Reader proud of Operation SEAs the Day

Editor:

We were minding our own business, driving east on 54 last Friday, when first we noticed all the pedestrians waving flags, and then we saw strobing police lights and heard the horns. All the cars stopped as the parade came towards us. We soon realized it had to do with SEAs the Day.

We were astonished at all the motorcycles, old jeeps and police and fire department vehicles that were part of the escort to Bayside. Everyone was waving and honking, but when we saw the military children hanging out of the buses, waving flags at us, it brought tears to my eyes.

I am so thankful that, by happenstance, we were on Route 54 to see the parade, because I will never forget it. As the wife of a retired military officer, I was proud to be part of something so special for these families who have been given a vacation from their troubles. Thank you to everyone who gives their time, money and support to SEAs the Day.

Lisa Einsel

Dagsboro

Reader says the silence is deafening

Editor:

The acts of heroism, resilience and perseverance of Americans hit by Harvey are heartening evidence that the things we allow to divide us in our daily life become irrelevant in crises. These blessedly normal human responses are both self- and group-beneficial. We do things best when we work together.

From the perspective of someone not directly impacted by these monster storms, local and federal response seems to be well-coordinated. Congress did the right thing and allocated monies to help with cleanup and restoration. The wearisome, missing piece is that neither major cable news nor the Administration are connecting the dots between the increased severity of storms and climate change.

Climate change is real. Climate change is now. The earth’s natural and cyclic changes do not explain the weather patterns we are now experiencing. Global temperatures are rising. All of the earth’s land and water surfaces are warming. Global temperatures have been recorded for 137 years; 2016 was the hottest year on record. Of the 17 hottest years ever recorded, 16 have occurred since 2000.

Ninety-seven percent of the world’s climate scientists agree that human activity related to the burning of fossil fuels, which spew millions of tons (110 million tons every 24 hours!) of heat-trapping gasses into the air, is a primary factor in the warming. The rapidity with which the heating is occurring is overriding the earth’s natural ability to adjust and heal. We are not being good stewards of this magnificent planet on which we live. We can do better.

No one is suggesting that one hurricane or other major storm event is the result of global warming and climate change. Such a conclusion will come only from years of experience and scientific research. But we do know enough about water and wind properties to understand how warmer water and land masses affect storm characteristics.

Warmer air absorbs more water, which feeds more rain into storms. As the seas become warmer, the heat (energy) powers fiercer hurricanes and tornados. A warmer climate amplifies the impact of storm surges from hurricanes by pushing more water farther onto shorelines. That water doesn’t just come in and go out, but accumulates and stays, like a tide, until it covers large areas of land.

The Trump administration has made every effort to silence references to climate change in websites and educational materials. Scientists in federal agencies working on climate change projects have been reassigned. Virtually every major EPA initiative related to environmental and public health safeguards have been delayed or reversed. Word has gone out from the White House that public information releases are to avoid using the phrase “climate change.”

The Centers for Disease Control quietly pulled out of hosting the 2017 American Public Health Association meeting in February. The focus of this year’s meeting… “Climate Change & Public Health.” America has pulled out of the 2015 Paris Agreement. We now stand with Syria and Nicaragua as the only countries in the world which have not committed to national efforts to mitigate and slow climate change. The administration has gone out of its way to nominate climate-change deniers in powerful positions with authority to set policy.

None of this makes us stronger or safer. It makes us weaker and less safe. It cripples economic growth. It deprives the world of American leadership on this critical issue. It paves the way for China to take the lead, which it has wasted no time doing.

Patricia Frey

Dagsboro

Bipartisan House group urges protection of CHIP

Editor’s note: The following letter from the Health Committee of the Delaware House of Representatives was addressed to U.S. Sens. Tom Carper and Chris Coons, and U.S. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (all D-Del.), and was sent to the Coastal Point for publication.

We often talk about how critical it is to invest in our future generations, to prepare them so they can pursue productive, successful lives and advance our society as the whole. Access to quality, sometimes lifesaving healthcare for our children is a vital part of that investment. A healthy child is more productive in school, at home and in all aspects of life.

Children should not be frivolous pawns in the budget and political negotiation process. Nor should ensuring their health be a partisan issue.

That’s why we, members of the Delaware House Health & Human Development Committee, write to you on behalf of the thousands of Delaware children and their families who depend on the Children’s Health Insurance Program, a program that could be tragically upended without action by Sept. 30. It’s a program that has provided much solace and security to lower-income families as they grapple with emergency treatment, life-altering diagnoses and the everyday health needs from a flu shot to cold medication.

There is much uncertainty when it comes to budget planning, but for the nearly 10,000 Delaware kids and nearly 9 million lower-income children nationwide who depend on CHIP, there is no question — this program is needed and necessary to their livelihoods. It helps families not be forced to decide whether to pay for groceries or medication and basic treatment. It gives parents a sense of security and peace in knowing that coverage is in place when a need for care arises.

Delaware is in the process of reforming its healthcare system, but it is not prudent or responsible to limit access as we move forward. Without an extension by Congress, a federal policy commission estimates that CHIP funding could be exhausted in the state by February 2018 (https://www.macpac.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Federal-CHIP-Funding_W...).

We acknowledge that Congress has many difficult decisions to make through the end of the year. However, this is one decision that should not be gambled or left to early-morning debates. Lives could very literally be at stake. We urge you to take action to extend and fully fund CHIP so that Delaware children and children throughout our country will have the security and healthcare access they need.

David S. Bentz, Health Committee Chair

Debra Heffernan, Health Committee Vice-Chair

Health Committee members Reps. Paul S. Baumbach, Earl G. Jaques, John A. Kowalko, Sean M. Lynn, Sean Matthews, Edward S. Osienski, Kimberly A. Williams, Ruth Briggs King, Kevin S. Hensley, Harvey R. Kenton, Joseph E. Miro and Lyndon D. Yearick

Reader weighs in on monument talk

Editor:

Although it was not intended, we owe thanks to the Sussex County branch of the NAACP for drawing public attention to the monument commemorating soldiers and civilians who served the Confederate cause prior to and during the Civil War.

The monument, situated behind the carriage barn of the Marvel Museum, is an obelisk bordered on one side by two large stones which have names inscribed as on the obelisk. Two flag poles, one for the American flag and the other with a Confederate, complete the picture. A plaque gives credit for the monument to the Daughters of the Confederacy and the Delaware Grays.

I’ve never heard anyone complain about the bucolic, pleasant setting of the Gettysburg Battlefield, and there is no question that the Georgetown monument in any way suffers with its setting with a view of the farmland framed by a white railing fence. It is truly a rural setting for a monument recalling a rural agricultural past.

Names inscribed on the obelisk and accompanying stones give evidence of strong support for the Southern cause of secession, especially in the central and western portions of the county.

For Georgetown, we find the names of two of the crew members of the famed and feared sea raider, the CSS Alabama. One is Russell Baker Hobbs, quartermaster, whose gravesite can be found in a Georgetown cemetery and whose collateral descendants continue to live in Georgetown. The other is David Henry White, crewman. Another is that of the young Capt. Caleb R. Paynter, who was to play a prominent role in post-war Sussex County.

Seaford, near the head of the Nanticoke River, was well-represented. Four have the surname Martin and two with the name Horsey. Other single names are Bradley, Allen, Price, Hessey, Messick, Marvill and Vickers. Other notables from Seaford include a Confederate sympathizer from Delaware, former Gov. William H. Ross, whose home and plantation were just north of Seaford. Also inscribed is that of Caleb Ross, private, 9th Virginia Cavalry, a son of former Gov. Ross.

Seaford sympathizers included men of the cloth with that of John L. Gray of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. An especially prominent inscribed name is that of Leonidas Polk, lieutenant general of the Trans-Mississippi Army, the portion of the Confederacy west of the Mississippi River. Georgetown Historic Society President Jim Bowden suggests that Polk’s name is among those who attended the Seaford Academy.

Laurel, located on the Broad Creek flowing into the Nanticoke River, has six entries, with names Giles, Hearn, Bell, Cooper, Palmer and Collins. Pre-war Kent County sheriff and post-war Delaware congressman William Atkinson is listed as a sympathizer, as is Thomas F. Bayard, son of war-time U.S. Sen. James A. Bayard.

Evidently, the post-war political careers of U.S. Sens. Bayard and Willard Saulsbury did not suffer from their sympathy for Southern secession. Indeed, this writer knows from other sources that both men were among the Northern Peace Democrats who held that the Southern states should not be coerced into staying in the Union. It is of interest that Saulsbury made his home in Georgetown, at the southeast corner of Pine and Front streets.

One scrutinizing the hundred or so names finds none from Lewes. Another Atlantic seashore town similar to a situation like that of Lewes was Chincoteague, Va. It was the only town of Virginia that did not vote for secession. Could the two towns, less dependent on agriculture and vulnerable from sea, have seen their prospects in a similar light?

Georgetown’s Confederate monument is a valuable learning tool for visitors and children. The break-up and even Balkanization of our great American country is always a potent threat. At least in this instance it did not succeed.

William McCauley

Georgetown

Is this Delaware’s idea of ‘shared sacrifice’?

Editor:

In the Great Budget Reset of 2017, the legislature and the administration of our state made two decisions. One was to end the estate tax, protecting inherited wealth, and the other was to end the state prescription assistance program, which aided low-income seniors and disabled Delawareans with drug costs.

The justification for eliminating the estate tax was that it didn’t really raise that much revenue for the state — $9 million one year, 1.3 another. As for the state prescription assistance program, the governor and his supporters argued that it wasn’t really necessary for recipients — they could get discounts and rebates for their drugs from drug makers, and cutting the program would save the state about $2 million a year.

Now, as of Aug. 31, around 3,500 people in our state have lost help with their drug costs. The program paid their drug coverage premiums and deductibles, helped with copays and coinsurances, and chipped in if they went into the infamous donut hole, during which the beneficiary pays more out of pocket for drugs.

For the remaining months of 2017 and beyond, these folks have to find the money to pay their premiums and deductibles, in addition to copays and coinsurances. The governor and our legislators said that would represent no real problem for these citizens. Just get a rebate or a discount from the drug company.

Most drugs don’t have rebates or discounts available. You will need to go through your drug list, identify the manufacturers of each drug, search the website of each manufacturer to find if any assistance is available for your specific drug, and then make separate applications for every drug for which an assistance program exists. The eligibility rules and the application process will be different for every rebate and discount program. Furthermore, no drug maker will provide premium and deductible assistance.

The state prescription assistance program filled a real need. The people using it were living on an income between a bit more than $16,000 to $24,000 a year in 2017. That amount makes them ineligible for federal assistance with drug plan premiums, deductibles and copays. The people benefiting from this program are the elderly and the disabled. They’re not users or abusers of the system. They’ve worked, paid taxes, raised families. Now, in their time of need, why are they being required to “share the pain” of the budget reset?

For the former estate tax to kick in, you had to have at least $5.49 million in inherited wealth. The legislature voted to protect wealthy families when our representatives and senators voted to abolish the estate tax. When they voted to cut the state drug assistance program, they showed a deep unconcern for the beneficiaries and their families.

The governor’s budget recommendations claims the people losing state prescription assistance would be able to substitute rebates and discounts from for-profit drug makers, but the State has no plans take sure that actually happens. The people who are being cut off are effectively being abandoned.

The inheritance tax was attacked as a “death tax.” But levying a tax on inherited wealth of more than $5.49 million wouldn’t kill anyone. Cutting off financial assistance for life-saving drugs really can hasten people’s deaths. Some children will get to inherit their parents’ and grandparents’ wealth without being taxed by the State; other children will have to watch their parents and grandparents struggle to pay for their insulin and inhalers.

Deb Schultz

Lewes

New councilman greets our readers

Editor:

As you probably know, the Town of Bethany Beach will not hold an election this year for town council. Three seats were eligible for election, and only three candidates filed by the July deadline. Two incumbents choose to run for re-election, Joe Healy and Jerry Morris. I was the third candidate.

My name is Patrick Sheplee. Since I didn’t have an opportunity during the campaign, I would like to introduce myself to the residents of Bethany Beach (and anyone else who might be interested).

My wife, Karen and I just celebrated our 47th wedding anniversary. We live full time in Columbia, Md. We have three grown children and five grandchildren. All of them spend time in Bethany every year. We have owned our house in Lake Bethany since 2000 and spend as much time here during the year as possible.

I am a graduate of the University of Maryland and a CPA. I have spent my career in both public practice and the private sector. I am the treasurer for our local homeowner’s association here in Lake Bethany. I have been active in the town government for the past five years. I have served as chairman of the Bethany Beach Audit Committee and am a member of the Charter & Ordinance Review Committee and the 4th of July Parade Committee. I have volunteered for several years to help with the Beach & Bay Cottage Tour, as well as the Operation SEAs the Day activities.

My interest in running for a council seat this year is due to my desire to get even more involved in Bethany Beach’s policies. I love this town. I have seen firsthand how the council operates and deals with issues, and I would like to continue that effort. I believe my primary objective will be to keep the town the family-friendly, quiet resort that we have all come to love, while staying alert to our changing world. I am fiscally conservative and believe that we must remain on a solid financial footing.

I feel strongly that all opinions need to be heard and can assure all the residents of Bethany Beach that I will listen to your concerns, questions and suggestions. I may not agree with you, but I will listen to you. I will take your thoughts into consideration before making any vote.

I encourage you to contact me on issues that are important to you. I can be reached by mail at P.O. Box 115, Bethany Beach, DE 19930, by email at psheplee@townofbethanybeach.com, or by phone at (301) 806-5030. I look forward to serving all the residents of Bethany Beach to the best of my ability.

Patrick Sheplee

Bethany Beach

Sussex County has fallen and it can’t get up

Editor:

A newly-designed flag to hang in Sussex County Council chambers should have a trident with a chicken sitting on a bed of corn (representing agriculture), a towering new building under construction (representing building and development) and a neon sign blinking “Eat at Joe’s” (representing tourist dollars pouring into our local businesses).

Each of these cultures has prospered to an overwhelming degree, ably aided and abetted by our state and local governments. Also depicted on the flag should be a dead crab, a one-room school with children spilling out the doors and windows, a house fire with bystanders raising hands to volunteer to fight the fire, a police officer set apart from a crime victim by a huge wall of time and a mish-mash of 10 cars trying to access a two lane road with a ditch for a shoulder. Now, that is a flag that represents all facets of life in Sussex County.

Over the last 13 years the Coastal Point has witnessed and reported on the “best of times” and “worst of times” in Sussex County. A deserved “well done” to The Coastal Point for its coverage of Sussex County “quality of life” issues. Roads, fire and police, schools, water and sewage and natural waterways are among the public issues that have received extensive coverage by the Coastal Point. During the past 20 years, Sussex County has segued demographically from a rural county inflated by a “three month beach season” to an urbanized county with a “beach season spanning the calendar year.” From 2000 to 2010, Sussex County experienced the highest numeric and percentage population growth in Delaware and it will again when the 2020 census is completed and published. Compare that to the growth in New Castle County — zero, or even possibly a decline.

And yet, despite the obvious, we stand with mouths agape at how ill-prepared, ill-equipped and disinterested our county council and the State of Delaware are with the reality of our overwhelmed infrastructure here in Sussex County. Nevertheless, kudos to our sharp-eyed state accountants who took a nickel from our pockets on the real property tax ($100 of the $500 — gone) with nary a whimper. Sussex County and the State should take note: these days of “robbing” from the cotton tops are coming to an end as political activism is churning in our souls. I do find comfort knowing that if we ever could get a decent protest going over local and state services, the Delaware State Police would have no place to put us, let alone accommodate our prescription needs while in custody.

Against this backdrop, there are groups of citizen volunteers trying to help Sussex County “get up.” One such group has focused on the pollution and destruction of our waterways, in particular Dirickson Creek which feeds into the Little Assawoman Bay. I admire the altruistic work of these citizen volunteers who are doing their best to clean our bays. The help they need is not partnerships with the forces that brought about the destruction and decay to our waterways (agriculture, commercial and residential development, businesses, lack of County oversight of water and sewer) but meaningful action to solve problems only government can tackle. For starters:

Sussex County: Freeze all new commercial and residential building permits, i.e. stop digging; rescind all building permits where construction is not underway; enact a usage fee of 5 percent on all commercial and residential real estate sales; enact of usage fee of 2 percent on all hotel and motel rooms; issue bonds to obtain by eminent domain all agricultural land abutting our waterways.

To builders and developers: Price into your costs a 5-percent earmark on all new commercial and residential sales to fund a public trust dedicated to promoting a safe and clean quality of life in Sussex County.

To the State of Delaware: Stop the New Castle County “Hand Jive” at budget time. The revenue the State derives from people [coming to the beach] should find a path back to Sussex County for dedication to local needs that were provided to New Castle residents over 70 years ago.

What is unproductive in this mission is meaningless political grandstanding. A recent example, Senator Carper noting the need for more work in the effort to clean the environment and, to that end, he and other senators are seeking at least $700,000 for each local program from Washington. This is glib “swamp speak” for: We will rustle up some local funds just as soon as the feds give us $700,000. Does anyone really believe our Congress will look to fund a local clean-up of Dirickson Creek with all the competition currently in play for federal dollars?

Sussex County and the State of Delaware act as stewards for protecting our property and enjoyment of life, without injury by one to another. (See, Delaware Constitution, Preamble). To all elected representatives from Sussex County: Start acting like you care about our quality of life and step up — do your job and begin making the tough decisions to help Sussex County “get up.”

James Angus

Frankford

Chamber thankful for support with event

Editor:

On behalf of the Bethany-Fenwick Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and staff, I would like to thank everyone who made the 39th Annual Bethany Beach Arts Festival a huge success.

Many artists reported record-day sales for the season as the crowds took advantage of the beautiful weather. Thank you to our many partners, including Schell Brothers, the presenting sponsor; Bayside, a Carl M. Freeman Companies Community; John Donato, who inspired artists of all ages with an interactive mural as the Quiet Resorts Charitable Foundation (QRCF) held the public vote for the finalists of the $1,000 Scholarship to a local junior or senior artist. Sponsored by Creative Concepts, the silent auction boasted over 90 pieces with all proceeds being split between the four local elementary school art programs.

The Arts Festival is a true testament of the famous quote “Many hands make light work.” First, the efforts of Dean Sissler and the Bethany Beach Police Department were much appreciated, along with the efforts of Brett Warner, Sean Ely and the Public Works team. Lastly, words cannot do justice to how much the Chamber appreciates the work of the outstanding volunteers. From the 5:30 a.m. crew who marked the boardwalk and streets, to the volunteers who made calls to the silent auction winners, your time and the feedback we received from your efforts are so meaningful to the staff.

Thank you, Christine Bohner, Anita Broccolino, Eunice Carpitella, Ron Derr, Jim Doyle, Susie Foskey, Mary Germann, Georgette Greason, Regina Handy, Rebecca and James Hayman, Max Hutsell, Kami Kane, Ron Lewis, Jim Mace, Mike Mall, Kristie Maravalli, Kevin McCourt, Danny McKenzie, Jeanne Mueller, David Nilsson, Tom Perry, Steve Plotkin, Mary Smith and Milt Warren. We are blessed to have such quality people who serve to promote community and commerce in the Quiet Resorts. Thank you for being part of our Chamber team!

Lauren Weaver

Executive Director

Bethany-Fenwick Area

Chamber of Commerce

Monument is worthy of challenge to remove it

Editor:

Should we accept the fragmentation or “balkanization” of the country? William McCauley’s use of this term in a previous Coastal Point paper is intriguing. “Balkanization” is defined as a division of a multinational state into smaller ethnically homogeneous entities. The term also is used to refer to ethnic conflict within multiethnic states.

William McCauley wrote eloquently, “The break-up and even the ‘Balkanization’ of our great American country is always a potent threat. ... At least in this instance it did not succeed.” Is William McCauley leaving the door open to another effort? Does he appear to prefer to keep the historical identity alive in Georgetown’s Confederate Monument, which is in stark contrast to the expectation of the Sussex County branch of the NAACP.

He expresses educational value in this “monument.” He desires our “children” to embrace it “educationally.” I am rather suspicious of his intent in keeping a positive spin on the Confederacy and the Sussex County participants within the Confederacy and our country’s civil war as a value for our children to consider.

The Confederacy participants in the “Civil War” committed treason! Our brothers and sisters of humanity who were enslaved were clearly crimes against humanity. The “South” also kept the majority of “white” citizens poor and uneducated. I recommend the books, “White Trash — The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America” by Nancy Isenberg, “The Other Slavery” by Andres Resend, “The Irish Slaves” by Rhetta Akamatsu to mention a few.

Where did the driving force to keep slavery and keep poor and uneducated “whites” emerge from? It came from the “Christian” Churches of the Confederacy. Without the “Christian” moral justification the Civil war, it would “never” have occurred. We attend those churches today in Sussex County, and throughout the South and nation. Yes, they have “changed.” However, one must ask if those Civil War-supporting pastors and church members did indeed go to Hell for their sins of slavery. Did the Slave owners North and South go to hell for their sins? Did the Confederate leaders and participants go to hell for their sins? Yes, Christian Churches of the North had supporters of slavery as well. It also must be asked, “Did those pastors and members go to hell for their sins?” I do not know the answer. I only know what religious doctrine I was taught and read that might send me to hell.

History can be very painful as recorded: The Roman Catholic Church to the Indigenous peoples as they were told that God declared that the Pope rules all people, regardless of their law, sect or belief. This includes Christians, Moors, Jews and Gentile, or any other sect. The Native Americans were to come forward of their own free will to convert to Catholicism or “with the help of God we shall use force against you, declaring war upon you from all sides and with all possible means, and we shall bind you to the yoke of the Church and Their Highnesses; we shall enslave your persons, wives, and sons, well you or dispose of you as the King sees fit; we shall seize your possessions and harm you as much as we can as disobedient and resisting vassals.” “Furthermore, the Natives who resist are to be held guilty of all resulting deaths and injuries from the ‘just’ war waged against them.” Did this Pope go to hell?

We have much to answer for. Why would we ever want to “raise up on high” monuments to those who committed crimes against humanity... North, South, East or West?

Lloyd E. Elling

Ocean View

Layton moving ahead with new project

Editor:

According to my research. Lower Sussex Little League was incorporated as a non-profit organization in 1966. If, my dates are wrong, please, accept my apology.

In the beginning, the teams were sponsored by the Selbyville Elks, The Fenwick Island Lions Club, The John M. Clayton Lions Club and The Lord Baltimore Lions Club, and there might be more, but I can not find anything else in the past minutes that I found.

They played their games mostly at the high schools at that time: Selbyville, John M. Clayton and Lord Baltimore High Schools.

Lower Sussex Little League started to grow so much, they were to able to move to a central location at the Pyle Center with three fields.

Our (Arlene and I) children started playing at the Pyle Center in 1985 and we were able to start serving on the Lower Sussex Little League Board in 1987. I was elected President in 1989. In 1990, we able to sign a 99-year lease for a new section (approximately 14 acres).

When softball was introduced, the number of children grew dramatically (averaging 700 children a year) so the building of new fields were needed. Many people volunteered their time to build a first class facility.

I want to thank the many volunteers (managers, coaches, umpires, concession stand workers) and the people who donated money to build this facility. We have a facility that has no debt.

In 2004, we were lucky enough to land The Senior Girls Softball World Series (Ages 14 to 16) and, in 2013, we landed a second World Series, which was the Big League Girls (ages 16 to 18). These girls come from around the world and they get to see the United States and make new friends.

Who would have thought that our complex would be seen on ESPN? Some of the best softball is played in Sussex County, because some of our local teams have won the World Series.

I have been on the Board of Directors for 30 years and I have served as president for 21 years, but I am looking for a new challenge.

I am also serving on the Pyle Center board, and I have received permission to explore the idea of building a YMCA or a community center.

The Pyle Center has two other parcels on which we can build. We have a partial board of directors in place. If you would like to volunteer, please, let me know. You can reach me at brucelayton@verizon.net.

Again, it has been a pleasure to serve on the Lower Sussex Little League Board of Directors, but it is time to see if we can build another facility.

Bruce Layton

Ocean View

Reader asks: Equal justice ... or not

Editor:

Cash bail is the dirty secret of America’s justice system. Being poor should not mean more jail time, however, if you don’t have resources that is where you’ll be.

Municipalities across the country jail more people for not being able to post bond than given a speedy trial. Hence the growing prison population and the mass incarceration that exists today. And, I might add, that the for-profit prison industry has grown proportionately. We have in this administration individuals willing to roll back regulations that are both harsh and punitive. These statutes unfairly impact poor people and people of color. When I look at the scale of justice, I see a blindfolded woman who doesn’t see you. But in actuallity, a double standard exists that being poor, black and innocent results in more jail time than a white person of means who is guilty!.

As the struggle for the promise of America continues we are confronted by the pathological lying and bigotry by our current president.

Valerie Reeves

Ocean View

Accolades offered to first-responders

Editor:

In late August, I was attended to and transported to Beebe hospital by some very special people: Matt Farlow of the Sussex County EMS, and Brian McConalogue and Robert Steffens of the Millville volunteer fire department.

So often, people only write a letter or call a supervisor with a complaint. I have always felt that I needed acknowledge those whose service is outstanding as well. Early in another life I worked as a personnel specialist in a large city school system. All we heard day after day was complaint after complaint. Every now and then, an accolade came our way, and it meant so much. Don’t get me wrong — legitimate complaints need to be addressed as promptly as possible, but often we don’t give enough credit to outstanding service folk.

These young men attended to me, monitored me and answered all my questions as we traveled along Coastal Highway.

I eventually called their supervisors and am now writing this letter to thank them again.

Sue Cutter

Ocean View

Reader finds problems with latest bill

Editor:

The Graham-Cassidy bill is an extreme proposal that would increase costs for older Americans with an age tax, cut coverage and price-gouge people with preexisting conditions like cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.

Graham-Cassidy would jeopardize older Americans’ ability to stay in their own homes as they age, and threaten coverage for people with disabilities and people who live in nursing homes.

AARP, doctors, hospitals and patient advocates all agree that this bill is the wrong path forward on health care.

We have worked and paid into Social Security and Medicare our entire life, knowing that as seniors healthcare would be available to us at a reasonable cost.

We agree that Obamacare is not perfect, but we should not throw our seniors under the bus to solve the problems.

George Dobson

Ocean View

Reader offers solution to bypass situation

Editor:

I wonder if anyone thought to have Mountaire pay for the proposed Route 24 bypass in exchange for permission to expand. Seems to me to be a win-win. Make the deal already.

P. Martin

Georgetown

Readers want officials to get involved

Editor:

Dagsboro residents in Peppers Creek have voiced a complaint similar to Ocean View residents in Fairway Village, where the Town management has permitted the developer to openly own and market multiple rentals for profit, which classify those multiple units as a commercial enterprise in a residential-zoned community.

From your article in the Sept. 22, 2017, issue, it appears the Town fathers have failed to perform due diligence in issuing building permits for commercial buildings without holding any public hearings to alter the residential zoning.

Both Dagsboro and Ocean View officials pawn off their legal responsibility by suggesting the HOA attorneys investigate. I am not sure of the Peppers Creek HOA, but Fairway Village HOA is still controlled by the developer, leaving Fairway Village caught between a rock and a hard place.

State delegations pass the buck, saying it’s a Sussex County zoning issue. Sussex County Zoning passes the buck, saying state legislature exempts incorporated towns from their control. However, they require various permits for improvements. How can they differentiate between what they control?

When we decided to buy our home and retire in Ocean View, Del., we found Fairway Village to be our perfect place. The agents for all three developers presented this development as an individually-owned mixture of single-family and condominiums. The developer continues marketing at least four buildings in Fairway Village as long-term rentals, with one building fully occupied, and three are under construction.

How can a developer change the usage from individually-owned condos and single-family residences to developer-owned multi-family apartments without a public notice and hearing? Something smells politically in Dagsboro and Ocean View. Our Delaware delegation in Dover, as well as Sussex County Council, as well as Zoning, copped out with “they have no say over incorporated towns.”

Anthony “Tony,” J.J. & A.W. Smith

Ocean View

Residents thankful for police assistance

Editor:

Please allow us the privilege to publically thank the Delaware State Police of Troop 2, Georgetown, especially to Cpl. Spudis, Detectives Bluto and Powell. These officers investigated, kept us in the loop and after several weeks returned stolen property: a concrete statue of an oriental lady taken from our front yard in July.

On the date of invading our privacy, the thief or thieves stole two statues. These officers could not locate the “eagle,” however did recover the above-mentioned, which we did not expect to ever see again.

Thank you officers, our finest, for your dedication, professionalism and concern. You are certainly examples for law enforcement and receive our greatest respect. God bless you and all those who wear law-enforcement uniforms.

Semper Fi.

The Rines

Ocean View

St Ann’s Men’s Club golf outing a success

Editor:

The St. Ann’s Men’s Club would like to thank all the participants and the following lunch and sign sponsors and donors for their very generous contributions to our recent very successful charity golf outing at the Salt Pond Golf Course.

The Men’s Club will use the profits to continue and add to its charitable work. Last year, the Men’s Club was able to provide over $8,500 in revenue assistance to many worthy local recipients.

Our lunch and hole sponsors were Allison Stine Team, American Heating and Air Conditioning, Auto Plus and Marine, Artisan’s Bank, B&G Heating, Beach Liquors, Bethany Bay Diner, Bob Cairo-Tidewater PT, Bob’s Marine, Bishop Hastings Funeral Services, CG Accounting-Phillip Cheung, Café on 26, Casapulla’s, Coastal Maytag, Coastal Point, Gregory Carson DMD, County Bank, Creative Concepts, D. Stephen Parsons P.A., Denise Beam—State Farm Insurance, First Choice Real Estate—Christine McCoy, G&E/Hockers, Golden Scissors Barbershop, Connor Jacobsen Realty, Custom Fit, Dirty Harry’s Restaurant, Fulton Bank, Giant Foods, Good Earth Market, HMS Insurance Agency, Joe Martinez, Layton Associates Real Estate, Loftus Wealth Strategies, Lois James DDS, Long Neck Diner, Marty Malarky CPA, Melson’s Funeral Services, Miken Builders, Oceanova, Ocean Area Tire—Goodyear, Ocean View Plumbing, PNC Bank, Parcell’s Funeral Services, Patti’s Hallmark Cards, Paul Morin’s Floor & Wall Design, Pro Works—HVAC, Rep. Ron Gray, Mary Jane and Leo Renzette, Rick Solloway at Raymond James, Rosenfeld’s Jewish Deli, Scott&Schuman PA, Sen. Gerald Hocker, Security Instruments, Shirley Price-Real Estate, Steamers Crab, Superior Screen, Susan Weidman Esq., Tom & Terry’s Seafood Market, Tom and Fil Ryan, Treasure Island Fashions, UPS Store, Mason Dixon VFW, Vickie York Real Estate, Weis Markets and World Gym.

Our gift donors were Armand’s, Addy Sea, Baja Beach House restaurant, Bay Club Golf Club, Bayside Wine & Liquors, Bear Trap Dunes, Bethany Auto Parts & Marine Supplies, Bethany Bay Golf, Bethany Beach Books, Bethany Blues, Bethany Florist, Bethany Massage, Bethany Oyster House, Bethany Wine & Liquors, Bethany Surf Shop, Blue Crab restaurant, Camillo’s Italian Restaurant, Captain Mac’s Fish House, Café on 26, Coastal Cottage, Cottage Café, Countryside Café, Crabcake Factory, Cripple Creek Golf, DiFebo’s restaurant, Dickens Parlour, Dr. Donald Hattier DC, Drifting Grounds Coffee House, Fenwick Crab House, Fins restaurant, Fisher’s Popcorn, Float-ors, Tim Foran—Golf Professional, Fox’s Pizza, Harris Teeter, Off the Hook Restaurants, Jimmy’s Kitchen, Ken’s Pizza, Lobster Shanty, Nantucket’s, M&T Bank, Mangos, Mancini’s, Marriott Wardman Park—DC, Mickey’s Family Crabhouse, Millers Creek, Millville’s Pet Shop, Ocean View Diner, Parkway restaurant, Papa John’s, Penguin Diner, Perucci’s, Rehoboth Country Club, Rooster’s Nest, Ruddo’s Golf—Bret Marshall, Salted Rim, Salt Pond Golf, Seaside Country Store, Selective Insurance Co., Tidepool Toys, Turning Pages Book Lounge and Yesterday’s Fun Toys.

Thank you.

Dick Malone and the Golf Committee

St. Ann’s Men’s Club

Reader suggests a fun way to help people

Editor:

A few weeks ago, I was talking to a fellow Lion about his interest in helping people in Delaware that have an opioid problem. He had an idea that Lions could be a big help in preventing the use of this killer drug by becoming mentors for school children who are identified as being at risk (not just the Lord Baltimore Lions, but all the Lions in Delaware that want to serve in this role.)

This is when I told him about my mentoring at the Indian River School District’s Lord Baltimore Elementary School. I got started doing this fun work after I was part of the Lions eye screening with other Lions at the L.B. school.

Sitting at the table, looking at and talking to these little angels across from me was just so much fun that I wanted more, so I signed up to be a mentor. I must say that I am getting more out of helping my mentoree, Austin, than I could have imagined.

Now, I’m sure that being a mentor to a young adult who is addicted to these drugs is not the same as mentoring a 10-year-old, but think about it. Isn’t that the point? Drug addiction is preventable, and the most effective education strategy is to help young people early before they lose their way. Mentors can make all of the difference in the world to help prepare them to set goals and make important life decisions.

If this would not be a kick and make you feel great, then I don’t know what else to tell you.

Can you schedule/volunteer an hour a week to help a child in one of your area schools?

Check out the below website and call them with any questions.

Creative Mentoring, 100 West 10th. Street, Suite 1115, Wilmington, DE 19801; phone, 1-877-202-9050; http://www.irsd.net/our_schools/other_facilities/the_parent_center/mento....

Larry Smith

Lord Baltimore Lions Club member

Reader goes in on POTUS

Editor’s note: The following letter was addressed to President Donald Trump and was sent to the Coastal Point for publication.

Dearest Leader:

Ignorant, stupid, idiot, crazy, ignoramus, dimwit, fool, clown, dangerous.

These are some of the descriptions informed people are using to describe you.

Your Secretary of State says you’re a “moron.” And he’s right. But, no matter, I’m still with you.

You’re also a pathological liar. Only a fool would deny that you’re the most prodigious liar ever to hold that office. But, no matter, I still support you.

You promised a “great” health care plan that would cover every American, then endorsed cutting health care protections for more than 20 million people. Monstrous lie. Life-or-death lie. But, no matter, I’m still with you.

You promised to “drain the swamp,” but you’ve put lobbyists, bankers, crooks and snakes into top positions (a coal lobbyist as No. 2 at EPA)? They’re there to destroy the agencies they head, kowtowing to their buddies in the coal, oil, banking, health care, drug and other industries. Like you, I say, “Who the hell wants to breathe clean air anyway?”

No more water in the swamp. You’ve topped it off with slime. Actually, the swamp runneth over! But, no matter, I’m still with you.

Your tax “reform” proposal would be a boon to the “super rich” (including yourself), with peanuts to the middle class and the poor, and it would explode the national debt. Gross hypocrisy. But, no matter, I’m still with you.

You’ve used Twitter, (yes, Twitter), to criticize your Secretary of State for trying to negotiate with North Korea. You’d rather threaten nuclear war. You’ve criticized allies and weakened alliances in place since World War II. You’ve decimated the State Department, and your mindless blather and tweets have made us the laughing stock of the world. But not one critical word about Russia or Putin. No matter, I’m still with you.

You took an oath to defend the Constitution and protect the country, but you’re the only one in Washington who refuses to acknowledge the Russian attack on our electoral system. And you’ve done absolutely nothing to deter a future attack. Since you’re commander-in-chief, that’s a gross dereliction of duty. But, no matter, I’m still with you.

You complain about “fake news,” but with your endless lies you’ve become an unparalleled Old Faithful — a literal geyser of fake news. But, no matter, I’m still with you.

Your new immigration plan would ban Latin American teenagers running in terror for their lives from violent drug gangs in their home countries. Luckily, we’re not acting like tiny Lebanon and Jordan, who between them have taken in millions of Syrian refugees. Still with you.

You can shoot 10 people on Fifth Avenue with a bump-fired AK47... damn, you can even shoot me on Broadway, and if I survive, I’ll still be with you! If I die, please gently spread my ashes at MaraLago so I can feel close to you.

Always and forever.

John Dupont

Ocean View

New hotline available for veterans

Editor:

Veterans now have two dedicated phone lines they can call regarding complaints and concerns about healthcare services and benefits, and to obtain help in crisis situations.

The White House has established a special hotline for veterans to express their healthcare complaints and concerns: 1-855-948-2311. The hotline is a direct, high-level means for the Department of Veterans Affairs to collect, process, track and respond to such complaints in a more timely and responsive way.

The VA intends to use the data to improve the delivery of health care services and benefits in a measurable way. Beginning in June, the special phone line has been staffed from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern time. There was a plan to have 24/7 staff coverage later this year. We’ll have to wait and see whether that will be possible.

On a recent test call, there was about an 8-minute wait to talk to an “agent.” (The recorded message provided a number to press for faster response in a crisis situation.) The helpful person I talked to explained that hotline staff will take down a summary of information provided by a veteran, refer it to the appropriate department for action, and follow-up to ensure a timely response to the veteran.

The staff person said that the hotline has been very busy right from the start. Veterans with unaddressed concerns or problems related to care and benefits may find it helpful to call the hotline.

In crisis situations, there’s another hotline available. Bob Corsa, the service officer at VFW Post 7234 in Ocean View, recently urged everyone to make a note of the National Veterans Crisis Line: 1-800-273-8255.

“You never know when a veteran you know might need some help,” he wrote.

Now there’s a dedicated phone number to call in such situations.

I hope this contact information will be helpful to veterans and their families.

Jerry Hardiman

Bethany Beach

Reader explains the furor over birth control

Editor:

A letter published Oct. 13, 2017, on Delawareonline asked why the furor about the executive order rescinding the Affordable Health Act (ACA) requirement to provide birth control pills that cost only $9 per month at Wal-Mart. That order is repugnant on many levels. But the writer drills down to the cost, so I’ll respond to that.

Women of childbearing age insured by ACA plans were given access to safe and effective contraceptives with no copays. The result... unplanned pregnancies and abortions dropped significantly! At the very least, that suggests that many women simply could not afford the $9 per month cost the letter-writer is privileged to deem affordable.

Even in a loving family that is already stressed, an unplanned child can be the proverbial straw that pushes them into a situation that requires some type of public assistance. Every unplanned teen pregnancy is life-altering, regardless of the decisions made after the fact… loss of educational opportunity; additional burden of child care perhaps by grandparent(s); child support from the male partner who, if he is still in school, has little/no money, etc., etc., etc. All scenarios are likely to require public dollars from some program in an effort to provide for the innocent child.

This is what happens when healthcare decisions are made on initial cost basis. The downstream costs are going to be a lot greater than $9 per month/per child. And every American, especially the child, pays.

Patricia Frey

Dagsboro

Reader responds to previous letter

Editor:

I am offering a few comments on John Dupont’s letter to President Trump and printed in last week’s Coastal Point. He’s repeated so many liberal and liberal media talking points I have to believe that when he adds, “I’m still with you” eight times, he’s being facetious.

We true supporters don’t have to curry favor with such duplicity! You, sir, are a mirror of what has become a mere shill for what many of us true Americans consider anti-American!

I would also like to comment on some, but not all, of his silly comments.

(1) The obnoxious descriptive adjectives that you note “informed people” say describe our president are actually words used by the losers of the last election!

(2) Your liberal (no pun intended) use and reference to lies and lying makes me wonder if you conveniently suffer from amnesia. I clearly remember Clinton the first and how he has been surpassed by Clinton the second. No matter — we’re still thankful every day that we have been spared Hillary!

(3) You mention that he promised a “great” health care plan. For once you are correct — he failed at this! Unfortunately, he/we have found out that there is little difference in which party you belong to when you thrive in the swamp. However, I find it very hard to believe that the elimination of the ACA would result in disaster for the 20 million you mention! Where were these folks before the ACA?

(4) You mention the very illustrious careers of many of his appointees but disagree with those choices. This is not a surprise! Most have had successful careers in other than academia or politics! Yes, they have actually worked, ran businesses, hired people to produce things and made payrolls. It’s not hard for me to understand his choices. Unless, of course, you’re so far gone in swamp life!

(5) You mention the EPA and clean air. Perhaps we could wait and see what actually happens. The EPA has run wild, and many believe that it had to be reined in. They’ve been dictatorial in their overreach. No matter — I’m willing to be patient and see what happens!

(6) You knock our president’s “tax reform” proposal. Funny, you haven’t expanded your reasons for this beyond “their” talking points! Amnesia again! Similar actions by President Reagan were very successful! Oh, and I find it hypocritical that you should even mention the national debt. Amnesia again!

(7) I’ll bunch North Korea, the U.N. and even our allies together, because I am very happy and proud with the way President Trump has talked. Many of us are proud of his actions on our behalf. He is obviously pro-America, unlike his predecessor!

(8) Russia! Ha! This whole thing is a DemoNcrat fabrication! I may be wrong, but wasn’t it the DNC that was hacked? Many of us believe that they are behind this whole thing because of their embarrassment and it is, of course, a smear against our president!

(9) You mention immigration, with some absurd reference to protecting teenagers. More distorted information from the left! We are a nation of laws! Unless you’re a liberal, and then you can pick which laws you choose to obey! That is no way to run a country!

(10) You also mention Lebanon and Jordan! But there’s no mention of the millions of dollars in aid that we are sending! And there’s no mention of the contributions the previous weak-kneed administration has made to this situation!

I could go on, but I’d like to have this printed. In closing, I think it’s safe to say that perhaps on a windy day your ashes could be spread at MaraLago. That’s probably the only way they could get them over the wall! Oh, and that reminds me — we do need a wall at our southern border for many more serious reasons!

Thomas M. Keeley III

Ocean View

Town historians thankful for support

Editor:

The Ocean View Historical Society and the Coastal Towns [Museum] committee would like to thank the generous homeowners who opened up their homes for our first annual Historic House tour on Oct. 7.

Thanks to the committee, the many docents and the Historical Society Board, the event was a huge success, and we plan on repeating it next year in Fenwick Island.

I would also like to extend our appreciation to the artists at the gallery who donated paintings which we were able to use for a silent auction. And, due to the exposure the Coastal Point extended to our articles and sales at Made by Hand and Ellen Rice Gallery, we were able to sell a significant number of tickets.

Finally, a big thanks to everyone who attended this enjoyable tour.

Barbara Slavin, President

Ocean View Historical Society

Reader: Officials should butt out

Editor:

This … is regarding the proposed ban of canopies on Bethany Beach. This is totally a solution looking for a problem.

Watching the last council workshop video on 16 October, it looks to me that none of the council members really know what they want to do, why they want to do anything, or what problem is going to be solved and why they are wasting their time. It was two hours of watching people run around in a circle.

I think they should watch themselves. It was kind of embarrassing. I felt sorry for them.

It’s obvious to everybody I have spoken to on this issue that’s it’s a clear case of frustrated politicians trying to do anything to justify their existence. They figure because other area politicians are doing something in neighboring jurisdictions that they need to do something too.

Hey, council. Why don’t you buck the trend and leave the people alone? Show that you don’t want to be everybody’s grandmother by telling them what they can and can’t do when their on vacation.

I was glad to see that some of the council members realize that this will negatively affect businesses that serve the hundreds of large families that come to Bethany Beach for the simple fact that they can use canopies in a safe, polite and sensible manner.

You know the old saying, “Don’t just stand there, do something”… Well, for local politicians, it should be, “Don’t just do something, stand there.”

Here’s hoping common sense wins out.

Ron & Sharon Ruest

Selbyville

Girl Scouts tout all-girl environment

Editor:

Girl Scouts of the Chesapeake Bay is more committed than ever to providing girls with the leadership skills through the all-girl, girl-led and girl-friendly environment that Girl Scouts provides, which creates a necessary safe space for girls to learn and thrive.

Through Girl Scouting, girls can take the lead in the world of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) through hands-on “learning by doing.” When Juliette Gordon Low founded the Girl Scouts in 1912, she taught the girls of Savannah how to weld and play basketball.

Now more than ever, girls need Girl Scouts. The single-gender environment offered by Girl Scouts creates an inclusive place where girls are free to explore their true potential and take the lead without the pressures that can be found in a co-ed environment. I have watched girls blossom into strong, young women who aren’t afraid to stand for what they believe in.

For more than a century, Girl Scouts has provided millions of girls the opportunity for adventure, inspiration and valuable mentoring. Most importantly, the program is girl-led.

No one inspires girl leadership better than the Girl Scouts. The girls who earn the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest achievement in Girl Scouting, set themselves apart through the college admissions process, earn college scholarships, and enter the military one rank higher. These girls see a need in their community, or in the world, and take action to solve the problem.

Gold Award Girl Scout Sarayu Sivaram from Wilmington wanted to make it easier for children in India to read. Because of the poverty line in India, many underprivileged children do not have the education resources. Sarayu created a free public library in Tamil Nadu, India.

Here in Delaware, Genevieve Spence from Troop 833 renovated the kitchen at Family Promise, and provided resources to encourage healthy eating. The kitchen at Family Promise was difficult to use, so many families staying there opted for fast, processed food. Family Promise is now able to serve homeless families and provide housing with a functional kitchen.

There are so many girls like Sarayu and Genevieve who are changing the world every single day. These girls have a voice because of Girl Scouts.

Another pillar in the Girl Scout program is our dedication to outdoor skills. Over the summer, we announced 23 new badges, focusing on cyber security, robotics and engineering, and seven new badges that focus on building outdoor skills for every grade level.

These outdoor experiences are progressive, so the girls will build on their knowledge year after year. Activities such as hiking, camping, canoeing, high ropes and archery offer girls opportunities to have exciting, girl-led outdoor adventures, while learning important skills that teach valuable life lessons, like self-reliance, leadership and perseverance.

The fact is, most of a girl’s life is co-ed. But the emotional, girl-inclusive programming offered by Girl Scouts fosters collaboration instead of competition, and promotes support among girls, enabling them to stretch beyond their limits and transfer valuable knowledge and skills to any environment, both now and in the future.

Girl Scouts of the Chesapeake Bay is dedicated to serving all girls in K-12th grades in an all-girl environment. Girls are welcome to join at any time, and all girls have the opportunity to earn the Gold Award. For more information visit our website at www.GSCB.org or call (302) 456-7150.

Girl Scouts of the Chesapeake Bay

Reader takes issue with county

Editor:

It has been said that one death is a tragedy, while a thousand deaths is a statistic. Here in Sussex County, the absence of a traffic light is a tragedy; the multitude of county-approved building permits is a statistic. In 2016, Sussex County issued 2,798 building permits, compared to 1,730 in New Castle and 1,276 in Kent. A traffic light can be solved; the choke-hold of congestion on our infrastructure cannot.

Sussex County’s population has exploded by 23,000 residents between 2010 and 2016, with perhaps another 5,000 in 2017. The next time you are sitting in your car at the intersection of Route 24 and U.S. 1, look around and note 10 people. The day before, these 10 people were not there; the day after, there will be 20 additional.

The addition of 10 new residents every day in Sussex County has occurred for 2,190 consecutive days, rain or shine, without fail. But wait, there’s more! While this growth rate of 10 people a day is over a six-year period, newer data estimates suggest Sussex County has added 14 residents each day for the last few years.

The term “resident” is descriptive: it does not include owners of second homes, tourists, guests or transient visitors of any ilk or kind. Yes, full-time, 365-days-a-year residents who can vote in Sussex County, be educated in Sussex County schools, drive on Sussex County roads, request fire and police protection, avail of water and sewer resources, and crab, fish and boat in its waterways.

How do we know this? The United States Bureau of the Census tells us so. Regrettably, our local and state representatives, while aware of this seismic residential growth, ignore its present-day effects on Sussex County quality of life.

In the bowels of power of Sussex County, no doubt there will be tired and trite protests (“taradiddle, balderdash or poppycock”), such as: these numbers are misleading, they mix in tourists, they are second-home owners, they are all retirees, etc. According to the U.S. Census, these groups are filtered.

The reality of 2017 renders fictional the idea that Sussex County growth has been mostly retirees who will put little strain on infrastructure or second-home owners who are not here most of the year.

New residents have arrived with remodeled lifestyles planners failed to predict. Retirees have custody of grandchildren who must be educated. Second-home owners have made use of “work-from-home” policies allowing families to be raised here, or such owners, with the power of the internet, run businesses from here.

The draft Comprehensive Plan for Sussex County, projecting out 27 years, is a great disappointment for several reasons. Sadly, it does not recognize the primacy of Sussex County authority which derives from the consent of its residents. The plan lumps residents in with developers, builders, business owners and agricultural interests as equal partners whose needs must be served for the next 27 years. The plan also fails to discuss with specificity the magnitude of the present-day increase in full-time residents and its effect on existing infrastructure.

It seems logical for a plan to understand how it got “here” before it charts a course to getting “there.” Sussex County fails to understand the difference between “getting paid to go to work” and “getting paid to petition the County.” The former is the reality of life for a resident, while the latter is the reality of life for a developer’s attorney. Who do you think shows up for a 9 a.m. meeting in Georgetown, and who do County officials think they represent at these meetings?

Sussex County should survey county residents regarding how they came to settle here and what they want from their government, review school enrollment data to determine the extent of grandparental custody, review business license data to determine growth of internet businesses, review business gross sales receipts from October to May, and review sewage treatment data from public and private sources for October to May.

No need to survey developers, builders, business owners or agricultural interests, as they have already, and capably, let Sussex County government know of their needs and desires.

Despite the current residential situation in Sussex County, the “here” and the “there” continue to confound our government. Construction of a new residential/commercial development on Route 54 brought out over 250 residents to complain of its impact on existing roadways. And a recent hearing was held regarding additional residential development 1 mile west of Route 54 and Route 20.

With existing infrastructure shortcomings, there should be no debate on how to balance resident needs concerning the reality of life “here” today with what developers want on Route 54 for “there.”

Sussex County: either place a moratorium on building permits until infrastructure can be put in place to handle current population density or require a permit applicant to prove with specificity how, if granted, the building will have “zero” effect on existing infrastructure for residents of Earth who live here now.

Earth to Mars: Message received?

James Angus

Frankford

Reader: Veterans Treatment Court a win

Editor:

Thanks to your reporter Maria Counts for the excellent comprehensive article on the Sussex County Veterans Treatment Court Program, in the Oct. 20 issue of Coastal Point.

As explained in the interviews in the article, this is a transformational, even life-saving, program for veterans who are selected to participate. When a veteran facing criminal charges is selected for voluntary participation, it’s a tremendous opportunity for the individual for a clean record and better life. When a veteran “graduates,” as most do, after months of conscientious efforts, it’s a wonderful outcome for all involved.

From the article, you can readily see the benefits to the veterans who successfully complete the program, and easily imagine the far-reaching benefits to their families and communities.

As also explained in a number of interviews, volunteer mentors, who are assigned to help participants on a one-to-one basis, play an important role in the success of the program. The mentors interviewed, who are all veterans themselves, made it clear why. They provide meaningful personal encouragement and support to participants along the way in the process. Veterans helping veterans.

You have to appreciate the value of that. As indicated, with the success and growth of the program, there is a need for additional volunteers.

So, thanks again to Maria Counts and Coastal Point for the excellent reporting on the remarkable work of the Veterans Treatment Court and covering the need for additional volunteers to serve as mentors. As noted, Bill Gay, the mentor coordinator, can be reached by email at billgsussexvetcourt@gmail.com for more information.

Incidentally, if readers want to hear more about the treatment program, Superior Court Judge Richard Stokes, who presides over the Veterans Court in Georgetown, is scheduled to be the guest speaker on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, at VFW Post 7234 in Ocean View. The ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. The post is located at 29265 Marshy Hope Way, Ocean View. As always on this occasion, the public is invited and welcome to attend.

Jerry Hardiman

Bethany Beach

Reader warns of corruption in D.C.

Editor:

On Thursday night, Oct 19, the Republican-controlled Senate passed a budget measure that cuts Medicaid by $1 trillion and Medicare by $500 billion, so that millionaires and corporations can get a tax cut.

Like the walking dead, trickle-down economic theory keeps raising its head and slouching forward, even though it’s been thoroughly discredited by the inequality and immiseration that results each time it’s implemented.

What trickles down is austerity for the many, while the obscene wealth of those at the very top of the economic scale grows exponentially. Some of this obscene wealth gets distributed to the politicians, who then show their fealty to their big-money sponsors with votes like the one on Thursday night.

The vote was on a budget resolution that is non-binding, but it opens the door to begin a reconciliation process with Republicans in the House, which means the GOP can go for a tax bill without a single Democratic vote.

As Sen. Jeff Merkley said, “In what world does it make sense to rob trillions from the national treasury, all to grant a massive windfall to the very richest individuals?”

And, as Lord Acton famously wrote, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Michael Lawton

Ocean View

Women’s Club grateful for support

Editor:

The Lord Baltimore Women’s Club would like to thank the following restaurants that donated gift certificates for our fashion show and dine around basket on Oct. 4; our club made another record amount: Al Casapulla’s Subs, Steaks & Pizza; Mango’s Bethany Beach; Armand’s Pizza By the Sea; McCabe’s Gourmet Market; Baja Beach House Grill; McDonald’s; Bethany Blues; Mill Pond Family Restaurant; Bethany Diner; Ocean View Family Restaurant; Bethany Boathouse; Perrucci’s Classic Italian; Big Fish Grill; Blue Water Grill; Porto Pizza & Grill; Rosenfeld’s Jewish Deli; The Cafe on 26; Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse; Capriotti’s; The Salted Rim; Cottage Café; Sedona; Cripple Creek Golf & Country Club; SoDel Concepts Restaurants; DiFebo’s; Summer Salts Café; Fin’s Ale House; Touch of Italy; Frankford Family Diner; Turtle Beach Café; Just Hooked/Off the Hook; Yellowfins Bar & Grill; Hooked Up/Hooked; Zahav, Philadelphia.

Please support these local businesses who kindly donated to our event by patronizing them whenever you can: All About You Salon, Beachview Health Associates, Bethany Beach Books, Bethany Florist, Bethany Massage & Healing Arts, Bethany Sea Crest, BJ’s Wholesale Club, Blooming Boutique, Blossoms Florist, Carolina Street, Clayton Theater, Clear Space Theater, CLM Enterprises Inc., Crazy Ladyz, Creative Concepts, CVS, Eastern Shore Makeup, Ellen Egan Chun Designs, Ellen Rice Gallery, Fenwick Float-Ors, Food Lion, Friends Of LBWC, Gallery One, Giant Foods, Harris Teeter, Harry & David, Hocker’s, Hudson’s General Store, Jayne’s Reliable, Lady Fenwick, LBWC members, Made By Hand, Maxim’s Hair & Nails, Oceanova Spa, Patti’s Hallmark, Paws & Claws, Pin-Up Girls Salon, Possum Point Players, Remember When, Rooster’s Nest, Salted Vines Winery, Sea Levels Designs, Seaquels Furniture Consignment, Somerhouse, Southern Exposure, Sweet Disposition, Sweet Stems Florist, The Flutterby House/Calico Tree, The Spice & Tea Exchange, The Toy Corner, Treasure Island, Trendz Salon, Walgreens, Weis Market, West Fenwick Car Wash, All About Birds, World Gym, Zen Spa.

Thank you, one and all, for everything you did, no matter how small or large your part in making the 2017 fashion show the huge success it was.

Barbara Sunderlin, President

Lord Baltimore Women’s Club

Reader asks if POTUS is a baby Christian

Editor:

I’m confused. In April of 2016, Dr. James Dobson, a prominent evangelical leader, referred to Donald Trump as a “baby Christian.” He made this statement during the final throes of the presidential campaign, when many conservative evangelical Christians decided to get behind the presumptive Republican nominee.

These same evangelicals, Trump’s hardcore base today, wanted to believe that Trump would come to personify everything that is good and great about Christianity. But they have a problem they can’t explain away. They’ve compromised their values for a compromised human being. And we’re all suffering for it.

Only with convoluted logic can a thoughtful person use Christianity and Trump in the same sentence. Has President Trump even attempted to embrace the teachings of or emulate Jesus Christ, which should be the goal of all genuine Christians?

Let’s conduct an experiment or sorts. Let’s do a short “Christian IQ” test, a kind of litmus test to determine whether you believe President Trump passes the Christian quiz. There’s no clock, take all the time you need. The only thing I ask is that you answer honestly. And there’s no right or wrong answer. Here we go.

Would a devout Christian:

• Ridicule a Gold Star family, as he did during the campaign, simply because they’re Muslims?

• Complain, as Trump did during a recent press conference, about how “hard” it is for him to call the families of fallen soldiers? (Yet Trump hasn’t bothered to visit Dover AFB when the coffins are returned to U.S. soil or visit Area 60 at Arlington Cemetery.)

• Brag about being able to grab a woman’s crotch whenever he feels like it? (Many Christians seem to accept his conduct as long he’s not referring to a female member in their family.)

• Ridicule a disabled person merely because he’s a journalist?

• Refuse to condemn the KKK and white supremacists after Charlottesville, where a young woman was murdered? You recall Trump even referred to some of the KKK as “very fine people?”

• Ridicule a true American war hero and patriot, John McCain, because his plane was shot down? He stated: “I like people who weren’t shot down.”(Trump received five deferments. Most people call that draft-dodging.)

• Offer a bigoted response to the disaster in Puerto Rico. Trump stated: “They want everything done for them,” and “I hate to tell you, Puerto Rico, but you’ve thrown our budget a little out of whack.” Did Trump use this sort of language after the disasters in Texas and Florida? (No. Maybe it’s because Puerto Ricans are not really “Americans.”)

• Exhort crowds at campaign rallies to viciously attack peaceful protesters because their politics differed? (And offered to pay their legal costs for the perpetrators.)

• Call Jeff Sessions an “idiot” and demean him in front of others?

• Objectify women?

I could go on, but you get the picture. Of course, a “real” Christian wouldn’t do any of the things posed in the quiz, but President Trump is guilty of each and every one of them. Trump is the antithesis of everything Jesus Christ said in the Sermon of the Mount. And one has only to look to Matthew and the Beatitudes to know that President Trump embodies none of those moral imperatives.

Yet many of my Christian friends found it in their heart to vote for Donald J. Trump and continue to support him. Values voters cannot have it both ways. You cannot keep a straight face and call yourself a big “C” Christian while you steadfastly support a person who behaves like a juvenile and eschews essential Christian dogma: honesty, humility, mercy, forgiveness, compassion, morality... Trump possesses none of these qualities. Worse — he openly scoffs at many of these basic tenets.

The religious right has sold out. They’ve made a Faustian bargain. What I really find fascinating is how effortless it was for Christians to park their values outside the voting booth when they knew exactly who and what they were voting for last autumn. The hypocrisy is absolutely stunning.

Dr. Dobson, Donald Trump is not a “baby Christian,” he’s just a baby!

Charles Oppman

Frankford

Resident weighs in on BOA review

Editor’s note: The following letter refers to two special-use exception requests before the Sussex County Board of Adjustments, both from Oakwood Homes and both regarding manufactured homes already placed on lots where County code does not allow them. For background, see stories in our Oct. 6 and 20 issues.

Editor:

By way of introduction and full disclosure, I am a homeowner in Irons Acres, owning the house directly across the street from the lot on which the manufactured home was placed by Oakwood.

My wife and I have joined many of our neighbors at the last two BOA meetings at which the board has been unable to decide whether to grant the special-use exception request. I am very grateful for the coverage you have provided in the last two issues of the Coastal Point and hope you will continue to follow the story to its conclusion.

At the Oct. 16 meeting, we all listened closely as the board members stated their positions. I accept that it is difficult deciding who should shoulder the financial hardship for the County’s permitting error and Oakwood’s subsequent ignorance of the notification that the County had put a hold on the permit pending a BOA review.

However, of all the statements made at the two meetings, the one I cannot accept and which, frankly, I found shocking, was one made by Mr. Brent Workman. He stated that he based his support for granting the exception partly on the fact that the citizens of Sussex County cannot expect the individuals tasked with approving or denying permits to be in command of all the regulations and restrictions governing whether or not permits should be approved.

In essence, he is indemnifying the permitting department from any mistakes made in the performance of their duties, because they cannot be expected to know the rules on which to base their decisions.

I strongly disagree with Mr. Workman’s opinion on this matter. His viewpoint leaves the homeowners of Irons Acres and every other neighborhood in the County at the mercy of developers and homebuilders like Oakwood, giving them cover in their attempts to put any structure on any lot in any development, with no regard to the adverse effect on neighboring properties.

The citizens of Sussex County have every reason to expect those granting permits to builders or developers to be knowledgeable of County regulations and restrictions, and properly grant or deny the applications which they review.

Kurt Schaab

Dagsboro

Reader says love is the answer for nation

Editor:

After reading the letter which I have retitled “I’m Still with You,” by John Dupont of Ocean View, published in the Oct. 13, 2017, edition of Coastal Point, I was forced to respond. I must, first and foremost, commend Mr. Dupont for how he was able to so eloquently pen “truth” to paper.

Hundreds, thousands, yes, even millions have questioned how a president who is set on tearing down, instead of building up, is “still” followed by many. How can he “still” have so many faithful supporters, when the president’s questionable character is viewed by the entire world?

Well, after my husband read the article to me, and I read it for myself, I was immediately taken to a word which was given me by the Holy Spirit on Sept. 30, 2008. I was studying the book of Proverbs (in the Bible) when I received a powerful revelation which could have “only” come from the Lord.

The words came as follows: “The leadership of a country will oft-times reflect the heart values of the people who elect them.”

We have a heart issue in our homes, communities, churches, nations and our very world. Jeremiah 17:9-10 puts it better than I ever could. “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart. I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.” (KJV)

I am saddened beyond belief, but hardly surprised that Mr. Dupont only expressed the truth of what’s in the heart of many Americans who’ve chosen to support a commander-in-chief who is intent on destroying and dividing this blessed country of ours.

Prior to awakening on this morning, I opened my eyes to a powerful word which was imprinted on my heart, possibly to prepare me for what I would hear regarding Mr. Dupont’s letter. This is what was in my heart: “Love is the tunnel by which victory is assured.” As difficult, heart-wrenching and confusing as these times might be, love is the only clear path for victory for individual lives, our nations and our world.

May God have mercy on our souls, and may He bless these United States of America.

The Rev. Deborah Hypolite

Millsboro

Reader: free rides are costly to workers

Editor:

The national campaign to destroy unions, funded by corporate bosses like the Koch brothers, has launched an attack on Sussex County workers. Councilman Rob Arlett is leading this attack with his proposed ordinance to make Sussex County a right-to-work zone.

Right-to-work laws prevent unions from collecting fees from workers whom they bargained for but who aren’t dues-paying members. These laws create an incentive for workers to free ride, since they can enjoy the benefits of union negotiations without having to pay any fees.

Think of it this way: A majority of the voters in the District 5 chose Rob Arlett. What if we had a law that said those who did not vote for him didn’t have to pay taxes? Wouldn’t work, would it? He represents all who live in his district, so all pay taxes.

Councilman Arlett claims his proposed ordinance is all about workers’ choice. What he fails to mention is that there is no such thing as forced unionization. All unions are formed by an election process under rules established by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). His so-called “pro-choice” legislation is unnecessary because federal law already prohibits anyone from being forced to join a union.

What our current law does is stipulate that, when a majority of workers have voted to be represented by a union, everyone must share the cost of that representation, whether or not they choose to join the union. The fees charged non-union members can be no more than the actual cost of representation.

Here in Delaware, the right-to-work advocates like the Caesar Rodney Institute blame unions for the decline in manufacturing jobs. Then they turn around and say that only 2 percent of the private-sector workers are union members. That’s a lot of clout for so few people. Strange how they never mention the uncontrolled greed of corporations for shipping our jobs offshore as a reason for job loss.

With the decline of organized labor, most workers are left with insufficient incomes, inadequate or no healthcare benefits and, of course, no financial security in their old age, with the disappearance of pensions. We can thank corporate greed for the decline in the living standards of working Americans — and those that do the front work for them, including the Caesar Rodney Institute, the Heritage Foundation and Rob Arlett.

As Dr. Martin Luther King said, “We must guard against being fooled by false slogans, such as ‘right to work.’ It is a law to rob us of our civil rights and job rights. Its purpose is to destroy labor unions and the freedom of collective bargaining by which unions have improved wages and working conditions of everyone. … Wherever these laws have been passed, wages are lower, job opportunities are fewer.”

These so called right-to-work laws have only one purpose: destroy unions. Without unions, workers have no voice. Unions give workers the power to negotiate for better wages and decent benefits, and the security to retire in dignity, not poverty.

Pete Keenan

Selbyville

(Editor’s note: From 1984 until 2002, Pete Keenan was the personnel director of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers’ International Office.)

USA flag and Anthem vs Constitution

Editor:

The US Constitution is the foundation, frame, windows and roof of our country. It defines the rights of all our citizens. The US Constitution is the center of the laws of our United States of America.

When we decide to kneel or sit or raise one arm, not to pledge allegiance to the US flag or not sing when the National Anthem is sung, we honor our Constitutional rights. When we decide to stand and sing the National Anthem or pledge to the flag we honor our Constitutional rights. We are a free people and freedom is ours to maintain and embrace. No one is to be denied their constitutional rights.

The US flag and National Anthem are ornaments or symbols decorating the USA. There are no laws regarding them beyond military law that requires all members of the military to stand and salute when the US flag is presented. We civilians do not live under military law. We live under Constitutional law. We know that the US military buys advertising time at NFL games in order to recruit young men and women to join the military. Yes, a boycott of the NFL will cost the US military recruitment efforts deeply.

Liberty and justice for all is exceptionally clear. When our constitutional rights are denied to any of our citizens, it is a crime. It is our responsibility as citizens to challenge criminal actions and make it right. Those who advocate to deny any of our citizens their full rights are a danger to our country and they need to be confronted with the laws of our land. There is plenty of room within the USA for all us who sit or lean on a knee to protest as for those who stand, salute, pledge and sing.

Take a deep breath and know that we all have the same rights assured to us. Do not tear each other down. Read and respect the US Constitution as many have died to make it possible. Liberty and justice for all still sounds terrific to me.

Lloyd E. Elling

Ocean View

Reader upset with Arlett’s labor proposal

Editor:

Don’t we have enough freeloaders in this country without Councilman Arlett’s attempt to create a whole new group of deadbeats in Sussex County — those who will be able to get union benefits without paying for them.

Mr. Arlett was done a disservice by whoever gave him the ordinance he has introduced. They didn’t explain that: (1) current law prohibits anyone from being forced to join a union, and (2) current law merely provides that when a majority of employees vote to be represented by a union, all must share equally in the cost of that representation — members and non-members, alike.

This legal framework mirrors our democracy. For example, when a majority elect Mr. Arlett, all must share equally in the cost of his representation, whether they voted for him, against him, or did not vote at all. Paying one’s fair share is the American way — freeloading is not.

Mike Fanning

Bethany Beach

How the GOP tax plan hurts the middle

Editor:

The standard deduction is changed as follows:

Under the present plan, a single person receives a personal exemption of $4,050, plus a standard deduction of $6,350. That equals $10,400.

Under the new plan, a single person will lose the personal exemption and get a standard deduction of $12,000. So, under the new plan, one gets a larger deduction.

Under the present plan, a married couple with two children receives a personal exemption of $16,200, and they would also take a standard deduction of $12,700. That equals a $26,900 total deduction. If the couple had four children, their personal exemption would be $24,300, and they would take the standard deduction of $12,700, giving them a total deduction of $35,000.

Under the new plan, a married couple with two children will lose all the personal exemptions and only receive a $24,000 standard deduction — which is a net loss of $2,900. So if a couple had four children, they would lose $24,300 in personal exemptions and take the standard deduction of $24,000, with a net loss of $11,000.

Itemizing deductions regardless of income is worse:

• Loss of all personal exemptions;

• Loss of the student loan tax credit;

• Loss of medical expense deductions — nursing home, insurance premiums, dentist, etc.;

• Loss of state and local income tax deductions.

Loss of the above deductions will make it extremely difficult to itemize taxes and to deduct charitable contributions.

In summary, this is a terrible tax plan for married couples and singles. Single people, whether 18 or 86, will pay the same tax. There will be no help for the elderly or the retired.

Anthony Gough

Millsboro

Reader tackles right-to-work proposal

Editor:

Corporate and business rights are so much stronger than labor rights at this point, working people need to be organized to protect themselves against the predations of profit-seeking.

The boards of directors and shareholders of business are always looking to maximize profit, and one of the first ways to do this is to put the squeeze on labor.

Labor unions give workers a seat at the bargaining table. The power is still tilted against them, but their union gives them some leverage to make things fairer.

The so-called “right to work” laws reward the people who want the good pay and strong benefits that come from having a union without paying the dues that make the union possible. Many of us tend to want to save money now rather than invest in the future, and choose to opt out of paying the dues. Corporate executives count on people making the wrong choice and thus hollowing out unions and leaving no one to represent them at the table.

The weaker unions are, the lower wages are for everyone. A study by the Economic Policy Institute in February of 2011 found that wages for all workers were 16 percent lower in so-called “right to work” states.

“Right to work” laws represent a corporate race to the bottom that pits states against each other to lower wages and weaken worker’s rights.

The pressure to make Delaware a “right to work” state should be firmly resisted. Also, at the federal level, a new bill has been introduced by Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Brad Sherman to institute a federal ban on these so-called “right to work” laws. It’s called the Protecting Workers and Improving Labor Standards Act.

Urge your Congress person to support this bill. Economic justice is critical to a healthy society.

Michael Lawton

Ocean View

SDEF grateful for support with event

Editor:

The Southern Delaware Education Foundation (SDEF) held its first solo fundraiser at the Clayton Movie Theatre with a showing of Young Frankenstein on Halloween. Thanks to everyone’s generosity, we are pleased to announce that we raised more than $2,000 through ticket sales, auction items, donations and a 50/50.

Thanks to each of the 112 people who purchased tickets and enjoyed the movie. A special thanks to our sponsors (Red Sapphire Consulting, Salon on Central, Porto’s, The Pack Women, LIpSense, Paragon Auto Body, Young Living) and our donors, too many to list.

Finally we could not have done it without Joanne Howe, owner, Clayton Theatre, who graciously allowed us to hold this event. Jennifer Pavik, who works at the Clayton helped us plan out the event and made some great suggestions. And let’s not forget Stephen King, who put the sponsorship information into the proper format and showed them on the screen for us.

Our Mission Statement: To provide scholarships to qualified residents of Sussex County who are unemployed or underemployed with funds they lack for classes that upon completion will lead to securing Delaware State Certification or Licensing in jobs that pay significantly more than jobs that require only unskilled labor.

Our vision is that all full-time workers can earn enough money to support themselves and their families.

If anyone reading this is interested in scholarship money or who knows someone who may benefit by monies toward Delaware State Certification, please go to https://sdefcares.org/ and send us an application.

Thanks again,

Lois Saraceni

SDEF Board of Directors

SCRWC spends an evening with Arlett

Editor:

The Sussex County Republican Women’s Club (SCRWC) welcomed Sussex County Councilman Rob Arlett as the guest speaker at their dinner meeting held on Oct. 25, at Kings Creek Country Club in Rehoboth Beach.

A newcomer to the political stage, Arlett represents Sussex County District 5, which he won in 2014. Arlett has been leading the effort to make Sussex a “Right To Work” county. To him, it is a moral issue. He believes that every worker should have the right to choose whether or not to join a union.

To that end, Arlett is working diligently to introduce an ordinance during County Council sessions that would give employees in Sussex the Right To Work without paying into a union. Currently there are 28 states with (R.T.W.) laws in effect. Councilman Arlett wants to add Delaware to this list, thereby encouraging companies ready to grow and create new jobs, to look our way. Councilman Arlett urges anyone who wishes to see this ordinance pass, to contact all of the representatives on the County Coucil.

State Rep. Steve Smyk will be the featured speaker at the next meeting of SCRWC to be held on Wednesday, Nov. 15. The Veterans Luncheon at Kings Creek Country Club begins at 11 a.m. This annual meeting will also include our election of officers. Cost is $25 per person. For required reservations, contact Linda: jlrehm@aol.com or (302) 430-0329.

It is the mission of the Sussex County Republican Women’s Club to assist in the election of Republican candidates, act as an advocate for the Republican Party’s principles, and empower women to participate in the political process. SCRWC, the largest Republican Women’s Club in Delaware, has been actively engaging women in the political process for more than six decades.

For additional information visit www.SCRWC.NET.

Sussex County Republican Women’s Club

Akhter speaks out against proposal

Editor:

Councilman Rob Arlett’s proposal to make Sussex County a “right-to-work” region is contrary to the council’s responsibility to support economic growth for its citizens.

In states with “right-to-work” laws, average workers make almost $6,000 less per year than in states without “right to work.” They are less likely to have job-based health insurance, or if they do, they pay a bigger slice of the premiums. Workers have no job security, and they are more likely to die on the job.

There is no evidence that “right-to-work” legislation increases jobs; this is even admitted by the National Right to Work Committee. Employers are not looking for “right-to-work” areas for re-location. “Right-to-work” legislation weakens union training and apprenticeships, which produce highly skilled workers — that is what employers are looking for.

“Right-to-work” is not about forcing workers to join unions; the Supreme Court has ruled to prohibit this already. “Right-to-work” legislation serves to increase profits for the richest at the expense of the poorest.

This proposal would not promote economic growth or overall wellbeing of either individuals, families, or the County as a whole. The County Council members must step up and take responsibility to defeat it!

Dr. Mohammad N. Akhter, Chairman

38th District, Sussex County

Democratic Party

Reader speaks out on behalf of mentoring

Editor:

“Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.” — Mother Teresa

On Monday morning, Nov. 13. I met my mentee at the Selbyville Middle School. I feel so strongly about this program that I wanted to share the opportunity with my fellow Delaware citizens.

If you have questions about the Delaware mentoring program, call Creative Mentoring at (302) 686-2122 for Jennifer Marek or contact your local school coordinator. Less than an hour a week from October to May/June is all that is asked.

No academics are involved — just be the young person’s adult friend. Background check, a one-day three-hour class and a discussion with the school coordinator to find the best match, and you are on your way. Classes are still being scheduled. There are many more future citizens in need of mentoring. There is also a great need for male mentors.

How does a mentoring a student help?

The benefits of mentoring are well-documented. Studies by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Delaware and Creative Mentoring have found the following improvements by youth:

• 81 percent exhibit improved self-confidence, self-esteem and self-control;

• 61 percent show an improved attitude toward learning;

• 46 percent are less likely to start using illegal drugs;

• 52 percent are less likely to skip school;

• 27 percent are less likely to start drinking.

Paul Bolton

Bethany Beach

Reader opposes Regulation 225

Editor:

The proposed Education Regulation 225 will allow Delaware students to “self-identify” their gender and race without parents’ knowledge or consent. Wow! Whoever came up with this idea? Who gave the governor and Department of Education the right or authority to determine the “gender” or “race” of children without the parent’s consent?

This is so un-American. Words cannot express my frustration with the Delaware governorship, education department and elected officials if this regulation is adopted.

And do not call my frustration “racist,” bigoted, etc., because it is not. I’m frustrated because the backbone of America, and therefore Delaware, is the family unit, and Regulation 225 will destroy this unit.

What is this — allowing boys to play female sports, and male students may access female restrooms, locker rooms and overnight accommodations. They simply need to “identify” as female to gain access – an unbelievably stupid, illogical, bad idea!

Also, students can be taught about gender identity as early as kindergarten, and parents are not required to know about it? We do not send our children to school to be taught this type of information. To be truthful with you, we would consider not sending in our portion of the school tax to the State if this regulation is enforced. Jail time for not paying taxes would be better than having our students endure the consequences of this regulation.

Charles Derick

Frankford

Reader wants gun control right now

Editor’s note: The following letter was addressed to President Donald Trump, U.S. Sens. Tom Carper and Chris Coons, U.S. Rep. Lisa Blunt-Rochester, state Sen. Gerald Hocker Sr., state Rep. Ron Gray and Gov. John Carney, and was sent to the Coastal Point for publication.

Have mercy! We have suffered too much of the horror caused by deadly high-powered assault weapons whose only purpose is to do a lot of killing really fast. Our great country is shamed that, among the leading nations of the world, we alone have not figured out how to protect our citizens from this deadly public health threat.

We elected you, and you need to pass legislation, state and national, that keeps these high capacity-style weapons and any enhancement devices out of the hands of the mentally ill or any disgruntled ordinary citizen. We need universal background checks that are adhered to and work.

The 2nd Amendment does not entitle anyone to own such weapons. They are not sporting equipment meant to shoot ducks or supply a family with venison to help get through the winter.

You need to take real and courageous action toward protective legislation and don’t be bullied by the NRA. You will find tremendous support among your constituents for tighter restriction on all gun sales in stores, at shows and on the internet. No legislation will be perfect, but do your job and it will save lives.

Jeannie Bennett Fleming

Dagsboro

Bethany festival a truly great event

Editor:

Every year at the beginning of October, I start to look forward to Halloween. Halloween happens to be one of my favorite holidays. Living in Bethany, I now have the Wags, Witches & Warlocks festival and parade. This is a fundraising event for Partners for Paws of Delaware.

I so enjoyed seeing how creative pet owners can be getting their pets into such original costumes. An added attraction to this year’s parade was the participation of the Indian River High School Marching Band. I hope the band will continue to be part of Wags, Witches & Warlocks for future festivals. It was such a nice treat.

Marilyn Panagopoulos

Bethany Beach

Reader disagrees with previous letter

Editor:

In response to Rev. Deborah Hypolite: Yes! Millions of God-loving, patriotic Americans continue to support our president.

You mention “questionable character.” Read John 8:7: “He that is without sin cast the first stone.” No, our president is not perfect, no one is. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

You quote Jeremiah 17:9-10. The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? “I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.”

You are judging millions of U.S. citizens because you didn’t get your way on Election Day. The heart of America wants Peace, Freedom and Sovereignty. We want our Constitution observed and upheld. We have a Love of God, Family and Country. We are the not the divisive ones. We want our country to prosper. We want our president to succeed. We want our country united but the liberal left and mainstream media are pushing a false narrative, distortion and lies.

II Chronicles 7: 14: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” Our country is not perfect, but if we as a nation would do this, we can prosper. We can heal. Sadly, just this week the left mocked the prayers of Christians with a recent tragedy. At the 2012 Democratic convention, they booed God. You tell me whose heart is wicked.

Romans 13:1: “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Do you think God was surprised Mr. Trump became president? Do you think He isn’t aware?

Proverbs 11:14: “For lack of guidance a nation falls, but victory is won through many advisers.” Our president has a prayer team and spiritual advisors. Here are just a few of his team: Dr. James Dobson, Jerry Falwell Jr., Richard Land, Rev. Paula White, the Copelands, Pastor Mark Burns, James Robison, Pastor Robert Jeffress, Pastor David Jeremiah.

The list of advisors is extensive and broad. Are you suggesting these people are not up to par? They don’t know the word of God? They will lead him astray? I think not. Maybe you should join them in prayer for our country, leadership and citizens.

The word of God is not trail mix to pick and choose what suits you or your agenda. It’s all or nothing. God’s word is true, prophetic and relevant and what our country needs.

If you are upset with our leadership, then pray for them. As a reverend, I’d think you would know and do that.

God bless America!

Donna Purcell

Dagsboro

Readers see no issue in Bethany Beach

Editor:

So, the Bethany Beach council has sent out a survey to the “full-time” residences about banning/limiting certain shading devices on the beach.

This is obviously an attempt to kick the can down the road and have a scapegoat to go to, no matter what the outcome.

If no changes are established, they can report to the very few residences that actually have complained that it’s not their fault no changes were put in place because the survey results didn’t warrant one.

Conversely, if a ban on certain shading devices is implemented, they can respond to the thousands of families that come on vacation and use these devices to shade their families from the harmful rays of the sun that, “It’s not our fault we have ruined your beach experience, it was the survey.”

They are obviously doing this because they know no changes are needed and don’t want to take the decisions themselves and incur the wrath of vacationers that have come year after year and will feel blindsided by these changes and by the businesses that will lose money when these same families go to beaches that allow them to protect their families as they seem right.

The only “problems” that should be addressed are these;

• When people set up large areas early in the morning and don’t show up till later. (This has nothing to do with the type of shading device used)

• Any device that is secured by a rope that causes a tripping hazard (easily enforced without banning or limiting certain devices).

To be sure, there is some common sense being used on the council. Some of the members realize that if you limit the size and type of devices used, it will just force these families to erect even more devices to gets the same shade area that they need, therefore crowing the beach further.

Also, of the thousands of families that come to Bethany Beach for a week or two every year, how many complaints are there really? And are these complaints primary by people that complain about everything? People that are not happy that outsiders come to “their” town every year for vacation? Do they realize the millions of dollars that are pumped into the economy by these outsiders? Do they realize that tourism is the only industry in this town, and when you over- legislate against these people, you are cutting your own throat.

This is a solution in search of a problem. The best action is for the council to do nothing, because there really isn’t a problem. We all know that doing nothing when no action is needed goes against what politicians usually believe, but maybe, just maybe, common sense will prevail.

Ron & Sharon Ruest

Selbyville

Reader against right-to-work legislation

Editor:

I am writing to express my strong opposition to the [“right-to-work”] legislation being considered by the Sussex County Council. This “right” has been used to destroy the unions that achieved the rights and protections workers currently have, often at great personal cost. All workers should make some contribution toward protecting what they have, even though they choose not to join a union.

Diann Sherwin

Dagsboro

Right-to-work gets a thumbs-down

Editor:

The current proposal by local Republicans for a “right to work” law simply means the right to work for lower wages, no benefits and no job security.

Richard Vanni

Ocean View

Chamber offers thanks this holiday season

Editor:

“Gratitude can change common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.”

— William Arthur Ward

In reflection of 2017 as we launch towards 2018, my heart cannot focus on any one thing except gratitude. Each season has brought something new: last winter the Chamber added a new full-time member of the team with Information Center Coordinator Susie Miller. Last spring, Sue Nilsson moved into the membership director role. In the summer, I was provided the opportunity to take the reins as executive director, and the fall brought on Amy Dalrymple as events manager and Katie Nevin as marketing and communications manager.

I’m reminded that, just as with the changing of the seasons, each year brings new scenery, new challenges and new aspirations. We love our community and continue to look for ways to be a resource, connector, advocate and partner.

At the Business After Hours last week, looking around at familiar faces and new ones, I left with a sense of joy about the countless opportunities presented daily. The energy is palpable and contagious!

As a new team, we look to approach this new year with new ideas, new partnerships and new strategies while building on the familiar things each season brings.

As you gather around the table, drive to the in-laws’ or begrudgingly watch football, take a moment to reflect on changes since the last Thanksgiving. What are your daily thanksgivings, joys and blessings?

I am grateful that common days can turn into brainstorms with business partners and staff members, that Business After Hours can inspire powerful connections, and that showing up to the Chamber every day for the last four years has been a huge blessing in my life, presenting opportunities I never could have dreamed.

Thank you! We appreciate you, and look forward to our future in collaboration.

Wishing you nothing but thanksgiving, joy and gratitude.

Lauren, Sue, Amy, Katie, Susie

Bethany-Fenwick Area Chamber of Commerce

Right-to-work? Maybe not

Editor:

A right-to-work (RTW) ordinance for Sussex County has been introduced by Councilman Rob Arlett. If a RTW law passes, Sussex County will be the first county in the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic areas to have such a law. If passed, unions and the state will likely file lawsuits.

The Council has already been assured by a spokesman from the Caesar Rodney Institute that two groups are prepared to pay all legal costs for any lawsuits filed, all the way up to the Supreme Court. This suggests to me that some very powerful organizations with deep pockets “have a dog in this race.”

In the opinion page of delawareonline dated Nov. 17, 2017, the Attorney General’s Office says that [Sussex County Council] does not have the legal authority under current Delaware law to enact a RTW ordinance. My research indicates that Delaware citizens and our elected representatives need to do some soul-searching before going down the RTW rabbit hole.

RTW laws have absolutely nothing to do with the right to work. RTW is the politically-correct phrase in the 21st century for union-busting. During the 19th and 20th centuries, union busters used chains, shovels, guns, pickaxes, fists and any other conveniently handy bone- and flesh-punishing tools. Today, the courts and well-heeled lawyers are the tools of choice.

After doing some research on RTW history, I have come away with the conviction that RTW legislation is a “solution” looking for a problem. RTW laws favor the few at the expense of the many. The 1947 passage of the Taft-Hartley Act passed by a Republican-controlled Congress was a law specifically designed to curb union power in America. It amended the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, which, in my view, did infringe on both employer and worker rights. Taft-Hartley was needed at that time and is still relevant now.

Taft-Hartley unequivocally says that: (1) if a business has signed a collective bargaining contract with a union, that business can still hire non-union members; (2) a worker who is non-union does not have to join the union to work in a unionized workplace; (3) the union must provide the non-union members in the workplace all the same benefits that accrue to union members including (a) defense equal to that which would be provided to members and (b) wages; and (4) since nonunion workers were guaranteed the same benefits as unionized workers, they would pay “agency fees,” which are essentially the same as union dues, less all portions of the union dues that are used for political activities and/or for costs incurred by the union related to organizing employees. So in other words, non-union members only have to pay for the costs the union incurs in collective-bargaining activities.

That fourth provision has been held up in a number of court cases. So workers already have the freedom to choose whether or not to belong to the union. They also cannot be coerced to pay for union political activities with which they disagree for any reason, including their faith tradition.

Early on, union bosses “conveniently” failed to tell non-union workers that they have the option of paying only for collective bargaining representation. The requirement to do so was firmly established in case law by the SCOTUS decision in favor of non-union workers in Communications Workers of America v. Beck.

The fourth provision does significantly reduce the coffers of every union. Therefore, it reduces the power that unions bring to the bargaining table on behalf of all workers, union and non-union alike. Because unions have traditionally been major donors to the Democratic Party, this regulation also reduces support of Democratic candidates in county, state and federal elections.

Taft-Hartley also created a loophole that would allow states to totally do away with the agency fees from non-union members if they see fit. And that is where the so-called RTW laws come into play.

For 45-50 years after Taft-Hartley became law, not many states passed RTW legislation. During that period, unions helped grow the economy, improved worker wages, insurance coverage and safety in the workplace, and helped grow a strong middle class. Union and management often went to the wire on contract negotiations, with gains and losses on both sides but without much blood loss.

Sometime in the mid- to late 1990s, things began to change. Advances in technology; increased ease of doing international business; federal laws that allow U.S. corporations to legally stash profits made in other countries free of federal taxes until they were brought back into the U.S. and increased greed both in businesses and unions were some of the big changes.

In a nation with a capitalistic economy and a democratic political system, a strong middle class is a stabilizing and equalizing force for progress. America’s middle class got hammered in this period.

Around 2012, states with Republican governors began passing RTW laws. Efforts by counties and large municipalities were not upheld by Circuit Courts of Appeal. In 2016, the 6th Circuit Court, which includes Kentucky, upheld a couple of Kentucky county appeals.

Opponents of unions believe they have another avenue by which to pass RTW laws in states that remain holdouts. Currently, 28 states have RTW laws. In addition to the push in Sussex County, there is one small county in New Mexico that is seeing RTW initiatives being introduced. Citizens in New Mexico have already defeated RTW legislation twice at the state level.

In the Guest Column of the Coastal Point, Nov. 17, 2017, edition, Mr. Arlett wrote, “How can Delaware increase its employment opportunities, economic vibrancy, and ensure its best days are ahead? We can begin this process by passing right-to-work legislation, which gives employees the freedom to choose whether or not to become a dues-paying union member.”

The Taft-Hartley Act rang that bell years ago. Employees at every workplace already [have] the freedom to choose whether or not to join a union.

Objective assessment of other claims made for RTW is muddled by widely divergent numbers and claims depending on whether you are looking at articles written by union supporters or non-supporters. I did find three sources that appear to be balanced in my view.

The first is a 2014 study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development. It was conducted in all 50 states. Using nine objective measurements of quality-of-life, states were ranked on a scale from best to worst. In the 10 states with the Best Quality of Life ranking, eight did not have RTW laws. In the 10 states with the Worst Quality of Life ranking, eight did have RTW laws. This is the exact opposite of what proponents of RTW laws argue.

The second reference is from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). (For the record, Media Bias/Fact Check lists the EPI as a left-of-center resource with a factual rating of HIGH.) In 2015, EPI updated its 2011 study comparing wages in states with or without RTW laws. The 2015 study confirmed findings of the 2011 study.

The conclusions: “No matter how you slice the data, wages in RTW states are lower, on average, than wages in non-RTW states.” It further concluded “these results do not just apply to union members, but to all employees in a state. Where unions are strong, compensation increases even for workers not covered by any union contract, as nonunion employers face competitive pressure to match union standards. Likewise when unions are weakened by RTW laws, all of a state’s workers feel the impact.” This also gives the lie to RTW arguments.

The third reference is the 2017 Annual Survey of Corporate Executives. This is the 31st annual survey done by Area Development magazine. Business leaders are asked what factors are most important to them in choosing a business location.

Of the 136 respondents in the 2017 survey, 37 percent were manufacturers; 9 percent were construction and trades, and 8 percent were distributing/warehousing companies. The remainder represented a multitude of employment fields. Number of employees ranged from 25 to more than 1,000.

In 2017, highway accessibility and infrastructure was the No. 1 factor — not surprising as the nation’s highways are not being built/maintained to meet population growth. Sussex County fails spectacularly on that factor.

Second in the ranking was a large pool of skilled labor. Strong unions; vocational and community-college programs are important to meeting this need. Again, Sussex County does not meet the criteria; although DelTech appears to be working hard to make our workforce more competitive.

The third position in this year’s rank was labor costs. This factor has taken its more usual position after hitting a low of No. 8 after the 2008 recession. Energy costs took the No. 8 position in 2017. As other factors become increasingly fixed or rise higher, this factor will likely become more critical to companies in their planning. If Sussex County and the state move aggressively to support clean energy and energy conservation programs, our competitive advantage in attracting new businesses will increase.

A RTW law would do absolutely nothing to make Sussex County more attractive to businesses.

Patricia Frey

Dagsboro

GOP reps weigh in on proposed state reg

Editor’s note: The following letter was addressed to Delaware Secretary of Education Susan Bunting and was sent to the Coastal Point for publication.

Editor:

I need to express my opposition to the regulations the Department of Education is proposing to change the state’s public education anti-discrimination policy regarding transgender students.

Delaware’s Gender Identity Nondiscrimination Act of 2013 forbids discrimination on the basis of gender identity in housing, employment, public works contracting, public accommodations and insurance. The law was not applied to Title 14, which covers public education.

The exclusion of public education from this statute was deliberate, allowing school districts to objectively weigh their transgender student policies, in consultation with the citizens to which they are directly accountable.

The regulations proposed by your agency are not authorized under the law and seek to usurp local control in favor of imposing a politically motivated ideological solution on all public schools.

Just as disturbing, the proposed rules contain no student age threshold and have no provision for safeguarding parental involvement. As structured, these rules would allow the youngest of students to make profound life decisions without the knowledge or input of their parents.

Additionally, the DOE has apparently not assessed the potential risk these rules would impose on the general student population and the administrative and liability issues it could create for local schools.

Some advocates of these rules have said they are needed to protect transgender students from harassment, but students are already shielded by existing anti-bullying policies that apply to any student subjected to disrespectful or abusive treatment.

In summary, the DOE’s proposed regulations on transgender students lack the required legal authority needed for promulgation; would seize policy control from local districts; would remove parents from the process; and potentially expose local schools to significant civil liability issues.

I urge your department to immediately withdraw the proposed regulations, instead issuing a list of non-binding suggestions that local districts can factor into their deliberations as they decide best how to deal with this issue.

State Reps. Danny Short, Harvey Kenton, Lyndon Yearick, Kevin Hensley, Rich Collins, Deborah Hudson, Ruth Briggs King, Charlie Postles, Dave Wilson, Ron Gray, Jeff Spiegelman, Bobby Outten, Joe Miro, Tim Dukes

Hattier responds to previous Point letter

Editor:

I am responding to a letter to the editor in the Nov. 17, 2017, edition of the Coastal Point.

Like the writer of the original letter, my heart aches for all of the people and family who suffered through the shooting in that Texas church. No one should ever have to be part of that.

Had the Air Force followed the law, that man’s name would have been on a list, and acquiring his weapon of choice would have been a lot more difficult. But the Air Force failed to follow existing law. Tragedy followed.

The writer makes the statement that the weapon used was a high-powered one. The so-called assault weapons, by their nature, use intermediate power cartridges. Compared to the main battle weapons of World War II, these cartridges have less range and overall less penetrating power than their modern so-called assault weapon caliber cousins.

As to high capacity, ask a World War II solider how fast they can jam an eight-round enbloc clip into an M1 Garand when they have to — pretty darn fast.

The writer makes the statement that the 2nd Amendment does not entitle anyone to own such weapons. At the time the 2nd Amendment was written, the most accurate and advanced soldier’s firearm was a weapon with a rifled barrel. The Founders did not single out and state you can’t have that type of rifled barrel.

Further, the only real test at the Supreme Court of what is allowed and what isn’t came in the 1939, with United States v. Miller. Miller had committed a crime using a sawed-off shotgun. The government made the point that, since it did not have a reasonable militia function, the 2nd Amendment did not cover it. By extension then, military weapons ownership was the intention of the 2nd Amendment.

So who is the militia? “I ask, sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people, except for a few public officials.” — George Mason, in Debates in Virginia Convention on Ratification of the Constitution, 1788. Tench Coxe wrote at the time “Their swords, and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birth-right of an American.” There are multiple quotes from the Founders echoing those sentiments.

And, lastly, the NRA has stood for proper training and use of firearms since it was first chartered in the 1870s. It stands for safe and proper use of firearms. To my knowledge, not one NRA member has committed any of these crimes. It is the non-member who does not appreciate our God-given rights that abuses this right.

None of the above takes away from the tragedy of the shooting or the dreadful loss of life. If the Air Force had obeyed the existing law, things may have been different. Mass killers use guns, trucks, airplanes and even the lowly pressure cooker. Much as we might like to, we can’t control people bent on terrorizing us. Outlawing a class of weapons based on their appearance won’t make a difference. That was tried years ago with no discernable results.

Donald G. Hattier

Ocean View

Reader points to causes of poverty

Editor:

The root cause of poverty is lack of opportunity, inadequate education, lack of job training, no child care, inadequate public transportation, to name a few. Along with race, gender and other forms of discrimination, lack of political power is a more fundamental cause of systemic poverty. Anti-union laws and court rulings that favor corporations cripple the ability of workers to earn a living wage.

The current proposed tax legislation is a prime example of people being conned and scammed with the promise of relief for the middle class. These legislators are not being honest or truthful about the details of this bill.

It is obscene to give tax relief to the wealthy when it has been proven that the trickle-down theory is ineffective. To cut 13 million people from the insurance rolls and to tax these same individuals making between $10,000 and $50,000 is a disgrace for a country of such great wealth. It is my hope that, in the end, the true truth will stand, when the world won’t.

Valerie Reeves

Ocean View

Reader demands more from County officials

Editor:

For all practical purposes, any and all new construction within Sussex County must be approved by the county council. It follows from this truism that Sussex County government bears sole responsibility for 15 years of aimless, uncontrolled and unplanned development sprawl that today threatens to ruin our quality of life.

Despite this reality, state and county officials steadfastly and unabashedly heap blame for our present-day tsunami of new construction on:

• Residents who failed to oversee in a vigilant manner requests for building permits and land use;

• Residents who failed to understand the intricacies of DELDOT rules and regulations.

The most recent reactions to present-day circumstances are: I am open to new ideas if they work well (Arlett) and DELDOT plans to study new traffic counts next year (if the County makes it an aspirational priority) (McCLeary). The sum total of resident protest at meetings and “coffees” attended by hundreds over the last several months has rendered these “action” statements.

Good grief! One is left speechless at the madness of our elected and appointed officials.

The late urban activist Jane Jacobs said about modernistic urban planning: “There is a quality even meaner than outright ugliness or disorder, and this meaner quality is the mask of pretended order achieved by ignoring or suppressing the real order that is struggling to exist and to be served.”

To assist the county council , the County Administrator and our state representatives who may be allegorically challenged by Ms. Jacobs’ turns of phrase, they, collectively, are the “mask of pretended order achieved by ignoring or suppressing the real order.” We, Sussex County residents, are the “real order that is struggling to exist and to be served.”

To date, public meetings and hearings have been a sham. Either residents are lectured on procedures for opposing building permits, informed their concerns are 10 years past due or simply told their observations of crowding and congestion are “too weedy” for our elite team of comprehensive planners to incorporate into their “thinking.”

Whatever the forum or content, searching for relief from this band of officials is futile. They simply cannot admit they made our infrastructure mess and hence, quite logically, they cannot agree to clean it up.

Hopelessness need not carry the day. An independent study reviewing the permitting, land use and zoning decisions of the County over the last 15 years and how those decisions impact our infrastructure today would be a welcome addition to the County’s planning tools.

Moreover, an independent study could provide specific recommendations to remediate existing damage to our infrastructure and provide solutions for achieving in the future a balance between sensible growth and maintenance of a good urban quality of life. Such an independent study would be a formidable asset to assist with concluding and finalizing the draft comprehensive plan currently in process.

The absurdity of public statements by our County Administrator that the draft plan has received nothing but positive comments underscores the draft plan’s lack of gravitas as a planning document.

To our County Administrator and county council, your residents are demanding “to be served.” Can you not find collectively the will to carry out the public purpose that would be furthered by a truly independent review of how we got here and how we get out?

James Angus

Frankford

CATS is grateful for support with effort

Editor:

Cats Around Town Society (CATS) wishes to thank Giant Foods—Millville, Hocker’s Supercenter and our community for their support on our bake sale Nov. 18. The bake sale was held to recognize Global Cat Day. All monies collected ($850) will be spent on spay/neutering/vaccinating of community cats.

CATS’s mission is to reduce the over-population of homeless cats in our community using the proven effective method, trap/neuter/vaccinate/return. Visit CATS’s Facebook page to learn more about our organization and find out how you can become a volunteer with our 501(c) charity club.

Remember, if you are feeding community cats, thank you, but call us for help in spaying/neutering of your colony. How can you help hundreds of cats from becoming homeless? Spay or neuter one!

Nancy Ward, Secretary

Cats Around Town Society (CATS)

Democratic committee against right-to-work

Editor:

The 14th Representative District Democratic Party Committee stands for policies and laws that support workers and their families, including fair pay for all. The so-called “right-to-work” ordinance recently introduced for consideration by Sussex County Council does just the opposite, and that’s why we are encouraging the Council to defeat it.

Even before getting to the merits of the proposed ordinance, such an ordinance is not within Council’s jurisdiction to consider. In fact, County attorneys have advised against it and the Delaware Department of Justice rendered a legal opinion on this very subject, stating in a Nov. 15 letter that, “…Sussex County Council is without legal authority to enact the Ordinance. Title 9 of the Delaware Code is devoid of any express or implied grant of authority to Sussex County to regulate labor organizations or otherwise affect the employee/employer relationship with respect to collective bargaining.”

Turning to the merits of the ordinance, those who have studied “right-to-work” legislation know that it is a subject where hard, unbiased data is scarce. Inevitably, the debate devolves into opposing ideological and political arguments, making less impact as an economic policy than as a political call-to-arms.

Here are the facts: First, workers in Sussex County are already taking full advantage of their right to work. Sussex County’s September unemployment rate was just 4.4 percent — the lowest in Delaware.

Second, no worker may be forced to join a union; the Supreme Court has already ruled to prohibit this.

Third, right-to-work legislation will not attract business to our community. What has and does attract businesses to Sussex County is our favorable climate — both natural and economic — and our educated and qualified workforce.

Turning to Delaware’s unions, we believe they should be applauded for the support they provide to the working people of Delaware. Union representation is about worker safety, worker dignity and worker protection.

Without the bargaining power that the unions supply, an individual worker hasn’t a leg to stand on when asking for what he or she deserves — a living wage, decent working conditions and worker protection in all its forms.

From our teachers to our pipe-fitters, from our police and other first-responders to our electrical workers, and all the workers in between, unions help advocate for a living wage and a healthy and productive way of life.

So, talking about “right-to-work” in Sussex County is really just a distraction from the real work at hand. That work is attracting jobs and investment to our county and state, thereby giving workers and their families more opportunities to grow and thrive.

The 14th Representative District Democratic Party Committee applauds the support and advocacy provided by Delaware’s unions on behalf of the working people of this county and state. And, that is why we encourage the County Council to quickly reject this distraction and move on with addressing the real issues impacting the economy and quality of life for Sussex County’s citizens and workers.

Find us on Facebook at @Del14thRDDemocratic Committee and send us an instant message to get involved.

The 14th RD Democratic Party Committee

Dick Byrne, Committee Chair

Leslie Ledogar, Committee Vice-Chair

Cheryl Fructman, Committee Secretary

Ed McHale, Committee Treasurer

Carl Balatto, Dennis Berlin, Mitch Crane, Marsha Davis, Patty Magee, Barbara Morales, Rich Morgante, Peter Schott and Jack Young

Reader weighs in on proposed regulation

Editor’s note: The following letter was addressed as comments to Secretary Susan Bunting of the Delaware Department of Education, regarding the draft anti-discrimination Regulation 225, which was up for public comment through Dec. 4. The comments were sent to the Coastal Point for publication.

I support many of the goals Regulation 225 seeks to advance and, as drafted, it offers hope to students and families that find themselves thrown into the vortex of this public controversy believing the full force of Delaware law exists to vindicate and protect their interests.

As an advocate of the ideals behind this draft regulation, I seek Gov. Carney’s pledge that he has received the blessing of his chief legal officer that the path he has ordered his Secretary of Education to journey will be upheld by existing law.

In my view, the draft amended Regulation 225 is sure to deliver disappointing setbacks to those who rely on its protections based on ethnicity, gender, or gender identity or expression (additions to regulatory coverage that lack statutory support).

Sadly, as many individuals sponsoring this effort surely know well, future lawsuits will, in all probability, blunt its force and effects in major respects. Years of contentious litigation would delay needlessly the more important work of putting in place appropriate protections for students without the clamor of legal overreach. Such a future need not come to pass if supporters of this draft regulation cease this four-month parade toward implementation.

The efficacy and survivability of this proposed regulation will pivot on simple concepts: where lies the statutory authority from which the Department of Education:

· Unilaterally elevates and adds ethnicity, gender, and gender identity and expression to protected group status;

· Endows each school district with parental authority (parens patriae) over all students, without regard to age;

· Allows a secret (sub rosa) contract between student and school district with no parental notice.

Thousands of Delawareans from a broad spectrum of educational and economic strata have been challenged to publicly step forward, announce who they are and offer their commentary. Strange, is it not, that these persons have done so without the benefit of the views of the chief legal officer of Delaware, Attorney General Matt Denn.

Surely the largest law firm in Delaware, with 220 attorneys, possesses the legal acumen to weigh in on this important statewide initiative by providing an opinion to the Secretary regarding the items referenced above and having that opinion placed in the public record.

Indeed, Attorney General Denn has demonstrated tenacity and oversight in addressing bullying in our public schools, e.g. 2015 Update on Implementation by Delaware Public Schools of the State’s 2012 Anti-Bullying Laws.

The most disappointing aspect of this notice and comment process is that it trivializes a legitimate need for student protection: a need that should be supported with statutory authority and, thereafter, common-sense guidelines that will grow and expand with the benefit of local and national experiences.

James Angus

Frankford

Reader responds to previous letter

Editor:

I am responding to the Nov. 17 letter by Donna Purcell. The major points we all agree upon is all U.S. citizens desire peace, freedom and sovereignty and to uphold the U.S. constitution.

The constitution outlines governance; however, this is the first administration ever to try dismantling what was set up by our forefathers by inept appointees to cabinets and agencies. The chaos in both the White House and the Congress will cause our great nation to fall… perhaps like Rome did.

We can keep saying “no one is perfect,” and we aren’t, but that is no excuse to support a person in office who is a narcissist.

Psychiatrist Dr. M. Scott Peck, also a Christian minister, explored whether or not evil is a sickness and, if so, could it be cured? He worked with many patients over the years and in his 1983 book “People of the Lie: The Hope for healing Human Evil” catalogues his experiences with patients whose symptoms defied any therapies he offered.

He found that the malady of evil could be distinguished by some common characteristics in some of the patients. The first was their denial of all personal responsibility. Evil individual programmatically indulge in scapegoating, blaming personal problems or the problems of society on someone else. Evil parties consider themselves above reproach and must deny their own badness by lashing out against others and saying how horrible those people are.

Erich Fromm, the German social psychologist used the term “malignant narcissism” to define persons whose exaggerated pride deceives them into thinking they are smarter than they are and above any authority. Narcissists also demand to be in control and refuse advice from specialists, or anyone, etc.

Christians can find many scriptures to support their points in an argument. But the Ten Commandments, which is the basis for our Judeao-Christian faith, lays down the laws by which man should live.

Our president has broken several of these laws, and the worst one is “you shall have no other Gods before me.” The pursuit of power and wealth is the false god that some people put before our Lord God. Jesus supported this with “Love the Lord your God with all your heard and your neighbor as yourself.” If this would be the goal for each of us, then we might have peace and justice in our world.

“Birds of a feather flock together.” — Author unknown.

Doris Pierce

Selbyville

Reader wants voting machines updated

Editor:

As we all well know, elections are important, and when we vote, we want our vote to be recorded properly and available for recount or verification should there be a power failure, or a virus or any number of other external situations that could be a threat to our vote.

Delaware’s voting machines are circa 1996. The Microsoft software is no longer supported by Microsoft. This does not make me feel secure that my vote will actually count or even count for the persons whose names I selected. To boot, there is no hard copy backup to my vote.

Right now Gov. Carney is preparing the budget for the 2019 fiscal year beginning July 2018. If he doesn’t request money to update Delaware’s voting machines and processes, it won’t happen. It’s up to you and me to let the governor know that this is important and should be included with his budget request to the Legislature. Reach him at: john.carney@state.de.us, (302) 744-4104, or on www://governor.delaware.gov.

Dare we forget the “hanging chads” of 2000?

Jeffrey Chandross

Frankford

Lioness Club announces winner

Editor:

The Lord Baltimore Lioness Club takes great pleasure in announcing the winner of the 2017 Seven Nights Out (a.k.a. A Week without Cooking) Raffle is a local Dagsboro resident who has requested anonymity but is eager to start her culinary expedition to each of the following local dining establishments who participated in this event: Baywood Greens Country Club, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Fins Ale House, the Cottage Café, Big Fish Grill, Café on 26 and Abbott’s Grill.

The winning ticket was drawn Dec. 6 at the annual Lioness Christmas gathering, where donations were also given by attendees to fund the Adopt-a-Family for the Holidays project.

The funds raised by the Seven Nights Out Raffle will enrich the Lioness scholarship programs for IRHS seniors and continuing education student(s) at Beebe Nursing, as well as other community goodwill actions including Camp Barnes Rehab, Feed My Sheep and Food for Thought.

Our grateful appreciation extends to the participating restaurants listed above and to the community for its continued support. Your generosity has been extraordinary and we truly thank you!

Since its initiation in 1990 the Lord Baltimore Lioness Club has endeavored to fulfill its motto “We Serve.” New members are always welcomed. If interested, come join us at the next Lioness membership meeting on Feb. 7, 2018, at the Ocean View Presbyterian Church Hall (off Central Ave) at 6:30 p.m. as we start planning our May 16 spring fundraiser, the Lioness Fashion Show, with fashions being presented by CraZy LadyZ. For more details, contact the Lioness co-president at kvm.lucas@yahoo.com.

Karen Lucas & Bonnie McBride,

Co-Presidents

Lord Baltimore Lioness Club

Turkey Trot a hit, thanks to many

Editor:

The 10th Annual Fenwick Island Turkey Trot was held on Thanksgiving Day; 615 people and 54 dogs trotted 2.2 miles from Lewes Street in Fenwick south to the Maryland line and back, in support of the first-responders of the Bethany Beach Volunteer Fire Company (BBVFC) and Roxana Volunteer Fire Company (RVFC).

Many clad in holiday themed costumes, and others just wanting some exercise before the “big meal” later that day, also donated non-perishable food items for Neighbors in Need. Everyone celebrated at an after-party at Pottery Place Perks Café in Sunshine Plaza, featuring complimentary hot cocoa and oatmeal.

Between sponsors, proceeds from T-shirt sales and other cash donations, we were able to raise $8,000 — $4,000 for each company.

I want to thank our gold-level sponsors: Aqua Pools, Bank of Ocean City, Energy Gym, Hileman Drywall, Hocker’s Grocery & Deli, Indigo Octopus, Just Hooked, Massage Envy, The Paint Dr., Rooster’s Nest, S.L. Giansanti LLC.

In addition, the event was also sponsored by Anne Powell, Realtor; Custom Mechanical; D.J. Batman; Fenwick Pet Stop; Focus Multisports; Gallo Construction; Harpoon Hanna’s; Heather’s Home Works; hipAHA, Fenwick Island Boot Camp; Island Construction; the Jeff Baxter Mortgage Team; Mio Fratello; Pottery Place; Smitty McGee’s; and Surf’s Edge Pizza & Deli — thank you!

The support from the local community and our volunteers is most appreciated. Thank you to all who helped — especially Becka McWilliams and the McWilliams family for the use of their driveway on Bunting Avenue!

Grassroots fundraisers like this, I believe, hold an important role in local communities. Neighbors supporting each other, including the local merchants, has been inspiring to me, and it has been my pleasure to have founded the Turkey Trot in 2007. I thank everyone for their tireless support over the years!

Lori Martin, Founder

Fenwick Island Turkey Trot

AARP basket auction a product of many

Editor:

The South Coastal DE AARP Scholarship Committee would like to thank everyone who made our Nov. 30 basket auction fundraiser a success. We are grateful to Fins in Bethany Beach for hosting the event and donating a portion of the evening’s proceeds to the Scholarship Fund. We had record attendance from throughout the community. Attendees were able to bid on the chance to take home one of 29 baskets assembled with donations from many community businesses.

We want to thank those businesses who provided gift cards, products or cash donations for the event. They included:

All Aboard Grooming & Kennels, Antique Prints, Baker’s Ace Hardware, Beach Break Bakrie & Café, Bethany Beach Books, Bethany Diner, Big Fish, Rehoboth Beach, Blue Scoop Ice Cream, Blue Water Grill, Millsboro, Café on 26, Capriotti’s, Bethany Beach, Christmas Spirit, Rehoboth Beach, Coastal Cottage, Costa Ventosa Winery, County Bank, Crabcake Factory, Creative Concepts, Dagsboro Paint & Wallpaper, Denny’s Electric, DiFebo’s Restaurant, Dirty Harry’s Restaurant & Bakery.

Eclectic, Fenwick Island, Eleni’s Greek Café, Energy Gym, Fenwick Island, Fenwick Float-ors, Fish Tales, Flutterby, Fox’s Pizza Den, Bayside, The Fresh Market, Georgia House, Millsboro, Giant Food, Millville, Susan Goldstone, potter, Harris Teeter, Selbyville, Harry & David, Rehoboth Beach. Japanesque, Jayne’s Reliable, Just Hooked, Lord’s Landscaping, Made by Hand, McCabe’s Gourmet, Miller’s Creek, Morning Buns Bake Shop, Ocean View Seafood, Outback, Rehoboth Beach.

Parson’s Produce, Patti’s Hallmark, The Penguin Diner, Pier 1 Imports, Rehoboth Beach, Pitter Patter, Pizza King, Millsboro, Pizza Palace, Millsboro, Porto Pizza, Salon on Central, Salted Vines Vineyard & Winery, Sea Level, Seaside Country Store, Serendipity Quilt Shop, SoDel Restaurant Group, Studio 26 Salon, Su Casa, Bethany Beach, Sweet Dispositions, Treasure Island, Turtle Beach Café, Venus Nails, Fenwick Island, Walmart, Rehoboth Beach. Wild About Birds and Yuppy Puppy.

Finally, we want to acknowledge all the members of the Scholarship Committee, without whose hard work the event would not have been possible. They include: Barbara Shamp, event coordinator; Ida Crist, Kathy Johnson, Carolyn Kress, Dawn Lekites, Enid Levine, Joann McGaughey, Chris and Helen Norris, Ione Phillips and Shirley Price.

This is one of two annual fundraisers sponsored by the chapter that enable us to provide scholarships to Indian River High School students and to adult Sussex County students attending Delaware Tech. Our other annual event, the Artisans Fair, is held annually on Memorial Day weekend. See you then!

Ione Phillips, Scholarship Committee

Co-Chair

South Coastal Delaware AARP

Reader losing optimism on nation’s future

Editor:

As the Republicans’ loyalty to their Big Donor demands, rather than to the needs of their constituents, becomes increasingly apparent, even the good people of deep-red Alabama have come to vote in their own best interests. Democrat Doug Jones’ victory in the Alabama senate race is a hopeful sign.

Not that the Democrats aren’t corporately corrupted as well. It’s just that they aren’t as totally and blatantly wedded to trickle-down fantasies as the Republicans. There’s some room in the Democratic tent for economic and social justice to make headway.

The elephant in the room remains the bloody military budget. In 1967, in his Riverside Church speech, Martin Luther King spelled it out: “We as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values. A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.”

Here we are, 50 years on, with a military budget more bloated than ever, waging endless war and suffering around the globe. Unless we can end this fear-driven profligacy, efforts to create a more just and perfect union will be cut off at the knees.

Michael Lawton

Ocean View

Millville thankful for support of many

Editor:

On behalf of the Town of Millville, we want to thank all those who assisted in making the 5th Annual Millville Holiday Market on Saturday, Dec. 9, such a success. Despite the cold, snowy weather, the Town was totally overjoyed by the massive crowd, seeing so many shoppers and vendors with huge smiles on their faces!

It was our goal to have a fun-filled day for the customers and provide them with a wide variety of gifts for the holiday season, to provide the vendors an opportunity to sell their wares at no cost to them, and to showcase what Millville can offer through our very supportive business owners. It worked!

First and foremost, I want to thank the mayor and council of the Town of Millville for supporting this event. A big thanks go to our local businesses who all donated baskets and items from their businesses, no questions asked, to go toward the gift basket raffle giveaway: All About U Salon, Banks Wines & Spirits, Bonkey’s Ice Cream & Snowballs, Delaware Provision South, Giant Food in Millville, Hooked Up Restaurant & Raw Bar, Lord’s Landscaping, Miller’s Creek, Millville Pet Stop, Patti’s Hallmark Shop, Perucci’s Classic Italian Restaurant, Reflections Antiques, Salted Vines Vineyard & Winery and Turning Pages Book Lounge.

Thanks to our Millville food vendor, Doric Lodge #30, and all of the guys who stood out in the cold to serve up some hot food. And, finally, a big thanks goes to the Delaware State Police for having a trooper present to make sure safety was covered for pedestrians crossing the street from one market to another.

Words really can’t describe how grateful the Town of Millville is for the assistance of our Millville Volunteer Group. The following individuals worked during the event: Brenda Fegelein, Maggie King, Trudi Lombardi and Susan Brewer; we couldn’t have done it without them.

Thanks to Anna Scarola, who helped run the gift basket raffle table; and to Eric Evans, the Town’s code and building official, who helped with opening up, clearing the snow, support for vendors, set-up and tear-down.

A special thanks to the Millville United Methodist Church for their continued support and helping with providing an additional location for the market. All of their assistance and cooperation helped in making this major community event run smoothly, and enhanced the experience of many, many visitors.

Finally, we are so appreciative of all of you who took the time to join us for our annual market. We appreciate your ongoing support, and hope you enjoyed the 5th Annual Millville Holiday Market. We look forward to seeing you all next year!

Debbie Botchie, Town Manager

Matt Amerling, Town Clerk

Town of Millville

Reader weighs in on zoning change

Editor’s note: The following letter was addressed to the Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission, regarding change-of-zone application #1841, “Lemuel H. Hickman GST Exempt Trust fbo Brenton Archut,” and was sent to the Coastal Point for publication.

Seventy-five years ago, a local farmer bought land that is the subject of this application to the Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission. I reside a mile from this property. A grandson seeks to change the zoning of a small portion of that land from “agricultural/residential” to “Neighborhood Business” use. If approved, five business buildings will be erected that will include “landscaping facilities” and a “convenience store.”

The grandson believes this proposal for a “convenience store” will benefit the thousands of soon-to-be residents of the 700 homes in the midst of construction within a quarter-mile of his planned businesses. I would prefer the Planning & Zoning Commission await the views of the thousands of soon-to-be nearby residents before acting on this application.

Quality-of-life issues abound within this application, foremost of which is its eerie resemblance to the recent Route 54 furor over the birth of a new Royal Farms in an already congested traffic area. Despite the presumption this application enjoys that traffic on Double Bridges Road is less than 50 vehicles per hour and 500 vehicles per day, such a presumption is grossly misleading given present day traffic along this road.

My observations from traveling Double Bridges, Camp Barnes and Bayard daily are that this fictional presumption will be rendered even more unrealistic once 700 nearby homes are occupied by about 1,750 residents. Indeed, after new construction concludes in the near future, Double Bridges, Camp Barnes and Bayard will remain what they are today: overburdened roadways, in need of repair and upgrade, with ditches for shoulders and “telephone poles” for guardrails.

It is also inescapable that this application will inexorably change the nature of the immediate area insofar as no other retail establishment of any kind is located within 3 miles of this plot. In this sense, an approval of this application lets the nose of the camel into the tent and thereafter, applications for similar commercial activities in areas adjacent to this 5 acres surely will follow.

The Planning and Zoning Commission should embrace this application as an opportunity to announce its views on future rezoning requests in similar circumstances.

This application also impacts the settled expectations of thousands of soon-to-be residents who will have bought homes in the Woodlands and the Estuary, knowing that all nearby and adjacent land is zoned “agricultural/residential.”

These settled expectations have been put in place by the very government body that now debates this rezoning request. No doubt, sales contracts at these developments have been signed based on the representation that the surrounding area is zoned “agricultural/residential.” Certainly the County has learned lessons from other developments where home sales have been based on illusory marinas, deeded boat slips, bike paths, tennis courts, etc.

New residents who make a significant investment in Sussex County through home purchases inevitably feel local betrayal at a sleight-of-hand rezoning that will leave no remedial recourse, much like home purchasers who buy and move in to an area only to discover they are next to the future home of an airport or bus depot.

Sussex County is at a housing development juncture where signs of unbridled and unsustainable growth are clear and unambiguous. After granting building permits for over 700 homes in this one tiny bit of Sussex County, wouldn’t it be prudent to take a 5- to 10-year intermission to allow for the observation of the continuing effects of such development on the surrounding area before proceeding with inevitable requests for rezoning in nearby and adjacent areas?

Indeed, such an intermission would allow the State and County to implement appropriate infrastructure improvements to address the bow wave of development that has already passed over Sussex County in general and this tiny area in particular.

Additionally, the application is based on the flawed information that Double Bridges Road handles under 50 vehicles per hour. Adding to roadway degradation seems ill-advised upon the threshold arrival of thousands of new soon-to-be residents. Further, such an influx of new residents leaves safety as an unaddressed issue in this application.

If granted, the effect on traffic will be considerable, the effect on the roadway decline will be significant, the effect on traffic safety will be dangerous and pronounced and the views of hundreds of soon-to-be neighbors will never be factored into your deliberative process.

Advancing technological applications also portend trouble for our roads in the days ahead. GPS functionality in our automobiles now allows motorists to venture off of Routes 24, 26 and 54 to find shortcuts to their destinations. Invariably, these shortcuts will overwhelm our sleepy country lanes, such as Double Bridges, Camp Barnes and Bayard, to name only a few, with traffic seeking alternative access to points north, south and east.

Such technology presents the Planning & Zoning Commission and our Board of Supervisors with the opportunity to step back from applications for zoning changes until the full effect of on-going residential construction can be measured and absorbed against commuter technology. Moreover, the number and volume of vehicles seeking access to our attractions already presents formidable challenges to neighborhoods throughout the eastern part of Sussex County.

Against these public-policy and practical-impact considerations lies the weight of the harm to the applicant if the application is not granted. Of course, there is no harm, as the Planning & Zoning Commission leaves the grandson in the same status he has enjoyed for many years: in full possession of significant acreage zoned “agricultural/residential” with all the economic promise such a designation enjoys.

The potential harm to the surrounding area of granting this application far outweighs any community benefit and, for the reasons set out above, I urge the Planning & Zoning Commission to deny the application.

James Angus

Frankford

Christmas CHEER thankful for support

Editor:

For almost 50 years, CHEER has been making an impact on the quality of life for senior citizens in Sussex County. As a non-profit organization, this would not be possible without the generous support of our extended list of volunteers.

Twenty-five years ago, CHEER began to brighten Christmas Day for seniors who had no one else to share the holiday. Volunteers give up a few hours with their family and friends to deliver meals and gifts to Sussex County seniors living alone. This year, Operation Christmas CHEER had more than 70 volunteers visit 260 isolated seniors in the oldest and largest Christmas spirit sharing operation of its kind in Sussex County.

On behalf of the CHEER Board of Directors, administrators, staff and seniors, I would like to thank our volunteers for their selfless acts of kindness on Christmas Day. Many of these volunteers have been coming back year after year and bringing their families. The seniors have come to know them and are excited to see them on Christmas Day because that is probably the only people they see on Dec. 25.

The visiting volunteers come bearing gifts that are supplied by the generous people of Sussex County. CHEER would like to thank the members and customers of the following organizations for all the gifts that supported the success of Operation Christmas CHEER 2017:

• Gifts and canned goods — Karen Adams, Mary Kay Cosmetics, Coastal Leisure CHEER Center; County Bank, Long Neck; Dublin Hill 4-H Club, Greenwood CHEER Center, Harbour Lights CHEER Center, James H. Groves Adult High School, Rehoboth K-Mart, Long Neck CHEER Center, staff of Delmarva McDonald’s, Meike Car Care of Lewes, Milton CHEER Center, Betsie and Ken Moore, South Coastal Delaware Chapter 5226 AARP, Susan Deery and Phillip Showell Elementary School, Sussex County Court System, and Tabatha Circle of Georgetown Presbyterian Church;

• Food items — Mountaire Farms, Short Funeral Services and Sussex Tech High School;

• Monetary donations — Joan Brasure, Margaret Brasure, Rodman and Nancy Kushela, Mid-Del Foundation in Harrington, and Dolores and Robert Streko;

• Pet food — Joan Brasure, Margaret Brasure and Del Tech FFA, through the generosity of PetSmart of Dover;

• Poinsettia plants — DelTech Applied Agriculture Department;

• Christmas cards — Long Neck Elementary School;

• Labor to assemble baskets and meal trays — DelTech FFA and Applied Agriculture Department, Delaware Valley University FFA and Sons of Isaac Lodge.

And to the dozens of unnamed elves in Sussex County who wrapped a gift for a senior and gave anonymously, I want to extend my heartfelt thanks for your generosity in helping brighten the holidays of a senior. You will never know to what extent these simple gestures of good-will have in enriching the lives of someone less fortunate.

May everyone have a blessed and happy new year.

Kenneth S. Bock, Chief Executive Officer

CHEER Inc.

Pastor grateful for support of victims

Editor:

A heartfelt and sincere thank-you to all the amazing and caring people for being a blessing to the devastated hurricane victims of Harvey, Irma and Marie.

A special thank-you for donating money to UMCOR, giving various items and assembling cleaning bucket kits also hygiene kits.

Thank you for partnering with Union Wesley United Methodist Church on their endeavor.

What a huge success it was, and as a result of your generosity, we collected and turned over 22 cleaning bucket kits and 30 hygiene kits. Blessed are the givers, and grateful are the receivers.

Rev. Dr. Jeanel L. Starling, Pastor
Union Wesley Church Congregation

Dukes weighs in on right-to-work

Editor’s note: The following letter from former Sussex County Council member Dale Dukes was addressed to the current Sussex County Council and was sent to the Coastal Point for publication.

Born and raised my entire life and started two businesses here in Sussex County, I would like to offer my opinion of the right-to-work (RTW) ordinance that was turned down. I also served on the County Council 20 years and was privileged to be president about 12 of those years. Forget the legality issue, which I feel should not be the determining factor to support or not support this ordinance, but what would benefit Sussex County. I was elected to spur the economy and create jobs and growth.

Warren County, Ky., passed this in 2014 and since then the county seat of Bowling Green has seen downtown development of over $300 million in capital improvements. Since 2014, Warren County has attracted 174 prospective new businesses to their county.

This represents about $2.5 billion in potential investment and 16,618 jobs have materialized, according to Bowling Green Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber says their county has 600 job openings for blue- and white-color workers in all fields.

The City of Seaford passed this unanimously in mid-December, and Mayor Grenshaw said he wasn’t content to wait for the County to act and anticipated their own RTW law would attract businesses and opportunity for the former Dupont site, as well as other parts of Seaford.

Despite one county’s decision to reject a right-to-work law, Delaware will remain the only state in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic with a local statute prohibition imposition of union mandates on private-sector employees.

Sussex County could benefit from this tremendously and could really boost the economy. Really, the entire state needs this, since the state has such financial difficulty. However, if the State won’t pass it, I encourage the Council not to put this on the back burner but work out the legality of it and get it passed.

I read in the paper that almost all of you were in favor of it, but because of Home Rule and not sure if you could do it, legally turned it down. I hope continued discussion will take place and not be influenced by people outside our county but listen to your constituents whom I have heard overwhelmingly support.

Dale Dukes

Laurel

Hovington offers other side of debate

Editor:

I applaud the [Sussex County] Council on their vote at the Jan. 9, 2018, and I commend Mr. Burton on his comments, which were to the point and very appropriate.

On Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2018, I had the pleasure to appear before the Sussex County Council to exercise my right as an American to express our opinion of the right-to-work issue that was the subject of the council’s meeting that day. As you would expect, as chair of the Sussex County Democratic Party, I was there to speak regarding the wasted tax dollars to host these hearings on this proposed ordinance. However, this is not the point of this letter.

I was appalled at the arrogance of the officials of the Sussex County Republican Party as to the comments they made. It was not a surprise that they spoke in support of the ordinance. It is their right as an American to take that position, as wrong as it is.

What took me aback was the threatening tone taken by these people. Pointing at the council, they told them that they would absolutely have to vote for this ill-conceived ordinance or they would take them out at the next election. It mattered not to these bullies that the County Attorney had ruled that the council lacked the authority to do this. Break the law, cost the taxpayers of this county thousands of dollars and put the economic development back years, it was do it or else. Such intimidation — have we fallen this far?

Let me give these folks a lesson in civics. Threatening public officials for just doing their job is not what America is all about. The noise I heard that day was the founding father of the Republican Party, Abraham Lincoln, spinning in his grave!

We in Sussex have enjoyed a great deal of bipartisanship over the years. Even when we disagree, we have remained cordial to each other. I was embarrassed for the Republican County Council that their positions were threatened by their own party if they didn’t vote to break the law!

How sad!

Jane Hovington, Chair

Sussex County Democratic Party

Reader responds to previous letter

Editor:

I have read quite a few letters in the last couple of months in the Coastal Point about the lack of “love” in our country. They are very observant! But overlook that most of this lack of love comes from the DemoNcrats and their left-leaning media cohorts and is relentlessly aimed at our president.

I have decided that I have to respond to such one-side vitriol. Therefore, I am writing to comment on Valerie Reeves’ “Reader says America is at a crossroads” letter in the Jan. 12 Coastal Point.

I have to wonder how much time Valerie Reeves has spent reading the new tax law. But I don’t have to wonder what perspective she used, if indeed she did read it. I’ll be honest, I did not read it, but believe it was long overdue and that it will indeed be good for all Americans!

Her first paragraph lists four points that seem to me rather absurd! They are what she interprets as the priorities set by the new tax law. At the risk of being repetitive here they are, verbatim: (1) a compliant work force, (2) starvation wages, (3) weak unions (which produces greater income inequality) and (4) relentless attack on benefits for poor and infirm, constantly attacking protections for the working class on order to create a fiscal crisis that enables them to kill or privatize Social Security and undermine Medicare and Medicaid.

I just cannot conceive how any rational person other than a DemoNcrat Koolaide drinker could list these four statements and relate them to the new tax law. They are nothing but DemoNcrat talking points! Where’s the love? From what I understand, we’ll all pay less taxes and I hope that’s true!

In the interest of space, I won’t repeat her second paragraph. But it is similarly lacking in love. It mentions, among other things, the lack partisanship, and all I could think of was the previous eight years and the total absence of partisanship. But that does not make it right!

But when she says, “the President does not understand the nuances of governing or the intellect to do so” I cannot help but think of Nancy Pelosi. And, again, where’s that missing love? Of course, President Trump had the necessary nuances and intellect to, thankfully, beat Hillary, but I digress.

The third paragraph bemoans what she believes to be the sad state of affairs of the leadership of our country and a ridiculous assertion that Putin somehow controls things. Really? Wake up! Putin has more than enough on his plate controlling what’s inside Russia! Will the DemoNcrats ever give up on a Russian connection?

Vallerie, there are many many millions of us that have patiently waited for a president of the United States of America to stand up for America! To tell the dysfunctional U.N. a thing or two, and to tell the world that we believe that America should be and is the most important thing to Americans!

And the last paragraph expresses her hope for a mind to emerge that will promote truth, justice that is fair, merciful and understanding. Sounds like a prayer! And there’s nothing wrong with praying, but you/we cannot run a country on a prayer! You run a country with a Constitution and laws! And after eight years of Obama, perhaps it’s time for us to return to running our country using our great Constitution and enforcing or changing our existing laws!

I’ll end with what we all should be saying and thinking: “God bless America!”

Thomas M. Keeley III

Ocean View

Filling wetlands can cause more problems

Editor:

A Bethany Beach Planning & Zoning Committee meeting is scheduled to be conducted at the Town Hall on Jan. 20, 9 a.m. The agenda includes the following item: “A. Discuss and possible vote on an application for a minor subdivision for the creation of 4 new lots and one residual lot, and the relocation of property lines for property identified as Lots 5,8,9 and 10, Block 25, Garfield Parkway in the R-1 zoning district.”

The parcel in question essentially is the same area that was reviewed and rejected by DNREC in 2016 and, at that time, the Town Council submitted a letter to DNREC to oppose the application!

The Loop Canal wetlands at issue are part (18 percent) of a remaining wetland parcel amounting to approximately 10.5 acres of land that provides a large measure of flood control, water cleansing and wildlife habitat. The Loop Canal wetlands are adjacent to the Bethany Loop Canal, which causes major flooding both east and west of Route 1 in Bethany.

These wetlands also capture and process pollutants, thereby helping to protect and maintain water quality. The wetlands and the associated uplands are an irreplaceable, functioning habitat mosaic which supports fish and wildlife species, and which also serve as an important refuge, feeding area and migration corridor.

Further fragmentation of the limited habitat of this kind remaining in our community is contrary to the public interest, especially when one looks at this development in the context of the cumulative impacts that have occurred over the years as a result of new construction?

The wetlands in question have not changed and are required to be maintained as such to insure that inherent benefits as defined by the Department of Interior & Wildlife Services are in place, some of which include:

· Flood control (storage and protection);

· Reduction of coastal storm damage;

· Shoreline stabilization;

· Water quality (by removing silt and filtering out and absorbing many pollutants, such as waterborne chemicals and nutrients);

· Saltwater intrusion control (creating groundwater pressure that prevents saltwater from invading public water supplies);

· Wildlife habitat on the tract itself and as part of a regional mosaic,

· Waterfowl breeding and habitat (http://www.landscope.org/delaware/overview/);

· Recreational opportunities, including aesthetic enjoyment of nature, photography and environmental education).

It was for these reasons that this area was originally protected by the federal government and the State of Delaware.

Over the years, we have had numerous flooding occurrences in our area, with water levels reaching sometimes as high as 18 to 25 inches above normal. People in the surrounding area have been forced to evacuate their homes due to flooding. We accept these occurrences because we prefer to live in a beach community and rely to a great extent on these precious wetlands to help mitigate coastal flooding.

However, if the wetlands are filled in, the flood-prone adjacent areas can only be made infinitely worse. I must also mention that home owners on at least nine streets could be directly affected by this activity, along with the increased flooding impact of the Loop Canal area, not to mention the cumulative effect throughout the town.

Fragile and vulnerable wetland systems can be quickly destroyed by smothering them with fill, bulkheading, dredging and real estate development. These wetlands are balanced, intricate and dynamic. Destruction of these fragile ecosystems will ultimately affect us all.

Please join with me in attending this meeting in opposing this request, commenting if you wish, but just your being there signifies the need/importance to maintain these fragile wetlands as a safe harbor for all of us.

Jack Walsh

Bethany Beach

Reader not a fan of offshore drilling

Editor:

As a U.S. and state taxpayer who lives in Sussex County, Del., I am strongly opposed to the 2019-2024 OCS Offshore Oil & Gas Leasing Program.

The economy here relies heavily on tourism; an oil spill here would be devastating. Why is Florida excluded from this program on this basis and not Delaware?

Our environment is dependent on the health of our oceanic border. We already face worsening storms and sea-level rise; we should not be subjected to risks of contamination from oil and gas drilling operations. Development of offshore wind energy is greatly preferred, due to less environmental impact and also to its enduring yield long after oil and gas have been depleted.

The damage to our marine life from building and operating oil and gas drilling facilities is completely unacceptable.

Jeanette Akhter

Selbyville

PTO thankful for support with festival

Editor:

Phillip C. Showell Elementary School PTO would like to thank the following companies and individuals who assisted in making the Fall Festival a huge success. The money raised at the festival directly benefits our students.

Thanks to the following organizations: Zonko’s Builders; Fenwick Floaters; RACC Fitness; Blue Scoop; Cactus Café; High Stakes; Yellow Fins; Todd Brock; Jimmy’s Kitchen; Cripple Creek; Just Hooked; Fox’s Pizza Den; Bank’s Liquors; Lord’s Landscaping; Jayne’s Reliable; Casapulla’s; Elk’s Club; Lobster Shanty; Hocker’s Car Wash; Doyle’s Restaurant; Bunting & Murray; Salted Vines; Lord Baltimore Lions Club; Smitty McGee’s; Millville Pet Stop; Harris Teeter; The River Church; Parson’s Farm; Delaware Provision South; David’s Flowers; Besche Furniture Store; Lego League Robotics Club; Selbyville Fire Company; Barn Hill Animal Preserve; ACE Hardware; Selbyville Community Club; Lord Baltimore Women; Dietz & Watson; VFW; Millsboro Pizza Palace; and Walgreen’s.

Your generosity was greatly appreciated!

Phillip C. Showell Elementary School PTO

Readers weigh in on subdivision proposal

Editor’s note: The following letter was addressed to Mike Boswell, chairman of the Bethany Beach Planning & Zoning Commission, regarding the new subdivision proposal by the Walcek family, in advance of the Jan. 20 hearing on the proposed development. It was sent to the Coastal Point for publication. The excerpt from the Coastal Zone Management Act 16 U.S.C. § 1452 — Congressional declaration of policy (Section 303) mentioned in the letter has been omitted due to space constraints.

The Bethany Beach Planning & Zoning Commission (Commission) is meeting at the Town Hall on Jan. 20, 2018, at 9 a.m., to discuss an application for “the creation of 4 new lots and 1 residential lot, and the relocation of property lines for property identified as Lots 5, 8, 9, and 10, Block 25, Garfield Parkway, in the R-1 zoning district.”

We are providing these comments for consideration by the commission as a resident of Bethany Beach (428 Wiegand Lane) living in close proximity to the Walcek tract and the proposed activity.

The current proposal should also be evaluated in light of the previous projects, both approved and denied. Considering that the land involved in previous actions, Mr. Walcek has had more than ample opportunity to make use of his property. Periodically applying for new uses, piecemeal fashion, is inconsistent with federal policy and regulations, and has had serious deleterious effects, as described in this letter.

We purchased our home at 428 Wiegand Lane in 2009. For the first few years, even during the most severe rain events, we rarely experienced standing water in the street in front of our home.

Subsequently, the unoccupied lot to the south of us was filled with 1-2 feet of material mid-winter one year, to eliminate wetlands covering over 1/3 of the lot, presumably to make the lot easier to sell.

Next, in ca. 2016, the lot to the north of our home was completely filled and a new home constructed. This lot contained a mosaic of wetlands covering 85 percent of the property, wetlands that held water most of the year. Even when surface water was minimal, the lot had saturated soils.

Filling these two properties has caused a major change in the hydrology of the neighborhood. Wiegand Lane floods during light rains now. Water ponds and sits for days. Some properties along Wiegand Lane now have front yards that remain wet and saturated much of the year.

The point of this observation is not to revisit issues associated with the fills described above, but to highlight that by filling any or all of the Walcek tract, our flooding problems will increase exponentially. This will affect property values, the town’s tax base, and adversely affect streets to the point that repair and replacement costs will increase.

If the commission decides to consider this proposal further, a hydrology study should be conducted by an independent entity. This study should include modeling sufficient to understand the impacts of the current proposal, and any potential follow-on development proposals that could flow from approval of the current one.

According to applicable Army Corps of Engineers and Environmental Protection Agency regulations, in order to consider using a general permit for the proposed activity, the activity must have no more than minimal effects on the aquatic environment, individually and cumulatively.

Based upon the direct and indirect effects to jurisdictional waters and wetlands associated with this proposal, the individual permit process must be used to evaluate this proposal. General permits must not be used to enable properties to be subdivided and subsequently evaluated separately. Any effort to piecemeal the project is contrary to regulatory policy and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

Therefore, should the commission decide to consider this proposal further, they should ask that the Corps evaluate the proposal as a standard individual permit (IP) subject to the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (robust public involvement, alternatives analysis, studies, preparation of an environmental assessment and/or and environmental impact statement). The Corps has the authority and responsibility to require an IP in this case.

It is critical that the commission consider the potential cumulative adverse effects on the aquatic environment, water quality, flood storage capacity, and community health and well-being. The community has reached a tipping point where additional losses of waters and wetlands are having significant adverse effects on the very important values that led us to purchase a home in Bethany Beach.

We have been coming to Bethany Beach since ca. 1990, and homeowners since 2009. Over that period of time, traffic has increased exponentially, increased nuisance flooding after even minor rainfalls ruins yards and driveways, and open standing water breeds mosquitos and other disease vectors. The adverse impacts to habitat values have been well described by others.

Those effects, in combination with the adverse effects described in this letter, provide more than sufficient justification for denying this proposal, especially since approving it would benefit one individual at the expense of the community and ecosystem.

Another important consideration is compliance with the Coastal Zone Management Act, the purpose of which is to preserve, protect, restore and enhance coastal zone resources, like those that would be affected by this proposal. Federal regulatory authorities must ensure that projects proposed within coastal zones are consistent with the Act and any State coastal zone plan developed in accordance with the Act.

The enclosed excerpt from the Act clearly articulates the factors that must be considered as a matter of regulation and national policy.

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Control (DNREC) developed Delaware’s Coastal Zone Act (DCZA) to protect “vital” coastal resources and ensure their “wise use” and conservation. Factors that must be considered include destruction of wetlands, flora, and fauna; impact on drainage and flood control; water quality; and impacts to surface and subsurface waters.

The commission should consider negative impacts in accordance with the DCZA, economic, environmental, and social.

Traffic on Garfield Parkway is already a problem — approving this proposal will make it worse for residents, tourists, church-goers and emergency vehicles. There are traffic and pedestrian safety issues that must be evaluated for this proposal.

The commission, and the federal government, should explore alternatives to the proposal to fill waters of the United States. Any applicant for a Department of the Army permit must demonstrate that there are no practicable alternatives to proposals to fill waters and wetlands. An alternative is practicable if it is available and capable of being done after taking into consideration cost, existing technology, and logistics in light of overall project purposes.

If it is otherwise a practicable alternative, an area not presently owned by the applicant that could reasonably be obtained, utilized, expanded or managed in order to fulfill the basic purpose of the proposed activity may be considered.

The project proponent has a great deal of work to do to in order to conduct a proper alternatives analysis and document the results. Furthermore, in this case, this landowner has subdivided and developed this property multiple times. Thus, the commission must consider the cumulative effects of this proposal in light of the past and present adverse effects already caused, in combination with and reasonably foreseeable adverse effects that would be caused by additional development.

In summary, it is critically important that the commission and the federal agencies collect sufficient engineering, scientific and economic information in order to make an informed decision regarding this project, and to ensure that if the project is to move forward, impacts will be avoided and minimized to the extent possible, and that compensatory mitigation is required for unavoidable impacts in accordance with the 2008 Joint Corps-EPA Mitigation Rule.

In order for compensatory mitigation to be acceptable, it must address the loss of waters and wetlands based upon a valid functional assessment method, on site or very close to the project location, and in the same sub-watershed.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

Charles R. “Chip” Smith and Meg Smith

Bethany Beach

Neighbors oppose liquor license

Editor:

We are residents of Bethany Beach who live near the proposed establishment which will be called the Ropewalk Restaurant, located on Garfield Parkway. We would like to formally register our opposition to this restaurant’s application for a liquor license on the basis that we feel it would not be in the public interest to have a 325-seat restaurant with an open-air rooftop area located right in the middle of town.

The size of the establishment will bring added noise, congestion and traffic, further straining very limited parking availability. The existence of the rooftop open-air portion of the building is, in our view, at least arguably, not in compliance with Town Code 425-70: Prohibited uses, Sub-section C, which states that “(n)o use otherwise permitted in this åzoning district shall be permitted as a rooftop open-air business.”

We chose to settle in Bethany Beach, as opposed to other area beach communities, because of its reputation of being a “Quiet Resort.” We enjoy the calm and intimacy of our little town, and the visitors who choose to spend their vacation time in Bethany Beach seem to treasure this as well. We don’t want to be a smaller version of Ocean City, with all the noise, congestion and rowdiness that goes along with that distinction. This would certainly have a significant adverse impact on our quality of life.

We are concerned that it just opens the door for more and larger bars and restaurants which would totally change the character of Bethany Beach and make it a less attractive destination for the many families who vacation here.

We encourage anyone who agrees with us to join us at the Sussex County Administration Building, 2 The Circle, Georgetown, Del., on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018, at 5 p.m.

Susan R. Fried, Joshua Fried, Larry Bullis, Judy Bullis, Joseph P. Smith, Claire Loftus, C. Michael Loftus, John Barbour, Kathy Sierra, Margaret Young, Bennie Allen and Steve Allen

Bethany Beach

Readers thankful for support of community

Editor:

We would like to take a moment to thank everyone who has sent cards or passed along kind words and prayers as Shirley has been battling some health issues. She has been receiving excellent care, and your kindness has helped us through these difficult times.

We would especially like to thank the people at St. George’s United Methodist Church, who have included Shirley in their prayers and continue to offer support to our family.

William & Shirley Cobb

Dagsboro

Reader asks for balance in growth

Editor:

Kudos to the Coastal Point and to Chip and Meg Smith for the inclusion of their entire letter-to-the-editor of Jan. 26. The presentation of the facts at hand required much noted research. The concerns of the project are valid, as are many proposals in Sussex County to continue the decimation of wetlands and water habitats.

It’s too bad the officials in Sussex County and DNREC lack the required reading skills to interpret regulations into polices of conservation and preservation. Many concerned citizens have suffered the fate of the Smiths’ thoughtful opposition; arguments against bad ideas are often dismissed or subjected to unfair due process.

Where’s the proper planning in Sussex County? For example, all one has to do is drive to the Bayside community in West Fenwick, past the 18th hole on the golf course, and make a left on East Sand Cover Road. Much of the new development past the great magnolia tree circle was categorically freshwater wetlands, according to DNREC maps (http://www.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html?url=http://firstmap.delawa...).

If the editorial/project is concerned with five lots, how did all these new properties get permitted over the years? The tragedy is not just with loss of wetlands, but the future loss of home values as the natural hydrostatic pressure under the foundations causes problems. Many of the homes are continually running sump pumps to keep their crawl space dry.

Follow the signs to the Point, and the complete decimation of upland forest and the nearshore wetlands area portends the fate of our local area. At one time, songbirds, foxes, deer and eagles roamed here. Now it’s the ugliness of bulldozers, mud and clear-cuts all for the all-mighty dollar.

Yes, many new arrivals here reside in new developments, but at what cost? There must be a proper balance and timeline for conservation, always.

Gregg Rosner

West Fenwick Island

Ocean View project gets attention

Editor:

I believe people and businesses have the right to do things to their own property. I believe even stronger, though, that neighbors should be good neighbors. Perhaps even more so, as the world we live in seems to have more diversity than ever in my 61 years of observing our society.

Although anticipated, seeing and hearing the bulldozers on the tract of land located on the corner of Route 26 and Woodland Avenue in Ocean View was stomach wrenching. As demolition work progressed, the woodsy smell of felled trees could be easily detected.

The impact of a removed stand of dense trees (what my kids nicknamed, “the Ocean View forest” when they were young) affects all of us locals, part-timers and vacationers. That corner, with its old-fashioned cottage-look house and outbuilding, was a local landmark.

When demolition started last week, the word spread like wildfire. The energy of smartphones, landlines, texts, social media and neighbors talking face-to-face with each other was almost palpable.

I have been told the developer will allocate a meager percentage of its overall budget for landscaping, including the possibility of a berm installed on their back property line. Currently, the demo team left a scant number of mature trees.

I am suggesting the developer dramatically increase their landscaping budget to heavily screen the back portion of its property with massive plantings of semi-mature and fast-growing trees.

That immediate action may help to mollify the objections of the neighbors in the Cottages subdivision, located directly north of the property, who are affected by the loss of a tree boundary line which served to visually block Route 26 traffic. It may also help ease the pain for our coastal communities at large.

Through its homeowners association, the Cottages residents practice the good-neighbor policy. How about you, the development company?

Ann Whaley

Ocean View

Cannabis prohibition doesn’t work

Editor:

I recently attended the Delaware Citizens’ Cannabis Lobby Day at Legislative Hall in Dover and came away convinced that now is time for the state of Delaware to approve House Bill 110, legalizing adult recreational use of cannabis.

Prohibition doesn’t work.

It didn’t work with alcohol, a far more dangerous drug than cannabis, and it doesn’t work with cannabis. What prohibition accomplishes is creating and facilitating an environment in which criminals control the trade and profits of a multi-billion-dollar industry.

People who want to consume cannabis will do so. The questions are where will they purchase it and who will profit from the consumption. Given this reality, it makes far more sense for this product to be regulated and taxed, just as alcohol is.

Over the next two years, the State of Washington will take in over $730 million in tax revenue from the legal sale of cannabis. Colorado has raised more than half a billion dollars in tax revenue since it legalized recreational use three years ago. This money is now being used to fund much-needed programs for education, healthcare and health education, substance-abuse education and treatment, and law enforcement.

Under current law in Delaware, there are no tax receipts from the money spent on cannabis for the State to then use to help its citizens in need. Profits from sales go to criminal organizations, and consumers have no consumer protections.

Numerous studies have shown that cannabis legalization does not lead to increased teen usage, that cannabis is not a “gateway drug” and that it will not result in significant increases in traffic fatalities.

I was impressed by how many Delaware citizens I saw and met at Lobby Day — registered voters of a variety of backgrounds with one thing in common: a desire for commonsense laws regarding cannabis.

It is time for all cannabis consumers to speak out and make your voices heard.

We can change the law and reap the benefits of progressive legislation.

Contact your state representative and urge them to vote yes on House Bill 110.

Dan Winschel

Frankford