A thank you to sponsors and volunteers
Editor:
Saturday, Sept. 17, was a wonderful day for families in Sussex County. The fifth annual Fun Fest, sponsored by the Beebe Medical Center Auxiliary, took place at Winswept Stables in the Lewes area. Hundreds of adults and children enjoyed games, activities, pony rides, a train ride, plenty of food, and free horse shows. The annual event raised nearly $10,000 toward the Beebe Medical Center Vision 2005 Capital Campaign to help fund the Emergency Department expansion. This event could not have been possible without the hospitality of Winswept Stables, as well as the generosity of our supportive sponsors, and the dedication of all the volunteers.
On behalf of the auxiliary, I would like to thank:
Our sponsors Joe Hudson and family; Dr. Ellen Bahtiarian of Southern Delaware Imaging Associates; County Bank, Delaware Cardiovascular Associates; Wachovia Bank; Cape Surgical Associates; Jack Lingo, Realtor; Price Acura, Dover; Dr. Habib Bolourchi; Dr. Michael D. Cahoon; Orthopedic Associates, Country Life Homes; Boulevard Motors; Delaware National Bank; Happy Harry’s; Lane Builders; Webb Builders; R. Rush Ellis, Realtor; Lewes Realty; Citizens Bank; Wal-Mart; Lewes Dairy; Truitt Insurance; Conley’s United Methodist Church; Food Lion — Five Points; Giant; Superfresh; CVS.
Our auxiliary member volunteers who always seem to come through, our Funfest committee, as well as members of the Lions Club of Rehoboth who grilled hamburgers and hot dogs; Col. Ron Reilly and the Junior ROTC members from Cape Henlopen High School who were invaluable in helping people find a place to park; Heather Hastings and the FFA members from Cape Henlopen High School; our clowns, NUR Shriners Ed Rayner, Clayton Hewes and David Edwards; Girl Scouts, Troop 46 from Delmarva Christian High School, and Cadette Troop 449 from Newark; local Brownie Troop 881 and Junior Troop 507; and Sherry Culver and her daughter Felicia who came from Middleton. We, again, want to give a special thanks to Winswept Stables owners Jay and Dawn Beach, and to members of the Pony Club for the enjoyable riding events.
Pat Sandy
Chairwoman, Ways and Means
Beebe Medical Center Auxiliary
Planners in Sussex should hear from us
Editor:
Allowing ordinary citizens to appeal Planning and Zoning Commission land use decisions without having to take it to court is common in many counties, such as Anne Arundel County in Maryland.
Furthermore, in Anne Arundel, citizens can also easily appeal County Council zoning decisions. They just file with the county’s own Board of Zoning Appeals and the costs are minimal. We should have that in Sussex County.
Yes, citizens should have an easy way to appeal a Planning and Zoning Commission subdivision decision, but not to the Sussex County Council. The council is elected and just too political to be making final legal decisions on zoning because they are often subjected to ex parte (inappropriate) communication outside the hearing room.
We need an independent Board of Zoning Appeals in the county to act as judges on all zoning decisions. And the appointees need to be independent and capable of interpreting zoning law — and not worried about the next election.
That’s my opinion. What’s yours?
Joan Deaver
Rehoboth Beach
Family thankful for support of community
Editor:
We would like to thank everyone for the food and flowers. We greatly appreciate your thoughts, prayers and support.
Elwood Marvel, husband; Eddie Marvel, son, and wife, Nancy; Glen Marvel, grandson, and wife, Duane; Vickie O’Hare, granddaughter, and husband, Tim; John Marvel, grandson, and wife, Lisa; two great grandchildren, Brandon and Nicole Marvel
South Bethany did not inform voters enough
Editor:
The big surprise you just experienced about the South Bethany voters’ approval to build a new town hall and police station should have possibly got you thinking: Why? Low voter turn out: Why?
Voter apathy — maybe. Voter not knowing about the election — most likely.
Take a look at the South Bethany Web site, click on History, then check out the population numbers, full-time residents, part-time residents, etc. The only notice of the election was the town newsletter “Zephyr” mailed three weeks before the election and/or attending the Aug. 12 council meeting.
People did not vote because they did not know to vote. There is no excuse for not attending the town council meetings — or is there? Do you think this would have passed if voters thought that it was costing them $750 per household?
Voters not informed — most likely.
Voter apathy — yes, some of that too.
Jeff White
South Bethany
Religion not exclusive to conservatives
Editor:
If nothing else, Charles Valenti is dogged in his efforts to have Christianity dominate the public discourse and our laws. One has to admire his persistent fervor in asserting what he believes our founding fathers intended in order to sway us to what seems to be his basic premise, namely that majority views should prevail, presumably in all matters or, at least, in matters of religion.
Having said this, Valenti’s claims of what is contained in the texts of the nation’s Declaration of Independence and the Constitution about Christianity is simply inaccurate.
First, in the Declaration of Independence there is one reference to “Nature’s God,” one reference to a “Creator,” and one reference to “divine Providence.” These are three single generic references to a God — a God that could be revered by Mormons, Baptists, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Roman Catholics, Presbyterians, Unitarians — namely by all religious denominations alike, not just Christians.
Let it be clear: Neither “Christianity” nor any religion is mentioned anywhere in this document. Moreover, these three generic references reflect the founding fathers’ sensitivity to — and recognition of — the religious diversity of the new nation.
While the Declaration declared our independence from England, as important as that declaration was, it did not lay down the ground rules of how our country would be governed. That task was left to the Constitution, which brings me to my second point.
In the Constitution there is no reference to “Nature’s God,” “Creator,” or “divine Providence,” as there is in the Declaration of Independence. In fact, there is no reference to any god at all, and clearly no reference to Christianity.
The founders of our country also adopted the Bill of Rights as amendments to the Constitution. The intent of these amendments was to delineate those issues on which majority views should not control and on which government action should be constrained. Thus, contrary to Valenti’s arguments, our founding fathers wanted to rein in majority rule in some matters, one of which was the establishment of religion by government.
Our founding fathers wanted accommodation and balance to guide our country by ensuring that the views and rights of minorities on certain matters would be protected — to repeat: accommodation and balance to ensure that the views of minorities on certain matters would be protected.
Admittedly, we have not always followed our founding fathers wisdom. Consider how the majority was allowed to run roughshod over the rights of African-Americans for so long. Eventually, the evil of this dominance by the majority was overturned. The fact that the majority was allowed to perpetuate such an evil for so long is a major blot on our country’s history.
The clear lesson from this period of our history is that the majority is not always right, a reality that should give pause to those who believe otherwise. Eventually, the wisdom of our founding fathers re: accommodation and balance prevailed to protect the rights of a minority and the evil of majority rule in this instance was finally brought to an end.
Lastly, Valenti asked: “If God is backing the conservatives, who, then, is prompting liberals?” Here is the answer from a liberal Roman Catholic: God, conscience and the U. S. Constitution.
Mary K. Ryan
Frankford