THURSDAY, JULY 13, 2006
VOL. 11 NO. 12 NEWS HEADLINES COMMANDER - A local man comes back home to take over command of the Delaware State Police barracks in Bridgeville. Page 2
Greg Nolt is the Troop 5 Commander
BAD BUGS - If there aren’t enough problems, a bumper crop of mosquitoes is on the horizon. Page 3
SQUIRREL PROBLEMS - They aren’t going nuts; Bridgeville officials are just having problems with squirrels. Page 5 SCHOOL SUPPLIES - The sixth annual school supplies drive is under way in local churches. Page 8 A DISASTER - It’s official. President Bush declares Sussex County a disaster area because of the June 25 flood and rain. Page 13 SUMMER RITUAL - For the 66th summer season, the auction market in Laurel opens its lines to local produce farmers. Page 14 OPEN HOUSES - Realtors plan open houses this weekend. Pages 18-19
RIVERFEST WEEKEND The 12th annual Riverfest takes place July 14 and 15. See pages 16-17.
INSIDE THE STAR BEHIND PAGE ONE BUSINESS
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BULLETIN BOARD CHURCH CLASSIFIEDS EDUCATION ENTERTAINMENT GOURMET HEALTH LETTERS
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LYNN PARKS MOVIES OBITUARIES OPINION PEOPLE POLICE JOURNAL SNAPSHOTS SPORTS TIDES/WEATHER TONY WINDSOR
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50 cents
Fire guts newly-renovated Chandler Heights building By Ronald MacArthur A Sunday-night fire gutted the newly-renovated building two in the Chandler Heights Apartment Complex on Norman Eskridge Highway in Seaford. Residents had moved back into the apartment building less than three months ago following a major $500,000 renovation project. It was the first completed building open to residents during a total renovation at the complex. According to Randy Lee, the chief deputy fire marshal, the fire was started by a child “igniting combustible material with an open flame” in a bedroom of an apartment rented by Betty Cox in the second floor on the southwest corner of the apartment building. The fire spread to the attic area. He said there were no injuries. And according to Ron Marvel, public information officer for the Seaford Volunteer Fire Department, someone tried to put out the fire before calling 911. “Before we got there, some residents tried to extinguish the fire and it caused a delayed response on our part,” he said. “It could have determined the eventual outcome of the fire.” Marvel is not sure exactly how much time residents fought the blaze, but he estimates it was five to 10 minutes. “In a fire, 10 minutes is a lot of time. When we got there, fire was coming out of the roof.” The fire department arrived on the scene just after 7 p.m.; the fire could have started as early as 6:45 p.m., according to Bill Roupp, who is executive director of Better Homes of Seaford (owners of the Chandler Heights complex). The fire put 32 people from the eight, three-bedroom apartment complex out on the street. According to Roupp, the main priority is to find housing for the displaced residents. “The Red Cross put them up for the first three nights and we are working to see where to go from there,” he said on Monday morning as his staff works to assess the damage. “It’s not a total loss, but a very huge loss. The city has condemned the building because it’s unsafe to walk through most of it.
Members of the Seaford Volunteer Fire Department apply water from the aerial ladder truck to the burning Chandler Heights apartment building on Sunday night. Photo by David Elliott
There is smoke and water damage throughout. “I think on the ground floor there is a chance that eventually someone could get in there and get some items,” he added. “But everything will have some damage.” Roupp said that he feels the shell of the brick building is salvageable as is
most of the plumbing and electrical infrastructure, but just about everything else (including the roof) will probably have to be replaced. “We are probably looking at a $450,000 to $650,000 project,” he said. Damage to the apartment building Continued to page 12