South Bethany News

The National Weather Service has canceled the Winter Storm Warning for the area. The snow has stopped and roadway conditions have improved. Due to winter weather, the Greenwood, Milton and South Coastal libraries are closed on Saturday, Jan. 8.

The National Weather Service has issued an updated weather report that includes a Winter Storm Warning for Delaware until 8 p.m. Saturday. Up to 4 inches of snow is now forecast, with visibility potentially under a mile, and numerous accidents have already been reported. Between 7:30 and 10 a.m., more than a dozen motor vehicle accidents had been reported in Sussex County due to snow.

The National Weather Service has issued an updated weather report that includes a Winter Weather Advisory for Delaware until 8 p.m. Saturday. Although this snow event is not expected to cause great disruption to the state, state officials are advising residents and visitors to monitor local conditions and exercise caution if travel is necessary.
 
Key points from the NWS update:
 

While the limited state of emergency and driving warning was lifted Monday night in all parts of the state, some roads in rural areas remained unplowed or have been covered again by snow, so state officials said that motorists should drive only with caution and might be wise not to drive at all, especially in Sussex County.
 

High winds and continued blowing snow were keeping much of the state in a catch-up mode mid-day on Monday, Dec. 27, as crews tried to clear roads following a day and night of snow. Central and southern Delaware – particularly Sussex County – were still dealing with many secondary roads that had not been cleared, as well as with those roads that were cleared and have drifted over again.

With overnight blizzard conditions lifting, most Delaware roads remained difficult in the southern and central portions of the state Monday morning as crews from the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) continued to battle blowing and drifting snow.

Gov. Jack Markell has issued a limited State of Emergency with a “Level 1 Driving Warning” to begin at 4 p.m. Sunday in Kent and Sussex counties for a storm that is now predicted to dump up to 18 inches of snow on the southern part of the state and up to 8 inches in the north.  The National Weather Service has issued a blizzard warning for the Delaware coastal area.

BLIZZARD WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 AM EST MONDAY... ...WINTER STORM WARNING IS CANCELLED... THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOUNT HOLLY HAS ISSUED A BLIZZARD WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 AM EST MONDAY. THE WINTER STORM WARNING HAS BEEN CANCELLED. * PRECIPITATION TYPE: SNOW. * ACCUMULATIONS: TWELVE TO EIGHTEEN INCHES. * TIMING: NOW OCCURRING AND ENDING AROUND 9 AM MONDAY.

The National Weather Service's Winter Storm Warning remains in effect until 1 P.M., Monday, Dec. 27. Snow has been falling throughout the state and will become steadily heavier in the afternoon and evening. Accumulation of 8 to 12 inches is predicted for Sussex County with the slightly higher accumulations along the coast.

Beebe Medical Center has canceled all elective surgeries for Monday, Dec. 27, due to the winter storm. All satellite facilities also will be closed, including Tunnell Cancer Center and Beebe Outpatient Surgery Center on Route 24.
 
The hospital and its Emergency Department on Savannah Road in Lewes remain open and fully operational.
 
Call 911 in a life-threatening emergency.

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning that is in effect from 7 A.M. Sunday, Dec. 26, until 1 P.M. Monday, Dec. 27. There will be heavy, blowing snow throughout Sunday afternoon and evening, and there is the potential for accumulation of 8 to 12 inches statewide.
 

...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 7 AM SUNDAY TO 1 PM EST MONDAY...  THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOUNT HOLLY HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 7 AM SUNDAY TO 1 PM EST MONDAY.

...WINTER STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY MORNING THROUGH MONDAY AFTERNOON...  A WINTER STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY MORNING THROUGH MONDAY AFTERNOON.  * PRECIPITATION TYPE: SNOW  * ACCUMULATIONS: POSSIBILITY OF SIX INCHES OR MORE  * TIMING: SPREADING NORTH ON SUNDAY FROM SOUTH TO NORTH.

Nearly 73 percent of South Bethany property owners returned the Richard Hall Memorial Park Opinion Survey to the town by the 4:30 p.m. deadline on Dec. 10. Of them, more than 80 percent said they want the park left in its current state – a strong statement of opposition to proposals to add features such as a pavilion, exercise stations and/or playground equipment to a portion of the existing wooded parcel.

Nearly 73 percent of South Bethany property owners returned the Richard Hall Memorial Park Opinion Survey to the town by the 4:30 p.m. deadline on Dec. 10.

South Bethany Town Council members voted 6-0 last Friday to close what some had described as a “loophole” in the town’s floor-to-area ratio (FAR) ordinance, in the wake of both a Board of Adjustments decision and a court ruling that went against the town’s interpretation of the code.

In October, Rebecca Mais and her husband, Richard, traveled to Croatia to surprise a former employee. The Maises, the owners of McCabe’s Gourmet Market in South Bethany, have been hiring Croation students to work at the shop each summer for nine years.

South Bethany may be looking to get a little tougher on rental taxation and licensing. At the town council’s May 19 workshop, Mayor Jay Headman reviewed the town’s existing policies and his concerns about irregularities in the number of licenses and amount of revenue coming into the town from its rental taxes.

South Bethany Mayor Jay Headman opened the town council’s Nov. 12 meeting with a statement appealing for civility and a lack of personal attacks in a town where heated words have become the norm over the issue of the proposed recreational area at the town park.

Division in South Bethany over the issue of a proposed town park reached a peak of drama this week, when Councilman Robert Youngs abruptly resigned from the council during a break in the council’s Oct. 28 workshop, after having unsuccessfully urged fellow Councilman John Fields to resign from his position as chairman of the town’s Richard Hall Memorial Park Committee. The committee presented a survey packet on the park issue to the council last Thursday night.

Division in South Bethany over the issue of a proposed town park reached a peak of drama this week, when Councilman Robert Youngs abruptly resigned from the council during a break in the council’s Oct. 28 workshop, after having unsuccessfully urged fellow Councilman John Fields to resign from his position as chairman of the town’s Richard Hall Memorial Park Committee.

Members of the Richard Hall Memorial Park Committee met on Sunday, Oct. 17, to complete work on the survey package the committee will recommend the town council send out to South Bethany citizens in the coming weeks. The survey is designed get their take on whether or not the town should further develop the park adjacent to town hall.

South Bethany Town Council members on Oct. 8, in a 2-3 split vote, refused to institute a moratorium on building permits for which the floor-area ratio (FAR) excludes an enclosed area at or below 6 inches above ground level. The moratorium was designed to give the council time to approve a proposed amendment to the existing FAR ordinance that town officials said one designer had interpreted to exclude some enclosed areas near ground level, thus making the structure exceed FAR limits as were intended when the ordinance was originally drafted in 2004.

South Bethany Town Council members on Oct. 8, in a 2-3 split vote, refused to institute a moratorium on building permits for which the floor-area ratio (FAR) excludes an enclosed area at or below 6 inches above ground level.