WEEKEND #4, 2024
June 17, 2024
Rehoboth Beach, Delaware
Have trouble viewing this report or its photos? CLICK HERE! Please email TIPS/photos to: alan@henney.com
*|MC:SHARE|*
TRUCK CRASHES THROUGH WEST REHOBOTH MURAL WALL
No arrest has been made as of Sunday; Juneteenth
celebration still scheduled
This cinder block wall between Henlopen Station and West Rehoboth was found partially demolished this past Thursday morning. The wall had been painted by mural artist, Terrance Vann, a West Rehoboth native who used his talents to help tell the community's history through his art.
MCpl. Lewis Briggs, state police spokesman, says troopers determined that the crash occurred between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. A Chevy Silverado pickup with front-end damage was found around 7 a.m. on private property on Norwood Street, not far from the crash scene, and was impounded by police. But as of Sunday, police say no arrest has been made.
Leah Beach, Developing Artist Collaboration (DAC), founder and director, explained the mural's significance to reporters on Thursday. Her organization, which finds itself now a part of the community, was instrumental in making the mural a reality. That's her on the right with Brenda Milbourne, West Side Children Youth and Program executive director.
"We're very confident that this was just a tragic accident and by no means anybody having any malicious intent to do anything to disrespect this project or the community," Beach said.
The mural was completed on June 22, 2022, and was part of an effort by DAC to revive and preserve the history. Before the mural, the cinder block wall was covered with random graffiti.
Photo courtesy Delaware Community Foundation
The West Rehoboth Juneteenth celebration will continue as scheduled this Wednesday from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. "When we unveiled this mural, it turned into a Juneteenth celebration. And Rehoboth Beach did have a Juneteenth celebration that they did not continue. So we decided to kind of pick up where that was left off because, according to history, this is where folks live that served the downtown area. So this is a very appropriate home for the West Rehoboth Juneteenth celebration," Beach pointed out.
"We see this as a platform to not only bring awareness to this beautiful event," Beach added, "it's going to be at Westside Creative Market. We're going to be featuring 14 black, brown, African American vendors. We're also going to have our legacy committee down here that's going to be sharing information about the history of this mural. You'll get to meet some of the family members that are shown on this wall here. So it's an opportunity for folks to learn more about this rich history... We asked the community to come and celebrate what's very largely unknown of the black, brown and African American history of our community."
"The condo association," Beach noted, "is going to be working with their insurance in order to get this rebuilt and then we are going to work with our mural artist to get him back down here and to paint it. Our goal is for it to be the same information."
Please click below to see the exciting beach clocks ...
See Beachclocks.com for more info!
REHOBOTH POLICE SHOOT, KILL SICK FOX ON BEACH
For the past week or more, Rehoboth Beach lifeguards and police had received reports of a fox behaving oddly on the beach in the south end of town. Police received another report of a sighting around 8:15 a.m. Sunday, off New Castle Street. An officer was unable to locate the fox. But as the beach patrol was getting started for the day, the fox was spotted in the "beach wheels" shack between Philadelphia and Laurel Streets.
Photo courtesy John Dewey
Police returned once again. An officer fired two shots with a shotgun and killed the fox on the beach.
Chief Keith Banks says the fox had been behaving and walking oddly, looked sickly and possibly was suffering from mange. They removed the remains but he said they did not plan to test it for rabies.
DODGE PICKUP STRIKES FIRE HYDRANT AT SILVER LAKE
This Dodge Ram 2500 was parked on the shoulder, northbound on Silver Lake Drive near the fire hydrant, says MCpl. Lewis Briggs, state police spokesman. When the driver pulled away around noon last Wednesday, he struck the county-owned fire hydrant.
The driver was not cited and there were no injuries. MCpl. Briggs added.
Coastal Delaware's premier lifestyle magazine ...
View the current issue here.
REHOBOTH CAMPAIGN SEASON GETS EARLY START
Suzanne Goode, one of five Rehoboth Beach commissioner candidates, appears to be the first out of the gate this campaign season. Her campaign signs went up a couple of weeks ago, and this past Wednesday, about 60 people were in the audience when she addressed them at the beautiful home of Tom Gaynor and Steven Linehan, dubbed "Goose Landing," on the edge of Lake Gerar.
Gaynor specifically mentioned his frustration dealing with city hall, concerns about sharing the Rehoboth ocean outfall and the loss of Deauville to the state. Gaynor was also interviewed this past week by several news organizations regarding the hiring of the city manager.
Goode talked about the city's tree canopy, concerns about recent decisions made by the Board of Commissioners and city hall, the increase in rental tax and the need to find additional revenue for the city. She says she wants to "rein in spending on projects the city doesn't need with funding we don't have unless we raise taxes and user fees."
The cute dog is Louis Pierre.
She has already started going door to door to meet voters.
OTHER CANDIDATE NEWS...
Mark Saunders says he is "ready to kick off next weekend as soon as the board of commissioners approves all our petitions at the Friday commissioners meeting."
No new candidate news to report this week from Joseph Cardinale, Rachel Macha and Craig Their.
The voter registration deadline is July 11. More election dates and info is on the city's website.
Contact us for a free initial consultation!
FUNLAND GETS NEW DERBY GAME!
This past week, the maintenance team at Funland was able to remove the old Derby and install the new Derby in less than 24 hours.
As the amusement park's most popular game, Derby has the prominent position on the corner of Delaware Avenue and the boardwalk. "As you know," says Christopher Darr, Funland's personnel manager, "people love derby, and when we said we were swapping out the game, the first thing [we heard] was, 'Please tell me you're not putting something different in there.' And we wouldn't. People want to come play this game summer after summer. So that's really the important part of it."
Here are the mother and daughter who played the last race just before the Funland team placed it out of service. They won a choice prize and a behind-the-scenes tour of Funland. Ironically, they were the last paying customers ever for Lingo's Market before it closed!
This is the third version of the popular game which has been at Funland since the early 80s. The last version lasted for 24 years. It is manufactured by Roll A Ball in England.
It's a staple, Darr points out. "When people come to Funland, they want to play the Derby... Some of the games have come and gone over the years. But this is absolutely one that has stood the test of time," he points out.
"People play these games their whole life and they say, just like the rides, 'I played this as a kid, now I'm playing against my own kid,' and that competitive spirit... at nighttime when we're getting ready to close and there's a really loud rowdy crowd out there and they're all cheering... that's what we want. It's that fun that everybody has," he explains.
Funland also has a new winner-every-time game called "Lucky Duck." Players select a duck and win the prize indicated on its bottom.
Photos courtesy Christopher Darr
Welcome to The Starboard!
DEWEY PARKING STORIES MAKING THE NEWS
Dewey Beach had two high-profile parking cases this past week that went viral and/or made local headlines.
This past Tuesday morning, the town finally towed this Cadillac Escalade from Dickinson Avenue near Nalu. iDewey had started this Facebook discussion about the SUV on June 9. Mallory Metzner reported last week that the unregistered SUV with Montana tags had collected 19 tickets for close to $1000 in fines by the time it was towed.
Photo courtesy iDewey
The other case was this visitor who parked on Dagsworthy Street near the liquor store. A follow-up video he posted has gotten more than 13,000 views. He argues that he paid for parking and the ticket he was issued for a "head-in parking" violation is actually for being parked in the wrong direction along the roadway. He makes frequent references to 18 U.S.C. § 242. In his third video, he says the town took back the $65 ticket.
Town code § 158.3 does read: "No person shall park a vehicle on the public streets in the Town of Dewey Beach in violation of the official traffic control signs regulating parking."
Let the fun begin! Please click here ...
https://www.mcgregorcustomhomes.com/
RAL OPENS FINE CRAFT EXHIBIT AND SOLO SHOW
The Rehoboth Art League's beloved members' fine craft exhibition opened this past Friday. This is the 51st and features works in nearly every medium! "The creativity of these artists working in 3-D, jewelry, wood, ceramics, glass, sculpture... it is just amazing their thought process. We all know what we like... but when you come into a show like this... it just opens up this whole new avenue of creativity that people possess," says Nick Serratore, the league's exhibitions director.
Serratore pointed out how the interest in jewelry has spiked this year. "These artists are really getting into something different and it's not little pieces either... big jewelry, big necklaces," he said.
Patrick Lieb, who now lives in South Point near Assateague Island, is one of the five artists who won "best in show" by this year's judge. Lieb is a retired industrial arts teacher who taught metal shop, and photography and became interested in woodworking in retirement. He made custom windows and doors and worked in carpentry trades. He says David Knopp, a famous wood craftsman from Baltimore, was his inspiration.
Lieb built this amazing rocking chair, the "octo-rocker," from seven-layer birch plywood with an octopus theme.
Also opening this past Friday at the art league is a solo show, Paper Forest, by Jennifer Hudson. "We see a lot of art come through here and this is the first time we showcased work that is completely paper cut. It is so intricate and so time-consuming, and it's beautifully executed... I've never seen anything quite like it," Serratore explains.
Hudson specializes in wildlife art and her subjects primarily include wildlife around where she lives in Ellicott City, Maryland, predominantly birds, foxes and other native wildlife. "I love being in this space because I think that my wildlife reflects the environment that the Art League is set in," she says.
She cuts everything by hand with an X-ACTO knife and everything is out of layered sheets of hand-cut paper. So it's a combination of drawing and sculpting. But instead of adding pigments to a canvas or to a sheet of paper, she uses the knife to take away the excess material.
Both exhibitions run through July 14.
The popular cottage tour will showcase eight exquisite homes this July. "Their art and architecture is phenomenal, from traditional to very contemporary. The homes themselves are a visual feast, but you'll get the opportunity to go inside the private homes and look at people's art collections and what they have. So it's just a really nice experience," Serratore points out. Tickets are available on the RAL website.
Thinking about buying or selling? Please click here ...
https://www.activeadultsdelaware.com/
PHOTOS OF THE WEEK
Sunday Afternoon, Just before Sunset by Richard Tananis ...
Magnolias Always Signal the Start of Summer by Susan Howard ...
Rehoboth Walmart last Thursday by Alan Henney ...
Photography contests: Delaware Beach Life, Rehoboth Reflections, Ocean Photo, Delaware Farm Bureau
OTHER NEWS:
THE MERR REPORT--- Suzanne Thurman from the MERR Institute says her organization had another quiet week with regard to rescues and death investigations. MERR had received lots of live dolphin and whale sighting reports along the coast. The World Ocean Day celebration went well, she says. "Lots of families enjoyed the eco crafts and games we set up for our theme of reducing plastic use. Our beach cleaners collected 23 pounds of trash from Beach Plum Island, and we had a nice turn out for the film about saving the right whale," she added.
BIDENS EXPECTED TO RETURN FOR RARE MID-WEEK VISIT--- The President and First Lady are expected this week in North Shores from Tuesday to Thursday before departing for Camp David.
