Sports
Fun
Festival
Indians continue their winning ways
Cascading Carlos chases history
Alpaca Festival draws a crowd
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SEPTEMBER 27, 2024
THE LOCAL VOICE OF YOUR COMMUNITY.
Volume 21, Issue 39
FREE
Federal, state officials talk dune breaches By Mike Smith Staff Reporter DNREC officials, including Secretary Shawn M. Garvin, hosted a community informational session at Bethany Beach Town Hall on Tuesday, Sept. 24, and tried to find common-ground solutions, including long-range dredging, for the Indian River Inlet’s north beach. Garvin said he believes the dredging work will begin in early to mid-November. “We should be ready to start the dredging sooner than expected,” Garvin told the Coastal Point at the Bethany Beach meeting, which drew more than
Devlin files lawsuit against Fenwick Island
100 attendees. “The goal now is to begin the work at the beginning or middle of November,” said Garvin. “We have secured our permits and have two contractors in mind — the issue becoming ‘How fast can you get here?’ because they have some other projects. We may be asking these contractors to get two phases going to focus energy on the dredge project.” “We are working closer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers than ever before,” Garvin said. “I just spoke personally with Lt. Col. Jeff Beeman, who is now managing the Army Corps in our district. We are coordinating and are
seamless in managing all resources and preparing for the dredge work.” He said the north inlet dune was never previously a Corps project. State Rep. Ron Gray noted that the high tides this week have not helped the trucking of sand to the north inlet, which has been in progress as a temporary solution to ongoing breaches adjacent to northbound Route 1 and the approach leading from the inlet bridge to the highway. “We have some very high tides today, and I just hope it holds,” said Gray at the meeting. “It could breach again.” Gray noted that Gov. John Carney
had agreed to appropriate the $15 million the State will need to match in order to gain $10 million in federal Water Development Resource Act (WRDA) emergency funding. “We have our state portion of the match to do the much-needed dredge work now,” said Gray. The state representative noted that U.S. Sen. Tom Carper would be coming to the inlet that Friday to make an important announcement. Gray said, “He plans to change the percent allocations
See DUNES page 3
At one with the wave
By Kerin Magill Staff Reporter Former Fenwick Island police chief John Devlin has filed a civil suit against the Town of Fenwick Island. The suit alleges breach of contract on the part of the Town. Filed on Aug. 30, Devlin’s legal action follows a contentious period between him and town officials just over a year ago, when the town council declined to renew his employment contract. Devlin had been a member of the Town’s police force for 27 years. After the council’s action, Devlin filed a court action demanding that the Town reverse its decision, which was declined. Special to the Coastal Point • Butch Comegys
See DEVLIN page 4
This guy gets pretty embedded in the wave he is riding in during the last official week of summer last week.
Positive signs with Walsh, as community rallies for him By Susan Canfora Staff Reporter Tyler Walsh wiggled his toes. Less than two weeks after being struck by a speeding motorcycle while crossing Coastal Highway in Ocean City, Md., and despite still being in critical condition, he moved his toes and lifted his hand in a thumbs-up gesture.
“Miracles are happening every day. He has a long road ahead. The family is taking it one day at a time,” Jill Brady — the mother of Walsh’s best friend, Jack Brady, who was with him at the time of the accident — told the Coastal Point this week. A 16-year-old Selbyville resident and junior student at Stephen Decatur High School in Berlin, Md., Walsh is contin-
uing a difficult recovery, while the driver of that motorcycle remains held without bail in the Worcester County Jail in Snow Hill, Md., according to an officer in the jail’s processing department who spoke with the Coastal Point. Walsh, whose mother died after a battle with cancer nearly two years ago, was walking with Brady at 12th Street and Philadelphia Avenue in the resort
town on the evening of Sept. 13 when that motorcycle hit Walsh from the side. “I was there with him,” Brady had previously told the Coastal Point about the incident. “He didn’t have a chance to even notice, it was so fast. He was in the crosswalk. We were walking and talking See WALSH page 4