Lewes's Jack McCarthy
moving to Vermont
Lewes educator Jack McCarthy
and his family will be moving to
Swanton, Vermont this summer
where Jack
has taken a
position as
principal of
Mississquois
Valley Union
High School.
According to
Jack's wife,
Pam, the
school houses
1,100 stu- McCARTHY
dents in
grades 7-12. He will begin his
new duties on the first of July.
Jack has held a number of educa-
tion positions in local schools. He
served as band director for Cape
Henlopen High School before
moving into the assistant princi-
pal's position there. He then
moved to Indian River School
District where he served as princi-
pal at Sussex Central Middle in
Millsboro and then principal of
Sussex Central High School in
Georgetown. It was during his
tenure there that he gained nation-
al attention in the case of the fir-
ing of math teacher Adele Jones.
In the much celebrated legal hat-
fie, Jones was eventually rehired
to her position. McCarthy then
moved into the Indian River Dis-
trict office before taking his pre-
sent position as Project 21 site co-
ordinator for Delaware's Depart-
ment of Public Instruction.
Tom Selleck has not
bought S mansion
One of the most persistent, star-
studded rumors of the area in re-
cent months is that movie and
television actor Tom Selleck has
purchased the Otis Smith mansion
on Gills Neck Road at the edge of
Lewes. "Absolutely no truth to
that one," said Hazell Smith this
week. Married to former Lewes
mayor and menhaden magnate
Otis Smith for many years, Hazell
Smith now owns the brick man-
sion and surrounding farmland
where she continues to pursue her
lifelong love of horses. How
about the other rumor that Shelly
Long, who played Diane in the
popular television series Cheers
and has starred in a number of
films, is also interested in the
Smith estate. "Now that's a dif-
ferent story," said Smith. "She
hasn't purchased anything here
but she is a frequent visitor. Her
brother has a house here. Shelly
lived in Lewes back in the 1970s
and cleaned out horse stalls for
me. There wasn't enough money
in it for her though. She said the
big money was in acting so she
went off to New York. She was
right." Smith said Long's been
back to Lewes a number of times.
"I usually have some yearling
standardbreds for sale and she
comes to look at them for
friends."
Lewes personnel policy
meeting planned May 23
There will be a meeting of the
committee regarding personnel
policy issues for the city of Lewes
on Tuesday, May 23 beginning at
7:30 p.m. The meeting will be
held within Council Chambers of
City Hall located on East Third
Street.
Citizens Coalition meets
Sunday, May 21
Citizens Coalition, a group of
citizens concerned with promot-
ing effective planning and sound
land use, will meet on Sunday,
May 21. The meeting will begin
at 7 p.m. at the Lewes Grange
Hall on Savannah Road. Agenda
items include updates on plans for
a Jiffy Lube, a miniature golf
course and other developments
along Del 1.; discussion regarding
action on the environment; con-
sideration of Citizens Coalition
incorporating; and discussion on
farm preservation.
Bracken, Lavelle, Tausey
seek re-election in Dewey
The "BLT" slate, comprised of
Dewey Beach Town Commission-
ers James Bracken, James Lavelle
and William Tansey, will be on
the municipal election ballot this
summer. Although no one has of_
ficially filed as a candidate for the
September election, the three in-
cumbents have indicated that they
will seek re-election. Three seats
- one resident and two non-resi-
dent - are up for election this year.
Lavelle, an instructor at
Delaware Technical and Commu-
nity College in Georgetown, plans
to file as a resident commissioner
candidate. A former Dewey
Beach mayor, Lavelle currently
serves as the town's police com-
missioner.
Bracken and Tansey will run as
non-resident commissioner candi-
dates. Bracken, who lives in
Alexandria, Va., is president and
chief executive of an event man-
agement company that specializes
in shows and conferences. He
currently serves as special pro-
jects and public relations commis-
sioner.
A Wilmington resident, Tansey
is an engineer at the Star Enter-
prise Refinery in Delaware City.
He is the town's administrative
commissioner. The trio won over-
whelmingly during the 1993 mu-
nicipai election.
Sussex planners deny
Jiffy Lube plan
The Sussex County Planning
and Zoning Commission on
Thursday, May 11 denied a site
plan for a new Jiffy Lube north of
the Midway Tire Center on Del. 1.
According to Shane Abbott, a
planner in the Sussex County
Planning Office, the site plan was
denied as submitted because it
showed parking five feet from
Del. I. Under county regulations,
parking must be at least 40 feet
away from the highway, he said.
The applicant will be required to
submit a revised site plan.
Judge urges compromise
in Harbeson lawsuit
Delaware Chancery Court
Chancellor William T. Allen is
pressing Allen Family Foods and
a group of Harbeson residents to
reach a compromise in a legal bat-
tle over the company's plans to
operate a chicken rendering plant
on 35 acres near the intersection
of U.S. 9 and Del. 5. During oral
arguments in the case Thursday
(May 11), Allen encouraged the
two parties to settle their differ-
ences out of court. However, it is
unlikely that the parties will reach
an out-of-court settlement, ac-
cording to James A. Puqua Jr., the
attorney representing Seaford-
based Allen Family Foods.
Residents are concerned that the
proposed rendering plant will cre-
ate a foul odor and pollute the air
and groundwater. In addition to
the Chancery Court suit, the resi-
dents have filed legal action in Su-
perior Court asking the court to
overturn the Sussex County Board
of Adjustment's approval of the
project.
Asphalt plant plan
stirs controversy
The Sussex County Board of
Adjustment early Tuesday (May
16) deferred action on a request
by contractor Melvin L. Joseph to
operate an asphalt plant on Sussex
322 near Georgetown. During a
public hearing on the request
Monday (May 15), opponents of
the application expressed concern
that the proposed asphalt plant
would devalue their properties,
create air pollution and noise, and
add truck traffic.
Earlier this month, the county's
Board of Adjustment upheld a de-
cision by County Planning Direc-
tor Lawrence B. Lank to approve
another asphalt plant at the county
industrial park. The board's next
meeting is June 5.
Sussex planners have
full agenda May 25
The Sussex County Planning
and Zoning Commission will
meet on Thursday, May 25. The
commission will hold a public
hearing on a conditional use appli-
cation for model homes sales and
a display lot next to the Del. 24
entrance of Rehoboth Mall. The
applicant, Angola Community
Partners, L.L.C., wants to market
single-family homes for Angola
Estates, a residential community
located next to the Angola Beach
mobile home park. The maxi-
mum number of model homes that
could be located on the 1.21-acre
site is five, according to County
Planning Director Lawrence B.
Lank.
The commission will also con-
duct a hearing on a conditional
use application for a crematorium
within the Parsell, Atkins, &
Lodge funeral home being con-
structed on Kings Highway. In
other business, the commission
will consider an application by
Pine Acres, Inc. for a 63-1ot subdi-
vision near Long Neck. The
26.45-acre site is located 110 feet
northeast of the end of Rudder
CAPE GAZETTE, Friday, May 19 - May 25, 1995 - 3
Road within Seafarers Village,
approximately 1,460 feet north of
Long Neck Road.
The commission will also hold
hearings on amendments to the
county's zoning and subdivision
ordinances relating to flood prone
districts. The proposed amend-
ments are housekeeping mea-
sures.
The commission will meet at
7:30 p.m. in the County Council
Chambers of the Courthouse in
Georgetown.
CURE group to ask
for superintendent input
Citizens United Regarding Edu-
cation (CURE) decided at its May
15 executive board meeting to ask
Cape Henlopen School District
Superintendent Suellen Skeen to
explain the district's strategic plan
for implementing New Directions.
CURE's spokeswoman, Estie
Class, said since a major part of
the group's focus is on the state's
education reform initiative, New
Directions, it is interested in learn-
ing how the initiative will directly
impact local students. No meet-
ing date has yet been confirmed.
The group has not yet deter-
mined its next meeting date.
Cape School Board
to vote on tax rate
The Cape Henlopen Board of
Education is expected to vote on
the tax rate at its next regular
meeting, Thursday, May 25. Also
on the agenda is a report by Board
Member Sue Shupard and Super-
intendent Suellen Skeen on the
School-to-Work program.
The program, said Skeen, is
state and federally funded. It tar-
gets the non-college bound stu-
dents who, after leaving high
school, enter the workforce. She
said that although she is still re-
searching it, it appears the pro-
gram involves high school voca-
tional education staff develop-
ment. Its intent, she believes, is to
foster a smoother transition from
school to the business world.
The board will also have special
recognition awards for students
who have earned honors in state
organizations, science competi-
tions, sports, and Special
Olympics. Additionally, it will
honor student and staff volunteers
who have merited state recogni-
tion and a teacher who won a
DuPont mini-grant.
The meeting will he held in the
library at Cape Henlopen High
School at 8 p.m.
Shields teacher elected
to Indian River board
Shields Elementary School first
grade teacher Chris Lecates was
elected to the Indian River Board
of Education on Saturday, May
13. Lecates, 42, has been teaching
in the Cape Henlopen School Dis-
trict for 21 years. She won 542 to
306 in the race against Preston In-
gram.
Several issues are important to
her, said Lecates. "The superin-
tendent search is the big thing,"
said Lecates. "I felt that would be
the biggest issue - would have the
Gala to benefit
Catholic high school
Plans are presently being
formulated to build a region-
al Catholic high school, St.
Joseph's, to serve students in
Sussex County, as well as
Ocean City, Berlin and Salis-
bury, Md. Gerri Cole of
Bethany Beach and Joe
Conaway of Seaford, sup-
porters of the proposed pro-
ject, are shown with a poster
advertising a fundraising
gala, to be held Sunday, June
11 from 4 to 8 p.m., at the Bay-
Center, Ruddertowne, Dewey
Beach. Tickets, $15 each, may
be obtained by calling 537-
1386 or 539-1611.
While no site has been
found for the school, support-
ers believe that there is
enough interest to institute
such a school, which would
pride itself on small class size
and teach morals. It would
also give parents, Catholic or
non-Catholic, another option
in this area other than public
or private school
Interested people may also
attend capital campaign
committeemeetings, which
are held every Thursday at
7:30 p.m., at St. Ann's
Catholic Church, Bethany
Beach.
biggest im-
pact - on the
future of the
Indian River
School Dis-
trict."
Lecates al-
so is interest-
ed in the
state's educa-
tion reform
..... , LECATES
initiative,
New Direc-
tions. "It's an enormous amount
of money in a time when districts
are facing a financial crunch," she
said. "We have good standards.
We have good methods of instruc-
tional strategies. I think we
should focus on our strengths and
build from our strengths.
"I want a lot of input. It's my
responsibility to be prepared and
make sound decisions for the fu-
ture of the district." The future is
particularly important to her, she
said, because she has a seventh
grade daughter at Sussex Central
Middle School. She said she
wants to make sure her daughter
continues to receive quality edu-
cation during a time when budget
problems are plaguing districts
statewide.
