(DOVER, Del.—April 23, 2018)—Beginning this spring and continuing into the summer of 2018, the Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs will be conducting rehabilitation work on the exterior of the keeper’s house of the Fenwick Island Lighthouse located at the intersection of 146th St. and West Oliver Circle in Fenwick Island, Del. The lighthouse complex is managed by the Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs which leases it to the New Friends of the Fenwick Island Lighthouse.

The rehabilitation project will involve the removal of modern additions, construction of a new porch and new wooden steps and landings, replacement of existing windows, repair of miscellaneous wood trim and wood-shingle siding, exterior painting, and the re-laying of the existing brick sidewalk. Future improvement plans call for the provision of access to the first floor of the building for people with disabilities, improved pedestrian circulation on the exterior, and connectivity to the lighthouse property. Once these improvements have been completed, the building will be used by the New Friends of the Fenwick Island Lighthouse to provide information about the history of the lighthouse and the role played by the light keepers in addition to providing public access to the lighthouse.

During rehabilitation of the keeper’s house, the division will work with the construction contractor and the New Friends of the Fenwick Island Lighthouse to limit inconvenience to the public, and the lighthouse itself will remain open during its posted operating hours. Residents and visitors will see the usual presence of equipment, materials and workers on site as well as the usual noises that go with construction work during daytime hours. No weekend work is anticipated.

The Fenwick Island Lighthouse was built in 1858 to protect shipping from the Fenwick sand shoals that extend several miles out from the Delaware coast. It began service in 1859 and continued in operation without interruption for nearly 120 years until Dec. 13, 1978 when it was decommissioned by the U. S. Coast Guard. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. Due to a grassroots effort, ownership of the property was transferred to the State of Delaware in 1981, and the lighthouse was re-lit in 1982 as an unofficial, private aid to navigation.

The keeper’s house, the second to be built on the property, was constructed in 1882 to relieve overcrowding in the original house. It was designed in Victorian Gothic style with gable- and rafter-end decoration typical of much coastal-area government construction in the last quarter of the 19th century.

The Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs is an agency of the State of Delaware. The division enhances Delaware’s quality of life by preserving the state’s unique historical heritage, fostering community stability and economic vitality and providing educational programs and assistance to the general public on Delaware history and heritage. The division’s diverse array of services includes operation of five museums which are accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, administration of the State Historic Preservation Office, conservation of the state’s archaeological and historic-objects collections, operation of a conference center and management of historic properties across the state. Primary funding for division programs and services is provided by annual appropriations from the Delaware General Assembly and grants from the National Park Service, Department of the Interior, a federal agency. However, the contents and opinions expressed in the division’s programs and services do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Department of the Interior.

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Contact:
Jim Yurasek
Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs
Phone: 302-739-7787
E-mail: Jim.Yurasek@delaware.gov
Web: http://history.delaware.gov

DOVER – Delaware’s Advisory Council on Wildlife and Freshwater Fish monthly meeting scheduled for Tuesday, April 24 has been canceled.

The council’s next regular meeting is scheduled at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 29, in DNREC’s R&R Building Auditorium, 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901.

For more information on Delaware wildlife, please call DNREC’s Wildlife Section at 302-739-9912.

Vol. 48, No. 86

Contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Other defendants face prison for manslaughter, weapons, assault, and child pornography charges

Ryan Shover, 46, of York, PA, Paul Disabatino, 55, of Wilmington, and Michael Kman, 53, of Enola, PA, three of the men involved in a murder plot for insurance money have received prison sentences in Delaware Superior Court. In February 2013, 43-year-old Wayne Cappelli of Claymont was attacked on Delaview Avenue in the Silvercroft neighborhood, and killed with a baseball bat as he walked home from his job. The investigation revealed that three friends, Michael Kman, David Hess and Paul Disabatino, had talked Cappelli into taking out a life insurance policy. In November 2012, Cappelli made Disabatino the beneficiary of the $360,000 policy, with the intent that Disabatino would look after Cappelli’s child. Kman enlisted Shover to commit the murder and be paid $30,000 from the insurance benefits. After the murder, Disabatino, with the aid of Kman, attempted to collect the insurance money, but the effort failed as a result of the criminal investigation. Eventually, Chancery Court awarded the money in trust to Cappelli’s child. In February 2018, a Superior Court jury convicted Shover of 2 counts of Murder First Degree (one intentional murder and one felony murder), 2 counts of Possession of a Deadly Weapon During Commission of a Felony, Insurance Fraud and Conspiracy First Degree. Shover was sentenced Friday to 2 life terms plus 15 years in prison. Disabatino pled guilty in January 2016 to Criminally Negligent Homicide, Insurance Fraud and Conspiracy First Degree and on Friday received 10 years in prison followed by probation. Kman pled guilty to Murder Second Degree, Insurance Fraud and Conspiracy 1st Degree in December 2017 and was sentenced on Friday to 30 years in prison followed by probation, but his sentence will not begin until he completes a 6 to 12-year sentence for Involuntary Deviate Sexual Intercourse in Pennsylvania as well as a 15-year federal criminal sentence for Child Pornography. Hess pled guilty in January 2016 to Criminally Negligent Homicide, Insurance Fraud and Conspiracy First Degree and received a 5-year prison sentence in May 2017. Deputy Attorneys General John Downs and Danielle Brennan prosecuted the case, with DOJ Paralegal Stacey Coupe and DOJ Investigator Cliff Dempsey. Sgt. Tom Orzechowski of New Castle County Police was the lead investigator. DOJ Social Worker Courtney Cochran supported the victim’s family through the investigation and trial.

A 2017 shooting led to a 16-year prison sentence for a Laurel teenager. In January 2017, Stephon Jackson, 19, shot and killed 18-year-old Mekell Horsey while at the Wexford Village Apartment Complex on Sunset Drive in Laurel. Jackson pled guilty in February 2018 to Manslaughter, 3 counts of Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, and one count of Reckless Endangering 1st Degree. A Superior Court judge sentenced Jackson to 16 years in prison followed by 6 months of work release then 2 years of probation. Deputy Attorneys General Casey Ewart and Kevin Gardner prosecuted the case with assistance from social worker Laurel Braunstein and administrative specialist Angelique Waters. Detective Jon King of the Delaware State Police Homicide Unit was the lead investigator.

A 38-year-old Newark man with multiple previous convictions faces at least 50 years in prison when sentenced for cutting a woman while trying to steal her car. Deputy Attorney General John Taylor secured a guilty plea from James Branch to charges of Attempted Car Jacking and Possession of a Deadly Weapon During the Commission of a Felony. In September 2017, Branch tried to climb into a woman’s car in the parking lot of the Shop Rite supermarket in the 500 block of South Walnut Street in Wilmington. During a struggle, Branch cut the woman on her elbow, thigh, and lower leg. The victim managed to escape and run back into the supermarket. Branch, who has previous convictions on robbery, assault, kidnapping, and conspiracy charges, faces a minimum mandatory 50 years in prison because of his habitual offender status when sentenced by a Superior Court judge in July.

Deputy Attorney General Rebecca Song secured a guilty plea to assault and weapons offenses from a Wilmington man who stabbed the employee of a convenience store. In July 2017, Jose Caraballo, 37, got into an argument with an employee of Scott Market at the intersection of West 5th and North Scott streets in the city. The fight became physical and Caraballo stabbed the victim twice in the torso with a 4-inch-long knife. Caraballo, barred from possessing a deadly weapon because of previous felony convictions for charges including drug, assault, and robbery offenses, pled guilty to Assault Second Degree, Possession of a Deadly Weapon During the Commission of Assault Second Degree, and Possession of a Deadly Weapon by a Person Prohibited. Caraballo faces between 10 years and life in prison when sentenced by a Superior Court judge in August. Corporal Fred Chaitt and Officers Devon Streett and Alexander Marino of the Wilmington Police Department were integral in the investigation of this case.

A 32-year-old Newark man will spend the next 9 years in prison after his sentencing on child pornography charges. In March 2017, members of the Child Predator Task Force executed a search warrant at the home of Justin Eggleston after obtaining information from an online service that he had uploaded multiple images of child pornography. A forensic examination of his devices revealed additional images and videos. A Superior Court judge sentenced Eggleston for his December 2017 guilty plea to 2 counts of Dealing in Child Pornography and 2 counts of Possession of Child Pornography to 9 years in prison, followed by 6 months of either work release or home confinement, then 3 years of probation. Eggleston must also register as a Tier 2 sex offender.

Deputy Attorney General Karin Volker secured a 7-year prison sentence for a Bear man who threatened and tortured his pregnant girlfriend over the course of three days. In June 2017, Michael Simmons began fighting with the victim over pictures in her cellphone. Over the next two nights, Simmons punched and kicked the woman several times, strangled her, and threatened her with a knife. Simmons, who was on probation for a Terroristic Threatening conviction at the time of the crime, pled guilty in November 2017 to Assault Second Degree, Strangulation, and Possession of a Deadly Weapon During the Commission of a Felony. A Superior Court judge sentenced Simmons to 7 years in prison, followed by 6 months of either home confinement or work release, then 2 years of probation, including GPS monitoring.

DOVER – The Delaware Forest Service has awarded $58,244 to fund 16 tree planting projects throughout the First State. Since 2007, the agency has given more than $1.7 million to cities, towns and homeowner groups to support community tree efforts that take place on public lands. Recipients provide a 50-50 cost-share match in either non-federal funds or in-kind services such as volunteer time, equipment, or donated supplies.

“These urban forestry grants are a central part of our agency’s efforts to meet our statewide program goals. Tree planting projects help to bring people together, build awareness about the importance of proper tree care in community settings, and highlight the many benefits of increasing tree canopy,” said Kesha Braunskill, Delaware Forest Service’s urban and community forestry director.

Delaware’s Urban and Community Forestry Grant Program is a competitive process open to all municipalities, community associations, and certified 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations in the State of Delaware. Funds can only be utilized on public property owned by the municipality, HOA, or nonprofit organization. Grants ranged from $500 to a maximum of $5,000 in two project categories: tree planting or tree management. Applications were limited to one project in one category and were judged on a competitive basis by the grant committee of the Delaware Community Forestry Council. Eligible projects must be performed on public lands within the community. Priority was given to first time applicants, Tree Friendly Communities, and applicants that have passed an Urban Tree Canopy Goal Resolution (only applies to Municipalities).

2018 Delaware Urban and Community Forestry Grants

For more information, contact Kesha Braunskill, kesha.braunskill@delaware.gov or 302-698-4578.

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DOVER, Del. – Governor John Carney on Thursday issued the following statement on the unanimous vote by the General Assembly’s Joint Committee on Capital Improvement to move forward with the transaction to expand the Port of Wilmington:

“Thank you to members of the Bond Bill committee for endorsing the transaction to expand the Port of Wilmington and invest in good-paying, blue-collar jobs for Delawareans. The Port has long been one of Delaware’s most important employment centers. This expansion agreement will result in significant new investment that will allow the Port to create new jobs and compete over the long term. I urge members of the Delaware House of Representatives and Delaware Senate to take up and pass a concurrent resolution that will allow this transaction to move forward.”

Last month, Governor Carney announced the preliminary agreement with Gulftainer to lease the Port of Wilmington from the State, construct a new container shipping facility on the Delaware River, and significantly expand jobs at the Port over the next decade. Under terms of the preliminary agreement, Gulftainer’s subsidiary GT USA would make annual royalty payments to the State of Delaware reaching an estimated $13 million over the next decade. The company also would agree to invest more than $580 million in the port over the next nine years, including approximately $410 million for a new container facility at DuPont’s former Edgemoor site, which was acquired by the Diamond State Port Corporation in 2016.

The transaction must be approved by members of the General Assembly.

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Related news:
Governor Carney’s Statement on Diamond State Port Corporation Board Approval of Gulftainer Agreement
Governor Carney Announces Preliminary Agreement with Gulftainer to Expand the Port of Wilmington