4-CAPE GAZETTE, FridaYlMaY3o "JungS,'i97 ....................................... ........ ............... " .......... - ....... " "
Route 1 Weekly Accident U 00date
Continued from page 3
Rogers recaps
council experience
Sussex County Councilman
Lynn Rogers was the featured
speaker at the Sunday, April 27
meeting of the Citizens Coalition.
Rogers recapped his first few
months in office and discussed the
county land use plan, which has
been submitted to the state for its
recommendations and comments.
Rogers said that he is happy that
the county is going to offer ex-
tended hours on Wednesdays and
also said that he has supported a
kind of one-stop shopping for
county residents seeking services
like building permits. Rogers said
both he and Sussex County Coun-
cilmen Finley Jones had requested
additional hearings on the land
use plan. Rogers said the extra
hearings were needed in order to
give people a chance to speak
their mind. "You have to let the
public be heard," he said.
Rogers said he understands the
state won't be totally pleased with
the land use plan submitted by
Sussex County. "[My understand-
ing] is that they are not totally
happy with everything. That is
kind of what we wanted to hear."
Rogers said that he and Jones
support a committee of people to
regularly monitor and keep the
county's land use plan updated.
Such regular tinkering is a "neces-
sity," he said. County Administra-
tor Bob Stickels will develop a
proposal to begin such a commit-
tee, he said.
Downzoning approved
on Route 16
Sussex County Planning and
Zoning and Sussex County Coun-
cil have approved a downzoning
for land located along Route 16,
one of several recent requests. The
request by Ethel Graham and Car-
ol and Joseph Shockley was to
change the zoning for roughly 135
acres on the north side of Route 16
from general residential to agri-
cultural residential.
"Our intent is just to preserve
this land in agriculture," said
Robert Graham. The proposal was
voted on at the April 24 meeting
of Sussex County Planning and
Zoning. Delaware's Office of
State Planning Coordination
praised the request, calling the
downzoning a "refreshing"
change from most rezoning re-
quests.
Cemetery gets
approval from Sussex
A conditional use request to de-
velop a veteran's cemetery was
unanimously approved on April
24 by the county planning com-
mission. Sussex County Council
then approved the request on May
13.
The veteran's cemetery was ap-
proved by the legislature last year
and will be located in the Mills-
boro area, specifically on land ad-
joining the Stockley Center. Rep.
Charles West (D-Gumboro)
helped champion the cause of a
downstate veteran's cemetery and
the proposal received little if any
opposition.
The parcel is 62 acres in size
and will be very similar to the oth-
er veteran's cemetery operated by
the Delaware Commission of Vet-
erans Affairs. That cemetery is lo-
cated just north of the C & D
Canal below Newark.
The cemetery is expected to be
in operation by October of 1999.
Land not used by the Veterans
Commission will continue to be
farmed until needed.
Milton Woods
appeal pulled
Sussex County Council was set
to consider an appeal of a subdivi-
sion denial for the Milton Woods
project, which the .Sussex County
Planning and Zoning Commission
had denied.
But the Council was told at its
meeting May 6 that the applicant
hoped to withdraw its appeal. In-
stead, the applicants want to re-
apply for approval to the county
planning and zoning commission,
so county council denied the ap-
peal, which paves the way for a
re-application.
The 39-1ot proposed project is
being considered for a rural area
near Milton and would be located
on Sussex 238.
DelDOT names
technology administrator
The Delaware Department of
Transportation (DelDOT) has an-
nounced the selection of Gene
Donaldson as the Administrator of
Intelligent Transportation Sys-
tems (ITS). After a nationwide
search for qualified candidates in
the advanced transportation tech-
nology field, Donaldson will as-
sume the post April 21.
• Nationally recognized for his
expertise on practical applications
of ITS, Donaldson, of Mont-
gomery County, Md., has served
on many committees promoting
advanced technology traffic man-
agement, including chairing the
Washington, D.C., Regional ITS
Task Force.
Donaldson advanced the use of
technology in communicating
transportation network condition
information; through his efforts,
information is now fed to the
county government subscriber
television station, internet-linked
kiosks and a Web page.
In his position at DelDOT, Don-
aldson will emphasize the practi-
cal use of technology to improve
Delaware's transportation system.
Donaldson will reside in Fen-
wick Island.
DNREC offers compost
bins at reduced price
The Department of Natural Re-
sources and Environmental Con-
trol (DNREC) has unveiled its
new backyard composting bins
just in time for Earth Day. The
bins, which can retail around $70
in catalogs and department stores,
are available for a one-time, spe-
cial price of $20. They are made
from 100 percent recyclable plas-
tic, are rodent proof, and can be
adjusted in size to hold from 12.5
to 24 cubic feet of material.
Composting creates conditions
which speed up the natural process
of decomposition of leaves, grass,
plants, weeds, paper, fruit scraps,
vegetable garbage and even tea
bags and coffee grounds. These
materials are decomposed into
rich soil-like material called hu-
mus which is an excellent fertiliz-
er and mulch for home gardens.
The bins were sold at the Uni-
versity of Delaware's Ag Day on
April 19, and at other statewide
events during the spring. For more
information, call Janet Manchester
at (302) 739-3820.
Milton zoning hearing
Monday, June 2
Milton Town Council has
scheduled a public hearing at 7
p.m., Monday, June 2, in the li-
brary meeting room. The hearing
is to present a new zoning ordi-
nance to the public and to allow
comment on it before city council
votes to adopt or reject it. The new
law would create a designation, R-
2, that would allow detached
housing or duplexes, and would
allow cluster placement on lots
and flexibility in setbacks, but
would not allow a higher density
than in R-1 single family residen-
tial. That density is approximately
four housing units per acre. The
regularly scheduled meeting of
council will follow the hearing at
7:30 p.m., in the library meeting
room.
Biden secures crime
fighting grant
Sussex County may soon see a
drop in the illegal drug trade as
monies procured from a federal
grant filter to the Delaware State
Police.
Sen. Joe Biden announced
Tuesday, May 20, that he secured
a $60,000
grant, the
first-ever
"Problem-
Solving Part-
nership
Grant," under
the Biden
Crime Law.
In addition to
the funding
being used to BIDEN
combat ille-
gal drugs, some funding will also
go toward fighting commercial
burglaries.
"We're very appreciative of the
efforts of Sen. Biden," said Lt.
Rick Chamberlin, Delaware State
Police spokesman. "This grant
will go toward the purchase of
some much needed photographic
equipment, which will help us
combat the open air drug problems
in Sussex County."-
Chamberlin said the known
open-air drug markets include
West Rehoboth, Cool Spring,
Pinetown, Lucas Development
FOR WEEK OF MAY 19 TO MAY 25, 1997
DATE LOCATION
05/21/97 Rt. 1, and Sussex 273C, west of Rehoboth
05/21/97 Rt. 1 and Sussex 268A, west of Lewes
05/22/97 Rt. 1 and Sussex 283, south of Lewes
05/23/97 Rt. 1 and Sussex 283, south of Lewes
05/23/97 Rt. 1 and Sussex 270A, north of Rehoboth
05/24/97 Rt. 1 and Route 5, east of Milton
05/24/97 Rt. 1 and Route 273D, north of Rehoboth
05/24/97 Rt. 1A at Henlopen Station parking lot
05/25/97 Rt. 1 and Rt. 1A, west of Rehoboth
05/25/97 Rt. 1 and Route 5, north of Milton
(formerly known as Martin's
Swamp, near Milton), Slaughter
Neck and an area in Lincoln near
the Sussex 207 and Sussex 213 in-
tersection.
According to Biden's office, the
police will also be able to use the
funding to conduct a comprehen-
sive crime analysis and mapping
system. Police will focus their ef-
forts on both drug dealers and
users.
Biden's office additionally not-
ed that Delaware qualified for
nearly $2.4 million that will be
disbursed not only to state police
but to municipal police agencies
as well, through Edward Byrne
Memorial Program grant funds,
also under the Biden Crime Law
umbrella.
Those funds, will be used to
"expand drug testing programs
among criminal offenders and en-
hance anti-drug prevention, inter-
vention and after-school initia-
tives for pre-teen and teenage stu-
dents," stated a news release from
Biden's office.
Army Corps studies
evacuation routes
In a new study to be conducted
jointly by the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers and the Federal Emer-
gency Management Agency, the
Delmarva Peninsula is being
looked at as a unit when it comes
to examining emergency evacua-
tion routes.
Previous studies on hurricane
evacuation routes have been car-
ried out individually for
Delaware, Maryland and Virginia;
and the last was competed in
1991. Officials have determined
that any major hurricane evacua-
tion would likely effect all three
states at once, and they often share
evacuation routes.
"This is a revision of the studies
done in 1990, 1991. Because of
the age of the study and the popu-
lation density issue, we feel it is
necessary to revise the traffic
model for evacuation," said Joe
Gavin. "We are trying to get a
handle on just what we are up
against in terms of clearance
TYPE
#2
#2
#5
#4
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times. We need information so we
will know when to start an evacu-
ation."
Gavin, the study manager for
the corps, said that the study is in-
tended to help the states and the
agencies get an idea of how many
people would be involved in an
evacuation, and where they would
be going.
"We are not focused on telling
states to add road capacity, or oth-
er options; we have questions
about where people are going,"
Gavin said
"We will do the best we can
with census figures to figure out
the number of year 'round and
seasonal residents in the resort ar-
eas of the three states."
The corps official said that the
study might require surveying in
local areas or at least contacting
area chambers of commerce to try
to determine where seasonal resi-
dents come from.
He said there is no set time
frame for concluding the study,
and funding in fiscal year 1997-98
will determine how extensively it
can be continued.
"We only received word of this
funding late in the fiscal year,"
Gavin said. "There is $20,000
combined for the corps and FE-
MA."
He said that a recent Hurricane
Workshop hosted by Sussex
County Emergency Operations
Center was independent of the
study; however, it provided an ex-
cellent opportunity for key people
to learn of it.
Gavin said that the experiences
of other states along the Atlantic
and Gulf coasts will also be taken
into consideration as the study
progresses. He said those involved
in emergency preparedness share
information on a regular basis.
Regarding how the individual
states will use the information,
Gavin said, "We haven't been in
the business of recommending
widening or adding roads; that is
beyond our charge. However,
state departments of transporta-
tion might take our information
and make their own decisions."
