Voices From The Readers

A Shining Star
Editor:
Several years ago, a black Labrador retriever named “Jazzy” arrived at the Humane Society, cold, hungry and skin and bones. Jazzy was in desperate need of care.
Kenille Davies and veterinarian Dr. Maniatty were there and they went to work. Dr. Maniatty took Jazzy to his home. There he could see to the animal’s medical and physical recovery. Sadly, Jazzy had to lose one of her legs, but he saved her life.
She did well and soon was returned back to the shelter. Adoption was the next step. Finding someone to give Jazzy a loving home was tough. She became an orphan.
As time passed, Kenille decided to take Jazzy to her home. She was already sharing her home with Mandy, her other dog who was blind. A blind dog and now a three-legged dog, it didn’t matter. Kenille’s view was different. They simply were beautiful animals in need of care in a loving home.
Two years passed and sadly Mandy died. She was 8. Jazzy is doing great, playing and bopping around the house like any normal dog. She doesn’t know she only has three legs — a sad, yet happy ending.
Kenille Davies is a shining star who needs to be saluted. She is the Mother Theresa of our Humane Society and a valuable asset to Worcester County. To those few influential people who think her removal is favorable, shame on you.
Gene Cleary
Ocean City

Winterfest Reflections
Editor:
(The following letter was addressed to the Ocean City Mayor and Council and Ocean City Recreation and Parks Department.)
I am writing to congratulate you on the 2013 Winterfest lights festival. The pride that the city takes in this festival is apparent. I attended the festival on opening night and saw many smiling faces.
However, I must also express my disappointment in the religious light displays. This festival is a city-sanctioned event, held in a city park that is managed by the Ocean City Recreation and Parks Department. Religious displays at such an event have been shown time and time again to be in violation of the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause. More importantly, they send a message that Ocean City looks more favorably on the beliefs of some over others.
I would like to request that future events be entirely secular in nature, so that all members of your community can enjoy themselves without being made to feel marginalized or lesser than, due to their differing beliefs or lack thereof.
Thank you for your time and kind attention.
Marie Fisher

Volunteers Needed
Editor:
Greetings from the Delmarva Discovery Center on the Pocomoke River! We are a relatively new museum on the Eastern Shore, opening its doors to the public just four years ago and serving as a source of learning and discovery for the public through the preservation and interpretation of its cultural and natural heritage.
I am reaching out to our local communities in our search for volunteers for the 2014 season. Our museum boasts a 6,000 gallon aquarium, a life size steamship replica, a growing collection of animals, Native American and Colonial exhibits, two touch tanks and so much more! As a non-profit entity, we rely on volunteers to help us continue to serve our communities and we have a variety of different volunteer positions available that will help us meet our goals for the coming year.
One goal that the museum is particularly interested in meeting over the next year is to partner with local schools in creating field trips that complement the science and history guidelines that are required in the Maryland Common Core Curriculum Framework. While Maryland State Assessment Scores in 2012 for literacy and math were above average on the Delmarva Peninsula, science scores were significantly lower. The Discovery Center is searching for volunteers that will help combat this problem and raise the Assessment scores for our schools in 2014! By donating only 4 hours a week, volunteers will have a direct impact on the improvement of education at local schools. Volunteers will research and design classes that will include science and history guidelines required in the Maryland Common Core Curriculum as well as make local schools aware of this opportunity by providing outreach.
We are also looking for Front Counter Receptionists and Sales Associates to greet our public and Nature Trail and Heritage Guides to conduct tours. Even something as small a lending a hand (or a hammer) for a day would be greatly appreciated! We will train for all positions so come make some friends (animals and human alike!), gain professional contacts and resume building skills, enjoy a free family membership for the year, and make a difference in your community.
Megan Sullivan
Pocomoke
(The writer is the volunteer coordinator at the Delmarva Discovery Center.)

Support Appreciated
Editor:
We want to express our appreciation to everyone who participated in and/or attended the American Legion Auxiliary, Unit 166 Luncheon Bingo held at the Post. We wish to thank everyone for your support and for the donations of cash, items to raffle and door prizes.
Thank you to our Bingo Committee — Lois Barstis, Alice Jones, Bonnie Hansen, Chris Hawkins, Rosie Garlitz and Tina Preziotti — for all of their planning and hard work to make this event a success. Thanks to all of our volunteers who devoted their time and talents in preparing the baskets that were raffled and for all of the generous donations for the door prizes. Also, we want to thank Joe Verdura, Bill George, Lisa McDonald, Paul Hawkins and Ray Kudobeck for their help in the kitchen, on the bingo floor and with the cleanup.
And finally, we want to express our appreciation and heartfelt thanks to the following game sponsors and businesses that contributed to the event. Without their support this event would not have been possible. They are: Island Canvas Designs, Lucky’s Surf Shop (Gold Coast Mall), Mother’s Cantina, Kay Gubash, Bonnie Hansen, American Legion Riders #166, Lois Barstis, Dr. Robert D. Steinberg, DDS, Bank of Ocean City, Taylor Bank, Alpha Beverages (CHEERS), Eileen Salafia, Bethany Resort Furnishings (Donoway Furniture), Fager’s Island, Ocean City, Three Brothers, LLC, Cork Bar, Ravens Roost #58 (Pit & Pub), Pickles Pub, Steve & Adele Deaver, DeNovos, Decatur Diner, Marina Deck, Lombardi’s, West Ocean City, Coins, Outback, J.C.’s Northside Pub, Race Track Auto, Bagels and Buns, Little House of Pancakes, 3 Brothers Italian Restaurant, Connors Beach Café, Popeye’s, Coffee Beanery, Eagles Landing Golf Course, Deer Run Golf Club, Crabcake Factory, Kirby’s Red Onion Grille, Kirby’s Pub, De Lazy Lizard, Crafters, Gold Coast Mall, Free as a Bird, Buxy’s Salty Dog, Pit & Pub, Crabs to Go, Bearded Clam, Comfort Inn, Gold Coast Mall, Angler, OC Golf Club, Ocean Resorts Golf Club, Eagle’s Landing Golf Course, Deer Run Golf Club, Bonfire Restaurant, D.A. Kozma Jewelers, Buddas & Beads, Captains Table Restaurant, Cheese Beer & Wine, Seacrets Bar & Restaurant, The Shark Restaurant, Phillips Restaurant, The Dough Roller, Sunset Grille, Galaxy 66 Bar & Grille, Rosemary Garlitz, Embers Restaurant/Blu Crabhouse, and The Fractured Prune.
The proceeds from this event will be used for the various local charities that our Auxiliary supports. This event truly demonstrated what could be accomplished when the Ocean City business community and the “Legion Family” come together to help those less fortunate.
Mary Herl
Berlin
(The writer is the president of the American Legion Auxiliary, Unit 166.)

Ashamed Of Actions
Editor:
Having lived here and adopted animals from the society for 30 years, I am totally amazed and disgusted with the actions of the group responsible for Kennile’s dismissal.
They are taking a project born of love and devotion and turning it into a business. I guarantee that the backers and volunteers of the WCHS will not be as devoted as they are now. This is what the innocent animals will suffer from. It is easy to see that this is a mean, lying and spiteful group unworthy of any trust.
As usual, I suspect a financial motive behind this move but I can’t prove it at this time. These people should be ashamed of themselves.
Tom Boenzli
Ocean City

Salute To Kenille
Editor:
I moved here in 1985 and one of the first people I met was Kenille Davies. I was 19 years old and wanted to volunteer at the local Humane Society.
Through the years, I helped out at the shelter off and on. And when I opened my grooming business I would groom the new homeless dogs at the shelter in hopes of getting them adopted. I met many of the other volunteers and was always impressed at how much they would give. It was a learned behavior for many of us because, Kenille was always setting the example. Not only did time get donated but, their homes, their own money and so much compassion that it would inspire one to be a better person.
The animals in the shelter always knew that they had a safe, warm, secure place to live until their “forever family” came to adopt them. There were many occasions that I witnessed Kenille giving and sacrificing herself to come to the aid of a homeless pet. This is a woman who has given her life for our shelter and now her character is under attack. She is being forced to resign because someone assumed she wasn’t doing her job right and that they could do it better.
Instead of handling their concerns with honesty and courage, they took the sleazy road. It seems as if the enemy is testing our community. I love this community for its many great qualities and two that most of us share are friendship and loyalty. We stand up for each other especially when being wrongly attacked or hurt. It recently happened with the Hudson Family case.
After serving the lost, hungry, injured and homeless pets of our community for the past 37 years, Kenille does not
deserve to be forced to resign from the job she loves. Out of gratitude for all she has done for our community we should stand united on her behalf and not let these bullies dictate how our friends are treated in our home.
I know the thousands of animals that she has saved and found homes for over the years are truly thankful that Kenille stayed true to her life calling and has given her heart and soul to save them. She must have been doing something right because you don’t stay in business for 37 years if things aren’t working.
Lyssa Sabia
Berlin

Waiting To Learn
About JFK Killing
Editor:
I suppose we’ll never find out what really happened during the JFK assassination back in 1963. Despite all the conspiracy theorists, the back and forth between them and the lone gunman apologists, the debate ensues. This is saliently so now, 50 years since that dark Dallas day. It’s sad that the citizens of this country and that of the world community can’t know the truth of who and why our charismatic leader was slain that day. Too many of us doubt the Warren Commission finding of a lone gunman. Was it mere rush to judgment? Our doubts are justifiable in the wake of the Zapruder film (which marquees a frontal head shot), the inconclusive House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) Report, the 1991 Oliver Stone move JFK, and the uncertainties of the Assassination Records Review Board (ARRB). So a mountain of unanswered questions beset us today.
This 50-year juncture affords the American people an opportunity to demand an independent and non-partisan review of all the documentation surrounding the JFK slaying. Past attempts, as sincere as they were, were not comprehensive as there were still files kept under lock and key due to “national security”. After 50 years it’s time these records were given the full light of scrutiny that this crime of the century deserves.
If it were possible, this country should convene a gathering of wise citizens, a JFK tiger team perhaps entitled the Assassination Records Review & Investigation Board (ARRIB). Membership would be restricted and uninfluenced – no politicians, media, or governmental agencies. This is similar to the 1994 ARRB membership except that each member would be an investigative expert in his or her own field of inquiry. Empower them with the tools to conduct their inquiry across all government and corporate channels. Fund and staff them. Task them to declassify remaining records and to collaboratively sift through the mountain of amassed data on JFK, to vet all conspiracy theories, validate or discredit Warren Commission findings, conduct hearings, interview (remaining) witnesses, and draw their own conclusions. Allow them the unfettered ability to think critically and report their findings to the American people. A recommended chair for this JFK tiger team could be the Honorable Judge John Tunheim, who competently led the ARRB to its completion in 1998. That Board left open the door and made many recommendations for future such review efforts.
Every November this Navy vet thinks of the PT-109 skipper and what this country would be had he lived. He’d be 96 this year with lots of experience under his belt, unlike the criticism he garnered as an elected 43-year-old chief executive. I wonder about the course of the Vietnam tragedy that might have been avoided. MLK, RFK, Nixon and Watergate come to mind. So many ramifications and tentacles have emanated from Dallas. What would he have opined about the polarized politics of today? 50 years of mystery continues to haunt us. The phantom(s) of Dallas and the secrets of remaining documents should be known. Pro conspiracy or not, there’s still much to be learned about what really happened. Write to your Congressman. Let’s stand up the ARRIB.
Richard Hamner
Montclair, Va