The News Journal from Wilmington, Delaware • Page 8

A 8 Thursday, Sept. 30, 1993 John H. Taylor Jr. Editorial Page Editor j-: Norman A. Lockman Associate Editor of Editorial Page Wilmington, Del.

an Sal DeVivo President and Publisher John N. Walston Managing Editor The New Journal A Gannett newspaper Our View Carper's compromise not perfect but it should be passed RON WILLIAMS VfijEREWE Stand Gov. Carper's latest offering to the legislature appears to satisfy most, but Sussex County should stay in the testing loop. What Should BeDone Call or write your state legislators and tell them to vote for the emission testing plan on Oct 7. If Gov.

Tom Carper's compromises on proposed changes to vehicle inspections will help move the General Assembly to adopt his clean air package, so much the better. There has been widespread doubt about the wisdom of eliminating automobile safety inspection and that part of the proposal has been dropped. Gov. Carper wanted to put the complex new emission testing procedures into the hands of private contractors. That has run into vehement opposition from LET 5 NOT LT PHANTOU TILL THi WOftlP SEM Our Readers' Views the affected state employees, and has resulted in some backpedaling.

Actually, the governor has said from the outset that state jobs would not be sacrificed in the change-over, but that assurance was apparently not enough. The risk involved with the compromise is that it may increase the costs of implementing the plan. The third part of the compromise is less satisfactory. It exempts Sussex County from the tougher emission tests. Logically that makes no sense.

If existing and potential pollution are bad enough to warrant this testing in New Castle and Kent counties and we think it is it would make sense to require it in Sussex County as a sound preventive measure. Why wait for the pollution to get worse in Sussex before implementing it? This is the sort of thing that makes the state clean air initiative suspect and potentially unfair. Exempting Sussex County seems to be primarily a political decision and an unwise one at that. Reducing auto emissions is a very important part of this plan. Nobody should be exempt from plans to lower the amount of destructive fumes from automobiles.

We should be doing everything we can to reduce auto emissions, including adopting the so-called California emission standards, not because the feds are threatening us with loss of funds and direct imposition of the plan (a threat we suspect is more bluster than a likely eventuality), but because it makes sense. Attorney General Oberly has insulted recovering addicts Yo! For first time in a decade the Phils win big. It's phantastic! Tough times in the community of Hardscrabble The headline screamed out: "Hardscrabble store gets opposition." Now for those not familiar with Hardscabble, this is not like a headline that would say, for instance, "Dover residents oppose third mega-mall." 1 Hardscrabble is 6.5 miles northeast of Laurel. Its global coordinates are 38 degrees, 36 minutes, 50 seconds north longitude; 75 degrees, 28 minutes, 45 seconds west latitude. In other words, it's nowhere.

Oh, there's a famous crossroads, Delaware 20 and U.S. 9, which will take you to Seaford, Georgetown, Laurel or Millsboro, depending on which way the car is pointed. The intersection was also the subject of a protracted battle by area residents some years ago over a flashing yellow light. Several serious accidents had occurred there and former state Sen. David Elliott of nearby Sycamore prevailed and got a light installed.

There is also a small store at the intersection that sells Moon Pies, bread, soda and, at one time, gasoline. And there are scattered homes, many set back on wooded lots. It's the way many people would like to live. Now along comes a Hardscrabble couple who wants to open another store along Delaware 20. Depending on what account you wish to believe, it would sell farming and plumbing supplies, bread, scrapple sandwiches, gasoline, sodas, Moon Pies or all or some of the above.

The Sussex County Planning and Zoning Commission held the mandatory public hearing and, as is the norm more than not, nobody showed up. It was a seemingly innocent rezoning request to change 2.8 acres from residentialagriculture to commercial. Facing absolutely no opposition, the commission approved the request from Everett and Bonnie Messick. The request then went to the Sussex County Council, which has the final say in such matters as to whether the community of Hardscrabble is ready for another store. But the council, as it is want to do, backed down on approving the request because da daaa residents presented a petition opposing the change.

It had 21 signatures on it. Among the those opposing Everett Messick's brother, Marvin. Instead of throwing out the the same, tired excuses the County Council hears all the time property devaluation, traffic congestion, children's safety these creative souls from Hardscrabble came up with some fresh ones. It would disrupt traffic on two major beach routes; it could lead to other commercials outlets (Thereby turning Hardscrabble into another megalopolis); and, most importantly, it had been billed as a farming and plumbing supplies store (which would have been OK) not a mini-marketgas station, and the Harscrabbleites felt misled. Wrong, says Hizzoner W.

Lay-ton Johnson, the Messick's financial adviser and former mayor of Georgetown for several centuries. The Messicks never misled anyone. The opponents all say they are friends of the Messicks but they simply don't want this type of store around them. And, in one of the more courageously hysterical public pronouncements in zoning hearing history, one neighbor said a store on Delaware 20 would be "another potential site for robbery." Well, now. If we stopped building stores for fear of bandits The County Council in its usual display of decisive and speedy action tabled the matter.

So there you have it. The friendly folks of Hardscrabble, including brother Marvin, don't want any new store fouling up their community. They already get more than their share of traffic from all those beach freaks in Maryland and Pennsylvania, they say, and robbers are lurking in the woods waiting for a new store to be built. I have to wonder. Do robbers not stick up farming and plumbing supply stores? Ron Williams it! assistant editor of the editorial pages.

Where We Stand at the history of the du Pont family. The Du Pont Co. was a pioneer with regard to recognizing alcoholism as a disease and helping people get treatment. People in recovery try to find a new way of life and stay out of the criminal justice system. Mr.

Oberly took a cheap shot at treatment facilities and programs that help people put their lives back together. I'm sure that if a cancer center, an AIDS hospice or even a shopping center were opening at the same location, Mr. Oberly would be there to cut the ribbon and get his picture in the newspaper. I hope that the people in recovery remember Mr. Oberly at election time.

Joseph F. Smith Wilmington Who woulda thunk it? Who woulda believed that the ragtag bunch of castoffs and ne'er-do-wells would rise Phoenix-like from the cellar to be the best in the East? We admit it. We're homers. Our attorney general, Mr. Charles Oberly, has spoken about another subject that evidently is not familiar to him.

He grouped drug addiction and alcoholism with criminal behavior. Why does he want the public to think that at a drug and alcohol treatment center, people run around like maniacs? Maybe he should visit a treatment center and attend all the functions that take place during a day and evening. These people are reaching out for help, just as other people who have diseases go to treatment facilities. Instead of saying that Eugene du Pont "must be rolling over in his grave I don't think he wanted drug addicts and alcoholics and criminals running around on his property," he should look With ample time to rest and relax, the improbable Division Champion Phillies will go on to win the World Series. HAFT A will increase U.S.

unemployment We are told the North American Free Trade Agreement will create thousands of jobs in the United States. I think not. Workers in poor countries, such as Mexico, earn low wages and can't afford labor intensive products from the United States. Business and trade magazines recently showed a chief executive officer complaining, "I can't find good, loyal workers for a dollar an hour within a thousand miles of here." The ad lyrically replies "Yes you can in Yucatan." It also offers a free video tour of the luxurious lifestyle Yucatan can provide while saving the company "$15,000 a year per worker." That is a sample of the $30 million Mexican pro-NAFTA campaign. It has the best lobbyists and public relations organizations to pressure Congress and the White House.

More than 400 U.S. companies and trade associations are pushing for NAFTA, including Zenith, General Electric, Eastman Kodak, General Motors, Ford and Chrysler. The aforementioned all have plants in Mexico. Why? Cheap labor. NAFTA will force United States to accept foods from Mexico that are below our environmental and health standards.

We have a recession due largely to cheap labor in other parts of the world. NAFTA can only exacerbate our unemployment problems. A. Hirschle Wilmington Home value unrelated to household's size Berlinda Bruce has done it again. Regarding her Sept.

22 column, the $55,500 that Nick and Cathy Neuwien are being offered for their home may or may not be below "fair market value." However, to state that they are essentially getting only $27,750 because the home is shared with Cathy Neuwien's sister is absurd! When a dollar figure is attached to a house, it is based on the house, not the people living in it. Does Ms. Bruce think Delaware Technical and Community College should double its offer to If the amount the Neuwiens are being offered is below fair market value, I sympathize with them, but that amount is $55,500, not $27,750. David Carey Wilmington Underage buyers test liquor store owners The column by Ron Williams regarding liquor licensing hit home with me. I owned a package store in Dover from 1973 until 1978.

It was located about two blocks from Wesley College. As I walked out of the hearing for my license approval at the Delaware Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission, I was stopped by a tap on my shoulder. The man who stopped me said he was the ABCC chief inspector. He warned me that the college was just two blocks from my store and that I would be challenged by the students. He was right.

I was tried by every student wanting alcohol stimulus. At that time Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey did not have pictures on their driver's licenses. It was a nightmare. sr And we've had confidence all season long that the Philadelphia Phillies would win the National League East. Now, we gotta admit the Phils gave us some tense moments in the last three or four weeks.

We watched our guys blow big leads. We watched them strand man after man on base. We watched them give up runs on Tuesday night when clinching was only a few outs away. But we never joined the chorus of doomsayers. We never even thought about the Great Slide of 1964.

But we're not perfect. We also firmly believed our other neighbors, the Orioles of Baltimore, would triumph over the mighty Yanks and Blue Jays. We were ready for a repeat of the 1983 1-95 World Series. Alas, it was not meant to be. But our confidence in the Phils is steadfast: The Phillies will win the National League pennant and crush the American League in the World Series.

How to voice your opinion The News Journal welcomes letters. For verification, letters should be signed and include your home address and a daytime telephone number. We edit all letters for clarity and brevity. We do not use open letters or letters published elsewhere in our circulation area. Letters should focus on a single subject and should not exceed 200 words.

We cannot return letters not published. Here's where to send your letters: Utters to the Editor Box 15505 Wilmington DE 19850. Fax letters to: Letters (302) 324-2595 TTD: (302) 324-2580 thing. If you don't ask, you don't care. Either way, you are fined.

The happiest day in my life was the day of my marriage; and the second most happy day was when I sold that store. Thomas S. Dutton Jr. Camden The Palestinians are victims off oppression The writer of your Rosh Ha-shana editorial forgets that the number of Arabs and Palestinians killed, injured, imprisoned and make homeless exceeds by tenfold comparable Israeli losses. The Palestinians did not "see themselves as victims of oppression." They were victims of oppression.

Any attempt to deny that is the equivalent of denying that millions of Jews were killed at the hands of the Nazis. If we want to help the Arabs and Jews of the Middle East, we need to acknowledge that they both have suffered enough. We need to extend our hand to both sides to help them turn the page of war. Making peace is hard. Maintaining peace is even harder.

If anyone feels that they need to "kiss up" to someone or something, I suggest "kissing up to peace." Emile Rihani Chadds Ford, Pa. Talk show wars Oprah Winfrey is reported to have earned $98 million over a period of two years, which figures out to about $1 million a week, or $200,000 a day. Talk is not cheap. But neither is it scarce. Talking heads of one variety or another are filling the TV screen morning, afternoon and far into the night.

A casual survey reveals, over 25 talk shows, more than one for every hour. Why are they growing, with seven new ones this season? Certain themes occur and reoccur: Few talk shows abstain from gossip, high-decibel confrontation, confessions. Even the subjects they raise about themselves tend to be more titillation than substance. Is Dave more hip than Jay? What niche is left for Conan or Chevy. Will Arsenio Hall survive? Stay tuned with your "mute" button at the ready.

The Christian Science Monitor, September 1 993 A bottle of wine brings about a 33 percent profit, a can of beer about 25 percent and hard booze about 22 percent. Thus a purchase of $10 earns a store owner about $3.30 for the wine, about $2.50 for the beer and $2.20 for booze. Who would sell to a minor knowingly considering the profit vs. the ABCC fines. The ABCC understands only this: If you asked for ID, you had a doubt but accepteu any The News Journal Editorial Board: Sal DeVivo, Colleen M.

Hellwig, Jack Jurden, Norman A. Lockman, Ralph S. Moyed, John H. Taylor Jr. and Ronald J.

Williams. Editorials represent the flews of this bdhrd. Letters to the editor and the Delaware Voice column are coordinated by Betty Heidelberg, editorial assistant..