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NOVEMBER 22, 2024
THE LOCAL VOICE OF YOUR COMMUNITY.
Volume 21, Issue 47
FREE
Couple uses tragedy to thank first responders By Kerin Magill Staff Reporter When life gives you lemons, make lemonade… so the saying goes. But when their house was destroyed by a devastating fire two weeks ago, Lauren Alberti and her husband, Bob Hush, chose to go a step further. They chose to be the sugar. The couple decided, in response to their tragic fire, to give back. They chose
to raise funds for the Bethany Beach Volunteer Fire Company, as a way of thanking them for their efforts during the fire. On the night of Monday, Nov. 4, Alberti and Hush were in the throes of moving back into their Bethany Beach home after extensive renovations when fire broke out, according to Alberti’s niece, Alex Laigle. “Obviously, Lauren and Bob are devastated. She was missing two of her kit-
ties. They, thankfully, found one,” Laigle said, although the other was still missing. Laigle, who lives in Maryland, said she felt the loss of the house on a personal level. “We’re all devastated,” she said. “I had so many childhood memories there. I lived there in the summers. I spent every holiday there growing up and even as an adult,” said Laigle, who now owns a house in Middlesex Beach.
“You can’t bring the house back.” Laigle said. “You can’t snap your fingers and bring joy back, with such devastation.” She said she has learned that “the way to make lemonade out of lemons is to be the sugar.” She said when her aunt called her, she was crying. “I said we’re going to do good out of this. Let’s do a fundraiser. See THANKS page 6
IRSD offers a lifeline for students struggling with homelessness By Mike Smith Staff Reporter This evening, there are between 150 and 175 homeless school-aged children in the Indian River School District trying to locate shelter and waiting for the free breakfast and lunch meals afforded to them by federal school programs funded by the U.S. Department of Education through the School Nutrition Program. Those may be the only meals they get. That number of unhoused students is double the figure of 80 kids that the IRSD had identified just five years ago. A lack of affordable housing in Sussex County has hit local kids attending IRSD schools. Walt Smith, district supervisor of alternative programs, makes sure these students can remain in school. Federal law also requires that each child has the same opportunity See IRSD page 3
Special to the Coastal Point • Marian Dowling
Sleep in. Have that extra cup of coffee. Marian Dowling has your sunrise off Bethany Beach right here.
Millsboro tree-lighting event to move to a Tuesday By Susan Canfora Staff Reporter There’s a change of plans for celebrating Christmas in Millsboro this year, with the tree-lighting and parade on a Tuesday evening instead of a weekend, as it has been for years.
Holiday festivities will be on Tuesday, Dec. 3, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. The change was made because the Town was having difficulty scheduling school bands and choirs on weekends, since they were already booked to perform at parades at nearby towns. “I don’t know what kind of feedback
staff has been getting to see if this change has been popular or not, but we decided let’s try it on a weekday and see if that is more helpful, because these groups are stretched very thin during this time of the year. This was a way for us to widen the pool,” Millsboro Mayor Kimberley Kaan told the Coastal Point
this week. Because Tuesday is a school night, the regular program for the event was also changed in a few ways. Millsboro officials used to hand out milk and freshly baked cookies to guests See EVENT page 8