December 21, 2006_S

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2006

VOL. 11 NO. 35

Woodland residents get early Christmas present from Board

NEWS HEADLINES SEAFORD SWIMMERS - The Western Sussex Boys and Girls Club swim team hosted its second meet last weekend. Photos on pages 45, 53 SECOND PLACE - The Seaford varsity wrestling team placed second in the Parkside Invitational last weekend. Story on page 48

By Lynn R. Parks

STARS OF THE WEEK - A Seaford wrestler and a Woodbridge girls’ basketball player are this week’s Seaford Stars of the Week. Page 48 SEARCH IS ON - Nanticoke Health Services has started a national search for a new chief executive officer. Page 2 BUSINESS LICENSING - Will Seaford have a business license requirement? Find our who says the city does not need one. Page 4 SOLAR-POWERED - A first-of-its-kind solarpowered poultry house will soon begin operations. Find out where. Page 12 HOLIDAY BLUES - How do you beat the holiday blues? The answers may surprise you. Page 16 MILESTONE - Nanticoke Memorial Hospital reaches a milestone. Does the number 864 mean anything to you? Page 17 DISCOVERY - Plans move forward for 1,400 homes, two stadiums, an amusement park and baseball and soccer fields. Page 64

$500 WINNERS NAMED Page 64 3 Shopping Days until Christmas

BUSINESS BULLETIN BOARD CHURCH CLASSIFIEDS EDUCATION ENTERTAINMENT GENE BLEILE GOURMET HEALTH LETTERS LYNN PARKS

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60 28 38 22 36 49 24 16 59 15

MOVIES OBITUARIES OPINION PAT MURPHY PEOPLE POLICE JOURNAL SNAPSHOTS SPORTS TIDES/WEATHER TODD CROFFORD

PLAYING FOR CHARITY - Dwight Smiley plays the baritone in front of Peebles to help raise money for the Salvation Army. Smiley. a resident of Laurel, played Christmas tunes for two hours. He is a member of a band at Salisbury University. He moved here from near Philadelphia two years ago and said he is looking for ways to stay busy. Photo by Bryant Richardson

Towns differ on who gets annexation vote By Lynn R. Parks

INSIDE THE STAR 7 30 66 56 25 58 65 45-53 67 29

50 cents

In Seaford on Monday, a handful of citizens filed into city hall to cast ballots in an annexation vote. Owners of the property in question, about 6 acres on North Hurley Street, had requested the annexation and the citizens of Seaford were invited to express their opinions on the matter through the ballot box. A similar referendum took place recently in Blades, where by a vote of 49 to 29 residents approved the annexation of 13 acres east of town. In January, the town of Bridgeville will hold a public vote on whether farmland south of town and commercial properties along alternate U.S. 13 should become a part of

the town. In all three of these towns, charters that are approved by the state provide that citizens are to have a voice in any annexation. But in other towns in western Sussex County, the decision whether or not to annex a piece of property can rest solely with the town council. In Laurel, the town council alone will decide whether nearly 500 acres will be annexed for a residential and commercial development that could drastically change the nature of the town. This has all come to a head in the wake of a recent failed annexation attempt in Seaford, when voters turned down property owners’ request that more than 600 acres near Continued to page 20

The Sussex County Board of Adjustment voted Monday night to deny an application by Cingular Wireless to construct a 170-foot tower near Woodland. The vote on the five-member board was 3 to 2. For the residents of the Woodland area who were fighting the tower, the board’s decision was an early Christmas present. “Yes, there really is a Santa Claus,” said Chris Darby, Woodland. “Right sometimes does triumph.” Cingular had proposed putting the “monopole” near Woodland Ferry Road at Dear Lane, on the south side of the Nanticoke River. The site is owned by Byard Layton, Laurel. Ellen Webner, spokeswoman for Cingular, said she could not comment until company representatives can review the board’s vote. Residents had objected to the site, saying that it was too near historic Woodland and the Woodland Ferry. A report presented by the state’s Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs to the board of adjustment said that the tower would not have any adverse affect on the area, a conclusion the board of adjustment seemed to reject. Residents also objected to Cingular’s plan to put “branches” on the pole in an effort to camouflage it as a tree. The tower would have been more than four times the height of the treeline. George Jacobs, who has sent to numerous publications and government officials his drawing of what he believes the fake tree would have looked like, was present at the board of adjustment meeting. “We were really shocked,” he said. “Shocked, but very happy. The board overruled the state’s Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs report. I was amazed that they saw it that way.” Darby said that the whole affair is a lesson in citizen vigilance. “When the board first looked at this, they asked if there was anyone in the audience in opposition,” she said. “[Woodland-area resident] Holly Conaway and I raised our hands. But if nobody had been there at that first meeting, it would have passed. “I know that we can’t know everything that’s going on. But this could have easily slipped by.”

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December 21, 2006_S by Morning Star Publications - Issuu