Tuesday, Governor Jack Markell (D) signed Senate bill 111 into law, formalizing the state’s policies for prevention and treatment of concussions in scholastic sports. Delaware is the 29th state since 2009 and the 22nd this year to enact legislation to formally strengthen how it deals with concussions among junior high and high school student athletes.

DFM News was at SB 111 bill signing and provides highlights of what those who guided the bill through the state legislature had to say about it becoming law.

Colleges and universities around the country are also taking concussions more seriously. Last year, the NCAA enacted a new policy requiring all of its member schools to have a concussion management policy in place. At minimum, each school’s plan must have the following: Provide student-athletes annually with education about the signs and symptoms of concussions [...]

What is a concussion? What dangers do they present to athletes? What’s the best way to treat them? DFM News asked University of Delaware Professor of Kinesiology and Applied Physiology Dr. Thomas Kaminski for the answers to those questions. Kaminski is also UD’s Director of Athletic Training Education. Concussions 101 University of Delaware Professor of [...]

Long gone are the days when a high school athlete knocked dizzy during a game was given a whiff of smelling salts or ammonia and sent back into the field.

Nowadays, Delaware’s coaches, trainers, administrators – and even student-athletes themselves – are becoming more aware of the risk of concussions.

It has not always been easy to err on the side of caution as professional sports leagues glorify hard-hitting and sacrificing for the team.

In Kent County, the community of Bowers Beach is a poster child for low-lying coastal settlements that have been living with coastal flooding for years, and expect to see more of it from future sea-level rise.
The former fishing port southeast of Dover is examining an outside consultant’s report which assessed its flooding problems and recommended changes designed to lessen the impact of flooding from spring tides, nor’easters and other storms, and the presumed effects of climate change and future sea-level rise.

As Delaware cleans up and recovers from Hurricane Irene, emergency planners in the state will also have the opportunity to assess its emergency plans and response to determine what worked and what can be done better in the event of future emergencies.

DFM News sat down with James Kendra at the Disaster Research Center to discuss in-depth the response to Hurricane Irene in the First State and what can be learned.

As Delaware cleans up and recovers from Hurricane Irene, emergency planners in the state will also have the opportunity to assess its emergency plans and response to determined what worked and what can be done better in the event of future emergencies.

DFM News sat down with Tricia Wachtendorf at the Disaster Research Center to discuss in-depth the response to Hurricane Irene in the First State and what can be learned.

As Delaware cleans up and recovers from Hurricane Irene, emergency planners in the state will also have the opportunity to assess its emergency plans and response to determined what worked and what can be done better in the event of future emergencies.
DFM News sat down with James Kendra and Tricia Wachtendorf at the Disaster Research Center to discuss in-depth the response to Hurricane Irene in the First State and what can be learned.

Delaware officials are working to see just how much damage Hurricane Irene has done and begin cleaning it up.

Delaware Governor Jack Markell (D) says early reports indicate no fatalities or serious injuries in the wake of the storm and that initial damage estimates appear to be lower than predicted. Markell credits residents heeding the state’s mandatory evacuation order for coastal areas and the driving restrictions for the lack of injuries or fatalities.

“I want to thank everybody who followed the mandatory evacuation orders and kept off Delaware roadways during the storm,” said Markell. There is no doubt you actions saved lives.”

UPDATE:
Governor Jack Markell (D) has lifted the Level 2 driving restrictions in the the state of Delaware effective immediately, leaving a Level 1 driving warning in effect. State officials remind residents that while driving is allowed some roads are still closed due flooding or downed trees.

Gov. Markell has also lifted the mandatory evacuation and closure of business order for all areas in which it had been in effect, effective immediately. But state officials said some communities, especially along the Delaware Bay in Sussex and Kent counties remain inaccessible due to flooding.

Gov. Markell is maintaining a limited state of emergency will remain in effect for the purpose of some cleanup activities.