Bethany Beach

Citizens of Bethany Beach will have an opportunity to meet and catch up with their representatives on the town council this week, as the Town hosts its first-ever “Coffee with the Council” on Monday, Nov. 14, from 9 to 10 a.m. at the town hall.

Those looking to combine a chance to enjoy the sights and sounds of the area’s natural wonders and get some exercise at the same time may want to consider signing up for the 9th Annual Mariner’s Bethel Trail Run at Camp Barnes and the Assawoman Wildlife Refuge on Sunday, Nov. 13.

Dressed in hardhats, gloves and reflective vests, a group of 20 civilians crossed the new Indian River Inlet Bridge, from end to end, for the first time. They grinned as a DelDOT tour guide led them across the newly completed 10-foot closure pour, which connected the two halves of the new bridge. Motorists had become accustomed to seeing the incomplete north and south sections move closer together until Oct. 18, when the closure pour was completed.

At the end of the month, artists participating in the annual SouthEastern Delaware Artists Studio Tour (SEDAST) will be opening the doors of their homes and studios to guests, displaying their workspaces and works of art. From painters and photographers to sculptors, woodworkers, jewelers and blacksmiths, artists will represent a wide range of media, all while reaching out to the next generation of artists.

On Wednesday, Nov. 9, Delaware will join all other states in conducting the first nationwide Emergency Alert System (EAS) test. At 2 p.m., radio, television and cable stations will broadcast the familiar alert warning sound. Following the alert sound, the recorded message on broadcast media will state, “This is a test.” The audio message will be the same for both radio and television.

The Blue Jupiter musicians don’t need any instruments. Their voices do all the work.

The SouthEastern Delaware Artists Studio Tour (SEDAST) will be returning to Sussex County late next month, as more than a dozen artists open the doors to their homes and galleries to the public.

Delaware’s Department of Transportation has announced that beginning this evening, Wednesday, Nov. 2, there will be a shift in traffic patterns on Route 1 just north of the Indian River Inlet Bridge. The shift will be implemented to ensure continued road safety due to dune erosion adjacent to the northbound lanes, they said.

Both the northbound and southbound lanes of Route 1, near the Indian River Inlet will close at approximately 9 p.m. tonight, due to high storm tides, report  officials from the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT).

Property owners with homes along the Assawoman Canal have continued to express their concerns and opposition to the proposed development of a public pedestrian and bike trail along the banks of the canal, and a public hearing on Monday, Oct. 17, in Bethany Beach was no exception.

Bethany Beach’s new Halloween festival is for the whole family, and Fido, too. The first annual Wags, Witches & Warlocks festival is a daylong, town-wide event for people and pets set for Sunday, Oct. 30, (rescheduled from Saturday, Oct. 29, due to impending inclement weather).

It’s been 150 years since President Abraham Lincoln took office, causing 11 states to secede from the United States and triggering a war as American as apple pie.

While AT&T appeals a Sussex County Board of Adjustments decision not to permit a cellular antenna tower on a parcel just south of Bethany Beach town limits, and as a temporary tower remains on the site pending that appeal, the company has asked the Bethany Beach Town Council to consider allowing it to install its antennas on the town’s water standpipe off Collins Street.

It’s getting a lot harder for people driving across the Indian River Inlet Bridge to see through the gap between north and south sides of the new bridge as they drive past, with the time for the final concrete pour of the project nearing and just 10 feet of space remaining between the two cantilevered portions of the bridge deck.

Those in Bethany Beach heard a lot of car honking on Tuesday afternoon, in response to Delaware’s own Wall Street demonstrators. Displaying signs at the corner of Route 26 and Coastal Highway, the organized demonstration elicited many honks and thumbs-up from 3 to 5 p.m. in the otherwise Quiet Resorts.

The Bethany Beach Volunteer Fire Department responded to a call about a possible person in the surf on Monday, Oct. 10, about 4:22 p.m., in the area off of Tower Shores, just south of the Indian River Inlet. But during a search conducted with other fire companies and state agencies on Monday, nothing was found.

Last September marked the 10-year anniversary of the passing of Justin Jennings, but it marked a new beginning for a selfless organization. The Justin W. Jennings Foundation, which was started by Justin’s parents, Craig and Mary Ellen Nantais, has become a strong force in Bethany Beach and the surrounding community.

There is still much planning before the Assawoman Canal Trail can be built – and many concerns to overcome. More than 100 people attended a public meeting on Sept. 30 to review the Assawoman Canal Trail concept plan, which has been in development since 2009.

The third annual Artisan’s Festival will be held Saturday, Oct. 8, at the Bethany Beach Volunteer Fire Company’s fire hall, rain or shine. The indoor/outdoor event will feature many local artists who work in media ranging from copper, sea glass, pottery and jewelry to furniture painting, soap, clothing, knitting, crocheting and more.

On Sept. 22, the Bethany-Fenwick Chamber of Commerce held its annual Member Celebration & Awards Ceremony, and at the ceremony, Patti Grimes, executive director of the Carl M. Freeman and Joshua M. Freeman Foundation, received the Chamber’s Lighthouse Award.

Anyone having some trouble making ends meet can find some relief every Thursday at Mariner’s Bethel United Methodist Church, thanks to the new Feed My Sheep soup ministry. The weekly soup kitchen will serve a free lunch to anyone from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursdays at the church in Ocean View.

What is the state of the Delaware inland bays for 2011? According to Deputy Director of the Center for Inland Bays Chris Bason, who authored the report that was released last week, it’s a toss-up. While the amount of nutrients entering the inland bays has decreased, the concentrations of nutrients showing up in bay waters do not show significant changes.

Residents of nearby communities expressed their objections on Sept. 27 to the proposed rezoning of a 2.38-acre parcel of land at the intersection of Cedar Neck and Fred Hudson Roads near Ocean View from MR-Medium Density Residential to B-1 Neighborhood Business as the matter came before the Sussex County Council for consideration.

After two years of planning, the Assawoman Canal Trail Concept Plan is ready for another round of public discussion.

A committee of local citizens and officials partnered with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) in early 2009 to gauge public interest and develop plans for a pedestrian and bike path along the Assawoman Canal.

Lewes may be the first town in the First State, but as far as town staffs go, Bethany Beach is on top this year, with the selection of Town Manager Cliff Graviet as Town Manager of the Year and Town Clerk Lisa Kail as Town Clerk of the Year for the Delaware League of Local Governments (DLLG). The pair were presented with their awards at an event on Sept. 25 in Dover, which was attended by the entire town council.

When I heard that a Greek restaurant was opening in the Sea Colony shopping center in Bethany Beach, I quickly invited a friend for lunch. Sneak that I am, while our waitress, Eleni, was in the kitchen, I polled a nearby table of three couples for their opinion of the food. It was thumbs-up all around. And it turns out that Eleni is the daughter of the restaurant’s owners, Pete and Noula Panagakos.

Bethany Beach officials could be considering possible changes to town code regarding fences, signage for non-conforming commercial uses and limits on the size of homes in coming weeks, as the town’s Planning Commission asks for the council’s approval for continued work to draft related ordinances.

With results in the Sept. 10 town council elections in Bethany Beach now official, council members on Sept. 20 held their annual reorganizational meeting and selected the council’s officers for the coming year. Tony McClenny will remain mayor, while Jack Gordon and Jerry Dorfman will remain vice-mayor and secretary/treasurer, respectively. Each of the council members was the only nominee for their respective position this year.

Cyclists are hitting the roads this weekend across Delaware’s Kent and Sussex counties in the annual Bike MS: Bike to the Bay, in effort to fund research and treatment for those suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS).

The Make-A-Wish Foundation Triathlon will return to Sea Colony near Bethany Beach this weekend, on Saturday, Sept. 24. The triathlon event boasts a 1.5K swim, 41K bike ride and 10K run, and for the first time, hosts an AquaVelo option, which includes just the cycling and swimming legs of the race, for athletes who prefer not to run.