Sports
Community
Indians get on the field for fall sports
IRSD schools put emphasis on safety
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SEPTEMBER 16, 2022
THE LOCAL VOICE OF YOUR COMMUNITY.
Volume 19, Issue 37
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Rieley dominates vote in Republican primary By Susan Canfora Staff Reporter Unofficial vote totals posted the morning after the Tuesday, Sept. 13, Republican primary election strongly indicated that incumbent Sussex County Councilman John Rieley had defeated challenger Keller Hopkins. By Wednesday morning, when all
Lawsuit filed against Fenwick by owner of former DQ property
unofficial vote totals were posted, Rieley had 2,511 votes, or 62 percent, and Hopkins had 1,527, or 38 percent. Vote totals were expected to be certified by Thursday, after Coastal Point press time, but it’s unlikely anything will change for Rieley, a Republican seeking a second, four-year term on the Council, representing District 5. Reached late Tuesday evening, as
votes were being tallied, Rieley told the Coastal Point that he believed accusations against him, and a call for him to resign made by fellow Councilman Mark Schaeffer, were tactics of a “smear campaign” voters found distasteful. “I think that people just recognize that it was unethical and dirty campaigning, and they stood up and said, ‘No.’ They don’t want that kind of cam-
paign here in Sussex County, and they don’t want that kind of a statement. They don’t like that kind of a campaign,” Rieley said. Schaeffer, who supports Hopkins, accused Rieley of wrongly and unethically accepting tons of dirt from a developer looking for a place to put it, but Rieley, See PRIMARY page 4
Farewell, summer
By Kerin Magill Staff Reporter The owner of the site of the former Dairy Queen restaurant in Fenwick Island has filed a lawsuit against the Town, seeking action by the Town on a site plan for improvements to the property that would include enlarging the existing second floor. The lawsuit was filed Sept. 1 in the state Superior Court, and was signed by Richard Abbott, attorney for Balsamo Real Estate LLC, which owns the property on Coastal Highway. The Dairy Queen that had been located there for decades has been closed for about a year. In the suit, the developer asks for a “writ of mandamus,” which in this case could require the Town to move forward on plans submitted by Balsamo to redevelop the former DQ property. According to the lawsuit, Balsamo’s engineer, Eric Wahl of Pennoni Associates, submitted plans to the town on Aug. 9 for the proposed project. See SUIT page 4
Coastal Point • Mike Smith
The annual Bethany Beach Jazz Funeral bid adieu to summer with a Labor Day celebration/funeral/heck-of-a-fun-time.
Frankford, Chief Corrigan splitting over salary impasse By Kerin Magill Staff Reporter The departure of Frankford Police Chief Laurence Corrigan is apparently closer to reality, given the Frankford
Town Council’s acceptance of his resignation during an executive session last week. The council held the closed meeting Thursday, Sept. 8. The meeting had been scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 6, fol-
lowing the regular, public council meeting, but had to be rescheduled when Council Treasurer John Wright had to leave for a fire call. (Wright is also the chief of the Frankford Volunteer Fire Company.)
Corrigan told the council three months ago that he planned to leave the post he has held since December 2019. At that time, he offered to stay on until See CORRIGAN page 3