DEWEY, Del. - In Bethany Beach on July 5, 2023, there were recent disturbances caused by people underage on the boardwalk.
The town is taking this opportunity to remind everyone that in both Bethany Beach and Dewey Beach that there is a curfew for anyone under 18 and it will be enforced.
The Dewey Police said they have always had a curfew and it goes from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, then Midnight to 5 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
The Dewey Police said they had crowds of kids ranging 15-17 during Fourth of July weekend but most of them cleared out when curfew time hit.
Meanwhile the Mayor of Bethany Beach, Rosemary Hardiman said the incident involving the teenagers fighting and lighting fireworks earlier this month created the wrong impression of the quiet seaside town. Hardiman said usually people abide by the curfew.
Some in Dewey like Ann Schantz said she feels the curfews are a good thing if managed correctly and if there is enough police to enforce it.
"If they are not getting in trouble, its not such a bad thing and I don't know if they are getting in trouble or not," Schantz said. It's just the scariness that the crowds are so large, it needs some mediation there."
The town of Bethany Beach said they passed the curfew ordinance for anyone under 18 back in July 2021, it changed from 1 a.m. to 11 p.m. The town encourages safe activities during the late hours like spotlighted volleyball and cornhole.