improvements e - Newspaper Archives of Ocean County

IIIThe Sentinel-Ledgereditorials/commentThe timeand placefor a parkThe Idea advanced by CouncUwoman JeanneClunn to establish a Lake memorial park on thegrounds of the old Wesley Avenue school Is oneworthy of serious consideration and discussion bythe community.The eleventh-hour move by a relative handful ofconcerned citizens to save the beleaguered oldschool building Is a concern which must be fosteredif Ocean City is to maintain a sense of historyand heritage. Without that sense, thiscommunity is doomed to continue on whatappears to be a path of destruction-based progresswhich, in reality, is but short-lived Income for thedevelopment-minded at the expense of an entiretown.Ocean City has, from its earliest days, been acommunity founded by developers, as are mostresort areas old and new. The difference betweenthe developers of this town and other nearbyresort areas, for instance, is that the early developersof Ocean City were founding the town as aChristian resort whereas developers of otherresorts were railroad magnates or other entrepreneurswhose goal was to people an area with consumersor customers of the services theyprovided.As a camp community whose attraction was atleast as much the teaching of the Christian religionas it was the natural seashore attributes,Ocean City from the outset has been a town Wherefamily Is important. It is its Christian heritage andits family ties which have distinguished OceanCity from all the other seashore towns. Its nickname,Amtrica'a greafesf family resort, is one whichits citizens down through the years have takengreat pride in; it is a moniker constantly invokednowadays by persons who see the town changingfor the worse,Christian principles and the work ethic are oftenconsidered nand-ln-glove, but we must not forgetthe family. Some would argue that the work ethicIs predominant today; that there is a need to practiceChristian principles and to re-emphasize theimportance of family lest the moral fabric of oursociety comt unraveled.Many people want to see what appears to be thesenseless tearing down of Ocean City stoppedbecause they see It as a reckless disregard for thepast. If there is no regard for the quiet architecturalbeauty of the early summer cottages, therewill be no realization of what these structures represent;there will be no continuation of the town'sheritage and history.If an area of town can be set aside and dedicatedto the remembrance of past architecture, then,hopefully, the ties with a Christian family atmospherewhich those buildings represent can bemaintained and passed along to our children andtheirs.Ocean City truly needs to set aside as an historicdistrict the oldest area of the community, It wouldserve not only as a reminder of the past, but alsoas a signal to the future of the Importance of familyand, yes, of thi Chrijtlan work ethic. Too manypeople today feel almost apologetic when they§ven mention the word Christian, u If we havf noright to talk about religious principles In a democracy.That's as wrong as the^ellef that progress lathe antithesis of heritage.We must all, citizens inside and outside of CityHall, talk up Jeanne Clunn's Idea olegtabUshing aLake memorial park, not only as a way of providingspace for the preservation of little summer cottageson 30-foot lots — but also as a constantreminder to us all of where we came from, whatwe are and where we're going.There are many aspects of Jittery that are uglyand which we would like to change, Without asense of history, Just as without a sense of family,we have no hope of making changes for the bitter.True progress is an amalgamation of heritage andoutlook with the future,Tourism makes OCa 'company town 9Editor, Sentinel-Ledger;In the centennial edition ofThe SenthuULedger you pub-Ushed a letter from tne onthe subject of "companytowns," Perhaps, it is timeagain; 1 read with concernthe letter Let those who profitpty tourism's catU (Get 6),Ocean City i§ * companytown; we have one tndtuntoys tourism.Without the tourist dot-Jin, cotddwa afford «p*f dUM dtijMrfmtnt7 Would outpOUCe OtilWUIwlK OB »9%7 Without ail «*« bringpaid on (he thoumd* oiliving anit§ Which ourpmtitme, when *ouldwe Bad our dtyment?On tho backs of our yearroundresidents—only,Wake up, Mr, McCarthy!Smell the salt fllr andremember why you canafford to live by (he sea.DsnitlB, BradleyOtteanGtyMormtttmrmiottuHHlttoron facingthe state we're inThtirsdav. OcfcMx>r ?0, 1988RESERVATIONSREQUIREDFlood insurance harmful to shore,promotes dangerous developmentBy DAVffi V, MOOREThe frailty of the humanspeclii li uiually overlookedby its memberi,except when catBitrophlcthlnas like hurrieanes,floods, tidal waves and thelike drive home the proof ofhow easily we can drown,Recently In Bangladesh,for example, many peoplewere killed and uncountedmlilloni were renderedhomeliss by flooding.Then there Wii hurricimGUbert, which spared theUnited States Its hardestimpacts, but still put someiouthern Texas barrierlilandi under water, TheTexans all made successfulescapes, compared with thethousands who dlod In thoGalveston hunienne aroundthe turn of the century.Perhaps here In this statewe're In we feel less endangered,After all, wo cannotremember n SBrious earthquake;landslides are virtuallyunknown; flooding ofany coniequence is rareoutiide the Passalc RiverJointhe taxIlfffltfiditor, Sentinel-Ledger; 1war ploisod to read yourstory about the new Fairnessin Taxes organizationand about the success of itsmembership drive. '1 ant a member of PIT andurge all homeowners whoobject to the annual Increasein real estate taxes to jointhe organiMtiOfii KeffleMberthat the tax rates haveincreased automaticallyevery year despite the tremendousgrowth Inralables,Since our taxes paid the$l,600-plo9 tab (or lunch atThe P1andcr9 for tho newCouitcii installaticti, dll"People will go on Ignoring the riskof drowning so long as they knowthey can build again after waterydestruction of their properties, .thanks to federal flood Insurance."u$d of tax Money in thefuture:We are ndw eleven hundredstrong. Come on,h , help yourseUt-— the Cmndiiutickm am optn io aiiinohwilaiims requited, ,bliln where it can be awful.Severe hurricanes hovebeen miising us lately.But ono would still suppoiuthat, being as smart aswe are, we would be moreprudent than to allow peopleto live tcK) dose tofloodable rivers and theocean.No such luck.Too many people wont tolive by the water. The luckyfew who succeed in doingio enjoy tho comfortablerealization that federalflood Insurance will subsidizetheir risk-taking.That subsidy is substantial.As of last Dec. 31, theNational Flood InsuranceProgram had about 2.1 mU-Uan flood insurance policiesValued at $162 billion, alongwith a net operating deficitof $652 million lor thoperiod from 1978 through1987. About 70 percent ofthe flood Insurance policiesas of the end of August,1987, were for coastal prop-BrHflSj and 10 percent forproperties on the shorei ofthe Great Lakes.Losses totaled about $2,4blliion from jan, 1, 1978,through Oct. 31, 1987. Ofthat total, repetitive losseswere for about $1 bUlion, orsiime 43 percent of th§ total.From )a"n. 1, 1978, throughDec. 31,1986, insured propertyhad flood dampge ofabout $204 million over andabove, the maximum floodinsurance available.It's pretty obvious thatpeople will go on ignoringtho risk of drowning solong as they know they canbuild again after waterydestruction of their properties,thanks to federal floodinsurance. Worse yet, byencouraging developmentwhere It's dangerous, floodinsurance is destructive tothe barrier islandi andother environmentally delicateplaces.Yot it's not the catastrophicevents likehurricanes that causa mostof the flooding problemsalong coastlines; its just theaverage storms which kickup damaging water, thismeans that low places thatflood frequently are goodplaces to stay away frontYot HMO In Naw JBttwy, aselsewhere, we haven't donethat.One may well ask, whydo we continue to subsidiseflood victims over and overagain, and why do taxpayerscontinue to fork overmoney to encourage thefew to keep building inpart-tinie rivers? I say weshouldn't, but building andreal estate interests love itbecause It spelii guaranteedincome for, them,'With.tfx money as'tightas it li, we could lave bigbucks in the long run bypaying only once for aproperty which will still beimperiled, and getting anoption to purchase in returnfor a flood Insurance claimpayment.Right now the FederalIrnergBney ManagementAgency (PEMA) cart makean offer to purchase) andhas done so, but cannotforce the issue. For example,some buyouts havetaken place in the PossalcRiver basin, but nowherenear enough,Such buyout! of housesor businesses that are frequentlyflooded wlU payfor themsiivei quickly.Right now the Legislatureis weighing bills to establisha Coastal Commission totry to direct growth awayfrom flood-prone places,among other things.Guess who doesn't likesuch an ideas the buildersagain, 1 can't blame themfor trying to keep the iubsidiesalive, But we need toget up the legislative will toput a tough system in place,As sea levels rise, and stormrisks increase, it is a need*less hole In our collectivepocketbook unless we do,DtvM f, Mom it executiveAlmtw of thi Ntw jetteyConservation Paundtlttoti,Recall happy momentsEditor, Sentinel-Ledger: 1said farewell to Ocean Cityyesterday and drove overthe causeway toward home,I've said a lot of goodbyeIn the 40-piiis yearn ofhoitieownm vfaomld butsummers spent here