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Wednesday, June 27, 2018

Officials Mark Completion of Jetties on Historic Smith Island

Partners Celebrate Navigation Improvement at Rhodes Point

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, in coordination with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources marked the completion of two major milestones as part of the Army Corps navigation improvement project at Rhodes Point during a ceremony at the Somers Cove Marina June 21. 

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's been proven over and over again that jetties don't work. Should have put down rip rap along the beaches.

Anonymous said...

Ridiculous.Smith Island needs full blown beach replentishment and no a bit less.Jetties are not enough.This will be addressed via bandaids for so long that the dollar amount will eventually equal or exceed doing it the correct way.Pumping sand in at 360 degrees is the only sensible option.

Anonymous said...

Jetties sometimes bring in so much sand that they are buried in it,but at some subsequent point it all washes right back out.

Anonymous said...

I agree with 11:04 AM and 12:44 PM.

What needs to happen is the state and federal government needs to mark off where the boundaries of Smith Island was at least 100 years ago and start building a riprap wall around the island. Pump out the remaining water, do an archaeological dig around that perimeter and carefully put the graves back that washed away(if they can be found) or protect the ones that can be found. It's common knowledge that erosion washed away many coffins. after that is done then start pumping dredge soils from different locations on the bottom first. I know there are or is dredging being done in Baltimore and the Wicomico and they all need a location to dump what they dredged. This is a perfect resource to use to rebuild the beaches and lands of Smith Island that have been washing away for a hundred years or more. The jurisdictions could even pay back the state for these dredge sites to pay for replenishing Smith Island. Once that is done they could use the sands that washed away from the Island as the "topsoil" for this project. Be sure to make to topsoil higher This is a win-win situation for everyone. Only a Liberal tree hugger would disagree with me. Let's hear it from others who think this is a great idea.

Anonymous said...

I need a new Route 50 bridge into OC before I need "beach" replenishment at Smith Island.

More $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ comes from OC than Smith Island.

At the end of every day, its all about the Benjamins!

Anonymous said...

Letter to the Editor

Allen Volunteer Fire Department

Yesterday(June 27, 2018) approximately 3:55 PM the Allen Volunteer Fire Department finally got out and responded to another ambulance call in Somerset County. This time it is in Deale Island, Somerset County, MD. 3:55 PM is not when they were dispatched, it was much earlier. A good 10 minutes of dispatching before Allen finally got out. As a matter of fact, Wicomico Central was going to dispatch Fruitland next as they are next due after Allen VFD scratches.

The problem with this whole situation is that 99% of the ambulance calls dispatched to the Allen Volunteer Fire Department are calls dispatched in Princess Anne or other parts of Somerset County, Maryland. Did you know that Somerset County pays nothing for Wicomico County Ambulances to respond the Somerset County? As a matter of fact, Fruitland and Salisbury respond to many calls in Somerset County and the taxpayers are never ever compensated for those calls. Each fire department collects the ambulance billing for the transport and keeps the money. Nothing goes back to the County coffers. This is a big money maker for the volunteer fire companies.

At one time, not too long ago, Salisbury and Fruitland handled all the calls for the Allen area. Then the Allen Volunteer Fire Department realized that they could collect county funding just for having an ambulance that then they could collect funding for having a paramedic. All they have to do is hire some part-time paramedic for about $12 per hour which is much less than they were getting from the county anyway. The Allen community or the fire department doesn't have any paramedics so they have to hire paramedics from other places where they work full-time jobs. It's not like they are giving back to the community by hiring their own local people. Many times the Allen Volunteer Fire Department doesn't even have paramedics on duty even though they have collected enough money from the county fund, the paramedic fund and the ambulance billing. There is enough money brought in to pay for paramedics around the clock, but they spend the additional funding on fire trucks that are all chromed out and looking good in parades.

So, back to the Deale Island call. They left the station at 3:55 PM and arrived at the Deale Island location in Somerset County at 4:21 PM. The left the scene at 4:31 PM to transport to PRMC. It took 26 minutes for Allen to get to the scene for a subject fallen in Deale Island. I don't know if Princess Anne scratched on that call or not, but Princess Anne has 3 ambulances. If Princess Anne was dispatched I hope one of the readers could give us some times for their dispatch before Wicomico County was alerted.

Here is something to think about. How long do you think that poor soul was laying on the ground in pain before an ambulance finally got there to transport them to the hospital? At least 36 minutes if and only if Princess Anne wasn't dispatched first. Then there is a good 30 minute transport time to PRMC from Deale Island. That person suffered for over an hour before they got to PRMC.

So here are some questions to be asked.

1) Why are Wicomico County funded ambulances going down to Somerset County all the time and not being compensated?

2) Do you think Somerset County should be reimbursing Wicomico County for every ambulance call that Wicomico County ambulances are dispatched on?

3) With 99% of the ambulance calls being in Somerset County does the Allen Volunteer Fire Department really need an ambulance? Don't say "Yes" just in case there is a call in Allen because the ambulance isn't doing Allen any good if they are in Princess Anne or Somerset County all the time.

Keep in mind this isn't just Allen, it happens to all fire companies in the county.

Anonymous said...

9:34 PM it has nothing to do with Ocean City, it has everything to do with the quality of life on Smith Island for the residents, families and visitors.

Our tax dollars can be pumped into Smith Island like we've been doing for years. It's their turn now. Somerset County can use the tourism dollars for sure.