Home Care In Frederica, DE

DOVER — Kent County and state officials are taking the first steps for a Transportation Improvement District (TID), a move that eases the path for pockets of development in Little Heaven and South Frederica.

The TID outlines future transportation infrastructure around the three small towns, and creates a fee formula to subsidize those improvements. By partnering with the Delaware Department of Transportation, Kent County officials believe with more infrastructure, development will soon follow along the Route 1 corridor.

For Little Heaven, the TID boundary would follow Buffalo Road and Skeeter Neck Road as far north as Clapham Road. South Frederica’s proposed TID would follow Frederica Road and Route 1 north until it reaches town limits, and as far south as Tub Mill Road.

Both areas have long been thought of as Kent’s next hotbed for development by county officials over the years, buoyed by the success of the DE Turf Sports Complex and the completion of the Route 1 interchange. Kent County officials recently completed master planning Little Heaven and South Frederica separate from the comprehensive plan, with the mindset that both areas could be large employment centers within the next decade.

“I think [the TIDs] solve a lot of the concerns with the potential intensity that those plans have identified, with the improvements that Route 1 as well as holding significant potential for pressure development pressure,” Kent County Administrator Michael Petit de Mange told the county planning services committee Tuesday night.

Specifically, Little Heaven is envisioned as a future business park or professional campus, with some accessory retail and commercial services to support a large corporate presence. South Frederica is envisioned as a vibrant sports tourism destination, with retail, recreation and dining options to serve people who come to the DE Sports Turf Complex throughout the year.

With state and county officials working in tandem under a TID agreement, the goal is to plan transportation around future land development so projects within the district can get bumped into the state’s capital transportation program.

It also authorizes the county to charge developers a predetermined fee for future road improvements when a project is approved. These fees are determined by square footage of a development or per residential housing unit.

For developers, it also eliminates the need for a six-to-nine-month traffic study and helps narrow down the idea of a project’s cost when it comes time to secure financing.

“When developers can enter into a program like this and not be saddled with spending time and money on these improvements instead of their overall system, I think it’s very attractive,” Petit de Mange said.

In a later interview, Kent County Economic Partnership Executive Director Linda Parkowski said that the TID would go a long way in eliminating uncertainty surrounding the permitting process.

“There were a lot of questions and concerns, and sometimes people would struggle with understanding the process,” Parkowski told Delaware Business Times. “The TID is a natural progression of the planning process that’s been happening over the past two years, and it’s a favorable move for future development in these areas.”

Development can go hand-in-hand with a TID, as seen in Middletown over the last six years. A TID was proposed in 2015 west of Route 71 and focused mainly around Route 301, and Principal Planner Sarah Coakley said about half of the transportation projects are done. Apartments, townhomes, and large swaths of retail and restaurants have opened in that area since.

For the next steps, DelDOT, county and Frederica officials have to sign TID agreements and finalize service standards for transportation facilities (such as lane widths, sidewalk locations, and intersection delay standards). From there, DelDOT will develop a list of specific improvements, cost estimates for each of them, and a fee structure to build them.

Once a fee structure is established, the county can collect fees to be set aside for those transportation improvements.

At this point, there is little word on immediate interest in development. Kent County Planning Director Sarah Keifer said Rob Meding, owner of Meding’s Seafood in Frederica, is looking into building a Wawa, although nothing is set in stone.

Parkowski told DBT that before the pandemic, much of the interest focused on South Frederica, since it had more land readily available for development than Little Heaven.

“I think people have just put their ideas on pause because of the uncertainty about the pandemic,” she said. “I’m sure the interest will be there again once things have settled.”

Michael Meoli notes that the SpringHill Suites by Marriot will be a catalyst for growth in southern Kent County. | DBT PHOTO BY KATIE TABELING

FREDERICA — With several soccer balls zipping through the air and bouncing off the dirt in an active construction zone, Mike Meoli of Meoli Companies celebrated the start of the company’s latest hotel project on Tuesday morning.

The 86-room SpringHill Suites by Marriott is on track to be opened in spring 2023. While it marks the second hotel outright owned by the Meoli Company, the project will become the first built to directly serve the DE Turf Complex right across Route 1.

“I’ve been asked on a number of occasions about my comfort level of being the first here. It’s always a little bit of a leap of faith to be the first one to jump and test the waters,” Meoli said. “And I’m proud to be the principal owner of this hotel. I know it will be really a catalyst for smart and responsible growth along this corridor for the next decade.”

In 2017, DE Turf opened with 84 acres of synthetic turf covering 12 athletic fields and has since become a major driver in Kent County tourism. With the guidance of its new executive director, Angie Eliason, the turf complex booked 42 tournaments last year.

Its biggest victory to date was landing the USA Lacrosse men’s and women’s national teams for exhibition games last July, coinciding with the 2021 USA Lacrosse Youth Nationals. A record 80 girls’ lacrosse teams participated, and an estimated 30,000 people came to Frederica that week.

Last year, the athletic complex brought $56 million in direct economic impact to the state of Delaware, according to DE Turf Field Board Chairman Bill Strickland. It’s expected to grow to $80 million.

“We wanted the DE Turf to become an economic driver for central Delaware, and more importantly, we wanted to see other businesses come here,” Strickland said. “When I see this hotel, I’m not only excited about realizing that vision, but also for a valued partnership to create the lodging needed.”

Michael Meoli, Bill Strickland, Frederica officials kick soccer balls with local children to commemorate the launch of a new hotel across the highway from DE Turf Complex. | DBT PHOTO BY KATIE TABELING

As the DE Turf Field attracts bigger tournaments, the need grows for amenities for the athletes, scouts, families and spectators. Athletes may be staying as far Baltimore, Salisbury and Annapolis, Md., and driving in for games — and leaving for the night.

Those who do stay may find themselves in Milford and Harrington, and find themselves at the Frederica Pizza & Pasta House for a bite to eat before they head out.

“It’s the only pizza shop in town and during tournament nights, they’re selling out. It’s the best pizza out there, but we need more diversity in options, and we hope this will draw more growth,” Frederica Mayor William “Chick” Glanden told the Delaware Business Times. “If you’re not growing, you’re dying.”

Meoli has partnered with land use lawyer John Pardee and Mike Koppenhaver on the project known as Asbury Square, with the hope to bring a gas station and a “blue ribbon” fast food restaurants and other convenience stores. The Delaware Department of Transportation proposed an interchange there in 2008, and a decade later, Pardee bought the land from the agency for $270,000.

However, Asbury Square may not be the only development on the horizon.The Meding family, who owns the nearby Meding & Son Seaford, rezoned neighboring 20 acres to commercial in 2012, while another family who owns 24 acres to the south has their land zoned commercial.

Meoli said he was “acutely aware” of other developments, like possible hotels, on nearby properties, but his philosophy is that all boats rise with the tide.

“It’s better for all of us – for Frederica, the county and tourism,” Meoli added. “Keep in mind, tourism now is Delaware’s No. 1 industry. And when you look at the cars that are going by here, there’s a lot of ancillary services people are going to use.”

“When you think about the vision for the DE Turf field, this is it,” he continued. “This is what they had in mind, and I’m proud this hotel will be the next progression of that vision.”

Editor’s note: A Previous version of this article incorrectly spelled Mike Koppenhaver’s name. We regret the error.

FREDERICA, Del. — Emily Heuring has been sewing since she was 17.

“It’s like a dance. You and the machine are dancing together. It’s a much more delicate art than what you would think it is.”

She works at ILC Dover as an engineering technician and trains sewing technicians on how to sew NASA's space suits.

She said, “It’s really cool to tell people that I get to work on space suits.”

ILC Dover is a specialty engineering development and manufacturing company. It was founded in 1947 and has outfitted every U.S. astronaut in the Apollo program, and created suits for the Space Shuttle program, the International Space Station and SpaceX.

Peter Van der Kley is a design engineer in ILC's Space Suit Assembly division and said because spacesuits are government life-critical hardware, they need to be tested and certified.

He said ILC engineers scoured hundreds of spacewalks to see how many times an astronaut makes certain motions to determine its expected life.

"We have a set of movements; a certain number, certain specific motions that we have planned that basically simulate the life of the suit on orbit. We design them and test them to make sure that we don't have any kind of catastrophic failures," he said.

On the day WUSA9 visited, Van der Kley led engineer Luke Marshall in a series of space suit tests.

“There’s a lot of wearing and tearing that happens and we want to make sure the materials can survive the length of the suit or glove life,” Van der Kley said.

Unlike the Apollo suits that were made for each astronaut, today's space suits are made up of components and weigh about 300 pounds. Marshall said putting one on is like wearing a big metal heavy coat.

ILC Dover Quality Manager and company historian Bill Ayrey started with the company in 1977 and has more than 150 space suit test hours.

He said, “With that helmet on, you can’t hear anything. It’s like being in a big bubble.” He added, "It's really a very, very comfortable suit to be in."

Ayrey said the company's suits have been used in more than 250 space flights, six moon landings and more than 3,000 hours of spacewalks without a single failure.

ILC Dover office museum is filled with memorabilia and thank you notes from astronauts. One from Jim Lovell read, “To the gals of Frederica. Thank you for sewing straight and careful. I’d hate to have a tear in my pants on the moon.”

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Del. 1 northbound/southbound crossovers closed near DE Turf Sports Complex in Frederica/Milford

Crossovers surrounding the DE Turf Sports Complex in Frederica/Milford will be closed during tournaments.

The crossovers between the sports complex and the Thompsonville interchange will be closed on Saturday and Sunday on Del. 1 northbound and southbound.

Motorists traveling northbound will be detoured to Exit 86/North Frederica Interchange to access Del. 1 southbound.

Motorists traveling southbound will be detoured to Exit 79/Thompsonville Interchange to access Del. 1 northbound.

The three crossovers to the north, between DE Turf and the North Frederica interchange, will be closed to safely facilitate traffic exiting the complex.

Northbound traffic destined for points south will be detoured to Exit 86/North Frederica interchange where they can then access Del. 1 southbound.

Southbound Del. 1 traffic wishing to utilize one of the three closed crossovers north of the venue are encouraged to use Exit 79/Thompsonville Interchange. However, all crossovers from Tub Mill Pond Road/Milford Neck Road and south should be open by noon.

-Closure of crossovers from the sports complex, south to Exit 79/Thompsonville Interchange:

• Saturday and Sunday from 7 a.m. until 2 p.m.

-Closure of crossovers from the sports complex north to Exit 86/Frederica Interchange:

• Saturday and Sunday from noon until 8 p.m.

Each month, DelDOT will alert motorists in advance of the crossover closures.

In an effort to further reduce the impact to residents and businesses, there will be a left-turn-only on Del. 1 northbound at the Tub Mill Pond Road intersection to allow motorists to access Del. 1 southbound and Tub Mill Pond Road to the west.

Message boards will be displayed to notify motorists of the upcoming traffic patterns.

Maintenance of bridge requiring lane closures on northbound/southbound U.S. 13 in Dover continues

Through mid-May, the bridge over the St. Jones River on northbound/southbound U.S. 13 between Pine Street and Public Safety Boulevard in Dover will require lane closures.

Removal and replacement of the median concrete panels will take place and joint repairs and concrete patching on the bridge will be completed.

During this construction, the left lane will be closed on northbound/southbound U.S. 13 until mid-March. After the construction is complete in the left lanes, the contractor will close the right lanes on northbound/southbound U.S. 13, with construction anticipated to be complete by mid-May, pending weather.

Variable message boards will be posted to advise motorists of the upcoming lane closures.

Motorists should be aware that construction personnel and equipment will be operating in close proximity to the travel lanes.

Maintenance of bridges will require lane and ramp closures in Elsmere and Newport

Contractors will be repairing a number of bridges in New Castle County.

Due to the weather forecast and work on the railroad at Faulkland Road, the schedule has been updated.

• Del. 141 Northbound:

-Del. 141 northbound between Boxwood Road and Kirkwood Highway. The left lane will be closed from 7 p.m. Friday until 5 a.m. Monday. There will be no detour.

-Double right lane closure along with the closure of the ramp to Del. 2 will be in place from 7 p.m. until 5 a.m. Monday through Thursday dependent on completion of Faulkland Road railroad crossing work. A detour will be in place each night.

-Double right lane closure along with the closure of the ramp to Del. 2/Kirkwood Highway beginning at 7 p.m. March 9 until 5 a.m. March 12, dependent on completion of Faulkland Road railroad crossing work.

Detour signage will be posted for motorists.

Rehabilitation of bridge will require closure of Poplar Street in Laurel

Poplar Street will be closed for the rehabilitation of the bridge over Broad Creek between Old Sailors Road and West Front Street in Laurel.

The road closure will begin on Monday and is expected to be completed by mid-June, pending weather.

This project involves the painting of the existing steel and repairs to the pier and abutment of the bridge.

Detour: All Poplar Street traffic will use the adjacent crossing at North Central Avenue. Detour signage will be posted for motorists.

Pavement and rehabilitation project will require daytime lane closures on Del. 1 northbound/southbound in Dewey Beach

Contractors will be milling, installing rumble strips, drainage work, and hot-mix overlay along Del. 1 northbound and southbound from Bedford Street to Savages Ditch Road in Dewey Beach.

Work will begin at 8 a.m. Monday and last until 6 p.m. each Monday through Thursday – pending weather – through mid-May.

There will be no lane closures or construction work on weekends or holidays.

Flaggers will be on-site to direct motorists.

Reach Jerry Smith at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @JerrySmithTNJ.

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Federica Quijano recognized for being a member of one of the most representative nineties pop groups in Mexico Kabah is currently part of the Chamber of Deputies. Last Sunday, April 17, the deputy participated in the vote for the Electric Reform and caused a stir her real name: Janine Patricia Quijano Tapia.

On Twitter his name became a trend because many people didn't know that his name was not actually Federica. Although she is apparently not the first in her family to be known for having a different name than the real one, since her brother Apio Quijano his name is actually Hector Andre Quijano Tapia.

She gave her the nickname when they started in the group because when he was younger he had a wider complexion, with rehearsals he lost weight, he left his hair long and that is why the singer told him “you look like a celery” and he kept the nickname.

Apio Quijano, Héctor André Quijano Tapia en una fotografía compartida en Instagram. Ig: federicaquijano

Hector Quijano moved a little away from the spotlight to dedicate himself to developing his spiritual side and getting into alternative medicine. He has written several books such as 365 tips to change your life; Dream that you have wings and Awake in me.

During the years he has been away from the entertainment scene, he focused on alternative medicines studying Bach Flowers, physiognomy, anatomy, nutrition, iridology, neurolinguistic programming, homeopathy and herbalism at the Holistic University of Mexico.

For her part, Janine Quijano is a member of the Green Ecologist Party of Mexico, she has been part of the LXV Federal Legislature since August 29, 2021, since she has had an administrative career since 2009 when she was part of the Attorney General's Office of the Federal District.

Federica Quijano, cantante del grupo musical Kabah y actualmente diputada de Yucatán. Ig: federicaquijano apioquijano

He is currently in the public eye after reacting through Twitter with a sad face emoji to the decision to revoke Andrés Manuel López Obrador's proposal on the Electricity Reform.

The deputy from Yucatan was part of the 275 votes in favor. A few days ago she was questioned on social networks for her opinion, to which she replied that she did not know the subject very well and that whatever you do will always look bad with someone.

Then a Twitter user asked him not to miss and that his vote be conscientious and free, Federica replied:

It is clear that the commentary on her work on disability issues referred to her active participation in various causes such as the Imagina en Movimiento Foundation for people with autism. The deputy has faced severe changes in her life due to the autism of her son Sebastian.

Fotografía de Federica Quijano en concierto. Ig: federicaquijano apioquijano

Regardless of the difficulties she has had to go through, she has said that her children are the most important thing to her. It was in 2005 that she said that endometriosis had not allowed her to have babies, but she decided to adopt. She first adopted Maria Quijano Tapia, the girl was given to her at 3 months of age in 2005. Then in 2008, after some problems with adoption, Federica managed to become Sebastian's mother.

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