DELAWARE CITY – Surrounded by children from the Delaware City Police Athletic League (PAL), State Senator Nicole Poore, State Representative Valerie Longhurst, DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin, representatives from the Delaware River and Bay Authority, and Ray Bivens, director of DNREC’s Division of Parks and Recreation, today cut the ribbon to celebrate the start of the Forts Ferry Crossing service and the first day of 2017 season at the Civil War-era attraction, Fort Delaware.

The Forts Ferry Crossing’s vessel, the Delafort, has transported visitors from the docks in Delaware City across the Delaware River to Fort Delaware since 1997. The ferry service connects Delaware City, DE with Fort Delaware on Pea Patch Island and Fort Mott in Pennsville, NJ.

“We’re celebrating not only the opening of the season for historic Fort Delaware but also this year’s maiden voyage of the Forts Ferry, which is an exciting and fun experience in itself,” said DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin. “Amazingly, over the years of our longstanding partnership with the Delaware River and Bay Authority, more than 100,000 visitors have been ferried to the fort, and we thank the DRBA for making this unique adventure possible. Fort Delaware is where history comes alive and it’s a spectacular tourist stop along the Delaware Bayshore Byway, and an important part of our Delaware Bayshore initiative.”

“The importance of tourism to Delaware’s economy cannot be overstated,” said State Senator Nicole Poore. “Delaware is blessed with a variety of events, activities and attractions for residents and visitors alike.  I’m particularly proud of our state parks system and Fort Delaware is at the top of list.  What a treasure!”

“Fort Delaware is one of 17 state parks in Delaware and each has something unique and special to offer our residents and visitors,” said State Representative Valerie Longhurst. “Fort Delaware is a legendary Civil War-era attraction and the Forts Ferry Crossing is a time machine transporting its passengers back to a bygone era.  It’s a history lesson you’ll never forget.”

Located on Pea Patch Island, Fort Delaware, part of DNREC’s Division of Parks and Recreation, has been restored and comes alive with interpreters who demonstrate what life was like during the Civil War era. Visitors experience Civil War life through living history and museum theater programs at the fortress that was once home to nearly 33,000 prisoners, garrison, and civilians.

From there, a short ferry ride across the Delaware River is Fort Mott, N.J. Fort Mott was fully garrisoned until 1922 and was staffed by a detachment of caretakers until the post was abandoned in 1944.  Today, the Ordnance Warehouse holds a small museum with displays on the fort as well as on the local area.  Guided tours are available upon request of the Fire Control Tower that rises 53 feet into the air, keeping a watchful eye on the approaches of the Delaware River.

Following a self-guided tour of Fort Mott, visitors can take a short walk to Finn’s Point National Cemetery, the final resting-place for 2,400 Confederate prisoners who died at Fort Delaware. Admission to Fort Mott is free.

The Forts Ferry Crossing will operate on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays through mid-June. Beginning June 14 and continuing through Labor Day, the Forts Ferry Crossing will begin operating Wednesday through Sunday and holidays from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.  The cost is $12 for adults and $7 for children 2-12.  Children under the age of 2 are free.  The cost includes admission to Fort Delaware on Pea Patch Island. Visitors take a one-half-mile ferry ride from Delaware City to Pea Patch Island. A jitney provides transport from the island dock to the granite and brick fortress.  Fort Mott is free. Additional information on the Forts Ferry Crossing is available at www.fortsferrycrossing.com

About the Delaware River and Bay Authority

The DRBA, a bi-state governmental agency created by Compact in 1962, owns and operates the Delaware Memorial Bridge, the Cape May- Lewes Ferry, and the Forts Ferry Crossing. The DRBA also manages corporate and aviation properties through its economic development powers – two airports in New Jersey (Millville Airport and Cape May Airport) and three in Delaware (New Castle Airport, Civil Air Terminal and Delaware Airpark). All DRBA operating revenues are generated through the bridge, ferry and airport facilities.  For more information, please visit www.drba.net.

About Fort Mott State Park

Fort Mott was fully garrisoned until 1922 and was staffed by a detachment of caretakers until the post was abandoned in 1944.  Today, the Ordnance Warehouse holds a small museum with displays on the fort as well as on the local area.  Guided tours are available upon request of the Fire Control Tower that rises 53 feet into the air, keeping a watchful eye on the approaches of the Delaware River.  Following your self-guided tour of the Fort, take a short walk to Finn’s Point National Cemetery, the final resting-place for 2,400 Confederate prisoners who died at Fort Delaware.

About Fort Delaware State Park

Located on Pea Patch Island, Fort Delaware has been restored and is alive with interpreters who put a human face on history.  Visitors experience Civil War life through living history and museum theater programs at the fortress that was once home to nearly 33,000 prisoners, garrison, and civilians. Prepare to be awed by its 32-foot-tall, 30-foot-thick granite walls with gun emplacements and an authentic 8″ cannon—the only cannon of its kind still fired in America.   A jitney provides transport from the island dock to the granite and brick fortress.

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WILMINGTON, Del. – Governor John Carney released the following statement after President Trump signed an executive order that would review offshore drilling restrictions put in place by the Obama Administration:

“President Trump’s order is disappointing, and would reverse important restrictions put in place by the Obama Administration,” said Governor Carney. “Delaware does not support any exploration or extraction of fossil fuels from the Atlantic Ocean. To risk our coastal economy and natural resources on offshore drilling for oil and gas would also imperil our state’s environmental and economic health. A new fossil fuel industry on the Atlantic Coast would trigger a cascading of secondary impacts and increased carbon emissions. It would require a vast network of pipelines, increased barge and tanker traffic, and associated industrial development in sensitive coastal areas, including construction of new refineries with supporting infrastructure and increased truck and rail shipments. Delaware’s coastal resources directly or indirectly support some 60,000 jobs and almost $7 billion in economic production from tourism to industry to commercial fishing. We should be investing in our beaches and our parks, and taking steps to protect our coastline from the impacts of climate change, not taking these kinds of unnecessary risks.”

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Reminder for the week: Harvest of river herring, use of nets near spillways, retaining striped bass during spawning season unlawful in Delaware

DOVER – To achieve public compliance through education and enforcement actions that help conserve Delaware’s fish and wildlife resources and ensure safe boating and public safety, DNREC Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police officers between April 17-23 made 1,355 contacts with anglers, hunters, boaters and the general public, including 97 vessel boardings for boating safety, hunting and fishing regulation compliance checks, issuing 37 citations. Officers responded to 49 complaints regarding possible violations of laws and regulations or requests to assist the public. An increased Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police presence continued at the C&D Canal Conservation Area and associated recreational trail.

Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police in the Community

• On March 25, Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police officers displayed the Operation Game Theft trailer and presented information on Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police careers during the New Castle County Police’s “Casting with Cops” fishing event held at Glasgow Park near Newark.

Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police Actions

Incidents of note:

• On April 18, Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police cited two people for turkey hunting violations near Felton. Wyatt Gross, 18, of Denton, Maryland was cited for unlawful to hunt wild turkey without course of instruction, unlicensed hunting and unlawful to trespass upon land or water without permission. Gross was fined $672, including court costs and released. A juvenile was issued a summons and released to appear at a later date in Kent County Family Court.

• On April 21, Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police arrested two people after an investigation for deer hunting violations near Laurel. Christian J. Ellsworth, 20, of Laurel was arrested for hunting antlerless deer with a shotgun during archery season, failure to display required hunter orange and unlicensed hunting. Ellsworth was arraigned at Sussex County Justice of the Peace Court 3 where he plead guilty and was fined $482, including court costs. Leslie S. Riggleman III, 20, of Laurel was arrested for hunting antlerless deer with a shotgun during archery season. Riggleman was arraigned at Sussex County Justice of the Peace Court 3 where he plead guilty and was fined $180, including court costs. An associated juvenile was issued a written warning for the same violations for which Ellsworth was arrested.

• On April 22, Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police cited two people for two counts each of failure to comply with possession limit of blueback herring and/or river herring possession near Laurel. Sonya S. Harris, 45, and Jonathan A. Harris, 46, both of Seaford were fined $214, including court costs and released.

• On April 23, Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police cited three men for striped bass possession violations near Seaford. Miguel Jaimes-Baltazar, 34 and Mario Jamiez-Perez, 59, both of Milford were each cited for two counts of possession of striped bass during spawning season and one count of possession of undersized striped bass; both were fined $495, including court costs and released. Mario Jamies-Baltazar, 19, of Milford was cited for two counts of possession of striped bass during spawning season and fined $330, including court costs and released.

Citations issued by category, with the number of charges in parentheses, included:

Wildlife Conservation: Unlawful to hunt wild turkey without course of instruction (2), unlicensed hunting (3), unlawful to trespass upon land or water without permission (2), and hunting antlerless deer with a shotgun during archery season (2).

Fisheries Conservation: Recreational: Failure to comply with possession limit of blueback herring and/or river herring possession (4), possession of striped bass during spawning season (6), possession of undersized striped bass (3)*,unlicensed fishing (2), tend crab pot of another (1), and possession of undersized white perch (1)*.

Public Safety Charges: Failure to display required hunter orange (1), possession of drug paraphernalia (1), and operate a vehicle at unreasonable speed (1).

Other: Trespassing after hours on a state wildlife area (2), dumping solid waste (1), unregistered motor vehicle (1), and operating a motor vehicle off an established roadway on a state wildlife area (4).

Citizens are encouraged to report fish, wildlife and boating violations to Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police by calling 302-739-4580. Wildlife violations may also be reported anonymously to DNREC’s Operation Game Theft by calling 800-292-3030 or online at http://de.gov/ogt.

*Includes citation(s) issued at the C&D Canal Conservation Area.

Are you AWARE?
With spring fishing season gearing up, Delaware Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police reminds recreational anglers that it is unlawful in Delaware to harvest river herring for any purpose and that they need to use an alternate type of bait. Signs giving notice of the fishery closure are posted at fishing spots known to hold river herring. Fines for illegal possession of river herring begin at $50 for a first offense, and increase to $100-$500 for a second offense. For more information, click on river herring.

Anglers are also reminded that during spawning season for striped bass in Delaware, which begins April 1 and continues through midnight on May 31, it is unlawful for any person to take and retain any striped bass from the Nanticoke River or its tributaries, the Delaware River and its tributaries to the north of a line extending due east beginning at and including the south jetty at the mouth of the C&D Canal, or the C&D Canal or its tributaries. Anglers are required to practice catch and release fishing during this season with no harvest allowed in these areas.

In addition, regulations require anglers fishing with natural bait on any striped bass spawning ground during the closed spawning season to use a non-offset circle hook. The Division of Fish & Wildlife recommends that circle hooks always be used when fishing natural baits because of their proven ability to reduce hook-and-release mortality for striped bass and other fish species. The circle hook’s design usually results in fish being hooked in the mouth, simplifying hook removal and reducing injury to the released fish.

Also, as fish begin entering the spillways this spring, anglers are reminded that using any type of net to catch fish in tidal water within 300 feet below a dam or spillway is illegal, with the exception of using a landing net on a fish caught with hook and line.

Most anglers are required to have a Delaware fishing license. Licenses are sold online, at the licensing desk in DNREC’s Richardson & Robbins Building, 89 Kings Highway, Dover, and by license agents statewide. To find a participating agent, or to purchase a license online, visit Delaware Licenses. For additional information on Delaware fishing licenses, call 302-739-9918.

For more information on fishing in Delaware, click on 2017 Delaware Fishing Guide. The guide also is available in printed form at DNREC’s Dover licensing desk, and from license agents throughout the state.

Like Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police on Facebook, www.facebook.com/pages/Delaware-Fish-Wildlife-Natural-Resources-Police.

Follow Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police on Twitter, https://twitter.com/DE_FW_NRPolice.

Media contact: Sgt. John McDerby, Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police, 302-739-9913 or 302-354-1386

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DOVER, Del. – U.S. Senator Thomas R. Carper joined public officials and schoolchildren to observe “Delaware Arbor Day” at Dover Air Force Base, which celebrated its 25th Year as a Tree City USA. The last Friday in April is commemorated as Arbor Day in the First State, an occasion to encourage tree planting and highlight the numerous benefits that trees provide: cleaner air and water, natural beauty, valuable wood products and food, reduced storm water runoff, and improved property values. The ceremony also honored the winners of the Delaware Forest Service’s annual school poster contest and included a ceremonial tree planting of an American holly (Ilex opaca), Delaware’s state tree. Alaina Stecher, a fifth-grader at Christ the Teacher School in Newark, is the statewide winner of the Delaware Forest Service’s annual Arbor Day School Poster Contest. This year’s theme was “Trees are terrific… from acorn to oak!”  The complete gallery of winning posters (with links to hi-res images) is at http://delawaretrees.com/2017arbordaypostercontest

Established by J. Sterling Morton in Nebraska on April 10, 1872, it is estimated that one million trees were planted on the very first Arbor Day.

Additional photos of the event can be found at the Delaware Forest Service’s Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/delforestservice.

The annual school poster contest is open to all K-5 public, private, and charter schools as well as other organized youth groups and after-school programs. A total of 126 classrooms from 40 schools participated in this year’s contest, with 3,647 students creating original posters. Winners were selected from each county in the following grade categories: K, 1 & 2, 3 & 4, and 5. Judging criteria were: originality, use of theme, neatness, and artistic expression. Each winner receives a tree-themed book and a print reproduction of their poster on fine art canvas. Thanks to corporate sponsor Delmarva Power, a free tree planting ceremony will also be held at each winner’s school. In addition, every participating classroom receives free pine seedlings for all participants. This year, students from the Middletown High School FFA Chapter and senior volunteers from the Modern Maturity Center in Dover wrapped thousands of seedlings for schoolchildren statewide.

This year’s poster contest winners were:

New Castle County

Kindergarten: Emily Najera  — Robert S. Gallaher  Elementary, Newark

Grades 1-2: Amy Tang — Jennie Smith Elementary, New Castle

Grades 3-4: John Chacko —  Christ the Teacher School, Newark

Grade 5:  Alaina Stecher  — Christ the Teacher School, Newark

Kent County

Kindergarten Audriana Bourne  — Major George Welch Elementary, Dover

Grades 1-2: Isabelle Kim —   WB Simpson Elementary, Wyoming

Grade 3-4: Haley Holderman— WB Simpson Elementary, Wyoming

Grade 5: Hailey McCutchan —  Clayton Intermediate School, Clayton

Sussex County

Kindergarten: Maryia Dorakhava —  Rehoboth Elementary, Rehoboth

Grades 1-2: Shannon Scudder —  Lord Baltimore Elementary, Ocean View

Grades 3-4: Amelia Meyer —  Southern Delaware School of Arts, Selbyville

Grade 5: Samuel Winston  —  Winston Learning Academy, Milford

Also former non-profit executive director admits to theft

Three men and a woman arrested as part of “Operation Golden Eye,” a multijurisdictional investigation by Delaware Department of Justice, Delaware State Police, United States Postal Service, and the Middletown Police Department, pled guilty for their part in the illegal practices of a Middletown pawn shop. Deputy Attorneys General Erika Flaschner and Eric Zubrow secured the pleas from Shaun Reilly, 35, and Kisha Reilly, 36, of New Castle, who were both operators of the business and main defendants in the case, Todd Miller, 23, of Middletown, and Stephen McClain, 31, of Smyrna. A total of 23 people were indicted as a result of the investigation of the Gold Fever Pawn Shop on Broad Street in Middletown on charges including Racketeering, Conspiracy to Commit Racketeering, and Organized Retail Theft. Items recovered from the store and the Reillys’ home included $100,000 worth of over-the-counter health care products, four rifles, three handguns, and two shotguns.

• Shaun Reilly pled guilty to Criminal Racketeering, Conspiracy to Commit Criminal Racketeering, and Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony. Reilly was immediately sentenced by a Superior Court judge to 9 years in prison, followed by 18 months of probation.
• Kisha Reilly pled guilty to Criminal Solicitation Second Degree, Organized Retail Theft, and two counts of Possession of a Firearm by a Person Prohibited. Reilly will be sentenced later this year.
• Todd Miller and Stephan McClain both pled guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Racketeering and Organized Retail Theft, and were sentenced to one year of probation.

These four resolutions bring the number of Operation Golden Eye cases resolved to 22, with only Cody Keithley remaining. Keithley, 25, of North East, MD faces charges of Organized Crime and Racketeering, and Organized Retail Theft. The lead investigators on the case were Detectives William Harris, Christina Hevelow, and Sgt. Andrew Lloys from Delaware State Police Troop 2, and Agent Jonathan Speck of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
Original news release on Operation Golden Eye can be found here.

Eric Harris, the former Executive Director of Sojourners’ Place in Wilmington, pled guilty in Superior Court in relation to his stealing from the organization that provides help and shelter to the homeless as they transition back to self-sufficiency. Harris pled guilty to Theft over $100,000, Act of Intimidation, and Forgery Second Degree. Starting in fall 2013, the 51-year-old Harris began stealing donation checks sent to Sojourners Place. Harris would then deposit these donation checks into a bank account he had set up in the charity’s name without its authorization, withdrawing those funds as cash or charging the account for personal expenses. The crime was discovered by the charity when Harris intercepted a series of grant checks that were expected to be received. Harris faces a minimum mandatory 2 years in prison when sentenced in Superior Court in June. Deputy Attorney General Stephen McDonald of the DOJ Consumer Protection Unit prosecuted the case.

A Wilmington man faces a minimum of 25 years in prison after his guilty plea on drug and weapons charges. Deputy Attorney General Allison Abessinio secured the plea from 31-year-old Jonathan Johnson. Johnson was arrested in February 2016 when police went to his home in the 800 block of Maryland Avenue to assist a family crisis therapist from the Division of Family Services. The officer noticed drugs in plain view, then returned with a search warrant and found a .22 caliber handgun in a jacket that had been lying on the same couch where four children were seated when police arrived. Johnson pled guilty to Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony and Drug Dealing (cocaine). Johnson faces 25 years to life in prison when sentenced as a habitual offender because of previous felony conviction on drug and assault charges in Superior Court later this year.

A 51-year-old Wilmington man will spend 15 years in prison, sentenced as a habitual offender for a weapons charge. Deputy Attorney General Timothy Maguire secured the sentence for Anthony White. In August 2016, officers from Wilmington’s Operation Safe Streets Unit stopped White after seeing what they believed to be a drug deal in an alley next to a home in the 1500 block of West 3rd Street. After taking White into custody, they found a loaded .32-caliber revolver in his waistband. White pled guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Person Prohibited in February. White was sentenced as a habitual offender and is barred having a gun because of previous felony convictions for weapons, robbery and burglary charges.

James Williams, 19, of Laurel pled guilty to Rape Fourth Degree and Unlawful Sexual Contact Second Degree. In October 2016, Williams raped a 13-year-old co-worker at the Cemetery House Haunted House attraction in Laurel. Deputy Attorney General Casey Ewart secured the plea from Williams. A pre-sentencing investigation was ordered, and Williams faces up to 18 years in prison when sentenced in Superior Court in June.