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WEEKEND #16, 2009

(Labor Day Weekend)

Rehoboth Beach, Delaware


ARCHIE LINGO INJURED DURING SCUFFLE AT MARKET

Rehoboth Beach police were summoned to a fight in progress at Lingo's Market just before 3 p.m. Sunday. When officers arrived, they found 66-year-old Archie Lingo with injuries to his nose, mouth and chest. EMS reports said he had been punched multiple times, and a bystander said he nearly fainted.

One source says he had gotten punched after a confrontation with an electrician hired by his sister.

Police separated the witnesses and interviewed parties involved while an ambulance took Lingo to Beebe Hospital. In addition to his nose, mouth and chest injuries, he was complaining of a headache, ankle pain, and had trouble recalling what had happened.

Police Chief Keith Banks said in an e-mail Sunday night that "Mr. Lingo will be arrested for assault."

The Lingo family has operated Lingo's Market in Rehoboth Beach for more than 100 years; making it the oldest continuously run family business in town.


DELAWARE MARINE POLICE NAB INTOXICATED BOATERS

On Saturday, the DNREC marine police boats could be seen speeding past Rehoboth on the ocean and on the Lewes & Rehoboth Canal where officers stopped these six boaters suspected of drinking onboard their fiberglass Dixie boat.

The officer moved the boaters to the Henlopen Acres Yacht Basin where he conducted a field sobriety test around 6:55 p.m. The DNREC agent later took one man to the Rehoboth Beach police station for a breath test and cited him for operating under the influence (OUI).

Sgt. Greg Rhodes of DNREC's Fish & Wildlife Enforcement says "this is of course part of normal activities on most summer weekends... our officers have a very important role in keeping our waters safe and will continue to do so."

On Monday morning, Sgt. Rhodes says DNREC made a total of four arrests for operating under the influence this weekend. Two arrests were made in New Castle County, and two in Sussex County. The Sussex arrests were near Pot-Nets on the Indian River and the one above on the Lewes & Rehoboth Canal.


WOMAN SERIOUSLY INJURED IN FALL FROM DEWEY BEACH MOTEL

An intoxicated 30-year-old Lewes woman was seriously injured early Friday when she fell (or jumped) over the railing of the Atlantic Oceanside Motel on McKinley Avenue. Sgt. Clifford Dempsey says a witness said she went over the second floor railing, struck the pool pump/heater enclosure, then the concrete pavement and finally ended up in the pool.

She was unconscious when a man pulled her from the water around 1:50 a.m. She later regained consciousness but was described as confused. Sgt. Dempsey says she was taken to Beebe Hospital, and later flown to Christiana Hospital after she was diagnosed with a brain bleed.


GEORGETOWN POLICE OFFICER SHOT, KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY

Patrolman Chad Spicer of the Georgetown, Delaware police department was shot and killed Tuesday evening. A second officer, Cpl. Shawn Brittingham, was injured.

Police officers, public safety officials, citizens and even Vice President Joe Biden attended a vigil in his memory Friday evening.

His funeral is planned for Tuesday (today) at the Crossroad Community Church in Georgetown. Please see this state police news release for more information.

He is survived by his three-year-old daughter and parents. A trust fund has been established for his daughter. Also see the Georgetown PD Website.


MAN SERIOUSLY INJURED IN COASTAL HIGHWAY BIKE CRASH

A 22-year-old male bicyclist was seriously injured after getting struck on Coastal Highway around 5 p.m. Wednesday south of the canal bridge. Police identified the man as Richard Burba of Rehoboth Beach. Burba wore no helmet and suffered a six-inch cut to his head.

One EMS worker described him as "awake but confused" and he was unable to recall what happened or where he was. The state police helicopter, Trooper 2, landed adjacent to the accident in the ball field at the Rehoboth Elementary School and flew him to Christiana Hospital.

Cpl. Bruce Harris, state police spokesman, says he was bicycling west across the roadway when he drove into the path of a 1994 Honda Accord in the northbound lanes. The driver is 23-year-old Daniel Dohergy from York, Pennsylvania. Cpl. Harris says it appears the bicyclist was improperly crossing the roadway and failed to yield to the Honda.

Accidents involving bicyclists do appear to be down this season over past years. Cpl. Harris credits that possibly to stepped up summer enforcement along Coastal Highway.


REHOBOTH NABS 4 WANTED VEHICLES - ALL ON BALTIMORE AVE!
Among them, a Mercedes that owes more than $600 in parking fines!

Rehoboth Beach ticket writers caught four vehicles since Tuesday which each owed the city several hundred dollars in unpaid fines. Interestingly, all four were found on Baltimore Avenue! Toward the end of the season, they typically find more vehicles which have accumulated enough time and money in unpaid fines to warrant towing.

The last tow for the 2009 season, and perhaps the biggest catch in recent memory, was this black Mercedes C230 which was found parked in the second block of Baltimore Avenue around 4:30 p.m. Monday. It owes the city $630. Ironically, it had time remaining in the parking meter when Coastal Towing was summoned to have it removed.

Inside the Mercedes were several Rehoboth Beach parking tickets.

The other three "wanted" vehicles were towed from the ocean block of Baltimore Avenue. That included a Buick, which owed the city $330, and was discovered just before 1 p.m. Friday. On Tuesday, a Ford Probe was towed around 2:10 p.m. when a ticket writer issued it another parking violation notice. It owed the city $335.

And just before 11 a.m. on Labor Day, a red Ford Mustang received another ticket in addition to its $290 in unpaid fines it already owed. The vehicle's owner returned and was given about 25 minutes to pay or face being towed. She paid.


REHOBOTH DRAG VOLLEYBALL TRADITION CONTINUES!

It just would not be Labor Day Weekend in Rehoboth Beach without the enormously popular drag volleyball tournament. These games have been a tradition in town for more than 20 years.

Contestants for Sunday's tournament arrived on the court around 1:10 p.m. greeting what seemed like thousands of spectators at the edge of the city's southern limits.

They performed skits, introductions and posed for photos for the enthusiastic crowd for 35 minutes before playing volleyball.

The themes for this year's two teams were Catholic Nuns (above) and the Women of Neverland (below), who included actors playing the part of Lisa Marie Presley, Brooke Shields, Liza Minnelli, Diana Ross, La Toya Jackson, Janet Jackson, Debbie Rowe, Elizabeth Taylor and Farrah Fawcett.

The players wore elaborate costumes and performed well-choreographed skits that poked fun of the Catholic Church, the women of Neverland and themselves.

Photos by Hoyte Decker and Alan Henney

Chris Riss of Rehoboth Beach Buzz reports that the Women of Neverland beat the Catholic Nuns, 11 to 4.

The games have been a popular Labor Day tradition since they started in 1988. Read more about the history in the August 2000, August 2003 and August 2004 Letters from Camp Rehoboth.


CITY CREW PATCHES ROADWAY WITH MAYOR, CITY MANAGER, 2 COMMISSIONERS STANDING BY

For a moment it looked like a ground-breaking on the eve of Labor Day Weekend. City Manager Greg Ferrese, Mayor Sam Cooper, Commissioners Dennis Barbour and Pat Coluzzi were later joined by Public Works Director Mel Craig and his crew. They patched a gap between the pavement on Columbia Avenue and the gravel shoulder near Sussex Street around 1 p.m. Friday.

 


13 PIPING PLOVER CHICKS FLEDGE IN CAPE HENLOPEN STATE PARK

The Cape Henlopen State Park had 13 piping plover chicks fledge this year. Matthew Bailey, a DNREC wildlife biologist, says Cape Henlopen is the only place in the state where the threatened birds nest. He sends along these recent photos taken by Victoria Withington, one of the piping plover monitors.

Photos by Victoria Withington, piping plover monitor

In addition to the nesting piping plovers, which are listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act, seabeach amaranth (a federally listed threatened plant, shown below) has been observed in the park at the Point and Gordons Pond.

Photo courtesy Stephen M. Young, New York Natural Heritage Program via NatureServe

Although the overwash habitat that amaranth prefers was hit hard by waves generated by Hurricane Bill and many of the plants were lost, DNREC says searches for seabeach amaranth will continue into September and it is hoped that more will be discovered. DNREC has posted this news release with more details on the plovers and the amaranth.


WEEKEND WATER INCIDENTS

Labor Day Weekend is traditionally a busy weekend on the water. For some reason, much of the action this weekend was in the Lewes-Slaughter Beach area:

Friday 12:05 p.m. - Something was reported floating in the water about 100 to 150 yards from the Slaughter Beach firehouse. It was surrounded by seagulls. Firefighters, DNREC and the state police helicopter responded. It was a decomposed sea turtle which finally was brought to shore near Maryland Avenue. MERR Institute was called to investigate.

Saturday 4:30 p.m. - South Bayshore Drive in Broadkill Beach, a woman called reporting that her husband was missing. He was last seen on a Sailfish sailboat about 45 minutes earlier. Firefighters, county paramedics, state police helicopter, the Coast Guard and DNREC marine police joined the search. The man was safely located on the shore around 5 p.m.

Sunday 2:20 p.m. - Bay Avenue at Roosevelt Inlet, a man wearing a life jacket reportedly fell overboard from a vessel about 150 yards from the inlet. The search was just starting to get underway when they got word that another vessel had safely picked him up. He was taken back to the inlet where the Coast Guard, Lewes fire boat and ambulance were waiting, below.

Photo by David Koster, Portraits In The Sand


LAST WEEKEND UPDATE FOR 2009!
Please look for me (Alan Henney) on the D.C. Examiner Website this winter!

This is the 16th and final weekend update for the 2009 season. Please keep the e-mails, photos, articles, announcements and news releases coming. Have a great winter and hope to hear from all of you next season, if not sooner! Thanks for your support!

I just started writing the DC crime page for the Examiner. Please look for me there and click often (I get paid by the story view!).

Only 262 days until Friday of Memorial Day Weekend 2010!


OTHER NEWS:

BOY SURVIVES BEACH TUNNEL COLLAPSE--- It was the second time this season that a child became trapped when a tunnel collapsed on him. Chief Wayne Kline from DNREC’s Division of Parks and Recreation says the 5-year-old Pennsylvania boy dug a 4-foot-deep ditch in and downward into the ledge at the end of the beach in the Fenwick Island State Park. The tunnel collapsed on him around 2:15 p.m. Saturday, burying him completely. Lifeguards, family and bystanders rushed to the boy's rescue and freed him in less than a minute. Robbie Murray, Sussex County EMS spokesman, says the boy was taken to Beebe Hospital in stable (good) condition. A similar incident happened in Ocean City on July 14.

GUARDS CLEAR SURF WHILE SEARCHING FOR MISSING GIRL--- Rehoboth Beach lifeguards partially evacuated the ocean around 3:45 p.m. Sunday after they received a report from a parent that a girl was lost in the surf between Wilmington and Brooklyn avenues. The surf had just been getting rough for the day. Capt. Kent Buckson radioed for police to assist with crowd control and pulled one guard from each stand to assist with the search. One could hear the sigh of relief - about 15 minutes later - when they discovered that the girl merely left the beach to go to the restroom.

DEWEY POLICE CATCH WANTED 62-YEAR-OLD WOMAN--- A Dewey Beach police officer stopped a 62-year-old woman driving a Volkswagen Beetle around 2:35 p.m. Thursday near the Quality Inn & Suites just north of Dewey. A computer check revealed that she was wanted by the Rehoboth Beach Alderman's Court for operating an unregistered motor vehicle. Sgt. Clifford Dempsey, Dewey PD spokesman, says DBPD charged her with disregarding a stop sign, expired registration, failure to change address on license, failure to register vehicle for new residence in 60 days, no proof of insurance, and driving while suspended/revoked. The officer drove her to her residence and had her vehicle towed.

SHAG CITED FOR NOISE--- Now in its second season, Shag has quickly become Rehoboth Beach's leader in late-night noise complaints. Police were called to Shag around 11:10 p.m. on Friday, 11:25 p.m. Saturday and again on Sunday at 11:10 p.m. The complaints appear to originate from more than one person. Police issued Shag at least one civil citation. The restaurant is at 37 Wilmington Avenue.

POLICE CITE MOTEL GUESTS FOR DISTURBING THE PEACE--- Rehoboth Beach police were called to the High Seas Motel on Christian Street for a disorderly group in the same third-floor room twice this weekend. The first complaint was around 3:45 a.m. Saturday. The second time was at 6:10 a.m. Sunday. The officer said he would issue the offending motel guests a civil citation for disturbing the peace, and the manager was going to ask them to leave.

OUT-OF-CONTROL PARTIES OUTSIDE REHOBOTH--- Multiple police agencies responded to two rowdy parties this holiday weekend. The first was Sunday around 12:25 a.m. on Duffy Street in West Rehoboth. State troopers requested Dewey, Rehoboth police and police dogs to help disperse the crowd. On Sunday, police received a call from a Russian man who said he was beaten up while at the Wahoo Rawbar & Crab Company around 1:45 a.m. Troopers arriving about 10 minutes later reported about 100 disorderly persons and requested emergency assistance. Troopers also called for an ambulance for one man who bit an officer and was resisting arrest.

O.C.B.P. CAPT. ARBIN MAKES ANOTHER SAVE--- Before Ocean City lifeguards were officially on the stands Sunday morning, Capt. Butch Arbin and several other guards pulled three to safety at 5th Street around 9:25 a.m. "I was on the beach heading to 7th Street," Capt. Arbin says, "when a 9-1-1 call came in that there were three swimmers in distress." The first sergeant on the scene radioed that he was going in for three, Capt. Arbin says. "I arrived as he was entering the water and saw that one of the three was separated, so I called in that I was also going in and I went to the one separated individual." An off-duty firefighter with a buoy and fins also helped rescue the other two distressed swimmers. All three were safely brought to shore.

LIFEGUARD REVIVES WOMAN AT O.C. HOTEL POOL BAR--- An Ocean City lifeguard revived a woman in her 40's after she collapsed without a pulse at the Clarion Resort Fontainebleau Hotel pool bar around 10:50 a.m. Monday. He attempted to shock her with a defibrillator (AED), but it recommended he continue CPR. He said after five compressions, the woman's eyes opened. Paramedics took her to the hospital.

STOLEN REHOBOTH MOTOR SCOOTER FOUND--- As soon as the Rehoboth Beach police dispatcher broadcast a lookout for a stolen motor scooter around 8 a.m. Saturday; an officer recalled seeing it earlier in the morning. The 2003 Venus Motor Scooter was taken from the 300-block of Laurel Street some time over night and located on Surf Avenue at Park Avenue. Police attempted to dust it for prints.

NEW O.C. TOWNHOUSE CATCHES FIRE--- Fire broke out in a new townhouse at 222 Hitchins Avenue in Ocean City around 11:15 p.m. Sunday. Fire was visible from the second floor, but firefighters had it "knocked down" in about 10 minutes. No reported injuries.


NEWS RELEASES / NEWS REPORTS:

STIMULUS FUNDS: R.B. BOARDWALK VS. WEST REHOBOTH (WUSA-TV, Monday)

TRACTOR TRAILERS COLLIDE ON U.S. RT.50 (Wye Mills, Friday)

MOTORCYCLIST CITED FOR U.S. RT.50 ACCIDENT (Wye Mills, Sunday)

HOPEFULS TRY-OUT FOR NEXT YEAR'S O.C. BEACH PATROL (WBOC-TV, Saturday)

2 FATAL ACCIDENTS ON U.S. RT. 113 NEAR ELLENDALE LAST WEEK

O.C. POLICE CHARGE MAN IN STORE BRAWL (Beach Styles Shop, last week)


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