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The Hrrald And The Lantern

Thursday, Mty 24.1979

How to Cope with Gas Shortage

It s not even Memorial Day and already gasoAne Mat ion* across the country are closing lor the weekend, and m ( ahlorma the situation has deteriorated to th»* point w hi're people are wailing in line at IN* |Himps lor hours to get gas According to the White House «oil ice t omumer At lairs, Stocjcs ot gasoline nationwide were ? H percent tjelovo lt»78 hovels tor the tirst quarter ol this year, and con sumption levels are still climbing tiasoline stocks are he low normal lor this time ol year partly because Iran is now producing two . million‘barrels ol oil less •each day than bet ore IN’ revolution, and the other oil producing countries are not making up the ddlerence by increasing production , this consistent shortlall each month is being exacerbated by increasing comsumption at home. American motorists have wit changed their driving habits, and indeed, are even buying tour percent mote gas than this lime last year That boils down tonne thing shortages. Now. regardless ot what you believe to be the cause mI crude ml shortages, one

tact remains constant; Americans will have to show some restraint and cut out wasteful habits. In a letter to SJecretary ol Energy James Schlesinger. I votcro the concerns ol many ol my consititents who teel they an’ not being presented with all Ihe (acts about our nations present energy situation In response to my concerns and those expressed by others, the Department ol Energy has. in recent months, stepped up Us el torts to identity and prevent price violations, and the Justice Depart men! and Federal Trade l omnussion are currently Investigating Ihe competitiveness and pricing practices ol the domestic petroleum industry. These, ol course, are all ell arts being made at the lederal level. For any program ol conservation ami wise energy use lo be successful, it must be implemented all the way down to the state and local level, with individuals carrying out their own energy-saving plaas. The President has called on us In help reach conservation objectives by driving iSlewer mileseach week, and there are any

number ot other things the average driver can do to cut down on gas consumption Check your tire pressure regularly, get tune-ups when needed.* drive at moderate speeds ami at a steady pace Whenever possible, lake mass transportation or share the ride lo the otlice with fellow workers. For my pari. I am continuing to push tor lederal funding Ini' mass transit so that both our urban and rural areas are less dependent on the private autofnobile. And remember, what is appearing as a gasoline shortage now will surely be a home heating oil shortage (his winter. Iberp is only so much crude oil lo go around, so Ihe Ipss demand we make lor gasoline now. Ihe easier it will be lo meet our healing nil needs in the monlhs ahead. Finding the solutions to our national energy problems will take time, but mostly it will take a reordering ol our priorities. For more information on how to achieve maximum savings write; 'How to Save (iosolme and Energy. U S. Department ot Energy. Otlice ol Public Allairs. Washington. D C. 20585.

Letters To The Editor Armacost Divides Town

Bureaucratic Thinking Costs Us Money

One of the reasons government wastes so much money and makes so mam regulations which penal iv e the average* citizen was aptly demonstrated in a short* informative film on an educational TV channel. The film funded by foundat inns a nd t he government, had a worthwhile purpose in promoting rabies vac cination for dogs. A young girl, bilfen by a stray dog. would have to undergo 23 painful injections if the dog could not be found and if. when found was not vaccinated TheYdog was finally found and\had been given rabies shots' The program then went on to consider how this problem could be solved. It listed three alternatives fine the owners, encourage the -Owners to get shots, subsidize the shots. These were to be matched with ‘three other qualities; owners freedom, owners responsibility. who benefits The program-

mers then conveniently matched them up for us. Owners freedom with fines; ov/ners responsibility with e n * (:<w rage men! . who benefits With subsidy. The alternative that was promoted was the one suggesting a subsidy-since some of those who own dogs cannot afford to go to a vet. many innocent victims of dog biles would benefit. This is such a typical example of the simplistic thinking of ivory tower professionals, and out-of-the mainstream advianrs to government that it is well Worth noting Everyone would agree people should be protected from rabies via bites of rabid dogs. The program selected only one 1 of the options as having any valuc-subidiz.ing t hers hots. The owner's freedom and the owner's responsibility are inconsequential. This is typical of many of Ihe laws aba regulations made in the past number of years. Our personal freedom.

rights and responsibilities

ttw SOVEREIGN STATE of AFFAIRS BOYD A WOOD

GOOD IDEA THEN THE OH INDUSTRY WOULD BE RUN BY THE BUREAUCRATS'

usurped by well meaning 1 but oppressive laws Kcgujutions dealing with the infinite* variety of human nature are written with the rigid eithcr-or. black or white structure of a scientific term paper. There is seldom any effort made to consider a combination of alternat ives A reasonable solutiiyv and one many areas adopt, is to require all dogs to be licensed, with verification of rabies shots a requirement for a license. Those who prefer to take their dogs to a private vet may do so. but shots subsidized by government should be offjred. This aids those who cannot afford a vet. and saves tax mon<3 by allowing those who can afford lo pay. do so. This option was not even discussed in the program. ' This kind of thinking on a, rather minor problem in our lives is consistent with what is being done in almost every area, nstead of really trying to solve the specific problem for the minority who nebds help, government's response always seems to he include everyone-whether thy need it or not. by using our tax dollars. J A. Cunningham

368-2111 IS EMERGENCY NUMBER The Stone Harbor Rescue Squad reminds residents faced with an emergency to call telephone number 3682111. IK) NOT attempt to contact any individual member of the rescue squad. In so doing, valuable time is lost. Remember, for emergencies, dial 3682111.

Dear Editor; A* a taxpayer, a local businessman, an elected official of Avalon, and a candidate for Mayor, I wish to bring certain farts to the attention of voters of Avalon. I canndt but feel that there is a definite parallel between the administration of the late Mayor Edith M. Greenen and that of Mayor Armacost, for they,during their reigns, divided the town into two hostile factions by their policies. I know Mayor Armacost to be vascillating and indecisive in his policies and that his hiring and firing practices have cost taxpayers too much in the way of legal expenses. Let us first take into consideration the case of Harry L. Baxter, dismissed by Armacost approximately seven years ago, this after charges of insubordination were made by Armacost. As a result of losing his job, Baxter was angry and bitter; but he was mollified when he was rehired a year later, given the same employment him additional priority as well as greater benefits. Harry Baxter is now earning $5.23 an hour, which isn’t

bad at all. Almost a parallel is the case of Andrew Sdranka; also an employee of the Public Works Department, also fired by Armacost on charges of insubordination. Sdranka ran against Armacost for Mayor in the 1975 election. Is it possible for an administration marred by so many petty disputes: hiring, firing and re-hiring, legal hassles and fees paid by the taxpayers, to smoothie transfer the Borough from Commission to Coundl form of government: It would seem that Armacost has not only harassed Borough employees, but was unable to condpd business in an orderly^manner with duly elected Borough Commissioners Robert Bruce rfnd Lloyd C. Riggall. %ruce and Riggall honestly admitted signing the parking meter ordinance and Armacost denied having done so. As a result, Bruce was forced to resign and Riggall was defeated in an election last August,— Very recently Mayor Armacost attributed his prolonged stay in Florida this past winter to the regrettable accident which

Cafiero Wage Policy Blasted

lX*ar Editor: A letter lo the editor on the May 17 issue of the Herald, (page 14) headline slates "Caferiti Racks Wage Bill". It shoqld note that Senator Caferio was the lone dissenting vole on May l«. 1974 29-1 on At 163 His reasoning being thafSince that time public officials have informed Caferio that because of prevailing wage law. bids on public contracts have increased substantially with resultant serious financial impact on municipalities, their taxpayers. and the majority and small contractors." "Caferio introduced a measure May 3. which, if enacted, would amend New Jersey prevailing wage rate by reinstating the exemptions formally ap- . plicable to municipalities having a population less than 25,000. . My question to you Senator. Do you take get paid the prevailing wage lor your service as a lawyer? Does it not cost the poor working man these outlandish rentals and food prides to Ufe on a small prevailing way? Who do you represent, the people or business? Yes. it would be ideal if everyone did there share lo livfc as those who make more. If everyone fulfilled their responsibility, management and labor alike made a fair share of the profits, I would be the first to go along with you. But when you have no labor and management close cooperation there always will be inflation.

Senator Cafiero. I think you arc a good man. representing Cape May County, hut let. us be realistic. Now about the oil dealers not refining up In lull production'to keep the prices and inflation up. I ihpik you should use your «good influence towards those goals, gel hills forward to mak£ all people made due profits, not some excess (rich) and hits at the not so fortunate. This is a two way slfeet, let us* keep it that way. Charles p. Sanees Avalon.

befell Mrs. Armacost. However, his bland statement failed to mention that he was absent during the blizzard of 1978 as well. Certainly, other persons I res!dent in Avalon spend 'some of the winter months^ in Florida, but their situation is different fft>m that of the Mayor: the running of the Borough is a twelve month a year job. Perhaps, due to his absence, the town ran more smoothly, but that in no way excuses his long absences. Mayor Armacost has hinted that I, a close runner-up in the May 8 municipal election, might retire from the coming run-off election, thus saving the taxpayers the cost of another election. He- was not so considerate of the taxpayer last August when he succeeded in dumping Lloyd Riggall. It is safe to guess that, in view of the fact that I .came in a close secondLpn May 8, Armacost is less worried 1 about your tax dollars (than he is about his own political hide. And I shall not conduct Borough business by long-distance phone calls from Florida every winter-I will be right in Avalon, available to everyone twelve .months ofthc year. I am. Very trul$Y Owen P, Quinn Avalqrl .Glazier Thanks Supporters To tin' Editor, In the recent election for Coiineil Person al large, "that gfMHl woman' ^vas a winner not a loser I met and made many friends. To all iIiom* good friends a gfeai big THANK YOU Sincerely. .Icannelle Glazier Avalon

CAPE MAY COUAfTY

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