Here is a fine example of your tax dollars, and the Army Corps of Engineers, at work: There are unexploded WWI munitions in the sand at Long Beach Island, New Jersey.
Many of the beach towns on Long Beach Island, one of New Jersey’s most popular summer vacation spots, have laws prohibiting people from digging deeper than 12 inches in the sand. They stem from an accident several years ago in which a teenager died when a deep hole he was digging collapsed, burying him.
This year, the prohibition is for a different reason: More than 1,000 pieces of unexploded World War I-era military munitions were unwittingly pumped ashore during a winter beach replenishment project decades after being dumped at sea. Authorities say they’ve removed everything they could, but can’t guarantee more munitions don’t remain hidden.
“How can you tell a kid not to dig in the sand?†asked Faith O’Dell, who lives near the beach in Surf City, where most of the fuses were found. “It’s their nature, it’s what kids do. And when your kid says, `Why, Mommy, why can’t I dig in the sand?’ what do you tell them, that they could blow themselves up?â€
This information was buried in an AP story on the crazy rules set by NJ beach towns. But I found a bit more on the story:
The 1.4-mile stretch of sand on Long Beach Island was declared safe Wednesday following a three-month cleanup by the Army Corps of Engineers.
But officials could not guarantee that all munitions had been removed, and warning signs posted at beach entrances stated that digging more than one foot deep and the use of metal detectors were prohibited. Pictures of the munitions were displayed for emphasis.
And people are still stupid.
“We’re going to go dig for some,” Surf City resident Lance Wimmer said with a laugh as he and his wife, Marilou, approached the beach at North Third Street. “I want one for my own.”
[…] The all-clear for the beach opening was a relief to local merchants, who said a delayed opening could have been devastating, if not fatal, to their businesses.
“Eighty percent of my business comes from Memorial Day weekend, Fourth of July week and Labor Day weekend,” said Joe Muzzillo, owner of Exit 63 WearHouse, which sells shirts, stickers, mugs and other items bearing Jersey Shore slogans.
A popular new addition to Muzzillo’s shop this year made light of the munitions scare. On the back wall hung T-shirts with such phrases as “Surf City — Our Beaches Will Blow You Away” and “Surf City Bomb Patrol.”
Muzzillo said he had sold more than 300 shirts in the past few weeks but would remove them if anyone were injured by munitions.
“If something serious happens, the joke is over,” he said.
So. Anyone up for taking the chance of digging for bombs in Beach Haven?
I know I’m not. I’m planning to play “pot luck” for a Duck vacation weekend.
Glad to see Mr. Muzillo can come out of his shell with a burst of humor. Sometimes that sort of attempt to be funny really bombs.
Mr. Wimmer will probably find one, injure himself, and sue the Army…and win.
The world abounds with idiots.
During WW1, a German U-boat sank a US cruiser right off of Long Island, in about 75 feet of water. Shallow enough for any sport diver to explore.
Over the decades, the hull has rusted and bulkheads have collapsed, exposing the ammunition magazines. Ammunition that was stored in nice shiny brass cases…
The “smart” divers dump the explosive filler before they surface (if you can call handling unstable 90 year old explosives smart); the dumb ones take the cases home loaded.
The really dumb ones place one on each side of their fireplace and die in the inevitable explosion.
Don’t ‘cha know ? It’s a plot by George Bush. We know that Long Beach is where he hid the Iraqi WMD, and this way he can keep the U.S. armed forces from finding them.