The News Journal from Wilmington, Delaware • Page A8

A8 THE NEWS JOURNALdelawareonline.com OPINION DEL AWA RE Susan D. Leath President and Publisher David F. Ledford Executive Editor John Sweeney Editorial Page Editor OUR VIEW The news articles said the city of Wilmington has filed suit to stop the state from closing the Maurice J. Moyer Academic Institute. The reality behind the news is that this is just the latest development in the battle over who runs schools.

It is not simply a case of city vs. state. That could be worked out. The real problem is that too many i nstitutions are trying to run the schools and the lines authority and responsibility are not clear. Is it he state? The federal government? The local school istricts? Administrators and teachers? All of them have a role.

All of them have a say. And at times, all of them are at cross-purposes. In addition, what role should governmental units like Wilmington play? The largest city has an almost non-existent say in where its students go to school. It is an arrangement leftover from a decades old desegregation order that divided Wilmington among several school districts. All of these questions, including role, will have to be addressed some day.

In the meantime, the tensions caused by these multiple allegiances will lurk in the background of all school discussions. suit against the Department of Education centers on the view that the Moyer In- stituteperforms poorly. The DOE wants the school closed because its academic scores have not imp roved. That may not matter to those behind the suit. ayor Dennis Williams said the city could not stand as another Wilmington high school on the hopping as he described it.

That speaks directly to the question of who runs the schools. The DOE is trying to close another charter school, Reach Academy, for poor performance. That decision also has ended up in a court battle and remains open for now. The suits directly challenge the authority of the department and the state charter school law. The idea of a charter school is that in exchange for program flexibility, the schools must perform at a higher level or face swift closure.

If these lawsuits succeed, the authority of the charter school law will grow even murkier. That ability to close schools quickly is working elsewhere. Washington, D.C., schools have shown improvement, and charter schools have played an important part in the success. However, Washington i ruthless in shutting down charter schools that do ot improve student performance. The lesson there is a clear line of authority works.

he dispute between the state and the Red Clay and Christina school districts over six low-performing Wilmington centers on lines of authority. The state is working from directives issued by the federal government and its Race to the Top money. The local districts object to the rules the state DOE wants in place. Again, who runs these schools? None of these problems will go away until that question is answered. ONCE AGAIN, RUNNING OUR SCHOOLS? On the eve of another anniversary of the date that will live in infamy, new efforts should be made to get the White House and Department of Defense to correct an egregious over- ight for the first American hero of World War II.

George Schwartz Welch has been overlooked now for 73 years as a deserved recipient of the Medal of Honor. President Obama has recently been awarding edals of Honor to veterans of the Vietnam War, of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the other day to a Union soldier who distinguished himself at the Battle of Gettysburg. Delaware has just two Medal of Honor winners from World War II out of the 15 such decorated vet- rans recognized by the Delaware Medal of Honor society, eight of whom are buried in the state. Welch lies in Arlington Cemetery, buried there after his test plane exploded in 1954. His memory, though, is enshrined on many websites and his feat was memorialized in the film, Tora! he story has taken on the nature of legend over the years, and like some such feats, it has its share of doubters.

The basic facts reflect his courage on the day that Japanese warplanes bombed Pearl Harbor. He and fellow pilot Ken Taylor had partied the night before, and legend has it they had only two sleep when they heard bombs explode. Welch and planes, P-40s, had been parked, away from the air bases being bombed, and Welch called the field to get their planes ready. not a gag; the Japs are he said. In Buick convertible, they raced to their planes and nine minutes later were in the air, engaging Zeros and Val dive-bombers.

plane was damaged, but he managed to shoot down one of the bombers. They then flew to Wheeler Field, being strafed, and two mechanics ran into a burning hang- a to get more 30-caliber ammunition to reload their wing guns. The best estimate is that only 20 planes were able et into the air, and many were shot down. The chief of the Army Air Corps, Gen. Henry (Hap) Arnold, thought Welch deserved the Medal of Honor, but for disputed reasons, he and the other pilots received the next highest medal, the Distinguished Service Cross.

Word was that the Medal of Honor was blocked by the Army because the men had taken off without a uthorization. Another reason given is that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt wanted an instant hero with whom to be seen and that the Medal of onor process would have taken too long. Welch eventually shot down another nine to 12 planes in the Pacific theater before he left the ser- ice to become a test pilot for the military and North American Aviation. Again, legend has it that he flew faster than the speed of sound before Chuck Yeager got this credit in his X-1. He retired when he got malaria.

family lived on Wawaset Street, and his father was a research chemist for DuPont. Their ame was Schwartz, but the father changed his two name to Welch, his maiden name, right a fter World War I in the face of strong anti-German ias. Welch went to St. School in Middletown and Purdue University before enlisting in the Air rops in 1939. His years of working as a test pilot ended Oct.

12, 1954, when his F-100 disintegrated. He was 36, and his Arlington National Cemetery marker lists him as George Schwartz Welch. Next week, we will detail previous efforts to have his feats recognized with a Medal of Honor and see hat efforts the Delaware congressional delegation, he governor, General Assembly, military groups and others will make to correct the oversight of honoring Welch. Harry Themal has written a News Journal editorial page column since 1989. Honor due for Del.

war hero Welch HARRY THEMAL Letters should not exceed 200 words, must include a name, a home address, and a day and evening phone umber for verification. Verification does not imply ublication. We reserve the right to edit for clarity, length and accuracy. We are unable to acknowledge return unpublished letters. Publication is restricted one letter every 45 days per writer.

Letters and other submissions may be published or distributed in print, electronic or other forms. Mail: Letters to the ditor, Box 15505, Wilmington, DE 19850 Fax: (302) 324-2390. Email: HOW TO VOICE YOUR OPINION This is an editable blurb that refers to upcom- i ng editorials.delawareonline.com/opinion. 2p3.156 Police officers entitled to save selves Many of us have tried to remain silent during the Ferguson case, but become too much. I have listened with bitten lip as friends, neighbors, and nearby restaurant patrons bash and belittle the entire police community as a whole.

My entire career as an adult was in my own education, preparation, and practice of the police service. I ended up teaching in the academy as a master instructor (one of the first 10 ever so named). One of the basic tenets of the profession (and they are indeed highly trained and qualified professionals): is not required that a police officer be injured or killed in the performance of his This rule is spoken dozens of times to rookie officers. not a nice thing to be a dead hero. Delaware law (paraphrasing) provides that a person may respond with deadly force if he observes any person or himself in danger of serious physical injury or This includes the officer.

Ihave been asked many times can a police fficer shoot another I always answer the same reason you can shoot A police officer must respond as a first-line defense to safeguard lives and property, as their fundamental duty. Yet, those naysayers seem to believe that the officer imself must stand there and be beaten to a pulp if he feels that he is in danger of serious injury, or death. I survived a rather horrific beating in 1985 a nd I responded with deadly force. I still feel the pangs of my injuries so many years later, but at least my training and instincts kept me from dying in the treet for no reason other than person got One must always obey the lawful commands of a police officer, and submit peacefully to an ar- est. Perhaps those of you who care badly enough will join one of the (totally free) Citizens Police Academy classes.

Then ask away your questions and get straight answers from those hired to patrol your community and keep your kids safe. Randall Hedrick Elsmere Pipeline foes distort the truth The means destruction of the letter to the editor was filled with the usual false- oods. State Department studies have shown that he XL pipeline will have negligible effect on the environment. Canadian tar sand oil and Bakken basin oil is already being refined, it is just being moved by trucks and rail cars. It would be safer to move it by the XL Pipeline.

Tar sand oil is dirty but so is the oil from Venezuela. I vote for U.S. jobs and Canada. The charge of dangerous fracking destroying is also false. Frack- ing has been studied numerous times and there never has been a finding of an aquifer being damaged.

Fracking has dramatically increased drilling and ecovery of natural gas and oil. Pipelines and facil- i ties to process and distribute the gas, natural gas iquids, and oil were expanded or built. The price of atural gas dropped dramatically. This caused util- i ties to convert coal-fired generators or build new as-fired generators to replace them. Oil and gas i mports decreased and exports of natural gas liquids (ethane, propane, butane) increased.

Our balance of ayments improved so we had to borrow less. The price of oil dropped as has heating oil and gasoline. This has created income for property owners, increased tax revenue for governments at all levels, put more money in and pockets, and created many good U.S. jobs. If we screw it up, we will see a major resurgence of U.S.

industry. Because of lower energy, raw material, and shipping costs, manufacturing jobs are returning to the U.S. We could see a reemergence of the U.S. chemical industry and a growing industrial base. If we want good jobs and a growing economy, we must not agree to cut our fossil fuel consumption by 25 percent while allowing China to grow their usage for another 16 years.

That would be stupid! Douglas Cox Hockessin Prevailing wage must stay in Delaware Prevailing wage for construction is good for the state. This rate is made up by the Delaware Department of Labor, not the unions. It is created by the i nformation supplied to DOL by union and non-union construction businesses for wages paid to their employees. This rate is almost always below the union rate. We in Delaware have a large number of workers underemployed and underpaid.

Sussex and Kent ounty workers from all Industriescome to New Castle County to work for higher wages because of low or stagnant wages in the lower part of the state. continue to drop wages for anyone in the state including changing prevailing wage will have a negative impact on all Delaware workers. Consider all the on-union construction families who benefit from working on prevailing wage projects in the state. Support higher wages for all workers, in all usinesses in our state, and our state will succeed. Joseph Schorah Bear Why mention absence of seat belts? One questions the wisdom of what appeared to be a solemn, respectful account of a popular young lady who sustained injuries that led to her death as a passenger in an automobile accident.

While a modicum of respect was prevalent, whatever was the rationale to include the fact that the drivers of both cars were not earing seat belts and survived the crash. as this really appropriate? It most certainly was lacking in sensitivity. The fact remains that seat belts reduce serious crash related injuries by half. Gene McLane Wilmington OUR READERS' VIEWS.