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DECEMBER 19, 2025
THE LOCAL VOICE OF YOUR COMMUNITY.
IRSD ‘gives back’ $2M in annual State claw-backs
Volume 22, Issue 51
FREE
Historic damage
By Laura Walter Staff Reporter It’s one of those frustrating decisions that school boards make each year: what to cut when the State of Delaware asks for some of their educational funding back. After allocating annual funds to Delaware school districts, the State requires them all to return a portion of their funding. This year, Indian River School District’s “give-back” amount is $2 million in the Alternative Reduction Plan. “We are required to give back a certain amount of money to the State every year, from the money they give us,” eiSee IRSD page 3
Public input welcomed for downtown Millsboro’s future By Laura Walter Staff Reporter
Coastal Point • Kerin Magill
An online survey is ready for public input as Town of Millsboro officials seek feedback on the future of its downtown area. “As we explore future revitalization … we want to better understand the community’s priorities, ideas and concerns,” the Downtown Aesthetics Survey begins. “Your feedback will help guide potential upgrades and improvements that strengthen downtown’s appearance, support local businesses and create a welcoming and vibrant downtown.” Residents, business owners and visitors are all being encouraged to respond because they all use the downtown area, said Assistant Town Manager Ashleigh Sander. Responses to the survey can be anonymous. The survey asks respondents to clarify whether they are located in or See SURVEY page 10
An Ocean View woman was arrested by Delaware State Police on Saturday, Dec. 13, following an incident when the vehicle she was reportedly driving entered St. George’s Cemetery in Clarksville and damaged numerous headstones.
Alleged drunk driver destroys markers at St. George’s Cemetery By Kerin Magill Staff Reporter Those who have a relative buried in St. George’s Cemetery in Clarksville with the last names Derrickson, Robinson or Townsend may want to contact cemetery officials. On Saturday, Dec. 13, according to Delaware State Police reports, a 29-year-old Ocean View woman was driving a Chrysler 500 east on Omar Road, near the cemetery, at the intersection with Powell Farm Road, when she “failed to negotiate a curve and exited the south side of the road. “As a result, the Chrysler traveled up a slight hill, struck a large gravestone, overturned and damaged additional gravestones,” the report said. The driver, who has not been identified by name, declined treatment at the scene. State police said she “showed signs of impairment” when troopers spoke to her. She has been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol,
careless driving, failure to remain in a single lane and failure to have insurance identification. She was released pending a court appearance. A number of gravestones remained on their sides this week as cemetery officials began the process of righting them and repairing damaged stones. Broken pieces of metal, glass and plastic lay on the ground, spread over an area of the cemetery about 30 feet from where the car struck the stones. Wayne Bowden, president of the St. George’s Cemetery Improvement Association, on Tuesday developed a list of graves that had been damaged in the accident. Bowden provided the list to the Coastal Point in hopes of reaching families of those whose graves have been damaged. “I just want them to know what’s going on. I’d be concerned, too,” if the graves belonged to his family members, he said. The graves Bowden identified that suffered damage in the accident are:
See DAMAGE page 4