Sports
Fun
Prom
Indians drop tight one to Milford
Dowling to be featured at festival
Grand March a night to remember
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MAY 9, 2025
THE LOCAL VOICE OF YOUR COMMUNITY.
Redmon, Cathell lose certification as police officers By Susan Canfora Staff Reporter Former Bethany Beach police chief Michael Redmon and former assistant chief Darin Cathell — who were both fired by the Town in January 2024 for misusing federal and state grant money intended for officers’ overtime pay — were both decertified by the Delaware Police Officer Standards & Training (POST) Commission during a meeting in Dover this week. They were offered hearings but did not respond, so the committee approved administrative decertifications, effective immediately, during the Tuesday, May 6, meeting, Ameshia Bucknor, POST administrator, told the Coastal Point. In Delaware, police are certified by completing the police basic training course prescribed by POST and can have that certification revoked. Neither Redmon nor Cathell attended the commission meeting, and they were not represented by anyone, Bucknor said, adding that they would receive notifications of being decertified and will never again be eligible to serve as police officers in Delaware. “They do have the right to appeal to Superior Court if they would like, although we don’t see that very often. They will not be able to be officers in Delaware. We use the National Decertification Index List, which officers all throughout the United States go on there, so if they did try to become offiSee REDMON page 3
Volume 22, Issue 19
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Spontaneous combustion caused fire By Kerin Magill Staff Reporter A house fire in the Beach Club community near Ocean View last weekend has been ruled accidental, according to reports from state fire officials. The fire, on Scarborough Lane, was determined to be accidental in nature, according to a report by Chief Deputy Fire Marshal John Galaska released on Monday, May 5. Galaska’s report said the fire began in a mulch pile and spread to a tree next to the house. Firefighters from the Millville Volunteer Fire Company arrived at the home just after 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 3. When the first fire engine from Millville arrived, the single-story home was “fully involved in flames,” according to a report from fire company public information officer Gary Caunitis. Residents of the home were leaving when they spotted mulch on fire, according to the fire marshal’s report. “Spontaneous combustion” of the mulch was determined to be the initial cause of the fire. Houses on both sides of that home had some water and heat damage, and the one on the right side “definitely had fire extend into the home,” Caunitis said. He said he was not Special to the Coastal Point • Roy Evans sure about the home to the left, but that there Emergency personnel work on the fire in the Beach Club community near was definitely damage to the home’s exterior Ocean View on Saturday, May 3, while fireworks can be seen exploding upsiding. ward from the home’s garage. Efforts to put out the flames engulfing the home and keep the fire from spreading to this week. neighboring homes were complicated by explosions inside “When we first pulled up, the fire looked like it was conthe garage, Caunitis said. Photographs from the scene show fined to the garage,” he said. projectiles shooting into the air above the neighborhood. Tower 70 from the Bethany Beach Fire Company The projectiles turned out to be fireworks that had been checked the inside of the home and confirmed that no one stored in the garage, was in it. Residents of nearby communities reported hearing the “And the wind kept switching, which was complicating sound of the fireworks exploding. Heavy black smoke was visible for miles late Saturday afternoon. “We had to figure out what that was, first,” Caunitis said See FIRE page 3
South Bethany candidates speak to the voters By Susan Canfora Staff Reporter The Coastal Point asked candidates for the South Bethany Town Council to answer three questions in anticipation of this year’s election, scheduled from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 10.
The five candidates competing for three seats include incumbents Christine Keefe and Cynthia Van Horn, both full-time residents; challenger Russell Beland, a full-time resident; and challengers Steven Gallagher and Mark Giler, both non-resident property owners. The seats up for election are those
now held by Keefe, Van Horn and Tim Shaw. Shaw is not running for re-election. Council members serve two-year terms. Also on the council are Councilmen Randy Bartholomew, Bob Biciocchi and Bob Shields, and Mayor Edie Dondero, all of whose seats will be up for voting
next year. Council members do not represent districts, as they all serve at-large. The three winning candidates will be the who top three vote-getters. We share the candidates’ responses in alphabetical order: See CANDIDATES page 5