As the snow continues to fall across Delaware, state officials are emphasizing safety measures for all residents. The Delaware State Police have issued a series of guidelines aimed at keeping motorists safe during the winter weather:
Stay Home if Possible: If you can avoid travel, do so. Conditions can be unpredictable and hazardous.
Drive Cautiously: For those who must travel, slow down, keep a safe distance from other vehicles, and ensure your vehicle is free of snow and ice to prevent accidents.
Emergency Preparedness: Carry an emergency kit in your car with items like blankets, a flashlight, food, and water. Check road conditions via official channels before setting out.
Respect Snow Plows: Do not attempt to pass or crowd snow removal vehicles. The Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) crews are diligently working to clear the roads, and they need space to operate safely.
DelDOT has expressed gratitude towards their crews for their relentless efforts during the storm, urging the public to assist by not crowding the plows.
The Delaware Emergency Management Agency (DEMA) also reminds everyone to check on neighbors, particularly the elderly or those who might need assistance during this time.
With these safety tips in mind, Delawareans are encouraged to take extra precautions as the winter weather persists. Your safety, and the safety of those around you, is paramount.
The Delaware State Police are investigating a fatal accident that occurred in Lewes last night that involved a pedestrian.
On December 30, 2022, at approximately 9:53 p.m., a 2004 red Chevrolet Silverado was traveling southbound on Coastal Highway south of Postal Lane. At the same time, a male subject was walking eastbound across the highway in the right lane of the roadway, directly in the path of the pickup truck. The man was not using a crosswalk, carrying a light, or wearing reflective clothing. As a result, the front of the Silverado struck the man, causing him to become trapped underneath the truck. The Silverado came to a stop in the shoulder a short distance later.
The driver of the Silverado, a 34-year-old man from Lewes, Delaware, was not injured. The pedestrian, a 62-year-old man from Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, was pronounced dead at the scene. Identification of the victim is pending notification to his family and relatives.
No other vehicles were involved in this collision. The southbound lanes of Coastal Highway were closed for approximately 2.5 hours as the scene was investigated and cleared.
The Delaware State Police Troop 7 Collision Reconstruction Unit continues to investigate this incident. Troopers are asking anyone who witnessed this collision to please contact Sergeant J. Burns by calling 302-703-3269. Information may also be provided by contacting Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-800-TIP-3333 or via the internet at www.delawarecrimestoppers.com.
Delaware State Police are investigating a fatal motor vehicle collision that claimed the lives of three individuals last night in the Lewes area.
The collision occurred on December 24, 2022, at approximately 7:59 p.m., when a 2016 Land Rover operated by an unknown subject, was traveling westbound on Lewes-Georgetown Highway (Route 9) approaching Minos Conaway Road. At the time, a 2008 Honda Odyssey operated by a 42-year-old male from Temple, PA, was stopped southbound on Minos Conaway Road for a stop sign at the intersection of Lewes-Georgetown Highway. The Honda attempted to turn left at the intersection and pulled into the path of the Land Rover. As a result, the front of the Land Rover struck the driver’s side of the Honda for impact in the westbound lane, within the intersection. After impact, the Land Rover continued westbound as it rotated in a counterclockwise direction coming to rest in the westbound lane. The impact caused the Honda to spin in a counterclockwise direction where it came to a rest in the eastbound lane.
The 42-year-old male operator of the Honda was transported to an area hospital where he was treated for minor injuries. There were six other occupants inside the Honda, three of whom were ejected during the collision. A 35-year-old female from Temple, PA, a 9-year-old female from Temple, PA, and a 74-year-old male from Lewes, DE were all ejected and pronounced deceased at the scene. The identifications of the victims are pending notifications to the next of kin. The other three passengers, a 12-year-old male, a 4-year-old male, and a 67-year-old female were all transported to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The operator of the Land Rover fled from the collision scene on foot and has not been identified at this time.
Lewes-Georgetown Highway at Minos Conaway Road was closed for approximately 4 hours while the crash was investigated, and the roadway cleared.
The Delaware State Police Troop 7 Collision Reconstruction Unit continues to investigate this incident. Troopers are asking anyone who witnessed this collision to please contact Master Corporal K. Argo by calling 302-703-3264. Information may also be provided by contacting Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-800-TIP-3333 or via the internet at www.delawarecrimestoppers.com.
A trespass investigation leads to two people arrested on drugs and theft charges in Lewes.
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Delaware State Police say 31-year-old Amber Kellner of Lewes, 30-year-old James Fisher of Georgetown were arrested after troopers were called to reports of someone living in a home without permission in the 33000 block of Lotus Lane. When officers arrived, the two suspects were at the home with three juveniles; ages 11, 10 and 7. Troopers spotted several narcotics and drug paraphernalia, along with suspected stolen goods inside the home. A search of the home uncovered nearly 46 grams of meth, 79 prescription pills, 1.8 grams of marijuana, nearly 4 grams of psychedelic mushrooms and .6 grams of suspected heroin.
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A stolen Wolf scooter and other items were also recovered at the home.
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Kellner and Fisher face several charges, including:
Possession With Intent to Deliver a Controlled Substance in a Tier 3 Quantity (Felony)
Possession With Intent to Deliver a Controlled Substance in a Tier 2 Quantity (Felony)
Possession With Intent to Deliver a Controlled Substance (Felony)
Theft $1,500 or Greater (Felony) – 2 counts
Conspiracy Second Degree (Felony)
Endangering the Welfare of a Child – 3 counts
Possession of a Controlled Substance
Possession of Drug Paraphernalia – 2 counts
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They were both arraigned and lodged at SCI on $89,600 cash bond. The three juveniles were turned over to their legal guardians.
A Delaware State Police trooper is recovering from injury after attempting to arrest a suspect over the weekend in Lewes.
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Police say the officer responded to a potential drug transaction call along the roadway of Pinetown Road and Cone Lane just before noon on Saturday (June 25). When troopers approached the suspect, 18-year-old Jaliel Perry of Lincoln, he allegedly fled. When officers caught up to Perry and attempted to take him into custody, he allegedly resisted and injured one of the officers. The officer was later taken to a nearby hospital for treatment and released.
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Perry was charged with:
Assault Second Degree of a Law Enforcement Officer (Felony)
Resisting Arrest With Force or Violence (Felony)
Tampering With Evidence (Felony)
Possession of Drug Paraphernalia
Criminal Mischief
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Perry was arraigned by Justice of the Peace Court # 3 and committed to Sussex Correctional Institution on $10,000 cash bond.
Sussex County has purchased former farmland of Hopkins Farm near Lewes for preservation. (Photo: Sussex County Government)
Sussex County Council announced the purchase of several parcels of land for preservation, including the former Hopkins Family Farm.
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County officials announced yesterday the purchase of several parcels of land, which includes 51-acres of the Lewes-area Hopkins Farm. The purpose of the purchase: farmland and natural resource preservation. It’s part of 151 acres of land purchased across Sussex County this year, totaling more than $5 million dollars.
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County Administrator Todd Lawson spoke about the acquisition during Tuesday’s County Council meeting.
"Mr. Hopkins, as a 4th-generation farmer and known for grain and dairy production, at the farm", Lawson says. "[The Hopkins Family] currently farm this property but had the idea that they would like to preserve the property and entered discussions with the Sussex County Land Trust who was able to really foster that relationship to the point we could start talking about acquisition."
The Hopkins Family sold the land at 50-percent below its appraisal value with the promise of preservation. There is discussions to include a walking path and a possible fishing pond for visitors to enjoy.
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The additional land purchases include 13-acres and 40-acres of land along Route 24 from The Dorman and Dawson tracts, and 47-acres of the Jones Family tract on Conaway Road in Millsboro.
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The acquisitions are part of the County’s plan to preserve farmland and natural resources across Sussex County, which has spent over 13-million dollars on over 5,000 acres of land since 2003.
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NEWS RELEASE:
Georgetown, Del., June 21, 2022: Sussex County will keep a little more land in its landscape, thanks to the permanent protection of more than 150 acres in southern Delaware.
County officials on Tuesday, June 21, 2022, announced a series of open space purchases that will protect four parcels in eastern and central Sussex, where the landscape is under increased pressure from residential development. In total, the purchases will cost more than $5 million and preserve in perpetuity 151 acres of agricultural and wooded lands, including a portion of the prominent Lewes-area Hopkins Farm. Funding comes from County reserves, specifically savings realized through the County’s portion of Delaware’s realty transfer tax.
It is the latest effort by the County government in recent years to build the area’s open space inventory, often through partnerships, either through the purchase of development rights or by buying land outright. In the purchases announced, the County will own the acres acquired, but task the non-profit Sussex County Land Trust to assist in managing some of the future assets.
“This latest round shows the County Council’s commitment to land preservation, in terms of the significance of the dollars spent to the number of acres preserved,” County Administrator Todd F. Lawson said. “The public has called on us to do more to protect what makes Sussex County special, and these acquisitions that we announce today answer that call in a very big way.”
The properties the County has settled on include:
Fifty-one acres known as the Hopkins Preserve, along Sweetbriar Road, just north of U.S. 9, outside Lewes, for a price of $1.5 million. The property owner, fourth-generation farmer Walter Hopkins and his family, discounted the sale price by 50 percent in exchange for the parcel being used at a later time as open space and a recreational amenity, specifically as part of a trailhead that will be developed and managed by the Sussex County Land Trust for the still-under-construction Georgetown to Lewes Trail; Forty-seven acres known as the Jones Family tract, at a cost of $650,000, located off Conaway Road adjacent to the State-owned Midlands Wildlife Area, west of Millsboro; Forty acres, named the Dawson Bros. tract, for a price of $2.5 million, located along the southside of Del. Route 24, near the Nanticoke Indian Center, east of Millsboro; Thirteen acres, for a sale price of $400,000, adjoining a larger parcel acquired by the County in 2020 and collectively known as the Dorman Family Farm Preserve, located along Herring Creek and Sarah Run, near Angola. County officials highlighted the purchases as important pieces in the overall preservation puzzle, noting that it takes a cooperative effort among landowners, government officials, non-profit groups and others – especially in an era of soaring land prices – to make such important gains.
“It takes all of us working together to achieve that,” Council President Michael H. Vincent said. “In the end, it means a more preserved natural landscape, better protected habitat, improved water quality, and an enhanced way of life for Sussex County. That’s what the public wants.”
Hopkins said working with the County and the Land Trust to preserve his family farm was as much about giving something back to the community as it was to ensure agriculture’s legacy.
“Preserving this land and opening it to the public is the right thing to do,” Mr. Hopkins said. “Extending the adjacent bike trail around the property; forging extensive walking trails through the meadows and woodland; enhancing the wildlife habitat; encouraging the planting and growth of local flora – this is what I see for the property, and I look forward to the County and the Land Trust working together to bring that dream to fruition. This is truly a wonderful opportunity for the residents and visitors of Sussex County to enjoy for generations to come.”
SCLT officials said the public is looking to the stakeholders involved to produce tangible results, and initiatives like this go a long way to satisfying the community’s expectations.
“It’s one thing to buy the land. It’s something else to have a plan that guarantees the public’s access and ability to enjoy that land,” said Mark Chura, executive director of the Land Trust. “We look forward to carrying out our mission – and to realizing the vision of benefactors like the Hopkins family – so that our posterity can reap the rewards of the investments made today.”
The City of Lewes has announced that its beaches will be unguarded this season as officials have been unable to recruit certified lifeguards.
TV Delmarva’s Rob Petree spoke to Lewes City Manager Ann Marie Townshend who said the city has went above and beyond to recruit lifeguards, but has ultimately been unable to attract the certified staff and as a result both Savannah Beach and Johnnie Walker Beach will be unguarded this season.
“We have been unable to recruit sufficient lifeguards to effectively guard the beaches,” Townshend said. “We only had two lifeguards returning from last year and, of those who applied this season, only one was certified.”
In past years, the City of Lewes has employed at least ten active lifeguards to protect and serve on the beaches. Last year, the city was short by two, and while they made due with what they could in 2021, many of their lifeguards left the town early to return to college.
City officials took several steps to try to recruit lifeguards ahead of this year’s season, including increasing the starting wage for their lifeguards from $13 an hour to $16, and calling around to other municipalities to see if they could spare some of their lifeguards to help out. Ultimately, all efforts fell short.
Lewes City Councilman Khalil Saliba issued the following statement to WGMD News where it appears that the ‘icing on the cake’ to this issue was when it was learned that their long-time lifeguard captain would not be returning this season.
“There has been an almost frantic effort to recruit more guards but will no luck,” Saliba said in the statement to WGMD. “Our Captain of nearly 18 years abruptly left for a new job which hurt as she was instrumental in recruitment. The worker shortage has even hit what used to be a very desirable summer job.”
The City is taking all available measures at this time to develop a communication strategy to ensure that the public is aware of that the beaches will be unguarded this season. Signage will be erected on the beach and public awareness efforts will be underway moving forward.
“It’s better to not do it than to do it poorly,” Townshend concluded. “Lives could be at risk.”
The view of Cape Henlopen Medical Center from the intersection of Kings Highway and Gills Neck Road. It will feature the new Beebe Primary Care office.
Beebe Healthcare is set to open a new primary care office in Cape Henlopen.
Providers Lisa Bartels, MD, and Aaron Block, PA-C, are moving their offices to the new Cape Henlopen Medical Center on Black Swan Drive in Lewes. The new practice will be named Beebe Primary Care Cape Henlopen.
Beebe Healthcare is inviting the public to an open house 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 14 at the new offices. A brief ribbon cutting ceremony will be held along with tours. Masks will be required during the tours or while inside.
“Your local community health system is committed to growing access to primary care providers,” said David A. Tam, MD, MBA, CPHE, FACHE, President & CEO, Beebe Healthcare. “Aaron and Lisa are two well established providers and more will be joining them here. All will enjoy this new, beautiful space along with their patients, and it also allows for Beebe Medical Group to continue to expand alongside Sussex County.”
If community members are looking for a primary care provider, they can call 302-645-3332 to find a Beebe provider accepting patients.
Dr. Bartels is board certified in family medicine. She completed her undergraduate degree at Connecticut College, New London, in 2004. She received her medical degree from Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, in 2009.
Her family medicine residency was completed at Lancaster General Hospital in Lancaster, Pa. Her previous location was at Beebe Primary Care – Lewes on Savannah Road.
Block is a certified physician assistant by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants who was practicing with Beebe Family Practice King Street Row. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Delaware and his physician assistant certification from Hahnemann Physician Assistant Program at Drexel University, in Philadelphia, in 2005.
In addition to his experience in family practice, he has experience as a physician assistant in the specialty of urology, the intensive care unit, the emergency department, and surgical oncology.
“Please join us at this event so you can see Beebe’s commitment to the community and hear how we are growing our services for you,” said Stephen Keiser, VP, Chief Administrative Officer, Beebe Medical Group. “Our medical group has brought in dozens of providers in 2021, and we are excited to embark on 2022 with the same growth in mind.”
A Pennsylvania man has died following a serious crash this morning near Lewes.
According to the Delaware State Police Department, the crash occurred around 8:53 a.m., Tuesday as a 2015 Chrysler 200, operated by a 37-year-old Port Royal, Pennsylvania man, was headed westbound on John J. Williams Hwy, approaching the intersection of Mulberry Knoll Road.
At the same time, a 2005 Cadillac Escalade, operated by a 42-year-old Salisbury, Maryland man, was traveling eastbound in the same vicinity.
For unknown reasons, police say the Chrysler drove onto the westbound shoulder and struck numerous traffic barrels before quickly re-entering the roadway and crossing into the eastbound lane, directly into the path of the Cadillac.
In an attempt to avoid a collision, the driver of the Cadillac swerved slightly to the right and the front center of the Chrysler struck the front left side of the Cadillac in the eastbound lane, a near head-on collision.
The Chrysler was forced into a clockwise rotation before coming to stop in the westbound lane. The Cadillac was forced off the road, coming to a stop in an open farm field.
The 37-year-old driver of the Chrysler 200 was not properly restrained and was transported by EMS to Beebe Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. His name is being withheld at this time pending notification of next of kin.
The 42-year-old Cadillac Escalade operator was properly restrained and uninjured in the crash.
The area of the crash was closed for around two-and-a-half hours while the crash was investigated and then cleared.
Prior to the collision, the Chrysler was reported by numerous witnesses driving erratically and going the wrong way on Coastal Highway before turning onto John J. Williams Highway, according to police.
A Hockessin man was arrested on felony theft charges after police say he stole an HVAC furnace from a home in Lewes.
According to the Delaware State Police Department, the incident occurred around 5:42 p.m., Monday when troopers were called to a residence under construction on the 31000 block of Carvel Road in Lewes for a burglary complaint.
The investigation determined the suspect allegedly removed an HVAC furnace from inside the garage.
Through investigative measures, troopers identified 39-year-old Christopher Sarver as the suspect. Troopers then responded to his residence in Hockessin and took him into custody.
The HVAC furnace has not been recovered at this time.
Sarver was transported to Troop 2 where he was charged with Burglary Third Degree (Felony), Theft $1,500 or Greater (Felony), and Selling Stolen Property Over $1500 (Felony). He was arraigned and released on his own recognizance.
A Lewes woman is speaking out, pleading with the public to help find her husband who’s been missing for the past three weeks.
Trish Dickerson said her heart sunk when she got home from work on the evening of October 7th to find that her husband, 46-year-old Woody Dickerson, left her a letter saying his goodbyes. He has not been seen or heard from since.
46-year-old Woody Dickerson
“I ended up finding a letter that he had left and it basically said that he was extremely depressed, that he was ready to give up on life, that this life wasn’t for him, and that this was his finale,” Trish explained. “Of course he told me he loved me, and that he hoped that wherever he ended up that he would be looking down on me and protecting me.”
Woody’s pickup truck was found the very next day at a relative’s home, but he was nowhere to be found.
Family, friends, and concerned residents will gather on Saturday at 7:30 a.m. at Keyboard America to begin a search nearby in woods where Woody is believed to have gone.
Trish says the entire ordeal has left her devastated and that she just wants her husband home.
“It’s very difficult at night when I go home, on weekends when I’m home, it’s very stressful, I’m anxious, it’s just very heartbreaking,” Trish said. “I don’t wish this on anybody, I just want him to come home. I hate to say this, but if something bad has happened, I just want to know so I can bring him home and he can be at peace.”
Anyone with any information on Woody’s whereabouts are urged to contact police.
