Angels and "Demons" in Cecil County

  It’s not every weekend that you get to meet some real-life angels in Cecil County. Unfortunately, it is all too common that we see or hear of some folks “demonizing” others with whom they have a disagreement.

   The “angels” we met were the hundred or so people who came out for the Cecil County SPCA’s annual dinner auction Friday night to raise money to help the dogs and cats at the shelter in Chesapeake City. The shelter is getting a lot of dogs and cats turned over by families that can’t afford to feed or care for them, in addition to all the strays that end up finding a safe haven at the shelter.

   There were lots of interesting silent auction items, like antiques and gift certificats from local businesses, and one unusual live auction item that didn’t find a home: a live miniature horse. A Delaware horse farm that raises mini-horses decided it would be an “angelic” thing to do to donate the horse to the SPCA so they could auction the right to adopt the horse. The horse would go through the regular shelter adoption process to make sure it would have a good home with a family that could care for him properly. Then whatever the adopters bid would be donated to the SPCA to help care for all the homeless dogs and cats.

   Unfortunately, no one was looking to add a mini-horse to their family that night so the SPCA will continue to look for the right family to adopt the horse and benefit the other animals. If you know of any horse farm families looking to add a little guy to their stable, refer them to the SPCA’s website for pictures of the little palomino colt www.cecilcountyspca.org or contact the SPCA.

   The dinnner auction was held at the Chesapeake Inn in Chesapeake City. Their seafood buffet was out of this world delicious. The staff worked hard to put on a great dinner and put in a lot of extra effort because they wanted to support the animals. They were “angels,” too.

    Which leads us to those demons who circle around the county even when it is not Halloween. We’ve been reading accounts in the Whig and on two Chesapeake City blogs of the dispute over the town noise ordinance and some residents who complain about noise and music from the Chesapeake Inn.  We haven’t done independent reporting on the town council’s actions and hearings, but we were dismayed to read some un-sourced reports on the blogs about possible extra-curricular activities by a council member  against the Inn.    See the blogs here:

http://chescitymirror.blogspot.com/2008/09/i-hope-i-am-wrong.html

http://chesapeakecity.blogspot.com/2008/09/canalside-rumor-control-central-special.html

  Previous reports of town meetings on the issue showed the Inn’s owners were willing to work with the town and try to resolve the issue amicably, including installation of sound barriers and other devices.  But then, it seems some folks just prefer to ‘demonize’ the other side in a dispute.

 The town should remember all the tax and other revenues the Inn brings into the town and the jobs it creates. If town leaders ‘demonize’ a local business owner, then good luck trying to get the empty Schaefer’s facility up and running again and generating jobs and revenues to the local economy. Who would want to locate their business in a place where the demons are out to get you even when it is not Halloween?

Tags: Business, chesapeake city, chesapeake inn, spca