FaKf 22

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Wednesday. April SO, 19fM)

A Tragedy - The ill tail'd rescue mission in Ihe.lranian (Iisiti was steeped in hikkI intenlions, but the result seems yet another indication that U S. miKhl cannot'lie relied upon to deliver sue eesslul solutions lodifficulj world problems » lilt: l*KKSIIIK\rs I'SK OK Olympic ■■[lorls lo counter the Soviet’s Afghanistan Invasion, and the economic and diplomatic sanctions against. Iran.lon holding Americans captive were new and. positive if not v icarinusly satisfying ways of handling eonfnmlations t 'ncle Sam's latest blood and guts reaction lias ended in a terrible loss of lifc.hringing'US closer lo the level ol those Third World iiiiiiH.i ios where citizens tote machine guns and hie sei ms so expendable Election Law Impedes Vote It »s hud enough Ihul New Jersey election law pnJiihits croswiver voting on primary election day. hut Title 40 also seems to make it as fiilftcult us possible for inmviduals who may w ant to switch t>olitieal preference. ^Jiven the fad that one piirty or other may offer no choice of candidates in a particular primary, |>cing able to charge party affiliation means the difference l>ctwcen a meaningful vote and simply pulling a meaningless lever. AS IT STANDS, is there any wonder primary elections draw so few voters The law is geared to the political organization not the individual voter The law. for instance, set April 24 this year as the deadline for candidates to file nominating petitions, and May 5 as the final date for the first time and new resident voter to register lo lie eligible lo vole in the June :l pninary Hut the last chance tp change parly affiliation was April I I 'April 14 was also the deadline to declare Independent status which in New Jersey effect ivelv disenfranchises you in the pnmarvV ■ Till-. r.I.KCTION I’KOCKSS is confusing • nough without a plethora of different filing deadlines Why can t the primary filing deadline lor the voters be the same? And why Ides New Jersey impede independent-minded voters'’ ' ' \ ‘ 1 , . . How can the truly undecided voter Mhe «n<Je|>endcnt» In* expected to know in which purl\ he or she wants lo register in a particular election ypar. when the dale for such letermination comes 20 days prior to the deadline for the candidates to file? We Indieve there are many would-be primary voters who would really like to go to the polls on election day if only the state would make the elective process a little more reasonable

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|f AdvnhMng Director Puhliihjr Nmwt oc Advvrtlilng Information

William J.

Now* A Photo* AdvortOIng Clattifiad AdvartUIng

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Is Electric Company Managed Efficiently? By Jack Bittner I would like to sincerely thank the hundreds of Cape May County residents who turned ouf for the Board of Public Utilities hearing to oppose the Atlantic Electric Company rate hike The large turnout was proof of our contention that such hearings must be brought to the residents to be effectife, instead of being held in some Trehton or Newark office building. Judge Crawford will now have to convey to the Board the serious opposition to this indefensible rate hike that runs through all segments of our community The Public Advocate, elected officials and the general public are all deserving of much credit for the way they stbod up to the management of Atlantic Electric. Still more of this determination is needed. I want the public to know that as a result of this hearing. I have called upon the BPU to make a complete study of the conditions under which such an outlandish J$86 million) rate hike would even be proposed. ' Let the management of Atlantic Electric be put on notice that this first hearing in Cape May County will certainly not be the last, if such high-handed tactics continue. Hearings will be followed Up by definitive action by elected officials such as myself. Jack Bittner is a county freeholder.

Spring Harbiner Becoming Nuisance

One sure sign of spring's cheering at the sight of what

magazine

The red-winged blackbird is earning a reputation as a "pest" bird, right up there with the starling, cowhird. and grackle all members of the "blackbird" family "LAST YEAR, in Penn sylvania alone, their immense flocks destroyed an estimated $15 million worth of com. grapes and other crops.'' reports the federation's bimonthly publication "At airfields, they are a hazard on runways. S6me people claim they're a threat to human health and

livestock."

' Until more can he learned about the birds' habits, some areas "will probably continue to have loo many blackbirds from time to time," National Wildlife concludes "But having none at all would be even worse " formally, the birds do an incalculable amount of good, because of their insatiable appetites for weed seeds and insect pests As for the red wing's reputation, many still consider it a welcome sight at springtime THE Cil.l'T of black birds, which is easing somewhat in southern states. MS now getting serious as far north as Pennsylvania, and could spread to other parts of the country, warns National Wildlife. And in Penn sylvania. the birds are beginning to move frorp the country to the cities during the winter roosting scasoh "Huge .flocks of black birds, perhaps 100,000 strong, seem to be moving from the countryside into small, nearby urban areas, where they're replacing starlings as the number one roosting bird pest." John George, a wildlife biologist at Pennsylvania State University, told

arrival is the cheerful presence of the red-winged blackbird. But many are no longer may be the natiori's most populous bird, according to the current issue of National Wildlife Of the most frequently sighted species . . . FITE OF THE TOP TEH ARE “PESTS”

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Bmlon i.'Or’i/" 't THE FIVE considered by many to be pests are the starling, house sparrow, grackle. crow and red-winged blackbird.

National Wildlife George and a research team he heads believe that the blackbird problem could become a national one unless some solutions are found in the Keystone State. ITS ESTIMATED that there are more than half a billion blackbirds in the U S. at mid winter, and 40 percent of this total are red wings One reason the red-wing population is growing is that it is an extremely adaptable and prolific bird. They originally inhabited marshlands, but now they can be found in bushes and trees far from the water. "The birds may chbose to breed in colonies." explains National Wildlife, "and the males — easily identified by their scarlet

epaulets edged in yellow — may command 'harems' of as many as three brownish females.” And a female may hatch 12 chicks in a single breeding season. Drainage of wetlands and clearing of forests are forcing great numbers of red-wings into small cities and suburbs, where, ironically, there are more trees And in these communities. the red-wings, along with other blackbirds. can be serious nuisances. TO CONTROL them, roosting sites have been sprayed with detergents, which dissolve the oils in the birds' feathers, destroying their insulating usefulness. When water is then spfayed on the victims

during cold weather, the birds die from exposure When this method was used in Kansas in 1978. about a million blackbirds were killed. Many animal-protection groups protest this method of control, as do many biologists, such as Richard Dolbeer of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "We are now recommending a broad range of alternatives. such as planting corn that is more resistant to bird damage, tmnning roost areas, and using mechanical scare devices and chemical repellents." he told National Wildlife. The agency is also recommending some "public tolerance." he added

the SOVEREIGN STATE of AFFAIRS

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