The Wicomico River is the starting point of our city. Salisbury was founded, here by the Wicomico, and grew because of the ships that sailed here and the people who built on its banks.
We stand on the North Prong of the Wicomico River today, where there are successful businesses where are our citizens work, to let the citizens of Salisbury know that there is one candidate for mayor that has committed himself to cleaning up this river and making it the backbone of our revitalization efforts throughout the connected neighborhoods and a downtown that it runs through. This river was the engine of our early economy – and its revitalization is the economic and environmental imperative.
After investigating river cleanup and revitalization projects throughout the country, my vision for the health of the Wicomico brings together the best of many of the efforts already underway here in this community with many of the best ideas used across the nation.
My plan, the Wicomico River Project pledges to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus levels, identifies every outfall pipe, its origin and what comes out of it, establishes a River Code of Ethics and engages the community and school system in the effort to restore this community’s most precious natural resource.
With our victory in the March 3 primary, it is the responsibility of this candidate to be more specific in his vision. That is why we are here on this St. Patrick’s Day...to bring the green back to the Wicomico.
What I will do as Mayor:
As Mayor I will take the fair and equitable parts of the Maryland Priority Places Urban River Project II application submitted by the administration forward including the continued partnership with the Maryland Department of the Environment
As Mayor I will map the bottom of the Wicomico to find out what can be removed in order to restore health.
As Mayor I will create within the Wicomico River Project “Wicomico River Keepers” – for business and industry to join us in building and conserving wildlife habitat and find alternatives to past procedures to avoid pollution and find the necessary funding to help make environmental stewardship affordable. “River Keeper Schools” will be created to bring hands on projects to students that will revive our collective community identity as stewards, from a young age, of our river. Students can take projects that meet standards of the Maryland State Assessment and turn them into a reality right here on their river. The great part about these initiatives is that they can be funded by private industry by utilizing the work of great organizations like the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore, our University and Community College, and we can promote these programs by creating an online community of donors and supporters revolving around the Wicomico River.
As Mayor I will continue to build strong partnerships with community groups such as the Greater Salisbury Committee, The Nanticoke Watershed Alliance, Creekwatchers, the City Environmental Task Force, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and the Wicomico Environmental Trust, and Salisbury’s neighborhood Associations, the Delmarva Low Impact Tourism Board, and Urban Salisbury
As Mayor I will take the recommendations in Section 4.A.1 of the Environmental Task Force and put filters on our outfall pipes
As Mayor I will establish a date within 10 years that the Wicomico will be fishable and swimmable once again - Thirty years ago, children swam in the waters of the Wicomico, and the lakes and ponds that grow from it.. But now, we can’t even allow our children to eat the fish they catch in the Salisbury City Park. When I say that Help Is On The Way – I mean it, and I mean it for the Wicomico River
The plan of action contained in my Wicomico River Project will become the official policy of my administration. And I will work with every governmental agency, every homeowner and business owner and every land owner possible to make this a reality.
Saving this river – our river - must become a priority. Without it in a healthy city, our industries don’t grow. Without it in a healthy Wicomico, our homes lose value. And without it in a healthy Wicomico, part of what makes this City of Salisbury special begins to die, too.
When I grew up we rode our bikes to the small piers behind the Banks Market and crabbed and fished. We swam in Schumaker and Leonard’s Mill. We owe it to the citizens of Salisbury, to those children growing up now without a place to even swim or fish, to save our river. And we must act together to save it, because without a healthy Wicomico River, we can’t have a prosperous City of Salisbury. This effort is a moral, environmental and economic necessity. I ask you to carry this message to businesses and citizens throughout our city, because I’m Jim Ireton, a kid who swam and fished in this river, and Help Is On the Way.
10 comments:
Jim Ireton as a candidate for mayor has already spoken, in detail, about what he will work to achieve as Salisbury's Mayor.
We must break from the rancor and bitterness of the current mayors office and her cronies on the council.
Only with a good house cleaning can we hope for Salisbury's eventual return to the great city it once was.
This is the kind of article that can't be repeated too often. I never swam in the river intentionally {I believe there was a terrible kayaking incident}-and considering WWTP failure/toxic spill headlines of late, I am just going to continue with my swim club membership in perpetuity if that is ok; but I fished there, walked around to check out sunsets, and checked out the cool birds nesting. Even "pitched some woo" with a girlfriend or two under the glow of the moon and stars. Now, I don't think I would go down there at night without a SAW and a HAZMAT suit. If you were to visit places in Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma, etc. they would donate secondary children to have their small city's downtown set up like Salisbury along such a vital bay tributory. Yet there is nothing down there now but toxic mold, "For Sale" signs and the smell of a terribly failed incumbent administration. Mr. Ireton, if you are sincere about cleaning up the river, the plaza, and reducing VIOLENT CRIME.....I wish you well on what will prove to be a challenging; but hopefully ultimately rewarding period of public service for you, and for the city of Salisbury.
How's that for specifics, Gary?
I hope that Mr. Ireton gets the support needed to take Salisbury forward. This is the kind of commitment that Salisbury leaders were known for. Sadly there has been a collapse in recent years of that commitment by the leadership
of the city.
If and when he cleans up the river I nominate Reese to be the first to swim(back float) up the river in his bright violet speedos. Can I get a second on that?
I remember fishing in the river in the mid to late 1960s this river was full of herring, white shad,crappie and bass this river was also full of untreated human waste,oil slicks and anyting esle one can imagine seeing.The river also had huge grass beds of aquatic plants growing in this filth. All this changed when Salisbury opened a waste water treatment plant most of the aquatic plants are gone, the large runs shad, herring have disappeared.I have had people in the know tell me that this rivers health was destroyed by the clorine treated waste water that is pumped into our river.I hope Mr.Ireton will be brave enough to put the blame on the destruction of this river on our goverment agencies which are truly to blame!
Dagnabbit Doug the mental visual alone made me loose my lunch. The river has been polluted enough already.
As usual, the Daily Times flubbed this one up too. And while they got some environmental sell-out guy to promote Outfall Bubba, the person they consulted for the Ireton article just framed Ireton's whole program as "definitely going to raise taxes."
Thank you, Mrs. PseudoExpert. Did this expert review our budget, read Ireton's plan, check the funding sources he named or the other places in the U.S. that are doing stuff like this without going bankrupt? Did she do an economic feasibility study?
No?
Then shut up.
Leave it to the Daily Times to get a yes-man source for Bubba and find a naysayer source for Ireton.
Biased much?
I remember when we used to jump in at the dam at the Zoo right near the old Little League Park!
I was swimming in deer, buffalo and Llama Poo and look at me I came out somewhat normal ; P
Jim Ireton has the right thoughts and I hope that people will give him his chance to help make Salisbury a better place. The current crew is not getting it done. Good luck Mr. Ireton and I am voting for you and the possibility of fishing in the river with my chilren in 10 years.
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