VOL. 12 NO. 32
THURSDAY, MARCH 6, 2008
50 cents
NEWS HEADLINES LOOKING FOR CANDIDATES - The deadline to file to run for area school boards is Friday and not many people have signed up yet. Page 5 TOPS IN THE STATE - Kindergartners at Paul Laurence Dunbar Elementary win the grand prize in a billboard contest. And the contest was even open to high schoolers! Page 14 CONTROLLING DEVELOPMENT - Town takes steps to pass new ordinance to give it better handle on growth. Page 15 HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LIONS CLUB! Area civic organization marks 70 years serving the community. Page 16 SUSSEX LAND-USE PLAN UPDATE - The county will hold several hearings to get the public’s opinion on its land-use plan. Page 19 ALL-CONFERENCE- Local athletes were recently named to the Henlopen All-Conference teams for the winter sports season. All-conference photos of Laurel and Delmar players start on page 43. STARS OF THE WEEK- A Laurel girls’ basketball player and a Sussex Tech boys’ basketball player are this week’s Laurel Stars of the Week. Page 45
DON’T FORGET TO SPRING AHEAD! Daylight Savings Time starts at 2 o’clock Sunday morning. To keep up with everyone else, set your clocks ahead one hour.
‘THE MUSIC MAN’ IS A HIT - The Laurel High School play “The Music Man” had a very successful run with more than 900 people attending. Brian Cass, on the left in the third row, was the director and leading actors were Sierra Spicer, eighth from left in the third row and Christian Auer, just behind her left shoulder. Photo by Pat Murphy
Train station is finally on the fast track for restoration Second phase of renovation will address interior By Tony E. Windsor
INSIDE THE STAR BUSINESS BULLETIN BOARD CHURCH CLASSIFIEDS CROSSWORD EDUCATION ENTERTAINMENT FINAL WORD FRANK CALIO GOURMET HEALTH LETTERS LYNN PARKS MIKE BARTON MOVIES
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20 24 32 - 42 23 16 30 59 58 54 28 52 18 57 7
OBITUARIES 26 ON THE RECORD 42 55 PAT MURPHY POLICE JOURNAL 12 SNAPSHOTS 56 SOCIALS 57 SPORTS 43 - 50 TIDES 7 TODD CROFFORD 25 46 TOMMY YOUNG 58 TONY WINDSOR VETERANS OF WWII 8
After almost a year and a half, the restoration of the historic Laurel Train Station is once again on the town of Laurel’s front burner. Representatives of the Delaware Department of Transportation and partnering engineering firms were on hand recently to meet with town officials and members of the Laurel Historical Society to discuss the restoration project. According to town manager Bill Fasano, engineers at George, Miles & Buhr, the town’s engineering firm, have developed plans for the interior restoration of the train station. Maria Andaya of the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT), met with Fasano and other members of the Laurel staff and the Laurel Historical Society last week to discuss plans for phase two of the renovation work. Phase one of the project was the
restoration work done on the exterior of the building a few years ago. Work included painting, cleaning, roof replacement, new gutters, downspouts and new double doors added to accommodate the station’s freight room. Phase two will be the restoration of the interior of the station. Work will include adding heat and air conditioning to the building. Engineers also hope to be able to preserve much of the existing interior architecture. The building is made up of six spaces: the freight room, the north waiting room, the stationmaster’s office and passage, the custodian’s closet, the toilet room and the south waiting room. The station is owned by the town of Laurel and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The railroad came to Laurel in 1859 and the train station was built between 1908 and 1912. The train station project is being done with the support and rec-
ommendations of the Laurel Historical Society. Phil Franks, of Hurley-Franks & Associates Inc., the firm which is working with DelDOT on the planned renovations, said the interior renovations will have a price tag of about $333,000. The state will pick up 90 percent of the costs and the town will fund the other ten percent. Fasano said that the town can use work performed by Laurel Code Enforcement and Public Works departments, as well as costs incurred by the town for administration of the grant, as in-kind support. The state recognizes the value of the inkind services to be as good as cash to cover the 10-percent match. Fasano said that traditionally, the state would simply reimburse the town for the work costs as presented. Continued to page four