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AUGUST 7, 2026
THE LOCAL VOICE OF YOUR COMMUNITY.
Volume 23, Issue 32
FREE
Planners hear from community on proposed project By Kerin Magill Staff Reporter Residents showed up in person and online last week to voice their reservations to a state planning board about a proposed 443-home development near Dagsboro. The July 29 public hearing was part of the state Office of State Planning
IRSD parent survey digs into classroom, communication
Coordination’s Preliminary Land Use Service (PLUS) process, which plays an advisory role in development projects but has no decision-making power. Representatives from several state agencies, including the state Department of Transportation, DNREC, DEMA, the state Historical Preservation Office, the state Housing Authority, the Office of the Delaware State
Fire Marshal and the Department of Forestry, attended the meeting, as did property owner Andy Timmons of Pepper Creek Ventures and project engineer Jason Palkewicz. The PLUS application seeks review of a proposed rezoning of the site from medium residential (MR) to residential planned community (RPC). The 150-acre site, which sits on the
south side of Piney Neck Road between the Delaware Botanic Gardens and the Marina at Pepper’s Creek development, is designated as Investment Level 3, Level 4 and “out of play” in the state’s development strategy rankings. Level 3 areas are considered long-
See PROJECT page A3
‘Sanding’ room only
By Laura Walter Staff Reporter It’s been a year of surveys for the Indian River School District. This month, the IRSD Board of Education will continue developing action plans to improve on stakeholders’ concerns. The board has conducted several major optional surveys: 651 staff responded in autumn, 36 administrators responded in winter and, most recently, 724 parents responded in May. On July 27, board members received a detailed packet of results, including all written comments. They also released executive summaries to the public, showing the districtwide score averages and an AI-generated summary of the written comments for each question. On a scale of 1 to 5, parents and guardians could rate topics regarding teaching, curriculum, school safety, learning environments, discipline and more. Almost every question garnered a majority of 4s or 5s to “agree” with the statements, as well as some 3s indicatSee SURVEY page A4
Special to the Coastal Point • Marian Dowling
A crowded beach in Bethany Beach tells you two things — the beach is the place to be right now, and, hide your fries. Those seagulls aren’t there for the view.
Selbyville appoints Lindenberger to fill council seat By Susan Canfora Staff Reporter The Selbyville Town Council, at its Aug. 3 meeting, appointed Larry Lindenberger to fill the seat vacated by for-
mer councilman William Kirsch, who relocated. After he was sworn in by Town Manager Stacey Long, Lindenberger took his seat as Mayor Rick Duncan welcomed him and also appointed him
to the Planning & Zoning Commission. At the July council meeting, Lindenberger — introduced by Duncan, who said Kirsch had recommended that Lindenberger succeed him — in-
troduced his wife, Cindy, and told the council he had grown up in Maryland, lived in Connecticut for more than 30 years and “always had some involveSee SELBYVILLE page A5