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

Ah, the new season arrives.

For some, it might mean less-traveled roads to navigate or a brilliant array of colors splashed across the landscape via treetops and crunching leaves. For others, the time after Labor Day might mean the urgent smack of shoulder pads on a football field or jaw-dropping sunsets as the dipping sun takes on a new face with a slightly-changed atmosphere as its backdrop. And, for a few unfortunate souls, it could mean the dawning of a new day with the premier of an all-new fall line-up on television.

Pity these souls.

For is there a less-imaginative and more formula-reliant medium in all the world? Look, I watch television. I’m a big fan of the original programming on HBO and F/X, as well as somewhat addicted to documentaries on subjects ranging from terrorist networks to the evolution of Tibetan monks. Oh, and ESPN. I don’t care if they’re airing baseball highlights or hermaphrodite dwarf tossing, I’m usually tuned in to what they have to offer.

But this network thing is a bit ridiculous, isn’t it?

If it’s not reality programming sucking out our collective IQs like an ex-wife vampiring her way through your very ...

But I digress.

It’s bleak, folks. The days of talking horses, gorgeous genies in bottles and brave men wandering the Ponderosa have been replaced by boring never-been comedians and their friends discussing their boring should-have-never-been lives, seemingly unemployed nimrods in form-fitting lycra devouring nutria carcasses for the chance to win $10 and ... well, whatever you want to call that stuff FOX puts on the air every night.

And, let’s face it, even a person of my borderline skills and mummified personality could write some of these new police shows.

Seriously, let’s take a stab at it. Indulge me, if you will.

For starters, the show apparently must take place in an urban environment. Though police work just as hard in rural settings, and take their jobs equally as seriously as the big city cops, the solving of the latest cow tipping incident in Idaho probably won’t grab our viewers as quickly as the gruesome slaying of a warm-hearted hooker in Times Square will.

Hence, New York City will serve as our backdrop.

Next, every good police show needs that lieutenant or captain who is just as quick with a butt-kicking of his or her detectives as he or she is with a Yoda-like pearl of wisdom to the same disgruntled detective later in the show. The actor who plays this role will forever be typecasted, and apparently will never find another piece of significant work.

We’ll find someone through central booking for that one. They’re a dime a dozen.

Moving on, it’s time to grab those two lead detectives to solve crimes and capture our viewers’ imaginations. We’re going to follow the standard formula of male and female leads here, and take the standard template a bit further with who we get to play the roles.

The male detective must have appeared somewhere else before this show, be it a bit role in a popular movie or as a side character in another show. If he becomes too popular, we’ll never be able to keep him for more than one season, and it will take us a while to bounce back while his career implodes ignominously in his new endeavors. If he’s not popular enough, we’re left with a big nothing. Also, and this is extremely important, he can’t be too good looking or the focus of the show will automatically steer to a relationship between him and the female lead.

If we’ve learned anything from Sam finally getting with Diane on Cheers, and Luke marrying Laura on General Hospital, it’s that we become very limited in story lines when they inevitably get together.

As leading man, we welcome one of the “other” cops from The Shield. It doesn’t matter which one.

The female role is complicated. It is one that requires the perfect image, one that’s strong and independent, while maintaining feminine qualities that endear. Well, when all else fails, we grab one who’s good looking and historically well-endowed.

I’ll, um, handle the casting duties for that role personally.

As for story lines ... ah, this is the easy part. We’ll just comb through newspapers and find interesting stories of the day (no matter where they took place in reality), butcher the facts and run with it.

It’s fun. And it’s just about guaranteed to get the minimum ratings the networks require for their shows and stay on the air long enough to make more money in syndication. It’s safe, boring and just what America tolerates anymore.

Excuse me, I have some casting decisions to make.

Let's learn from tragedy

Hardly any good can come from the havoc wreaked along the Gulf shore by Hurricane Katrina. However, if anything positive does spring forth from this tragedy, let’s hope it’s an added level of vigilance and preparation for others vulnerable to storms. This area is no exception.

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the Delaware Division of Public Health has put together several plans of actions for individuals to take in this area in case we get a direct hit from a storm, including phone numbers to contact with questions. The Coastal Point has published some of their suggestions in this week’s paper, starting on page 84.

Though it is important to know how to pack an emergency kit, what foods will hold and instructions on how to best manage your important documents and things of that nature, perhaps what we can learn best as citizens from the horrors left behind by Katrina is that we should pay attention to emergency broadcasts and follow directions.

Nobody wants to lose their home, but evacuating when called upon to do so is the much wiser move. And, in reality, there’s not a lot a person can do to save their home from a storm of that nature if they do stay behind.

But they can lose a lot more, like their lives.

We’re also hoping our public officials are watching what unfolded down south, particularly in the New Orleans area.

A lack of a plan, as well as a complete absence of leadership from the local, state and federal levels of government, resulted in mass chaos and an unprepared and overmatched populace.

We’ve thus far been spared the wrath of a storm of this magnitude. but so had many other areas taken by surprise. Let’s learn our lesson now.

Library thankful for success of programs
Editor:

The Frankford Public Library’s summer reading programs, “Dragons, Dreams, and Daring Deeds” and “Pizza & Paperbacks,” have come to a close. Now, it is time to applaud the children and give thanks to the people who helped make this time successful.

Congratulations to the ones who read for at least 10 hours and turned in their logs. The number of children completing their logs reached an all-time high of 87, making approximately an 80 percent completion rate. They were rewarded with books and tee shirts with the theme’s logo as well as other prizes, tokens and coupons. The intrinsic benefits of summer reading promise to be even more rewarding.

Thanks to the Frankford community for its wonderful support. The Presbyterian Church, the United Methodist Church and the town hall allowed us to use their spaces for the various programs because our library couldn’t hold the large groups.

A fine group of young people were willing to give their time, energy and talents. To share a feeling of the Middle Ages, Derrick Wimbrow created a working catapult out of Tinker Toys that fired real marshmallows. He also displayed his chess game, showcased his Whaley family coat of arms, and painted an intricate picture of a wizard. To make Harry Potter come to life, Steve Rozell portrayed the character and created a display of J. K. Rowling books. Ridge Murray was kind enough to lend the costume and accessories. Other teen volunteers, in alphabetical order, were Emily Bergman, Erica Evans, Nick Evans, Amanda Kelley, John McCabe, Blakelyn Truitt, Gavin Truitt, Laura Walter and Kristi West. They were invaluable in helping with crafts, snacks and many other tasks.

It was most reassuring to have some additional adult assistance as well. Members of the Indian River Women’s Club volunteered at several of the programs. The generous gift of $1,000 from the Indian River Women’s Club quilt raffle will be used for quality adult and children’s programming in the future. Our library is so appreciative of their support.

GoodFellas Pizza & Subs provided some free pizzas and discounts on others for our teen book discussions. The pizza was a real draw for the “Pizza & Paperbacks” program. As reading incentives and prizes, Grotto’s Pizza donated tokens for free slices of pizza, and McDonald’s Restaurant gave a variety of coupons. The participants were very grateful.

The performances, entertainment, crafts and reading adventures made the experience enjoyable for everyone. Sign up at the Frankford Public Library next June for more summer fun.

Dorothy Fisch
Children’s Librarian

One glaring exception to local beauty
Editor:

A friend visiting the Bethany area commented on how neat and tidy everything looked, except for one area. He wondered why we allowed Kent Avenue to be used as a garbage dump. He was referring to the area near the electric power facility. It is an eyesore.

A positive remedy to this unsightly mess would be to convert the space into a recycling station to replace the one that was closed last year. This station would serve the people in Bethany/South Bethany who are unwilling to hazard a trip to the Millville station on Route 26.

Frederick Kelley
Frankford

It takes a team effort to maintain feel of towns
Editor:

We want to compliment the present and past mayors and town councils on their efforts in keeping Ocean View a charming small town despite some destructive development being pursued in adjacent areas.

It is our hope that we citizens can continue to maintain (especially in the “old town” area) some of the positive qualities that we encountered when we first moved here 30 years ago. With some careful planning, the older residential part on Central Avenue can become a showplace and should be preserved without further development of business.

As long-time residents, we have always admired the sense of history apparent in the lovely Victorian houses on Central Avenue. With this in mind we have asked the town to preserve the town-owned Shore House as a building of historical significance, and to consider making its adjacent property a park. Since some of the older buildings in the town have already been demolished, it would be a shame to tear down this attractive and important historical building.

We have also asked the town to add some hanging planters along this street, from Route 26 to the canal, on some of the street lamps, and to consider building sidewalks on at least one side of the street to accentuate the residential quality and lend a further touch of grace and charm to Ocean View.

Such traditional small towns are fast slipping out of sight. Let’s work to save our town for future generations.

We hope your newspaper will support these ideas as viable ways to help the area maintain its history as it plans for the future.

Teresa and Martin Galvin
Ocean View

Citizens concerned about changing town
Editor’s note: The following letter was sent to the Ocean View town council and a copy forwarded to the Coastal Point for publication.

Dear Town Council,

We are writing to express our deep concern about the possibility of razing the “Shores” house at 39 Central Ave. to make way for a maintenance facility for town vehicles and heavy equipment. To us, residents at 49 Central Ave. for the past five years, this idea is poorly conceived, and directly contrary to the desires of town residents.

We are part of a grassroots movement in Ocean View to preserve its historic character; in fact, Candace has joined the prospective committee for Ocean View’s historic preservation — a group dedicated to obtaining standing for Ocean View in the National Registrar for Historic Places.

As this group begins its work with the University of Delaware to document historic properties and to prepare the application for National Registrar status, it would be a shocking disconnect for the town to consider razing one of the historic properties along Central Avenue.

Not only could it severely undermines the committee’s goal of obtaining National Registrar status for the town and all of the attendant benefits, but it could also cast serious doubt upon the town’s commitment to, and understanding of, historic preservation.

At the historic preservation group’s first meeting on Saturday, Aug. 27, we heard of other possible solutions to the problem of warehousing the town’s maintenance vehicles. We heard that perhaps the Shores house could be converted into a museum of Ocean View’s history, and the land behind the house could be used for the vehicles and fenced off or landscaped in such a way as to conceal the vehicle fleet from Central Avenue view.

Either of these solutions, or other sensible plans that may be developed, are far preferable to the idea of razing Victorian structure in decent condition.

As concerned residents of this town, we request that before any move toward razing the Shores house, or any other historic property in town, be made, a town meeting and/or survey if all residents be undertaken to ascertain the desires of the residents.

We believe that before razing is contemplated, the town should consider auctioning or selling the property to an owner dedicated to the stewardship and preservation of the town’s historic assets.

Candace Conrad and Richard Parry
Ocean View

Rally raises more than $30,000 for fund
Editor:

On Aug. 24, Cripple Creek Country Club hosted the Annual Rally for a Cure. Ellen Stephens, founder of the golf tournament, passed the chair duties to Cripple Creek volunteers Brenda Chisholm, Karen Pharr and Mary Lou Urquhart.

This year over $30,000 was donated to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Fund. The total raised to date is an impressive $127,000. The funds raised are from the donations of the 111 golfers and from a lucrative silent auction. The success of the silent auction is made possible by the many donations of local merchants and artists throughout our area.

Auctioned items ran the gamut from a carved heron sculpture, signed prints and original art by local artist, to donated wine. We are most grateful for the generous spirit of all the donors.

We are all touched in some way by the effects of breast cancer. Support of this annual tournament is a viable way to do our part to find a cure.

Thanks to all.

Gloria Farrar
Town of Bethany Beach