Commentary
Recycling law: it’s easier to go along
It’s admirable when a governmental body takes a stand against the authority that occupies the next step up in the hierarchy, but the Worcester County Commissioners might want to rethink their decision to ignore, more or less, an important portion of the state’s amended recycling law. As of Oct. 1, the law requires all government entities in the state to have a recycling program for special events of a certain size that take place on public property. Further, all government entities must amend their overall recycling plans, which also must be approved by the Maryland Department of the Environment, to include this new provision. The commissioners on Tuesday voted 4-3 not to do the latter, opting instead to send a letter to the department outlining their objections to this requirement. At the time, the commissioners wondered what the state might be able to do about their refusal to go along with the program. Even though none of the various iterations of the Maryland Recycling Act, going back to its inception in 1988, included penalties for recalcitrant governments, turns out the state can do plenty. More than plenty, actually, as the department, should it be so inclined, has the ability to block water and wastewater projects and anything else that requires one of its permits. Given the department’s authority over all things environmental, from clean air to clean water as mandated by the federal government, this is not an agency with which anyone would want to tangle. A little rebellion now and then is a good thing, as Thomas Jefferson once observed, but there is also such a thing as picking your fights. Establishing recycling plans for special events and including those requirements in the county’s overall program should not be a massive undertaking. But even if it is troublesome, giving in and going along – while still looking for an exemption –would be much better than reaping the even greater woe that the department has the capacity to deliver.
Ocean City Today P.O. Box 3500, Ocean City, Md. 21843 Phone: 410-723-6397 / Fax: 410-723-6511.
EDITOR/PUBLISHER.......................... Stewart Dobson MANAGING EDITOR................................ Lisa Capitelli STAFF WRITERS .................. Zack Hoopes, Josh Davis, .................................... Brian Gilliland, Kara Hallissey ASSISTANT PUBLISHER .......................... Elaine Brady ACCOUNT MANAGERS ........ Mary Cooper, Shelby Shea CLASSIFIEDS/LEGALS MANAGER ............ Terry Burrier SENIOR DESIGNER ................................ Susan Parks GRAPHIC ARTISTS................ Kelly Brown, Kaitlin Sowa .............................................................. Debbie Haas COMPTROLLER.................................. Christine Brown ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT ...................... Gini Tufts Ocean City Today is published weekly by FLAG Publications, Inc. at 8200 Coastal Highway, Ocean City, Md. 21842. Ocean City Today is available by subscription at $150 a year. Visit us on the Web at www.oceancitytoday.net.
Sept. 18, 2015
Ocean City Today
Page 97
Letters to the editor Cruisin’ issues
Editor, I was very disappointed in the Ocean City Council’s recent decisions regarding the Cruiser weekend. How soon we forget how things are for that weekend. I invited the council to see the damage done to the entrance of our parking lot where cruiser trailers back in to turn around. Or check out the tire rubber marks on the street where the Jeff Gordon wannabees burned rubber last spring. Not to mention all the trash left behind. I think the council’s recent actions are taken without thought or regard to those of us who make our main home in Ocean City all year round. Those of us who spend money each weekend in the city all year round. Those of us who pay a lot of money in taxes all year round. Those of us that have to put up with the deafening noise (is there or isn’t there a noise ordinance in the city?) and the obnoxious fumes of all the cruisers. Plus the lack of parking on city streets that weekend is ridiculous. The traffic situation is horrendous and sometimes virtually impossible for those who need to go to the stores, work, doctors, etc. — as many people witnessed last spring. Do they even consider this? So the solution now is to charge for trailer parking? That means things will re-
main the same except they will collect money from a few of the cruisers for trailer parking and charge the taxpayers for signs that will be ignored. When they first proposed sensible changes for cruiser weekend, I thought finally someone in local government is being proactive. I guess I should have known how things really work. They had a chance to do the right thing, but caved to special money interests. I read where the proposed ordinances originated in Myrtle Beach where apparently they know how to do the right thing. One last thing, do we really need two cruiser weekends a year and two biker weekends a year? I think the council needs to decide if Ocean City is going to be a true family resort destination or a place renowned for dangerous roadways, traffic jams, loud noises, obnoxious behavior, etc. Because you can’t have it both ways. Jim Wagner Ocean City
Death of a hero
Editor, A couple of weeks ago the small Greek church on 84th was filled with people even though it was midweek. More oddly, less than half the attendees were Greek, and a Marine honor guard stood in the back in color dress as if waiting for a cue. Jimmy Giatris, the "Candy Man," had died at the age of
93, and I was one of many who had come to pay their respects. Jimmy was born in Cumberland, Md., the son of a candy man, and he attended elementary school through high school in the same classroom as my mother. Jimmy worked for Sam Taustin at Candy Kitchen for 20 years, where he brought his fudge and chocolate recipes. From that time he picked up the nickname “Candy Man.” Jimmy had a Spartan work ethic because he was a Spartan. Jimmy was best friends with Sam and would travel with him almost everywhere he went. It was rumored that Sam tried to bar mitzvah him, convert him to Judaism, at least twice. Neither Sam nor Jimmy had children. Jimmy was blessed with longevity and outlived Sam by about 15 years. He would talk about Sam a lot. Two weeks before he died, I took Jimmy to church for the last time. On the way back to his condo on 28th and Baltimore, he said, “Tony, I am done.” I said, “What do you mean?” He simply said he was through. I got mad at him for saying it, but I understood. When it came time to prepare a will, he didn’t call his surviving nephews; he called the Taustins. Jay convinced him to draw up a will and served as his executor. Among those who eulogized him was Jay Taustin. Continued on Page 98