Editing Bethany Beach, Delaware (section)

====1980s and 1990s====
Given its Christian roots and its secular desire to remain a "Quiet Resort", Bethany Beach historically had resisted the sale of alcoholic beverages within its jurisdiction. In 1982, the State of Delaware granted the Holiday House in Bethany Beach a liquor license, the first to an establishment in the town, prompting a lawsuit by the town and local landowners.<ref>{{cite book|title=Bethany Beach Memoirs: A Long Look Back|year=1998|publisher=Harold E. Dukes|author=James D. Meehan|edition=Fourth Printing|author2=Harold E. Dukes|pages=147, 149}}</ref> Ultimately, Bethany Beach accepted the sale of alcohol, but the town strictly limits the number of bars within town limits, generally limits alcohol sales to restaurants, and permits no sale of alcoholic beverages after 11:30&nbsp;pm.<ref>{{cite book|title=Bethany Beach Memoirs: A Long Look Back|year=1998|publisher=Harold E. Dukes|author=James D. Meehan|edition=Fourth Printing|author2=Harold E. Dukes|page=141}}</ref>

In the early 1980s, the Bethany Beach Fire Department offered the town's first emergency medical center, operated for the fire department by the [[Beebe Medical Center]] of [[Lewes, Delaware|Lewes]], Delaware.<ref name="Meehan, p. 126"/>

[[Hurricane Gloria]] struck Bethany Beach in September 1985, badly damaging the boardwalk.<ref>{{cite book|title=Bethany Beach Memoirs: A Long Look Back|year=1998|publisher=Harold E. Dukes|author=James D. Meehan|edition=Fourth Printing|author2=Harold E. Dukes|page=115}}</ref>

In July 1987, the Bethany Beach Fire Department opened a substation in [[Fenwick Island, Delaware|Fenwick Island]], Delaware, on the coast a few miles south of Bethany Beach.<ref name="Meehan, p. 126"/> A major [[beach nourishment|beach replenishment]] project took place in 1989.<ref name="Meehan, p. 147"/>

On January 4, 1992, a destructive nor'easter struck Bethany Beach with 85-mile-per-hour (137-kilometer-per-hour) winds. It inflicted $250,000 in damage to the boardwalk, severely damaged beachfront structures, flooded eastern Bethany Beach and the fire station, and caused Toth's 1976 sculpture "Chief Little Owl" — which [[termite]]s already had damaged badly — to lean over dangerously.<ref name=chieflittleowl/><ref>{{cite book|title=Bethany Beach Memoirs: A Long Look Back|year=1998|publisher=Harold E. Dukes|author=James D. Meehan|edition=Fourth Printing|author2=Harold E. Dukes|pages=112, 147}}</ref> The remains of Toth's sculpture were removed and donated to the [[Nanticoke Indian Museum]] in [[Millsboro, Delaware|Millsboro]], Delaware.<ref name=chieflittleowl/> In 1994, a new sculpture created by Dennis Beach and also known as "Chief Little Owl" was installed as a replacement for Toth's 1976 sculpture.<ref name=history/><ref name=chieflittleowl/>

The town's library, the South Coastal Library, opened on January 17, 1994. The town inaugurated a "Concerts at the Beach" program in 1995. On September 11, 1996, Bethany Beach broke ground for its new town hall and community center on what had been the site of its [[water tower]]. The building was dedicated on May 24, 1997.<ref name="Meehan, p. 41"/>

Severe nor'easters struck a week apart in 1998. The first, on January 28, was damaging, but the second, on February 4, was worse, and prompted the evacuation of low-lying areas due to the danger of flooding, those areas not having recovered from the first storm a week earlier. Severe beach erosion resulted from the 1998 storms.<ref>{{cite book|title=Bethany Beach Memoirs: A Long Look Back|year=1998|publisher=Harold E. Dukes|author=James D. Meehan|edition=Fourth Printing|author2=Harold E. Dukes|pages=115, 147}}</ref>