Tom Carper: “I would like to change gears, if I could. I would like to talk about a place in southern Delaware, a place called…”

“I would like to change gears, if I could. I would like to talk about a place in southern Delaware, a place called Seaford. Most people in this Chamber--my guess is most people around the world--have never heard about Seaford, DE, but almost everybody in this country and around the world has heard about a product called nylon. The first nylon plant in the world was built in Seaford, DE, by the DuPont Company, I think roughly 60 years or so ago. It is a plant that is still in operation, though run by a different firm today. There are still close to 1,000 people who work there. So Seaford is really known in our State, and to the extent they are known around the country, as the home of the first nylon plant ever built in the world. Seaford is a small town. I don't know exactly how many people live there now, but it is less than 10,000 people--maybe 5,000 or so. There is a lot of pride there, about their heritage with DuPont and a number of other reasons as well. It is in the southwestern part of our State, Sussex County. A number of people in Seaford have gone on to serve in the Armed Forces of our country. This month, two of our young Seaford natives who had gone on to serve in Iraq have given their lives, have lost their lives. A young man named Cory Palmer, earlier in his life, maybe 10 years ago, came up to the Governor's house. I was hosting the Governors Fall Festival. We kicked off the Governors Fall Festival every year with a 5-kilometer race.…”