Dover, DE (Sept. 20, 2022) The Division of Public Health (DPH) is announcing their youth-led #MyReasonWhyDE campaign. #MyReasonWhyDE asks Delaware youth to make short Public Service Announcement (PSA) videos that promote the positive aspects of their lives that keep them happy, healthy, and drug-free, engaged citizens. Using the collective campaign ad model, like the “Got Milk?” ads, #MyReasonWhyDE is featuring the youth in our community as influencers providing a diverse set of “reasons” to choose not to use drugs.

The #MyReasonWhy campaign is part of DPH’s long-term strategy to work with partner organizations in the community and state, such as school systems, to promote resiliency and positive messaging. Youth who are interested in creating a PSA video should visit MyReasonWhyDE.com.

Through federal Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) funding, DPH teamed up with The Cause to facilitate a series of four workshops throughout the state to create the summer PSA series to educate youth on Substance Use Disorder (SUD). At the upcoming #MyReasonWhyDE celebration event, DPH will be announcing the PSAs that have met the challenge of communicating information and resources about SUD, as well as highlight the reason why youth have chosen to be drug-free and live positive lives. This event will be held on Sept. 22 at the Bellevue Theater in Wilmington’s Bellevue Community Center, with doors opening at 5:30 p.m. and the live show beginning at 6:00 p.m. All ages are welcome to attend. To register to attend in person, go to https://forms.gle/BZ7sS8TG3bDrngTK9 and to register to attend virtually, go to https://causetheworld.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAkcu2vrzgoHdcamHl3Q8a6kcXKKX9qjTXF. 

According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH, 2018-2019), approximately 4% of all people aged 12 and older used an illicit drug (not including marijuana) in the past month in Delaware. Broken down by age, 2.44% of Delaware youth between ages 12 to 17, 6.67% of adults ages 18 to 25, and 3.79% of adults aged 26 and older reported using an illicit drug such as cocaine (including crack), heroin, hallucinogens, inhalants, or methamphetamine, or misusing prescription psychotherapeutics in the past month.

The 2020 Delaware School Survey (DSS) indicates that 2% of 8th grade students reported use of an illicit drug (other than marijuana) in the past month and 5% within the past year. One in ten students reported misuse of prescription and over-the-counter medication (including pain medication) within the previous year. Yet less than half (46%) of 8th graders reported perceiving a great risk in misusing prescription medication.

It is important to educate our youth and provide alternative choices to drugs. DPH is continuing to look for partners to help grow this message. If interested, contact Katie Capelli at katie.capelli@delaware.gov.

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If you or a loved one is struggling with addiction in Delaware, call DHSS’ 24/7 Crisis Hotline to be connected to treatment and recovery options.  In New Castle County, call 1-800-652-2929.  Or in Kent and Sussex counties, call 1-800-345-6785.  For free 24/7 counseling, coaching, and support, as well as links to mental health, addiction, and crisis services call the Delaware Hope Line at 833-9-HOPEDE.  To search online for treatment and recovery services in Delaware or nearby states, visit HelpIsHereDE.com.

The Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH), a division of the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services, is a nationally accredited public health agency recognized by the Public Health Accreditation Board for its outstanding dedication to driving change through innovation. DPH 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.

Following an investigation into two separate reports of women being followed by a man who engaged in lewd acts and indecent exposure on trails in the First State National Historical Park, Delaware Natural Resources Police State Park officers arrested Christopher S. Martin, 28, of Wilmington Wednesday, Aug. 31, on misdemeanor charges.

In late afternoon Aug. 16, a woman reported that a person on a park trail had exposed his genitals to her. Around the same time of day on Aug. 31, another woman reported being followed on a trail by a man she later saw putting his hand in his pants to commit a lewd act. She told police that upon returning to her vehicle to leave the area, she saw the same man getting into another vehicle. She was able to provide a description of that vehicle and a license plate number to Natural Resources Police State Park officers, who then obtained an arrest warrant for Martin on charges of lewdness.

During a formal interview after he was taken into custody, Martin admitted to having committed lewd acts toward the women on First State National Historical Park trails on Aug. 16 and 31. Martin was video-arraigned for the misdemeanor charges at Justice of the Peace Court #11. He was issued a no-contact order with both victims, and with the First State National Historical Park and all Delaware State Parks, and released on his own recognizance.

Delaware Natural Resources Police State Park officers routinely work with and assist National Park Rangers assigned to First State National Historical Park.

Defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a jury trial at which the State bears the burden of proving each charge beyond a reasonable doubt.

About DNREC
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities and educates Delawareans about the environment. The DNREC Division of Parks and Recreation oversees more than 26,000 acres in 17 state parks and the Brandywine Zoo. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Media Contacts: Captain John McDerby, john.mcderby@delaware.gov; Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov

William Hare operated the largest pottery business in Delaware, despite not having a large, industrialized operation. Christopher Espenshade’s study of Hare’s work provides insight into Delaware’s pottery industry, 19th-century changes in pottery products, and the development of the modern city of Wilmington.

William Hare: Master Potter of Wilmington, Delaware, 1839-1885
– by Christopher Espenshade

You can view and/or download a PDF version of this book here.

Find out more about the Delaware Heritage Commission here.

DNREC air quality monitoring station in Wilmington. DNREC photo.

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control maintains a network of 11 permanent air monitoring sites throughout the state to track pollutants that impact Delaware’s air quality. For National Air Quality Awareness Week, DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin today visited the air monitoring station at MLK Jr. Boulevard in Wilmington, the most comprehensive monitoring station in the state.

“Part of DNREC’s mission is to ensure clean air for all Delawareans. Clean air is especially important for our most vulnerable populations: children, older people, and people living with health conditions,” said Secretary Garvin. “Our monitoring network data shows our air quality is good overall, but good is not good enough. DNREC is committed to working continuously to make our air quality better.”

The air today is cleaner than when EPA first implemented control measures, known as the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), under the Clean Air Act in the early 1970s. The MLK station, for example, monitors the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s six pollutants of greatest concern under the NAAQS: ozone, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and two sizes of particulate matter.

The station also utilizes the latest technologies for real-time monitoring of the weather, including wind speed and direction, humidity, temperature, pressure ultraviolet and solar radiation, cloud height and rain gauge, all of which are factors in air quality.

The DNREC Division of Air Quality, which maintains and operates the station, encourages residents to learn about important air quality resources. Delawareans can consult the Air Quality Index (AQI) to plan their outdoor activities to protect their health from air pollution. This online resource from the EPA monitors and reports on air quality each day.

In Delaware, air quality is rated as “good” for most days of the year. However, there are days when local air quality can pose health risks to sensitive populations, and the AQI offers up-to-the-minute data on when and where such days might be occur. Visit de.gov/airmonitoring to sign up for air quality email alerts.

More information about Delaware’s air quality and DNREC’s monitoring work can be found at de.gov/airmonitoring.

About DNREC
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities, and educates Delawareans about the environment. The DNREC Division of Air Quality monitors and regulates all emissions to the air. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Media Contacts: Joanna Wilson, joanna.wilson@delaware.gov; Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov

The activated carbon product SediMite™ used in the technology for reducing legacy contaminants known as PCBs in DNREC’s A-Street Ditch cleanup pilot project in Wilmington.

A new report prepared for the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control indicates that the innovative technology being tested in Wilmington’s A-Street Ditch cleanup pilot project continues to perform against a major legacy contaminant in a Delaware waterway. The report summarizes data collected two years after biologically treated carbon pellets were applied to sediments in the ditch to clean up polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).

Conducted by the DNREC’s Watershed Approach to Toxics Assessment and Restoration (WATAR) program, the technology deployed in the A-Street Ditch project uses an activated carbon product (SediMite™) with the addition of PCB-destroying micro-organisms. The activated carbon sequesters PCBs and over time the micro-organisms degrade and destroy the PCBs.

PCBs are persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic legacy industrial compounds. They pose ecological and human health risks, and are the largest contributor to fish consumption advisories issued by DNREC and the Delaware Division of Public Health.

Results of DNREC’s July 2021 sampling in the A-Street Ditch showed that total PCB concentrations in surface sediments have decreased approximately 50% across the project area. The result indicates that the microorganisms added to the carbon pellets are performing as expected. Concentrations of dissolved PCBs in the sediment porewater – the water trapped between grains of sediment in the bottom of a body of water – showed a slight increase across the project area since the 2020 monitoring, but are still 32% less than baseline conditions measured in 2019. This indicates that the carbon continues to sequester PCBs, thus reducing ecological risk. DNREC plans to assess PCB concentrations in sediment, surface water and sediment porewater one final time in July 2022.

Other A-Street ditch PCB data collected in 2021 indicates that the anomalous results received from a sediment sample collected in 2020 were likely due to inadvertent sampling of deeper, more contaminated sediments. The overall data showing the slight increase in 2021 surface water and sediment porewater PCB concentrations is likely due to ongoing impacts from within the watershed. Although not a surprise to DNREC scientists, this finding highlights the importance of cleaning up land-based sources of contamination before performing larger-scale sediment remediation and in-water restoration activities.

DNREC’s A-Street Ditch pilot project was supported by Hazardous Substance Cleanup Act (HSCA) funds and a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency multi-purpose grant. Visit the DNREC-WATAR webpage for monitoring reports and a DNREC YouTube video about the A-Street Ditch project. Visit the DNREC-CBR4 webpage to find out more about what DNREC is doing to help clean up the lower Christina and Brandywine Rivers.

About DNREC
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities and educates Delawareans about the environment. The DNREC Division of Watershed Stewardship develops and implements innovative watershed assessment, monitoring and implementation activities. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Media Contacts: Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov; Nikki Lavoie, nikki.lavoie@delaware.gov;

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