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WEEKEND #01, 2012
(Memorial Day Weekend)
Rehoboth Beach, Delaware
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DEWEY BUSINESSMAN ANNOUNCES RUN FOR U.S. SENATE
Love him or hate him, Alexander J. Pires is one of Dewey Beach's best known business people. He is a lawyer and part-owner of the Bottle & Cork, Rusty Rudder and Northbeach and is the founder of the Community Bank of Delaware.
After announcing his candidacy for U.S. Senate on Fox News last week, Pires publicly announced his candidacy at the Cork early Saturday evening, with an exceptionally short speech. That's him on the left wearing the white shirt and long curly hair.
This crowd packed the Bottle & Cork during the announcement, and the waiting lines out front were enormous. But how many attended for the public announcement, we may never know!
Pires, Republican Kevin Wade, and any other challengers will be vying for the senate seat currently held by Democrat Sen. Tom Carper. The candidates have until July 15 to submit the required petition.
WGMD's Dan Gaffney interviewed Pires on his Friday radio show. "In many ways this was perhaps the most memorable 'political interview' in my 29 years of radio," Gaffney wrote on the WGMD Website.
Check this link for a News Journal article by Jonathan Starkey for info on Pires and this WGMD.com article for more on this past Saturday's event at the Bottle & Cork.
CLOUD 9 RESTAURANT CITED TWICE FOR NOISE DURING PAST 2 WEEKENDS
The Cloud 9 Restaurant in the third block of Rehoboth Avenue received the first bar noise complaint and citation of the 2012 season.
Rehoboth Beach night-time code enforcement officer, Bobby Edmonds, had been summoned to Cloud 9 three times in the past 10 days to investigate noise complaints. He had cited the establishment in at least two of those cases.
During Memorial Day Weekend, police sent Edmonds to the bar around midnight Friday and again around 12:50 a.m. Sunday. That is him with the blue baseball cap, holding a sound meter early Sunday. The complaints appear to originate from the residential properties to the rear of the restaurant along Christian Street. The problem appears to be the bass and when the rear door opens.
No response has yet been received to a message left on the restaurant's answering machine seeking comment. One source says the owners are trying to sell Cloud 9.
Elsewhere in town this holiday weekend, Rehoboth Beach police responded to about 15 calls for noisy/disorderly groups, but no other business establishments.
MAN, WOMAN ARRESTED ON REHOBOTH AVE WHILE KIDS WATCHED
Rehoboth Beach police arrested a man and woman shortly after they pulled into the fire lane on Rehoboth Avenue at First Street Station around noon on Saturday. They had two children and a dog with them in the car. The couple had rented a property in the area and arranged to have packages shipped to a real-estate office where they would pick it up. At least one package allegedly contained drugs and was accidentally opened by an employee.
Once police became aware of the package contents, they were waiting when the couple arrived. Police put the adults into two different police vehicles while officers conducted an extensive search of the Toyota Camry.
A boy, girl and two small dogs, who had been in the car with the adults, waited on the curb as police searched. The girl cried and was comforted by a bystander.
The man, woman and children with dogs were taken to the police station in three separate vehicles.
Det. William Sullivan says police arrested Andre D. Dismuke, 36, of Denver, Colorado for multiple drug-related offenses including Trafficking Marijuana, Possession of Marijuana and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. He said that Dismuke and his wife arranged to have multiple packages sent to the real-estate agency from Colorado in preparation for a six-week stay at a rental unit.
Det. Sullivan said a small amount of marijuana was found in the car along with a glass pipe. Police obtained a search warrant for all of the packages. Most of the packages, he noted, contained clothing and linens. However, Det. Sullivan said one of the packages contained more than 12 pounds of marijuana with an estimated street value of $18,000.
Dismuke's wife was later released and took custody of the children. Andre Dismuke was charged with the drug offenses. Det. Sullivan added that Dismuke was arraigned at Justice of the Peace Court 3 and released after posting a $10,500 secured bond. He was also ordered to report to pre-trial service supervision and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing in the Court of Common Pleas.
INTOXICATED MAN INJURED IN FALL FROM RICKSHAW IN DEWEY
An intoxicated man fell from the rear of a Rickshaw as it made the turn from Dickinson Avenue onto northbound Coastal Highway around 10:50 p.m. Monday. Sgt. Clifford Dempsey, Dewey Beach police spokesman, says he heard the crash and saw the 22-year-old passenger unconscious on the ground bleeding from the head. Several officers came to the man's aid. He slowly regained consciousness but remained confused. He was taken to Beebe Hospital with a one-inch gash to his head. Sgt. Dempsey said the Rickshaw has had a good safety record, especially given the number of intoxicated passengers they transport.
BABY DOLPHIN FOUND DEAD OFF WILMINGTON AVE
Rob Rector examined a dead baby dolphin which was reported in the surf in front of the Greene Turtle around 9 p.m. Wednesday. Rector is a volunteer responder for the Marine Education, Research and Rehabilitation Institute (MERR) which assists marine mammals and sea turtles in distress along the Delaware coast. They also investigate those cases where such creatures are found dead.
On Monday, Suzanne Thurman, MERR executive director, said "our total count
for dolphin strandings in the past 10 days is six baby dolphins, or calves,
and one adult dolphin." She added that MERR also responded to two Loggerhead
sea turtles in that same time frame. Those were the first of the year.
The dolphin had an open wound on its belly, possibly a bite, or perhaps a cut with a knife. The dolphin may have already been dead when it was cut, with the intension of using it for bait, perhaps. The male bottlenose dolphin was 3'9" long.
On Friday, an article written by Alyson Cunningham appeared in the Coast Press about this dolphin death and several of the others this year.
MERR is involved in a struggle for funding, and is looking to raise funds to help sustain itself. This Delaware Wave article talks about the recent MERR fundraisers.
With regard to the funding, Thurman said there has been no action on the part of DNREC to distribute MERR's federal grant funds despite a promising meeting on April 23. "It has caused a dire crisis for us," she added, "and we are coming into the peak season for strandings and education programs. I don't know how we are going to overcome this but we are still hanging in there, and of course, no animal will be allowed to suffer, funding or not."
REHOBOTH STARTS SEASON WITH REPLENISHED BEACH, IMPROVED DUNES AND DARKER SAND
According to Michael Globetti, DNREC spokesman, the sand came from the "Fenwick Island borrow site." He says the darker color "will most likely bleach out with time."
He noted that the dunes were reshaped and meet the design template for the storm damage reduction project.
The Army Corps of Engineers did not construct the dune as part of this project, Globetti said. DNREC Shoreline & Waterway Management used sand which had been pumped onto the beach to rebuild the dune where work was needed. He said the contractor placed an additional foot of sand in the berm above the seven-foot elevation so that DNREC could use the extra sand for reconstruction of the dune. Many of the dunes were damaged during the passing of Hurricane Irene last season.
Globetti said the beach was constructed per the 2012 design layout drawings shown on the DNREC website. It has been several months since the project was completed and the waves have already reshaped the beach. The sand is moving as expected, he added. There is some interesting information on beach replenishment found in this GHD report.
ODOR CLEARS CANDY KITCHEN IN REHOBOTH
An odor and light haze from an unknown source brought a massive fire response to the Candy Kitchen on Rehoboth Avenue at the boardwalk. Firefighters from Lewes and Indian River came to assist their Rehoboth Beach colleagues. The odor was reported around 12:10 p.m. Thursday. Firefighters checked throughout the candy shop -- including the roof -- as well as the adjacent buildings. No fire was found.
PARKMOBILE COMES TO REHOBOTH BEACH!
Rehoboth Beach has joined 320 other U.S. locations in 28 states where Parkmobile has been deployed to allow visitors to pay for parking using their cell phones.
Laurens Eckelboom, executive VP of marketing for Parkmobile, said the privately held company started in Europe in 1999. In 2008, the company expanded into the United States, quickly getting major cities as customers. Washingtonians are already familiar with the system having used it in Washington, D.C.
Eckelboom says next month they will deploy the system at several D.C. area Metro stations as well.
Eckelboom joined Rehoboth Beach Mayor Sam Cooper and many other city officials cutting the ribbon Thursday morning. More than 30 people attended the event.
With his charming Dutch accent, Eckelboom held an Apple iPad while he explained how he was making the system's first transaction with Mayor Cooper watching.
But what about the bottom line?
Eckelboom said the tangible wallet -- used since the days of the Greeks -- is becoming of less importance. Parkmobile offers visitors the ability to easily pay for parking using just a cell phone. It comes at a cost of 50 cents a transaction (35 cents goes to Parkmobile and the city receives the remaining 15 cents to cover credit card fees).
The system is also capable of giving parkers a 15-minute warning when their time is about to expire. Mayor Cooper says he expects fine revenue to decrease but hopes and expects this to be offset by increased meter revenue [from Parkmobile].
Lost revenue from fines may be recouped from those people who purchase more time than they actually used. Unlike the conventional parking meters, when a Parkmobile user leaves a space, the remaining time is unavailable to the next vehicle which occupies that spot, and there are no refunds.
Before issuing a ticket, parking enforcement staff must now manually enter the license plate of each vehicle parked at an expired meter to check it in the Parkmobile database. They are currently unable to view a list of all paid vehicles within a particular zone. This increases the time it takes to issue tickets.
For more information on the new system, check this article written by Andrew Koch of WGMD.
VESSEL MUMMICHOG, THE NEW CAPE WATER TAXI
This is the new Lewes-Dewey water taxi named the Mummichog. Read how it got its name on the water taxi's Facebook page.
Photo courtesy David Koster (www.PortraitsInTheSand.com and www.memorymakerboat.com)
OTHER NEWS:
MASSIVE RESPONSE TO SWIMMER REPORTED POSSIBLY IN DISTRESS--- Around 5:30 p.m. Monday officials received a report that a woman with blonde hair had been swimming about 500 feet from shore off the Cape Henlopen State Park. A man with binoculars had supposedly made the call for help. The woman continued to swim along the beach while Lewes firefighters, assisted by the Slaughter beach fireboat, Coast Guard, DNREC park rangers and boats and the state police helicopter, responded to the area. One of the DNREC personnel swam out to the woman who was between Herring Point and the "uneven towers." The helicopter dropped a life ring which she accepted. She came safely to shore. According to a group of four people who had been surf fishing in the area, she did not appear to be in distress when she came on the beach, but she had been way out in the ocean. EMS service was declined and she was taken back to her group by a park ranger.
REHOBOTH BEACH POLICE ARREST SUICIDAL MAN RESCUED BY OFF-DUTY LIFEGUARDS--- Capt. Kent Buckson radioed for police assistance around 6:10 p.m. Saturday after they rescued an intoxicated man who had allegedly been trying to commit suicide near Baltimore Avenue. Capt. Buckson told police the man refused to comply with the guards, and he was later placed under arrest.
REHOBOTH BEACH POLICE ARREST MAN PASSED OUT IN STRANGER'S HOME--- Police received a call around 11:20 p.m. Saturday that a man was found "passed out" inside a residence on Scarborough Avenue. The man was discovered when the occupant of the house returned home. Police placed him under arrest.
DEWEY WOMAN THREATENS HOME INTRUDERS WITH GUN--- A similar incident happened in Dewey Beach around 4 a.m. Sunday. An older couple living in a house on Cullen Street called for police assistance after two men had removed the sliding-glass door and entered the couple's home. Sgt. Clifford Dempsey, Dewey Beach police spokesman, says the woman was armed with a gun and threatened to shoot the men if they continued up the stairs. The men were not deterred, Sgt. Dempsey says, and the woman's husband fought the intruders. There was a struggle in the yard when police arrived. Sgt. Dempsey says both men were arrested and face felony charges. He said they had no recollection of the incident.
PEDESTRIAN STRUCK, KILLED BY INTOXICATED HIT&RUN DRIVER IN O.C.--- A 22-year-old man from Cooksville, Maryland was struck and killed by a 30-year-old man from Lorton, Virginia driving an Isuzu Rodeo. It was reported around 1:20 a.m. Monday in the northbound bus lane of Coastal Highway at 54th Street in Ocean City. See this O.C.P.D. news release for details.
BUSY WEEKEND FOR OCEAN CITY BEACH PATROL--- OCBP Capt. Butch Arbin said the patrol "had a very busy day" on Saturday "with many rescues... it was a great opening day for the Patrol." One of the most significant incidents this weekend involved an unconscious 60-year-old man who was discovered by lifeguards around 3:50 p.m. near the Plaza at 9800 Coastal Highway. The man suffered a suspected neck-back injury in the surf. Guards reported that he later regained consciousness but had no movement in his arms and legs. The Maryland State Police helicopter flew him to the Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore. Capt. Arbin added that the state police moved the helicopter from Salisbury to "forward deployment" at the O.C. Coast Guard station which decreased the response to the landing zone at Northside Park.
SMOKE SCARE EVACUATES O.C. CAROUSEL--- Occupants began evacuating the Carousel around 9 p.m. Saturday after smoke was reported on the 14th floor. Police and firefighters found smoke, but no fire, which they suspected was originating from the elevator room. They said the elevator reportedly failed before the call was received for smoke in the high-rise building. After investigating for about 45 minutes, the fire department placed the incident under control.
OTHER WEEKEND HELICOPTER MEDEVAC ACTIVITY--- There were four other incidents this holiday weekend where patients were flown to trauma centers. Three involved falls. A 40-year-old woman was briefly unconscious after a fall from standing position hitting her head around 1:50 p.m. Friday in Ocean City. On Saturday, another person was injured in a fall at the Willow Creek Development near Lewes around 8:30 p.m. The patient was flown to Christiana Hospital. On Monday, a 78-year-old woman fell about 20 feet from an attic landing on her buttocks in Victoria Forest in the Selbyville area around 10:15 a.m. She too was flown to Christiana. The fourth medevac involved a 45 year old who became unconscious after a suspected assault on 45th Street in Ocean City around 8:15 p.m. Saturday.
NEWS RELEASES / NEWS REPORTS:
State police investigating 4 vandalisms (Rehoboth area)
Rehoboth Beach restaurant week (June 3-9)
Funland; a traditional family attraction in Rehoboth
Musicians, bands need $109 business license now in Dewey
Dewey Beach businesses pay for additional Memorial Day Weekend police
Lights on the Indian River Inlet Bridge turned on (Thursday night) [great photo]
Indian River Inlet Bridge opens in time for holiday
Propane tank lodges in bedroom wall after exploding at Pot-Nets Coveside
Man shot at Millsboro Village (Thursday night)
Four arrested in drug raid on boardwalk in Ocean City
For Ocean City's lifeguards, summer starts with beach boot camp [video too]
Marylanders see spike in vacation home market [mentions Rehoboth too]
New book brings horseshoe crabs to life
Fewer foreigners will fill beach jobs
Beach patrols get ready for season [BP schedules]
Baltimore Sun's Beach Guide 2012 [interesting tidbits]
How to survive deadly rip currents
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