Munsee

June O. “Bugs” Burton, 88, departed this life peacefully on March 12, 2022, in Wilmington, Del. She was born on Sept. 4, 1933, in Millsboro, Del., daughter to the late Eunice P. Harmon and late Travanian (Buddie) Wright. She had a half-sister, the late Derinda Morris, and a half-brother Travis “Poo” Johnson. She grew up in Millsboro, and believed there was no better place to live and raise a family.

She attended the Nanticoke Indian School, where she completed schooling through the eighth grade. She subsequently left school, like many people of her heritage during that time, to help care for her family. She became a devoted housekeeper, both inside and outside the Harmon household. She quickly learned the truth behind the saying “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” as she indeed became stronger.

Burton worked for more than 35 years at Atlantic Sands Hotel in Rehoboth Beach, Del., and worked her way from being a housekeeper to the supervisor of the entire Atlantic Sands cleaning staff. Additionally, she had the responsibility of maintaining and cleaning the homes of the Atlantic Sands’ owners — yes, she was that good. She always worked hard and was known for her reliable work ethic.

Even without a formal education, she was a problem solver who excelled at everything, which included taking care of her loved ones. She was a creative homemaker with a unique eye for decorating and unparalleled cooking skills. She accepted Christ into her life and walked with Jesus as an active member of the Indian Mission United Methodist Church and was a lifelong member of the Nanticoke Indian Association. Her Native American name, given to her on June 9, 1990, was Lonesome Wolf.

Burton married Harry “Clayie” Burton, the love of her life, on June 3, 1954, in Salisbury, Md. During that…

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KITCHENER — The extensive archeological finds uncovered during improvements to Fischer-Hallman Road have helped double the cost of the road project.

The project will widen Fischer-Hallman to four lanes from Bleams to Plains roads, add three roundabouts and twin box culverts at Strasburg Creek. The original cost was expected to be between $10 million and $12 million but is now expected to be $22 million to $23 million.

About $6.3 million of that extra cost is for archeological work, after evidence of an Indigenous settlement was first uncovered on the site. Other cost increases include building a temporary road to keep traffic flowing while the dig continued, as well as an escalation in construction costs.

The project began in 2020. This spring will be the third season that a team of archeologists has been meticulously excavating the site, uncovering a treasure trove of artifacts from a substantial Late Woodland Iroquoian village, likely dating from 1350 to 1600.

“It’s very labour-intensive work,” Phil Bauer, director of design and construction at the Region of Waterloo, told regional councillors at a meeting earlier this month.

“It’s all hand-digging one-metre-by-one-metre-square units to recover and catalogue and map all of the artifacts being found.”

So far, archeologists have excavated 1,385 square-metre units and uncovered about 80,000 artifacts, ranging from pottery and stone tools, carbonized seeds of corn and beans, clay pipes, stone beads, bone jewelry and a 4,000-year-old arrowhead.

Archeologists will need to work for at least four more months on the west side of the project, Bauer said. Once they’re done, the provincial Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture will need to clear the site before construction can proceed. That will likely take until at least the end of September or early October, regional officials say.

That means underground servicing and road widening work will spill over into…

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OAK ORCHARD, Del.- The Clark family has a long history.

Many generations of chiefs are a part of the family tree even before Delaware was a state.

By the family’s land is where Stillwater Harbor, a 123-lot proposed housing development, would go including near the family’s farm where corn and soybeans grow every year.

Charlie Clark IV says putting the homes in would be devastating. One reason being the many historical artifacts that could be sitting in the woods but also wildlife that are there.

“Once I hit Chiefs Road it’s like they decompress because they see wild turkeys, they see deer,” Clark said. “We see all kinds of animals. It’s quiet you know. That will all be gone forever.”

Flooding is always a concern here in Oak Orchard with River Road being a prime spot for it since it is near the Indian River Bay. Nobody knows that better than the Clark family. Charlie lost his grandfather as he was trying to save his land during a flood.

“Right here on this land we had a lot of erosion because we had developments coming up around us and flooding was a problem and my grandfather had to bring in forty dump truck loads of sand to raise the beach up,” Clark said.

But he was hit by a dump truck and later died at a local hospital.

The flooding is also a concern down the street for several homeowners including Annabella Larsen who also sees the development as more of flood risk.

“We have the last contiguous fifty foot forested block that naturally absorbs all of that flood waters and then they are going to clear cut it and put in these impervious membranes that’s going to increase the flooding,” Larsen said.

The development was scheduled to be discussed in a public hearing with the Sussex County Planning &…

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