The Herald And The Lantern

Wednesday, November 28, l»7g

Pages ■* editorial) “Seniors Alone” - An Idea To Imitate

Letters To The Editor Thanks Given For Smokeout Support

A unique program. Seniors Alone, will be instituted in Avalon in the next few weeks Seniors Alone is a service of the Avalon Police Department whereby elderly residents can register with the police to make daily check-in calls to sav everything is all right The purpose of the program is to free senior citizens living alone from the anxieties that solitary condition sometimes creates The daily call will provide the seniors with outside contact and if a call is not received at the police department a check will be made to make sure the resident is not in need of help. This program is cost-free, does not reqiire extra manpower and wHI greatly relieve solitary seniors from undue worry It could even prove to be a lifesaving venture *• ' , a Other communities in Cape May County should wat* the results of this model Avalon program and imitate it. It is a commendable effort to make the lives of our senior citizens a little more easy and carefree. KCS

To the Editor: On behalf of the American Cancer Society. I would like to thank the Herald for supporting The Great American Smokeout. The Smokeout was Nov. 15, and many volunteers worked hard to prepare for this worthwhile event. A tremendous amount of adults and school children around the county got involved in the Smokeout and I am sure that the publicity the Herald provided did a great deal to help. Nov. 15 was a successful

day for smokers and nonsmokers. And we are,s hopeful that everyone who made a pledge not to smoke on that day kept that pledge and has possibly cut back on that habit or ouit smoking completely. ' I would like to remind everyone thm they can receive frA^uit smoking informatioiHSy calling the American Ancer Society office at 886-1154. Sincerely, George C. Young Smokeout Chairman Cape May County Rio Grande

Library Helps Patrons

Save Time, Fuel Bill Garners $12 M

COURT HOUSE - The Cape May County Library would like to remind all County residents that books and materials can be delivered, upon request, to our branch libraries and other libraries in the County. The request for material can be initiated at the main branch of the County Library or at any of the

libraries listed below:

Avalon Library. 26 25th

Street. Avalon, 967-4010.

Sea Isle City Library, 125 John F. Kennedy Blvd.,

Sea Isle City, 263-8485

Stone Harbor library, 95th Street & 2nd Avenue,

Stone Harbor, 368-5102.

Cape May City Library, 643 Washington Street,

Cape May. 884-3305.

Wildwood Crest Public Library. 6301 Ocean Avenue, Wildwood Crest.

Woodbine Public Library. 805 Franklin Street. Woodbine.861-2861. The County Library will deliver to other communities in the County through the Bookmobile. The regular schedule of the Bookmobile is as follows: Monday, A.M. Villas - Post Office; P.M. N. Cape May - Shopping Center. Tuesday, A.M. South Seaville-Masonic Hall,; P.M. Marmora Elementary School. Wednesday. A.M. Dennis Township - Municipal BkJg . P.M. WoodbineMunicipal Bldg. Thursday, A.M. Belleplain - Fire House; P M. Tuckahoe - Municipal

Bldg.

Friday, A.M. Cape May Point - Post Office.

Energy Loans For NEWARK - Energy loans are available at the U.S.. Small Business Adminisiration (SBA) offices in Newark and Camden, to start, continue or expand small business that are developing, manufacturing, selling, installing, or servicing specific energy conservation mattci^. I^oans may also be made for engineering, architectural, consulting or other professional services Appie^e^:

Small Businesses connected with these specific energy measures. Proceeds of these loans may be used to purchase land for plant construction, for buildings, machinery, equipment, furniture, fixtures, facilities, supplies, materials, or working capital. Eligibility for these energy loans can be determined by calling the SBA Newark Office at 201-645-2434 or Camden at 609-757-5183.

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For Pinelands Plan

WASHINGTON DC.-A House-Senate conference committee has given final approval to an amendment co-authored by Congressman Bill Hughes (D-NJ) which appropriates $12 million for New Jer’sey’s Pinelands. Hughes, who sponsored the $12 million amendment in the House, said the land acquisition funds are essential to identify the environmentally sensitive regions of the Pinelands and bring them into the pubA domain. Likewise, he said the planning funds are necessary because the Pinelands Planning Commission has become bogged down in the regulation of non-critical areas, and has few resources available to move ahead with the development of a comprehensive management plan. The amendment agreed upon by the conference committee appropriates $11.2 million for land acquisition in the Pinelands and $800,000 for planning. Hughes said he was happy to support the planning funds after receiving assurances from Slate officials that a serious effort will be made to bring the State and Federal Pinelands bills into line with each other, and that the money will be used exclusively for planning. The South Jersey lawmaker had earlier expressed his concern that the Commission was spending too much time on

creating unwarranted hardships in the periphery of the Pinelands, while neglecting its planning functions. For instance, he cited the case of a family in Hammonton who had acquired a lot and sought permission to build a home next door to their ailing parento. The family had secured all the necessary local permits, arranged the financing, and invested a lot of time and money in the effort, only to be denied a permit by the Planning Commission. The Commission claimed that the home would impair the natural resources of the area, even though the lot was located on an already developed block in Hammonton and was surrounded by existing homes. "Unfortunately, that is only a typical example of how far off the path the Pinelands Planning Commission has gotten in the last few months,” Hughes said. “This type of intrusion into people’s lives contributes little to the development of a Pinelands conservation plan. It simply polarizes the people who previously supported this effort, and imposes an unnecessary hardship on the hundreds of thousands of residents of the Pinelands without achieving any significant conservation goals. "I’m hopeful that we have reached an understanding now which will get this planning effort moving in the direction which Congress originally intended,” Hughes declared.

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Capitol Comments By Assembly Minority Leader James R. Hurley

The announcement by the Byrne Administration last week of an extensive legislative program virtually assures that the lameduck session of the Legislature will be an extremely active one, indeed. Less than a week had elasped following the General Election before the Governor met with his own party leadership and outlined recommendation and proposals on which he wanted action before the current legislative session comes to a close. Despite the description by the Speaker of the Assembly that the program was simply a housecleaning chore, it goes well beyond that and involves very substantive issues, indeed, including such items as reform of the no-fault auto insurance law, reform of the Civil Service system, and changes in the public financing law for gubernatorial primaries. Moreover, the Governor has asked for a $25 million supplemental appropriation to close a deficit in the bus subsidy * program, meet higher fuel costs, and finance the salary increase granted to public employees. A legislative package of this magnitude and cost can hardly be termed a "housecleaning.” Interestingly enough, aside from the proposed $25 million supplemental appropriation, none oC the items mentioned in the Governor’s program are recent ones; riather, they are issues which have gone largely unaddressed during the entire two-year session. Difficulties in the nofault insurance law, for example, have been left to grow increasingly worse for nearly three years, during which time the Legislature and the Governor wtere at an impasse over a reform program.

The Civil Service reform bill won Assembly approval some 15 months ago and has been bogged down in the Senate ever since. The public financing plan for gubernatorial primaries has been subjected to political crossfire for some time and barely won Assembly approval in July. The one area in which action is clearly required immediately involves efforts to ease the supply of money available for the home mortgage market. While this is, again, not a problem of recent vintage it has erupted again because of the failure of the Legislature to address it in an adequate fashion in the past. Lending institutions have virtually halted their activities in the mortgage market because of New Jersey’s statutory interest rate ceiliqg. According to official reports, the true mortgage interest rate is nearly 13 per cent, while the state ceiling is established at 10.75 per cent. I am very much concerned over placing such a substantial legislative program in the hands of a lameduck Legislature because such sessions are hardly conducive to reasoned debate and action. Moreover, for the Legislature?' now take up major pA^sals which have been allowed to gather dust for so long raises the criticism that action was deliberately delayed until after the election to avoid political repercussions. In any event, I am pleased that there is a possibility that, among other things, New Jersey’s motoring public may obtain some relief from high auto insurance costs. My feeling is, however, tempered greatly by the manner in which this and other issues are being handled.