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OCTOBER 3, 2025
THE LOCAL VOICE OF YOUR COMMUNITY.
What goes into local student test scores?
Volume 22, Issue 40
FREE
One dead in fatal explosion
Schools still catching up post-COVID By Laura Walter Staff Reporter When it comes to student state test scores, there are staggering amounts of data. Delaware uses statewide assessments to check local education, gauging whether students are “proficient” or not on Delaware’s educational standards. Test results from the spring of 2025 were recently made public. In each grade, fewer than 50 percent of students in both Delaware as a whole and the Indian River School District were proficient in math, science, social studies or English language arts, and oftentimes, much less. (Note that this article examines averages generally by grade, not by individual schools). The IRSD presented the data publicly at its Sept. 22 board meeting, and district staff have provided additional context to Coastal Point. Pages of colorful graphs compared test results for the past several years, by school and by speSee SCORES page 4
Dondero: No boat-ramp moratorium in S.B. By Susan Canfora Staff Reporter
Coastal Point • Kerin Magill
Firefighters work at the scene of a house explosion near Dagsboro on Tuesday, Sept. 30.
Another person taken to hospital with injuries following Tuesday’s home explosion
After listening to a presentation from South Bethany Resiliency Committee Member Joan Marini, which included suggesting a moratorium on boat ramps, Mayor Edie Dondero emphasized that the idea of a moratorium is not being considered. “This is a boating community, and we have a lot of boat ramps and we have a lot of boaters, and I don’t want word seeping out that the committee or the town council is considering getting rid of boat ramps,” Dondero said. “So, I want to be very sure we are not there. We are not there. We are simply quesSee RAMPS page 4
By Kerin Magill Staff Reporter State fire officials this week were investigating an explosion that leveled a home on a rural road near Dagsboro on Tuesday, Sept. 30. One resident of the home was killed and another injured in the blast, which tore through the two-story dwelling at the corner of Gum Tree and Molly Field roads. According to a statement from Chief Deputy John Galaska of the Delaware Office of the State Fire Marshal, one occupant of the home “was assisted from the dwelling by neighbors, and one occupant remained trapped inside of the collapsed structure.” The victim who was initially rescued was taken to an area hospital with minor injuries, Galaska said.
Specially trained firefighters, called “technical rescue units,” were able to enter the debris using specialized equipment and reach the other victim, who had died. As of Coastal Point press time Wednesday afternoon, the state fire marshal’s office had not released the victims’ names. Matthew Gajdos, spokesman for the Frankford Volunteer Fire Company, said debris from the explosion was confined to the property and that no neighbors were evacuated from their homes. Aerial photos showed debris littering the farm fields around the home. The blue metal roof of the two-story home looked as if it had blown off the house and landed sideways. The state fire marshal’s office estimated the damage to the home at $500,000 and said that “there are currently no indications of criminal activity” in the incident. Gajdos said there was no fire to be extinguished when See EXPLOSION page 9