Eastern Shore (Virginia) Editorial

 Perhaps you may have observed that when most Eastern Shore of Virginians refer to "The Eastern Shore" they're not referring to the Delmarva peninsula but specifically to the Eastern Shore of Virginia. 

With that in mind- in this week's Eastern Shore Post, (Virginia) the editor gives his take on "Updating the Eastern Shore Racial Relations Scorecard."

     (View editorial:)

1013up-min.pdf (easternshorepost.com)

"Last Word Of The Week"

There seems to have been alot of heated discussions this week concerning the statement that Pocomoke Mayor Mike McDermott made this week to the Daily Times concerning the murder a few days ago in Pocomoke. And naturally because Pocomoke is my home town I hear it all!

Don't get me wrong. I like the Pocomoke Mayor. I do, however, think he would fair alot better if he would keep his comments out of the "crime business" and leave that up to his Chief of Police. There are alot of people here in Accomack County quite angry and worked up over this. I hope he left some "wiggle room" to get out of it. "Politics" or not Mr. Mayor you need to have a long talk with OUR Accomack County Sheriff! I think the apologies need to begin there and then with the rest of the law abiding people (like me) that visit your town for one reason or another.
LAST WORD OF THE WEEK Pocomoke mayor's Va. criticism is suspect as written by Ted Shockley, Eastern Shore News:

Last week a Greenbush man was fatally shot in Pocomoke City, Md. The town mayor was quoted in a report before an arrest was made that its violent incidents were the fault of Virginians

"I'm weary of the Virginia violence that pours over into Pocomoke City -- the problems that we've had in the past couple years tend to come from Accomack County, and it's really getting wearisome to our city," said Mayor Michael McDermott.

As it turned out, the man charged with murder resides in a Washington, D.C., suburb of Maryland. In fact, he lived in Pocomoke City in 1993 when he was charged with first-degree murder. The charge was later dropped.

I'm surprised that the Maryland mayor decided to paint our county as a violent badlands before a Marylander was charged with the slaying of Reginald Jerome Handy Jr., 22, of Greenbush.

Instead, maybe Accomack County should be a little wary of having such a lawless place so close to our border.

You would think the self-proclaimed "Friendliest Town on the Eastern Shore" would be a little friendlier with respect to comments about its southern neighbor.

It led me to think of everything that gets on my nerves about Pocomoke City. I could start with all of the Walmart plastic bags blowing through Accomack County. Maybe someday, those plastic bags could come from our soon-to-be-opened Walmart. Right now, they are imported from the north.

I could continue with the outrageously long wait at the traffic light at Walmart in Pocomoke City. Or the Pocomoke Christmas Parade, which I stopped attending because I don't like mixing with hooded mobs on sidewalks after dark. (If you want a much nicer after-dark Christmas parade, go to Chincoteague's or Exmore's instead.)

Or the super-long waits at the former Greene Turtle restaurant on U.S. Route 13. No wonder it's no longer in business.

Sure, all of that seems petty, but I didn't start the pettiness.

The truth is, Accomack County spends a lot of money on everything from cars to meals in Pocomoke City. Accomack County provides a lot of Marylanders jobs at the Wallops industrial complex. For two municipalities in separate states, Pocomoke City and Accomack are pretty close and cooperative siblings.

One wonders if Maryland competition for NASA-related spinoff business and new residents was behind the mayor's criticism of us. People will say anything to lure a job or two.

In reality, the issue of street shootings is more a societal issue than a geographical problem. When it comes to senseless violence, there are a lot of contributing factors that transcend state lines and municipal limits.

The mayoral thing to do would be to help find ways to fix the problem before publicly affixing blame.

NOTE: If you care to leave a comment be sure to think about what you write. I DID NOT post this so the people of Pocomoke (that seem to think they have no use for the mayor ) could have a big time with comments. I merely want everyone to know that Accomack County heard him loud and clear