Tickets for Delaware Agricultural Industry Dinner on sale

DOVER — Tickets and sponsorships for the 46th Annual Delaware Agricultural Industry Dinner on Jan. 19 are now available.

An early-bird discount is available by December 30, with individual tickets at $60 and a 10-seat reservation at $550. The regular rate is $65 per ticket and a 10-seat reservation for $600. Registrations are due by Jan. 6. Forms are available at http://dda.delaware.gov/marketing/2017ReservationForm.pdf.

The event is held at Dover Downs Hotel & Casino, with a reception at 5 p.m. and dinner at 6:30 p.m. The agenda includes the presentation of the Secretary’s Award for Distinguished Service to Delaware Agriculture.

Sponsorship opportunities are also available. New this year is a Platinum-level sponsorship, which includes six tickets and prime seating. All sponsors will be recognized prominently at the event.

Sponsored by the Delaware Council of Farm Organizations, the Agricultural Industry Dinner is an opportunity for farmers, agribusiness leaders, lawmakers and policymakers to celebrate farming’s successes, which includes $1.3 billion in sales and an $8 billion economic impact.

For questions or registration information, email lisa.wildermuth@delaware.gov or holly.porter@delaware.gov or call 302-698-4500.

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Media contact:
Dan Shortridge
Director of Communications & Marketing
Delaware Department of Agriculture
302-698-4520
daniel.shortridge@delaware.gov


Direct Energy Announces Special Electricity Supply Offer

DOVER – Delaware offers customer choice to Delmarva Power and Delaware Electric Cooperative customers when it comes to purchasing their energy supply. Among the over 50 suppliers certified by the Public Service Commission, Direct Energy Services has announced several new energy supply products with special multi-year fixed price offers and other customer benefits. The new offers are the result of recent efforts by the Delaware General Assembly and the Department of State to seek longer term contracts that can help save money for consumers.

direct energyLegislation passed in 2015 created a state Electricity Affordability Committee and tasked the committee to evaluate options for residential and small-business customers, including multi-year, fixed-price offers and other products and services that could help them manage their energy bills.

Pursuant to this legislation, the state issued a Request for Proposals seeking an energy provider that could meet these requirements. After reviewing all of the proposals, the Electricity Affordability Committee determined that Direct Energy submitted the best offers for consumers. The Secretary of State then entered into a contract with Direct Energy Services to move forward with offering these products.

Direct Energy Services is the only electric supplier contracted with the state to provide a designated fixed-rate offer and services to residential and small commercial customers for two years. The Direct Energy offering is one more tool that customers can use to manage their electric utility bills through the use of a third-party electric supplier. As innovation continues in the utility industry, customers are encouraged to research what options are available to reduce energy use and manage costs.

Delmarva Power and Delaware Electric Cooperative customers can still purchase their electricity from any PSC-certified suppliers making offers. A full list of Certified Electric Suppliers can be found here. Customers may choose to use a certified supplier or remain with their utility’s standard supply rate. Any customer receiving electricity from a third-party supplier will continue to receive a bill from their local utility (Delmarva Power or Delaware Electric Cooperative.) Customers experiencing power outages or emergencies should call their local utilities.


DNREC Division of Fish & Wildlife announces 2016 Delaware Fishing Photo Contest winners

DOVER – DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife today announced the first-place winner and five top entries chosen from its 2016 Delaware Fishing Photo Contest. The winning photos will appear on the cover or inside the forthcoming 2017 Delaware Fishing Guide.

First place was awarded to Shenna Bogetti of Dover, for her photo titled “Daddy & Daughter’s 1st Drum” of her husband Brian Bogetti and daughter Mackenzie Bogetti fishing in the Delaware Bay.

The other contest winners are:
• Second place: “Reflections,” by Christine Fletcher of Milton, for her photo of family member Ernie Fletcher at Reynolds Pond.
• Third place: “Catching the Breeze,” by Amy Baldwin of Newark, for her photo of her daughter Ella surf fishing at Cape Henlopen State Park.
• Honorable mention: “The Boys,” by Katresa Foster of Milford, for her photo of friend Bill Grove and family member Mike Foster at Bowers Beach.
• Honorable mention: “Finlee’s First Catch,” by Katresa Foster of Milford, for her photo of family members Finlee and Mike Foster at the Mispillion Riverwalk.

Three DNREC judges – Division of Fish & Wildlife Director David Saveikis, Fisheries Biologist Bruce Cole and Freda Barrett, amateur photographer – selected the top five entries. The contest specified that photographs must have been taken in Delaware and depict fishing with family or friends.

Judges were looking for photos that best portrayed this year’s contest theme, “Fishing with Family or Friends,” which carried a lot of photographic consideration from the judges in selecting winning entries.

“The photography contest is a great chance for anglers to showcase and share their fishing adventures with other anglers,” said Fish & Wildlife Director Saveikis. “The theme and these photographs help reinforce and capture the fun of a shared outdoor fishing experience, and we hope they will inspire others to enjoy the great sport of fishing and to enter next year’s photography contest to capture the fishing experience.”

The winning photographs can be viewed on the Division of Fish & Wildlife’s website, where contest information and forms are also available. Information and contest forms can also be obtained by calling Jennifer Childears at 302-739-9120 or by email at Jennifer.childears@delaware.gov.

The Division of Fish & Wildlife’s annual Delaware Hunting Photo Contest is accepting entries through Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017. Details of the Division of Fish & Wildlife’s 2017 Fishing Photo Contest will be announced in the spring.

Media contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902.

Vol. 46, No. 414

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Gov. Markell, DNREC Sec. Small announce $714,076 in recycling grants awarded to schools, businesses and municipalities

Announcement held at H.O. Brittingham Elementary School in Milton

MILTON – Governor Jack Markell and DNREC Secretary David Small were joined by Delaware Recycling Public Advisory Council Chair B.J. Vinton today to announce $714,076 in recycling assistance grants to schools, businesses and municipalities (PDF) for projects that develop or expand waste reduction, reuse or recycling activities. The announcement was held at H.O. Brittingham Elementary School in Milton, whose recycling program was showcased as a recipient of a state recycling award.

DNREC’s Recycling Assistance Grant Program is marking its sixth year as a competitive, matching grant program. The program encourages recipients to provide at least 25 percent of the total project cost in either cash or in-kind services. Since the grant program’s inception, 112 grants, totaling more than $8.5 million, have been awarded to bolster recycling activities in the state.

“Delaware has made great strides in universal recycling – establishing a system that provides services that are cost effective and convenient for every residence and business, and that promotes jobs and economic growth,” said Gov. Markell. “As a result, in less than 6 years, we have gone from modest recycling statewide to diverting nearly 43 percent of recyclables from our landfills – ranking among the nation’s leaders in recycling. The grants we are announcing today make it possible for us to increase diversion rates even more.”

“At the outset of his administration, Gov. Markell made recycling a priority for Delaware,” said DNREC Sec. Small. “I want to thank the Governor, under whose leadership Delaware’s Universal Recycling Law, policies and programs have reduced landfill waste, conserved natural resources, saved Delawareans money, reduced greenhouse gases and improved the health of residents. As a result, 347,000 households receive curbside recycling service and an estimated 20,000 multi-family households receive recycling collection.”

Delaware’s Recycling Public Advisory Council (RPAC) is charged with advising the Governor, DNREC, and the Delaware Solid Waste Authority (DSWA) on all aspects of recycling, including developing grant criteria and selection of applications, the methodology for measuring recycling rates and outreach activities designed to achieve higher recycling rates. Council Chair B. J. Vinton said. “The Universal Recycling legislation will benefit Delaware for generations to come. As a result of the law, more than $17 million in investments and over 120 direct jobs have been created in the state. If we continue on the track set for us by the law, we will more than double the useful life of our existing landfills and stave off the need for new landfills by decades.”

In this year’s grant cycle, H.O Brittingham Elementary School, where state and local officials gathered today for the awards announcement, received a grant which will be used to expand school-wide recycling by providing recycling containers for classrooms and hallways and purchasing reusable water bottles for students that will reduce waste, save money and help create a sustainable earth.

Cape Henlopen School District Superintendent Robert S. Fulton was on hand to watch students explain their recycling program to Gov. Markell and to applaud the success of the Delaware schools and districts awarded recycling grants this year.

]“With so many of our schools participating in recycling through the grant program we not only increase the recycling rate, but, also, a whole generation learns the value and process of recycling and will carry that learning home to influence parents and others in their communities. This is a win-win for recycling in Delaware,” said Superintendent Fulton.

The 2016 grant awardees include eight individual public schools, three school districts, including Red Clay Consolidated, Smyrna, and Dover, and two universities – University of Delaware and Delaware State University. Nine businesses, including waste haulers, service companies, poultry integrators and a railroad maintenance facility, as well as two municipalities – the cities of Rehoboth Beach and Milford – were also awarded grants. (The full list of awardees is attached to this press release.)

Several of the public schools received awards to implement school-wide or district-wide recycling programs, including purchasing recycling bins, desk-side recycling containers, centralized-hallway wheeled carts, and education materials for students, teachers and administration staff. One school, Postlethwait Middle School in the Caesar Rodney School District, will receive an award to expand composting of organic food waste from the school’s cafeteria – an innovative project that will measure how much food is thrown away that could be properly composted and applied to the school’s gardens. Other programs being implemented by businesses, universities and cities include comprehensive recycling programs and recycling education and public awareness campaigns.

In his remarks, Gov. Markell highlighted Delaware’s 2010 Universal Recycling Law that set in motion the first comprehensive recycling program in the state. Universal recycling has provided residents, commercial and institutional entities and non-profits with effective and convenient access to single stream recycling. The program has created jobs and new industry, as well as recycling nearly half of the trash that formerly went to landfills, slowing the need to expand Delaware’s landfills or start new ones. From the year prior to enactment of the Universal Recycling Law (2009) to 2015, an additional 2.9 million tons of recyclables have been diverted from landfills.

Through the Recycling Assistance Grant Program, grants have assisted schools, businesses, communities and non-profits in implementing recycling programs; helped waste haulers and municipalities with the start-up of curbside recycling; funded recycling equipment at businesses and institutions; helped establish recycling companies in the state to collect and process materials; created yard waste drop-off sites; supported the diversion of recyclables that would otherwise be landfill-disposed; and funded recycling outreach and education.

Funding for the grant program came from a $0.04 recycling fee paid by retailers to the State on certain types of beverages sold and from proceeds from Delaware’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative – the program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector. Reducing landfill wastes lowers greenhouse gas emissions from landfills and other sources, supporting Delaware’s greenhouse gas reduction goals.

For more information on DNREC’s recycling assistance grants and about Universal Recycling, contact Bill Miller, or DNREC’s Recycling Team at 302-739-9403, ext. 8, or visit: recycling.delaware.gov.

Media Contact: Melanie Rapp, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 46, No. 413


Delaware Events Mark Wold AIDS Day

DOVER — Dec. 1, 2016, marks the 29th anniversary of World AIDS Day. The theme this year is, “Leadership. Commitment. Impact.” World AIDS Day provides an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), to show their support for people living with HIV, and to commemorate those lost to the disease.

HIV/AIDS remains one of the world’s most significant public health challenges. In the United States, about 1.2 million people are currently infected with over 40,000 new cases diagnosed annually. Even though the annual number of new HIV diagnoses declined 19 percent over the last decade, more work needs to be done. More effective treatments also means there are more infected people who live longer, and therefore the challenge of preventing further spread of the disease is even greater.

Currently, there are 3,354 people living with HIV/AIDS in Delaware, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates another 350 may be infected but don’t know it. Getting tested is easy, free and confidential. Visit www.hivtest.org to find a testing center near you. The HIV test is simple and you will receive your result within minutes.

“The fight against HIV/AIDS begins with individual testing,” said Division of Public Health (DPH) Director Dr. Karyl Rattay. “Roughly one-third of new infections result from those unaware they are HIV positive. Not only are they at high risk for unknowingly infecting others, but their own health is impacted as they may not receive treatment. The only way to know your HIV status is to get tested. If you test positive, treatment is available. If you test negative, you can protect yourself from future infection.”

The CDC recommends routine HIV testing (at least once) for all people ages 13 to 64. Those deemed at higher risk may be tested more frequently (at least once a year). Testing is also recommended for women considering pregnancy and during pregnancy. Treatment can prevent an HIV-positive mother from passing the disease to the unborn baby.

“World AIDS Day reminds us today and every day of the importance of knowing your HIV status,” said Department of Health and Social Services Secretary Rita Landgraf. “I encourage Delawareans to take this time to learn more about preventing HIV/AIDS and how you can help or support those living with the disease.”

If you have HIV, but are not receiving treatment because you have no insurance or for any other reason, call the Division of Public Health at 302-744-1050 for assistance.

The following events are being held to mark World AIDS Day 2016 in Delaware:

KENT COUNTY
Brandywine Counseling & Community Services
World AIDS Day Event
Dec. 1, 2016
7:30 p.m.
Martin Luther King Jr. Student Center, Parlor A,
Delaware State University
1200 N. DuPont Highway, Dover
Contact: Rebekah Nuttall, 302-504-5999, rnuttall@branywinecounseling.org
Anything But Clothes Fashion Show in recognition of World AIDS Day. Design an outfit made out of prevention messaging and risk-reduction materials such as condoms, dental dams, lube packets, female condoms, etc. Door and grand prizes of $300, $200, and $100. Free HIV testing and screenings via the COPE RV. Live DJ and free food.

SUSSEX COUNTY
Camp Rehoboth
Candlelight Walk
Dec. 1, 2016
6:15 p.m.
The Candlelight walk starts at the Rehoboth Beach Bandstand in downtown Rehoboth. The Service is at All Saints Church in Rehoboth at 18 Olive Ave.
Contact: Salvatore Seeley, 302-227-5620; salvatoreseeley@aol.com
Candlelight vigil and walk. Reading of the names of those we have lost to AIDS followed by a community supper. Free HIV testing will be provided from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Camp Rehoboth Community Center. The Candlelight Walk kicks off at the Rehoboth Beach Bandstand at 6:15 p.m. The Service of Remembrance begins at 7:00 p.m.

NEW CASTLE COUNTY
AIDS Delaware
World AIDS Day Summit
Dec. 3, 2016
10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Delaware Technical Community College, 300 N. Orange St., Wilmington,
Contact: Frank Hawkins, 302-652-6776
Community event to raise awareness about HIV. Exhibitors and panel discussions with people living with HIV. Free testing available on-site.

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 http://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, and drink almost no sugary beverages.