The Coastal Point encourages the exchange of ideas. Letters to the editor must be signed by the author with phone number included for purposes of verification. Please send your letters to P.O. Box 1324, Ocean View, DE 19970.

Darin J. McCann

Mental health professionals often play a little game where they test associative skills by showing a generic photo to a patient and asking him or her the first thing that comes to mind.

They show you a bunny with its mother? You might think back to childhood days of comfort food on a rainy day, with your own mother by your side. They flash a photo of a smiling kid riding a bike? You might harken back to that filthy, rotten Christmas morning when you were 7 and wanted a bike, only to wake up and find your dad passed out under the tree with a bottle of Bushmill’s in one hand and a photo of the Queen of England in the other, rambling something about a free Northern Ireland and ...

But I digress.

We really don’t have the kind of space available here to show photos, so let’s test your reactions when I mention a specific name:

Michael Jackson.

Wretch? Feel an increase in your blood pressure? Did you run upstairs to check on your children? Have a flashback to when the musical icon turned into a human tiki torch when filming that soda commercial? Whatever the image, I’m willing to bet “The King of Pop” wasn’t the first thought to enter your mind.

Now, to be fair, one of the joys of this nation is that a person is presumed innocent until found guily by a court of law. So, to blanket ourselves in the red, white and blue I so love, we won’t play out his ongoing court case in this space. However ...

What kind of brick-headed, knuckle-dragging, single-celled moron would a parent have to be to entrust the welfare of a child into the sequin-covered hands of Michael Jackson?

Wow. That felt good. But, seriously, even if one ignored the past stories of a cash-for-silence deal with another young child several years ago, the incident of dangling one of his own children from a hotel balcony, the consistently bizarre behavior during interviews, the befriending of a monkey, the “marriage” to Lisa Marie Presley, the ...

No. What kind of brick-headed, knuckle-dragging, single-celled moron would a parent have to be to entrust the welfare of a child into the sequin-covered hands of Michael Jackson?

Now, as I stated earlier, we’re going to go into this with the idea that Mr. Jackson is an innocent man in reagards to this incident. And, on the flip side, if he did indeed commit these heinous acts, the fault lies on him, not on the parents. However ...

What are these people thinking?

Granted, I’ve never been blessed with having my own child. I could never get my mind around the pressures and exhaustion a parent must feel, and the urgent need to get some “away” time once in a while to stave off insanity. Intellectually, I get it, but I’ve never actually felt that stress that only comes from the around-the-clock responsibility a child requires.

However ...

Does dropping off the kid at the home of Michael Jackson seem like a good idea to anybody reading this?

I’d rather send my child off to enjoy a weekend of discussing business sign ordinances with Ocean View Town Council or be brainwashed to be a Redskins fan by John Denny than drop them off at Planet Jackson.

Unle$$ ...

Wow, I gue$$ that wa$ a typo. I certainly didn’t intend to infer that the parent$ went into thi$ with a pre-conceived notion of what could happen in time. That would be $illy. I mean, there ha$ to be a million rea$on$ parent$ would $end their kid$ off to $tay with Michael Jack$on. Doe$n’t there?

Maybe even 20 million rea$on$.

No. I’m not going to go there. I will not suggest that any parents would send their children off with the hope something would happen that would forever scar and emotionally cripple their children for life. But, with me taking that option off the table, is there any logical reason any parent would entrust the welfare of a child to a man affectionately referred to as “Wacko Jacko?”

Of course, logic left town a long time ago whenever discussing this guy.

Point reporter M. Patricia Titus wrote a story in this week’s paper regarding the community reaction in a few local towns to registered sex offenders living in the area. The concerned reaction by citizens is predictable and understandable.

The reaction by a local police chief is perhaps less predictable — yet fully commendable.

Ocean View Police Chief Ken McLaughlin said the availability of information on registered sex offenders, courtesy of “Megan’s Law,” is certainly valuable to the public, but it is also important to remember that the system isn’t completely perfect in one aspect — the exact nature of the crime is not as readily available.

For example, an individual who might have been a teenager and engaged in sexual relations with his girlfriend, who was a few years younger, could have been turned in to the authorities by the girl’s parents. That individual would then be classified as a registered sex offender on the Web site, the same as a person who molested young children.

That’s dangerous.

While we’re certainly not condoning witch hunts or violent responses to any individual who has payed his or her debt to society, we also feel there is a need to separate the natures of the crimes these offenders are forever linked. Yes, we know, individuals should be afforded some sense of privacy, but is there any real harm with separating the crimes by easier allowing access to the true nature of the crimes?

Homeland Security can tell us how dangerous each specific day in our life is by classifying it according to a color code. Can’t we do the same with the nature of crime a registered sex offender has been convicted for, at least to notify residents of a community as to the level of danger this individual might pose to the children or others?

This entire system is supposed to be about identifying who might be a threat to the community. At this point, the system might be a threat to an individual by a community.

Parents, use this system to be informed on who could potentially pose a threat to your children. It is a resource that just wasn’t always available in years past. But remember it does have holes before considering a definitive course of action.

Re-zoning of Sussex County not a simple task

Editor:
It appears a topic of the moment is the possibility of Sussex County Council elections taking on an entirely new format. The proposed new system would allow all Sussex Countians to vote for all councilmen up for re-election, regardless of where they reside. This has come about by the desire of a group of activists, primarily in the Lewes-Rehoboth area, but with some sentiment throughout the coastal region. The claim is that eastern Sussex is under-represented on the council, and that if everyone could vote in each councilmatic race, the higher population trend of the resorts would nearly guarantee the election of politicians from the east.

The legal argument is based on the vagueness of language within the election code that describes who can vote in county council races. General Assembly attorneys have been unable to determine if the state law is clear on this point. Now the Attorney General’s office is investigating the matter. Should the Attorney General also suggest that the law is at least ambiguous, and then the State’s Supreme Court could be asked to make a judgment. Following this judgment, State law would hopefully be clear, and the election will proceed in the fashion described by the court.

Personally, I think folks should be careful what they ask for. There is no assurance that countywide voting is going to concentrate more electoral power on the coast. During the re-districting of county council in 2000, a similar group of coastal activists suggested district lines should run east-west so that the folks in eastern Sussex could vote in the same races as central and western Sussex Countians. In an effort to satisfy, the county council adopted new district lines for my seat in an east-west configuration. The voters saw fit to give me a majority of the votes in 13 out of 14 election districts in the subsequent election. My opponent achieved victory in only one election district, her home district, and then only by six votes. The Fifth Councilmatic District now encompasses the entire bottom section of the county from the Mason Dixon Line to the Atlantic Ocean. I’d like to think that voters are not so shallow as to discriminate based on geography. I make every effort to spread my service equally throughout the district, but if I am told that I will have to run countywide, then that is what I will do. My politics are based on principles that embody the traditional values of Sussex Countians. I will raise the money to effectively communicate these traditional values and put my faith in the hearts and minds of all of Sussex County. On the other hand, if the current system prevails, I will continue to knock on doors of the good folks of Millsboro, Selbyville, Fenwick Island, Delmar and all parts in between. In the meantime, I look forward to the healthy debate that this issue has inspired, and will continue to work for all Sussex Countians, regardless of which election system is selected.

There is a sea change taking place in Sussex County today. This is inspired by the thousands of retirees moving here to enjoy the good life that traditional Sussex Countians have enjoyed for generations. Regardless of the wishful thinking of a few, they will continue to come. While this growth brings with it plenty of challenges, we must understand that it also brings many benefits. I believe that most Sussex Countians are optimists who know that change is inevitable but it holds incalculable opportunity.

There are those of us who are asked to guide this county through our efforts as public servants. If we elected officials put our heads in the sand or ignore the big picture, I have faith in the voters to turn us out. Though it’s not a perfect system, it’s the best that has been devised by the mind of man. I feel blessed to live in a country, and a county, where we have the freedom to choose our own destiny.

Vance Phillips
Sussex County Councilman

Chamber making an effort to open talks

Editor:
I know many of you have been closely following the Bethany-Fenwick Area Chamber of Commerce’s efforts to have DelDOT rework its proposed improvements to Route 26. For several reasons, most importantly safety and emergency evacuation, we recommended the design include a center lane from the Assawoman Canal to Clarksville. This would simply continue the road width and configuration set in the Bethany section of the project.

Rather than continuing to play volleyball in the local newspapers, we have invited Secretary of Transportation Nathan Hayward III and the design team to meet with us here. We hope to spread out the plans and talk about how to make this work while keeping the project on schedule and mitigating impact.

We will inform you, our chamber members and community partners, of when that meeting takes place and the outcome. Thank you for your support of our efforts thus far. We all want a Route 26 that is safe, functional and attractive.

Karen L. McGrath, executive director
Bethany-Fenwick Area
Chamber of Commerce

Council member thanks area for support

Editor:
I wish to sincerely thank everyone for your prayers, love, support, cards, flowers, fruit baskets, calls and balloons that I have received. They all helped to brighten my days after my recent heart surgery. The surgery went well and I should be back on my feet in a few weeks and thank everyone in person. Thanks to one and all.

Wayne Fuller
Bethany Beach