Thoughts From The Publisher’s Desk

Thoughts From The Publisher’s Desk
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Dale Dunning of the Jusst Sooup Ministry, which serves over 900 quarts of souls a week to the needy in Delaware, could not be a better beneficiary of the show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

Crews from the popular ABC show surprised the Dunning family this week and when they are complete overhauling her ministry building it will be called the Jusst Sooup Ranch. The show, which is being aided by Royal Plus Disaster Kleenup, among other local companies, will air as a Thanksgiving special.

I had the good fortunate of meeting Dunning and her family back in March at our Shore Stars program’s Charitable Souls event. What a wonderful group of people and it’s a beautiful thing that this ministry does on a daily basis. The producers of the show are to be commended for picking the Dunnings to be the beneficiary of their amazing makeover project.

Back in March during an interview, Dunning explained her operation, saying, “Jusst Sooup’s day starts at 3 a.m. five days a week, sometimes six days a week. Jusst Sooup has no set budget and all donations we receive are spent wherever the need arises. None of the volunteers, including myself, receive a salary and we do not receive any funding or support from the state or any other government agencies.”

That’s an effort worthy of some exposure, and the improvements made by the show will touch a lot of lives in the area. It’s going to be a show worth checking out come November. I will be sure to remind you when it gets closer.

While he was generally upbeat while making the rounds at the new visitor’s center and brewery in Berlin as well as during the ribbon cutting ceremony for the convention center expansion in Ocean City, Gov. Martin O’Malley was decidedly serious when he addressed the Maryland Association of Counties Convention last Saturday.

In a precursor for what we can expect during October’s special legislative session and then again in January’s normal gathering, O’Malley seemed to be warning new tax and fee increases are likely for Marylanders.

“I wish I could tell you that the choices we have to make this year will be easier, but they won’t,” he told legislators at the convention. “While we do anticipate revenues to exceed original projections in both fiscal year 2012 and fiscal year 2013, our projected budget shortfall for fiscal year is approximately $1 billion, even with one of the nation’s smallest and leanest state and local government bureaucracies. … To move Maryland forward, we have to make more cuts, and at the same time, we have to be open to new revenues.”

Specifics were not discussed in this speech, but clearly “revenues” in this case means Maryland legislators will be looking for new ways to dip back into our pockets in the coming months.

Berlin resident Kirt Greenberg is again in the news this week, serving as yet another reminder to be weary of those walking among us.

One year after he was arrested for leaving dogs (one later died) in his vehicle at a mall parking lot in near-100-degree weather in Salisbury, he was arrested again outside his Berlin home on seven counts of animal cruelty. When police arrived at his home, they found him placing an animal cage into his vehicle. Several other animals were found in his hot attic.

This latest arrest directly violates his probation from the Salisbury incident last August. In that case, he served 30 days in jail and was placed on probation for 18 months.

All this does not even touch his ongoing child pornography case, which will soon be heard in court. The FBI became involved in that probe and he will soon have his trial heard on that matter.

I understand everyone is innocent until proven guilty, but the time has come to give this guy a stiff sentence. How many more animals need to be abused before a message is sent here?

About The Author: Steven Green

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The writer has been with The Dispatch in various capacities since 1995, including serving as editor and publisher since 2004. His previous titles were managing editor, staff writer, sports editor, sales account manager and copy editor. Growing up in Salisbury before moving to Berlin, Green graduated from Worcester Preparatory School in 1993 and graduated from Loyola University Baltimore in 1997 with degrees in Communications (journalism concentration) and Political Science.