Common Sense Needed
Editor:
On a Boardwalk, which is a public thoroughfare called Atlantic Avenue, people are not allowed to smoke or vape because the Town Council is so very concerned with visitors’ health. But the public has to tolerate being poisoned by spray paint fumes because the town is afraid of another lawsuit, based on the First Amendment.
Has anyone read that lately? Congress shall make no law… What the heck happened to the council’s concerns about public health, anyway? This is so confusing. Maybe the town needs some new lawyers.
The council debates about changing the long-standing patriotic music accompaniment to the fireworks because of concerns that younger people might not like the traditional music and never come back to Ocean City. Really?
Independence Day is an observance of an event without which we would have no country. Grown-ups should know that.
When I was a kid, and when my kids were little, the only, and perfect accompaniment to the fireworks was the oohs and aahs from the crowd. It was a shared experience passed down to each generation.
Is there no common sense about anything anymore? Who’s in charge here? It’s a shame that the Atlantic Ocean and the incredible beaches aren’t enough to bring people here.
Personally, I could live just fine with a few less people here.
Just saying,
Elliot
Berlin
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Morals And Values
Editor:
If you feel unequal because men get to go shirtless while you are being repressed, create a designated area away from family crowds. You don’t want my antiquated morals thrust upon you and I don’t want your lack of morals thrust upon me or my children.
I’m hip to the fact that the world is changing and old-fashioned morals may be obsolete. But, I’m smart enough to realize that those old-fashioned morals keep society in check. Believe it or not, old fashioned morals, had they been followed, would have made the “Me Too” movement unnecessary.
Men would behave like Gentlemen and women would behave like ladies. Men and women would be paid according to the job they, not their gender. People would value how preciousness of life. That means Blacks don’t get shot because they’re black. People trying to immigrate don’t get separated from their children. Refugees are vetted and not just turned away out of hand. That means children or young adults don’t commit mass murder. There would be no cop killing, armed robbery, burglaries, home invasions, rape, incest and molestation.
My old-fashioned values are based on the Judeo-Christian standards for living. It seemed to me that old fashioned values are not repressive. In fact, they bring liberation. Final thought, civil liberties must be defended, except when these liberties infringe on civil safety. Topless women on a family beach can’t end well. I’d rather men have to wear shirts. I’m just saying.
Robert Paul Canfield
Ocean City
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Disgusted By Process
Editor:
I am among many Ocean Pines residents disgusted by the actions of the Ocean Pines general manager and board members, who, without input from the community, took hundreds of the geese we are accustomed to seeing at our ponds and killed them.
A Pines employee confirmed they were electrocuted, or their necks broken. This is heartbreaking and cruel.
Didn’t most of us who live in Ocean Pines come to this community because of our love for wildlife? But many residents, who say they moved here from cities like Baltimore for a quieter way of life, don’t want to slow down when they’re driving to let the geese cross the streets. Apparently, they forgot that the geese were here long before we were, and they didn’t pause to see their beauty or place in nature. Like all animals, they had a right to be here.
This lack of respect, not only for the innocent and harmless geese, but for the residents who never had a chance to discuss this, or suggest other ways of controlling the geese, is disgusting. We live in a democracy and everybody should have an opportunity to speak. How could the OPA allow the general manager to do this?
A group of objectors is forming to address the OPA, and a strong voice will be heard so nothing like this ever happens again.
Susan Canfora
Ocean Pines
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Where Is Transparency?
Editor:
Much has been written recently about the Ocean Pines Association’s transparency issues. I couldn’t agree more. Lack of transparency has been amply illustrated by recent actions taken by OPA management that many residents find abhorrent and that were not made public until after they occurred.
I’m referring to the apparent almost total destruction of the Canadian geese that have called our community home for years (and contrary to the OPA post, sources say some domestic geese and ducks were also captured and most likely destroyed). This action was posted at 5:35 p.m. on Friday, June 29 on the OPA website after it occurred on Friday morning; I saw the post Monday, July 2 in the weekly email the OPA sends about community activities. I cannot find any notification in advance to the community at large about this action that would have allowed residents to express their opinions prior to the action.
The issue of the geese and their effect on our environment (and to a lesser degree their habit of crossing our roads at will and inconveniencing motorists who are in a hurry) has been debated at least for the 15 years I’ve been a resident. Whenever the idea of killing them was brought up, it was met with a substantial backlash from residents who oppose killing the birds. In the past the Association has tried some half-hearted and not well thought out measures to discourage the geese, with mixed results. So it seems this year, under the guidance of the new GM, the OPA chose to approve a recommendation from the Association’s Environment & Natural Assets Advisory Committee and contract with the USDA for the “removal” of the geese as part of the USDA’s wildlife damage management project. The post goes on to say that this “project” was approved as part of the fiscal year 2018-19 budget (apparently generically listed as “wildlife control”), and that the geese that were captured and removed were humanely euthanized (killed) and donated to the MD Food Bank.
That the OPA would undertake this wholesale killing without notifying residents in advance speaks volumes about their understanding of how the community would react. The wildlife in the community is part of what sets us apart from other neighborhoods in the area; many residents worry about what other actions against resident wildlife the OPA may determine is warranted and may take without any transparency. The OPA has shown us that in these matters they can’t be trusted.
Experts in animal care and management have pointed out two issues with this action – first, saying the geese were humanely treated cannot be accurate; if their destruction was done humanely they would not be fit for human consumption. Second, nature abhors a vacuum; when a wild species population is completely removed from the resource rich environment they occupied, new wildlife will move in.
I contacted the Maryland Food Bank on July 3 and they had not been notified about this action nor had they received any goose meat donation.
I called the new OPA GM July 2. I got his voice mail and left one of my own. As an assessment paying resident, I deserve answers. As of July 5, I have not received a response. Many in the community want to know how many waterfowl were killed, how they were killed and what happened to their carcasses.
Things with the OPA need to change. I hope the new board has enough respect for the residents to let them know about controversial projects in advance, and enough respect for the wild creatures in our midst to allow them to co-exist with the community.
Anne O’Connell
Ocean Pines
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Appalled Over Geese
Editor:
This is in reference to the Ocean Pines goose roundup, which was conducted during the early morning hours of June 29 and did not become widespread public knowledge until almost a week later. The various news articles surrounding this event are misleading in many ways, as the Ocean Pines Association is only telling us what they want us to believe.
For example, non-lethal methods of goose population control the OPA claims were unsuccessful actually would have worked if only more time, more effort and more money had been invested into making them work. Instead, the issue was resolved in the most pathetic, barbaric way possible — compassion for God’s creatures be damned — and it would not surprise me if this mass killing was funded, at least in part, with taxpayer dollars.
As for the geese being “humanely euthanized,” do you suppose they would like us to imagine that state veterinarians were on hand to euthanize every goose, one at a time, and stand by to ensure that each and every one of them slipped away painlessly into eternal rest? Nothing could be further from the truth. All of those geese were gassed to death. Holocaust-style.
Perhaps the biggest lie of all is that the geese were donated to the Maryland Food Bank. Most likely their bodies were unceremoniously dumped into a landfill as the chemicals used to kill them would have rendered them unfit for human consumption.
Ocean Pines officials should be deeply ashamed of themselves instead of patting each other on the back right now.
Margaret Twilley
Ocean Pines
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Shameful Association
Editor:
I am appalled that an “association” that airs every decision, mis-step, management issue, and proposed project didn’t adequately publicize its intent to slaughter almost 300 Canada geese.
We have lived in Ocean Pines — full and part time — for the past 15 years, and often been disappointed in the actions taken by our association, but this is reprehensible. I am aware that these beautiful animals can create problems, but these “problems” have been around for a long time. Surely an association, which routinely wastes hundreds of thousands of dollars, could have pursued another course of action.
We lived most of our life on Kent Island, where there are large populations of “Canadas.” Not once did I ever hear of plans to remove and humanely euthanize them. By the way, ask the officials what humanely means to them. A standard method is crushing and suffocating them.
I drove out of the North Gate this morning and did not see one goose very sad.
By the way, I did see two ducks. What’s wrong? You guys miss a few. I guess once you realize you left two, they’ll be gone in a few days.
If you’re worried about the droppings, take a walk around the lake by the South Gate. There is an enormous amount of dog “droppings” there. When do you plan on rounding them up?
Doug Tribull
Ocean Pines