VOL. 11 NO. 28 NEWS HEADLINES
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2007
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Bethel town council, head of planning commission at odds By Lynn R. Parks
HOLD ON! Laurel head coach Kevin Walmsley tells his team to hold on to the ball in the final seconds of the girls’ basketball team’s win over Seaford last week. The win moved the Bulldogs into sole possession of first place in the Henlopen South with two games left. See story, page 41. Photo by Mike McClure
WINTER VOLLEYBALL - Area pool hosts eight-week volleyball league. Page 2 SCHOOL PLAY - Laurel High prepares for first musical in 20 years. Page 16 CANDIDATES RUNNING FOR RE-ELECTION - Mayor and town councilwoman announce that they are running to keep their seats. See Letters to the Editor, page 52
INSIDE THE STAR © Business . . . . . . . . . .6 Bulletin Board . . . .21 Church . . . . . . . . . .24 Classifieds . . . . . . .31 Education . . . . . . . .50 Gourmet . . . . . . . . . .8 Health . . . . . . . . . . .18 Letters . . . . . . . . . .52 Lynn Parks . . . . . . .17 Mike Barton . . . . . .53 Movies . . . . . . . . . . .7 Obituaries . . . . . . . .26
Opinion . . . . . . . . . .54 Pat Murphy . . . . . . .40 People . . . . . . . . . . .28 Police . . . . . . . . . . .15 Snapshots . . . . . . .14 Socials . . . . . . . . . .53 Sports . . . . . . . . . . .41 Tides . . . . . . . . . . . .55 Todd Crofford . . . . .25 Tommy Young . . . . .44 Weather . . . . . . . . .55
The Bethel Town Council intends to vote next month on whether the chairwoman of the town’s planning commission can keep her seat on the commission. The council held a public hearing last Tuesday on four charges leveled against Mary McCoy, including that several times, she has acted on her own, without the OK of the commission. McCoy, who volunteered for the nine-person commission and was elected chairwoman by its members, said that she will “probably” fight back in court if the council votes to remove her from the commission. “I’m not totally sure; I’m weary from the fighting,” said McCoy, who did not attend last week’s hearing on the advice of her attorney. “But if I am fired, I will probably fight it. The reason I want to fight it is because if I don’t, they will do this to someone else. This is a difficult situation, but if I don’t fight it, I just think other people won’t be willing to volunteer.” McCoy, who admits to being “overzealous,” said that she has requested several times that members of the town council agree to mediation, to solve their differences. “This is stuff that, if we just sat down in a room, we could work out,” she said. But, she said, the town did not respond to her requests for mediation. In a letter to McCoy’s attorney, Donald Gouge Jr., dated Jan. 18, town attorney Richard Berl said that “the concept of
Bethel, with old houses, like the one on the right, and new houses, like the one on the left, is suffering from what Mary McCoy, chairwoman of the town’s planning commission, calls ‘growing pains.’ McCoy is under fire from the town council for acting unilaterally. Photo by Pat Murphy
mediation was raised, but board members exhibited little or no interest.” “We didn’t feel that she really wanted to mediate,” said Jeff Hastings, president of the council. “We felt that she was more interested in doing things on her own. She didn’t even attend the hearing that we had.” The ironic thing, said McCoy, is that in the midst of this battle, the planning commission is making progress. With
assistance from Brian Hall, a planner with the State Planning Office, the commission, which meets the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month, is “doing a great job” on writing a comprehensive plan, she said. The plan will have to be approved by the town council and then OK’d by the state. Planning commission member Continued on page 12
July 4th festival could be moved Chamber to ask permission to hold it on the high school grounds By Debbie Mitchell After 12 years of being held in downtown and along the banks of Broad Creek, Laurel’s July 4th celebration may be moved to the grounds of Laurel High School. According to past chamber president Beverly Arciuolo, weather, field conditions, infrastructure problems and lack of volunteers are factors in the chamber’s decision to move the event. “For years we have been talking of
downsizing the event. We thought long and hard about it and decided to give something new a try,” she said. New chamber president Al Turchan, who assumed his seat Tuesday, said the chamber has agreed to pursue the use of the Laurel High School for the event. On Feb. 21, a committee will outline the proposal to the Laurel School Board and request approval from the board to use the school grounds. Calvin Musser, president of the
Laurel School Board, said the board has not seen the proposal and there has been no discussion about it. He was unable to comment on the school board’s behalf. According to Turchan, while the event details are not completely finalized, the day will still begin with the traditional Red, White and Blue Parade. The bulk of activities will center around a larger carnival with rides that appeal to children and teens. In the Continued on page 4