Sports
A&E
Fun
Indians clinch 1A, District 2 championship
SEDAST set to entertain art lovers
Holiday Happening event scheduled over two weekends
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NOVEMBER 8, 2024
THE LOCAL VOICE OF YOUR COMMUNITY.
Volume 21, Issue 45
FREE
Meyer, Evans Gay, McBride, Blunt Rochester winners in Nov. 5 elections By Susan Canfora Staff Reporter As Delaware Gov. John Carney prepares to assume a new role as mayor of Wilmington, Democrat Matt Meyer is celebrating being elected as the First State’s 75th governor. In the Nov. 5 election, Meyer — a 53year-old lawyer, New Castle County executive and former math teacher — defeated Republican House Minority Leader Mike Ramone, 63, garnering 56 percent of the vote. Democrat Kyle Evans Gay was elected lieutenant governor, defeating Republican challenger and former state representative Ruth Briggs King. Evans Gay received 55 percent of the vote. A jubilant state Sen. Sarah McBride — after the Associated Press called the election before 10 p.m.Tuesday night, declaring her the newly elected Delaware delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives — issued a statement telling Delaware residents, “Because of your votes and your values, I am proud to stand before you as your next member of the United States House of Representatives.” McBride, 34, a Democrat, garnered 58 percent of the vote, defeating challenger James Whalen III, a Republican. “Tonight is a testament to Delawareans, that here in our state of neighbors, we judge candidates based on their ideas and not their
Special to the Coastal Point • Marian Dowling
An eagle swoops, looking for its next meal. identities,” McBride stated, before the results of the presidential race was known. “And while we await what message this nation will send the world — in this election, Delaware has sent the message loud and clear that we must be a country that protects reproductive freedom, that guarantees paid leave and af-
fordable child care for all our families, that ensures that housing and health care are available to everyone, and that this is a democracy that is big enough for all of us.” McBride will be the nation’s first openly transgender member of Congress. Current U.S. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester
was elected to the U.S. Senate, defeating Republican Erin Hansen with 56 percent of the vote.The Democrat released a statement saying she was “humbled and with a heart filled with gratitude to God and the people See ELECTIONS page 20
Selbyville residents to vote on financing for lead pipe removal By Susan Canfora Staff Reporter Results of Selbyville residents’ votes in a special election on Tuesday, Dec. 10, will determine whether they approve of the Town borrowing up to $707,000 in general obligation bonds to pay for the removal of lead pipes at Tingle Acres Mobile Home Park on Hosier Street. The election will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Selbyville Town Hall. If voters approve of the measure, funds will be used to remove lead components and replace water connections to meet standards established by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Mayor Rick Duncan this week told the Coastal Point that town employees “surveyed the town and came up with a proposal to replace all the older lines throughout town.” “We submitted it to the State’s Water Infrastructure Advisory Council, and there was not enough money to do the whole town, so they asked us to divide it into two projects. It will cost a little over $2 million to do the whole town, and they said that is fine. “Tingle Acres is one of the worst areas in town for lead,” Duncan noted. “We knew we had goosenecks in that part of town. We have galvanized lines and lead goosenecks. So, they said, ‘Let’s do it in two projects, and we will follow with the rest of the town.’” Goosenecks, Duncan explained, are areas
“where, years ago, when they did an installation of a water main, they tapped into a main, put a fitting on there with a 2- or 3-foot piece of lead pipe that they bent and tied around the service lines.” “You can bend that pipe, and it’s called a gooseneck. We have taken off goosenecks as we have replaced water mains. All of Church Street has been replaced, and all the new subdivisions don’t have them,” he explained. The goal is to replace all lead pipes and connectors throughout town. The Water Infrastructure Advisory Council “develops and recommends to the Delaware General Assembly projects for the planning, construction, repair, renovation or expansion of drinking water and wastewater
facilities,” according to the State of Delaware website at www.delaware.gov. The 2014 water crisis in Flint, Mich., led to lead pipes being removed nationwide, Duncan noted. In April that year, that city switched its water source from Lake Huron to the Flint River, causing “the city’s aging water pipes to corrode and contaminate the drinking water with lead and other chemicals.” The crisis continued until February 2019. If the Town proceeds with the loan, the bonds will be payable over 20 years, with 0 percent interest and 100 percent principal forgiveness after the project is finished. Anyone registered to vote with the Town by Monday, Dec. 9, may vote in the special election.