Political
season brings out some interesting sights around these parts. Of course, the
signs are everywhere, as obnoxious and redundant as they are, with two more
months until the General Election. Two interesting sites I found this week
deserved a mention. It appears at least two area neighbors have a little
competition going on among their favorite candidates. Within five feet of each
other’s property lines are competing signs for the State’s Attorney’s race as
well as the State Senate contest. That’s just silly. What any candidate might
not find funny is when competing interests throw their campaign signs away.
Campaign signs go missing every year in the cover of darkness, but it seems to
be happening a little earlier than usual. After an anonymous tip this week, I
found myself peeking into a local dumpster to find a handful of signs for a
candidate for the county sheriff post. I couldn’t help but notice the wire
stands were missing, surely to be recycled by the culprit and his or her
candidate of choice. Let the games begin.
The
Ocean City Police Department has conducted five alcohol compliance checks this
summer through its Reducing the Availability of Alcohol to Minors (RAAM)
program. The operation, which involves an undercover minor walking into an establishment
and trying to buy alcohol, resulted thus far in a 79-percent compliance rate
this season. The list of businesses that turned down the minor is being
withheld until charges are filed against the 12 businesses. Word is the list
contains a couple surprise violators, who may or may not just get a slap on the
wrist.
Nearly
7,200 students will head back to county public schools next week. It was
interesting to take a look at the individual school enrollments this week.
Here’s a look from largest to the smallest:
—
Stephen Decatur High School: 1,394
–Berlin
Intermediate School: 694
—
Ocean City Elementary School: 633
—
Stephen Decatur Middle School: 622
—
Showell Elementary School: 544
—
Worcester Technical High School: 500
—
Buckingham Elementary School: 457
—
Pocomoke Middle School: 455
—
Pocomoke Elementary School: 393
— Snow
Hill Middle School: 385
— Snow
Hill Elementary School: 371
— Snow
Hill High School: 361
—
Pocomoke High School: 333
—
Cedar Chapel Special School: 51
Wayne
Gilchrest gets it. The longtime former congressman, who was knocked out of
office two years ago, was recently featured in Chesapeake Life magazine. It
seems life outside the political world is treating Gilchrest, a mild mannered
moderate, just fine. He talks bluntly, always has, and I like that. Check out
the interview. It’s a compelling read and a couple points I found most
noteworthy include:
— On
the topic of the environment: “We’re
on this little green planet in the midst of an infinite hostile environment where
no human can live. We depend on the natural resources from nature’s design,
developed over millions and millions of years in a co-evolutionary fashion, and
here we are at this particular moment of Earth’s evolution and the human
population is bulging, raping the resources and degrading the planet that we
depend on with no thought, thinking that this is the way it is.”
—
On Gulf Coast politicians: Every Gulf Coast Republican is the biggest
anti-environmentalist you can imagine. And these Gulf Coast Republicans—and to
some extent Gulf Coast Democrats, too—these Gulf Coast Republicans voted to
eliminate the Endangered Species Act. They voted for the ‘Dirty Water Act’ in
1995 [a bill to weaken the Clean Water Act]. Every time we tried to bring in
some really good environmental policy—whether it was fisheries or clean air or
preserving wetlands or managing the oceans or whatever it was—they voted
against it. They brought in Big Oil and now they’re all crying foul: ‘All of
the fishermen are out of work! The oil is killing our marshes!’ Well, no
kiddin’. Look what you did for 30 years.”
