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Page 42
January 17, 2014
The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch
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Berlin, Maryland.
Although they would be largely
symbolic, Ocean City is right to at
least hold a dialogue about install-
ing some "no profanity please" signs
along the Boardwalk.
The issue here is it will merely be
a suggestion and will not hold any
enforcement capabilities most like-
ly, and there is no point to posting
the signs if nothing can be done to
someone standing in front of the
sign cursing when a police officer
walks by. Additionally, a concern is
they would be ripe for vandalism
and graffiti in high-volume areas. In
the end, we don't think the signs
should be added to Ocean City's
Boardwalk.
Nonetheless, we don't share the
common social media opinion that
it's a ridiculous concept and a waste
of money. First, the dollars spent on
these signs would be miniscule.
Secondly, the signs will basically
serve as a feel-good measure dem-
onstrating the town is committing to
ries with it a fine of up to $500. In
2011, only 25 people were cited, but
it's not about that so much as it is the
message it sends.
Cursing is illegal in some situa-
tions in Virginia state code. For in-
stance, if a man walks by another
man and uses profanity to incite a
fight, that instigator can be charged
with disorderly conduct.
While the legal ramifications may
be debatable, it would be foolish for
Ocean City to actually draft any sort
of enforcement angle to coincide
with the signs should the city move
forward with them. They would just
be a symbolic reminder, which in
many circles will be laughed at, of
course, but it will also be appreciat-
ed and valued by others.
This is a proposal that should get
the entire Mayor and Council's at-
tention. It should come up for a vote
because it's not ludicrous to try and
protect the brand and encourage
responsibility for one's actions.
protect its image as a family resort.
Last summer was a disturbing
one on the Boardwalk. There were
high-profile incidents along the valu-
able real estate as well as some a-
larming scenes playing out routinely
in the late-night hours. These signs
will do nothing to stop that. How-
ever, they will demonstrate the town
is looking to be pro-active and main-
tain a certain level of decorum. It will
show the families who visit the area
that Ocean City cares and is trying
to protect their experience. It will
confirm to families the city is not
okay with young children having to
be subjected to random and unnec-
essary foul language. We see noth-
ing adverse about that intention.
The idea originated from a con-
stituent who approached Council-
woman Mary Knight about the signs
observed at Virginia Beach's Ocean-
front. In Virginia, there is a law that
makes abusive language illegal. It's
a class three misdeamnor and car-
Cable Concerns Merit
Council Attention
Editor:
As residents of Ocean City, many
of us obtain our cable TV, internet,
telephone and other data services
from Comcast. If you review your
monthly Comcast invoice, you will
note on page two, a list of charges
labeled: Taxes, Surcharges & Fees.
Under this heading, you will note:
Franchise Fee. Are you aware that
this monthly charge ($4.11, plus
tax) reflects income to the Town of
Ocean City collected by Comcast
and forwarded to the town?
At a recent Mayor and Council
Meeting, a Comcast representative
provided a summary of Comcast
services available to subscribers in
Ocean City. In the course of ques-
tions from various council members,
it became apparent that the servic-
es and equipment available to
Ocean City customers of Comcast
are less than optimal. The Comcast
representative acknowledged that
this is true, in part because of limit-
ed supplies of equipment, etc. cur-
rently on hand. It also became ap-
parent that some of the advertised
Comcast services and equipment
are available to "new" subscribers
but not to "current" subscribers.
This means that long-time Ocean
City subscribers have not had their
equipment updated to new technol-
ogy, while "new" customers are pro-
vided the very latest products and
service. The council took no action
in this regard, nor did the council
call upon its franchisee (Comcast)
to remedy this situation on behalf of
its residents. A recent call to Com-
cast local service number advised
that number had been discontinued.
Perhaps the Mayor and Council
will schedule a discussion of this
number of agencies and their assis-
tance programs. The information I'm
going to present can be verified by
asking the right question on a
search on the internet.
The first thing I wanted to know
was the number of agencies and
the number of assistance programs
they administer. The total agencies
are 67 and the total number of pro-
grams are 2,206. With this informa-
tion, I thought it would be important
to know which are the top agencies
with regard to the number of region-
al offices and the number of pro-
grams they administer:
1. The top agency is the Depart-
ment of Health & Human Services
with 466 programs and 19 regional
offices.
2. Next on the list the Department
of the Interior with 270 programs
and 15 regional offices.
3. Next came the Department of
Agriculture with 251 programs and
18 regional offices.
4. Then the Department of Jus-
tice with 125 programs and 21 re-
gional offices.
5. The Department of Housing &
Urban Development with 125 pro-
grams and seven offices.
6. And the last one of major inter-
est was the Environmental Protec-
tion Agency with 101 programs and
23 regional offices.
I think by looking at the list you
will begin to understand my "reason
for concern."
Realizing that all these agencies
and programs are supported by
taxes and fees collected by the gov-
ernment caused me, because of my
age (76), to ask another question:
How many people are receiving So-
cial Security, SSI and Disability (in-
cluding people under the age of 65
matter at an upcoming meeting, but
don't count on it.
Joe Moran
Ocean City
Appeal A Success
Editor:
We believe in angels. And we
have proof they are everywhere on
Delmarva.
Coastal Hospice's annual Angel
Appeal raises funds that allow us to
provide charity care to our critically
ill patients who lack the resources to
pay for the care they desperately
need. Last year, we provided more
than $776,000 in charity care to our
patients.
This year, the angels of Delmar-
va donated $76,268 during our
Angel Appeal. These gifts will bring
comfort and support to those in
need all through the year ahead.
We sincerely thank everyone
who generously donated to our An-
gel Appeal drive. You are all truly
angels.
Alane K. Capen
Salisbury
(The writer is the president of
Coastal Hospice.)
Bring On Change
Editor:
I'm sure by now everyone is
aware of the large debt our country
is faced with brought about by our
negligence and trust in our elected
officials. They managed in less than
100 years to turn our country from a
creditor nation into the largest
debtor nation in the history of the
world. That debt continues to grow,
while I sit and write this letter, with
no reduction in sight. With this
thought and concern I decided to
investigate just one small portion of
the cost of our government: The
No Profanity Signs Worth Deliberation
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