Applications now being accepted for Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police’s 3rd Annual Youth Academies

DOVER – If you are a student aged 12 to 15 with an interest in natural resources and law enforcement, Delaware Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police is once again offering summer Youth Academies.

The Youth Academy is a five-day program designed to teach youth about boating safety, hunter safety, and how to protect our natural resources while looking to nurture the relationship between our law enforcement officers and the community. Participants in the Youth Academy attend tuition-free.

This year’s offerings include a Basic Youth Academy and two Advanced Youth Academies:

Natural Resources Police Basic Youth Academy (New Castle County)
Monday through Friday, June 25-29, Ommelanden Hunter Education Training Center, 1205 River Road, New Castle, DE 19720
Application Deadline: Friday, May 25, 2018
Natural Resources Police Advanced Youth Academy (Kent County)
Tuesday through Saturday, July 10-14, Little Creek Hunter Education Training Center, 3018 Bayside Drive, Dover, DE 19901
Application Deadline: Friday, May 25, 2018
Natural Resources Police Advanced Youth Academy (New Castle County)
Tuesday through Saturday, July 17-21, Ommelanden Hunter Education Training Center, 1205 River Road, New Castle, DE 19720
Application Deadline: Friday, May 25, 2018

The Basic Youth Academy is limited to the first 20 qualified applicants, with priority given to those who have not already completed a hunter safety course or boating safety course when the academy begins. Applications must include a 250-word essay on why the applicant wants to take part in the Academy and what Delaware’s natural resources mean to him or her. Students who complete the program will receive both their hunter and boating safety certifications.

The Advanced Youth Academies are for those who wish to continue learning what it is like to be a Natural Resources Police Officer, as well as learning additional outdoor skills. The Advanced Academies are open to youth ages 12 to 15 years old who have either completed the Basic Youth Academy or have already earned their hunter safety and boating safety certifications. An overnight camping excursion is included and parent/guardian participation is mandatory for this portion.

The Advanced Youth Academies are limited to the first 15 qualified applicants, with priority given to those who have already completed the Basic Youth Academy. Applications must include a 500-word essay on either what they learned from the Basic Youth Academy or, if they did not attend, what the applicant learned when they took their hunter and boating safety courses.

Applications are available online at de.gov/fwenforcement, and at DNREC’s licensing desk in the Richardson & Robbins Building, 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901.

Opportunities to support the Youth Academies are available. Without the generous support and donations from our community businesses, private organizations and individuals, the youth academies would not be successful.

For more information regarding the Youth Academy, please call Captain Brian Pollock at 302-365-8703 or email brian.pollock@delaware.gov.

Vol. 48, No. 31

Contact: Sgt. Brooke Africa, Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police, 302-382-7167 or 302-739-9913, or Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Education Due Process Layperson Panelist Members Sought

Due Process Layperon Panelist Members Sought:
The Governor’s Advisory Council for Exceptional Citizens (GACEC) is currently searching for volunteers to fill the positon of Layperson Panelist. Under IDEA and Delaware Law, there is an administrative hearing process to resolve disputes related to educational matters. The ideal candidate for this volunteer position will have a demonstrated interested in the education of children with disabilities. Training is provided and, if called to serve on a panel, compensation will be given. Please visit our website www.gacec.delaware.gov and click on the link at the bottom of the page to access the application.

Applications Now Open for the 2016 Delaware Seashore Poetry & Prose Writers’ Retreat

The Delaware Division of the Arts is pleased to announce that applications are now open for the 2016 Delaware Seashore Poetry and Prose Writers’ Retreat. The retreat will be held from November 3 – 6, 2016 at the Cottages at Indian River Marina, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware and is open to Delaware residents over the age of 18, not enrolled in a degree or certificate granting educational program. The 2016 participation fee is $300, which includes room and board.

The retreat will allow writers the opportunity to write during the day, attend workshops in the evening, and have all meals provided. The workshops will be led by novelist, H.G. Carrillo, and poet, Diana Goetsch and are designed for participants to generate new work, explore craft, and learn from each other in a safe and supportive environment.

The application process is competitive, and participants will be selected based on the merit of their writing submissions. Work samples will be juried in an anonymous review process to select up to 22 attendees from the pool of applicants, split evenly between poetry and prose.

Important Dates:

Monday, June 20	Applications due
Mid-August	Artists are notified
Monday, September 12	Payment due to Division of the Arts

Writers at all levels of experience are invited to apply. While newcomers will be given special consideration, previous attendees of the Cape Henlopen Writing Retreats are welcome to apply. In lieu of a Fellowship award for the 2016 Writers’ Retreat, one writer who is a first-time participant will be awarded a partial scholarship toward fees, based on the quality of the manuscript submitted. For more information about the retreat and how to apply, please visit our website.

Application Requirements:

Poetry Workshop: Application form and up to 10 pages of poetry; no more than one poem per page

Fiction Workshop: Application form and up to 10 pages of prose, double-spaced

Please note: applicants must select between poetry and prose and submit only one application. Email the application form and attach the following to the attention of Roxanne Stanulis, roxanne.stanulis@delaware.gov no later than 4:30 PM on Monday, June 20, 2016.

About the Workshop Leaders
Poet, Diana Goetsch is the author (as Douglas Goetsch) of three full-length collections of poems—most recently Nameless Boy (Orchises Press, 2015)—and four prizewinning chapbooks. Her poems have appeared in many leading journals and anthologies, including The New Yorker, Poetry, The Gettysburg Review, The Iowa Review, Best American Poetry and the Pushcart Prize anthology. She is also the author of Life in Transition, a series of 31 essays appearing from 2015-16 at The American Scholar online. Among her honors are fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York Foundation for the Arts, and the Donald Murray Prize. She has been on faculty at dozens of writing programs and conferences, including, for the last 16 years, the Iowa Summer Writing Festival. She resides in New York City, and her website is www.dianagoetsch.com.

Novelist, H. G. Carrillo is the author of Loosing My Espanish, a novel, published by Pantheon Books and in paperback by Anchor Books. His short stories have appeared in Kenyon Review, Conjunctions, The Iowa Review, Glimmer Train, Ninth Letter, Slice and other journals and publications. A member of the board of directors of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation, Carrillo lives in Washington, DC, where he is currently at work on a novel. His website is www.stuartbernstein.com/hgcarrillo.html.

About the Cottages at the Indian River Marina
Participants will share accommodations in 11 cottages (two writers per cottage) in the Cottages at the Indian River Marina. Each cottage has heat and air conditioning along with 2 private bedrooms (one with a queen bed and one with twin beds), a shared bathroom, a kitchen, and a furnished screened porch. The cottages are not equipped with internet, Wi-Fi, or phones. Attendees will need to bring linens, towels, and paper products. The Cottages at Indian River Marina are located at Inlet 838, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware 19971.

About the Delaware Division of the Arts
The Delaware Division of the Arts is an agency of the State of Delaware. Together with its advisory body, the Delaware State Arts Council, the Division administers grants and programs that support arts programming, educate the public, increase awareness of the arts, and integrate the arts into all facets of Delaware life. Funding for Division programs is provided by annual appropriations from the Delaware General Assembly and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. For more information about the Delaware Division of the Arts, visit artsdel.org or call 302-577-8278.

Contact: Leeann Wallett, Program Officer, Communications and Marketing
302-577-8280, leeann.wallett@delaware.gov

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Find Delaware Arts Events with the New “What’s On” App

Delawareans can now easily find arts and culture events happening today, soon, and nearby with the new “What’s On” smartphone app.

“What’s On” shows an interactive map of Delaware with pins for arts events. Tapping a pin on the map shows an event’s details, contact information, driving directions, and links to the event’s website. Users can also scroll through lists of upcoming events.

The “What’s On” app was developed by Delaware’s Division of the Arts in association with the Delaware Government Information Center (GIC), a state agency charged with helping to connect citizens to government via the internet. Behind the scenes, the app is powered by data from DelawareScene.com, which has been providing arts event information to the public since 2008.

“We are thrilled with this app as it makes the arts even more accessible in Delaware,” said Paul Weagraff, Director of the Division of the Arts. “‘What’s On’ lets you see what’s happening in the arts from your smartphone. People can easily make plans to attend a performance, museum, film, concert or other arts event on the spur of the moment.”

“Many people are last-minute planners,” said Mike Mahaffie, Acting Director of the Delaware Government Information Center. “People launch apps on their phones to see which movies are playing, find places to eat, and figure out what they’re going to do. As part of the State’s eGovernment initiatives, we’re happy ‘What’s On’ makes local arts events a new option for these people.”

“What’s On” can be downloaded at no cost from the App Store and Google Play (search for Delaware What’s On) or by visiting www.delaware.gov/topics/apps.

Universal recycling grants, loans available for Delaware’s commercial sector, including businesses and institutions

DOVER – Applications are being accepted through March 28 for Universal Recycling grants and low interest loans for Delaware’s commercial sector to assist them in collecting, transporting, processing and marketing recyclables. All for profit, not-for profit retail or wholesale stores, offices, food service establishments, warehouses and other manufacturing, industrial or processing entities and institutions, such as social, charitable, educational, health care, professional and government services, are encouraged to apply.

Grant and loan guidance, the application, frequently asked questions, and recycling toolkits can be found by visiting DNREC’s website, grant guidance and application or www.recycling.delaware.gov. For more information, contact James Short at James.Short@delaware.gov or 302-739-9403.

Established by the Delaware Solid Waste Recycling Law, the Universal Recycling Grants and Low Interest Loan Program is designed to help implement:

Source separated recyclables collection and processing with emphasis on start- up costs for residential single-stream recyclables collection; and
Start-up costs for initiatives which result in recycling solid waste materials which would otherwise be landfilled, with emphasis on commercial waste.

This competitive grant and loan program has no maximum fund limit that can be requested per applicant; however, there is a limit on the total amount of funding that will be awarded.

The types of materials that must be recycled by commercial entities are not specified in the Universal Recycling Law; however, businesses need to divert as much material as possible from their waste stream. Commercial sector recyclables include, but are not limited to: corrugated cardboard; scrap metals; scrap lumber; office paper; aluminum; and rigid plastics. For a more complete list of acceptable recyclables, as well as a variety of toolkits to assist with recycling program implementation, please visit: www.recycling.delaware.gov.

Delaware’s Universal Recycling Law establishes a comprehensive statewide system of recycling that, with full implementation, will provide efficient and convenient recycling programs for every Delaware residence, business, and institution. Universal Recycling is structured to maximize recycling rates and diversion of waste, and to support and stimulate job growth and new businesses in Delaware. All businesses and commercial institutions are required to implement comprehensive recycling programs no later than January 1, 2014.

In February, DNREC held seven workshops tailored to business owners and Institution managers that provided information on the grant and loan funding available, legislative requirements, commercial recycling toolkits and local recycling success stories.

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

Vol. 43, No. 105