The Galveston Daily News from Galveston, Texas • Page 6

6-A OJlje (Salueitod Bailg Saturday Morning, September 10,1963 Island fan urges city to fight state By RUDOLPH A. TURRENTINE Houston The mayor, the county judge, the Galveston school superintendent, the Chamber of Commerce, the business leaders and the taxpayers of Galveston Island should protest vigorously the ignoble confiscation by the state of beachfront property where the beach line or the vegetation line was changed temporarily by Alicia. The city, county and state should join forces in an all-out attempt to restore the vegetation line as quickly as possible. The normal vegetation line that existed before Alicia probably would be restored by natural forces within one or two years. The restoration could be accelerated by placing old-fashioned, picket fences, held in place by galvanized wire; by re-sodding the eroded area with tufts of sea grass; by eliminating vehicular traffic year-round, with ample beachfront parking places to allow the public access to the open beaches; and by eliminating bulldozing of the beaches.

Property lines and building lines along the Texas Gulf Coast have been established by the "normal" line of vegetation, which depends solely upon the "normal" tides. If aha! if the above recommendations were heeded, Galveston would not lose the vast taxes which would evaporate with the state's highly questionable confiscation of private property, and such positive actions by all concerned just might encourage natural forces to build sand dunes like the magnificent ones along Padre Island. Then, more people surely would invest in West Beach property. As an elder native Houstonian who fondly remembers his first trip to Galveston's beach in a wagon drawn by horses back around 1915 and who has enjoyed Galveston vacations, excursions and business ventures for some 68 years, I feel compelled and qualified by education and practical business experiences to question the authority of the state to seize this beachfront property. On numerous occasions, beginning in 1946, upon returning to Houston after six years of service in the U.S.

Navy in World War II, I would drive with my family from the end of the seawall to San Luis Pass along the beach. There was no county road paralleling the beach in those days. I would start the trip at high tide in order to guarantee a safe return. From the end of the seawall, all the way to San Luis Pass, the distance between the high-water line and the vegetation varied between 20 and 40 feet nature at its 'best! The annual normal tide level remains about the same today, but the vegetation line has been pushed inward by vehicle traffic, bulldozing to clear beaches of driftwood and debris, dune buggies driven by fun-seeking hot rodders and developers preparing beaches. Since 1970,1 have been a frequent guest at a beachfront home in Sea Isle.

I have witnessed the extreme erosion and the gradual rebuilding of that same beach to its original vegetation line. When Galveston banned vehicles on the beach during the summertime, I noted that the vegetation line moved some 25 feet toward the sea. Then, when Sea Isle began bulldozing the beach to clear the debris washed in from the sea, the vegetation line did indeed recede landward. This property produced more than $25,000 in taxes. Seize it? When Attorney General John Hill visited West Beach after a hurricane a few years ago and decreed that beachfront property in Sea Isle was then on state property, I proceeded to conduct an experiment.

The hurricane tide had washed away the vegetation line in front of my hostess's home. I placed two rows of picket fences some 10 to 15 feet seaward of the property line and plated tufts of sea grass and scattered an assortment of grass and Hower seeds in front of the beach house. I planted sea grass some 50 to 70 feet seaward of the picket fence. Within about a year, the vegetation line was at least 100 feet further seaward than before the hurricane. As manager of marine operations for 30 years with a major engineering and construction company (Brown Root I gained considerable experience with beachfront operations, including the legal limits of property and building lines.

The key to the problem is the word "natural." A beach eroded by hurricane forces is temporary and not subject to seizure. Beware, Galvestonians. Rally to the beat of the drums of the natural tides. Join forces and protest, fight to the last sand dune, stop the confiscation of private tax- producing property without legal justification. Do not let the attorney general drive taxes, businesses, visitors and home owners away from your treasured island.

All of Galveston Island is within the Galveston city limits, except Jamaica Beach, and the city should tell the state to keep its greedy hands off. Here she comes: Miss America! Tonight, for the 62nd time, a new Miss America will be crowned amid the glitter and glamour of a perfectly orchestrated performance by the Miss America Pageant. After all these years, the affair is still a major media event, produced by experts, some of whom devote a full year to it. We admit to a little bit of cynicism about the whole affair and wonder if the nation is really all that enthralled with these 50 lovely ladies and the effort they and their families exert to get to Atlantic City. In more simple times, we believe the nation really did relate to the pageant and all the trappings that went with it.

We're just not so sure many really care that much any more. Do you know who the present Miss America is? We're also somewhat jaded by the proliferation of competing beauty contests that have come along in recent years. We now have Mrs. America, Miss World, Miss U.S.A. 'and a host of others that vie for their own recognition and prestige.

Frankly, we must admit to a degree of chauvinism iij that we liked it better in years past when it was more of a pure "beauty" contest. Now, a full week of preliminaries and other weeding out processes ensue before it gets down to the final few. We get a little bit amused at the timeworn, trite and banal questions the contestants must answer, as the emcee, with a straight face, acts as though the fate of the world hinges on the responses. In the past, some of the questions have backfired. In 1976, one of the young ladies, in answer to a question, admitted she had tried marijuana and said that she though premarital sex should be a matter of individual choice.

This, obviously, was not the response Bert Parks expected, and since then questions have been directed away from controversial topics. Feminist groups have become outspoken in their opposition to the hoopla and the pageant itself, calling it nothing more than a further attempt to place women in stereotyped roles. We assume, though, that millions will again watch it, but, for us, it lost its appeal when Bert Parks was fired and we could no longer hear his off-key version of "There she goes Miss Les Daughtry, publisher. Reader claims casino gambling would promote crime, social ills Dickinson police budget criticized From Kenneth Ray Douglas, Dickinson One thing puzzles me about our city government in Dickinson. Of the proposed 1983-84 city budget, they allocated almost half of the budget to the police department.

It breaks down like this: The proposed budget is $1.255 million. The police department would get 5538,467, up 40 percent from their last year's budget for the department. It was $382,365. After all, we are only a small city of less than 10,000 citizens within its city limits. As anyone, I'm for good quality law enforcement, yet I don't feel that this city should budget almost half of its budget to one department.

They allocated a mere $82,224 for street rebuilding. Mainly, what they'll do is spend this money to patch them. It's rough riding over the patches in them now. But I see they allocated $291,039 to our street and drainage department. Of this, $244,534 would be allocated for administration.

I'm sure there won't be any street rebuilding in Dickinson. Take a good look at Road. Take a good look at street, road, etc. What about our drainage and flooding problems? Well, I find that $15,000 will be spent to study the flooding problem. How long will they need to study the problem? While they spend your tax dollars to study, every time a real hard rain comes, you have to bail your house out, your yard is flooded, your streets are undriveable.

Your frustrations continue to grow with your local government. I find that our city officials have failed to address the drainage and flooding problem in Dickinson with a maximum amout of effort or concern. They have failed to fully communicate with the citizens on this very important issue. Flooding in Dickinson is, to me, a matter of civic importance and should be addressed accordingly. Also, priority to other issues should be given.

This city should come up with better public works programs. A city cannot spend most of its tax dollars on police departments. There are many other areas that fund can be spent: examples, streets, drainage, city- sponsored recreational facilities, sidewalks, street lighting in some areas, better street and road construction, etc. Perhaps next year our police department's budget will grow another 40 percent. Then, other city projects will get less and less of your tax dollars.

And your frustrations with local city government will grow even more. We are already an underserviced community from our city government. I'm sure we all know the problems we have in Dickinson, and I know you want action taken upon them. Now all we have to do is reach out and touch someone in city hall. ByJOYCEVENAGLIA La Marque With the temptations of blinking casinos in the future, Galvestonians have a serious moral obligation to take immediate action against investors through research, study and public meetings.

After three months of research, I am convinced that any person aware of the moral and sociological dangers involved in such undertakings would do their utmost to prevent these disasters from ever coming to our island. The many types of games played in these places would allure many local people as well as the compulsive gambler. It is true the economic boost to our ailing economy would be great. The tourist business would boom overnight. New jobs would be created for everyone.

Stores and family restaurants would be crowded. Everyone would profit by this new adventure. But let us take a look at two states involved in this type of business Nevada and New Jersey. In the March 1981 issue of U.S. News and World Report, the following statistics were given about crimes related to casinos.

There were 34,257 serious crimes including 92 murders, giving Las Vegas the highest crime rate in the country. There were 10,000 active prostitutes one out of every nine women between the ages of 15 and 39. Las Vegas has the highest rate of alchoholism, more than double the national average. Other Galvestonian looking for an adjuster From W.C. Leonard, Galveston The chairman of the Texas Catastrophe Property Insurance Association blows a loud horn while policy holders shift furniture and dump pots and pails of rainwater from leaks roofs and broken windowpanes.

Until I read The Galveston Daily News this morning (Thursday, Sept. 8), I was about half content with my assigned fate because I realized that there were many more out there in the same boat and some much worse than we are. I don't think Mr. Manthe could have possibly picked a more inappropriate time to sound off. Realizing that being without lights, telephone, television and many other things like leaky or no roof, storm damage every direction you look, would have a tendency to make some people a little touchy, I think the timing was bad for such a statement.

Mr. Manthe states that there were 14,245 loss notices turned in and that there were approximately 600 companies in the pool. According to my figner and toes calculator, that adds up to approximately 24 claims per company. Now, if Mr. Manthe will tell me why more adjusters are not being employed, or how many they do have, it might help some.

It took two weeks to learn the name of the firm handling my claim and another eight days of calling (toll calls to Houston) and, as of this moment, I have not been successful In so much as getting one call returned. You sit on the horn, Mr. Manthe, and I will go back to bailing water. tragedies connected with casinos have taken lives, including the hotel fires. According to" Johnny Green in Psychology Today (Sept.

1982), gambling can be extremely destructive to society. Green states that each compulsive gambler disrupts the lives of 10 to 17 others, including relatives, creditors and co-workers. It costs society approximately $40,000 a year for therapy at treatment centers. The emotional stakes are high for the compulsive gambler. Professionals in the treatment of this disorder estimate that there are, in the United States, between 6 million and 9 million professional gamblers.

Gambling is an impulsive disorder and can be classified with kleptomania and pyromania. Can we afford to create a hotbed of such disorders on our beautiful island? Compulsive gambling leads to bad check writing, embezzling and credit card schemes costing businesses millions of dollars each year. Compulsive gambling causes criminality, family disruptions, work ineffectiveness, impoverishment, incarceration, hospitalization and suicide. The Federal Gambling Com- Safin mission has estimated that 9 percent of the people who live within 300 miles of Atlantic City, will eventually become gamblers. Easy availability of casinos would cause the same situation here.

Many blue collar workers, as well as welfare recipients, will put their money into slot machines with the hope of becoming instant millionaires. Devilin, the present director of the National Council on Compulsive Gambling is a reformed gambler. He was married three times, arrested six times, imprisoned twice, confined to a mental institution several times, attempted suicide twice, tried 19 religions and blew over $5 million. Would we want even one of our isle residents to come up with such a record? What can we do to prevent such tradgedy from happening to us? We can learn so much from the mistakes of other citizens who sat passively by while their legislatures passed resolutions allowing the casino operations to function in their midst. Let us all wake up and take action before it is too late.

We can write to the editors of our newspapers, to our local and state representatives We can get our local clergy and churches involved. Everyone, the young and the old, has a key in his possession to furn and lock the doors of the casinos forever. All it takes is a little time and effort. Or shall we sit passively by and watch our island literally become a den of thieves? U.SPS.S1340O Published every morning by Getveston Newspapers, Inc 8522 Teichmen Rd, P.O. Box BS8.

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