Oct 1983 - On-Line Newspaper Archives of Ocean City

editorials / comment ftge Two, Section Tim Thursday, October 13, ISM
The Sentinel-Ledger
PrlnlM «M PuCllUiM In Am.rlc.'i Ortltnf Pamlly «.K.I
ByThn
OCEAN RTY SDfnMEL LEDGER, Inc.
• If ifhltrni, SCianClty, N J 9R»
IiiabliinM 1HI
PHONE 399 5411
— — — DEADLINES —
Letters, church news noon Monday
Advertising................... 5 p.m. Tuesday
News, Too late to classify... noon Wednesday
RsTrrTrrT7!
(1948-83)
FRED C. BENSON Publisher
JOHN H. ANDRU3II. Editor
BYRON T. MERCER... Advertising Manager
A waterway
in trouble
It's a story of torcw pulling in opposite directions;
of no ont concerted voice or influence out
there pushing for the Improvement of deplorable
conditions.
;It's a story about shoaling inlets, clogged
channels, shallow waterways; of fixed bridges
Apt were built too low.
:-'It'sthe itory on how South Jtriey is missing the
bdat when it comes to recognizing the Importance
jjf.the inland waterway and on doing something
about it before it's too late.
"•:*Bie story began in last week's Sentinel-Ledger
m the first of a four-part series. Everyone who
has an interest in the waterway — pleasure
boaters, anglers, commerical fishermen, marine
djSalers — is urged to read the series; to gain an
understanding of why our stretch of the inland
veyterway is the worst section between New York
and Florida.
letters / readers react
Free promotion
of sadistic sex
on TV appalling
Editor, StnttntUUdgir: On
Friday, September 30, at
11 :M p,m. I turned my TV on
to channel 2 to obtain the local
temperature and weather
report. What I found on my
screen was two naked women,
and a man with a knife
sadistically molesting them.
As 1 watched for a few
not subscribe to any of the
eitra networks because of the
content of molt of the movies,
I am outraged that they were
on ray TV screen.
1 wonder how many moms
and dads were out Friday
night while their children,
many of whom art young
impressionable adolescents,
minutes in shock, I saw not sat home watching TV and
only 100 percent nudity, but hist happened to tame In to
perverted sexual behavior. Channel 2 aftw 11 p.m, and
On Saturday ! phoned saw a pornographic moVte
Teleprompter Studios and the mat was aired without any
operator informed me that consent or prior knowledge of
there was a three-day free their parents,
viewing period Sept. 30 For most who may say
through Oct. 8 of IBO, Prism, children should not be up that
and Showtime, but she did not kite, I say, be realistic. Not
know what movies were only are many children up
scheduled or when they would mat late when their parents
come on.
are out, but many are able to
I found out on Monday from view TV in the privacy of their
the studio office that the own rooms while mom and
movie I turned on waa called I dad are home. >
< The Jury, was rated R, and I feel that Teleprompter —....„,_,_„_ has
\ was aired on Friday starting violated the public's personal
v
at 11 pjn. In all homes In decision and right not to have
Margate, Longport, Ventnor, these movies shown In ttjelr
Northfleld, and Ocean City homes via the regular cajto
that subscribe to regular network. I sympathize with
cable TV through the parents of those chlfiMm
Teleprompter Studios. She who Inadvertently wefe^ex-
stated mat there was an Rposed to these trauiqatle
rated movie shown on both seenei and hope they oVjjiot
Saturday and Sunday nights suffer any long torn
as well.
psychological effects. .'.; •
There are mow people who I am In the procesi;of
pay to receive these movies In contacting the local ehuedMs
their homes, and I pray tat and community organizations
they are able to prevent their to make mem aware of-iWa
chlldren from watching those situation in an effort; to
that are "indecent." As a prevent future free vlewiig of
parent who deliberately does iPiease tan to pag«:iS)
Ocean City's death row that doesn't have to be
ByEDMAGUmE
President, Ocean City
Humane Society
When have you read about
tie animal world dean row —
mat ttne of cages in some
shelters or pounds where poor
unfortunate cats and dogs
await their last visitor?
Unlike the criminals whose
•fltt-ioclal behavior was
Judged to merit death, these
Midemned animals simply
sqfilvtd their human'! need
for security, compalonshlp or
amusement.
These death row Inmates
are the abandoned, the unwanted,
the unclaimed
creatures of God who were
flnt fortunate enough to be
accepted into an animal
shelter only to prove
unadoptable because they
were no longer cute little
kittens or puppies, or could
lay no claim to being
purebreds.
The Humane Society of
Ocean City has an enviable
record for adoptions —
keeping healthy animals for
months while awaiting a
matchup of human with
animal. But Its shelter does
not have rubber walls and
euthanizing must be done to
make room available for the
ever-arriving newcomers. In
the first eight months of this
year only 69 percent of the
dogs brought In to the shelter
for Running At Large were
dalmed; only 20 percent of
the RAL cats,.
Phyllis Wright state! In an
article In The Humane Society
of the United States bulletin:
"Unfortunately, there are
many private shelters who
brag that they "never put an
animal to sleep,' not realiilng
the cruelty which Is the
Inevitable result of loneliness,
permanent caging, and old
Me."
Presently on death row at
fee Humane Society of Ocean
aty, l Shelter Rd., Ocean City
(399-2018) are-.
RENJ- a ^-year-old blacktan
husky-shepherd, there
since June 9, U tweet, good
with children and Is
housebroken. Rtnl was a RAL
mat the Society had spayed
only to discover she suffered
from heartworm. An Atlantic
Oounty veterinarian and a
Society member agreed to
ahare her medical costs but
her cage is needed...
MAZ - a 4-year-old tanwhlte*lack
sheltie -shepherd,
has been spayed and has had
all her shots. But she was
brought to the shelter a year
ago by a resident whofcwas
moving, and 12 months U too
long...
SMOJCf Y - a tyMr-old
dark trt-color spayed feline,
at the shelter-since April 14,
1981. While a darling, she Is a
toner — very independent
with no liking for other cats,
dogs or children. Though a
perfect companion tor an
older person, after 2H years
her time la fait running out..,.
SPUNKY — a IVfcyear old
Hack-white neutered feline,
brought in July 24,1982 by a
tearful owner who bad an
aUergy. He is exceptionally
curious and not destructful.
Ms *is another ease where
cage shortages dictate....
A month ago the Society's
death raw was cheated at the
last hour when ZEUS, a Wi-
year-old tan-white aU-
Amerlcan neutered male
amine, was adopted whue
groggy from a sedation given
prior to that fateful
euthanasia needle. He had
been at the shelter 11 months
and hope for his adoption
given up.
The Society would lite to
hear feat adoption phone 399-
2018 ring for Rent, MB,
Smofeey and Spunky.
HA month ago death row was cheated at the last hour when a dog was adopted while groggy from a sedation given prior to euthanasia
Smokey-her time li fast running out.
Renl-but her cage to needed....
„-,, iiV w Miti-iSnuftikihft!• tobtong
features
The SetUhwlLedger
Thursday, October 24 IMS Page Three, Section Two
Ham operators are geari and
By
DONALD J. FREDERICK
NattaalQeograpUe
Newi Service
It may take a real ham to
get in touch with an E.T.
Ham radio operaton are
being encouraged to Join the
Search for Extraterrestrial
Intelligence (SETI).
SBTI operates on the
premise that evidence of
Intelligence elsewhere in fee
uttverse probably will come
from radio signals produced
by advanced civilizations.
. "We hope to encourage and
coordinate a network of small
radio telescopes operated by
hams that would probe the
|ky for Intelligent signal*
from space," says Stan Kent,
president of tbe Date Vet
Corporation. Bated in San
Jose, CaM, the nonprofit
organhatton promotes space
exploration and rtssareh,
"Molt hams already have
the technical know-how to put
together a SETI system,"
points out Kant "The componenti
are all available or
CM easily be built and linked
together-
NASA scientists at An**
tasareh Center, near San
Jose, hek>ed launch the Delta
Vet program by showing how
to build the BMaiMry
equipment and providing
computer program* mat will
sort ont valid Incoming
signal* from false ilarms.
Kent hope* the hams will
concentrate their efforts on
microwave frequencies, fee
types Oat new carry
television and radar trin-
"If an Intelligent
cMttMtton 18 light yean
away picked up the signal
from • stray TV broadcast, it
Just might beam back on me
same frequency," he reasons.
John H. Wolfe, program
•dentist for SETI at An**,
and a former bam operator, 1*
enthusiastic about the
program. "It's an opportunity
for the public to get actively
tavolwd in space research.
Ultimately, I'dlk* to see the
amateur SETI thing
mushroom into an in*
ternattonal network
compassing hams «Q around
the world."
NASA has already embarked
on Its own tarreaching
SETI program.
CrucutltothelntiilrtafsUa
multi-channel spectrum
analyxer, a device mat can
scan 74,000 radta frequencies
simultaneously for
meaningful signals.
Thl* prototype will be
hooked into NASA's radio
telweope at Goldsto*. Calif.,
for testing thl. fan and will b«
tried next spring on tbe
world's largest radio
telescope, the l,00Moot«U«
dish at Areefbo, Puerto MM,
Testing and rtflning this
prototype Is fgmtctsd to take
five yean so that a much
e 1tM NMeM OMSIipNlit
The world's largest rMdlotelcscopc at die Areclbo Observatory In Puerto Rico will soon
eavesdrop on the stars in the flnt large-«cale Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SBTI).
Ham radio operators are also being encouraged to join the SETI program using their own equipment
and advanced technology developed by NASA,
* Volunteer -weather watchers
have been taking the nation's
• temperature for over 130
ByJOYASCHENBACH
National Geographic
Newi Service
When it Comes to the
weather, more than 11,800
backyard weather watchers
can't be wrong, t..
They have taken the
nation's temperature (high,
low, and current), measured
Its rainfall, snowfall, and
evaporation rates, and kept
track of the changing depths
of its rivers every day in
•very state for decades.
Put them all together and
you have one of the moat
detailed record* of the
nation's weather history. The
longest individual record,
kept by a Nebraska fanner,
cover* 71 years of nearly
udbroken observations.
Officially known as
"cooperative weather observers,"
these weathermen
art volunteers who help be
National Weather Service,
outnumbering its paid staff by
more tan two to on«. They
a*y be the largest group of
yohinteers regularly assisting
alederal government agency.
Altogether they put In more
twl a million noun a yiar.
Some people might wonder
Mri, Ora Burin walks to
near her North.
Att home every morning
at JJmd drops something into
:««: French Broad Rivtr
;Sww. But bar aslghtari in
•ftH^prings, population about
•Ml,-are tceusttntd to Mr
iafiy manUng mission, fta/i
_. tot drops ml
:1a a cone-shaped
t attached toawtrs that
.. h«r to measure, the
. depft. Nonnal tarel U
:«boot4 feet. On daw of heavy
ralit, she goes baft fcr iftm,
and 7 p.m. reading*. Once
ctetag a flood she recorded r
tm, • ' • •
Mrs. Burgln volunteered
because she T s ahvayi lived
dose to fee rtvar, "It's Just a
hop and a Jump up the httl."
By now she's a local eipert on
be French Broad's habits.
When thsre's a tend warning,
she's one of the first people to
get cans — "a good many of
them."
Some day* it can be difficult
Just to get to your own back
yard to take the dally temperature
and precipitation
readings — the task of most
febattM, Ahta Hummel of
Gackle.N.D,, recalls a threeday
snowstorm back In W
wltt 60 mph wind* that pD«d
snowbanks so high "you could
walk on the tops of buildings."
It dumped a Inches on tbe
ground.
Hummel had trouble
reaching th» whu« wooden
taTtrad bt« that houM the
mometws and the m*Ul
cydlndw that catches tb«
rain and mow he m#*«ur«
with a special stick. He had to
bring the *nowintohl* kitchen
to melt It down In warm water
tor measuring.
Hummel's bats taking
fem various ratings every
day at • pjn. for S3 ywrs,
•ver sine* tb* man down at
the train depot who had tht
bbWttowaThsrthavtbttn
loU of lo-below-ttro
NBdta|l! hU lowwt: U
below.
Nebraska corn fanner
Stanky Kasparsk somettmea
would tfi a rope around bis
waist and swim through tht
swollen UttU Hue Rlvw to
mm tat wt»» gwup hom*.
m W stood onthi bank
«M otbsr tnd d tb*
d a lrt«, \!>
_^ lnsld* tht snlaU
woodtn atnictuTt, k
said ht Mt M If It win
moving and would tepjlt Into
tbt watar with him fait It
kitsr did wash away* Aiscond
•i.
structure built on higher
ground also eventually wound
up In the river, Now the gauge
house la located safely on ton
of a bridge.
The youngest In a femlly of
•even beys, Kaiparek
Inherited the weatherwatching
duties man than W
years ago from his older
brother*, some of whom had
helped build the gauge house.
"They're just like farm
chorei now. I take care of
them every morning rain or
shine. A lot of people depend
on you and you want to do the
Job right," Rasparek, 81, Is
the local expert on Fairbury's
wwtter and flood conditions,
supplying bulletins to radio
and television stations.
Sometimes he gets called out
ot bed at lam.
There is at least one
volunteer observer stationed
in about every 600 square
miles of U.S. Territory, plus
numerous others en special
assignment monitoring river
stages and evaporation rates.
Most are private dttaens, but
ta lone places water companies,
public utilities, and
universities take the
Reports are made monthly
and tallied at the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration's National
Climatic Data Centtr in
Amevflle, N.C The datauid
picture they give of local and*
regional weather Is useful to
agriculturists, architects,
cfimatologlsta, and even
lawyers checking road condttons
in aeddent cairn.
Tbt naUonal network of
vohmtMr weathermen has
btcoiM an Amsrkan Institution.
It ttartad tvm
btfor* the wtaunrservtce -
at tht Smithsonian Institution
ta 1MB. When me Weather
Burtau began operation* In
UN, th«r« were a few
fluxnand volunteers; at tbt
peak, in the mid40th century,
more than 13,000.
The program's highest
award, given to volunteer*
Hke Stanley Kasparak, 1*
named for Thews Jefferson,
who rtartod taking weather
observations In 1786 and
maintained a virtually unbroken
record through J118.
In today's mere
sophisticated world of
weather satellites, the longrange
forecast for the
backyard observer is still
mostly sunny, with some
But there are some changes
ta the Immediate outlook. The
official, standardised
equipment Oat the Weamar
Service providst each of Its
observers Is becoming mere
n>M>i«nliWJ — taking the
adventure out of the back
yard,
the measuring stick for
snow and rainfall ta giving
way to a tape device that
automatically records the
dally amount of precipitation.
The vohmtMr has to collect
fee tape Just once a month
from Its white rocket-shaped
container.
The mercury and alcohol
thermometers for taking
maximum and minimum
temperatures in outdoor
shtlttrs arc now being
rtnlaced with a Drtcision
"thermistor," a metal probe
mat to connected by an underground
cable to an electronic
readout box hi the
observer's bouse. It flashes
the tempertur*) in digital
tuiiu.
Editor's note: IT*
Lttlgtr is intaruMd in
hnowbll tfw whersotout* tf
Moptroiivt iMwtttr ob-
atrvtra In our raadtTSrvp
areajbrposribtecontultanon
jp
on fforiM fri Involving &
foot, Tnwt ifttrtstsd should
owitoct ths «tttor, m44U,
larger and mere sophisticated
version can bt developed, one
that will scan eight to 10
million frequende* at the
stmeUme.
This extraordinary interstellar
telephone attachment
then will b« used to
listen for signals and
eavesdrop on trsnsmlssioiM
that may be going on
elsewhere In the untnrss,
"Initially well wo is on
quiet, win-behaved, mlddkaged
star* similar to our
sun," Hys jni Tarter, an
astronomer at the NASA
Ames Center.
"Uft elsewhere may htm
evolved around such stars
Just as It did hen. Our first
target list contain* about 800
such suns that are relatively
dost to u."
Tbe NASA search won't, of
course, be Hmitwi to inch
stars. Large swath* of the sky
win be Included. Of avwage
•lie. Earth's galaxy, the
Ifflky Way, contains hundreds
of baUons of stars, and
bUUons of other gskxie. of
varying slies Ml the universe.
Harvard University
physicist Paul Horowiti
approves of a broad approach.
"We may have an
l l brtgtt diti
to another galaxy or perhaps
ta a rather obscure place in
our own, It would be a shame
to mis* th em because we onhlooked
at nearby sources."
Supported by th* Planetary
Society, Horowiti recently
began Ms own SETI endeavor
wife a radio receiver and an
(Moot antenna that for the
next four years wffl scan
111,072 channels
dimiit«Tifni|«iy Set In an
apple orchard not far from
Boston, Horowiti'* receiver
won't be able to listen In on
other galaxies or vary dUUnt
•tars ta our own.
Why would an E.T. want to
Y Don't Miss
( The Sentinel-Ledger's
6th ANNUAL
Brt In touch with* ham, or ai
ordinary earmUng for that
natter? •
'Tin not sure," say
Horowiti with • simp;, "If
hard to second guess to
psychology of these gay
when we don't even Ian
whether they're green in
•limy and bow many hesd
bey have. ,
"Communication may tie
fundamental urge in th
universe. Perhaps ttof?
interested In the art o
Fteasao, the musk of Baa
There mu«t be some things a
Earth that might tmusi
them."
OOKING*?
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