Commentary

Commentary Ocean City Today May 20, 2022 Page 61 Sportsplex talks must include all

Proponents of building a major athletic complex outside Berlin on Route 50 had better get their acts together and stop having the separate conversations that have dogged this proposal since the beginning.

So far, no public declaration of unity between the Town of Ocean City and the Worcester County Commissioners has emerged, even though the majority of elected officials in both branches seem to want the same thing.

As it stands now, only the county has formally attached itself to the idea by approving a bond sale to finance the purchase of property where the complex would be built. Ocean City government, meanwhile, has committed nothing more than an official “Hell yeah!” to the effort, at least as far as the public knows.

Certainly, resort government is working on this in the background, but that’s not helping move the project toward fruition when the one element that’s critical to this project’s success is overwhelming public support throughout the county.

Residents of Berlin and Ocean Pines in particular, as well as voters in other districts, have to be wondering what, if anything, is in this for them?

They undoubtedly want to know what the potential upsides and downsides might be for their communities, or whether this proves the long-held (and mistaken) belief out in the county that “Ocean City always gets everything.”

That attitude has to be overcome if this is going to work and there is only one way to do it — by including representatives of these communities in the conversation, by answering their questions when the answers are available and working together to find them when they aren’t.

Ocean City and county officials who back the sportsplex concept have a serious sales job to do if they want to get this done as smoothly and as quickly as possible.

One way to do that is to create a multi-government workgroup to take over this job, let the public see how it’s working and how the benefits of sports tourism won’t go to Ocean City alone, but will be spread throughout the county. Or everyone can just keep talking and hope it works out.

Ocean City Today

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EDITOR ............................................ Stewart Dobson MANAGING EDITOR................................ Lisa Capitelli STAFF WRITERS .................................... Greg Wehner, ..........................................Jack Chavez, Mallory Panuska ACCOUNT MANAGERS.......... Mary Cooper, Vicki Shrier ..............................................................Amanda Shick CLASSIFIEDS/LEGALS MANAGER .... Nancy MacCubbin SENIOR DESIGNER ................................ Susan Parks GRAPHIC ARTIST .................................... Kelly Brown PUBLISHER........................................ Christine Brown ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT ...................... Gini Tufts

PUBLIC EYE

REPRINT FROM MAY 17, 2019

UFOs are to blame

Now I get it. All our problems, our disagreements and our conflicts aren’t our fault at all. No, they are not, and the governmentapproved evidence has been revealed at last — UFOs are real.

That’s what the Pentagon told Congress this week, as officials cracked the seal on files that have been hidden from the public for generations for fear that people would do something stupid as a result. But realizing that horse left the barn a long time ago, the generals in charge of maintaining this collection of tapes and photos (and ray guns, strange metals and jars of things that look like big pickles with appendages) the top brass concluded they had nothing to lose and everything to gain.

And what would the upside be of knowing we are not alone? For one thing, we might start worrying more about being taken over and/or eaten than lesser concerns.

I mean it’s not as if the aliens (at least those not already in office) are going to ask,“Progressive or Conservative?” before they whip out their Cosmic Star Blasters and turn you into the soup of the day.

Once they’ve reduced you to protoplasmic goo all they are thinking about is, “Hey, Zork! Don’t get that on your shoes! You’ll never get it off!”

Okay, so maybe that’s an exaggeration and all we really know is that exceptionally speedy somethings have been flying in our skies for a long, long time.

What we don’t know is why, although it is my belief they have been retrieving the scouting parties they have been depositing here for years (You’re next, Elon Musk, Ron DeSantis, Bernie Sanders and Dennis Rodman).

The top brass also says we should start thinking about what the intentions of these visitors might be and why they keep coming. I have several theories about that as well. 1. Apply their superior intellect and technology to simplify the building permit process for the benefit of all humankind. 2. Stop for a quick snack and a bathroom break, Earth being a Stuckey’s along the Intergalactic Highway. 3. Attend hands-on shape-shifting workshops. 4. To boldly go where all their friends have gone before. 5. Just to mess with us (“Hey, you see the look on that fighter pilot’s face? Hahahahahahaha!”). 6. Teach the kids to drive in an out-of-the way location (Stop making crop circles or you’re going straight back home!”) 7. Check on the evolution of Scottish cuisine (“Spaceship XT to base: Nope. Still sheep’s stomach stuffed with ground innards and oats. Over and out.”) 8. Continue to convert family rentals to Airbnbs. 9. They’ve been waiting for an invitation to join NATO. 10. They’re really us back from the future to see where we went wrong.

By Stewart Dobson

Sisson sponsors balcony at Ocean City center for arts

(May 20, 2022) The Art League of Ocean City announces that John Sisson, president of its board of directors, has stepped forward to sponsor the balcony exhibit space at the Ocean City Center for the Arts.

The Art League has renamed the area The John Carroll Sisson Galleria and installed signage in honor of his donation.

Sisson has served as the Art League’s president for four years, and made this donation to the Arts Center in honor of his grandfather and nephew. All three are named John Carroll Sisson.

John Carroll Sisson I was a master carpenter who worked on the construction of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. John Carroll Sisson III was a seaman on the Dwight D. Eisenhower and one of the first American servicemen to come under fire during the first Iraq war.

Board president John Carroll Sisson II was inspired by a fellow board member to make the contribution.

“I wanted to make a sizeable contribution to the Art League, but I had originally not decided to go quite this far,” Sisson said. “Fifty grand is a pretty big bite for a retired schoolteacher. But, I was talking with Laura Jenkins one day, and I was thanking her for her endowment of the Orem & Harriet Robinson Fellowship for Contemporary Art and Community Involvement. This program is a great leap for the Art League, and I told her how impressed I was with her generosity. She looked right into me and said, ‘John, I just consider myself fortunate to be in a position to do something like this.’

“Those words stuck with me, and I thought over time, if there’s something I believe in, a cause I want to get behind, a mission that makes a difference, a way to give back to a community that has nurtured and inspired me, then I have to go the distance. And, I found a way to make it happen,” Sisson continued.

Sisson joins other members of the community who have sponsored See AREA Page 63

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PHOTO COURTESY ANTHONY GOMES Ocean City resident Caleigh Shade took home Miss Maryland 2022 honors on Sunday and will now move on to compete in the Miss USA pageant later this year.

Ocean City resident named as Miss Maryland for 2022

By Jack Chavez Staff Writer (May 20, 2022) In 2022, Miss Maryland calls Ocean City home.

Resident Caleigh Shade, a sommelier at The Hobbit Restaurant on 81st Street, took home the top honors at the 70th Miss Maryland USA competition on Sunday. She’ll now go on to compete for Miss USA 2022.

“Honestly it’s surreal,” Shade said of winning. “I can’t believe it happened. I didn’t expect it to. Eightytwo other girls were competing and I was just happy to be in the top five. It was really competitive, everyone was great and I’m extremely thankful it worked out.”

Shade is originally from Cumberland. She studied at Salisbury University and four years ago moved to Ocean City permanently for her position at The Hobbit.

She made a point at the pageant to show her pride in her adoptive hometown.

“I’m so blessed to be able to represent Ocean City,” she said. “I talked about Ocean City a bit (at the pageant). My gown was blue and looked like ocean waves. Backstage, I got to talk about Ocean City being a tightknit community.”

Shade also takes pride in her work and said that her platform in the Miss USA contest will be representing women in the hospitality industry.

Speaking of Miss USA, Shade said a date hasn’t been announced yet but she thinks it’ll occur sometime around September.

“I’m very excited to meet the rest of the 2022 class (from around the country),” she said.

In the meantime, Shade will be making appearances around the community, starting with Cruisin’ Ocean City this weekend. She’ll have her Miss Maryland sash and plans to walk around and be available for pictures.

CHECK PRESENTATION

Dimitrios Cavathas, chief executive director of The Lower Shore Clinic & Go-Getters Inc, recently spoke at the Ocean City Lions Club meeting. The organization provides an integrated outpatient mental health, addictions and primary care clinic as well as residential rehabilitation programs, supported employment and health home services serving 2,000 members of the lower four eastern shore counties. Pictured, from left, are Cavathas, OC Lions President Scott Stark and Lion Joe Myles.

PHOTO COURTESY ART LEAGUE OF OCEAN CITY John Sisson, president of the board of directors of the Art League of Ocean City, has sponsored balcony space at the Ocean City Center for the Arts.

Area renamed for board pres.

Continued from Page 62 spaces at the Arts Center and have their donations honored.

“I’m happy and proud to have my name on these walls, along with the Thalers, the Leiners, the Stansells, the Schwabs, the Felbers, the Albrights, the Widdowsons, PNC Bank, Katherine Ellen Brown, Marian Bickerstaff, Toni Howard, Junis Adkins, the family and friends of Shirley Hall, and Calvin B. Taylor Bank, along with the Art League’s amazing donors, corporate partners, and legacy partners listed on our Wall of Honor.

“You make it happen. You make the mission bear fruit. You make possible an outreach that now extends from Dover to Pocomoke,” he continued. “What we do is nothing short of amazing, and your commitment brings unity and self-respect, honor and prestige, to our town, to our region, and really, to the entire Lower Shore.”

The Art League of Ocean City is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting artistic expression and appreciation for the creative arts in our community through education, exhibits, scholarship, programs, and community art projects.

Funding is provided in part by the Worcester County Arts Council, Maryland State Arts Council, and the National Endowment of the Arts, organizations dedicated to cultivating a vibrant cultural community where the arts thrive.

SPECIAL DAY

Worcester Preparatory School hosted students’ grandparents and guests for a special day on campus, March 25. Lower School (Pre-K – grade 5) students prepared class projects and performances for the celebration. (Top) Brothers Cullen, center, and Evan Kaufman welcome Maira Dehn, Pat Kaufman and Scot Kaufman. (Left) First grader Ben Evangelista enjoys time with his mom, Odette.

OCBP wins award for safety in ’21 Vinegar Joe walks to India in WWII

(May 20, 2022) The United States Lifesaving Association’s (USLA) Public Education Committee has awarded the Ocean City Beach Patrol the prestigious National Beach Safety Challenge award for the 2021 season.

The USLA is a nonprofit, national professional association of beach lifeguards and open-water rescuers that works to reduce the incidence of death and injury in the aquatic environment through delivering public education, promoting national lifeguard standards, offering training programs, advocating for high levels of lifeguard readiness, and other means to ensure the public’s safety.

This award is given to agencies, chapters or regions that conduct beach safety programs and align with the USLA’s mission in order to educate the general public.

Throughout the years, the OCBP has created and delivered a number of safety resources to Ocean City and surrounding communities in the form of education, informational postings throughout town, and numerous programs such as facilitating Junior Beach Patrol camps, hosting beach safety presentations, and producing Public Education Outreach Programs.

The Mid-Atlantic’s own Tom Perry, USLA National Certification OfficerMid Atlantic Region, at the request of Mid-Atlantic Regional President E. Zebrowski, Committee Chairperson D. Blair and National President P. Davis, were asked to accept this award on behalf of the Ocean City Beach Patrol.

“We are thrilled to receive this award,” said Capt. Butch Arbin. “The Ocean City Beach Patrol is dedicated to ocean rescue, beach safety, and maintaining a safe and orderly environment.”

For more information on the OCBP, go to www.oceancitymd.gov/ocbp. By Peter Ayers Wimbrow III Contributing Writer (May 20, 2022) This week, 80 years ago, 59-year-old Lt. Gen. “Vinegar” Joe Stilwell walked out of the jungles of Burma to India to escape capture by the Japanese.

Stilwell was an 8th generation descendant of an English colonist whose family settled in New York City, which is where Stilwell was raised. He was graduated in 1904 from the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he participated in cross country, football and basketball. He was graduated 32nd out of 124 cadets. During WWI he served in France and helped plan the Saint-Mihiel Offensive. Between the World Wars, he was stationed in China and became fluent in Chinese.

On Dec. 31, 1941, in order to keep China in the war, President Roosevelt cabled Generalissimo Chiang Kaishek, telling him that the Allies agreed to make China a “Theater-ofWar” and that the Generalissimo was to be the Supreme Commander of that theater. The Generalissimo replied two days later, requesting that a U.S. General be designated to serve as his Chief-of-Staff.

For that position, Gen. George C. Marshall recommended Stilwell, describing him as, “immensely capable and remarkably resourceful.” And, of course, he was fluent in Chinese. When Vinegar Joe was told, on Jan. 23, 1942, by Gen. Marshall that he was going to China, Stilwell replied, “I’ll go where I’m sent.” He was also tasked with overseeing the LendLease Program in China, and also as U.S. commander in the ChinaBurma-India Theater. Later he also became deputy commander of the South East Asia Command under Lord Louis Mountbatten.

Stilwell met the Generalissimo in Lashio, Burma, on March 3. Lashio was the western terminal of the Burma Road, over which supplies were trucked to China to keep it in the war. With an eye to cutting the Burma road and interdicting those supplies, the Japanese had invaded Burma.

On March 8, the Japanese captured Rangoon (now Yangon). Rangoon was/is the largest city in the country, and currently has a population exceeding 5 million. In 1941, the population was 10 percent of that. Until 2005, Rangoon served as Burma’s capital. The city is situated at the confluence of the Rangoon and Bago Rivers, 19 miles from the Gulf of Martaban.

The evening after Rangoon’s fall, Stilwell dined with the Generalissimo and his beautiful wife, Madame Chiang. He was promised the Fifth, Sixth and Sixty-Sixth Armies, that were commanded by Gen. Tu Li-Ming, for the defense of Burma.

Stilwell established his headquarters in Burma at Maymyo (now known as Pyin Oo Lwin), which is 42 miles east of Mandalay. Maymyo was named for Colonel (later Major General) James May. In Burmese Maymyo means May’s Town. During British rule it served as the summer capital of Burma (now Myanmar). It currently has a population of 225,000.

On March 18, the Japanese attacked the ancient Burmese capital of Toungoo, which is located 140 miles from Rangoon, astride the road to Mandalay and the bridge over the Sittang River, which carried the road east to the Karenni States and north to the Shan States, Lashio and the Chinese province of Yunnan. The Chinese 200th Division, commanded by Dai Anlan was tasked with defending the city, which today has a population in excess of 100,000.

The Japanese, having captured Rangoon, were preparing to capture Mandalay before the monsoon came. It fell to Stilwell to piece together a force of Chinese, Indians, Burmans, and British to defend Mandalay. The Generalissimo sent the 38th Division commanded by Gen. Sun Li-Jen, who was graduated from Gen. Marshall’s alma mater, the Virginia Military Institute. In mid-April, the Japanese cut the Burma road, blocking any escape route to China. Gen. Sun Li-Jen’s 38th Division, captured Twingon on April 19 and attacked Yenangyaung the next day. It is located on the Irrawaddy River, 363 miles from Rangoon, and now has a population of about 50,000 and produces most of the country’s oil. In fact, its name means “stream of oil.” By the time of the Chinese counterattack the oil facilities had been destroyed.

Lashio, 120 miles northeast of Mandalay, was captured by the Japanese on April 29. Today it has a population of 130,000. Bhamo, 40 miles from the Chinese border on the Irrawaddy River, was captured on May 4. That day, the last plane out of Burma, loaded with 23 fortunate staffers, whom Stilwell had selected, left from Shwebo, which is located in the center of Burma, 68 miles northeast of Mandalay between the Irrawaddy and the Mu rivers. Today, it has a population of 90,000.

Myitkyina, also on the Irrawaddy River, 488 miles from Mandalay and 920 miles from Rangoon, was captured four days later. Today, it has a population of 306,949.

By now, Stilwell had decided he must leave Burma. Although he could have left by plane, he chose to forego that luxury. The journey would be 150 miles, across rivers, through jungles and over mountains, all the while avoiding the onrushing Japanese, and the mobs of refugees clogging the few roads and trails out of Burma.

He assembled a party of 140 — 26

Joseph Stilwell