Sports
Community
Real Estate
McGee heading to Shaw University
Celebrating the inconic Warren’s restaurant
Understanding home inspections
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JANUARY 31, 2025
THE LOCAL VOICE OF YOUR COMMUNITY.
Volume 22, Issue 5
FREE
‘Fire & Ice’ on the forecast for weekend By Kerin Magill Staff Reporter A forecast of rain for the opening day of the Fire & Ice Festival this weekend has caused organizers to push some events planned for Friday to Sunday instead. The decision was made earlier this week, according to Lauren Weaver, ex-
ecutive director of the Bethany-Fenwick Area Chamber of Commerce, which oversees the event, after consulting with Sussex County Emergency Services Director Tim Cooper. “This is the beauty of running a winter event. Everybody was like, ‘Yeah, I’m free,’” Weaver said with a chuckle. Saturday’s events, she said, “are not being touched.”
The new schedule means that all events in Millville’s Evans Park will be held on Sunday, Feb. 2, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. That includes a walking tour of ice sculptures all day, an ice-carving demo from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and a live band, Decade 80, from 2 to 4 p.m. In addition, throughout the day, there will be a magma volcano bringing the “fire” to Fire & Ice, as well as “vol-
canic” s’mores and fire pits to warm up with. There will also be an inflatable obstacle course and food trucks on site at Evans Park throughout the day on Sunday. Events in Bethany Beach that have
See FESTIVAL page 4
Millsboro bypass expected to open late summer By Susan Canfora Staff Reporter Recent snow didn’t delay work on the Millsboro Bypass, under construction since the spring of 2023, when ground was broken, and now expected to open in late summer this year. “The snow was accounted for,” DelDOT Civil Engineer George Pierce told the Coastal Point this week. “Those snow days were built in. It’s on schedule. A lot of people are watching it and seeing it move forward. We’re getting there.” A ribbon-cutting, no doubt attended by Delaware dignitaries, will be planned in August or September, he said. Once the bypass opens, all traffic traveling into Millsboro from Route 24 to the east, will be directed onto the bypass. Traffic heading north on Route 113 will still be able to turn right onto Route 24 and go into downtown Millsboro. The question of chicken trucks travSee BYPASS page 3
Special to the Coastal Point • Marian Dowling
Another gorgeous sunrise in Bethany Beach marks just another day in paradise.
IRSD to float $22M referendum to meet budget shortfalls By Mike Smith Staff Reporter At the Indian River School District Board of Education meeting held on Jan. 27 at Indian River High School, the board wrestled with how to meet the educational needs of 10,750 students
and bridge a budget gap for hiring new teachers and support staff. The district already has one of the largest educational workforces in the state, with 1,000 teachers and 300 paraprofessionals. “This is a pay-now or pay-later situation,” said Board Member Anita West-
Werner. “We have to burden the taxpayer now with a referendum. But we can take this new funding raised further and not have to go to referendum again in the short-term years.” “Our goal is to make sure our kids are getting the best education possible and that we have the quality teachers
and the staff they need,” said Board Member Mark Steele, himself a former IRSD administrator. “We have pushed this referendum out as far as we can. The last referendum to raise funding See IRSD page 5