South Bethany News

See a slideshow of the damage to Bethany Beach’s dune and shoreline

Local and county officials had already warned residents and emergency services staffs that the impact of a nor’easter that roiled off the Atlantic Coast of Delaware starting last Thursday afternoon was likely to be significant. But as the weekend wore on, two separate storms and astronomical high tide combined to damage beaches, break trees and cause flooding throughout the area.

During the week of October 19, letters and consent forms will be sent to the parents of every Indian River School District student in Grades K-12.

Delaware Department of Transportation officials announced Friday, Oct. 16, that the open house and site tour planned for the Indian River Inlet Bridge project on Saturday, Oct. 17, from 1 to 4 p.m., was being postponed until a future date that would be announced.

A Coastal Flood Advisory, Wind Advisory and Coastal Flood Watch have been issued for the Delaware beach area and inland Sussex County by the National Weather Service in Mount Holly, N.J. They are as follows:

State Police and local law enforcement said Tuesday, Oct. 6, that they were receiving numerous calls concerning an Amber Alert involving a 3-year-old boy or an infant that was abducted from a Sussex County hospital. Police say that alert is a hoax.

South Bethany residents and officials gathered, along with area dignitaries, at the town hall on Saturday, Sept. 26, to slightly belatedly celebrate a momentous event — the town’s 40th anniversary.

The 2009 Coastal Cleanup will officially kick-off this Saturday, Sept. 19. Delaware’s Coastal Cleanup is part of the Ocean Conservatory’s International Coastal Cleanup. Regionally, participants will be cleaning up 47 Delaware sites, plus 10 sites in Maryland and four sites in New Jersey, combing the beaches for debris that is harmful to marine life, a degradation of area beaches and just plain ugly.

There was a little confusion about Ordinance 150-09 at South Bethany’s monthly council meeting, held last Friday. The proposed ordinance, 150-09, Chapter 145, Zoning, Article IV, is titled “General Provisions” and would add § 145-14.3, “Covering allowed in setback area” to address impervious surfaces in lots’ setback areas.

Coastal flood advisory remains in effect until 9 p.m. this evening

Shortly after 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 12, Delaware State Police Troop 7 troopers and Dewey Beach patrol officers were dispatched to the Delaware Bay in the area of Tower Road near Dewey Beach for reports of a plane crash. Police said single-engine Super Cub had been flying in mid-air when the engine shut down. They said the pilot and lone occupant, Thomas J.

South Bethany has dredged its canals to improve navigability, briefly added water jets to try to improve water flow and considered a multi-million-dollar tidal pump project that would flush the stagnant waters to the sea, but the latest idea to improve water quality in the canals is literally full of air.

For those interested in sharing their views on the proposed Assawoman Canal Pathway project, the first of several informational meetings will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 16, at Ocean View Town Hall, from 6 to 8 p.m.

The National Weather Service in Mount Holly, N.J., has issued a coastal flood advisory for the Delaware beaches. The coastal flood advisory remains in effect until 4 p.m. EDT this afternoon. A coastal flood watch in effect from Thursday morning through Thursday afternoon, with a high risk of rip currents today.

The Citizens Advisory Committee of the Center for the Inland Bays is keeping steadfast to their priorities on cleaning up the Inland Bays watershed. At their August meeting, in continuing their advocacy for cooling tower technology at the Indian River Power Plant to reduce fish kills, for cleaning up present coal ash piles “by the best scientific way as soon as possible” and expressing their position on land use, CAC members put those priorities on the table.

Coastal flood warning for Delaware beaches, until 6 p.m. EDT, Sat., Aug. 29
Issued by the national weather service, Philadelphia, Pa., 8:50 a.m. EDT, Sat., Aug. 29
... High risk of rip currents...

A Small Craft Advisory is now in effect until 8 a.m. on Sunday.

Tropical Storm Danny is forecast to cause waves to increase on the coastal waters of Delaware and New Jersey. Waves are expected to reach 6 to 9 feet on Saturday, before they begin to subside slowly on Sunday.

Canvassing the neighborhood by car and by boat, teams consisting of members of the Center for Inland Bays and the Center for Watershed Protection, DelDOT employees, engineers and interested citizens started their assessment of stormwater retrofit opportunities in the Anchorage Canal in South Bethany on Wednesday, Aug. 19.

Sussex County EOC warns Hurricane Bill could cause rough surf, strong rip currents

Warning issued by the National Weather Service, Philadelphia, Pa.
6:11 a.m. EDT, Friday, Aug. 21, 2009:

At the height of the summer season, with bicycles almost as popular a mode of transportation as motor vehicles, the topics of bicycle safety and bicycle thefts were high on the list of concerns for South Bethany residents at the town council’s Aug. 14 meeting.

A small group of South Bethany residents have begun planning a celebration of the town’s 40th anniversary, tentatively set for next month.

What do a bowling ball, a shopping cart and thousands of cigarette butts have in common? Why, they were all items picked up in last year’s Coastal Clean-up, of course!

“Honey, did you remember to water the oysters?”

The Natural Resources Defense Council has issued its 2009 report, “Testing the Waters,” listing Delaware beaches as first in beachwater quality.

On Tuesday, July 28, just after 8 a.m., an inspection port on a silo at the NRG-owned Indian River Generating Station (power plant) near Millsboro malfunctioned while employees were performing routine maintenance, allowing fly ash to escape while it was being loaded onto a truck for disposal.

Around 8:15 on Tuesday morning, July 28, while employees at the Indian River Indian River Generating Station near Millsboro were performing routine maintenance on an ash silo, an inspection port on the silo failed, causing ash to land on the concrete floor, NRG officials said Tuesday. Some ash, which they said is a nonhazardous byproduct of coal-powered generation, created a cloud for a time.