Voices From The Readers

Voices From The Readers
tdmailbox

A Hero Among Us

Editor:

He is an Ocean City lifeguard. One afternoon recently he took his wife and two children to Assateague beach. After having fun in the waves and playing in the sand, it was time to go home. They cleaned the children off, dressed them and put them in the car. He was pulling out of his parking place when he heard a call for help.

He told his wife to watch the kids and he ran for the beach where he saw a frantic father and mother who probably couldn’t swim well. They were walking up and down calling “help, help, someone help, please.”

The father was pointing to his son’s head bobbing in the waves. The lifeguard ran to the water and started swimming and brought the child back to his family on the beach. After a while, when he knew the child was alright, he ran back to his family in the parking lot and started home.

Just another rescue in the life of an Ocean City Beach Patrol lifeguard. They are well trained to do a big job. Have you thanked a lifeguard recently?

Ida Lough

West Ocean City

Peach Festival Thanks

Editor:

The Berlin Heritage Foundation’s Peach Festival Committee extends heartfelt thanks to all those who made our seventh annual festival a great success.

We are grateful to all those who donated funds, prizes or in-kind services, volunteered, performed, demonstrated and sold crafts and art, shared educational information, provided delicious food and beverages, judged pies, dared to join in a pie-eating contest or sport a peach tattoo. We also thank the more than 3,000 people who attended.

Our downtown merchants made Peach Day so much fun. Special thanks go to our major sponsors — Worcester County Arts Council, Maryland State Arts Council and Main Street Berlin — as well as to Mayor Gee Williams, the Council and all the departments working for the Town of Berlin who helped to make this another great community event.

What a festive day in Berlin.

The Peach Festival Committee

More Environmental Extremism On Display

Editor:

I am once again witnessing the overreach of the government using the Endangered Species Act as an excuse to control American citizens. Case in point, the planned stealing of the sandy island in the Isle of Wight bay from citizens by our Department of Natural Resources this coming April.

The Endangered Species Act was signed into law Dec. 28 1973 by Nixon, a Republican, with very good intensions for our environment. But like so many laws and agencies established in America, the liberal/ progressives twist, extend, and abuse the original intensions to achieve their own socialist agendas. Today we have the Environmental Protection Agency, among many other things, closing down the coal industry, the IRS harassing conservative political groups and enforcing Obamcare, the Dept. of Education mandating Common Core on our children, etc. etc, etc. Drought stricken farmers in Calif. had their water cut off to help the endangered delta smelt fish to survive. Locally we have farmers being put through nightmare scenarios. I can come up with examples that will fill this paper.

The little island was created, using tax payer’s money, out of dredge spoil and provides a fun place for families to have picnics and beaching activities. It’s a safe place for children to come to with their parents (getting off their phones and computers) and have fun in the sun. Now the DNR, (citing a 1964 Md. law which states that all new islands created in our bays belongs to the DNR and must be used for conservation purposes), is threating to add this island to its many islands, as a nesting place, closing it for human fun, next April.

Well I say change that law and we can have a winnable legal case. What enraged me the most reading about this government abuse was the statement by Coastal Bays scientist Roman Jesien. He said, “The birds have no other place to go, it is more important for the birds than the folks that need to recreate.” This is typical arrogant thinking of the environmental extremists. The birds have nowhere else to go? What about all of Assateague Island, the islands already posted in Chincoteague Bay, the 90 miles of barrier islands from here to the Chesapeake Bridge Tunnel?

These are thousands of acres for their precious birds. How about his statement that birds are more important than family recreation? This is indicative of the nerve of these environmentalists. He also thinks, according to this article that I read, that giving up this island to citizens will start to tip the scale and knock out the balancing act. Give me a break. What balancing act? One tropical depression or hurricane will wash all the thousands of nests away on the East Coast. This little island nesting loss to the birds is like a sneeze’s impact in a hurricane.

In the early part of the 20th century, would we have built the Hoover Dam, the nation’s highway system, our economy, etc. if we were subjected to the environmental wacko extremists we have today? These extremists have us brain washed into thinking it is a terrible thing for a species to go extinct and it is man’s fault. They claim that it will hurt humans in the long run. Well here is a flash, 99.999% of all species that have ever lived on this four and a half billion year old planet have gone extinct. How has that hurt us? The wackos will not be able to answer that. Try asking one. Extinction is natural. I tell you what is hurting us, the breakup of the American family, that is what is endangered. This island provides for much needed family togetherness and recreation.

I probably will never use this island, but I fight for the preservation of all our freedoms, which we are losing at an astounding rate to this regulation nation. Get involved whether you use this island or not. You will be fighting government overreach. We need to overturn the 1964 law that states new islands created by spoils automatically belong to the DNR. Your tax money created these islands. How can it be justified for the DNR to own it? Go to americanflagisland.org.

You environmentalists feel good about yourselves in what you are doing. Much of what you do make other people unhappy. Do you care about nature? Well how about caring about the 55 million-plus babies that have been painfully murdered since Roe vs. Wade of 1973? Now Planned Parenthood is selling baby body parts. But then preborn birds are more important, right?

Dennis W Evans

Berlin

Cigarette Litter On Rise?

Editor:

I have been and continue to remain an avid supporter of designated smoking areas on the Ocean City Beaches since its approval by City Council. With the summer of 2015 being the first year that any type of restriction has been implemented regarding smoking on the beach, its understandable that there will be hiccups as well as areas for improvement.

Myself and others have taken notice that this summer, there appears to be a much greater collection of discarded smoking materials that lie about in sand areas after the ending of streets and just prior to the narrow beach walk way entrances. It is definitely occurring on my street of residence in the mid-town area. I am aware of it occurring on other beach entrance streets as well.  I am wondering if more smokers this year , after catching onto the recently adopted law in Ocean City, are simply trying to finish their smoke before they enter the beach and then simply throwing it on these sand areas.

Perhaps placing additional orange receptacles in the vicinity of some beach entrances where it would be visible to smokers, could certainly cut down on this litter at beach entrances.   I believe that it is just as rewarding to view and experience a litter free beach, as it is to be able to experience a beach entrance with as little litter as possible.

Doug Antos

Ocean City

Beach Festival Thanks

Editor:

We would like to thank the following volunteers and sponsors that made and insure continuing success of the Annual K-Coast/Eastern Surfing Association Gromfest kid’s surfing contest and family beach festival.

The Town of Ocean City, Ocean City Beach Patrol, Ponzettis Pizza, Mitchell Family, Clifton Rogers, Bill Helmuth, Dave Dalkiewicz, Bonnie Preziosi and all the parents especially the water safety crew.

Our sponsors Catch Surf, Rip Curl, Sun Bum, Freestyle Watches, Wave Riding Vehicles, Sanuk, Belly Jelly, Sunpecs, FCS, Nixon Watches, Toobs Bodyboards, Element Clothing, Dakine, Reflekt Eyewear, Sqeaqua, Ally Sporting Goods, Stance Socks, O’neill Clothing, Creatures, Volcom, Silver Girl and Studio S.

Chris Shanahan, Mark Pugh and Mark Harrell

Ocean City

Opposed To New Regs

Editor:

(The following letter was sent to Ocean City Mayor and Council members with a request to be published in this newspaper.)

I was extremely disappointed to read the new regs to do away with the automotive events and the poorly disguised effort to do away with Bike Week [trailer law].

I would only ask why the cops cannot do their job and enforce the current laws. Why are you targeting the innocent bystanders and requiring the business owners to enforce the new laws? We do not need more laws, just cops that can enforce the current laws.

Three great off-season weekends are about to come to an end.

Richard E. Buterbaugh

Kingsville, Md.