Beach Updates by Alan Henney


BEACH PATROLS GETTING HAMMERED BY BERTHA

Lifeguards in Ocean City called beach goers from the water Saturday
afternoon after getting deluged by rescues.  Beach Patrol Capt. Butch
Arbin says the guards were running all over the beach making rescues,
and decided they needed to catch up around 1:25 p.m.  That’s when
guards whistled swimmers from the water and schooled them on water
safety.

Capt. Arbin says the beach patrol had more than 400 rescues on both
Friday and Saturday – the most all season -- probably because of
Hurricane Bertha.

It is like “a pebble in a pond” Capt. Arbin noted.  Although the
hurricane is almost 900 miles from Ocean City, it is increasing the
severity of the rip currents.

He warns that people are sometimes caught off guard on good days, or
after such a tropical storm passes the coast.  Swimmers are often
unaware how the storm still influences surf conditions.

Ambulance crews from Lewes through Ocean City kept busy this weekend
responding to dislocations, neck/back injuries, fractured ribs and
cuts from beach goers getting tossed and tumbled in the surf.

Capt. Arbin says one of his guards arrived to work about 15 minutes
early on Sunday and single-handedly saved a large man who was actively
drowning.  Prior to that rescue, his guards also pulled two mentally
challenged men from the surf at 8th Street around 9:30 a.m.

Around 6:20 p.m. Saturday, another man had a close call at the Ocean
City Inlet when he was ejected from a boat.  A surfer was among those
who rendered aid.

Ocean City firefighters responded to assist a swimmer screaming for
help before sunrise at 44th Street.  They got the call around 5 a.m.
for a person about 30-40 yards out in the ocean.

When firefighters arrived, they put rescue swimmers in the water and
pulled the victim to safety.  It took about 10 minutes from the time
the 9-1-1 call was dispatched until the rescue had been completed.




REHOBOTH LIFEGUARD INJURED

A Rehoboth Beach lifeguard was injured in a fall about an hour before
the beach patrol went on duty Sunday.  It happened on the beach at
Maryland Avenue.  She suffered a severely dislocated kneecap.  Capt.
Kent Buckson told guards later in the day that her x-rays did not show
any bone chips or nerve damage.  She is expected to wear a leg brace
for a week or two.




VEHICLE STOLEN IN DEWEY

Dewey Beach police took a stolen auto report just before 3 p.m. Sunday
on Saint Louis Street.  The officer investigating said it appears to
be a confirmed stolen vehicle with Delaware tag “309.”  Police were
working on broadcasting a detailed vehicle description but became
involved tracking down a drunk driver.




ACCIDENT WITH NAIL GUN

Bethany Beach firefighters called for a ladder truck to help remove a
man who got shot in the leg with a nail gun.  It happened at 118
Wellington Parkway around 12:35 p.m. Thursday.  The man said he had
trouble moving his leg, and that’s when they called for the ladder
truck to assist removing him from the building.




MAN NEARLY GETS FOOT AMPUTATED IN BOATING ACCIDENT

A man injured by a boat’s propeller was taken to the Ocean City Coast
Guard Station just before 7 p.m. Saturday.  Rescuers said his foot was
dangling from his leg.  Firefighters asked for a medevac helicopter to
fly the man to the Curtis Hand Center in Baltimore.




REHOBOTH SHOPLIFTINGS

Rehoboth Beach police investigated at least four shopliftings on
Friday and Saturday.

When a shoplifter from the Shirt Factory was spotted at First Street
Station, he fled as police arrived around 2 p.m. Friday.  Officers
chased the man across Rehoboth Avenue and into the alley along side
the “It’s a Breeze” and captured him.

About 35 minutes later police responded to a shoplifting at
Imagination clothing store at 14 Rehoboth Avenue.  That was followed
by another reported theft about two hours later at Rehoboth Lifestyle
clothing store at 77 Rehoboth Avenue.

Late Saturday morning a silver ring reportedly worth $280 was stolen
from a jewelry store on Rehoboth Avenue.  The merchant told police
they had the theft caught on video.




DISTRESSED SAILBOAT RESCUED

A sailboat became disabled with two persons on board off Bowers Beach
around 5:15 p.m. Saturday.  Slaughter Beach firefighters and the Coast
Guard responded.  About 30 minutes later, the Coast Guard arrived,
righted and towed the 16-foot boat.




MAN SERIOUSLY INJURED AFTER CRASH INTO POLE

A man drove a pick-up truck into a Delaware Electric utility pole just
before 9 p.m. Friday.  It happened on Long Neck Road south of Pot Nets
Road.  The man, who was described as being in his early 40's, was
combative with a head injury.  He was possibly intoxicated as well.




BODY FOUND IN CANAL NEAR HARPOON HANNA’S

Police spent the weekend investigating a death after a body was found
floating in the canal near Harpoon Hanna’s around 9:40 p.m. Friday.

The body drifted into Maryland after a caller reported it to police.
Ocean City police spent about three hours on the canal near the corner
of Caine Stable Road and Laurel Avenue investigating the remains.

Police said the body is that of a middle-aged black man.  One officer
said the man’s body appeared to be wrapped in rope, which made him
suspect it’s suspicious.  But WMDT-TV reported Sunday evening that it
appears the death was accidental.

http://www.wmdt.com/topstory/topstory.asp?id=3616




MAN WON’T GIVE UP RENTED UMBRELLA, MEETS POLICE OFFICER

A woman called police around 5:30 p.m. Saturday after she had trouble
with a customer refusing to return a rented beach umbrella.  It
happened on the beach near Maryland Avenue.  Police arrived within
minutes to investigate.  No arrests were made.

OCEAN CITY TRASHCAN FIRES UP DURING FIREMEN'S CONVENTION

Firefighters in Ocean City responded to at least five trashcan fires
on Thursday and Friday – two of them at the same location.  Ironically
this was the same week as the Maryland State Firemen's Association's
annual convention.

The fire that did the most damage was reported around 4:50 a.m. Friday
in front of 1204 Baltimore Avenue.  Firefighters discovered a large
plastic trashcan on fire next to a fence.

The fire spread to the fence, a 30-foot pine tree and a utility pole,
damaging Delmarva Power equipment and a green Comcast Cable pedestal
beside it.  A public works crew was asked to scrape the plastic
remains off the sidewalk after a fire investigator had a chance to
examine it.  Baltimore Avenue was shut down.

Firefighters were called to the Ocean City Transit Center at 100 South
Division Street twice for trashcan fires -- around 3:30 a.m. Thursday
and once again at 3:15 a.m. Friday.  Both fires were minor, and one
was already extinguished on arrival of firefighters.

Two other trashcan fires were reported -- one at 10:55 p.m. Friday at
86th Street near the dune crossing, and about 40 minutes later at
Talbot Street and the boardwalk.




SMOKE IN BEEBE HOSPITAL

Firefighters from Rehoboth and Milton responded to Beebe Hospital
around 7:30 p.m. Sunday after Lewes firefighters reported an odor of
smoke on the second floor.

The problem may have been power related as a breaker had tripped in
the rear of the hospital.  An electrical problem was reported in the
area at the time.  The breaker was reset by 8 p.m. and the
firefighters departed around 8:15 p.m.




HOTEL EVACUATED DURING EARLY MORNING AFTER SMALL FIRE

A fire was discovered in the basement laundry room of the Castle in
the Sand Hotel around 12:30 a.m. Saturday.  The hotel is at 37th
Street in Ocean City.

The fire official in charge asked for police assistance because some
occupants were uncooperative and refused to evacuate the hotel.  The
incident was under control by 1:15 a.m. and guests were allowed to
re-enter around 2:25 a.m.




MAN FRACTURES BIG TOE DURING FIGHT IN DEWEY

A 21-year-old man broke his big toe when he kicked a curb during a
fight in Dewey Beach around 1:40 a.m. Friday.  The fight happened on
Coastal Highway between Bayard Avenue and Saint Louis Street.

Police broadcast a lookout for a man wanted in the fight.  He was
supposed to have suffered a serious head injury.  He was last seen
south on Bayard Avenue.  The man with the broken toe was taken to
Beebe Hospital by ambulance.




DRUNK TEEN STABBED IN O.C.

An intoxicated 17-year-old was stabbed in the arm around 12:50 a.m.
Friday at the Wellington Hotel on 9th Street.  He was in room 100 of
the hotel.  Police were looking for the suspect who fled the area.




WEEKEND REHOBOTH SHOPLIFTINGS

Rehoboth Beach police investigated at least five shopliftings this
weekend.

In one case, a merchant chased a shoplifter into Funland around 4:25
p.m. Friday.  That was followed by an attempt theft at the Shirt
Factory where a girl tried to take a necklace and got caught around
7:15 p.m.  Snyder’s Candy reported a third shoplifting around 10:55
p.m. Friday.

Around noon on Sunday, an officer obtained a description of a juvenile
male who stole from the Beach Variety store an hour earlier.  The teen
was captured on the store’s video surveillance system committing the
theft.

Police had a good clothing description and were able to find a suspect
at First Street Station where they arrested him.

A second theft on Sunday was reported at the Boardwalk 5 & 10 around
2:20 p.m.  A shopper saw a woman in her 40’s take sunglasses and a
dress, and reported it.  Police found a suspect, but they were unclear
if they could prove it was her.




MISSING AUTISTIC BOY FOUND AFTER SEARCH

State troopers, a canine, helicopter and Lewes firefighters helped
search for a missing autistic seven-year-old boy Sunday afternoon.  He
disappeared around noon from the Tall Pines area, off Route 9 west of
Five Points.

They thought he may have climbed from a window and wandered along the
railroad tracks.  A state trooper eventually discovered him around
2:30 p.m. near the railroad tracks at Minos Conaway Road – about 1 to
2 miles from where he disappeared.  The boy had gotten lost in the
swamp and suffered some minor scratches.




MAN KILLED IN SINGLE-VEHICLE CRASH WEST OF MILLSBORO

A 23-year-old man from Millsboro was killed when he lost control and
rolled his 2004 Oldsmobile into a utility pole on Hickory Hill Road at
Indian Town Road.  It was discovered around 6 a.m. Sunday.  Police
have not said yet if alcohol were involved.




WEEKEND MEDEVAC’S

Rescuers along the shore kept busy with half a dozen medevac missions
since Friday.  They are as follows:

A 69-year-old bicyclist was struck around 8:45 a.m. Friday on Ocean
Gateway west of Old Bridge Road in West Ocean City.  He was flown to a
trauma center from the White Marlin Mall.

A man was seriously injured in a two-vehicle auto accident on
Lighthouse Road west of Harpoon Hanna’s around 4:40 p.m. Friday.
LifeNet II landed on the roadway and flew him to Christiana.

An auto accident shut down Route 113 north of Ellendale around 10 a.m.
Saturday.  One patient was flown out.  Ironically, there was another
accident about four hours earlier in this vicinity.  A vehicle had
crashed into a utility pole with minor injuries.

Two riders on one motorcycle were injured when they crashed into a
vehicle at the West Ocean City Food Lion on Stephen Decatur Highway
around 3:10 p.m. Saturday.  Both were conscious and alert.  One was
flown to a trauma center as a precaution.

A pedestrian was struck on 54th Street at Coastal Highway around 11:20
p.m. Saturday.  Police reported that the victim was unconscious and
had shallow breathing.  A state police helicopter landed at Jolly
Roger to fly the patient to a trauma center.

A 10-year-old boy injured his neck in the surf off Ocean View Parkway
in Bethany around 11:30 a.m. on Sunday.  He had tingling in his hands
and was flown to PRMC in Salisbury.

Around 9:50 p.m. Sunday two men in their 20’s were seriously injured
and trapped in an auto crash on Omar Road between Millville and
Frankford.  Paramedics wanted to fly both men by helicopter, but were
forced to take them to the hospital by ground because of weather
conditions.




MAN BREAKS APARTMENT WINDOW WITH HAND, LEAVES BLOOD EVIDENCE

Rehoboth Beach police received a complaint that three men were on the
roof harassing people at the Back Porch Café around 10:40 p.m. Friday.
A minute or two later, another caller reported that three men had
broken a window in the apartment above “It’s a Breeze” clothing store,
which is adjacent to the café on Rehoboth Avenue.

Police found blood where the window was punched out, and a blood trail
from the scene.  Officers developed descriptions for three suspects.
One was described as a large man with a busted left hand.  Police
spent extensive time at the scene and talked about taking blood
samples for evidence.




UNCONSCIOUS WOMAN PULLED FROM BAY

Ocean City police and bystanders helped rescue a woman found in the
bay around 5:40 a.m. Saturday.  The 39-year-old woman was discovered
unconscious in the water behind 601 Bayshore Court.  She was breathing
but not well.  Police assisted with rescue breathing until EMS
arrived.




WATER RESCUES, NO MAJOR INCIDENTS

A 22-footer with two persons on board began to sink around 9 p.m.
Friday off Big Stone Beach.  Rescuers found the boat after the crew
fired a flare.  The fireboat from Slaughter Beach towed the boat to
Mispillion Inlet.

A 28-foot Bayliner started sinking about two miles southeast of Cape
May Inlet around 8:50 a.m. Saturday.  A Coast Guard news release says
a Coast Guard rescue boat arrived and determined the water leak was
coming from a blown intake hose.  The owner of the boat requested
assistance from Seatow, which towed the boat and its crew to Wildwood.

A boat got stuck on a sandbar around 8:35 p.m. Saturday east of Massey
’s Landing in the Rehoboth Bay.  Around 9:30 p.m. rescuers from the
Indian River fire department spotted the boater standing beside the
vessel when he shot off a flare.

A catamaran capsized around 6:35 p.m. Sunday in the Little Assawoman
Bay near South Bethany.  Rescuers found the boat washed into a marsh
about 100 yards south of Assawoman Street.  The boater was safely
located.




POLICE FIND DRUGS DURING DISORDERLY DWELLING COMPLAINT

Dewey Beach police investigating a disorderly dwelling at 21 Houston
Street around 11:15 p.m. Friday ended up arresting a 20-year-old
Newark man on several drug charges.

In a news release Sgt. Clifford Dempsey says police saw alcoholic
beverage containers and drug paraphernalia in plain view when the
suspect came to the door to speak with the officers.  Police also
smelled a strong odor of marijuana smoke.  When officers entered the
residence they recovered 1.75 lbs. of marijuana, U.S. currency, a
digital scale and packaging material.




OCEAN CITY FILLS IN “TIDAL DITCHES”

Ocean City began what is expected to be a week-long project last
Tuesday to fill the tidal ditches which had been created by the late
spring storms.

During some high tides, ocean water has washed over the beach peak and
collected in these ditches creating tide pools.  A few sand sharks
were stranded in these pools this season in both Rehoboth and Ocean
City.

In some cases, the water in these pools often stagnated for days.
Dewey Beach Patrol discussed warning beach goers last week about
possible dangerous bacteria which could form in the standing water.
As of Sunday, all of the tide pools in Dewey and Rehoboth have dried.

An Ocean City police news release said these ditches have created a
situation in which the town’s normal beach cleaning procedure is no
longer feasible and needs to be corrected.  Ocean City public works
crews have been performing the work between 6 p.m. and 4 a.m.

Tide pool example:
http://henney.com/weekend03/tidalpool2.jpg




FALLEN SUSSEX COUNTY PARAMEDIC HONORED

Services for Sussex County paramedic Stephanie Callaway were held on
Saturday in Georgetown.  The mourners included firefighters, EMS
personnel, police, politicians and regular citizens.  They brought
apparatus and honor guards from all along the East Coast.

Sussex County paramedic Stephanie Callaway and the patient she was
caring for, 82­year-old Betty Hall, died early Tuesday when their
ambulance swerved to miss a deer and struck a tree on Route 24 near
Angola.  Two EMTs operating the ambulance were injured.

When I woke Tuesday and heard the news, I was in a state of shock.  I
had spoken twice with Stephanie last weekend.  She always took time to
call back with information in-between her medical calls.  I had been a
regular caller since she became a spokesperson for the agency last
year.

She was the first line-of-duty death in Sussex County EMS’s 18-year
history.  It is dedicated professionals like Stephanie who make Sussex
County EMS the successful and unique program it is today.

Although I did not know Stephanie like her coworkers, she clearly was
a gifted paramedic who enjoyed her work and helping others.  She was a
31-year-old who saved countless lives and impressed so many of us.
This is a tremendous loss for Sussex County.








The Weekend Update is distributed by Alan Henney.  Should you receive
the Weekend Update twice, or do not wish to receive it at all, please
contact Alan.

To subscribe, unsubscribe or for other info, send a message to:
alan@henney.com or call 302-227-9160.  News leads are appreciated!
Also try AOL or Yahoo instant-messengers (screen name AlanHenney).

The Rehoboth Weekend Update is also posted on Yahoo Groups discussion
list for Rehoboth Beach and on the Saint Mary’s Today Website.  Please
see:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Rehoboth_Beach/

http://www.stmarystoday.com/

Listen for the “Henney Report” on 92.7/WGMD-FM’s Monday morning show
with Dan Gaffney!

http://www.wgmd.com


OFF-DUTY LIFEGUARD SAVES 6

Six beach goers are alive today and they have an off-duty lifeguard
who forgot his sandals to thank.

Ocean City Beach Patrol Captain Butch Arbin says his crew chief left
his sandals at his stand and returned to retrieve them when he spotted
the trouble around 5:55 p.m. Thursday.  Six people were caught in a
rip off Third Street and all six were rescued.

A 14 and 18 year old were both in serious condition after the rescue.
One was initially reported as unconscious, although still breathing.
Both were taken to the hospital in stable condition.

“Had our personnel not just happened to be there,” Capt. Arbin says,
“we would be telling another story of a tragic after-hours death.”

About 30 minutes later, off-duty Ocean City lifeguards were involved
in a second rescue.  Capt. Arbin says several of his rookies happened
to be working out in the area of 32nd Street.  This was another
tragedy ready to happen, he said.

Around 6:10 p.m. on Friday, another close call was reported at 33rd
Street.  An 18-year-old man was initially unconscious but still
breathing.  He had been in extreme distress and was rescued by
bystanders.  He too was taken to the hospital.

There has been an increase in rips in some areas, Capt. Arbin says.
But overall, the increased problem recently has been the change in the
surf bottom after the spring storms.




ANOTHER RAY INJURY SENDS MAN TO HOSPITAL

A man fishing off Texas Avenue near the Lewes ferry terminal was taken
to Beebe Hospital Friday after he was injured by a stingray.

Stephanie Callaway, Sussex County EMS spokeswoman, says the
50-year-old man caught a ray and was attempting to unhook it around
4:45 p.m. when the ray struck him in the right wrist.

The man was complaining of dizziness, sweating and pain when taken to
the hospital.  He was also bleeding from a puncture wound.

This was at least the third time since Memorial Day that a ray sent a
man to the hospital in Sussex County.  A couple weeks ago another man
at the Cape Henlopen fishing pier had a similar experience when he
caught a ray.  On Memorial Day a man was in serious pain after he was
stung while swimming in the Delaware Seashore State Park.




WHALE SIGHTINGS

A vessel dubbed the “Real Macoy” contacted the Coast Guard station in
Indian River Inlet reporting whales sighted off the Delaware coast
around 7 p.m. Thursday.  “They’re mighty big animals" he told the
Coast Guard over the radio.

The Coast Guard has been warning mariners during radio broadcasts this
past weekend of the presence of these whales.  They said they suspect
these are right whales.

Capt. Monty Hawkins posted details about similar whale sightings this
weekend in his fishing report:

http://tinyurl.com/3qv73e




DEWEY BEACH FIGHTS AND ASSAULTS

Things got out of hand at the Rusty Rudder around 1 a.m. Saturday.
Police had difficulty breaking up several fights in the circle.
Rehoboth Beach police sent assistance.  No ambulances were requested.

But just across the street at the Best Western, around 2:15 a.m.
Sunday, police called for an ambulance for a 30-year-old man bleeding
from the mouth and nose after an assault.

An hour later, another ambulance was sent to Bayard Avenue and Coastal
Highway for a man who was assaulted with a baseball bat.  He suffered
a cut to the face.  Neither man was seriously injured.




9 INJURED IN U.S. RT. 113 CRASH

Nine people were injured in an accident on U.S. Route 113 near Sheep
Pen Road north of Millsboro around 6:30 p.m. Friday.

Stephanie Callaway, Sussex County EMS spokeswoman, says the crash
involved a full-size car and a van.  One person reported to have been
a child was flown to Christiana with a head injury.  One other patient
was taken to Nanticoke and the others went to Beebe Hospital.




BICYCLIST STRUCK ON LIGHTHOUSE RD

A 23-year-old woman was struck while riding a bike just before 3 p.m.
on Saturday.  The accident happened on Lighthouse Road near the
entrance to Swann Keys, west of Fenwick Island.  She suffered
non-life-threatening injuries.




BARN BURNS NEAR OCEAN DOWNS RACE TRACK

Firefighters in Worcester County fought a fire at 11201 Grays Corner
Road around 10:30 p.m. Saturday.  The fire involved a vacant barn and
spread to a garage and shed.




WORKERS AT MOUNTAIRE FARMS EXPOSED TO CO2

A carbon dioxide leak is blamed for sending 13 workers to the hospital
from the Mountaire Farms poultry plant in Selbyville.  It happened
around 10:35 p.m. Friday.

http://www.wboc.com/global/story.asp?s=8491294




WEEKEND NEWS RELEASES

   Ocean City double stabbing (16th Street):
      http://henney.com/weekend04/ocdblstabbing.htm

   O.C. officers injured making arrest (15th Street):
      http://henney.com/weekend04/ocinjofficers.htm

   O.C. robbery (23rd Street):
      http://henney.com/weekend04/ocrobbery.htm

   Coast Guard rescues sinking boat (north of Cape May):
      http://www.piersystem.com/go/doc/651/208658/

   Man dies while scuba diving (southeast of Cape May):
      http://www.piersystem.com/go/doc/651/208636/

   Coast Guard rescues stranded 72-foot scalloper:
      http://www.piersystem.com/go/doc/651/208599/






The Weekend Update is distributed by Alan Henney.  Should you receive
the Weekend Update twice, or do not wish to receive it at all, please
contact Alan.

To subscribe, unsubscribe or for other info, send a message to:
alan@henney.com or call 302-227-9160.  News leads are appreciated!
Also try AOL or Yahoo instant-messengers (screen name AlanHenney).

The Rehoboth Weekend Update is also posted on Yahoo Groups discussion
list for Rehoboth Beach and on the Saint Mary’s Today Website.  Please
see:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Rehoboth_Beach/

http://www.stmarystoday.com/

Listen for the “Henney Report” on 92.7/WGMD-FM’s Monday morning show
with Dan Gaffney!

http://www.wgmd.com




BICYCLIST KILLED, 2 OTHERS INJURED IN WEEKEND ACCIDENTS

It’s been a dangerous weekend for bicyclists on the shore this
weekend.  A 44-year-old Maryland man was killed Saturday repairing his
bicycle on the shoulder north of Indian River Inlet around 7:40 a.m.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.

A state police news release says the man’s bicycle chain broke and he
stopped to repair it.  That’s when he was struck and killed by an
18-year-old driving a 2002 Pontiac Grand Am.  He supposedly had fallen
asleep while driving.

http://www.henney.com/weekend10/fatalrt1bike.htm

Another bicyclist was struck and critically injured on Holly Grove
Road Saturday night in the West Ocean City area.  A woman called 9-1-1
around 10:45 p.m. and said she believed she had just struck a
bicyclist on Holly Grove Road just past Ocean Gateway.  The man was
flown to a trauma center.

In a third accident, a woman reportedly fell from a bicycle on Fairway
Boulevard at Railway Road in the Ocean View area.  It happened just
before 10 a.m. Saturday.  She suffered a head injury and was flown by
the state police helicopter to a trauma center.




FATAL MOTORCYCLE CRASH

A 17-year-old was killed Friday while riding a motorcycle on U.S.
Route 113 at Route 589 around 9:50 p.m.  That’s in the Showell area.
He was reportedly the son of a Cambridge, Md. police officer.




2 MEN FLOWN TO TRAUMA CENTERS AFTER SURF INJURIES

A man struck his forehead on the surf in front of the Clarion Resort
Fontainebleau in Ocean City around 12:25 p.m. Thursday.  When rescuers
got to him, he said his arms felt heavy and were tingling.  He was
unable to keep a handgrip on anything.  They flew him from Northside
Park to a trauma center.

A 21-year-old man reported tingling in his hands and was unable to
move or feel his toes after he was injured in the surf.  It happened
Friday around 3:40 p.m. at 145th Street.  He too was flown by the
state police helicopter to a trauma center.




WOMAN INJURED IN JOLLY ROGER AMUSEMENT PARK

A 42-year-old woman was injured at the kiddie pool near the main
entrance to Splash Mountain in the Jolly Roger Amusement Park.  It
happened around 2:10 p.m. Thursday.  The paramedic said she went down
the slid but couldn’t remember exactly what happened.  Her husband
said she suffered “quite a jolt” at the bottom of the slide.  She
suffered a neck/back injury with numbness and tingling in both hands.
She was flown to a trauma center.




FIREFIGHTERS BATTLE HOUSE FIRE OUTSIDE LEWES

Shortly after a thunderstorm rolled through the area, firefighters
responded to a house fire in the 34700 block of Anchor Way, which is
outside Lewes.  The fire was reported just before 3 p.m. on Sunday.
The fire was in the attic, ceiling and eventually came through the
roof.

http://www.lewesfire.com/gallery.cfm?id=167




STATE POLICE LOOK FOR FEMALE BANDIT

State police were searching Sunday for a woman driving a maroon Ford
Escort with Delaware tags.  She was described as heavy set, about
5ft4-6, with brown hair.  She had fled the Milton Foodlion with a
black bag and was supposedly wanted for robbery.




WEEKEND TRAFFIC WOES ON ROUTE 50 IN TALBOT

It was a messy weekend for beach traffic on Route 50.  Around 2:30
p.m. on Saturday, wires came down across Route 50 at 404, closing all
lanes of both highways.  That’s in the Wye Mills area of Talbot
County.  A field fire was also sparked in the median as well.  Police
detoured traffic around the major intersection while the roads were
shut down for about 90 minutes.

A fatal crash closed westbound Route 50 on Sunday for more than an
hour.  It happened around 8:30 a.m. in the Trappe area of Talbot
County.




DEAD DOLPHIN WASHES ASHORE

A dead 7-foot-long dolphin washed ashore Saturday at 76th Street in
Ocean City around 1:20 p.m.  A marine mammal expert was consulted and
the public works was requested to remove the remains.




ANGOLA BOATING ACCIDENT WITH MEDEVAC

A 22-year-old woman was injured in a boating accident on Herring Creek
in the Angola area.  She was reportedly on a tube being pulled by a
boat when it struck another boat around 12:25 p.m. on Sunday.  She was
unconscious for about five seconds before being pulled to shore.  A
paramedic’s radio report described her as upset but able to answer
questions.  She was flown to Peninsula Regional Medical Center.




COAST GUARD RESCUES STRANDED SAILBOAT

A 42-foot sailboat started sinking around 1 a.m. Saturday after it
struck a sandbar about 100 yards from the beach at Assateague.
Assistance came from the park ranges, two different Coast Guard
stations, and a Coast Guard helicopter from Atlantic City.

The helicopter’s rescue swimmer was lowered to the beach with a pump.
He swam to the sailboat and helped pump it out.  The three people on
board were not injured.

http://www.piersystem.com/go/doc/651/166200/




INTOXICATED BOATER RUNS AGROUND

Ocean City firefighters and the Coast Guard spent more than an hour
trying to find a boater who reportedly ran aground in the bay while
traveling at high speed in the area of 21st and 26th Streets.  An
eyewitness had reported the incident around 12:05 a.m. Saturday.  The
Coast Guard eventually found the boat.  It was a 20-foot white hull
Century piloted by an intoxicated man.

INTOXICATED COUPLE TRASHES HOTEL ROOM, FLEES TOWN

It’s every landlord’s nightmare… intoxicated tenants angered after
being told to maintain order, go on a destructive rampage.  That
happened Sunday at the Atlantic Sands.  Rehoboth Beach police had
responded in the afternoon to speak with an intoxicated man and woman
who were staying in the hotel.

The officers returned around 6:10 p.m. after the hotel management
found the room trashed.  The couple is suspected to have fled town in
a maroon Dodge Durango with Maryland tags.




PEDESTRIAN STRUCK IN DEWEY

A 23-year-old man was struck by a vehicle on Route 1 in Dewey Beach
Sunday.  It happened around 1:55 a.m. at Read Avenue near Grotto
Pizza.  When officials arrived, they found him conscious with a cut to
the forehead.  The striking vehicle remained at the scene.  The man
was taken to Beebe Hospital in stable condition.




WEEKEND POLICE CHASES

Police along the shore were involved in at least two chases this
weekend.

An intoxicated driver fled from Ocean City police around 2:15 a.m.
Sunday.  The chase ended when he drove over the center island on
Coastal Highway at 59th Street.  The driver was arrested and police
called for the fire department because his vehicle started smoking.

Several suspects in an SUV fled from Delaware State Police on Route 1
around 2:45 a.m. Friday.  The chase started outside Lewes and ended in
Slaughter Beach, where the suspects were finally captured.




WEEKEND WATER INCIDENTS

Rescuers responded to several water incidents this weekend, including
twice to White House Beach off Long Neck Road.

A 16-year-old suicidal girl was reported 100 yards from White House
Beach standing in the Indian River Bay around 8:20 p.m. Saturday.  She
was supposedly armed with a knife and refused to return to shore.

A private boat reported to have her family on board came to her aid
and took her aboard.  Spectators gathered on shore; so many that one
fire department official said he wants to “make sure wherever that
boat is going, there are no people... it's like [they’re watching] a
bunch of fireworks!"  The girl was in an ambulance by 8:45 p.m.

Many of these same agencies found themselves headed back to White
House Beach around 10:25 a.m. Sunday when two people with a yellow
kayak were reported yelling.  A half-submerged kayak was being towed
to shore by a Jet Ski as the Indian River fire department arrived.
Both boaters were safely ashore by 10:40 a.m.

Another kayak capsized around 11 a.m. Sunday about 200 yards from the
Fenwick Island State Park bathhouse.  The Ocean City Beach Patrol was
already alerted to the incident when Delaware rescuers responded.  The
kayaker reportedly got caught in a rip, but was assisted to shore by
the guards.

A surfer was reported in distress in the Ocean City Inlet around 5:30
p.m. Friday.  A couple lifeguards went out and the 21-foot Coast Guard
rescue boat brought all three to the Coast Guard station.

Two men were reported missing on a Jet Ski trip from 32nd Street to
Seacrets and back.  They were discovered with their disabled Jet Ski
around 10:10 p.m. Friday near Ocean City’s Route 90 bridge by Maryland
Natural Resources Police.

Another Jet Ski struck a pier at 52nd Street in Ocean City around
11:30 a.m. Sunday.  A man, woman and child were reportedly involved,
but only the man was hurt.  He suffered a leg injury.

The Ocean City Coast Guard assisted a couple recreational or fishing
vessels this weekend taking on water several miles out in the
Atlantic.  Both made it safely to shore with Coast Guard assistance.

A news release from the Maryland Natural Resources Police says July
accounted for a third of the state’s boating accidents during 2006:

http://tinyurl.com/36dklb




DEAD SEA TURTLE FOUND ON NORTH SHORES BEACH

DNREC park rangers called for the Marine Education, Research &
Rehabilitation Institute Saturday morning when a dead sea turtle was
discovered on the beach.  The remains were reported in front of the 21
Ocean Drive Condo, which is north of Rehoboth Beach.  The turtle was
possibly killed by a boat propeller strike.  The remains were buried
on the beach.




POLICE INVESTIGATE PICTURE THEFT

Rehoboth Beach police were summoned to the Crosswinds Motel in the
fourth block of Rehoboth Avenue around noon on Sunday.  A thief
allegedly stole a couple items described as pictures worth
approximately $2000 to $3000.  Police came up with a possible suspect
and made several trips to a nearby hotel as part of the investigation.




MAN INJURED DOING “BUS-FLIPS” GOES TO HOSPITAL

Ocean City transit bus drivers have been annoyed for years by
passengers who perform “bus flips” while riding the city’s transit
buses.

Bus 226 radioed for assistance Sunday around 11:20 p.m. after a man
doing a bus flip fell and possibly dislocated his knee.  EMS as well
as police and the transit supervisor responded to meet the bus at the
45th Street bus stop.  To complicate matters, the bus lost power and
the medic requested a fire engine to help remove the patient.  Another
bus was summoned to take Bus 226’s passengers.

Here’s a “bus flip” demonstrated on YouTube:
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49VKaPyG6BU






OTHER LINKS
  Rehoboth Business is Hot (WHYY TV)
     http://tinyurl.com/24236p

  Millsboro Argument Turns Violent in Co-Worker Dispute
     http://henney.com/weekend06/millsboro.htm

  Teen Charged After Attempting to Remove Ocean View Officer’s Gun
     http://henney.com/weekend06/oceanview.htm

  REHOBOTH FIREWORKS/BANDSTAND SCHEDULE
     http://www.rehomain.com/fireworks.html
     http://rehobothbandstand.com/

  Real-time ship plotter:
     http://henney.com/sp






The Weekend Update is distributed by Alan Henney.  Should you receive
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The Rehoboth Weekend Update is also posted on Yahoo Groups discussion
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see:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Rehoboth_Beach/

http://www.stmarystoday.com/

Listen for the “Henney Report” on 92.7/WGMD-FM’s Monday morning show
with Dan Gaffney!

http://www.wgmd.com

Interested in fire/EMS?  Check out Dave Statter’s blog:
http://statter911.com



Week Four: June 18, 2007

LANHAM MAN MISSING IN OCEAN CITY SURF

Rescue personnel searched into the darkness for the body of a teenager
who disappeared in the Ocean City surf Sunday afternoon.  Beach Patrol
Capt. Butch Arbin said the man had been wading in the ocean with two
other family male members when they became caught in a rip around 2:30
p.m.

They were two brothers and a cousin, believed to be from Lanham, Md.
The beach patrol assisted one of the men to shore and the other made
it to shore under the beach patrol’s supervision.  Once on shore
around 31st Street, they discovered the third man was missing.

Capt. Arbin said the men were non-swimmers and were actually not in
water over their heads.  But it appears the missing man panicked and
was pulled under.

The missing 19-year-old man is described as wearing a white T-shirt,
green shorts and is possibly from Jamaica.  Rip current assessment was
described as “moderate” on Sunday with a 68-degree water temperature.

The Coast Guard dropped a “datum” buoy in the approximate location
where the man disappeared off 31st Street.  As of 6:30 p.m., it had
drifted to about a half mile east of 21st Street.

Assuming this is determined to be a drowning, this would be the first
of the season for Ocean City.

Ocean City EMS also responded to an exhausted swimmer at 61st Street
around 7:30 p.m. Sunday.  She declined transport to the hospital after
making it safely to shore.

Coast Guard news releases and other CG news:
http://www.piersystem.com/go/site/651/




POWERBOAT BEACHED IN OCEAN CITY

Powerboats from around the country made their way to Ocean City for
the 2nd Annual OPA Offshore Powerboat Races this weekend.

The action was monitored by five helicopters as the speedboats raced
along the beach Sunday afternoon.

Around 3 p.m., one of the boats beached itself on 17th Street in front
of the Holiday Inn and tore a hole in its hull.  Multiple agencies,
including the beach patrol, police, public works, Coast Guard and a
private crane company struggled to remove the boat into the evening
hours.  At one point, police were called to control the crowds.

Earlier in the day, around 1:25 p.m., the Coast Guard took a boater
from the race with a knee injury to meet an Ocean City ambulance.

Offshore Performance Association
http://tinyurl.com/yp3ypr




MOM CRITICAL, CHILD SERIOUS AFTER BEING STRUCK

A mother and child standing along U.S. Route 113 in Frankford were
struck by a vehicle Sunday evening.  Stephanie Callaway, Sussex County
EMS spokeswoman, said it happened near Jay’s Market around 5:10 p.m.
Two vehicles involved in an accident struck the mother and child.
Both had bicycles, but she said it appeared they were not riding them
at the time of impact.

Trooper 2 and Lifenet helicopters flew each of them to trauma centers.
Ms. Callaway said the mother was critical and the child was serious.
Northbound Route 113 was shutdown Sunday evening for the crash
investigators.

State police issued this news release around 10:45 p.m.:
http://henney.com/weekend04/frankford113.htm




BUSY WEEKEND FOR MEDEVAC HELICOPTERS AT THE SHORE

Helicopters flew more than a half-dozen medevac missions for people
injured in accidents at the shore this weekend.

Most took place in Ocean City.  That’s where an 18-year-old man was
struck and thrown over the hood of a vehicle on 42nd Street around
11:10 a.m. on Friday.  He was flown by helicopter to Salisbury.

A 19-year-old man riding a crotch rocket bike crashed into a vehicle
at Worcester Street in Ocean City around 5 p.m. Saturday.  A second
biker, who fled the scene, was reportedly involved.  Maryland State
Police helicopter Trooper 4 landed at the Ocean City Coast Guard
station and flew the injured man to Salisbury.  He suffered trauma to
the right side of his body.

Christopher Casale’s pictures:
http://henney.com/weekend04/

What exactly is a “crotch rocket?”
http://tinyurl.com/yufv5x

Another person was injured around 6:40 p.m. Sunday in a two-vehicle
crash on 15th Street in Ocean City.  That patient was flown from Jolly
Roger Amusement Park, also on Trooper 4.

Two bicyclists were struck by a hit-and-run driver Sunday around 12:05
a.m. in front of the Berlin Wal-Mart off Ocean Gateway on Grays Corner
Road.  One was flown by medevac and the other was taken by ground to
Atlantic General Hospital.  Police broadcast a lookout for a vehicle
with front-end/headlamp damage which fled the scene.

A pedestrian was struck on 32nd Street in Ocean City near the
McDonalds around 2 a.m. on Sunday.  That patient was flown by Maryland
State Police Trooper 4 to a trauma center.

In Sussex County, one person was flown from an accident near Americana
Bayside to Salisbury on Saturday evening.  That’s west of Fenwick
Island.

Also in Sussex, a mother and child were struck along U.S. Route 113 in
Frankford around 5:10 p.m. Sunday (see story above).  They were flown
by Delaware Trooper 2 and Lifenet to trauma centers.




MAN FOUND DEAD IN ANGOLA

A man reported to be in his 30’s was discovered dead early Sunday in
the Angola area.  He was pronounced dead at the scene.  The medical
examiner is investigating, but the speculation was that he died from
some sort of overdose.




ASSAULT SUSPECT FLEES FROM POLICE IN CUFFS

Ocean City police caught a man involved in an assault Friday night,
but he managed to escape while still in handcuffs.  Officers, the
Coast Guard, and state police helicopter spent about 90 minutes
searching for the man after he fled toward the bay and a marsh south
of Route 90.

He was reportedly involved in an assault on 60th Street around 11:55
p.m., before he eluded police.  Police actually knew who the man was
and were about to suspend the search around 1 a.m.  That’s when they
got a tip that a man appeared to be hiding in nearby bushes.  He was
taken into custody around 1:20 a.m.




O.C. BUS INCIDENTS

Ocean City transit bus drivers radioed for police assistance several
times this past weekend.

Bus #215 was southbound at 81st street when the driver asked for
police to remove a rowdy male passenger at 9:10 p.m. Friday.

Around 12:35 a.m. on Saturday, the operator of Bus #250 turned on the
emergency strobe light to have police remove another disorderly
passenger at 49th Street.

A bus driver was reportedly assaulted on the south end around 12:45
a.m. on Sunday.  The driver declined to go to the hospital by
ambulance.




O.C. ROBBERIES

Ocean City police investigated at least three robberies this weekend.
The most notable was a robbery where the suspect was armed with a stun
gun near 4001 Coastal Highway.  Police made arrests in another robbery
case early Sunday morning.




ASSAULTS AT RUSTY RUDDER

Rehoboth ambulances responded twice to the Rusty Rudder in Dewey Beach
this past weekend for assaults.  One man was reported bleeding from
the head and face around 12:50 a.m. Saturday after a scuffle involving
a bouncer.  A police officer was later reported injured too, but did
not take an ambulance to the hospital.

Police and EMS returned Sunday for a 23-year-old man who got a cut to
his head around 1:30 a.m.




ALMOST PARADISE!

Many guests at the Paradise Plaza Inn were probably sound asleep when
the fire alarm sounded around 2:05 a.m. Saturday.  Firefighters
investigating reported a malicious pull-station in the first-floor
stairwell.  The alarm was silenced, placed out of service and
management posted a “fire watch.”

But firefighters returned around 6:25 a.m. to the Paradise Plaza Inn
when a water-flow alarm activated on the first floor.  Firefighters
speculated that the system lost air pressure which caused an air flow
and sounded the fire alarm for the second time.

While this was happening, firefighters requested a medic for a person
who fainted at the Inn around 6:35 a.m.  The patient declined
transport to the hospital.  The medic returned a second time about
five minutes later, only to be turned down once again.

The Paradise Plaza was not the only Ocean City hotel to have trouble.
A prankster at the Plim Plaza Hotel discharged a fire extinguisher
around 3:40 a.m. Saturday.  The particle dust apparently activated the
fire sensors on the fifth floor.  Firefighters were there for about 40
minutes trying to silence and reset the alarm system.

http://www.paradiseplazainn.com/

http://www.ocmdhotels.com/plimplaza/




BETHANY SAYS U.S. GOVERNMENT VEHICLES ARE “FAIR GAME”

A parking enforcement officer patrolling the Fourth Street beach lot
in Bethany Beach asked what the policy was for ticketing U.S.
Government-registered vehicles.  He found a pick-up truck with U.S.
Government tags in the lot around 2:05 p.m. Sunday.  He was told that
such vehicles were not exempt from being fined and ticketed.




Fatal Bridgeville crash, near Route 404 and U.S. Route 13
  http://henney.com/weekend04/bvillefatal.htm

Governor Minner to broadcast at Amateur Radio Field Day
  http://www.sussexamateurradio.com

Rehoboth Bike Safety Fair (***TODAY***)
  http://henney.com/weekend04/bikesafetyfair.htm

DNREC NEWS (Piping Plover and Horseshoe Crab updates):
  http://tinyurl.com/3ah8zq