This week, students across our state are returning to the classroom and thanks to the hard work of teachers and administrators, our schools are setting them on a path toward rewarding careers and success in life through higher standards and innovative instruction that meet the skills needed in today’s high-tech economy. That starts with our youngest learners.

More support for training, equipment, and resources in high quality pre-school programs are preparing our youngest learners to excel in school. We’re in the fifth year of our world language immersion program where nearly 3,000 kids – including 10% of our Kindergarten students – are taking half of their classes in Chinese or Spanish to become proficient by fourth grade. That program is giving kids a head-start for career success in today’s interconnected world. High school students are taking more college-level classes and getting workplace experience through programs like Pathways to Prosperity, which this fall has grown to 6,000 students who will be a step ahead of their peers when competing for jobs in expanding industries like healthcare, manufacturing, computer science and engineering. For seniors, our schools are working harder than ever to give them the resources to chart their next steps, whether it’s a 2- or 4-year college education or going straight to the workforce.

These efforts have helped us hit record high graduation rates and achieve new milestones in the number of students who are applying for and enrolling in college. And we’re building on our support for teachers by providing leadership opportunities at their schools while ensuring they can also remain in the classroom. By investing in educational programs and instruction that meet the needs of today’s world, we’ll ensure that our students have bright futures, and we’ll keep Delaware moving forward.

Dover — The Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) announced that it has been notified of four cases of Bacillus cereus (B. cereus) bloodstream infection between July and August of 2016 in New Castle County. Typically a foodborne illness, these bacteria usually do not cause blood infections. Three of the four cases of B. cereus reported to DPH occurred in individuals who are intravenous (IV) drug users and currently use heroin. Symptoms of bloodstream infection may include fever, chills, body aches, rapid heart rate, diarrhea, vomiting, and nausea. If untreated, bloodstream infections can affect multiple organs and even be fatal.

As a result, DPH is encouraging health care providers to carefully monitor IV users who are actually ill for bloodstream infections and to consider B. cereus bloodstream infection a possible diagnosis. DPH recommends that antibiotics be started promptly after blood cultures are drawn and health care providers consider antibiotics that are active against B. cereus.

Two of the four individuals who had B. Cereus bloodstream infection described the heroin they used as having the street name “Butter” and having an image of a butterfly stamped on the packaging. They reported purchasing the heroin from a dealer in the Wilmington area.

“Complications from this illness can include eye infections, risk of blindness, heart valve damage, and musculoskeletal, respiratory, and central nervous system infections,” said DPH Director Dr. Karyl Rattay. “While this infection does not spread from one person to another, it is possible that the heroin itself is contaminated and there may be additional infections from the use of the contaminated drug.”

There is no risk to the general public from these infections.

Other infections such as HIV and Hepatitis C are easily acquired through illicit IV drug use. For information on the Delaware Needle Exchange program, visit http://dhss.delaware.gov/dph/dpc/needleexchange.html.

If B. cereus bloodstream infection is identified in any patient (IV drug user or not), health care providers are urged to obtain consultation with infectious disease physicians early in the course of patient care because these infections can sometimes be difficult to treat and antibiotics to treat this infection must be chosen carefully. In addition, serious complications of the infection can occur if not treated early and with appropriate antibiotics.

If B. cereus bloodstream infection is identified in any patient (IV drug users or not), providers are encouraged to contact DPH’s Office of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at 888-295-5156 or 302-744-4990 to report.

Persons seeking help for drug addiction can visit HelpIsHereDE.com to connect with treatment and recovery services.

Any heroin or illicit IV drug use could carry risk of a variety of infections regardless of where it is purchased. For further information on infections caused by illicit IV drug use, visit http://www.cdc.gov/pwud/.

A person who is deaf, hard-of-hearing, deaf-blind, or speech-disabled can call the DPH phone number above by using TTY services. Dial 7-1-1 or 800-232-5460 to type your conversation to a relay operator, who reads your conversation to a hearing person at DPH. The relay operator types the hearing person’s spoken words back to the TTY user. To learn more about TTY availability in Delaware, visit delawarerelay.com.

Delaware Health and Social Services is committed to improving the quality of the lives of Delaware’s citizens by promoting health and well-being, fostering self-sufficiency, and protecting vulnerable populations. DPH, a division of DHSS, urges Delawareans to make healthier choices with the 5-2-1 Almost None campaign: eat 5 or more fruits and vegetables each day, have no more than 2 hours of recreational screen time each day (includes TV, computer, gaming), get 1 or more hours of physical activity each day, drink almost no sugary beverages.

DOVER – DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife announced today that the Collins Beach boat ramp facility will have limited access Sept. 6 and 7 while the Division assists Delmarva Power with the critical, time-sensitive waterborne offloading of a large transformer at the boat ramp for transport to the utility’s Townsend power substation on Flemings Landing Road in Smyrna. After a recent transformer failure there, Delmarva Power needed to get a replacement unit onsite as quickly as possible, and DNREC agreed to help, given that the transformer is key Delmarva Power infrastructure for ensuring electric reliability in areas of New Castle and Kent County.  

The northern half of the lower parking lot at Collins Beach will be closed early afternoon on Tuesday, Sept. 6 through Wednesday, Sept 7. to facilitate  offloading and subsequent transport of the transformer to the  Delmarva Power’s Townsend substation. Though the boat ramp will remain open during most of this time intermittent, short closures can be expected from 1- 7 p.m. Sept 7. The upper lot will remain open throughout the duration of the project.

Boaters who regularly use the Collins Beach boat ramp for access to the upper Delaware Bay and Delaware River may choose to use the Woodland Beach Boat Ramp, located on Woodland Beach Road in Woodland Beach, or the Augustine Boat Ramp on Route 9 in Port Penn.

Delmarva Power’s transformer replacement project is expected to be complete, with full access restored at the Collins Beach boating access area, by Thursday, Sept. 8. 

For more information, please call the Fisheries Section at 302-739-9914.

CONTACT: Michael Globetti, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 46, No. 323

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Piping plover nesting season concludes with 13 fledglings this year

CAPE HENLOPEN STATE PARK – DNREC’s Divisions of Parks & Recreation and Fish & Wildlife announced today that stretches of ocean beach between Gordons Pond and Herring Point and beachfront along the oceanside of The Point on Cape Henlopen have now reopened following the end of a piping plover nesting season that produced 13 plover fledglings in Delaware. The last Gordons Pond Piping Plover chick recently fledged, allowing fencing erected to prevent disturbances to any beach-nesting birds in the area to be taken down. The beach is now accessible for fall surf-fishing, and in time for the Labor Day holiday weekend.

The bay side of The Point will remain closed until Oct. 1 to give refuge to the many species of migratory birds that pass through Delaware on their way to overwintering grounds to the south, said Anthony Gonzon, Division of Fish & Wildlife biodiversity program manager.

Although the beach-nesting bird breeding season has ended, surveys for the rare plant seabeach amaranth are continuing. Seabeach amaranth is a federally-threatened plant species under the Endangered Species Act. Searches of likely amaranth habitat are conducted in Delaware three times a year: in late July, mid-August and late August/early September.

This year, all of the known amaranth plants are located at The Point, with more than 30 plants observed since surveys began in July. No plants have been found between Gordons Pond and Herring Point, usually the most reliable location for finding them, but many of the plants on The Point have appeared outside of the typical fenced section of the dunes and overwashes, well above the high tide line.

Due to the annual variability of distribution of seabeach amaranth plants, an additional temporary fenced section along the ocean side of The Point has been installed parallel to the ocean and will be removed once these annual plants disperse their seed – likely to occur within three to four weeks. This temporary closure will allow the amaranth plants to complete their life cycle and help to sustain the plant population within Cape Henlopen while still allowing access to The Point by permitted vehicles for surf fishing.

With seabeach amaranth in mind, DNREC has closed dunes and overwashes to any human activity to protect sensitive and rare habitats. DNREC advises that surf-fishing vehicles should avoid parking in the restricted area in front of the temporary fencing, but may drive through on the beach along the ocean side of the fence. In addition, surf-fishermen should be aware that higher tides may be experienced during the next week. The possibility exists that surf fishing vehicles could be stranded when this occurs.

For more information, please contact Paul Faircloth, Cape Henlopen State Park superintendent, at 302-645-8983, or Anthony Gonzon, Division of Fish & Wildlife, at 302-735-3600.

About the piping plover
The piping plover was listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1986, and the Division of Fish & Wildlife is responsible for its protection in Delaware. Under a binding agreement and subsequent species management plan that DNREC made in 1990 with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the federal agency with oversight of this ESA-protected species, piping plover nesting areas at Cape Henlopen State Park are closed annually to the public to protect the shorebirds from disturbance during their nesting season which usually runs from March into September. This includes the Point and smaller areas around Gordons Pond. The closure has been successful, increasing the number of piping plover nesting pairs from a low of two pairs to a high of nine pairs, and must include feeding habitat as well as nesting areas. Piping plovers feed on small invertebrates that inhabit the intertidal zone near their nesting territories. Chicks are not fed by their parents, but rather are led to the shoreline to forage while the adults keep watch for potential threats. Allowing pedestrian traffic in the intertidal zone adjoining nesting areas would disturb the vital link between nesting and foraging habitat and risk adverse stress or mortality to the chicks.

About the seabeach amaranth
The seabeach amaranth is an annual plant the formerly ranged from Massachusetts to South Carolina. Rediscovered in Delaware in 2000 after a 125-year absence, this plant has been found on Delaware’s ocean beaches throughout Cape Henlopen State Park and Delaware Seashore State Park. Federally listed as threatened in 1993 under the Endangered Species Act, seabeach amaranth typically grows in open sand along the base of the primary foredunes or along undisturbed wrack lines high on the beach where seed may become trapped. Each year, plants may reoccur in the same locations or appear in new locations as a result of shifting sands and seed dispersal from varying weather conditions over the fall and winter seasons. As an annual plant, amaranth completes an entire life cycle in a single year’s growing season, flowering in mid to late summer, dispersing seed in late August and early September.

Media Contact: Michael Globetti, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 46, No. 323

REHOBOTH BEACH – Maintenance dredging at the Indian River Marina basin within Delaware Seashore State Park is scheduled to begin Thursday, Sept. 15, DNREC’s Divisions of Parks & Recreation and Watershed Stewardship announced today.

The marina operates under the auspices of Delaware State Parks. Marina staff has been contacting affected slip holders this week about the dredging, providing information about temporary dock reassignment, dates that their boats will need to be moved, and emphasizing a tight window for the dredging project to be completed. The marina is also allowing for a limited number of early winter haul out/land storage for these boats, per marina manager’s approval.

During the maintenance dredging project, dredge pipe will be marked with orange buoys every 25 to 50 feet, with the Division of Watershed Stewardship’s Shoreline & Waterway Management Section keeping a boat in the water to assist slip holders in navigating the area during dredging operations from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday. The pipe will be completely submerged and out of harm’s way during non-dredging hours  and the marina will be navigable during those hours as well.

The Indian River Marina also announced this week that because of the dredging project, it will no longer accept transient reservations for the remainder of the 2016 boating season.

Media Contact: Michael Globetti, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 46, No. 322