Middletown Life Fall/Winter 2016

Fall/Winter 2016

Middletown Life

Magazine

A conversation with a queen: Amanda Nicole DeBus, Miss Delaware Page 30

Inside : • Habitat for Humanity builds houses and hope • Middletown author publishes fourth novel • The thrill of flying, on a smaller scale Complimentary Copy

Middletown Life Fall/Winter 2016

Table of Contents

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18

54

68

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Getting to the heart of the stone

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The thrill of flying, on a smaller scale

30

Q & A with Amanda Nicole DeBus

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Middletown author set to release fourth book

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Building houses and hope

62

A culture of caring at HealthSouth Middletown

68

Healing the scars

78

Photo essay: Roadside rainbows

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A tribute to military veterans

84 Cover design by Tricia Hoadley Cover photograph by Richard L. Gaw. www.middletownlifemagazine.com | Fall/Winter 2016 | Middletown Life

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Middletown Life Fall/Winter 2016

Discover the many facets of the Middletown area As we enter the autumn season, the Middletown area remains as vibrant as ever. This issue of Middletown Life aims to bring that energy and diversity to you.

Our cover story focuses on Amanda Nicole DeBus, Miss Delaware 2016, who discusses her path to the pageant, her work with children who have special needs, her focus on allergy awareness, and her plans for the future.

We profile Kevin and Tina Conley, who have created the Warriors Helping Warriors organization to help area veterans cope with their injuries and find a productive pathway after military service. We also visit the Springmill community in Middletown, which held a tribute to the 50 residents who served during the Vietnam era and the 20 who served during the Korean War era.

We talk to author Faye Green, who is enjoying a flourishing publishing career with four novels inspired by her rich life experiences. We also meet sculptor Richard Bailey, an artist anchored by his faith whose carvings of animals and fish are favorites of collectors near and far. His more abstract works, however, explore issues of nature, mystery and faith.

We take to the skies with the members of the Delaware Radio Control Club, who regularly fly scale aircraft at their flying field in Lums Pond State Park.

The revitalization of the community along East Lake Street area in Middletown is the focus of an interview with Kevin Smith, the CEO of Habitat for Humanity of New Castle County, an international group which has been building homes and restoring hope in our area since 2000.

We also visit the HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital, where cutting-edge technology is helping injured residents get back on course.

We hope you enjoy the Fall edition of Middletown Life, and that you learn something about the place we call home. We’ll see you again in the Spring!

Sincerely, Randy Lieberman, Publisher randyl@chestercounty.com, 610-869-5553, ext. 19 Steve Hoffman, Editor editor@chestercounty.com, 610-869-5553, ext. 13

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—————|Middletown Arts|—————

Getting to the heart of the stone Photos by John Chambless

This monumental horse sculpture sits outside Bailey’s workshop in Smyrna.

Sculptor Richard Bailey has spent his life working with marble

By John Chambless Staff Writer

R

ichard Bailey has been a sculptor for more than 53 years. The way he sees it, he could hardly have done anything else.

Standing outside the garage gallery where his stone sculptures are packed tightly together on shelves and tables, Bailey recalled, “When I started out, we were sitting in church, and I heard a voice that said, ‘I want you to work in stone.’ I didn’t know what I was going to do. But the Lord led the way and paid the bills.”

Bailey is deeply rooted in Smyrna, where he lives and 8

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works to turn unyielding stone into sinuous fish, fluttering butterflies, birds and frogs, and monumental semi-abstract sculptures that vividly express issues of nature and mystery and faith.

At 76, he still sculpts every day, using a forklift to move larger pieces of stone, but maneuvering most of it by hand, cutting and grinding and polishing until the shape within the featureless block has become what it was meant to be.

As he works with marble that is millions of years old, Bailey stands on land that has thousands of years of its own history. His family’s 160-acre farm sits on a riverbank that was used by Native American tribes before settlers ever landed in America. His parents amassed thousands of stone

A fish sculpture made with stone that is studded with fossils.

tools, spear points, arrowheads and other fragments while working the soil. Oh his mother’s side, he has traced his ancestry back to Emperor Charlemagne and King Alfred the Great. “I guess you can call me Sir Richard,” he quipped with a grin.

Bailey and his artist wife of 30 years, Kay Wood Bailey, have a home in Wyoming, Del., but he has a workshop behind the home where he grew up on Smyrna Landing Road. His gallery space is half a mile away. His sculptures have traveled far and wide, and are part of the collections of museums and businesses and art lovers, particularly those who call southern Delaware home.

Both the garage gallery and the workshop are surrounded by slabs of marble, chunks of colorful stone, old tabletops, and thousands of bits and pieces that Continued on page 10

Different stones are glued together in some works to create a wide range of colors.

A recent sculpture of a bull.

Richard Bailey in his garage exhibition space in Smyrna. www.middletownlifemagazine.com | Fall/Winter 2016 | Middletown Life

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Richard Bailey Continued from Page 9

Bailey has his eye on for future artwork. His workshop is cluttered and no-frills – no air conditioning, for instance – but he knows exactly where all of his 500 tools are stashed in old bureaus.

“I make my own grinding tools,” he said, pulling several examples out of a dusty drawer. Outside are table saws with diamond-tipped blades that he uses to cut stone down to manageable sizes, and then he works with a chisel or grinder or polisher to refine each piece. Bailey can tap a piece of marble and hear its flaws, which determine how the stone can be worked. He knows where the stone for each artwork came from, and nothing goes to waste. Small chips are reworked into mosaics – intricately assembled jigsaw puzzles of brilliantly colored stone cut into animal shapes.

It all began, he said, at Smyrna High School, where he carved a bust of President Eisenhower from a salt block for an art class. The salt block has long since melted, he said with a smile, but he does have what he considers his first important work, a bust of Abraham Lincoln that he completed in 1963 after two years of work. It sits in his

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Bailey makes his own grinding stones for getting just the right details in his work.

gallery space, along with tables full of fish, animal and abstract carvings dating from the 1970s to an expressive bull bust that he recently completed.

His mother was an artist in her own right who painted, then picked up sculpting from Bailey as he learned. There are several of his mother’s sculptures in the gallery, carefully protected under a towel. Bailey’s father ran the Esso

Bailey’s mother was a noted sculptor as well. This family group is by her.

Several marble butterflies on a shelf in Bailey’s gallery space.

gas station in Smyrna. He bought the 160-acre farm in 1949, removed some barns and built the quirky ranch house that still stands today. “There are 17 different corners in that house,” Bailey said.

When Richard was struck with the unquenchable fire to sculpt, he soaked up all the experiences he could. He studied at the Art Students League and the New School

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for Social Research in New York City with renowned artists John Hovannes, Robert Beverley Hale and Jose DeCreeft. He lived with DeCreeft and his wife, artist Lorrie Goulet, studying and working side by side with the master sculptor at his studio in New York state for three summers.

Continued on page 12

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Richard Bailey Continued from Page 11

While managing to live and study in New York City in the 1960s, Bailey was at the crux of an exploding art world. “It was a free schedule, where you could come in when you wanted.

There were 65 of the best artists in the world who would come and critique for a day,” Bailey said. With avant-garde art and pop art changing by the day, Bailey didn’t succumb to the trend of the week. “I didn’t get involved in all that. I come from the country,” he said with a shrug.

“After I started being productive, I started exhibiting on 57th Street,” he said. “I went to the galleries there, and one of them was the Nelson Rockefeller Gallery. I looked in the window and thought, ‘It looks like my stuff would work here.’ So I went in and told them I was a sculptor from out of town and I did marble work.

They told me to bring some things over. I was going to Tiffany, Cartier, all those galleries. And I exhibited at Bergdorf Goodman, right there on 57th Street.” That direct approach paid off, and Bailey’s work was spotlighted in prestigious gallery spaces, where it was seen by superstars of the art world.

In 1966, Bailey self-funded a trip to Italy on a coal freighter, and ended up spending two summers in Carrara, Italy, sculpting with Continued on page 14

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Richard and his wife of 30 years, Kay.

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Richard Bailey Continued from Page 12

10 professional artists at the Carlo Nicoli Studios. He didn’t speak Italian. He still has the marble bust he created during the trip over to Italy. “When I got back, I had $17 in my wallet,” he said. “I guess I budgeted that pretty well.”

Bailey regularly attends auctions where he buys marble pieces from Victorian furniture, or other stone he can use. “They call me ‘The Marble Man’ at the auctions,” he said.

While he had a lucrative run of repairing marble tops for antique washstands, that craze has faded, he said. He still gets work repairing statues that have taken a tumble, and he cuts marble and granite slabs to order for several customers. His buyers come from

Bailey’s workshop is surrounded by slabs of granite and marble awaiting their turn to be made into art or tabletops.

Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and New York, and his location is within easy driving distance.

But his greatest satisfaction is creating fish and animals, as well as stretching his creativity with artworks that carry a message. “Most people like the animals and fish,” he said. “We’re country people. City people like the abstract Continued on page 16

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Richard Bailey Continued from Page 14

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things a bit more.” More than 600 of his works are held in private and public collections, including the American Museum of Natural History, and the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church. His work is represented at the Hardcastle Gallery in Centreville, Del. And from Oct. 15 to Jan. 15, he will have a spotlight exhibit at the Delaware Museum of Natural History in Wilmington.

At his gallery openings, visitors will comment, “I can do that,” Bailey said. “They don’t realize that it’s a piece of earth, frozen, and how fragile it is. If you drop it, it breaks. They think it’s like wood or something.”

In 2013, Bailey self-published a book, “A Sculptor’s Miracles,” that outlines his life story and his philosophy. Throughout the book, and throughout any conversation with him, he credits God with guiding his life and work. And there’s something in the material he works with that resembles his faith.

“It’s like Michelangelo’s work that’s been here for hundreds of years,” he said. “My stuff will still be here in 500 years, or 5,000 years. I don’t know where yet, but it’ll be here.” ..

Bailey will discuss his book on Oct 15 at 2 p.m. at the Kent County Library (497 South Red Haven Lane, Dover). For more information on his work and upcoming events, visit www.richardhbailey.com.

To contact Staff Writer John Chambless, email jchambless@chestercounty.com.

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Bailey shows some of his chisels outside his workshop.

A bust of Abraham Lincoln was Bailey’s first important sculpture, and took him two years to complete.

Bailey carved this bust while on a freighter to Italy when he was a young artist.

This marble slab will eventually be turned into a tabletop or base for one of Bailey’s sculptures.

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—————|Middletown Outdoors|—————

The sky’s the limit Radio-controlled aircraft offer the thrill of flying, on a smaller scale Photo by DE R/C Club

A Marine warbird commands the airspace.

Lisa Fieldman Correspondent

A

nondescript “R/C Flying Field” sign marks a gravel lane off Howell School Road in Middletown.

Situated in Lums Pond State Park, the flying field is home to the Delaware Radio Control Club. Seven days a week, you can find men, women and kids here, piloting their model airplanes. The hobby draws people from all walks of life, but they share a common love of flying.

The field has two large grass runways for use by fixedwing aircraft and rotary-wing aircraft. Everyone from beginners to expert pilots is welcome to join the club, and registration with the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) is needed to fly at the field. Visitors are always welcome to spend the day learning about the hobby.

On a recent sunny Sunday, Bill Netta, Andrew King and Nate Peterson were flying and talking about planes.

Laughingly calling themselves the three most important

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men in the club, they shared their passion about the hobby.

Netta has been a member of the club for 25 years. “I joined right out of college,” he said. He always loved airplanes and came down to the flying field one day. “I was hooked. The next day, I bought a trainer plane. There is a lot I love about the sport,” he said, noting both the creativity and the technical aspects of R/C aircraft. “When you are flying, you are in the moment. You don’t think about anything else in those 10 minutes except flying,” he said.

That day, he and King were piloting large aerobatic planes. “They are considered 35 percent planes because they are 35 percent of the size of real planes,” King said.

More specifically, Netta was flying his Yak 54 and King was deftly maneuvering his Extra 300. With wingspans of 110 inches and 104 inches, they may be a bit larger than what you consider a model airplane.

“I joke and say I play with toy airplanes, but then when people see what I do, they realize it’s not a toy,” Netta said.

King, at 27, is one of the younger members of the club.

He has been flying model aircraft for several years and comes from a background of model car racing. When asked about the challenges of learning to fly R/C model planes, he said, “The learning curve is pretty steep, but it’s getting easier as new technology makes the planes easier to fly.”

Peterson summed up the learning curve succinctly: “Take-offs are optional, landings are mandatory!”

Netta added, “If something goes wrong, you can easily end up with a pile of kindling.”

Humor is a big part of the camaraderie found among the pilots. New arrivals are greeted with waves and shouts. “A bad day at the flying field is still better than an excellent day at work,” Netta said.

According to his buddies, King is quite an accomplished pilot. “He’s one of the best aerobatic pilots around,” Peterson said while watching King execute moves called crankshafts, flat spins and ratchet rolls. “Most people will never get to his level,” he said with admiration.

King deftly positioned his plane so that it hangs vertically in the air -- a trick Continued on page 22

Photo by DE R/C Club

Enthusiastic pilots at the Warbirds Over Delaware show. www.middletownlifemagazine.com | Fall/Winter 2016 | Middletown Life

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R/C Flying Field Continued from Page 19

called hovering. “Sometimes we ask Andrew how he just did something and he can’t tell us -- he doesn’t think about it,” Netta said.

King subtly worked the controls of the transmitter, sending his Extra 300 swooping, diving and rolling through the air.

“A lot of it is muscle memory,” he said. “You develop an understanding of what you want the plane to do, and it just kind of happens.”

Vinnie Damiani was flying his plane in lazy circles. “I fly around and do my loop-de-loops. When I go home and don’t have any equipment to fix, I’m happy,” he said, chuckling. Damiani’s love affair with planes started when he was a mechanic in the Delaware Air National Guard. “I found the flying field 30 years ago and have been here ever since,” he said.

He enjoys building his planes from kits. “You basically get a box of wood and put it together,” he said, downplaying the skill. Some of his planes have taken more than a year to build. While he has not crashed too many planes over the years, he admitted to putting a few through the trees. “One bad move and your plane is in 1,000 pieces. Live by the sword, die by the sword,” he said, laughing.

Continued on page 24

Vinnie Damiani enjoys the afternoon at the flying field.

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R/C Flying Field Continued from Page 22

Although Damiani has built all kinds of aircraft, and owns about 25 planes, his favorites are warbirds such as his P47 Thunderbolt. Warbirds are scale model replicas of military aircraft. These planes are usually painstakingly recreated, down to the smallest details, to duplicate the original military plane.

Warbirds have a huge following in the hobby, and the Delaware R/C club hosts one of the largest events in the country, Warbirds Over Delaware. Pete and Dave Malchione, brothers with a shared passion for R/C model military aircraft, run the show. The event celebrated its 25th anniversary last July.

“We’ve been running Warbirds Over Delaware for 17 or 18 years; we’ve lost track,” Dave Malchione said. The show features scale models of military aircraft. Dave explained that only aircraft with an 80-inch wingspan or larger can participate. The event draws pilots and spectators from all over the country, the UK and Canada. They come to fly, connect with old friends, make new friends, and enjoy the camaraderie of fellow enthusiasts.

Dave explained, “Most of them are pretty talented guys.

They are not a bunch of old men, playing a kids game. It’s extremely sophisticated.”

The show runs for four days, Wednesday through Saturday, but people often show up a week early to get a good camping site. Vendors set up shop and everything model plane related can be found for purchase.

“This show generates business for the whole area,” Pete said. “It’s a lot of work, but we love it.”

The event allows the club to give back to the park. “Our Continued on page 26

A military biplane takes to the air at Warbirds Over Delaware.

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Photo by L. Fieldman

Andrew King and Bill Netta with their aerobatic planes.

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R/C Flying Field Continued from Page 24

club is here as a guest of the state park, and we appreciate having a place to fly,” Dave said. Many flying fields are being lost as land is developed. The park gets most of the money raised by the event, with a small percentage going to charity. In addition, the Boy Scouts earn about $10,000 each year by running the food concessions.

Dave and Pete Malchione are well known in the hobby, according to Damiani. “They put our club on the map,” he said, referring to their success with Warbirds Over Delaware. The brothers are field reps for Horizon Hobby, a supply company that is a leader in the R/C hobby field, Continued on page 28

Photo by L. Fieldman

Pete and Dave Malchione are well known in the hobby.

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Pilots ready their planes as they wait their turn to fly.

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R/C Flying Field Continued from Page 26

and have brought the company in as a sponsor of the show.

The Malchione brothers learned flying from their dad. “He got us started in 1968,” Pete said.

“Dad always loved aviation,” Dave added. “I think it was an excuse for my dad to fly model planes.”

When World War II started, their father, Tony Malchione, enlisted in the Army Air Corps “He said, ‘If I have to go in, I might as well fly,’” Pete said. Two weeks after he enlisted, the Air Corps was terminated, and he was put in the Infantry. His sons still have the tiny airplanes their father constructed out of matchsticks while in the Army.

The Malchione family flying tradition continues with Dave’s son, Dave, Jr. Recognized as one of the best pilots in the country, Dave, Jr. started flying R/C model planes at age 4. “I never really taught him. He picked it up on his own,” Dave said. “It’s kind of a family thing.”

A real concern for the club is how to attract younger members. “We’re all gray here,” said an older pilot. “It’s vital to bring in a younger generation of pilots to keep the hobby going.”

It can be an expensive pastime for a young person, especially flying the aerobatic planes. However, drones and small electric planes can make it more affordable for a beginner. The hobby is evolving constantly, and the new technology is FPV, or First Person View. Flying an aircraft with a video camera feeds the first-person perspective to goggles worn by the operator. It’s very much like playing a video game. FPV is a relatively inexpensive technology, and has the potential to attract more young people to the hobby.

Besides the common interest in aviation, it is clear that there’s a certain esprit de corps among the Delaware R/C club members. Netta said, “When I’m at the field, I may only fly five or six flights, but I’m here for seven hours.

Eighty percent of the time, I’m just talking with other people.”

It seems to be a level playing field, regardless of experience. “We help each other out,” Damiani said. “It’s not a competitive atmosphere.”

On this day, Peterson’s plane never made it out of the trailer. “It’s broken right now,” he said, “but I’m here to hang out with my friends.”

Information on the Delaware R/C club can be found at www.delawarerc.org. Information on Warbirds Over Delaware can be found at: www.warbirdsoverdelaware. com or their Facebook page.

Photo by DE R/C Club

A U.S. Air Force warbird heads off the field.

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—————|Middletown Q&A|—————

Courtesy photo

DeBus, a Middletown resident since 2001, was crowned Miss Delaware this past June.

Amanda Nicole DeBus, Miss Delaware 2016

By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer

T

hroughout her life, Amanda Nicole DeBus has always followed the journey of her heart. She teaches children with special needs. She raises awareness of those who live with allergies. On Sept. 11, as Miss Delaware, she followed her heart to the most famous beauty competition in the world. Recently, Middletown Life sat down with Amanda to discuss pageant life, her career goals, and the imaginary dinner party she would like to host.

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Middletown Life: Take me back to the night of June 11, the evening of the 2016 Miss Delaware Pageant.

There were 500 people in the audience waiting, and 14 of your contemporaries who are all competing for the crown. In the waning hours before the start of the competition, what was going on in your mind?

DeBus: I was just thinking, ‘If I’m right for the job, then I’m right for the job. No matter what, I’m not competing against other people. I’m competing against myself.’ That’s how I entered the competition, trying to be the best version of myself. I wasn’t going to be talked into anything or swayed into anything. I was going to be me. In the past few years, I never thought I was myself on that Miss Delaware stage. I was a version of myself, but I wasn’t my true self. This year, I went out there as if it was my last competition, because it was.

It worked, and I’m very thankful.

What is that true sense of you, that you found on June 11?

I think it’s the fact that I’ve become more mature, and I’ve become okay with who I am. There was a time in my life that I was battling an eating disorder, and I was very confused as to who I was, as a young adult. We all go through a sense of that as we enter our young adult life, and it took me a while to bounce back from that. I describe it as a light switch being flicked on. In the short months leading up to the competition, I just discovered who I was, and I stuck with it.

How did you prepare for the event?

As a competitor, there’s a lot to prepare for leading into the week of Miss Delaware. I had to be in the gym as often as I could to increase my stamina and to improve my physical fitness. When I wasn’t in the gym, I was in the dance studio, working on my talent.

I also had to refine my interview skills, so I had mock interviews almost every week. You just try to become the best version of yourself, in those months leading up to the pageant. I tried to live my life as if I was already Miss Delaware.

What is your interpretation – and I suppose, definition – of Miss Delaware? How are you starting to define or refine that definition?

The Miss Delaware title isn’t one specific thing. It’s the person who wears the crown that defines the title.

To me, Miss Delaware is a positive image. She is a role model. I am going to be a teacher, so I always feel that I have to be a role model, whether I am teaching or living my normal life, whether I am Miss Delaware or just Amanda DeBus.

Courtesy photo

Amanda Nicole DeBus

True confession. When I was younger, my older sister and her friends would watch beauty pageants on television, and I would watch those pageants with them. I used to think that the reason my sister and her friends would watch was because of some fantasy that many young girls have of being named Miss America. Not many people get to experience it, but the facial expression taken at the moment your name was announced as Miss Delaware seems to give us an idea. Describe what that moment meant for you.

It was a goal that I had worked so hard towards. I had competed in Miss Delaware for five years, and each year, I came up short. I obviously thought the goal was within reach, but it just never happened. So the moment when I was finally announced Miss Delaware was incredible. It finally happened. I get to go to Miss America. I am incredibly nostalgic, and I love tradition, and I know that I am one of 75 awesome women who walked before me.

You are no stranger to pageants. Let’s rattle it off.

You were Miss Diamond State 2015, Miss New Castle County 2014, Miss Wilmington 2013, Miss Southern Delaware 2012, Miss Delaware Teen USA 2011 and Miss Delaware’s Outstanding Teen in 2008. What was it about these competitions that first drew your interest?

I was a competitive baton twirler when I was younger, and my baton coach was Lisa Marie Munzert, who was Miss Delaware in 1990. She was getting frustrated with me, because I was not practicing for competitions, but she knew I was driven, so she began to give me the push I needed. She began leaving me pamphlets about upcoming pageants. On a whim, I decided to enter in a Junior Miss New Castle County pageant. I practiced Continued on page 32 www.middletownlifemagazine.com | Fall/Winter 2016 | Middletown Life

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Miss Delaware 2016 Continued from Page 31

very hard to win, and I won. She realized that it was a good idea to push me, and I realized that I could potentially get some scholarship money out of it.

So you’re a competitive person.

I guess I am.

Where does that come from?

I’m a sports kid. I grew up playing soccer and basketball. My brother and I were always ultra competitive between each other. I wanted to follow in his footsteps in terms of sports. He was ranked in cross country in Delaware. I just wanted to be like him, and then my competitive nature led me into a different form of competition.

Let’s talk about your career aspirations. In between competitions, you’re a health and physical education major at the University of Delaware, with a double minor in dance and health, and physical activity and disabilities. What led you to special needs education?

I work on campus with a group called Sports Club for You, an after-school program for kids with disabilities.

We primarily focus on kids on the Autism spectrum as well as kids with behavioral issues. I fell in love with it. I was the teaching assistant for the club for the last two years. I’m a dance teacher as well, so I’m comfortable with teaching, but I have found I have passion for teaching children with special needs. It brings me such joy to see them attain a goal, even over the course of a single session.

Let’s talk about your main platform – “ALL-AWARE: Allergy Awareness.” What led you to establish that?

Back in 2010, when I was 17, I was at a summer barbecue at my house and I was eating a serving of pineapple, and all of a sudden, my throat began to get scratchy. It started to swell, and I started going into shock. In that moment, I could have died, had it not been for my mother and a local neighbor, who was an ER nurse. They took me to the emergency room, and I was diagnosed as having a severe allergy to pineapple.

After that experience, I felt that I needed to promote allergy awareness, because up to that moment, I had no real knowledge of allergies, except environmental allergies.

Continued on page 34

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Miss Delaware 2016 Continued from Page 32

There must have been something inside of you to help you decide that you were going to make this a larger thing.

I had allergies all of my life but they were mostly environmental, but once I began research about food allergies and how common yet overlooked they are, I decided that it was something that needed to be discussed. In schools, kids with food allergies are getting bullied. They are being separated and discriminated against. And when they go to restaurants, they’re often belittled over something that they can’t control. It’s something that I feel needs to be discussed on a large scale.

You were bullied when you were younger.

I was.

Take me back to that time.

I was bullied because I had an inhaler and EpiPens. To others, those things made me different, and incapable of doing ‘normal things.’ I was told I couldn’t run in gym, because I couldn’t withstand the cardio. When I was at

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Courtesy photo

DeBus competed in the miss America Pageant on Sept. 11.

a national competition, I was called ‘That Girl’ when I couldn’t do certain appearances, due to my food allergies. It was the little things. At the moment, it didn’t really faze me, but looking back, I was discriminated against. I was separated from the group, and it doesn’t feel good to be separated from a group of your peers, by something that you can’t control.

Continued on page 36

Miss Delaware 2016 Continued from Page 34

Then your efforts to bring awareness to allergies is not for you, but for others.

Absolutely. It’s not just a health issue. It’s a social issue.

In your capacity as Miss Delaware, how are you helping to spread that awareness?

I visit elementary, middle and high schools, sharing my story. I teach the elementary kids to ‘Be a P.A.L.’ and Protect A Life, in terms of helping their friends out when they know that their friend has an allergy. In middle and high school, I discuss relationships and food allergies. Often times, you don’t realize that if your partner has, say, a peanut allergy, that you can’t really have a peanut butter cup and then kiss your significant other immediately afterward. I also tackle legislation. I’ve helped to pass the Access to Emergency Epinephrine Act in schools, which gives schools access to epinephrine for any unknown allergy case.

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So you’re approaching this from the standpoint of awareness, education and legislation.

Awareness, to me, is the umbrella term, and then I tackle education and legislation under the awareness umbrella.

You’re also involved in another cause -- the Children’s Miracle Network -- which is one of the key beneficiaries of the Miss America Contest. You’ve raised thousands of dollars for it. How did you become involved in that organization?

Back in 2008, when I won Miss Delaware’s Outstanding Teen, the Miss America Organization asked teen title holders to help raise funds. To me, it was more than just raising funds, because when I was a child, I was a patient for an entire summer in the A.I. DuPont Children’s Hospital. I’ve had the experience of being a long-term patient in a hospital, so I know what these kids need.

They need a sense of normalcy. As a local title holder and now as a state title holder, I visit children’s hospitals and I try to give them that sense of normalcy, even if it’s for five minutes between treatments.

Continued on page 38

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Miss Delaware 2016 Continued from Page 36

Do you ever look at the crown that you will wear for a year in Delaware as nothing more than a conduit, to what you want to do, to allow a few more doors to open for you?

It’s not a crown. It’s a soapbox. I use it as my megaphone. I get to use it to shout out to the world what I believe, and I hope to make a difference.

You’ve been given that soapbox. By virtue of your title, your voice happens to travel a little farther.

I’ve gotten numerous messages on social media and through e-mail from parents that have kids with severe allergies. They tell me that they’re so happy to see a person take the platform of allergy awareness to a national stage, and that their kids look up to me. It’s those types of e-mails and messages that give the extra push to keep my voice going for as long as I can.

In the few short months you’ve been Miss Delaware, what have been your most enriching moments?

I did an appearance recently, and this one little girl wouldn’t stop talking to me, even though her mother

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began to tug her away. She told me, ‘You know Miss Delaware, you can take me home if you want to.’ I started to laugh — I wish I could! Any time I am with kids is an awesome moment. It goes back to me wanting to be a teacher, and wanting to work with kids for the rest of my life.

Let’s talk about Middletown. How long have you lived here?

We moved here in 2001.

What schools did you attend?

Silver Lake Elementary School, Everett Meredith Middle School, and Middletown High School.

Every stage of a person’s life he or she receives inspiration, whether it be from a moment, an event or an individual that takes him or her to the next rung. Take me back to your school days. Who were the people who inspired you?

At Middleton High School, Dr. Voni Perrine is an amazing person. She’s always been in my corner. I enjoyed having her as a chorus teacher and then as a vice principal during my last year there. Abby (Shubert) Continued on page 40

Miss Delaware 2016 Continued from Page 38

Joy, an English teacher, has always been one of my favorite teachers. Having that support system from people I haven’t seen in five or six years has been incredible.

It’s safe to say that Voni, Abby, and nearly everyone from the M.O.T. area will be rooting for you at the Miss America pageant on Sept. 11. How are you getting ready for it?

I’ve been going to CrossFit. I used to be a cardio person, sticking to stair machine and the rower, but once I got into CrossFit, they pushed me to do things I never thought I could ever do. It’s inspired me to do better and beat my personal records. I’m changing my dance routine to work more for the Miss America stage. I am doing interview preparation, getting ready for the swimsuit competition, and preparing mentally to walk across that iconic stage.

What’s your favorite spot in Middletown?

I love Metro, the new restaurant in town. They’re the

sweetest people, and we’ve become very good friends with a lot of the employees. I’m such a foodie, so when you asked the question, all I could think of was food!

Amanda DeBus has a dinner party, and she can invite anyone she wants to, living or not. Who attends that dinner party?

I would love to meet Princess Diana. I’m so infatuated with her. If I can expand this guest list, I’m a sucker for Marilyn Monroe. She was an incredibly deep woman. I’ve met Vice President Joe Biden in the past, and I think he’d be a great addition to the dinner party!

What food is always in your refrigerator?

Watermelon. I will cut open one watermelon, and that will be my breakfast, lunch and dinner, for the entire day.

No Delawarean has ever been crowned Miss America, so you’ll be playing the underdog. Delawareans are always playing that role, but look at Vice President Joe Biden.

Look at WNBA MVP Elena Delle Donne.

It’s always fun to prove them wrong.

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—————|Middletown People|—————

Middletown author set to release fourth L book

Courtesy photo

Middletown resident Faye Green will soon be publishing her fourth book, “A Daughter is Given.”

By Steven Hoffman Staff Writer

ater this year, author Faye Green will publish a new book which represents the latest chapter in a burgeoning, if somewhat improbable, writing career.

The Middletown resident has now written four novels—“Boy on the Wall,” “Gertie,”

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“Dicey,” and “A Daughter is Given”— and maintains a busy schedule of speaking engagements at a time in life when many people would be cutting back on their workload.

“My life turned around when I retired and I decided that I wanted to write books,” Green explained during an interview.

So each day that she can set aside a block of time, Green will sit down at her computer and work—whether she’s writing, revising, or editing one of her novels or writing short stories and poems.

As a novelist, Green likes to put her characters—often women—in difficult situations to see how they will respond.

It was eight years ago when Green was facing significant real-world trials of her own. Her husband, Bill, passed away after a lengthy illness. And, after careers with the Prince Georges County School System in Maryland and with the U.S. Department of Defense, she needed to fill up her life with new pursuits.

As Green refined and developed her skills as a writer, it did not take her long to start discovering what kind of writer she was going to be. She likes historical fiction, and many of her stories have historical settings. There are often political and societal overtones to the work. And she frequently builds the story around female characters.

“I usually have a strong woman at the center of the story,” Green explained.

“I like to study human nature and how women react to things.”

Green incorporates a lifetime of experiences into her writing. She was born and raised in Laurel, Md., and always had an affinity for writing short stories and poems. She studied at the University of Maryland before embarking on a career and starting to raise a family. Later, when her children were a little older, she returned to college to

Photo by Steven Hoffman

Faye Green, a Middletown resident, will be publishing her fourth book later in 2016.

Continued on page 46 www.middletownlifemagazine.com | Fall/Winter 2016 | Middletown Life

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Middletown Author Continued from Page 45

finish work on a liberal arts degree. She and her husband both worked for the U.S. Department of Defense for a time.

Spending so much time in Maryland, Delaware, and also Arapahoe, North Carolina influenced her writing, and her books often feature the flavor of the Chesapeake Bay and the beautiful Atlantic beaches along the coast.

Her first book, “The Boy on the Wall,” is a story about a boy who is jailed for stealing bread during the famine. She was inspired to write this story after a trip to Ireland.

The second book, “Gertie,” focused on a young woman dealing with divorce—a scandalous concept in the early20th century world that protagonist Gertie MacGregor was living in. Gertie became the first and only divorced woman in Laurel, Maryland after her husband, Edward, broke her arm in a fit of anger. Her friends and neighbors in the small town expected Gertie to make the best of it, but she sought a divorce instead. She suffered great consequences—the friends and neighbors shunned her, she was removed as soloist in the church choir, and she later lost her job because she chose to stay home and care for her sick child.

The book spans the years 1909 to 1946, a period when

the country was undergoing significant changes, albeit slowly. Gertie raised her child on her own. She helped serving veterans at nearby Fort Meade through World War I and World War II. The second World War, in particular, changed the place that women held in the world as they increasingly became a part of the workforce. Eventually, Gertie is recognized for helping to care for wounded soldiers by Eleanor Roosevelt, the revered First Lady who was an inspiration to millions of people because of her efforts to promote human rights. Gertie illustrated how women’s roles were changing in society as they faced their fears and hardships.

The challenge that the woman at the center of “Dicey” had to overcome was attempting to find a new life after her husband passes away. Delores “Dicey” Grant has an adventure that is ignited by a longtime friend and gambler—and that adventure unfolds in Washington, D.C., Delaware, and an unnamed village in Haiti. Green said that this story explores the feelings of a widow as she looks to move on with the next chapter in her life.

“A Daughter is Given” is Green’s fourth book. It is set in the mid-1950s and it has political overtones—the protagonist is a young woman who grew up thinking that one man Continued on page 51

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Middletown Author Continued from Page 46

is her father, but discovers that the man’s business partner, who happens to be a powerful U.S. Senator, is in reality her real father.

When that U.S. senator ascends to the presidency, the stakes are raised for everyone involved.

The story was inspired, in part, by the real-life circumstances of Sen. John Edwards, whose bid for the U.S. Presidency was upended by allegations of a scandalous affair that produced a child.

Edwards allegedly had one of his business partners claim that he, not Edwards, was the father of the child. The sordid real life political drama made Green wonder, ‘What if...?’ and it set her on the path to the story that she wrote.

Green said that as she has gained experience as a writer, she has become much more disciplined with it.

“I spend a part of every day writing,” she explained. “When I sit down to write, I try to have a minimum of three hours to work. I won’t write if I only have 15 minutes or a half an hour. I also find that it’s necessary to work continuously on a book to maintain the continuity of what you’re working on.”

When she’s not writing, Green fills her days with time spent with her children and grandchildren. She attends the St. Paul’s United Methodist Church. She also likes interior decorating, traveling,

Courtesy photo

Green enjoys meeting readers at book-signings and speaking engagements.

sewing, and gardening.

She has a busy calendar of speaking engagements where she talks to book clubs, writing groups, church groups, retirement groups, professional societies or schools. She loves meeting people and talking about her books.

Continued on page 52

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Middletown Author Continued from Page 51

“I have met the most amazing people,” she explained.

She encourages everyone to make the most out of retirement, and to do what they’ve always wanted to do— including writing a novel, if that’s been a goal.

“I always tell people that anyone can write if they take the time to do it,” she explained.

Every writer needs support of some kind. Green joined a writing group in Georgetown that has provided help, support, and encouragement to her. Her family and friends have been very supportive, too.

Gertrude Roe, the longtime, award-winning editor of the Laurel Leader newspaper, is another longtime supporter who was always encouraging of Green’s work.

Green admitted that she is still sometimes surprised to find herself standing in front of a room full of people talking about her books and writing.

“I think the person in the room most surprised about that is me,” she said.

She considers her greatest reward for her work to be a reader who says that he or she liked a book that Green wrote.

“The goal is to have a reader say that they loved it, or that

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they passed the book along for someone else to read,” Green explained.

As for future projects, Green is already doing the preliminary research on a book about the workhouse system and Irish immigration during the years of the famine. She also has a collection of short stories that she thinks would make a nice book at some point.

Green’s books are available from the author, at amazon.com, from the publisher at authorhouse.com, Courtesy photo ‘Dicey’ was Green’s third and by request at local book published book. stores like Barnes & Noble.

To contact Green about a speaking engagement or her books, email her at greenvine@verizon.net.

To contact Staff Writer Steven Hoffman, email editor@ chestercounty.com.

www.middletownlifemagazine.com | Fall/Winter 2016 | Middletown Life

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—————|Around Middletown|—————

Building houses and hope Habitat for Humanity revitalizes neighborhoods and offers a partnership with families in need Photos by John Chambless

Smith walks through the construction site in late August.

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Kevin Smith, the CEO of Habitat for Humanity of New Castle County, at the site where five new homes are being built in Middletown.

By John Chambless Staff Writer

O

n tiny Elizabeth Street in Middletown, there are some big dreams growing.

Five homes will soon be built on the site, adding up to 31 already built by Habitat for Humanity since 2000. Each one of the houses represents a family saved from the spiraling chaos of poverty, a neighborhood revitalized, and generations yet to come who will have stability and a decent place to call home.

For Kevin Smith, the CEO of Habitat for Humanity of New Castle County, the group’s partnership with Middletown began some 16 years ago when he met with community advocate Irv Brockson. Brockson was seeking an end to the blight of the East Lake Street area, and getting the attention

of Habitat was the first step.

Over the years, support from Middletown businesses, citizens and officials has been consistent and enthusiastic, Smith said. “By building in the older part of town, along East Lake Street, we’re helping that part of town that has had some issues with crime and drug sales. But we are also knocking down abandoned structures,” he said. “In 2010, we built six houses, and across the street were two houses where there were active drug sales. We negotiated with the owner, bought those houses and knocked them down.”

According to figures supplied by Habitat, a minimumwage worker in New Castle County would need to work 120 hours a week to afford the average monthly rent for a two-bedroom apartment, $1,135. That figure is more than 60 percent of the county’s renters could afford. That leaves Continued on page 56

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Habitat Continued from Page 55

families in crisis -- either stretching a salary too thin to cover rent and living expenses in a decent location, or settling for lower rent in a neighborhood that could be full of drugs and crime. Either situation is not good for children, who grow up feeling that nothing is secure.

Habitat finds families for their homes after a thorough interview process and background check. Families work alongside volunteers during construction, pledging to commit 225 hours of “sweat equity” to help build their home. They must attend financial counseling and work to repair their credit. “We also train our homeowners to be the future leaders in these neighborhoods,” Smith said. “To show them how to be a good neighbor, be involved in the civic association. That benefits the whole neighborhood, not just our individual families.”

The Habitat model works so well that, since 1986, the New Castle County branch has built more than 225 homes in Wilmington, Middletown, Newark, New Castle and St. Georges. Families who move in feel that they have earned their home, not been given a handout.

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Footers poured for the home being built at the Springlake site.

Volunteers get to see the joy that owning a home brings to a family. And the effect of putting good people into decent housing benefits the whole town.

But serving at the helm of an organization with so many

ties to so many companies and nonprofits means that Smith spends most of his time fundraising and managing, rather than on the ground at the work sites. Visiting the new Springlake site in Middletown last month, he saw where the concrete footers had been poured for the first two homes. “In a week and a half, we’ll start the framing, and the homeowners will be here, earning their sweat equity,” he said.

Pulling off the miracle of a new home requires an orchestrated effort that Smith is very familiar with.

“Usually it’s easier to build new than renovate an existing home, because you never know what you’re dealing with when you start a renovation,” he said. “And it’s easier to have one site person overseeing five or six houses at a time. That’s a better experience for volunteers as well. If you bring 15 people out, it’s easier to put them to work on a couple of new houses and spread them out.”

It costs about $165,000 to build a Habitat home in New Castle County. Of that, $65,000 is for materials.

Some $60,000 goes to sub-contractors, $15,000 for buy-

Finished Habitat homes along East Lake Street are transforming the neighborhood.

ing land, and $25,000 for program overhead costs. Volunteers supply much of the labor at no cost. Smith proudly noted that 93 cents of every dollar donated to Habitat goes directly Continued on page 58

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Habitat Continued from Page 57

towards building a home.

“We have very low overhead. The challenge is that we sell the houses at the fair market value,” Smith said, “but the construction cost, depending on where we build, can be anywhere from $10,000 to $60,000 greater than that fair market value. It’s hard to lose that much money on every house you build.” So that means that fundraising is a big part of his job.

“We don’t consider ourselves a charity. It’s a partnership with the families,” he said. “We tell them, ‘You have something to contribute that’s valuable. We’re not going to build a house for you, but with you.’”

A decade ago, Habitat found that it had more materials than it could efficiently use, and opened ReStore locations where surplus supplies could be sold at a fraction of their retail cost. In May, a ReStore opened in the Middletown Shopping Center at 600 N. Broad Street.

Stocked with new, used and donated furniture, appliances, windows and doors, paint and hardware, the huge store is packed with bargains – a set of six dining

Used appliances are sold at reduced prices at the Habitat ReStore in Middletown.

room chairs for $20, a like-new refrigerator for $300.

“We give every Habitat homeowner a $100 voucher to come and shop at a ReStore,” Smith said. The extra money goes to either a necessity for furnishing a home, or for a little luxury

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item that makes a family feel settled in their new space.

But anyone can shop at a ReStore, and all the money raised goes to support more home building by Habitat.

While the New Castle County branch of Habitat has its hands full, the Habitat International organization is working in 80 countries, Smith said. In some third-world countries, it can cost as little as $4,200 to build or rehab a home. That means a cement block building with a tin roof and a concrete floor, “but it’s still a major upgrade from what people have been dealing with,” Smith said.

In February, Smith accompanied a team of workers to Costa Rica, where the project started with digging holes for the home’s support beams and continued with a week of dirty, hands-on work. “It was great,” Smith said with a smile. He added that, while the young woman and two children who were moving into the new house were overjoyed, the surrounding homes of her family members were little more than shacks. “It kind of broke our hearts. We wish we could do more,” he said.

But toward that goal, Habitat groups can send any

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undesignated donations to overseas projects, where the money goes much further than in America. “For example, Habitat New Castle County, in our 30th year of operating, Continued on page 60

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Habitat Continued from Page 59

has sent over $1 million in tithe money to El Salvador, Africa, India, Egypt and Costa Rica,” Smith said.

Even in Delaware, “many of our homeowners are the first in generations of their family to own their own house,” he said. “That’s most impactful for children. That means stability. The purpose is not only to give families an affordable place to live, but it’s also an opportunity for asset building. We give surveys to all our families every other year, and they tell us that their children are doing better in school, their health improves, there’s no emotional stress of trying to survive. And their financial situation improves. Out mortgage is sometimes half of what they would be paying in rent.

“So we see ourselves as a general contractor, retailer and lender,” Smith said of the Habitat organization.

“We see ourselves as a social service agency, but we’re clear that what we’re doing is creating an opportunity.

We can’t solve the whole list of problems a family may be having, but let’s at least check off the housing box.

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so empowering for the homeowners to get through this and be able to say, ‘Look what I did.’”

For more information on Habitat for Humanity of New Castle County, visit www.habitatncc.org.

To contact Staff Writer John Chambless, email jchambless@ chestercounty.com.

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Kevin Smith talks with an employee of the Middletown ReStore.

Kevin Smith with store manager Paula at the Middletown ReStore.

www.middletownlifemagazine.com | Fall/Winter 2016 | Middletown Life

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———|Middletown Health & Wellness|———

A culture of caring at HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital of Middletown

By Steven Hoffman Staff Writer

W

hen Kenny Perdue arrived at the HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital of Middletown earlier this year, he was facing a difficult road to recovery after he suffered traumatic injuries to the tibia and fibula in his left leg during a May 8 motorcycle accident. The 57-year-old resident of Newark had spent eight days in a Delaware hospital followed by two more days in a Pennsylvania hospital for treatment before he was ready to undergo the extensive rehabilitation that would be necessary to get him back on his feet.

When it was time to

Courtesy photo

The professional staff at HealthSouth Middletown works with each patient to formulate a rehabilitation program that will get patients on the road to recovery.

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select a place for rehabilitation services, Perdue and his wife did some research. Perdue’s brother had previously had a good experience at a HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital in another state, so they looked into HealthSouth Middletown, a relatively new hospital in the growing community. Perdue’s wife went on a tour of the building and met everyone in the nursing department who would be caring for her husband. She saw the gym and the other facilities where he would be working on his rehabilitation.

The staff explained how the rehabilitation services would be provided, and how the therapies would help Perdue achieve his goal of getting back to his normal life at home.

The rehabilitation work started right away. Instead of relying on a bedpan or a urinal, like he did while in the hospital, Perdue was taught by the staff how to transfer himself from the bed to the wheelchair so that he could move to the bathroom safely and independently. He couldn’t bear any weight on his foot initially, so the staff slowly started him on the process of building up his strength. The staff utilized state-of-the-art equipment at HealthSouth Middletown, including a machine that can be raised or lowered to simulate what it would be like to transfer from a wheelchair to a car or SUV. After some work, Perdue was able to stand with Continued on page 64

Courtesy photo

People can rehabilitate in a state-of-the-art facility at HealthSouth Middletown.

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HealthSouth Continued from Page 63

a walker. He progressed quickly, thanks to the work of the capable and caring staff.

“The first time I used the walker and ‘hopped’ 15 feet, I knew that I was accomplishing something,” Perdue explained. “I knew that I was in the place where I needed to be to get home.”

HealthSouth Middletown CEO Mathew E. Gooch credits the staff of approximately 160 people with helping Perdue and others like him who need rehabilitation services.

“The staff at HealthSouth Middletown is really second to none,” Gooch said. “They really create a family environment here.”

Perdue said that the staff was very encouraging and caring as he worked on his rehabilitation. He formed friendships with Stephanie and Sean, two of his therapists. He also said that he and his wife found it very helpful that the therapists taught her about the treatments and training that he was receiving so that she, too, could help him with what he needed to do to

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recover.

“My therapists were awesome,” he explained. “They went above and beyond for not only me, but for all the patients. I really felt that the therapists looked at your individual goals and helped you achieve them.”

That kind of testimonial is very heartening to Gooch.

He was previously the top administrator of an acute care hospital in Pennsylvania, and was hired as the CEO in the summer of 2014 to help open HealthSouth Middletown. He oversaw the hiring of the staff and was able to establish a culture of caring at the hospital from the onset, supported by the policies and practices of the HealthSouth Corporation, which operates approximately 120 inpatient hospitals throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

The Middletown location on East Hampden Road is the first HealthSouth in Delaware. There are 34 beds at the facility, and they usually have 32 or 33 patients a day—so essentially the rehabilitation hospital operates near its capacity for much of the year.

When HealthSouth Middletown opened in December of 2014, they initially limited the number of patients so that the new staff could focus on delivering quality care without the possibility of being overburdened.

“There was a tremendous need for a rehabilitation hospital like this in this area,” Gooch explained. “We probably could have filled the hospital up within the first two weeks, but we wanted to take it slow.”

HealthSouth Middletown provides rehabilitative care for patients who are recovering from conditions such as cardiac and pulmonary conditions, strokes, spinal cord injuries, complex orthopedic conditions, or Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs).

Continued on page 66

Courtesy photo

HealthSouth Middletown provides rehabilitative care for patients who are recovering from conditions such as cardiac and pulmonary conditions, strokes, spinal cord injuries, complex orthopedic conditions, or Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs).

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HealthSouth Continued from Page 65

“We treat patients with a lot of different medical issues,” explained Gooch. “I think we treat a typical mix of patients.”

According to Gooch, patients who have received rehabilitation services at HealthSouth Middletown have said repeatedly that they appreciate such quality care close to home. Before HealthSouth Middletown opened, patients with traumatic brain injuries often had to go to hospitals in Pennsylvania or Maryland to receive the care and treatment that they needed because the services weren’t available in this part of Delaware.

“We were very happy to be able to treat TBI patients,” Gooch said. “That was a need in the area that was not being met.”

He added that HealthSouth plays a vital role and fits in well with Delaware’s larger system of health care providers.

“For most of our patients, we are a part of their health care journey,” Gooch said. “We work with a lot of great outpatient partners in the area.”

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The average stay for a patient is 10 to 14 days, which gives the staff the opportunity to get to know the patients and to work with them on any health issues that they might be dealing with. The staff is literally on a first-name basis with the patients. Gooch said that he relishes the opportunity to work at a hospital where patients see so many benefits from the personal care that they receive.

“I got into health care to make a difference,” he explained. “You can really get to know a patient over the course of 10 to 14 days.”

HealthSouth also understands what patients need with regard to a building for rehabilitation services. Gooch explained that the hospital was designed with the safety and the comfort of patients in mind. HealthSouth, as a company, makes a point to talk to staff about any possible design changes that might improve care and comfort for patients.

Gooch explained, “They get input from the staff in the previous generation of buildings for any new hospital

that HealthSouth builds.”

At HealthSouth Middletown, all the rooms are private, and patients also have access to private showers. Each room has a recessed area where the staff can do their work without disturbing the patient or having to stand in the hallway.

“The patients have nice rooms to get well in,” Gooch said.

There is one central nursing station that allows for improved oversight for patients and better collaboration for the staff.

HealthSouth had the building designed so that they can add six more rooms with only minimal construction required, so the hospital will be able to expand in the future to meet the needs of a growing community. At HealthSouth, Gooch said, the focus will always remain on delivering quality care to patients like Perdue.

After a 22-day stay, Perdue was able to leave the rehabilitation hospital and return home where he is still recovering from his effects of the motorcycle accident.

As a result of the rehabilitation therapy that he received at HealthSouth Middletown, he is able to feel independent in his own home. He said that he would definitely recommend HealthSouth to others.

For those who need rehabilitation from an injury or an ailment,“We say that it is the place to be,” Perdue explained.

It is certainly the place to be to get back on the road to recovery. Gooch said that for the latest reporting period, 83 percent of the patients at HealthSouth were discharged to return to their homes, which is slightly higher than the 78 percent average in the region. He and the staff take great satisfaction when they are able to help patients like Perdue return to their normal lives.

“Our ultimate goal, explained Gooch, “is to get people back to the life they knew before they were in the hospital. This company truly places a focus on quality outcomes.”

To contact Staff Writer Steven Hoffman, email editor@ chestercounty.com.

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—————|Around Middletown|—————

Healing the scars

All photos by L. Fieldman

Tina and Kevin Conley are the founders of Warriors Helping Warriors.

Pictured with daughter Brynn and Kevin’s service dog, Angus.

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A new veterans organization aims to win the war at home

The new Veterans Resilience Center is currently under renovation, with plans to open in the spring of 2017.

By Lisa Fieldman Correspondent

W

arriors Helping Warriors is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping all veterans. As the name implies, the group hopes to bring vets together to help each other through shared experiences.

Kevin Conley and his wife Tina founded WHW in 2013. Through the foundation, they hope to make the transition to civilian life easier for returning soldiers. At the same time, the want to offer support to families during this adjustment period. The Conley family knows first-hand how difficult the readjustment can be for a vet, especially one who has suffered traumatic injuries.

Conley had proudly served in the Delaware Army National Guard for more than 20 years, rising to the rank of Major before retiring in 2011. When he came home from Afghanistan in 2010, he was very different from the father and husband who had deployed months earlier. He came back with obvious physical injuries sustained in the line of duty. He also has invisible injuries, including post-traumatic stress disorder and neurological issues resulting from a traumatic brain injury.

Conley was welcomed home by a loving family, and they have been determined to give him the support he needs while on the path to wellness. One Continued on page 70 www.middletownlifemagazine.com | Fall/Winter 2016 | Middletown Life

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Warriors Continued from Page 69

of his greatest challenges has been the uphill battle to get proper medical treatment through the VA system.

“We had to cut through a lot of red tape to get Kevin the care he needed,” Tina said. To date, Kevin has endured nine surgeries for his medical issues, such as back, neck and knee injuries, and loss of feeling in his leg and both hands from nerve damage. His medical care is ongoing.

Despite the difficulty he faces, Kevin rises each day determined to keep pushing forward. As a family, the Conleys want to make the road to physical and mental wellness less challenging for Kevin and other veterans. Their solution was to start Warriors Helping Warriors.

The idea for the organization took hold when Kevin attended a veterans event and reconnected with some of the men from his Delaware National Guard unit.

“A lot of them are younger than me,” he said, “and they are coming out with physical problems and a lot of invisible Continued on page 73 Brynn helps her dad load debris from the renovation. Tasks Kevin could easily handle in the past now take teamwork.

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Warriors Continued from Page 70

injuries.” Like Kevin, they encountered roadblocks when seeking physical and mental health care through the VA system. “They are being told, ‘No, you don’t qualify for that benefit,’” Kevin said. “So as far as their training goes, they say ‘Yes sir,’ and turn around and leave.”

According to Tina, the younger vets don’t always know what benefits they are entitled to receive. Unlike the Conleys, they may not be as adept at fighting for what they need. Tina and Kevin want to connect with other veterans and ask, “What are you finding as issues in your health care and other areas of your life?” Most importantly, the Conleys want to help.

Warriors Helping Warriors has a powerful mission statement: To enable veterans and their families to ‘Win the War at Home’ so they can transition back to functioning families and back to productive members of society.

Every day, Tina, daughter Brynn and son Dylan witness the hard work Kevin puts into overcoming his obstacles.

He is recreating his life while dealing with his limitations.

“He looks like he can do anything,” Tina said. “The hardest thing for Kevin is accepting what he can and cannot do.”

As a result of his injuries, he is more accident-prone now, and his fine motor skills are poor, which is very frustrating for him. Kevin has some mobility issues and suffers from anxiety, stress, anger, and depression due to his PTSD and TBI. Conley’s struggle is much the same as that of many Continued on page 74

Service dog Angus keeps a watchful eye on Kevin at all times. www.middletownlifemagazine.com | Fall/Winter 2016 | Middletown Life

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Warriors Continued from Page 73

other vets. Through Warriors Helping Warriors, veterans can talk with people who have shared experiences and find ways to help each other.

The Conleys began by assisting vets and their families with small home repairs. “The first thing we did was install a fence around a yard for a vet’s service dog,” Kevin said.

“Next we fixed a garage door and put in a wheelchair ramp.”

Once renovated, this space will be a recreation room in the new Veterans Center.

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These were simple projects, but certainly life changing for the recipient.

“We just wanted to get word out that help was available for veterans and their families,” Tina said. Word did spread, and people also started calling to volunteer their time. With extra hands, assistance is not just limited to making repairs.

The volunteers will also help with transportation to appointments and assist with caregiving.

Tina and Brynn take care of a veteran with a seizure disorder when his wife attends school. “Her choice was to quit school or find help,” Kevin said.

Kevin and Tina are very knowledgeable about what resources are available to vets and their families. They hope to educate people not only about benefits but also how to deal with the bureaucracy of the VA system. “We have not been afraid to kick down doors,” Tina said, laughing. They are happy to share their experiences with others fighting the same battle.

Warriors Helping Warriors is currently working on a project that will help expand services for veterans and their families. They are opening a Veterans Resilience Center. The non-profit has purchased a dilapidated mansion on South Broad Street in Middletown. The Victorian house sat empty and neglected for several years, with parts of the structure open to the elements. Renovation work (all volunteer) Continued on page 76 The second floor will designed as flexible living space for vets and their families.

www.middletownlifemagazine.com | Fall/Winter 2016 | Middletown Life

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Warriors Continued from Page 75

has started on the outside. As soon as a structural engineering report is approved, interior work will begin.

When complete, the first floor will house a recreation room and multi-purpose classrooms. Tina explained, “We plan to offer resume writing and interview skills classes, and we have resources for donations of business clothing, haircuts, transportation to job interviews, etc.”

Kevin added, “If you are in the military, you’ve never had to interview or write a resume. You may not know how to take the work you did in the service and translate it into marketable skills.” The classes will be open to vets and their family members. UPS and Bank of America have agreed to help with the interview and resume classes.

The second floor of the center has been designed as a flexible living space that can house up to eight people. The plan is to provide vets (and families if needed) a place to live for up to one year while they get back on their feet.

“Some people do not have a family support network they can rely on,” Kevin said. For these vets, finding a place to live can be a challenge. Without support, many veterans become homeless.

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Like many spouses of deployed soldiers, Tina held the family together while Kevin was in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“When I was deployed, I gained team members, but Tina lost a team member,” Kevin said. “It’s hard on a family when a spouse is deployed. Tina was working full time, but still had to get the kids to all their activities, because you want to keep the routine as normal as possible for the kids.”

Tina recalled how Kevin presented the family with three black lab puppies before he deployed. “So we wouldn’t be lonely while he was gone!” she said, laughing. The dogs are treasured family members who helped them through some rough times.

“I remember one day Brynn was holding her puppy and crying,” Tina said. “Shadow was able to comfort her.” Son Dylan would cope by bringing all the dogs to bed with him. After Kevin’s return home, he acquired a service dog, Angus, who helps him with his mobility and, he admitted, “Angus helps me if I get lost.”

Warriors Helping Warriors is a new organization, but the response from the community has been overwhelming.

“People see our Facebook page or hear about us and

reach out,” Kevin said. It’s not unusual for Tina to get messages daily from people who want to volunteer or donate.

UPS is a huge supporter and routinely sends a group of volunteers down to work on the house or assist with repairs for vets. They are also donating a storage unit where WHW can put donations until the house is ready.

“The Newark High School football team is coming to help out,” Kevin said. “I’ll have them do some of the heavy work, maybe move stone.”

Local electricians and plumbers are donating their time to help with the renovation. “We hope to find some experienced veterans to work alongside the professionals,” Kevin said.

Out of the blue, they received a $7,000 check from the American Legion in Smyrna. “Someone gave them our flyer and they just sent a check. We didn’t even ask them!” Kevin said.

To help offset the cost of the renovation, WHW has started an Adopt-a-Room program. Home Depot has adopted the kitchen and will provide all the appliances. This year, Warriors Helping Warriors became a United Way

designated agency for people who want to donate to a local charity through the United Way. Recently Kevin was out with his service dog when a woman stopped him. “She said she had never met a current veteran,” he said. “She started crying, and it was very touching.”

“People are unaware that a vet may be living next door,” Tina said. “They are our kids’ teachers and coaches.”

Vets want to make people aware of their presence in the world. “People look at Kevin and think he’s not injured,” Tina said. “And I’d like to think the way we are living our life helps Kevin be a productive member of society.” But the truth is that a lot of our veterans’ disabilities are not just physical, they struggle daily with invisible injuries.

“In a way, this is therapeutic for Kevin.” Tina said. While helping others, you often find you are helping yourself.

-Warriors Helping Warriors is hosting a series of fundraising 5K races. The next race is on Nov. 12. Visit www. whwonline.org, or the group’s Facebook page, Warriors Helping Warriors.

www.middletownlifemagazine.com | Fall/Winter 2016 | Middletown Life

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—————|Middletown Photo Essay|————— Farmers’ markets in the Middletown-Odessa-Townsend community are the last vestige of homespun charm, and they are bursting with freshness and colors

By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer

W

alk into any massive food market and watch what it does to you.

By the time you fetch your shopping cart, you are drowning in a sensorial overload, a knock-out blow of light, air conditioning and choice. You are in a maze of excess, searching desperately for one item while ten more reach out with all the power of a Madison Avenue advertising campaign, begging to go home with you.

Your place on the checkout line resembles a human cattle call, and you watch mothers on a coffee jag stockpiling for the week, and guys with Honey-Do lists written in feminine scrawl, double checking that they got everything she asked for.

Continued on page 80

Photos by Richard L. Gaw

Jessica Classen shows off a basket of Ginger Gold apples at Filasky’s Produce in Middletown.

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Farmers’ Markets in the Middletown Area Capital City Farmers’ Market 126 West Loockerman Street (Loockerman Way Plaza), Dover, DE Wednesdays, 11:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Wednesdays, 11:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. (on dates prior to the first weekend of each month) June through September Phone: Tina Bradbury, 302-331-6550 or tina@downtowndoverpartnership.com

Co-Op Farmers’ Market Newark Natural Foods Co-Op, 280 E. Main Street, Newark, De. Sundays, 9:30 a.m.- 2 p.m.

May through November Phone: 302-368-5894 Continued on page 81

The American flag waves in the afternoon breeze at Filasky’s Produce.

A beautiful display!

Farmers’ markets are the perfect place to buy fruits and vegetables at the height of their flavor. www.middletownlifemagazine.com | Fall/Winter 2016 | Middletown Life

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Photo Essay Continued from Page 78

The parking lot seems designed with no other intention but to bring out the ferocious beast in all of us.

The store has you, and why?

Because they have everything.

You are a prisoner of convenience.

But look, off the beaten path. There they are, farmers’ markets, defiant and beautiful in their simplicity. You read the signage that is painted, not glowing. Peaches. Melons. Tomatoes.

Berries. Local Watermelon. Flowers.

You pull off the road and are immediately transported to a time that is dipped in sepia, one that slips with no apologies within the cracks of progress. It conjures up images of the hard hands that went into the “making” of what you see stacked in pyramids and perfect rows. Here, you are not

At Money’s, rows of fresh fruits and vegetables burst with color.

Continued on page 82

Peaches have a prominent place in the history of the area.

Hand-painted signage at Money’s Produce are an enticing welcome sign to visitors.

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Customers have a wide selection.

Farmers’ Markets Continued from Page 79

Dutch Country Farmers Market 701 N. Broad St, Middletown, De.

Filasky’s Produce 1343 Bunker Hill Rd., Middletown, De. Phone: 302-378-2754

Glasgow Park Farmers’ Market Glasgow Park, 2275 Pulaski Highway (near intersection of Rt. 40 & Rt. 896), Newark, De. Fridays, 3 p.m. - 7 p.m.

May through October Phone: Michael Begatto, 302-395-5624 or by e-mail @ mbegatto@nccde.org

Logullo’s Country Market 5261 Summit Bridge Road, Middletown, De. A display of baskets awaits customers.

Continued on page 83

Gardens of potted plants and flowers line the exterior of Money’s Produce.

www.middletownlifemagazine.com | Fall/Winter 2016 | Middletown Life

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Photo Essay Continued from Page 80

blinded by the shock of commerce.

Here, your extremities are no longer frozen. You are met by the people who helped plant, cultivate and pick the fruit and vegetables that burst with color and the fragrance that carries the scent of the soil.

For all of the right choices, you begin to make farmers’ markets a destination, and it makes all the difference.

During the production of Middletown Life, our staff passes farmers’ markets in Middletown, Odessa, Townsend and beyond. Recently, we brought our cameras to two of them – Filasky’s Produce and Money’s – to capture the replenishing banquet of what has become a welcome alternative for thousands of local residents.

To contact Staff Writer Richard L. Gaw, e-mail rgaw@chestercounty. com.

This image serves as a testament to the farmers whose hard work keeps farmers’ markets flourishing.

This amusing scarecrow points visitors to some of the freshest produce in the area.

There is a lot of local produce available throughout the year.

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Farmers’ Markets Continued from Page 81

Money’s Farm Market Route 299, Middletown, De.

Route 9 Farmers’ Market Bowlerama Parking Lot, 3031 New Castle Avenue, New Castle, DE Wednesdays, 3 p.m.-7 p.m.

May through October Phone: Michael Begatto, 302-395-5624 or mbegatto@nccde.org

Smyrna Farmers Market Smyrna Opera House, 7 W. South St., Smyrna June through August 4-7 p.m.

Phone: 302-389-2320

Willey Farms Country Market and Garden Center These toys may pave the path of future farmers.

4092 Dupont Pkwy., Townsend, De. Phone: 302-378-8441

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—————|Middletown Spotlight|—————

A Middletown community honors its U.S. military veterans

By Steven Hoffman Staff Writer

T

Photos by Steven Hoffman

Military artifacts were on display for attendees.

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he Springmill community in Middletown came together to honor the service and sacrifices of U.S. military veterans with a celebration at the community’s clubhouse on June 11.

A crowd of more than 150 people turned out to honor the 50 Springmill residents who served during the Vietnam era, 1959 to 1975, and another 20 residents who served during the Korean War era, 1950 to 1955. The community had previously honored its World War II veterans with a similar event.

Photo by Steven Hoffman

The event was held in the clubhouse of the Springmill development.

June Stemmle, a retired history teacher who was one of the event’s organizers, said that it is important to honor the veterans. Not only was the tribute a way to thank them for their service, it was also an opportunity for the men and women to share their memories with each other.

Stemmle welcomed the veterans to the event, thanking them for their service and for sharing their stories with everyone in attendance.

As the veterans entered, they received a book that included interviews and profiles of all the current Springmill residents who served in the military. The book was compiled and published by the Springmill Communications Committee.

A six-foot table was set up in the middle of the room to display military artifacts, many of which were provided by veterans Brian Blackney, Sam Corkadel, and John Kish.

Photo by Steven Hoffman

June Stemmle and Dick Rausch, two of the organizers of the event.

Continued on page 86

Sam Corkadel, Joe DiGiacinto and Brian Blackney. www.middletownlifemagazine.com | Fall/Winter 2016 | Middletown Life

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Veterans Continued from Page 85

A video monitor was set up so that guests could watch a slideshow of many of the veterans who live in the community. For some of the men and women, there was a photograph of when they were in the military, and another current photograph. This slideshow was prepared

by Dick Rausch.

The kitchen area was decorated like a mess hall, and Chef Martin Sevcik, from 301 Plaza Restaurant, prepared a variety of treats for the guests.

Helen Jackson, a concert pianist, was on hand to provide musical entertainment.

She played the songs of each branch of the military. As the veterans heard their song, they stood up to be recognized.

The veterans who attended the celebration expressed their gratitude for the event.

Continued on page 88

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Photo by Steven Hoffman

Helen Jackson, an accomplished concert pianist, played songs for each branch of the military.

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Veterans Continued from Page 86

“I think it’s wonderful,” said Sam Corkadel, who enlisted in the U.S. Air Force at the age of 18 in 1960. “These are people who fought for their country.”

Corkadel served four years in the Air Force and two more years in the Air Force Reserve. He also had an eight-year tenure as the American Legion Post Commander.

Robert Jackson, who was drafted in 1963 and was assigned to a Military Police Company, serving until 1965, said that he was very appreciative that the Springmill community remembered veterans in this way.

“I think it’s great,” he said. “We want to show all the veterans that we’re grateful for their service. Sometimes that service is forgotten, but not in Springmill.”

“This is really nice,” added Cecilia Kish, who enlisted in the U.S. Air Force at the age of 21 and spent three years in the military, including a year in England. She is the only woman who lives at Springmill who is also a veteran.

Kish called her time in the air force a great adventure, and said, “It was really the best thing I ever did.”

Continued on page 90

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Photo by Steven Hoffman

Sam Corkadel, who served four years in the Air Force and two more years in the Air Force Reserve, said that the event was a wonderful tribute to the military veterans.

Photos by Steven Hoffman

The attendees agreed that the event was a good way to honor the service of military veterans.

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Veterans Continued from Page 88

Middletown mayor Ken Branner was in attendance at the event and called it a “very special occasion.” He said that it was an opportunity to thank the veterans and to give recognition to those who serve to protect our freedoms. Branner himself served as a Marine during the Vietnam War era.

A few of the other special guests included Gen. Terry Wiley, who represented the VFW, Commander Ray Abbot, representing the American Legion and Rick Hager from the National Veterans Assistance Coalition.

“Thank you for the invitation and for the opportunity to be in the midst of so many great veterans,” Abbot said.

Hagar explained that the National Veterans Assistance Coalition is an organization that helps military veterans transition back to regular life after their time in the military. He briefly talked about some of the issues that veterans are facing, including the fact that there could be up to 850,000 veterans who are homeless at any one time. Of those, Hagar explained, up to 50 percent of all homeless veterans are from the Vietnam era.

Sonya Comstock, a resident of the Springmill community, lauded Stemmle for planning the event. There are approximately

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Courtesy photos

Everyone enjoyed the tribute to military veterans.

362 homes and about 500 residents in Springmill, and a significant number of residents are military veterans.

Comstock said that Stemmle had been hard at work planning this event since January.

Dick Rausch agreed, saying of Stemmle, “She’s the one who put this all together.”

Stemmle thanked Enid Wallace Simms, a senior public affairs manager, and Tara Williams, a project liaison at Delmarva Power and Light because the company funded the printing of the books about the veterans of the Vietnam and Korea eras.

Copies of the books were distributed to the MOT Senior Center, the Middletown Historical Society, Historic Houses of Odessa, Appoquinimink Library, and the Corbit Calloway Library.

To contact Staff Writer Steven Hoffman, email editor@chestercounty.com.

Photo by Steven Hoffman

This jeep was parked outside the clubhouse for people to take pictures with.

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———|Middletown Calendar of Events|——— Sept. 24 Townsend Parade and Fair 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The event will begin a 10 a.m. parade from the Fire House down Main Street. The fair runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will be a pet trick-ortreat costume contest.

Oct. 1 Fall Festival on Main noon to 4 p.m.

Music, games, contests and more

Oct. 8 Corntober Brewfest 12 to 10 pm Constitution Yards Wilmington De Annual Cornhole Tournament. Food Vendors and Breweries.

Nov. 5 Fashion on Main 2 p.m.

A fashion show for adults and children.

Nov. 21 to Dec. 22 Middletown Holiday Lamp Post Contest Decorate a lamp post and advertise your business downtown.

Nov. 25 to 27 Enchanted Christmas Weekend Annual Christmas parade, Santa, tree lighting, shopping specials and more.

Dec. 3 Christmas in Odessa A self-guided walking tour of private homes and public buildings, many dating from the 18th and 19th centuries, decorated for the holidays. The tour will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. In addition to the house tour, there will be many special events which are included in the ticket price.

Dec. 11 Townsend annual tree lighting and Christmas caroling The event begins at 4:30 p.m. in Townsend Municipal Park

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