November 29, 2013 The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch Page 43 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR FROM PAGE 42 lot. To their lawyer, Mr. Hammerschmidt, I say the same. I am sure you were paid a hefty sum for your involvement. Your words towards my mom were hurtful and insulting, especially your attacks on her character and integrity. To say to her “don’t hurt the animals on your way out” was probably the most painful thing she could ever hear. It is clear that both the Weingards and your positions were formed by what you were told by the three directors. It is a shame you didn’t do a little research and investigation into things before you acted. To those directors, shame on you. Kenille leaves big shoes to fill with her departure. Shoes that none of you will ever be able to fill. You all must go to the shelter now and live with what you have done. I hope at some point you will realize all that she did for each of you on a personal level out of friendship and respect. It shows us all that, sometimes, you just don’t know who your friends are. To Snoop, Butchie, Codie, Duece, Teddy and all of the animals left behind, I pray for you. You have lost your guardian angel, your protector and your voice. We all can only hope that somewhere waiting in the wings, there is another Kenille Davies who will step up and take care of you all and continue with her dream of keeping a “no-kill” shelter operating in our community. To you, mom, it’s time to take a deep breath and finally relax. Enjoy your time with family and your true friends. You deserve to do that. Be proud of your life’s work and all of your accomplishments at the shelter. We are all so very proud of you and on behalf of all of the animals, we say thank you and we love you. John Holloway Berlin same way about Tudor and some of his staff. If he does not like something and he "legally" cannot do anything to stop it, he creates an amendment and the County Commissioners go along with it. The county seems to not want to mediate as Mr. Ratigan mentioned. The county creates resolutions and/or amendments to put a stop to it behind closed door meeting with the commissioners instead of trying to work things out amicably. There are more important things to be doing in the county than worrying about Mr. Mariner's wood pile. Tudor should be directed to get out of his office and perform more important tasks, like starting with the sex shop, the Red Light District in West Ocean City. These people are in direct violation of permitting and square footage requirement issues which Tudor is supposed to be on top of. It took four phone calls for Tudor and staff to check out Mr. Mariner's neatly stacked wood pile, but all the complaints made against the Red Light District, who were and still are not compliant with county resolutions, go ignored. What a great entrance to Ocean City, isn't it? It is time to clean house once again in Worcester County. It seems the people in charge have gotten out of control and it is just a matter of time until there is a huge lawsuit filed against the county and certain employees, due to their actions. Kim Kronseder Berlin Between The Lines By Publisher/Editor Steve Green Although numbers can be a difficult read for many, Ocean City property owners would be well suited to read the Town of Ocean City’s Report to Citizens that arrived in mailboxes this week. It contains a tremendous amount of worthwhile information. Here’s some highlights in my opinion: •After experiencing significant declines in recent years, the volume of construction permits issued by the town increased in fiscal 2013 to 1,660 compared to 1,525 in 2012. That’s a 9-percent increase and a sign that real estate market confidence is starting to return. •The value of those construction permits also jumped as expected, thanks largely to the 67th Street Town Center, a $5.5 million commercial development. In total, the estimated value of construction increased 2 percent, from $35.4 million in 2012 to $36.2 million in 2013. •The town’s advertising budget has jumped 59 percent since 2009 when $3.7 million was spent compared to $5.9 million in 2013. •Approximately 39,640 tons of trash was processed in fiscal 2013. •Fifty-three percent of the revenue collected from the city stems from property tax collections, while 19% comes from other taxes, 18% from charges for services and 9% from capital/operating grants and contributions. •Of the city’s total $71 million in expenses, nearly half of it is spent on public safety, which eats up $34 million. Other top expenses are economic development/tourism, $8 million; recreation and culture, $7.6 million; highways and streets, $7.1 million; sanitation and waste removal, $6 million; general public works and beach, $5.3 million; interest on long-term debt, $1.6 million; and general government, $1.1 million. •The town has 524 full-time employees, 207 of which work in public safety. The general employee roll balloons by 165 employees in the summer season. Quotable Quotes “Our naming theme right now is characters from Top Gun. So he’ll eventually get a Top Gun character name.” MARINE ANIMAL RESCUE PROGRAM MANAGER JENNIFER DITTMAR ON THE GREEN TURTLE RECOVERED IN OCEAN CITY AND REHABBING AT THE AQUARIUM Attorney Saluted Editor: I would like to thank those members of the Worcester County Bar Association who contributed to the Bar's Annual Thanksgiving Food Drive. I also thank the Humphrey's Foundation and the Ocean City Lions Club for contributing funds, as well as the staff of Super Fresh markets for facilitating delivery of our food. This year, we were able to provide 400 less fortunate families with a complete Thanksgiving dinner which they could prepare in their own homes, consisting of a 15pound turkey, potatoes, stuffing, yams, green beans and cranberry sauce. We united once again with Worcester County Gold and Pocomoke, Snow Hill, Buckingham and Showell elementary schools to identify those families with children to attempt to reach our goal that no one in our county should go hungry on Thanksgiving. I acknowledge that our goal is a lofty one that perhaps will never be completely met. We are proud, however, that as our Thanksgiving Food Drive has grown over the past 15 years, we are getting closer. Thank you for being our brothers/sisters keeper and attempting to take care of our own. David C. Gaskill Ocean City (The writer represents the Committee On Charitable Endeavors with Worcester County Bar Association.) “It was just a kind of miscalculation. I was using maps instead of GPS. I was looking for the shallows near there,” he said. “I thought it was about a half-mile out and I guess I was going faster than I thought.” JOSEPH “BUCK” YATES ON WHY HIS 26-FOOT SAIL BOAT ENDED UP ON ASSATEAGUE MONDAY “We want to show everybody how much is really open in Ocean City. They don’t need to go to the big box stores. Keep the money local and keep us alive.” YOU’RE INVITED MANAGER NANCY SAMUELS ON A NEW SHOPPING INITIATIVE IN OCEAN CITY Letter On Point Editor: I would like to respond to Mr. Don Ratigan's letter to the editor in Nov, 15th edition. Mr. Ratigan is 100 percent right. Mr. Tudor should drive through the county and look at all the run down properties that effect property values and stop worrying about a neatly stacked wood pile on Mr. Mariner's property. There are run down, dangerous, abandoned houses and buildings all over Worcester County. Why doesn't the County Commissioners and the County Administrator direct Tudor and his staff to do their jobs in a more productive manner instead of worrying about a wood pile? If I recall, years ago Mr. Tudor adopted an amendment to stop Mr. Mariner from having a haunted Halloween event and hayride. I went to the hayride and it was a great time and was extremely popular. I guess the county got jealous that someone was making money (and the county wasn't) and the residents were having fun. The county seems to frown upon that. This seems obvious and apparent that Mr. Tudor is once again harassing Mr. Mariner and has a personal agenda with him. I have heard that others feel the “He was an excellent preacher. He was a very thoughtful man and very enlightening with the way he preached to our parish. He was very, very attentive to members of our community who were sick and ill. He was able to reach out to those people and tended to their needs.” ST. PAUL’S BY THE SEA EPISCOPAL CHURCH MEMBER TOM SHUSTER ON THE LOSS OF REV. DAVID DINGWALL Shocked By Ousting Editor: We were shocked and outraged to read about the actions taken by the three members of the Board of Directors and the Winegards in cruelly and stupidly ousting Kenille Davies. We worked at the animal shelter as volunteers for years, and have never known a kinder or more dedicated person than Kenille. She has always been the heart and soul of the shelter, totally focused on the welfare of every animal there. We are afraid to think about what will happen now. The upkeep of any animal shelter is expensive and requires lots of hard work. A "no kill" shelter is even more costly because (like us) as animals age they require more care. There are a number of older dogs and cats there living in comfortable retirement. We are worried that people who could behave so inhumanely to so good a person as Kenille will not have the patience, kindness, and dedication to keep the shelter "no kill" as it is now. We, along with Kenille, fear for the animals now in care there. Jacques and Janet Read Washington, D.C. Group Resolves To Lower Taxes Editor: I imagine one day in the future, long after our society has crumbled into obscurity, some archaeologist will unearth the ruins of our Performing Arts Center and ruminate on what it was and what it did. Why it was here when, within an hour's radius, were four other Performing Arts Centers – or, more properly, said, four Underperforming Arts Centers. Oh, what the heck, one more, give or take, couldn’t possibly matter. Rome built a lot of coliseums, after all. Last week, Zack Hoopes wrote a telling piece on homeless people in Ocean City. On this day after Thanksgiving, as we sit around and seek stimulus from our electronic devices, we should contemplate the sharp conSEE PAGE 44