WEEKEND #3, 2009
Rehoboth Beach, Delaware
If the Rehoboth Beach coverage this week seems spotty; it is!
This past week the Rehoboth Beach police implemented new procedures with regard to the use of encryption for routine radio conversations. As of 7 p.m. Saturday, police switched to the department’s two encrypted radio channels for routine dispatch and patrol operations.
Police departments in jurisdictions such as D.C., Baltimore, New York City, Atlantic City, Ocean City (MD), Salisbury, Dewey and Bethany do not use encryption for routine dispatching. Not even the Delaware State Police uses it on the state’s three dispatch channels.
But Rehoboth Beach is joining a handful of Sussex County municipal police agencies, such as Ocean View, Bridgeville and Greenwood, which typically do use encryption, and received it with homeland security funds.
I’m given the impression that my reports last week of the Rehoboth Avenue drug death and graffiti attack were more than the city officials could tolerate.
Another loss this season is the beach patrol. This year the Rehoboth Beach Patrol has switched to Nextel, a cellular-based subscription service. Who’s paying that bill? One guard told me he couldn’t discuss the new system citing “privacy” reasons.
The Rehoboth Beach Patrol is the only beach patrol in the area that cannot be monitored using a scanner radio. Using a scanner, from Rehoboth Beach one can hear beach patrols from Ocean City (MD), South Bethany, Bethany, Dewey Beach, North Shores, Cape May and Avalon. But no longer can we monitor Rehoboth Beach.
I could ramble on the importance of government openness in a free society, and how critical it is that we know what’s happening in our neighborhoods, especially as the corporate media continues to erode. But I won’t. I appreciate your continued support, and if you see or hear anything of interest, please let me know.
HENLOPEN HOTEL FIGHT ENDS IN ARRESTS, INJURED MAN AND BROKEN GLASS
Imagine arriving at your hotel early Saturday evening and finding three police cars in front of the entrance?
That happened around
SUSPICIOUS DEATH AT AQUA LEISURE PLUS OUTSIDE REHOBOTH
State police and paramedics were summoned to the Aqua Leisure Plus outside of Rehoboth around 11 a.m. Sunday after a body was discovered inside the business. One source says the inside was found in disarray, but don't know if anything was taken.
Homicide detectives later arrived at the business which is on Wolfe Neck Road near Route 1, south of Crabby Dick's and adjacent to the cemetery, opposite Kids Cottage.
Delaware State Police issued this news release later Sunday. They said the dead man may have been a burglar. As a coincidence, Kids Cottage was burglarized two years ago.
Aqua Leisure Plus is a dealer for spas, above-ground pools, pool accessories, and billiard and game tables. It's about three miles driving distance from downtown Rehoboth Beach.
INTOXICATED MAN DENTS CHEVY WITH HIS HEAD, GETS ARRESTED
The dent on the fender of this Chevy is the imprint of a man's head. A police officer happened to be in the area of Camp Rehoboth on Baltimore Avenue when he found an intoxicated man who had just smashed his head into the car. The officer discovered the man around 12:40 a.m. Saturday with his head resting on the car. He was arrested and taken to the Rehoboth Beach police station.
ANOTHER BRAWL ON WICOMICO STREET!
For the third Sunday morning in a row, Ocean City police have had to call for assistance with unruly crowds at Wicomico Street and the boardwalk. This week the brawl broke out around 1:30 a.m.
Police used pepper spray, officers on horseback and a canine for crowd control. One man was bitten by the dog, others were pepper sprayed. There were at least three arrests and one ambulance call for the dog bite.
Here was the view from the boardwalk camera at: http://www.oceancitycam.com/
This camera shows the same general area from a different direction. http://www.town.ocean-city.md.us/wicomicocam.html
DEWEY BEACH "TAGGED" TOO
Last Monday, a couple days after Rehoboth Beach had captured its primary graffiti suspect, Dewey Beach police investigated several tagging reports as well.
These were not as extensive and appear to have been committed with some kind of marker, not spray paint, as was used in Rehoboth Beach.
What appears to be the word "TURDLE" -- among other scribbling -- was discovered on various public and private surfaces. This included an Exxon gas pump, street signs near Ed's Carryout, in two spots on Colliers Trim Shop, on a fence at Route 1 and 1-A, among other locations.
Sgt. Clifford Dempsey, Dewey Beach police spokesman, says the suspect was captured on a surveillance camera around 3:40 a.m. near Dagsworthy Avenue. But the camera did not get a clear view of him.
Sgt. Dempsey says they know the suspect is a male but are unsure of his race and age. He is possibly a "June Bug" (recent high school graduate) because the tagging started as soon as they arrived in Dewey.
DEWEY BEACH REPLENISHMENT UPDATE
The B. E. Lindholm, shown here on Friday, has been assisted by the R. N. Weeks, another dredge from Weeks Marine. The second dredge helped speed up the process of moving sand from Fenwick Shoals to Dewey Beach.
The round trip is about 30 miles. The sand is taken from an area about two miles east of the Fenwick Island State Park.
The crews moved Sunday evening to the South Bethany area. Susan Anderson, spokeswoman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, says the target completion date remains the end of June.
Check the dredges location on ShipPlotter.
On Sunday, Dewey Beach posted a beach replenishment update with video on the town's Website.
REHOBOTH AVENUE ASSAULT, NOT SERIOUS
Police and an ambulance responded to the area of Cloud 9 Saturday night, after a man about 50 was reportedly injured during an assault. The man walked away, down Rehoboth Avenue toward Wilmington Trust. The ambulance did not take him to the hospital. Rehoboth Beach police spoke about the incident only on encrypted channels.
Ocean City police and EMS kept busy this weekend with at least a half-dozen ambulance calls for assaults. None sounded life-threatening.
WILL DEBATE PHILOSOPHY 4 FOOD?
This is Mike. He says he is a mathematics major from Mount Pleasant College. He is poking fun at philosophy majors using this sign created from a pizza box. He'd been sitting on the south boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach in front of Grotto's Pizza Saturday afternoon and received a few interesting responses.
BLACKMAN RAISING MONEY FOR KINFOLK, REHOBOTH FIRE
Cheryl Blackman, perhaps one of the best-recognizable personalities in Rehoboth Beach, is always trying to raise money for a good cause. She is again working the streets, and the boards, selling raffle tickets for KINfolk, an organization which helps chronically ill children. She is also selling similar tickets to raise money for a new Rehoboth Beach VFC fire station on Route 1.
DESPITE FRIDAY'S STORMY WEATHER, WEEKEND WAS GREAT
A strong northeast wind blew sand and rain, and the beach was deserted looking north from Read Avenue in Dewey Beach on Friday afternoon.
Fortunately for beach goers, Saturday and Sunday were sunny days.
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