Henlopen Acres’ traffic lights reminds me of Longwood Gardens

For the past few years, my wife, kids, myself and family friend Melanie have gone up to Longwood Gardens to see the annual holiday light display. It’s spectacular and worth the drive. I would strongly recommend going up to see it.

I was reminded of the display when driving through Henlopen Acres recently. Are there houses in the small oceanside town that have nice displays? Yes, and while it’s clear that time and energy were put into those displays, they’re not what got me thinking about Longwood.

Instead, it’s the temporary traffic light that was installed at the intersection of Dodds Lane and Tidewaters. It was installed because Sussex County has started work on a series of repairs and upgrades to the town’s sewer system.

How do temporary traffic signals remind me of the Longwood display? It’s a reasonable question, and I recognize this is a stretch, but they remind me of the treehouses at Longwood. The traffic signals are located at the base of a hill that’s surrounded by towering loblolly pines. The Rehoboth Art League is nearby. So are the town’s marina and the tidal waters of the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal. There’s not a more picturesque set of traffic lights in the area, and they kind of look like large Christmas lights among the trees.

The traffic lights haven’t gone unnoticed.

“The residents are getting a kick out of having stoplights in the town,” said Mayor Joni Reich. “[It’s] quite the first for us.”

The traffic lights won’t be around forever. The county is expected to finish the improvements by Memorial Day.

Renewable energy 

I wasn’t totally surprised when a majority of Sussex County Council voted against the conditional-use permit for a new substation near the Indian River power plant that’s associated with US Wind’s offshore wind farm. The negative vote was an easy way to make a political statement. I think it will likely be overturned on appeal or in court. We’ll see.

I bring this up because the vote also seems to be counter to the renewable solar energy program the county, and state as whole, is already encouraging. Since the summer of 2021, at least 40 solar farm applications have been filed with the county.

One of those applications is for a property off Gravel Hill Road, near the intersection with Route 9. The project is being constructed by Turning Point Energy, a company based in Denver, Colo. It’s one of three the company is building in Sussex County, and it appears to be pretty close to completion. The solar array catches your attention while driving south on Gravel Hill – especially in the morning, when the sun is low on the horizon and panels are facing the road.

According to a consultant’s report submitted by TPE as part of the application for the project, as of the end of the first quarter in 2022, the total planned solar facilities will increase solar power generation in the state by about 199%. That’s good news for everyone, but it’s going to take more than just solar energy to make a difference.

Joke of the Week

This is a Christmas joke submitted by reader Michael Corey. He said he recognized that it would be after Christmas by the time this column ran, but thought he would send it anyway. He even included a photo. I always want to encourage participation, so I’m using the joke and the photo. As always, send jokes to cflood@capegazette.com.

Q: Did you hear Santa was short one reindeer this Christmas?

A: Comet had to stay home to clean the sink.