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Page 6 NORTHWEST HERALD Section B Friday, August 16,1985 Opinion What' s in a name? Hurricane Danny? This may be an issue where the National Weather Service can't win for losing, but naming) a hurri­ canes "Danny" is definitely a blunder. / Danny is a name for an friendly entertainer, or part of a song title, maybe even a child's name. This is definitely not a name for monster storms. Maybe it's just us, but the nam­ ing of hurricanes with a monicker such as Danny doesn't seem to inspire the dread and fear one should get from thinking about such potentially devastating storms. Who knows exactly what power will be unleashed by a hur­ ricane gathering force in the Gulf of Mexico. These are natural catastophes which can kill people. Even if the storm doesn't kill or seriously in­ jure someone, severe damage can be caused to property. The com­ munities hit by the storms are often named disaster areas by lo- c a l , s t a t e a n d n a t i o n a l governments. Referring to these catastrophes by common, docile names only serves to lessen public awareness of the volatility and possible dan­ ger of nature. Granted, the same argument can be used by those who would complain about giving the storms only feminine names. In addition, because it had used only females names for hurricanes previously, the National Weather Service was charged with being sexist. Now that bureau can be charged with being foolish. National editorial sampler The (Phoenix) Arizona Republic The so-called "Witness for Peace" group got exactly what it wanted out of its boat ride on the .Nicaragua-Coasta Rica border -- a well-orchestrated confrontation with the Reagan administration. , ... The seizure and eventual release a day later of the 29 activists and 14 journalists -- note the not-insig- vtiificant number of reporters along Ibr the cruise -- by as-yet-unidenti- ; fied gunmen provided the organi­ zation's leaders the chance to taunt the administration with their bombastic demagoguery. Even though the group deliber­ ately defied a 2-year-old State De­ partment advisory warning Amer­ icans that travel is dangerous in the civil war-torn border areas of Nicaragua, a spokesman in Wash­ ington said, "We hold President Reagan and those members of Congress who voted for contra aid responsible for any injuries inflict­ ed on the people in our group." Although no one in the organiza­ tion will admit it, a martyr or two never hurt any cause. ... Witness for Peace is bearing false witness. •The (Burlington, Iowa) Hawk Eye " Congress has gone into recess withdtit any resolution on the farm policy debate. Every day that asses, answers become more dif- cult to find. For decades now, hopes for farm prosperity have been geared to ex­ ports. But as America's trade defi- P< H cit has grown, those hopes have dimmed. The world market for American foodstuffs has continued to shrink. The most recent rescue effort -- export PIK -- has made no noticeable dent in those markets. Latest projections from private Washington sources are that U.S. grain shipments will fall another 12 percent in the coming year, as foreign crop yields look promising. Soviet harvests look better than last year. Sales to China will be no better than last year's. In fact, China is attempting to become a grain exporter. Candada is consid­ ering a clampdown on U.S. corn imports in response to a U.S. em­ bargo on Canadian hogs. Politicians -- and farmers -- need to talk about the realities of the domestic market, not the blue- sky promises of non-existent exports. The Hartford (Conn.) Courant There are few legislative bodies whose members wouldn't look silly working in shorts, but one of them is the Bermudan Parliament. It's thus altogether fitting that the colony's Senate has decided to allow -- what else? -- (Bermuda shorts to be worn in its chamber. Besides, having shorts on may keep lawmakers from taking themselves and each other too se­ riously, and that serves the public well in any climate. TiEGQObNEVVSiS, TUE STRiKE iS OVER. •. Ill li ...TJJE &A& NEWS •£, Tje STRIKE iSOVft. NORTHWEST HERALD "Anyone who stops l e a r n i n g , i s o l d , iwhether at 20 or 80. :Anyone who keeps learning is young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your jnind young." - Henry Ford ROBERTA. SHAW Editor and Publisher LEONARD M. INGRASSIA Executive Editor STEVEN H. HUNTER Marketing Director MICHAEL E. MORSCH News Editor/Regional DENNI5M. McNAAAARA Editorial Page Editor RONALD L. STANLEY Circulation Director %/ Battleships: A bargain all around WASHINGTON - When it be­ comes operational in 1989, the bat­ tleship Wisconsin will make its home port in Corpus Christi, Tex­ as. That announcement a few days ago from Navy Secretary John Lehman was good news from Gal­ veston to Brownsville, but the pleasant thing about Lehman's re­ birth of the battleship is that the program is good news all around. The Wisconsin will be the fourth and last of the big ships to be taken from mothballs and returned to duty at sea. The New Jersey, based in Long Beach, Calif., came on line two years ago. The Iowa, which temporarily is in Norfolk, Va., came next. The Missouri will join the Pacific fleet toward the end of this year and will work out of its home port at Treasure Is­ land, San Francisco. The taxpayers have become so inured to the astronomical costs of defense that they should welcome the story of Lehman's broad- beamed babies. The four battle­ ships will average something in the neighborhood of $400 million each. That is less per ship than the cost of a new frigate. It is like getting a low-mileage used car with no wear on the tires. In return for its $400 million, the Navy gets a mighty platform for the kind of sustained bombard­ ment that only a big ship can deliv­ er. Each of the ships is fitted with the latest state of the art in mis­ siles and electronic equipment. Despite the weight of their 19-inch armor, the battleships can show their sterns to any companion ves­ sel. They are formidable weapons of war. Lehman, to put the matter mild­ ly, is a battleship buff. He recalls with evident satisfaction the New Jersey's role off Beirut at the peak of the fighting there. Parts of the city were being systematically de­ stroyed by artillery from the hills to the east. The New Jersey opened fire with her 16-inch guns. Though it was impossible to cor­ rect aim through spotters (ground coordinates had to be used), the ship delivered 901 rounds before retiring. Each round weighs 2,250 pounds. Says Lehman: "The artil­ lery stopped." For such a purpose, nothing beats a battleship. During World War II, our carrier aircraft repeat­ edly bombed the Japanese base on James J. KDpatrick Truk. Great damage was done, but the base stayed operable. By con­ trast, when seven battleships went to work off Kwajalein on Jan. 31, 1944, their effectiveness could not be doubted. By that evening, ac­ cording to historian Samuel Eliot Morison, the bombardment had killed possibly half the Japanese defenders. Hardly a tree was left standing on what had been a pretty wooded island. Only 372 of 41,000 U.S. troops committed to the kwa­ jalein operation were killed. The Japanese lost 7,870 men out of 8,675. Lessons of the more recent war of the Falkland Islands confirmed the Pacific experience. British carrier aircraft repeatedly hit the airfield at Port Stanley, but they could not stay over the target long enough to knock out the field. This is not to denigrate the awesome power and versatility of today's manned aircraft with their "smart bombs," but an A-6 Intruder car­ ries a normal bomb load that is equivalent to only five rounds from a battleship -- and it costs $1 mil­ lion to train a pilot to fly it. When the Wisconsin joins the At­ lantic fleet four years hence, it will just about complete the restoration of our naval presence in the Gulf of Mexico. The city of Corpus Christi will get the Wisconsin, with its crew of 1,500, along with the train­ ing carrier Lexington and several other ships. Other Gulf ports -- Pensacola, Mobile, Pascagoula, Galveston. New Orleans and .Lake Charles -- Will also have a piece of the home port action. The benefits are substantial. Lehman's advisers estimate that the Corpus Christi area will see an economic impact of $500 million a year once the plan is fully devel­ oped. Twenty-nine ships, all told, will be engaged in surface opera­ tions out of the Gulf area. They represent a bonanza for merchants and builders. The Navy investigat­ ed 16 sites for the Wisconsin's home port and narrowed the list to six, but it was no contest. The state of Texas put up $25 million and the taxpayers of Corpus Christi com­ mitted themselves to an additional $25 million in bonds. It was "by far the most attractive choice," says Lehman. "We got a bargain." The whole nation will share it. (James Kilpatrick is a columnist for Universal Press Syndicate) Reader Forum Safety concerns To the Editor: We, the people of the Meadowdale School area, Carpentersville, Illinois, within the said boundaries of the far end of Austin Avenue to Tulsa and said streets between, feel we are in need of school bus services. This includes Austin, Tulsa, Berkley, Houston and Salem Streets, which we believe to be too far and dangerous for our young children to have to walk. There are several reasons why we have come to this conclusion, and all are in the best interest of our children. Our children have quite a few busy streets which they must walk down daily, to and from school. And, as we all know, in the winter that can be quite a task for the very small child. Having considered the fact it is not only a long distance, but, there are no sidewalks in the winter to be seen after the snow plows come through for snow removal. We would like to stress the issue of the traffic flow on Tulsa, Austin, Lake Marion Road and State Route 25. They appear to be quite busy during the hours in which children walk to and from school. We have also noticed the traffic on Robin Road daily, as we take our children to and from school, to assure their safety. The reason for traffic on Robin Road appears to be caused by the residents from the west side of Route 25, as many parents feel as we do. If you have ever been to Meadowdale School, the parking there is very poor. You cannot park or pull into the school area, nor on the neighboring street. However, there is also another problem we all face this year along with the others, which is of vital importance to all of us. Within the past year, there has been a number of attempts by strangers threatening the safety and lives of our children. We are asking for you, the people of this community, to come forward with us and acknowledge the Sroblem at hand. The only ones who ave anything to gain by this are the small children who are out there Walking. Their safety depends on us, few it is against the law to leave them alone in the safety of their own home at such a young age. then it should be against the law to let them walk so far to school alone, too. We ask again, for them. Please join us in the fight for this issue. Our reward is worth their weight in gold. WE CARE. WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT. Carla Smith itersville arthaVera Carpentersville Carpent Marti Write us! Send letters to Reader Forum/ The Herald, 7803 Pyott Road, Crystal Lake IL 600'4. Letters must be signed and give the author's ad­ dress and telephone number for the editor's reference. We recommend letters of 300 words or less. All let­ ters are subject to editing for clari­ ty and brevity. School board performance To the Editor: Are you satisfied with the rirformance of the current District o.47 School Board? Are you aware of the fact that as reported in the Crystal Lake Herald, Wednesday, July 17, 1985, Oliver Mayes, President of the School Board, stated at the July 15 1985 School Board Meeting that the District spent $3 million more in the last three years than it had received in revenues. Why and how did this happen? They, the current members of the School Board can take credit for this deficit spending and soon there will be four vacancies. With the upcoming School Board election, now is the opportune time to implement changes which hopefully will insure this deficit spending will not reoccur. Come forward ana seek election as a member of the School Board and do yor part to improve the education in Crystal Lake and make it a "Good Place to be Educated." Deadline for filing a Nominating Petition (which can be obtained at the Administration Office) is August 26. Only 50 signatures are required. Please come forward - bur children n e e d y o u r i n p u t . T h e o n l y requirements are a wealth of common sense, possess a stron desire for quality education, an recognize the URGENT need for A. Hunter Crystal Lake fiscal responsibility.