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TSD Oct 28

Town Square LIVE Weekly Review – October 28, 2021

Sonja Frey October 28, 2021 Town Square Live, Weekly Review

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This Week’s Top Headlines Include:

COMMUNITY

Juneteenth joins Thanksgiving, MLK Day as official state holiday
Faithful Friends breaks ground on 18,000-square-foot facility
St. Mark’s to honor fallen student, Veterans with 20K challenge
Flood damage causes Alapocas Run walking bridge to close indefinitely
Highlands Halloween parade, party at art museum

BUSINESS

Restaurants hardest hit by supply chain issues, Delaware experts say
Med tech company will use $2.2 million in Delaware grants to expand
Salvation Army beam raising marks start of Riverfront East development

FOOD

Home Appetit joins Full Circle Food to deliver meals in New Castle County
DART sets Thanksgiving ‘Stuff the Bus’ for Nov. 8-13

GOVERNMENT

Our (other) guy in the White House talks Afghan resettlement
State Reps ask Carney to remove auditor, but it seems unlikely
Delaware Senate publishes final proposed redistricting maps
Facing criminal charges, Darius Brown to lead expungement workshops

EDUCATION

Governor appoints Bridgeville student to State Board of Education
Teens aging out of foster system to get free college tuition

HEALTH

Booster shots OK’d for all vaccine brands, and they can be mixed

SPORTS

Blue Coats ditch Caesar Rodney logo in favor of nondescript horse
3 games to raise money for Childhood Cancer fight
Caravel hands Quakers first loss of the season

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Sonja Frey
Sonja Frey

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alapocas run walking bridgeblue coats logobooster shotsbusinesscaravel soccerchildhood cancer fightcommunityDarius BrowneducationFaithful Friends Animal SocietyfoodFull Circle Foodgovernmenthealthhighlands halloween paradeHome AppetitJack MarkellJuneteenthmed techSalvation Armysenate redistricting mapssportsst marks 20Kstate board of electionStuff the Busteens aging out of foster care

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  • It’s valid: Fact checking that social media food bank post
    text

    Versions of this social media post admonishing food bank donors to do better has been floating around Facebook for a couple of weeks. A post that’s been appearing regularly on social media admonishing people to change the way they donate to food banks has valid points, but may apply mostly to small food pantries rather than large food banks. The post, which appears under many different names but is often dated Nov. 19, offers 20 tips it says were gathered from food bank customers the writer personally talked to. Among them: Don’t donate Kraft macaroni and cheese because it requires milk and butter, which is hard to get from “regular food banks.” Oil and spices are rarely donated and would be appreciated. People picking up food can’t use canned goods unless someone also donates a can opener. Feminine hygiene products and dishwashing detergents are items that people want and need. “The list is valid,” said Kim Turner, spokeswoman for the Food Bank of Delaware. “We do try to fill in some of the gaps but I think a very small food pantry that might not have the buying power that a food bank has.” The Food Bank relies on cash donations as well as food from individuals, corporations, food industry companies and the federal government. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, for example, started providing boxes of fresh produce as the COVID-19 pandemic began and that still continues. The Food Bank also buys additional fresh produce boxes because they are so popular. The cash that’s donated allows the Food Bank to bulk purchase items at discounts, she said. The Food Bank provides so much milk and butter that one person who attends their monthly drive-thru pantries sent a note saying they didn’t need as much butter. It’s true that oil and spices are rarely donated and Turner is sure their clients would appreciate them. She’s not aware of requests for can openers, but believes they also would be appreciated. “For people like us who have a kitchen that’s pretty much fully stocked, you don’t always think about ‘does a person have a can opener to open this can,’ so I think that’s something nice for people to think about,” she said. The Food Bank of Delaware does provide feminine hygiene products, as well as diapers and paper products. “We do try to purchase non-food products,” she said. “So whether that’s like toilet paper or paper towels, diapers for babies, we do try to keep those in stock so that our member agencies have access to them.” Turner pointed out that the Food Bank considers itself a supplemental source of food and necessities. “We’re hoping that people are also utilizing other resources,” she said. “If they’re eligible for SNAP (food stamps), we’re hoping that they’re applying for SNAP benefits so that they can buy those other items at the grocery store and then use us to supplement what they might not have enough money left over to purchase or for some of the more expensive items.” The Food Bank has pathways for people to donate meat and also fresh produce. Many farmers and home gardeners donate produce in the summer. Perdue, for example, has been donating massive quantities of chicken for almost a decade. Many area grocery stores freeze meats as they near their fresh buy-by date and donate them to the Food Bank. “We really like to build off our relationships with retailers to help eliminate food waste, so we pick up a lot of frozen meats from the grocery stores like hamburger, chicken, steaks, things that they aren’t able to sell but are still perfectly fine,” she said. The Food Bank gets weekly deliveries of milk and typically has butter on hand, she said. The social media post also goes on to say that those using a food bank would appreciate tea bags, coffee, fresh meat, eggs, cake mix and frosting. “We do try to get eggs out into the community. I don’t think it’s something that happens on a regular basis, but we do receive a lot of liquid egg product from USDA,” Turner said. “So that is a good supplement.” Coffee, tea and hot chocolate are on the Food Bank’s request list for holiday food drive donations. The Food Bank of Delaware typically asks for shelf-stable items from average donors. Its list for holiday food drive donations, for example, includes applesauce, cranberry sauce, oatmeal, cold cereals, pudding mix, canned pumpkin, graham cracker pie crust, canned gravy, rice, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, stuffing, hearty soups, corn muffin mix, canned sweet potatoes and yams, canned peas and green beans, 100% fruit juice, hot chocolate, coffee and tea, evaporated milk, turkey pans and frozen turkeys. As of 10 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 24, the Food Bank and its partners had given away 5,926 turkeys. Bread is not routinely donated, but when it is, workers try to get it out quickly into the community. Turner said she had not heard of anyone asking for or “loving” Stove Top Stuffing or Rice-A-Roni in her 13 years at the Food Bank, although she personally likes Stove Top. The Food Bank asks for stuffing for the holidays, but she says they don’t buy Hamburger Helper or Rice-A-Roni, to her knowledge. Cake mixes also are something the Food Bank does not ask for or buy. That is something she hopes their clients would use their SNAP benefits for. “We do have a nutrition policy where we try to bring in as much nutritious foods as possible and then distribute those back out into the community because oftentimes what we hear from low-income people is that they have difficulties accessing fresh foods, nutritious foods,” Turner said. They also serve a lot of people who have diet-related conditions, such as diabetes or heart disease. “We don’t want the foods that we provide people to perpetuate those health conditions,” she said. “Obviously, everybody wants a cake and frosting for their birthday but it’s not like a basic staple.” […]

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  • Del. health department marks 100,000 substance abuse treatment referrals

    Katy L. Pack/Getty Images The Delaware Department of Health and Social Services has surpassed a milestone of 100,000 Delawareans to substance use and mental health services. Referrals are made through the Delaware Treatment and Referral Network, conducted by the agency’s Division of Substance Use and Mental Health. Delaware is the first state to make more than 100,000 referrals using the system. The system identifies and tracks health resources throughout the state, giving providers immediate visibility into resource availability across a shared network. This makes it easier to get people the help they need when they need it, according to a press release from the agency. “One death from an opioid overdose or from a mental health crisis is one too many,” said Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long in a press release. “For families coping with a loved one, who suffers from substance use disorder or mental illness, finding help is an immediate need that must be met.” Hall-Long said reaching the milestone is proof that Delaware is mending its fractured behavioral health system by ensuring that those in need can access treatment and get on the path to recovery. She noted that in Nov. 2021, Newsweek recognized Delaware as one of only four states that the CDC reported as having a decrease in the annual percentage rate of opioid deaths.  Joanna Champney, director of the Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health, said the milestone represents 100,000 instances where a pathway to treatment was made available for someone so that they didn’t end up in an emergency room — or worse. The Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health launched the referral network in Oct. 2018 as a way to improve outcomes for Delawareans suffering from a substance use disorder, while coordinating support for accompanying needs like housing, employment, and education.  A recent analysis of the referral network showed that in its first year of operation it generated a 45% increase in treatment referral requests. Despite its successes, overdose deaths have continued to rise in Delaware, reaching 447 in 2020 — up from 431 in 2019 and 401 in 2018.  Of those 447 deaths, 372 or 83 percent have involved the use of fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid that is 50 to 100 times more powerful than morphine. According to the CDC, 45.2 opioid prescriptions are dispensed per 100 Delawareans — slightly higher than the national average of 43.3 prescriptions per 100 Americans. A press release from the Department of Health and Social Services said that lack of visibility for providers in determining current inpatient and residential treatment center capacity can make it challenging to connect clients with appropriate substance use and behavioral health services in a timely manner. Referring physicians and treatment providers often struggle to share client data, admission criteria, and availability, the agency said, noting that for clients in need, those delays can be dangerous and even life-threatening.  By assisting providers with the onboarding process to encourage adoption of the Delaware Treatment and Referral Network, Delaware expanded the number of active users on its network by 264% in its first year. The referral platform also improved response rates to referral requests, with 65% of receiving organizations acknowledging a client referral within 30 minutes, an increase of 25% since the program’s inception a year prior.  If you or a loved one is struggling with addiction in Delaware, call DHSS’s 24/7 Crisis Hotline to be connected to treatment and recovery options at 1-833-9-HOPEDE or visit HelpIsHereDE.com or treatmentconnection.com. 

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Rich Collins, R-Millsboro, said that it’s better to be safe than sorry when it comes to students who are mixed up with trouble. “In each case of recent school shootings, it would come out that there had been all kinds of indications that the student or shooter had issues that maybe someone should have picked up on,” he said. “I know there has been a lot of after-the-fact criticism of people not taking action when they thought or knew that something was going on.” Right now, when schools are notified by the state that a student has been arrested or charged, the student often is subjected to another layer of penalties imposed by school policy, such as expulsion, suspensions and removing students from class.   Walker’s bill would still require the attorney general to notify a student’s school if the incident included a violent felony, crimes that happen on school property or at a school event, and incidents where the student and victim attend the same school.  Those violent felonies include some but not all charges of: physical and sexual assault, robbery, hate crimes, arson, gun charges, drug dealing, carjacking, homicide and others. Find the full list  here. After a lot of confusion over what would now be omitted from the current list, Kristine Lannelli, policy director for the Department of Justice, spoke to clarify. Under the bill, she said, the following misdemeanors would be removed from the report that schools’ get to review:  Offensive touching Reckless endangering assault, third degree Abuse of a sports official  Terroristic threatening  Indecent exposure  Incest  Unlawful sexual contact, third degree Unlawful imprisonment, coercion Offenses involving property including reckless burning or exploding  Cross or religious symbol burning  Offenses against public health order and decency, including hate crimes, harassment, cruelty to animals and then  Offenses involving deadly weapons including carrying a concealed dangerous instrument such as knives and guns The list surprised even Walker, who thought that gun charges would be included.  “We need an amendment then,” Walker said. She said she would work with the Department of Justice in order to include gun charges in the attorney general’s report to schools. A concealed dangerous instrument is defined as something that would cause death or physical injury, such as a firearm, bomb, knife of any sort, switchblade knife, billy, blackjack, bludgeon, metal knuckles, slingshot, razor, bicycle chain or ice picker, House Attorney Mary Sherlock said. HB 396 also would require the attorney general to follow up any reports on a student with follow-up to let the school know within two days of the case being resolved. Walker said there currently is no requirement to update the school on what happens in a case. One focus of the bill is to keep students in classes and learning. Walker said students unnecessarily separated from the school environment are likely to become more involved with the justice system.  “I would like to encourage everyone who is against this bill to take a look at themselves,” she said. “Think about when you were a child. You were not a perfect child. Yet a lot of times when we become adults, we forget what it was like to be a child.” The bill, Walker said, would prohibit the attorney general’s report to be sent to the school for “basically crimes of moral turpitude.”  Certain crimes, while not acceptable, should not ruin a child’s future or take them away from education, she said, especially because those students may face even more difficult challenges in life than others. “I’m not saying that stealing is OK,” she said, “but that’s not something that needs to be sent to the school stating that a child stole something from the local corner store just to feed his or her family.” After a rowdy back and forth where legislators were trying to figure out what exactly would be removed from the attorney general’s report, the House turned to Brian Moore, policy director for the Delaware Department of Justice, about what happens now. He oversees school climate and discipline for the Department of Education. This is how the current process works, he said:  Each morning, a district is informed of any student who was arrested the previous evening with a list of charges via the attorney general report. This report goes to the district office or a designee of the superintendent to review. District office or designee then conducts a threat assessment to determine if there is a risk to the lives of the other students that are in the building. If there is a risk, the district office initiates due process, notifies the family and reaches out to talk to the student and find out what occurred.  The district might make a determination that the student would best be served in an alternative program pending adjudication or pending whatever is occurring. If there is no risk, the schools and school resource officers take a restorative approach for the student to try to keep this behavior from happening again. In the example of a student stealing food from a local grocery store, “more than often, our response would be to ask the student if they need help getting food,” said Moore. Last year, the state’s districts received 980 attorney general reports. Of those, Moore said, just 12 were acted upon by districts and were offered due process and asked to go to an alternative site or possibly be […]

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  • Bill would set up review of nonprofit grant requests
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    A bill that would create a new committee to oversee nonprofit grant requests for state appropriations was unanimously voted out of the House Administration committee Wednesday. The state spends a substantial amount of money on aiding nonprofits with projects and programs. Last year’s $69.4 million grant-in-aid package included more than $14 million to paramedic program operations, $6.3 million for neighborhood and community services, $3.4 million for insurance rebate equalization, $8.1 million to fire companies and almost $500,000 to veteran organizations. Nonprofits also can apply for funding for construction projects under the state’s Bond Bill. The committee that would be set up by House Bill 40, sponsored by Rep. Ruth Briggs King, R-Georgetown, would not have the power to make policy. It would review requests for grants-in-aid, including having authority to probe financial information about projects, and then pass the requests to the Joint Finance Committee. If passed, HB 40l would take effect Aug. 1, 2023. The new committee would be composed of three members from the House and three members of the Senate, with at least one member from each chamber required to be a Republican. According to the fiscal note for the bill, the committee would cost $33,057 in the 2024 fiscal year and increase by about 2% each year. The bill had 10 other sponsors, including eight Republicans and two Democrats. Grant review needed? House Minority Leader Mike Ramone, R-Pike Creek, said during the meeting that he wished there was more oversight. “I love this bill. I think we need to do it. I think we need to have better oversight and more discerning input from a group that would be able to value just how much value the state’s getting from some of these non-profits,” Ramone said. Melissa Hopkins, the executive vice president of sector advancement at the Delaware Alliance for Nonprofits, said they aren’t sure the committee is necessary or how it improves the current system. “DANA is taking a neutral approach to this bill,” she said. “Whether or not we create another committee to do this work, I think where this is lacking is that we’re not really understanding how the process improves by adding more people.” RELATED STORY: Resolution declares gun violence a public health emergency Rep. Valerie Longhurst, D-Bear, the chair of the committee, suggested an amendment to the bill that the controller general’s office could help the grant-in-aid committee with some guidelines, and other members of the Administration Committee. Briggs King agreed with the suggestion. The bill will now move to the House floor ready list.

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