THURSDAY, JUNE 7, 2007
VOL. 12 NO. 7
50 cents
NEWS HEADLINES CELEBRATE - Sussex Tech seniors Kim Owens, left, and Brittany Joseph celebrate their team’s 6-0 win over Caravel in the state softball tournament’s championship game last Saturday. See story and photos starting on page 45. Photo by Mike McClure SCHOLARSHIPS - The Allens have handed out more than $100,000 in scholarships locally in the past five years. Page 4 HURRICANE SEASON - This hurricane season is expected to be busy this year. What steps should you take now to prepare? Page 11 DRUG BUST - Police round up suspects in a drug bust in Greenwood. Nineteen are arrested and guns and drugs are confiscated. Page 13 GRADUATION DAYS - Glimpses of the graduates in Seaford are found on page 17 and Woodbridge on page 18. ANNUAL KIDS' FEST - Free entertainment will be non-stop from start to finish when the 10th Annual Kids' Fest opens at the Delaware State Fairgrounds. Page 32
On left, a class from Frederick Duglass Elementary School, Seaford, listens as a crew member on the replica John Smith shallop talks about the boat. Above is crew member Austin Hall. Photos by Lynn R. Parks
Replica landing is hit with public By Lynn R. Parks Old friends Jimmie Hitchens, Seaford, and Jimmy Tobat, Laurel, hung over the ropes at the edge of the Blades Marina dock and examined the replica of the John Smith shallop, tied up below. They discussed the heavy oars — “I’m not in condition to handle one of those,” Hitchens said — and the smallness of the 28-foot vessel. “Can you believe a crew of 12 travels in that boat?” Tobat said. But most of all, the two men dis-
cussed the way the shallop is made. “We are both impressed by the craftsmanship,” Hitchens said. “Today, we have electronic tools that we can do most anything with, but they tried to stick with the old tools as much as they could. And the craftsmanship is wonderful.” The osage orange and white oak shallop may be lovely — director of the Delaware State Archives Russ McCabe has called it a work of art. But it is not delicate, said crew member Austin Hall. “We tell each other
every day, ‘This is not your grandmother’s piano,’” he said. “We use this boat just as John Smith would have used an exploring craft.” The shallop, made by Sultana Projects in Chestertown, Md., visited the area last week as part of a 125-day tour of the Chesapeake Bay and the bay’s tributaries, to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Capt. John Smith’s exploration of the area. On Tuesday, the boat was at Phillips Landing near Bethel for the dedication of a monuContinued on page 8
INSIDE THE STAR BUSINESS BULLETIN BOARD CHURCH CLASSIFIEDS EDUCATION ENTERTAINMENT GENE BLEILE GOURMET HEALTH LETTERS LYNN PARKS
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28 24 35-41 56-58 32 48 19 14-16 59 21
MOVIES OBITUARIES ON THE RECORD OPINION PAT MURPHY PEOPLE POLICE JOURNAL SNAPSHOTS SPORTS TIDES/WEATHER
7 26 43 62 54 12 41 60 45-53 63
Lights out due to safety concerns By Lynn R. Parks Seaford High School graduation had to be pushed ahead one hour Friday evening, when the lights at Bob Dowd Stadium were deemed unsafe to use. Commencement ceremonies started at 6 p.m. instead of at 7 p.m., so that the lights would not have to be turned on. “The lights have been de-energized at the street, and that is how we intend to keep them,” said Roy Whitaker, chief of building and grounds for the
Seaford School District. Whitaker said that “over the past several years,” the district has had trouble with the live wires that provide electricity to the lights, as well as ground wires and the guy wires that hold the light poles up. He estimates that all the wires are more than 40 years old. “They are getting old and are getting more frail every year,” Whitaker said. “We have found several broken wires out there,” including live wires,
he added. The district has requested bids for new lights at the stadium. A bid opening is set for July 2. “If everything goes well, we can have the new lights in before we need them” for the first football game, Whitaker said. Whitaker estimates the cost of the new lights at about $200,000. The new lights, four instead of the existing Continued on page 4
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