Delaware
New spelling champion crowned in statewide bee, now goes to national competition
Gov.-elect Matt Meyer stresses education in school visit after election win
Matt Meyer visited Glasgow High School the day after winning the race to be Delaware’s next governor. 11/6/24
The 2025 Delaware Regional Spelling Bee was e-l-e-c-t-r-i-c.
Competitors from around the state gathered Saturday at Delaware Technical Community College’s Terry Campus in Dover to battle for a spot in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in May. There was no livestream because every state has the same word bank, but the last word spelled by this year’s champion, Siara Husain of the Islamic Academy of Delaware in Ogletown, was codswallop, another term for nonsense.
Second place went to Talley Middle School in Brandywine Hundred’s Aurelia Tran, and third place went to Kshirja Chauhan of Caravel Academy Middle School in Glasgow. The winner was invited to shadow Lt. Gov. Kyle Evans Gay for a day, according to First State Educate executive director Julia Keleher.
The event’s host sponsor, First State Educate, said the competition included 50 students from public and private schools. Julia Keleher, executive director of First State Educate, said the event was an opportunity to show off the potential of Delaware’s education systems.
“We need a moment to say we are really good at this and everybody cares,” she said.
Gov. Matt Meyer, Department of Education Secretary Cindy Marten and 2025 Teacher of the Year Cory Hafer were guests of honor at this year’s proceedings. Other sponsors of the event included the United Way of Delaware, Wilmington’s Department of Parks and Recreation and the International Literacy Association.
Keleher said another goal of this competition is to motivate students and educators to push forward despite hardships lingering from the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the Education Recovery Scorecard, Delaware is second to last nationally in math learning recovery and 47th nationally in reading recovery. The study said no districts in Delaware have returned to their 2019 levels in either math or reading.
Keleher said raising that standard is a team effort, and sponsors that are not in the education field, like Wawa, the Delaware Blue Coats and Milan’s Cheeseteaks, are particularly meaningful to Keleher and First State Educate.
“The whole event is about focusing attention on what’s working on the excellence that we have,” she said. “All of these people who are sponsors, who they don’t directly touch the education system … they’re saying it’s important, they care about Delaware’s future.”
Delaware
PennDOT, hardware stores prepare for first snow of season in Delaware Valley
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — Crews and customers across the Delaware Valley are gearing up for the region’s first accumulating snowfall of the season, expected late Saturday into Sunday morning.
PennDOT says it has more than 100,000 tons of salt ready and plans to deploy over 400 trucks across the region for this event.
Road crews began brining operations Friday, which will continue through the weekend with plowing on Sunday.
READ MORE | Accuweather Alert: Light snow to blanket the region Saturday night into Sunday morning
“Maybe 1 to 3, maybe a little bit more depending on how the storm tracks,” said Brad Rudolph of PennDOT.
He added that timing is key with the snow beginning to fall on Saturday night, while many may be out and about, and with thousands expected to travel to Lincoln Financial Field Sunday for the Eagles game against the Raiders.
Preps underway for first snow of the season in Delaware Valley
“People are going to travel, they’re going to need to take it slow. We’re going to push back snow from travel lanes, we’ll make the roads passable. They may not be completely clear of snow and ice, something to consider,” Rudolph said. “We expect this storm to push out relatively early Sunday, well before that Eagles game, but we still might have some cleaning up to do. We’ll be working long after this snow is done.”
At Stanley’s Hardware in Roxborough, workers spent Friday unpacking boxes and moving thousands of pounds of salt and other supplies to fill commercial and individual orders.
“Our aisle is filled right now. We have tons of skids of rock salt, ice melter, shovels,” said Joe Jaconski of Stanley’s Hardware.
Customers were already stocking up.
“We have food, we have shovels, just had to get some salt just to make sure we’re keeping the sidewalks nice and safe for everyone,” said Matt Skomsky of Roxborough.
Customers were steady at Stanley’s Friday, and business is expected to pick up through the weekend, but managers say don’t wait to get ready.
“I recommend just being ahead of it. Try to beat the storm because when the storm comes, it gets very busy in here-the lines wrapped around,” Jaconski said.
PennDOT urges drivers to keep their distance from plow trucks and check the forecast before heading out.
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Delaware
Done Deal: 695 Delaware Avenue – Buffalo Rising
Ellicott Development has expanded it local property portfolio. Ellicott’s 4628 Group Inc. purchased 695 Delaware Avenue on Wednesday for $1.025 million. Fred Kaplan Living Trust was the seller. The 8,454 sq.ft., three-story barn-like structure with mansard roofed addition is occupied by media production and marketing firm Crosswater Digital Media. It was the home of WKBW radio for a number of years. The property totals 0.4 acres in size with a large parking lot fronting Delaware Avenue.
The property is bookended by the Westbrook Apartments and Wilcox House apartment buildings, both ten-story structures. It sits across the street from 700 Delaware, the former Computer Task Group Building Ellicott purchased in 2018 and is now occupied by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation.
Delaware
Man, 77, dies after collision with teen driver near Hartly, police say
What to do if you come across a serious car accident
What to do if you come across a serious car accident
A 77-year-old man died following a two-car crash near Hartly on the morning of Dec. 10, Delaware State Police said.
The man, from the Dover area, has not been identified by police pending family notification.
According to police reports, the man was driving a Honda Accord east on Judith Road approaching Hartly Road about 9 a.m., as an 18-year-old woman was driving a Ford Focus south on Hartly Road approaching Judith Road.
Police reported that a preliminary investigation shows the Honda moved from the stop sign into the Ford’s path, causing a collision.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene. The woman, from Hartly, was treated at the scene. Police said she refused to be taken to a hospital.
Send tips or story ideas to Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299 or eparra@delawareonline.com.
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