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WEEKEND #15, 2011
(Labor Day Weekend)
Rehoboth Beach, Delaware
REHOBOTH BEACH PATROL'S LOST CHILDREN REPORTS; WHAT PATTERNS SHOW
To this day, my mother and I still remember the first time I got lost. It was here in Rehoboth Beach at the old Pappy's Pizza on Rehoboth Avenue. I remember telling mom I was going to watch the musical piano. Somehow she never heard that. When she suddenly noticed I was missing, she panicked and thought perhaps I went to the bike rental. She could not find me and ran from the restaurant to the bike shop. When I returned to the table, mom was gone. It was a frightening few minutes for both of us.
Perhaps that is what has always spurred my interest in lost children reports at the beach. Rehoboth Beach lifeguards and police handle hundreds of lost and found children reports each summer. The good news is that they always have gotten the parent and child together again.
Lost children reports are so common; lifeguards have the radio procedure down pat. They are called 10-34's -- an old police radio code meaning "prepare to make copy" (as in prepare to write down info). Rehoboth Beach lifeguards used the code so frequently for lost or found children; 10-34 eventually became the code.
The typical 10-34 follows the format: On [stand location], we have with us (or we are looking for), name, age, gender, hair, clothing description and race. RBP headquarters then repeats the information for other stands to hear.
Missing/found children reports from every Saturday from Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day Weekend of this year were used to compile the below stats. This data is from every Saturday this summer, a total of 14 Saturdays (which excludes last week with Hurricane Irene), for a total of 121 missing/found children reports from RBP lifeguards.
Lost kids vs. missing parents?
The majority of children, 62 percent, are found by a lifeguard or stranger before a parent or guardian reports them missing. Only 38 percent are reported missing by the parent/guardian before they are discovered.
Lifeguard stand locations where children are found/lost.
Two lifeguard stands account for more than half of the lost or found children reports. Rehoboth and Wilmington stands are almost tied for the top spot. A distant second is Baltimore with only 12 percent.
26 percent -- Rehoboth
25 percent -- Wilmington
12 percent -- Baltimore
by hour of day
Most children get lost between noon and 5 p.m., with the peak, more than 20 percent, between 2 and 3 p.m.
3 percent -- 10 a.m. hour
8 percent -- 11 a.m. hour
15 percent -- noon hour
16.5 percent -- 1 p.m. hour
20.5 percent -- 2 p.m. hour
15.5 percent -- 3 p.m. hour
16.5 percent -- 4 p.m. hour
4 percent -- 5 to 5:30 p.m.
by gender
Two-thirds of the reports are for missing (or found) boys. Girls are only 34 percent.
by age
The average age is about 6.5 years for both boys and girls.
by race
42 percent -- white
35.5 percent -- black
16.5 percent -- Hispanic
3 percent -- Asian
by week
The daily totals depend highly on weather. This year the most lost/found children reports were on August 20. That Saturday, RBP guards received 17 reports of found or missing children.
July 16 was second highest with 15 reports, followed by July 2 with 14 reports. The lowest (excluding Hurricane Irene weekend) was on June 11 with a single report.
ACCIDENT ON NARROW 1ST STREET
This collision was reported around 3 p.m. Friday in Rehoboth Beach between Wilmington and Delaware avenues. Police spent about an hour at the scene. The SUV was driving south on 1st Street when it collided with the door of the parked car. There were no injuries. One report suggested the driver of the SUV had been talking on a cell phone.
DEWEY CAMPAIGN SEASON HEATS UP
Friday was the Dewey Beach candidates forum at the Venus on the Half Shell restaurant. Seven candidates are competing for three commissioner seats. See Andrew Koch's (WGMD) article for details.
The three commissioner seats will be determined by the September 17 election. Diane Hanson, Rick Solloway and Zeke Przygocki are incumbent candidates who are also full-time residents.
Also running as resident commissioners are Anna Legates, a former Planning & Zoning commissioner and current Budget and Finance Committee member, and Claire Walsh, a former commissioner.
Running as non-resident commissioners are David Ferry, a member of the town's marketing committee, and Joy Howell, co-founder of the Citizens to Preserve Dewey, who also serves on the town's marketing and infrastructure committees.
On Saturday, two of the candidates, Joy Howell and Mayor Diane Hanson, below, attended a "meet and greet" at the Bermuda Sea Mist.
The event was packed by 40-some property owners, many of whom are frustrated by the town's seemingly endless litigation stemming from the Dewey Beach Enterprises proposal to exceed the town's 35-foot height limit. Mayor Hanson strongly opposes the proposal.
The property owners also expressed frustration over the town's financial situation and the need for everybody to "pay their fair share." Howell says she and the mayor oppose a property tax, and they need to analyze the town budget to see who is paying their fair share and who is not.
Mayor Hanson and Howell are backing Legates. They say they share similar goals for Dewey's future which includes maintaining the 35-foot height limitation.
LOWER HUMIDITY, GREAT FOR SHIP WATCHING
The end of the summer, with its lower humidity, offers increased, even excellent, visibility on some days.
On Wednesday, the Jersey shore was especially visible from Rehoboth Beach. One of the most distinctive structures visible on the Jersey shore is the Grand at Diamond Beach condo in the Wildwood area, shown below.
It is 20 miles from the Henlopen condo, and is rarely visible. It is shown below as the tugboat Michigan Service passes about seven miles from Rehoboth headed to Philadelphia around 4 p.m. The photo was taken with a 300 m.m. lens.
About 15 minutes later, the MSC Tamara past about four miles northeast of the Rehoboth coast headed to New York. The 265-meter cargo vessel is registered in Panama and has been regularly photographed by ship spotters throughout the world. MSC stands for Mediterranean Shipping Company.
Another good example was from around 4 p.m. Friday. The Pilot Boat Lewes meets the 262-meter Canadian-registered tanker Heather Knutsen, which was destined for Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania. They meet off Cape Henlopen, about five miles northeast of the Henlopen condo.
If you are interested in tracking ships, check the Internet for phone apps and online AIS ship plotters. Our Cape Henlopen ShipPlotter will remain online for a few more weeks.
Also try these three Websites for free ship-tracking maps of the local area: Ship Finder (related to the iPhone Ship Finder app), MarineTraffic.com and SiiTech. They often have sporadic coverage in the Cape Henlopen area because they lack local receivers.
MORTON GALLERY
HANGS MALE II
by Dagmar Henney
Morton's second Male art exhibition opened Friday. It features more than a dozen fine artists but a single subject matter.
Rehoboth's Ward Ellinger, shows his set of diptic artworks. They are a pair of photos suspended between two panes of glass. This creates an intriguing 3-D illusion, and a relationship between the two photos, such as before/after, male/female, top/bottom, etc.
Here is one of the most intricate works we've seen all summer. This is a self-portrait by Aristides Ruiz. It looks like a photograph, but it is actually done in ballpoint pen. Incredible!
Kevin Chisolm, who simply goes by "Chisolm," came to Rehoboth from Palm Beach where he created "Man Standing," a work he started horizontal on canvas then changed it to the vertical imposing figure you see. Chisolm won a collegiate competition which awarded him a full scholarship at University of S. Mississippi.
Please don't forget to look at all the other wonderful artists exhibited in Rehoboth's fine Philip Morton Gallery.
23rd ANNUAL DRAG VOLLEYBALL "AS SEEN ON TV"
It has been all over the NBC Today Show, but there is nothing like being there in person.
It just would not be Labor Day Weekend in Rehoboth Beach without Sunday's traditional drag volleyball match at the south edge of town. This year's teams were the Von Tramp Family Singers and the Angry Birds.
The games started in 1988. Read more about the history in the September 2008 Letters from Camp Rehoboth.
The Von Tramp Family won, 15 to 8.
SANDPIPERS
Click this link for interesting facts on the common sandpiper from National Geographic.
LAST WEEKEND UPDATE FOR 2011, ALREADY?
Is it already September? Hard to believe this is the final weekend update for the 2011 season. The days are growing short, but we will always remember you and all our dear friends.
Thank you for your continued support. Please keep the e-mails, photos, articles, announcements and news releases coming.
I try to reply to every personal e-mail. But my service provider has an aggressive spam filter which has been blocking some incoming messages. So please e-mail me at alanhenney@aim.com or look for me on my Facebook page if I do not respond.
Have a great winter and hope to hear from all of you next season, if not sooner! We can hardly wait until next summer... Only 262 days until Friday of Memorial Day Weekend, 2012.
With best wishes, Alan & Dagmar (Alan's mom).
PS: Thanks to Craig Dorman for the custom-designed T-shirts. Have a T-shirt idea? Check Craig's Website. His company motto is "You dream it, we screen it."
OTHER NEWS:
UTILITY POLE ROLLS OVER GIRL IN SURF--- A utility pole rolled over a 7-year-old girl while her father and another man were attempting to remove it from the ocean around 2 p.m. Friday. They found the 20 to 25-foot pole in the surf near Indian Harbor Drive on the southern end of the Delaware Seashore State Park. The girl suffered injuries to her chin and abdomen and was taken to Beebe Hospital by ambulance. Her injuries did not sound life threatening.
MAN DRAGS BOAT DURING CRAZY CHASE AFTER DOMESTIC ON BOAT--- It took hours for DNREC park rangers to investigate. The incident was reported around 6 p.m. Sunday when police received a call that a couple had been involved in a "physical domestic" onboard a boat in the Indian River Bay. The caller followed the boaters back to the dock at Holts Landing State Park as DNREC park rangers responded to the scene by water and land.
As they arrived, the couple with an infant had gotten into a truck with another couple. The truck towed a pontoon boat on a trailer, and the man drove off as rangers attempted to get him to stop.
Park rangers radioed for state police to assist. They chased the truck south on Whites Neck Road. During the chase, the truck was involved in a minor accident, and that is when the man's girlfriend, and the other couple with the toddler, fled the truck. But the driver continues with police still pursuing him.
The pontoon boat and trailer overturn, but remain attached to the truck, and the man tows it upside down as police continue to chase. The man drives at speeds of approximately 10 m.p.h. until he reaches Whites Neck Village near Old Mill Road. He abandons the truck and attempts to flee on foot.
Police catch him around 6:09 p.m. The 40-year-old was described as possibly intoxicated and an ambulance took him to Beebe Hospital. He had bruises and cuts to his face which supposedly happened during the fight. Park rangers later verified that the 2-year-old is safe along with the other three adults.
The Millville VFC has photos posted on its Website of the pontoon boat.
DEWEY LICENSE PLATE READERS EVEN CATCH TOWN EMPLOYEES--- Dewey Beach police nabbed a couple vehicles with unpaid fines this weekend that appear to belong to town employees, probably lifeguards.
The first car, a Chevy, was discovered around 11:15 a.m. Saturday. "Let me think about it before we boot it," the officer said. He ended up going to Dickinson Avenue on the beach to talk to the lifeguard, who promised to come to town court Saturday afternoon.
Around 1:40 p.m. Sunday, the same officer got a "hit" on a gold Chrysler Town and Country. He reported that that car also appeared to belong to a town employee, probably a lifeguard as well. He never said how much the owner owed the town.
MAN INJURED IN SURF, FLOWN TO BEEBE--- A 36-year-old man was injured in the surf in the Cape Henlopen State Park between the two army towers around 1 p.m. Saturday. He had been tossed in the surf and was initially unable to move his right side, but injuries did not sound serious. Because a state police helicopter had already landed at the park, EMS personnel used it to fly him to Beebe Hospital.
MAN ALLEGEDLY EXPOSES HIMSELF ALONG COASTAL HIGHWAY--- State police broadcast a lookout for a white man who allegedly exposed himself around 4:30 p.m. Saturday on Coastal Highway. He was described as a white man in his 50's wearing a red tank-top with jean shorts. He left on a red bike headed south in the northbound lanes of Coastal Highway. One report said he was trying to flag women down and get them into the woods near Friendly's outside Rehoboth.
STATE TROOPER RADIOS FOR HELP--- One does not hear the code 10-40 -- officer in trouble -- much on the radio. But when one does, it usually brings police from all over the county to assist. And Sunday was no exception when a trooper needed help with an intoxicated driver on Maple Leaf North in Pot-Nets Creekside around 10:30 p.m. He yelled "10-40" into the radio twice, which caught everybody by surprise. Rehoboth and Dewey officers started making the 13+ mile trip to Pot-Nets. But other troopers were able to assist with the apprehension before they arrived. This is about three blocks from Saturday's home invasion.
VEHICLE BACKS INTO BAY AT MASSEYS--- DNREC received a call around 8:15 p.m. Monday that the driver of a vehicle in the parking lot at Massey's Landing accidentally slipped on the gas pedal and backed the vehicle about 15 feet into the water. There were no injuries, but they were going to call Coastal Towing to remove the vehicle.
SOMETHING EXPLODED IN O.C. DUMPSTER--- Ocean City firefighters and bomb techs were summoned to a dumpster on 15th Street after something exploded around 10:40 p.m. Monday. Officials spent more than an hour investigating and collecting evidence, but have not said what they found.
NEWS RELEASES / NEWS REPORTS:
Prime Hook Road reopens after Hurricane Irene
Swimming advisory issued for Prime Hook Beach
NWS confirms EF-1 tornado west of Lewes during Irene
DNREC enforcement agents investigating thefts at North Shore Marina
Tires slashed on F150 pick-up truck with Philadelphia Eagles' emblems (Monday, Rehoboth)
City should acknowledge Rehoboth Beach Patrol 90th anniversary
During hurricane, old timers stick to their routine
Coast Guard searching for man missing since Hurricane Irene
Working together, teamwork, fixing litigious climate themes of Dewey Beach candidates forum
Dewey's new Bayard Avenue drainage system stands up to heavy rains
Woman wanted for theft from Long Neck Dunkin' Donuts
Home invasion at Pot-Nets Creekside with shot fired (Saturday)
Bethany Beach police chief hospitalized after bike accident (Tuesday, Selbyville)
Man stabbed at Hocker's; suspect arrested (Friday, Ocean View)
Beaches returning to normal despite Irene's financial bite
Hurricane Irene photo slid show (WGMD)
Dover woman struck, killed by police car on U.S. Route 50 (Friday, Stevensville)
OCPD look for suspects in armed robbery on August 21
2 men arrested for burglaries in downtown Ocean City
OCPD warning of Craigslist vacation rental scam
Sewer work begins in OC Tuesday
Real-time ship plotter: http://henney.com/sp
The Rehoboth Weekend Update is distributed by Alan Henney. Should you receive the Weekend Update twice, or do not wish to receive it at all, please contact Alan.
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