officials are moving expediently on a request from developer Jack Burbage to clear the way over some zoning hurdles that could keep him from transforming the Bethany Arms motel into a beachfront Marriott or Hilton hotel.

Bethany Beach will be adding a third trolley to its fleet of summertime transportation this summer, with the approval by the town council this week of a contract to purchase the third trolley for $166,917. The third trolley isn’t planned for use simultaneously with the existing two trolleys, but it will help keep two trolleys in service at all times.

Addressing issues raised in a Board of Adjustments hearing last month, Bethany Beach Planning Commission members on Jan. 9 worked to develop an improved definition of an “accessory structure,” aiming to make it entirely clear in the town code what constitutes an attached garage and what does not.

Melissa King, a 2012 Indian River High School graduate who lives in the Bethany Beach area, was recently crowned Miss Delaware Teen USA 2013. King will represent Delaware in the Miss Teen USA contest in July, with her platform of “Finding the Balance.”

A high wind warning has been issued by the National Weather Service for 7 p.m. Wednesday evening to 4 a.m. Thursday. Winds are predicted to be from the south at 25 to 35 mph, with gusts up to 55 mph.

The strongest winds are expected between 10 p.m. Wednesday and 4 a.m. Thursday, just ahead of a cold front crossing Delaware and southern New Jersey.

The Indian River School District's public referendum meeting originally scheduled for Jan. 24 has been postponed due to inclemenent weather. It has been rescheduled for Monday, Jan. 28, at 7 p.m. at East Millsboro Elementary School.

District officials will give a presentation outlining the various referendum initiatives and the public will have the opportunity to ask questions.

For the fourth year in a row, Beebe Medical Center has received the Healthgrades Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence. Beebe is the only hospital on Delmarva to receive the award four years running, and the distinction puts them in the top 5 percent of hospitals nationwide.

Same-sex marriage? Check. Gun control? Check. IRSD referendum? Check.

On the cold, rainy afternoon of Jan. 18, about 40 emergency responders geared up at Ocean View Police Department to prepare for an event they hope never happens. They were finishing a two-day seminar on managing casualties in a large-scale emergency.

Many people may know her as the “Bandstand Lady,” but Gloria Farrar is much, much more than that. And after more than a dozen years with the Town of Bethany Beach as its entertainment director, she said she has decided to pass the baton on to someone else.

Efforts to enhance business and year-round activity in downtown Bethany Beach have been expanded in recent years, with new events and town officials working with downtown business owners to encourage people to come downtown, shop downtown and eat downtown, year-round. Now, they could be adding an option for more people to stay downtown, too.

For high school students looking to improve their SAT scores, an SAT practice diagnostic test might be just the ticket.

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Watch for Thursday afternoon through late Thursday night, Jan. 17, projecting snow accumulations of between 2 and 6 inches.

Delaware State Police detectives have arrested four suspects in a home-invasion robbery that occurred in Plantation Park near Frankford on Thursday evening.

Looking for a way to get more involved in the community? The Bethany Beach Volunteer Fire Company is always seeking new people who have a personal desire to serve in a challenging, meaningful way, and an upcoming open house will give the public an opportunity to explore what they can do to help.

The 17th annual Leo Brady Exercise like the Eskimos will be held in Bethany Beach on Tuesday, Jan. 1.

The AARP’s South Coastal Chapter 5226 held their December luncheon meeting at Cripple Creek Golf & Country Club last week and gave donations to several local organizations, including Meals on Wheels, the South Coastal Library, the Millville Volunteer Fire Company EMS and the American Red Cross of the Delmarva Peninsula, to name a few.

St. Martha’s Episcopal Church in Bethany Beach will be getting a makeover soon, with demolition of their 1,200-square-foot vicarage and its replacement with a 5,400-square-foot social hall, kitchen, nursery and offices.