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MAY 10, 2024
THE LOCAL VOICE OF YOUR COMMUNITY.
Candidates make cases for IRSD board’s District 4 seat
Volume 21, Issue 19
FREE
‘It was just kind of meant to be’
By Mike Smith Staff Reporter The Indian River School District school board election for its District 4 seat — necessitated by the retirement after nearly 20 years by Donald Hattier — will be held on May 14, with two polling places. The Millville Community Center, in Millville, and Indian River High School, in Dagsboro, will be open for eligible voters in District 4 to vote from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voters must have a valid Delaware driver’s license or other ID, as well as proof of address, to vote. Other identification may include a Delaware identification card, or a work ID with photo and home address, and for proof of residency, a sample of U.S. mail with the voter’s street address. Candidates Col. Anita WestWerner and Josh Hudson this week See IRSD page 4
South Bethany council elections are May 11
New Fenwick Island Town Manager Lori Dabbondanza is working a job she loves, in a town she loves.
By Mike Smith Staff Reporter
By Kerin Magill Staff Reporter
The South Bethany Town Council election is on May 11, with voting at the town hall on Evergreen Road. There are five candidates in the election — three incumbents and two new candidates. The candidates each provided to the Coastal Point their personal background and what they view as the most pressing issues facing South Bethany. They also offered suggestions for why their skills sets will bring the most to local government. The South Bethany Property Owners Association provided an online forum for their views, and the candidates have answered all the same questions for the Coastal Point.
Lori Dabbondanza has a lot in common with Fenwick Island residents. She and her husband came for a visit and never wanted to leave. Last month, Dabbondanza, 49, took over as Fenwick Island’s town manager — a job she said she feels she was meant to do. Dabbondanza comes to Fenwick Island from Pennsylvania, where she worked for the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania for 27 years — coincidentally, the same amount of time former town manager Pat Schuchman worked for the Town in several capacities. “There were so many parallels between Pat and me,” Dabbondanza said. “I feel like it was just kind of meant to be. It was very serendipitous,” she said. The CCAP, Dabbondanza said, provided support to leaders in Pennsylvania’s 67 counties, such as lobbying, technology assistance, education, insurance and financial help. Since 1999, Dabbondanza had been assistant to the director and deputy executive director of the organization. “I was very happy there,” she said, adding that her boss
See COUNCIL page 6
Coastal Point • Kerin Magill
there was “a huge mentor to me, but I didn’t realize it at the time. Because it was the only real job I knew, I didn’t realize until I left how much I knew,” she explained. When she first came to work for Fenwick Island last December as Schuchman’s administrative assistant, she said, she found much of the work very familiar. So, when she found out Schuchman was retiring, Dabbondanza said, “I kind of felt like I had to at least toss my hat in the ring” for the town manager position. After interviewing for the job, she said, she began to realize that “my entire career was spent preparing for this specific job, and I didn’t even know it. I didn’t even know this job existed, to be honest,” she said. Dabbondanza said her adjustment to the town manager job was made much easier because of Schuchman’s monthslong transition. “I had a lot of knowledge, but it wasn’t specific to Fenwick. So, she and I worked together to bridge that gap,” she said. The town council offered Dabbondanza the job Feb. 14, she said, “so that was my nice Valentine’s Day present.”
See DABBONDANZA page 2