Delco Council is not unanimous in its support for mental health facility at Delco Woods

As it stands right now, Taylor said county council just wanted to assess the building’s viability.

“That’s why it has not actually been on an agenda or approved of any sort to move forward with the full project,” Taylor said.

Delco Councilmember Elaine Schaefer is the lone council member opposing a mental health facility at a building on the Delco Woods property. She reiterated her respect for her colleagues and the fact that the desire to assess the facility was driven by a need for options.

Nevertheless, Schaefer drew a distinction between her vision for Delco Woods and what her fellow council members might have in mind.

“Given my set of priorities, I don’t believe that there should be any governmental institutional use on the property,” Schaefer said.

Schaefer does not see a world where the two concepts co-exist.

“In my opinion, the uses are incompatible. We engaged in a process where we solicited a really incredible, robust opinion from all over the county,” Schaefer said.

The public backed a “state-of-the-art world-class park” centered around the area where the buildings currently exist.

“In my opinion, any governmental institutional use within that main area [in] the master plan would not be compatible,” Schaefer said.

Delco has no plans to house undocumented immigrants at Delco Woods — but a ‘fringe element’ persists

Some of the opposition against a mental health facility is rooted in safety concerns.

Taylor believes the stigma surrounding mental health has played a role in exacerbating fears. She said a similar facility elsewhere in the county also exists. When asked about its location, Taylor declined.

“Given the current climate, I would think that that would cause other problems for that facility,” Taylor said.

Then there are the false and unfounded claims that Delaware County Council is planning to house undocumented immigrants in the Delco Woods that have driven a new level of fury into a relatively normal dispute.

The baseless allegations prompted county council to issue a statement in March unequivocally denying the rumors. Despite the missive, some community members continue circulating rumors online and doubling down.

One thing Hemphill, Schaefer and Taylor agree on is that the false narrative around housing undocumented immigrants in Delco Woods has derailed an important dialogue.

Hemphill feels as though those voices have co-opted a movement he helped start “to score political points for this fringe element that keeps coming out and screaming about stolen elections and other nonsense.”

Taylor emphasized that no decision has been made.

“Our goal is to try and find another location for it,” Taylor said. “I welcome others to help us find another location.”

The county is continuing to review other options.

“And it is my true, great hope that we do find a more suitable spot and that we can then get back on track in creating a world-class park that will create incredible value to all of our residents,” Schaefer said.

The county is still in the planning process for Delco Woods.

Sussex County introduces its Fiscal Year 2025 budget, and it’s lower than this year.

The proposed budget is almost $266 million dollars. That’s about $13 million less than the current year as American Rescue Plan Act funds come off the books.

There is no increase in taxes, but the county proposes using reserves to balance the budget with $12.4 million going to the General Fund and $11.9 to the Capital Fund.

The good news is there is no increase in property taxes, but residents can expect fee increases.

“We do have some changes in fees,” said Jennings. “I am proposing a $25 annual increase in our water rates, that’s a 6.4% increase, a $10 increase in sewer rates.”

That’s Sussex County Finance Director Gina Jennings who adds the proposed sewer increase is three percent.

The county also wants to add fees according to Jennings.

“A new fee, it’s a plan resubmittal fee, it’s $300 per occurrence, and this would be happening in two different departments, one being in the engineering department for sewer and road reviews. They get a lot of reviews from engineers and we ask exactly what we need and sometimes we have to reject them and we have to start all over again. So staff’s asking to help with the backlog is that we implement a rejection fee,” said Jennings.

The other department using that new fee would be Planning and Zoning. Currently the county doesn’t charge a fee to go back and review again.

Another proposed fee is for use of the Data Center in Seaford by municipalities who want to store data off-site. It would be either $500 per month for a half a rack and $1,000 per month for a full rack.

There will be a public hearing on the budget on June 18^th at 10:15 in council chambers at the Sussex County Administration Building.

County Council needs to approve a final budget by June 30^th.

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One guy went by the moniker “Reaper.” Another used the name “Synthetics.” A third’s alias was “bit coin.”

The trio of young men lived in Virginia, Maryland and Ohio but formed the backbone of an online network that called itself “Purgatory.”

They used Instagram, Telegram, and other social media platforms to post messages of mayhem, with their rants attracting some 200 followers, including  one teenager in Massachusetts whose username was “clinicallyinsaneog.”

The FBI charges that Purgatory’s purpose was to cause criminal chaos — at a Delaware high school, an Ohio casino, a New York airport, and elsewhere in the United States — by engaging in the federal crime of “swatting,” according to a recently unsealed indictment in Maryland.

Swatting is the act of calling law enforcement agencies and falsely reporting an emergency that’s either in progress or will occur. So-called swatters use computer-based phone lines to conceal their identities.

The aim is to get armed officers or even a police force’s special weapons and tactics unit (SWAT) to respond to the reported bomb threat, active shooter, or other violent crime. Far from a harmless crime, in a handful of cases, swatting has led to the death of the hoax target.

Court papers in a related case against the man who uses the online name “Reaper” say members of Purgatory have committed a variety of other crimes — “hacking, blackmail, extorting individuals for money, extorting females for explicit photos or videos of themselves, and extorting females to commit acts of self-harm.”

Alleged swatter said active shooter was inside Newark High

The alleged swatting incident in Delaware occurred about 1 p.m. on Jan. 4. The victims were the several hundred students and staff at Newark High School.

The call to Newark police was placed from 300 miles away in rural Moneta, Va., from a Google Voice number, according to the indictment filed in U.S. District Court in Maryland.

The caller was 26-year-old Evan Strauss, who uses the names “Reaper” and “ex_nightmare” in Purgatory messages, the indictment said.

During the call, Strauss identified himself as Richard Wilson and said he was inside Newark High, where he “heard a man firing shots in the hallway,” the indictment said. The caller said he was hiding “inside a classroom with 10 other people.’’

At about the same time, authorities charge that Purgatory member 18-year-old Owen Jarboe used a TextNow number to call Newark police from Hagerstown, Md., 130 miles away.

Jarboe, who uses the names “Synthetics” and “yoboyqzippy” online, threatened to shoot an unidentified teacher and kill several students he did not name, the indictment said.

The alarming calls led Newark police to dispatch several officers to the school, located a few blocks from the University of Delaware campus. School resource and security officers already inside the school were also alerted.

Christina School District board member Doug Manley said school administrators immediately initiated a “secure hold” that involved restricting access in and out of the building. Authorities soon realized the call was a hoax and dismissed students on time, but after-school activities were postponed, and police remained there for hours, Manley said.

Meanwhile, Purgatory members reveled in the hoax’s success on a group chat, the indictment said.

According to the indictment, Jarboe messaged 18-year-old Brayden Grace, who used the online name “bit coin” and lives in Columbus, Ohio. “You saw what me and nightmare did to the school. Post it in telegram chat,’’ Jarboe wrote.

Later, an identified member posted links to news reports about the Delaware incident on Telegram. “Purgatory is on the roll again,’’ and added: “This was a school that was evacuated seems to [have] some issues with it being on lockdown and not functioning properly.”

Strauss later posted that Newark High was “still on lockdown,’’ leading one unidentified member to exclaim, “LMAO … What was the script LOL.”

The alleged attack against Newark High was one of several crimes the FBI says Purgatory members committed in December and January. The indictment did not say how the defendants selected their alleged targets.