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WEEKEND #8, 2009
Rehoboth Beach, Delaware
REHOBOTH ELECTION SEASON HEATS UP
Horsey accuses Mr. Martin of calling him a "pile of sh*t"
Rehoboth Beach voters take their politics seriously, and that was obvious during Tuesday's meeting of the city's elections board.
Although the public was not allowed to speak at the hearing, about 60 people attended the special meeting.
The board heard complaints filed by retired judge Henry Horsey and attorney Gene Lawson on behalf of former Commissioner Ron Paterson.
The challengers alleged that the absentee ballot the city had been using did not meet state guidelines. They also alleged that the Save Our City political action committee along with member Nancy Martin were really promoting the use of absentee ballots to lock-in early votes before candidates can be heard. But SOC members say they are defending non-resident homeowners voting rights, and encouraging them to vote.
Just as the hearing got underway, Horsey (in the pink jacket, below) claimed that Guy Martin, the man shown to his right, called him a "pile of sh*t." Mr. Martin is an attorney and Nancy's husband. He told the board he denied making the comment.
BELOW: Judge Horsey faces off with city attorney Glenn Mandalas.
Read more about the proceedings in Ryan Mavity's Cape Gazette article.
GIRL INJURED IN TOT LOT, TAKEN TO BEEBE HOSPITAL
A 6-year-old girl reportedly fell from the monkey bars and possibly fractured her arm. The accident happened at Lake Gerar's "tot lot" in Rehoboth Beach around 10:25 a.m. Thursday.
She was taken to Beebe Hospital by ambulance.
COASTAL TOWING FETCHES A FEW MORE TOWS DESPITE SLOW TIMES
If the article written by Alex Ruoff appearing in the local Gannett-owned papers can be believed, business is unusually slow for the local towing companies.
The tow trucks are often called by resort towns and property owners to remove illegally parked vehicles or those with unpaid parking fines.
But Coastal Towing managed to fetch at least three tows from the streets of Rehoboth Beach this weekend. The first was actually Friday on Baltimore Avenue.
This beaten-up blue 2004 Dodge Neon was removed from an expired metered parking space in front of the Atlantic Sands. It had a home-made cardboard sign in the rear windshield with the words "stolen tag" written on it accompanied by a hand-written Virginia tag number.
The Neon continued to receive tickets for being parked at the expired parking meter. The tickets disappeared, but the Neon remained there. Somebody was possibly living out of the car. So Coastal Towing moved the Neon to the city's impound lot, where it remains Sunday evening, with its window still rolled down.
Around 2 p.m. Saturday, Coastal Towing was called to remove this green Ford Expedition with New York tags. The truck had been partially blocking a driveway in the second block of Maryland Avenue, and the occupant wanted it removed. Since it was parked on the street, the police handled the tow.
Also on Saturday, this silver SUV was towed to the city's impound after being removed from the east-most lifeguard parking space on Queen Street. It was not authorized to park in that space!
Meanwhile, in Dewey Beach, police received a complaint around 2:25 p.m. Saturday about a car blocking a man's driveway. According to the dispatcher, he received the call from a "very, very, very irate individual" on Swedes Street. "It's a low priority," the dispatcher told an officer, "but this individual is very hostile about a car blocking his driveway. This individual has threatened to hit this vehicle, and vandalize this vehicle if it's not moved. I informed him it's his driveway and it's a private issue but he wants to be irate. He wants an officer there immediately!"
MARTIN RECEIVES 1ST ANNUAL CITIZENSHIP AWARD
Nancy Martin received the Village Improvement Association's (VIA) first-Annual Citizenship Award at a special ceremony held on Monday. She is well known in town for her involvement in the political process, regular e-mail updates and as a supporter of Save Our City.
The VIA is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year and has a history participating in city affairs and making improvements.
Mrs. Martin received a standing ovation from some of the town's best-known residents during the award presentation in the VIA building. The building is across from the Henlopen Hotel in Rehoboth Beach.
OTHER NEWS:
SOUTH BETHANY SHARK SCARE--- WBOC's Michael Lopardi reported Thursday that the South Bethany Beach Patrol cleared the water for more than an hour after guards spotted a shark about 60 yards from the beach on Wednesday. He said the shark was about 7-feet long swimming south, but the beach patrol could not determine what type of shark it was. This related article also appeared in the Gannett-owned newspapers. Two South Bethany Beach Patrol guards on Sunday were discussing another "fin" sighting around noon on the radio. But the one guard said he couldn't tell for certain if it were a shark.
MAN INJURED BY STINGRAY--- A 34-year-old man was injured and bleeding after he was stung by a stingray in the Cape Henlopen State Park around 11:45 a.m. Sunday. Lewes EMS personnel found him near the plover area on Herring Point. No word yet from DNREC if he were fishing or swimming. He was taken to Beebe Hospital in good condition.
WOMAN KNOCKS OUT POLICE CAR WINDSHIELD--- Rehoboth Beach police arrested an intoxicated woman from a residence on Columbia Avenue around 2 a.m. Monday (today). While she was in the backseat of the patrol car, an officer reported that she kicked out the rear window. She was taken to the police station for booking.
REHOBOTH OFFICER INJURED ARRESTING DRUNK DRIVER--- Det. Kevin Jones says a Rehoboth Beach police officer was injured in a struggle with a drunk driver. The suspect backed his vehicle out of the Brighton Suites Hotel parking garage on Wilmington Avenue around 2:15 a.m. Thursday. That's when he struck trash cans and a bike rack. An officer just happened to be investigating another complaint in the area, and had the driver pull over. The man appeared to be intoxicated. The officer returned to his patrol car, and that's when the suspect fled on foot. The officer chased the man down, and during a struggle, suffered cuts to his hands and a deep cut to his leg. The suspect, a 21 year old from Lewes, was subdued with pepper spray and arrested.
CLOSE CALL FOR GIRL IN SURF--- A 12-year-old girl was taken to Beebe Hospital Thursday evening after she was removed from the ocean by bystanders. It was reported around 6 p.m. on the south side of the Indian River Inlet. A witness told EMS personnel that the girl appeared to be in distress, and at some point, she went under the surface a couple times. That's when they pulled her to safety. A Bethany Beach ambulance took her to the hospital around 6:30 p.m. She was alert but nauseous and had reportedly swallowed some water.
UNCONSCIOUS BOY PULLED FROM WATER --- A 7-year-old boy was reportedly pulled from some sort of pool at 7550 Marshall Street in Lincoln around 5:50 p.m. on Saturday. That is north of Ellendale. He was breathing when taken to the hospital, but still unconscious.
OFF-DUTY LIFEGUARDS MAKE RESCUE IN O.C. --- Off-duty lifeguards saved a woman in distress near the Inlet Lot around 9:25 a.m. Saturday. An Ocean City medic evaluated the victim and another rescuer. Both declined EMS transport to the hospital.
GRAFFITI REPORTED IN WWII OBSERVATION TOWER--- Cape Henlopen State Park rangers discovered graffiti inside the World War II observation Tower #7 around 10 a.m. Saturday. That is the only tower that's open for public use. Here's an article that explains more about the tower.
WOMAN STRUCK IN HEAD BY GOLF CLUB, TAKEN TO BEEBE--- A 53-year-old woman was struck in the head with a golf club around 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the Midway Par 3 Golf Course in Fairway Village near Lewes. She was unconscious for less than 30 seconds after her teenage grandson accidentally struck her on the left side of her face. She was bruised and bleeding. They took her to Beebe Hospital by ambulance.
BICYCLIST INJURED IN OCEAN PINES ACCIDENT--- A 20-year-old man fell from his bike and struck his head around 11:30 p.m. Thursday on Ocean Parkway and Footbridge Trail in Ocean Pines. He was flown to a trauma center with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
MAN SERIOUSLY INJURED IN O.C. MOPED CRASH--- A 22-year-old man lost control and crashed his moped on Philadelphia Avenue near 19th Street around 1:10 a.m. Sunday. Initial reports suggested it was possibly a hit and run accident, but police later suspected he was not actually struck by any other vehicle. He was combative with a serious head injury when he was flown from Jolly Rogers to a trauma center.
CREEKWOOD CONDOS FIRE EXTINGUISHED BY SPRINKLER--- The fire alarm sounded at the Creekwood Condos outside Rehoboth after the sprinkler system activated around 1:10 a.m. on Saturday. When firefighters arrived, the condo at 200 Pebble Drive was already being evacuated. They later discovered that a small fire had been extinguished by the sprinkler system
POSSIBLE HOMELESS WOMAN TAKEN FROM WAHOO TO BEEBE--- A 58-year-old woman was taken from the Wahoo Raw Bar & Crab Company to Beebe Hospital around 1:40 a.m. Sunday by ambulance. She had been complaining of back pain, and had been at the hospital the prior evening. Supposedly the restaurant staff found her in the parking lot surrounded by trash bags. One employee said she had been trying to purchase drugs earlier in the evening. Wahoo is outside Rehoboth on Coastal Highway.
COUPLE INJURED IN CRASH INTO TREE--- A man and woman were injured after their vehicle crashed into a tree on Lewes-Georgetown Highway near Dairy Farm Road around 3:10 a.m. Sunday. The female passenger, in her mid-40's, was the most seriously injured. She had been wearing a seatbelt, but she was possibly intoxicated and was unresponsive. EMS personnel wanted to fly her to Christiana Hospital but the helicopters were down because of weather. The couple was taken to Beebe Hospital.
EARLY MORNING O.C. FIRE ALARMS--- The alarm sounded at the Ocean Bliss Condo on 51st Street around 2 a.m. Friday. Firefighters found a maliciously activated pull-station in the ground-floor parking garage.
Around 2:50 a.m. on Saturday, they responded to Sunset Island on 67th Street for an activated alarm in the elevator mechanical room. Firefighters were unable to determine the cause of that alarm.
Firefighters received a call reporting a plastic burning odor at the 13 on the Beach Condo at 42nd Street around 4:20 a.m. Saturday. They were unable to locate the source.
Firefighters investigating a fire alarm at the Hotel Monte Carlo on North 2nd Street found a malicious fire alarm pull-station activated in the stairwell. The hotel was being evacuated when they arrived around 1 a.m. Sunday.
COASTAL HIGHWAY ACCIDENTS--- At least six accidents with injury were reported this weekend along Coastal Highway in Sussex County. None sounded life threatening.
A motorcyclist was involved in an accident with minor injuries around 11:45 a.m. Friday near Old Bay Road outside Rehoboth.
Around 3:20 p.m. Friday, two pedestrians were reportedly struck, and minutes later, another vehicle was involved in a second accident at this location. That happened near West Farmington Street in Fenwick Island. There were three minor injuries total.
A bicyclist was struck at the parking lot near the Rehoboth Kmart garden center around 3:45 p.m. Friday. The victim was described as a man in his 30's who was hit by a vehicle traveling approximately 10 m.p.h. He admitted to having had a couple drinks before the accident. He was flown to Christiana Hospital because he was having difficulty moving the right side of his body.
Four people were injured after a crash involving a vehicle that rolled over in front of the Pier 1 Imports outside Lewes around 2:30 p.m. Saturday. All southbound lanes finally reopened around 3:20 p.m. Injuries were not serious..
Rehoboth firefighters responded to an accident involving an auto and a bicycle near the Sea Esta IV north of Dewey. But they were unable to locate a victim, auto or bike when they arrived around 4:30 p.m. Saturday. They did find a man who fell from a bicycle on Rogers Avenue. He declined transport to the hospital, and was supposedly not related to the initial reported accident.
A 13-year-old was supposedly struck by a vehicle while he was trying to retrieve a golf ball at Viking Golf in Fenwick Island. It happened just before noon on Sunday. He was alert but suffered a leg injury.
NEWS RELEASES:
Route 50 fatal crash (Trappe on Friday)
Coast Guard medevacs injured boater (Ocean City on Thursday)
Real-time ship plotter: http://henney.com/sp
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