WEEKEND #3, 2008
Rehoboth Beach, Delaware
POLICE NAB SUSPECTED BURGLAR
Within two minutes of receiving a report that a man had broken into a house on Norfolk Street, Rehoboth Beach police had a suspect stopped.
The call for help came in around 12:15 p.m. Saturday. The suspect sped off in a pick-up truck prior to arrival of police. Once at the residence, officers broadcast a description of the suspect's Ford Ranger, and seconds later had a man stopped at gunpoint on Lake Drive and Bayard Avenue near the Silver Lake bridge.
This was the same house, police noted, where a stereo had been reported stolen the previous evening.
Once captured, police put the suspect in the rear of this patrol car, and took him to the police station while another officer debriefed witnesses on Norfolk Street (below).
TIDE POOLS CREATE BEACH HAZARDS
Some beaches from Ocean City to Rehoboth have been cursed so far this season with long narrow puddles of trapped ocean water in the middle of the beach. These are found in the low areas of the beach, below the peak, where the waves reach during some high tides. Water that is unable to flow back to the ocean collects in the tide pools. Sometimes these pools are a couple feet deep and have been lingering for days, and even weeks this season.
Lifeguards have to worry about small children in the tide pools, while still guarding the surf.
Pictured below (from Friday) is one pool that extends from the south side of Rehoboth all the way to Dewey.
Here's another example from Monday photographed by Greg Seaby from the Clarion Resort at 100th Street in Ocean City. He says the pool is two feet deep in places and stretches four blocks.
BEACH GOERS RESCUE SAND SHARK
On Friday Morning, the lifeguard on Hickman Street radioed Capt. Kent Buckson that the high tide from overnight brought some sand sharks up, and they were stranded in the tide pool.
"That's crazy" said a surprised Capt. Buckson, who said he'd send one of the guards to pull them out by the tail and toss them into the ocean. These sand sharks were about a foot long.
The lifeguards successfully removed some sand sharks, but not all of them. A woman wading in the pool found another shark around 3 p.m. It appeared almost lifeless until she touched it. But it was ailing, possibly running out of oxygen, and floating on its side in the murky but shallow pool.
An impromptu rescue group of beach goers formed armed with a plastic city trash can. They partially submerged the can in the water, swept the lethargic sand shark into the can, and dragged it to the ocean and set it free.
POLICE INVESTIGATING MISSING PARKING METER
A Rehoboth Beach parking meter tech installs a new Duncan parking meter in the first block of Maryland Avenue early Saturday evening. A ticket writer discovered it missing around 5 p.m. from the side of the post marked "M-21." A Rehoboth Beach police officer took a report, and a new meter was installed by 6:05 p.m.
REINO R-2 PARKING METER DOWN MOST OF WEEKEND
Despite the prompt and efficient response from parking meter techs, the Reino R-2 meter, which services nine parking spaces, spent most of the weekend out of service displaying error code "00036."
It's one of the most popular places to park on Rehoboth Avenue -- right at the foot of the Avenue, just steps from the boardwalk and ocean. Perhaps that's why the city decided to install one of two meters at this location that accepts credit cards.
R-2 was repaired several times this weekend but continued to fail. The meter was reported repaired twice on Friday, and once again on Saturday after it had been out of service most of the day. While R-2 was down, ticket writers were told not to ticket people who parked there.
The meter remained out of service on Sunday, and parking enforcers were once again told to ignore the "R-2 section all day."
The second credit card meter is R-4, which covers the area west of R-2's nine parking spaces. R-4 received few complaints.
Both meters charge 25 cents for 10 minutes. As soon as a meter is repaired, the policy is to credit each occupied parking space for the full time limit allowed at that location.
More than 20 Reino meters on Rehoboth Avenue required service this past weekend.
Click here for a list of those meters.
SORT-OF-FREE PARKING SPACES ARE NO LONGER
On Tuesday, a man parking at the unnumbered spaces in front of the bakery received a parking summons. Last weekend the ticket writer let them park for free, possibly unaware that the Reino meter to the west was intended to cover these two spaces.
After receiving the summons on Tuesday, the man complained to the Parking Meter Department supervisor, who in turn radioed the maintenance technician. She said the man "figured if there wasn't any marking there, so he parked there, cause he didn't, you know, there wasn't anything about a meter. You know what I'm saying?" Later in the week, both spaces were painted with numbers and arrows pointing to Reino R-204, which is in front of the library.
CAT MAN JOE MOSSER
Joe Mosser, well known for his love and protection of Rehoboth's cats, takes a break on Sussex Street during Saturday's heat, to talk cats and presidential politics. He's quite a political pundit. Who's Joe's pick for president? Look for him walking around town and ask!
BEACH DOVE ON HENLOPEN JETTY
