WEEKEND #15

Sussex County paramedics and the Rehoboth Beach ambulance crew tried to revive the 27-year-old man who witnesses saw disappear in the surf Monday evening. He was submerged for about 30 minutes off McKinley Street in Dewey Beach. He arrived at Beebe Hospital around 8 p.m. where he was pronounced dead.

About 40 percent of the Coast Guard's helicopters have been sent to the Gulf coast to assist with rescues. The Coast Guard air station in Atlantic City, which covers the Delaware and Maryland shore, sent one of its HH-65C helicopters on Tuesday. In a Coast Guard press release from PA1 Kimberly Smith, she says the four-man crew and helicopter saved 24 people and delivered 500 pounds of water and MRE's during Thursday's rescue operations.

The Atlantic City aircrew flew a nine-month-pregnant woman (right) from the Superdome on Thursday. While on the helicopter she went into labor. Once they landed at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, she successfully delivered her baby.

Mother, father and an eight month old (left) were airlifted to safety by the Atlantic City crew on Wednesday and taken to an evacuation site at NASA (Stennis Space Center). The infant had no formula left and the family's house was totally destroyed.

The Atlantic City crew also hoisted four people along with their two pit bulls from this apartment complex. Another pregnant woman was also rescued.

For more details, read Smith's Sept. 1 and Sept. 2 press releases. U.S. Navy and Canadian Coast Guard helicopters and crews are helping to maintain response capabilities at some Coast Guard air stations.

The Dept. of Labor's Webpage says that Labor Day is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. Perhaps it was a symbolic opportunity for the D.C. National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians-Communications Workers of America union to take its stand against Washington's WJLA-TV (ABC 7) and NewsChannel 8.

NABET-CWA Local 31 ran several banners using Ocean Aerial Ads of Ocean City which flies along the beaches from Ocean City through Cape Henlopen. The ads typically cost $350 each. The banner read "ABC7 DESPARATE [SIC] TO DESTROY WORKER'S RIGHTS."

The beach near Silver Lake was packed with spectators Sunday for the drag volleyball tournament (left). Afterwards, police responded to repeat complaints about a loud party with a deejay on Prospect Street (right). The sign in the front yard read "CHARITY FUNDRAISER after DRAG VOLLEYBALL." An officer sat across the street with a sound meter. At one point he claimed the noise exceeded the ordinance by one decibel.

The sprinklers around the lighthouse on Rehoboth Avenue's traffic circle ran throughout the weekend and drained into the storm sewer. A nearby resident stated it appeared the sprinkler timing mechanism was stuck.

This Honda (behind the tow truck) was parked about 200 feet from the Rehoboth Beach Parking Meter Department office on Lake Avenue. It was just about to be towed Monday for unpaid fines when the owner claimed it. This was one of five vehicles parking meter department personnel found on their "hot sheet" this weekend.

Coast Guard Sector Field Office Eastern Shore, Rescue totals, 2003 through 2005

Sector Field Office Eastern Shore includes the five Coast Guard stations listed which cover the Delmarva shore south of Cape Henlopen. Station Wachapreague was formerly Station Parramore Beach. Some rescue incidents are managed at the sector level while others are handled by the individual stations. The seasonal count is the search and rescue case total for the period beginning Friday of Memorial Day Weekend through late August. The 2005 totals were computed through Sept.1, while the 2003 and 2004 were computed through Aug. 29.

Coast Guard Unit	2005 Season	FY 05	2004 Season	FY 04	2003 Season	FY 03
S. F. O. Eastern Shore	117	229	130	218	126	201
Station Indian River Inlet, DE	57	90	61	111	109	147
Station Ocean City, MD	132	210	154	242	161	360
Station Chincoteague, VA	60	106	62	120	60	106
Station Wachapreague, VA	22	55	34	82	40	82

Statistics courtesy of Jeff Fox, Search & Rescue Controller for Coast Guard Sector Field Office Eastern Shore.

Ocean City Police PFC Barry Neeb provides the total for calls for police service for June, July and August for the past three seasons. "This is a little higher than last year," PFC Neeb notes, but "not high enough to give an explanation though."