Sports
Fun
Volleyball team wins Southern division
Cops & Goblins invade Ocean View
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OCTOBER 28, 2022
THE LOCAL VOICE OF YOUR COMMUNITY.
Volume 19, Issue 43
FREE
Fenwick discusses traffic, parking, signage By Kerin Magill Reporter Parking and traffic, in all its forms, continue to be a topic of discussion in Fenwick Island, taking up much of the town council’s recent meeting. At the Friday, Oct. 21 council meet-
Rieley cleared of wrongdoing by state ethics commission
ing, discussion continued about ways to better control traffic — be it pedestrian, bicycle or vehicle — on Bunting Avenue, the town’s only ocean-side through-street. Council Member Richard Benn said that, at the most recent Infrastructure Committee meeting, the committee
members decided the easiest and quickest way to “calm” traffic on Bunting would be to install “No Through-Street” and “Local Traffic Only” signage on side streets connecting to Bunting. “It’s mostly to get us off of Waze and other cut-through activity,” Benn said, referring to the app used by many for
directions, and which often routes drivers off of main streets at times of heavy traffic congestion. Such a move, Benn said, would give town police officers leeway to watch for
See FENWICK page 3
A coastal fall
By Susan Canfora Staff Reporter Sussex County Councilman John Rieley has been cleared of any wrongdoing in the case of topsoil given to him, after an investigation by the Delaware State Public Integrity Commission, and the complaint has been dismissed, two months after fellow Councilman Mark Schaeffer called for his resignation, while Rieley maintained he did nothing wrong. At the Aug. 30 council meeting, Schaeffer had said Rieley’s acceptance of tons of topsoil from a developer was unethical, could be a felony and was “corruption at its best in Sussex County,” and asserted that Rieley should resign. The Public Integrity Commission, in an Oct. 13 statement signed by Chairman Andrew T. Manus, stated that commission members had determined the complaint “did not substantiate an allegation of improperly accepting a gift.” Special to the Coastal Point • Marian Dowling
See RIELEY page 4
Nothing says ‘autumn’ along the coast like changing leaves and Fire Control Towers.
Public, IRSD board divided on Layfield incident By Mike Smith Staff Reporter Rodney Layfield, president of the Indian River School District, narrowly escaped a no-confidence vote at a special session of the board of education last
week by a split vote of 5 to 4, with the majority rejecting the public censure. Layfield managed the public comments and the board vote on his own tenure as he does every IRSD board meeting, following established rules. He even helped a board member reformu-
late a motion meant to censure him. Layfield listened intently as IRSD members and the community weighedin on his own behavior and ability to lead. He called for a roll-call vote of the school board on his tenure. And then, he waited.
Public comment and a review of the investigation into the IRSD board president’s conduct at a high school football game at Sussex Central High School on Sept. 17 revealed a schism within the See LAYFIELD page 5