Expressing Opinions Is Constitutional Right
Editor:
Lest we forget it was Barack Hussein Obama who said, “Elections have consequences.” In response to Melissa Reid’s July 20 letter, “No Place For National Politics In Tourism,” boats in marinas are privately owned. The owners have a “constitutional right” to express their opinion.
Business owners also have the right to display a Trump flag if they so choose. This was nothing more than an attempt to inflict her style of “political correctness” on Ocean City.
Marie Somin
College Park, Md.
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Assateague Lifeguards Deserve Recognition, Too
Editor:
May I compliment you and your reporters on their ongoing reporting of the stellar ocean lifeguarding efforts afforded the Town of Ocean City by its storied beach patrol. With Captain Butch Arbin’s continuation of a long-time chapter membership within the United States Lifesaving Association (USLA), the legacy of lifesaving in a larger context continues.
In Worcester County, we can be proud to celebrate two other highly respected governmental ocean safety and rescue entities that protect Maryland’s southern coastal beaches. Captain Sheldon Dawson leads the Assateague Island State Park Beach Patrol (ASBP). “Shelly” raised the bar in surf lifesaving when in 2017 the ASBP became the first patrol in Maryland to earn the vaunted USLA National certification. Then, there’s the Assateague Island National Seashore lifeguards who protect assigned beach areas within both Maryland and Virginia. Last year, USLA’s National Public Education Committee awarded a plaque that recognizes Chief Lifeguard Jeff Clark’s staff for their superb on-beach surf rescue demonstrations, which is a part of AINS’s greater interpretative program.
In closing, I simply ask that we salute all three organizations for their commitment to professional lifeguarding. These “surf-sentinels” continue a tradition of vigilance and lifeguarding that predates even those whom currently serve us from USCG-Station Ocean City. Given our federal government established a United States Lifesaving Service (USLSS) station in 1891, our roots and the real story can be best experienced by simply visiting the Ocean City Lifesaving Station located on the boardwalk in Ocean City. When visiting the AINS off-island visitor center, be sure and inquire about when the refurbished USLSS boathouse is open to the public.
Tom Perry
(The writer is the vice president of the USLA Mid-Atlantic region.)
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Theft Of Signs Concerning
Editor:
Kiwanis Club of Greater Ocean Pines-Ocean City is a community service non-profit organization. It does many fundraising events for which three signs are posted to inform the public: a wooden one at St. Martins Lane & Beauchamp Road, another wooden one on Route 589 across from the North Gate and a third plastic A-frame sandwich board on the grass median at the South Gate on Manklin Creek Road.
It’s been at least six years that the A-frame has been used and undisturbed at that location. But, in 2018 the original A-frame was stolen/borrowed/removed on Saturday night April 7-Sunday, April 8 before the April 8 Italian dinner. Therefore, Kiwanis purchased a new A-frame exactly like the missing one. It was advertising the July 14 Pancake Breakfast, but it’s believed that sometime during the night of Saturday July 8-Sunday July 9, the new one also went missing. Someone is at fault. It’s too heavy to carry far. It likely went into a vehicle. If anyone knows what happened or saw anything, please call Kiwanian Dave Landis at 410-641-7330.
Kiwanis is trying to raise money to support local youth, not to buy $100-plus signs. It’s a shame and we need help. Police and Ocean Pines Public Works have been contacted regarding knowledge of its whereabouts. What’s happening to Ocean Pines?
D.J. Landis, Sr.
Ocean Pines
(The write is the chair of the club’s public relations committee.)
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Police Deserve Respect
Editor:
Police, firefighters and emergency responders are our protectors. They respond in our time of need no matter the time or weather. They deserve respect not challenging obscenities and civil disobedience. This brief video recently involving an Ocean City police officer and a teen fails to describe the hostility or incivility of the youth.
Anyone who uses this to defame our police is promoting a falsehood. Those youths need to acknowledge their wrongs. And those who were there need to speak up.
“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” (Edmund Burke)
James Hirschauer
Bishopville
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Good Jobs Being Lost
Editor:
The controversy over the offshore windmills is still swirling around. The Ocean City government is actively opposing the construction of the windmills. Unfortunately, the Mayor and City Council refuse to recognize the scientific evidence that shows the folly of their argument. For example, in a recent Parade magazine that is distributed by 379 newspapers that have a readership of 79 million, Marilyn Vos Savant, an intelligential who has a question-and-answer column in Parade, was asked this question: “If you stood on a beach facing the horizon, how far could you see?” Her answer was that you would not be able to see more than 3 miles.
I fail to see why the Mayor and City Council persist in opposing the windmills. They have lost the battle. For example, major fabrication of the windmills and the related high-paying jobs will take place in Baltimore County, Maryland. With informed political insight, these jobs could have gone to their constituents.
The Mayor and City Council should now be negotiating for set aside jobs they can obtain for their constituents. Unfortunately, the Mayor and City Council continue to display the petty political judgement of a small-town council.
Joseph H. Potter