DOVER — Some updates and important dates to share between headlines and deadlines …
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A few weeks ago, we wrapped up production on our annual economic development magazines, the Sussex County Profile and Choose Central Delaware.
A joy in doing these is documenting progress in the area.
For our Central Delaware publication, we featured a photo of the Delmarva Central Railroad on the cover and had a story inside about its importance, longevity and potential.
At the time, we did not know about a $10 million federal grant going to Delmarva Central for rail upgrades from Harrington to Bridgeville, where Mountaire is building a major grain plant.
But this latest news about Delmarva Railroad speaks to its importance to the region.
Staff writer Kaitlyn Cupelli and this editor visited Delmarva Central in Harrington back in September to get photos and talk with Baron Emery, the vice president and chief operating officer. We appreciate the time and insights provided.
Emery has been in the railroad business for decades, starting in Illinois and working his way east to Delaware a state at a time, he said. He is a veteran of the Air Force.
Likely, most of us cross the tracks — and sometimes grumble about having to stop or endure a loud horn — without ever thinking about the railroad’s value to the area, particularly to Delaware’s agricultural economy and the construction industry.
The ties to grain movement certainly may or may not be evident to most folks here, but did you know that a huge part of the railroad’s use is for gravel — a necessity in construction? We can thank Pennsylvania for the rocks.
An amazing fact we gleaned about Delmarva Central is that it has grown 20%-25% since 2016 — despite no longer hauling coal to the Indian River Power Plant.
By the way, the railroad station in Harrington dates back to 1853.
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The Sussex County Profile is packed with stories about advances in healthcare, tourism, small business and more. Credit for reporting and photography largely goes to Glenn Rolfe, who has been covering Sussex County news for more than two decades.
Reporters from the Daily State News all contributed to the Choose Central Delaware publication.
You can read the Sussex County Profile and Choose Central Delaware magazines as e-editions.
Print copies are available across Kent and Sussex counties. Contact us at customerservice@iniusa.org to find out where to pick up a physical copy.
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Another Election Day is upon us. (Have your read all of our reports on the campaigns in our Delaware Voters Guide?)
We’re anticipating a late finish Tuesday night that will stretch beyond our Wednesday print edition deadline.
Readers can get updates on results throughout Tuesday night at baytobaynews.com. A wrap-up will appear in Thursday’s State News.
As always, we will have staff at Sussex County Return Day in Georgetown. Coverage will be in the Friday edition.
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We’re taking our Milford Harrington Independent publication from monthly to weekly, starting Nov. 18.
It will be produced as an e-edition and print product.
To make sure you receive it each week, we recommend you sign up for an email alert for the latest e-edition. You can do so at baytobaynews.com/newsletters.
Andrew West is the editor-in-chief of the Daily State News.
