Letters to the Editor
Volume VII Number 16
April 22-28, 1999

Feeding Furiously, Cedar Waxwings Spotted

Dear New Bay Times Weekly;

I've not seen the cedar waxwing in Bay Country. Then, the morning after I read Audrey Scharmen's Earth Journal (March 24-30), a flock of about 40 descended on my crepe myrtle and holly bushes, devouring seeds and berries in a fury. If I'd not read the article, I might not have paid so much attention to all of this activity just outside my window.

Thank you for alerting us to the presence of this distinctive bird. I recall having to identify it many years ago for nature points at camp in Maine and saw several up north last summer. I've always considered it a real beauty with its subtle colors and distinctive mask. Without close observation, its brown hues and top crest may be confused with the female cardinal.

Thanks to New Bay Times for reminding us of the beauty in our own back yards.

-Kathleen Wilson, Churchton

Chickens as Military Scapegoats?

Dear New Bay Times~Weekly:

I am appalled! After being a satisfied reader for many years, I have never been so disgusted as when I read your editorial: "Three Cheers for the Bay Foundation's Poultry Plan" (March 25-31). The lead sentence is certainly one that does not generate the purpose of goodwill. "On a clear day, you can gaze eastward and see one of the biggest threats to Chesapeake Bay: the Eastern Shore."

The Eastern Shore seems to be the butt of many peoples jokes and dislikes. I know there should be more added to this picture.

I look to the North and see the biggest superfund site in the Maryland region: The Aberdeen Proving Grounds, with a projected 50-year clean-up time (and the military still polluting there with bombings). I look to my West and I see the Navy's target site, Bloodsworth Island. Better known in EPA circles as a hazardous waste site that leeches toxic waste into the Bay, the island has been decimated as a target site since 1942. No one knows the extent of chemical, biological or other kinds of experimental warfare damage that has contributed to the Bays demise. And the bombings still go on

Does any one out there know the real damage the Department of Defense has done to the Bay and our sea-life, wildlife and human health? Is it just possible that we are burying our heads in the sand while the real polluters get away with it right under our noses?

Certainly the chicken industry is polluting, and I applaud any attempt to clean up its mess. And I love to hear of bettering the lives of the chicken growers and their families. But why should they be our scapegoat while the big fish get away?

-Henry Werner Meseke Immanuel, Elliott Island

Mountain Reader Misses Tides

Dear New Bay Times~Weekly:

I used to live in good old Eastport but have since moved all the way out near the mountains of Virginia! I still grab the paper every time I'm in Riva and was happy to find you guys on-line. I was just wondering if there is anywhere on the web page that contains the tide chart.

-Ryan Wick, [email protected]

Editor's Note: Sorry, faithful reader. That's a trick our webmaster hasn't yet mastered. But she's trying.

| Issue 16 |

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