Voices From The Readers

Voices From The Readers
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Proper Respect Due
Editor:

The Town of Ocean City officials are due the respect afforded their office. The mayor and each and every council member were elected by a majority of voters who took the time to show up on Election Day. If you did not get out and vote, if you live in Ocean City, or you have a business or other interest in Ocean City and did not help get the vote out, shame on you.

Every two years you have the ability to change the face of Ocean City government.

The other night I was at a council meeting and some people in the audience were yelling out at the Mayor and Council as well as booing some of them. This is what you do at a sporting event, not at a government meeting.

These elected officials were chosen by popular democratic vote. Just because you disagree is no reason to act this way. Speak out during the public comment time if you have something worthwhile to say.

This is our community, get involved and please give all of the town officials the respect their office affords them.

Harry B. How III

Impressed With Heroes
Editor:

Around 4:30 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 22, we were awakened from a deep sleep by a continuous loud knocking at our front door at the Tern Port Condominium in Ocean City. It was a very persistent police officer who told us that our building was on fire and we had to evacuate immediately.

After quickly dressing, we put a leash on our dog, ran out the front door of our townhouse and jumped into our car. We drove off the parking lot and parked across the street from the fire. My husband left the car and went in search of answers and details of the fire.

For the next 80 minutes in amazement and awe, we watched this brave, dedicated, hard working group of emergency  workers efficiently tackle the fire from all angles. They quickly got the fire under control so that it would not encompass the entire building of 10 townhouses. We were totally impressed by the efficiency and professionalism of these outstanding, full-time firemen, volunteer firemen and police officers who were on the scene. Kevin Kirstein, a volunteer fire chief, did an exceptional job at the command post and could even be seen climbing up the ladders to personally check on the condition of the burning townhouses.

Only the first three townhouses were involved in the fire. The first house was totally wiped out and will have to be completely redone. The second townhouse was severely damaged and the third house had a significant amount of damage done from the fire. Fortunately, the other seven townhomes in the building were saved. Inside our unit, #7, the smoky odor cannot be detected unless the doors are opened.

Mere words cannot express the deep gratitude and appreciation we feel towards these wonderful professionals who risk their lives each and every day to make Ocean City a safe place for the residents and visitors. They are our heroes.

Nadine and Lloyd Needle
Ocean City

Voters Will Remember
Editor:

I read with great interest the reasons given by the band of four for the removal of the town manager.

First, we were told this was done because they wanted to move in a "new direction" then we read this was done because the band of four had lost confidence in Mr. Dare. What I found most interesting was the fact that three of the four stated their reasons in nearly exactly the same words and the fourth just said he agreed with the others.

This is what is known in national party politics as the party talking points. Where the party line is written down and the members recite the words almost exactly.

Do these four council people believe the citizens of this city would not catch this? Did they believe they would be able to spread this and we the voters would just buy it? Do they believe that come election day there will not be a voter backlash?

We need to keep this fresh in the mind of the voters until the next election and make sure that when that day is done the band of four becomes the minority of two.

Len Bender
Ocean City

Concert Mishandled
Editor:
I attended the Kenny Rogers concert at Sunfest. He put on a wonderful show.

However, after it was over, we were all forced to exit by three openings on one side of the tent. Can someone explain why we were not allowed to leave by the back or the two exits near the sand?

If there was a logical reason, it would make sense but it seemed totally ridiculous to me. We were like cattle going into the chutes.
Dianne Denmark

Ocean City    

Support Appreciated
Editor:

As President of the Ocean Pines Volunteer Fire Department, I’ve had the pleasure to experience the wonderful continued support of our community. 

The OPVFD is proud to serve the people of Ocean Pines.  We strive to provide the best possible care, response, and equipment to the community.  On Sept. 5, the winner of the 2011 New House Raffle was drawn, bringing to a close our biggest fundraising event of the year.  The raffle was a great success due to the hard work of many, especially the media which helped make the public aware of the fundraiser, and the wonderful support of all those who bought chances to win the house. 

The funds raised will allow the OPVFD to update equipment and provide the quality of protection to which we strive. Thank you all.

Steve Rosen
Ocean Pines
(The writer is the president of the Ocean Pines Volunteer Fire Department.)

Shame On Commissioners
Editor:

In the Hardwire case, the important people are happy. Hardwire gets a free bombing range and doesn’t have to compensate thousands of property owners who won’t be able to sell their noisy, vibrating homes. The Worcester County Commissioners, who’ve never heard of “consent of the governed,” are happy believing they’ve saved jobs. (Until the Afghan war ends and the bankrupt U.S. government no longer buys Hardwire’s products.)

We Newark-area property owners should be happy to see our property taxes go down. A bombing range in the neighborhood should lower assessments. But, maybe not. Borrow pits and other commissioner approved nuisances haven’t lowered assessments; bombs probably won’t either. We, the people, aren’t important to the superiors we’ve elected to office.

Worcester County needs to raise its dump fees since Ocean City now ships its garbage to Pennsylvania where it’s incinerated to produce electricity. I once wrote a letter to the commissioners suggesting they look into joining with other counties to build such an incinerator. They never respond to my letters, which makes me wonder if they read them. Maybe letters aren’t the best way to communicate with public officials. However, a majority of attendees at the Hardwire meeting objected to the project and the commissioners didn’t listen.

They don’t read, don’t listen and if this bombing range goes through, they won’t hear, either.

Beverly Rae Lynch
Newark

Respect Needed
Editor:

There is much debate about the City Council of Ocean City and their decisions. This has been true for years! Since last election, the city council majority vote has changed sides.

Let’s recall that prior to the last election there was still a 4-3 majority vote but the vote was a reversal of the present majority. Regarding the public’s lack of information about the request for the city manager to retire, the council must respect Mr. Dare and not publicize personnel matters. This has been the policy for closed session matters.

We have attended council meetings since 1998 and there were numerous times when council members stated that they had not received requested information from the city manager. These were cases where the information was needed by council members in order to make sound decisions. Now we have some of the business community of Ocean City, under the leadership of Joe Groves, and the Citizens For Ocean City,  offering opinions. We recall, when working for a referendum concerning a tax cap for Ocean City taxes, that the business community campaigned against it and used scare tactics to defeat it. Thus, today, it is important that we all have correct information in making decisions about our City Council.

The Council, the mayor, the business community, the public — we all love our city — let’s respect each other and seek the truth.

Ann and John McDermott
Ocean City