Thr Herald and The Lantern

Wedneeday, July 2, IMO

Pafe CT

A New C.O. And an Old C.G. Rumor The U.S. Coast Guard Recruit Training Center in Cape May welcomed aboard a new commanding officer last Friday. He is Cpt. James R. Kelly, a 32-year veteran of tne nation's oldest seagoing service. Cpt Kelly comes to Cape May with noteworthy credentials, not the least of which is being a former commander of the Coast Guard Academy's famous sailing ship, the Eagle; and former assistant superintendent of the Coast Guard Academy in New London,

Conn.

OVER THE YEARS, there have been persistent rumors that the Coast Guard will eventually be consolidating ail its recruit training facilities at Cape-May. At present, there are two such training centers; the other is on the West Coast at Alameda, Calif. Cpt. Kelly's coming to Cape May following a high-up position at the Academy, may add credence to the scuttlebutt about the training center consolidation; maybe it will finally come about during his tour of duty on the

Cape.

REGARDLESS OF WHETHER the Jersey Cape is to become home of the nation's only Coast Guard recruit training center, with the resulting beef up of personnel and budget, is only conjecture. What is reality is the welcome to Cpt. Kelly, and wish that his tour of duty here is successful and productive. Local Gov’t Needs Pro Too While on the subject of commanding officers at the Coast Guard Center, we take the opportunity to once again make a pitch for the municipal manager form of government; or, at least, the use of professional administrators in municipal government. What do a Coast Guard commanding officer and a municipal manager have in common? Tour of duty. THOSE WHO POOH-POOH the municipal manager concept like to point out that such professionals often don't stay in a community long enough to learn the municipality; that a stranger coming into town can't possibly know as much as some longtime local pol. Besides pointing out that water mains and sewer lines, and labor problems, and budgets, and all the other functions of government rarely are unique to a particular area, we have also noted that a professional manager or administrator brings with him tried and true methodologies and new insights gained through on-the-job experience in other towns. MILITARY OFFICERS (and parish priests and other leaders) very often have a tenure in one place of relatively short duration. But the system has proven the effectiveness of rotating professional administrators. What has worked for the military and the church for hundreds of years can certainly work in places like Sea Isle City and Lower Township.

"Y*oh...Y«oh,..l Know I Sold Inflation Wo* A I Gfoatar Problem Than Unemployment Bui... Thai Wo* Before I Gol law Off..." A Question Of Government

by Jame«R. Hurley TRENTON - New Jersey voters this fall can expect to And any number of public questions on the ballot. Many of them will involve bond issues, and some will involve proposed amendments to the state constitution. But it is beginning to appear less and less likely that the ultimate public question will be asked — the question of initiative and referendum. Should the voters of New Jersey have the right to propose and effect changes in their state government? THAT IS THE question, essentially, that would be placed on the ballot Nov. 4, if any one of six speciAc resolutions were put to a vote in the legislature within the next month. Thus, the- more immediate question is: Should the handful of ofAcers who shuffle the papers in the legislature allow the people to make their own choices? The answer from this office is a resounding “Yesr BUT IHE HANDFUL of elected and appointed offlcials who are given the power to decide which bills and resolutions will be subjected to a vote by the legislature appear to have decided that the people have no right to choose. They will choose for you, and their answer apparently will be a mumbled “No.”

You won't hear that answer. You will be able to detect it only by the absence on the Nov. 4 ballot of the question you have a right to answer: “SHALL THE amendment to Article 1, paragraph 2 of the Constitution, agreed to by the Legislature, establishing in the people of this state the unrestricted power to propose laws and amendments to the Constitution ' through the initiative process and to approve or reject all or any part of any duly enacted law through the referendum process, be

adopted?"

Whether the people of New Jersey ever find a reason to use such power or not, that power should be yours. It is the only way in which the phrase in the U.S. Constitution proclaiming government — "of the people, by the people and for the people" — can have any true

meaning.

BUT TIME is running terribly short. There are no less than six versions of this proposal, all of which were introduced very early this year, and none of which have been acknowledged by the chairmen of the committees which have jurisdiction over them. Before the legislature can act on a proposed Constitutional amendment, copies of the concurrent resolution that proposes it must be placed on the

Holiday Driving Can be Deadly More Americans were killed and injured on our nation's highways last July than in all the campaigns of the War of Independence, notes the New Jersey State Safety Council. The American Revolution was a bitter and costly war. Battles raged for eight years, from 1775 to 1783, killing 4,435 and wounding 6,188 Americans. But in only 31 days last July, 4,710 Americans died in highway crashes and 170,000 were injured. During the one-day 1979 Independence holiday, 164 were killed and 8,800 were in-

jured.

However, this year’s 108-hour celebration — beginning at 6 p.m. July 3 and ending midnight July 6 — can set a record for saving lives instead of taking them — if drivers observe the following : —Drive a vehicle that is in the best possible mechanical condition — including the tires. —Enjoy driving. Do not let frustration or anger spoil the trip. Emotions can cloud judgment and cause careless driving. -Observe the "rules of the road.” Be considerate of the other drivers. — And, if you toast America on its birthday, do so with less than one ounce of alcohol per hour. To be safe, do your toasting in the back yard.

fatfora *• odf tor ‘Protection Act’ Is Confiscation by Andrew Pednarek I am voicing my objections regarding the proposed Dime and Shorefront Protection Act. As it is presently written, I believe the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection would be given complete authority to regulate and control the development or redevelopment of every coastal community from Monmouth to Salem Counties, usurping from the local municipalities the ability to implement and enforce their own dune and beach management programs. Sea Isle City has had a Dune Protection Ordinance in effect since 1966. The present Board of Commissioners adopted the federal HUD Flood Damage and Prevention Ordinance in 1978 in order that we remainded eligible for the National Flood Insurance Program. SINCE 1977, THE COMMISSIONERS appropriated over $3 million to fund beach, shore-front and waterway improvement projects. Unfortunately, the city was forced to cancel $2 million appropriation because the state Division of Coastal Resources withdrew its offer to participate in constructing four beach groins and a 22block extension of our sea wall. For the past three years, the Public Works Department budget expenditures were over $150,000 for the maintenance and repair of city dunes and beaches. The above points should illustrate the fact that we in Sea Isle City have recognized and continue to recognize the value and importance of protecting the integrity of our most prized resources — our beaches and dunes FURTHERMORE. I FIND IT incomprehensible that the state Department of Environmental Protection in one breath states that it wants to protect our life and property and in the next breath encourages a "policy of natural functioning" — aUpwing nature to take its course without the interference of man. In tiny Sea Isle City the total taxable value of land and improvements in 1980 is more than $2ck million. If you include the value of city-owned property, schools and churches, that value would approximate $225 million 1 VIEW THE STATE'S NEW found "policy" to be a direct threat to the lives and properties of coastal inhabitants. Instead of trying to kick us off the ishnds, the state should be willing to participate with municipalities, as it has in the past, to try and preserve, protect and reclaim tidal lands and reconstruct eroded dune areas. We realize that here is no cheap or easy solution to the erosion problem — but if tidal reclamation works in Holland, Germany and England, why can it not work in New Jersey? I urge the legislature to reconsider adopting this confiscatory piece of legislation, since it is an infringement on home rule and a direct threat to the lives, properties, livelihood and future of the coastal residents of the State of New Jersey.

Andrew J. Bednarek is a city commlatloner in Sea Isle.

desks of all legislators, 20 days prior to the first legislative vote. During those 20 days, the committee to which the resolution has been assigned must hold a public hearing on the issue. SHOULD YOU have the right to organize with your fellow citizens across the state and propose legislation or Constitutional amendments for all the voters to decide upon? Should you have the right to rise up en masse and repeal offensive and unfair

laws passed by the legislature and signed by the governor? Should the people of New *

run

We think so. If you think so, tell your state assemblyman and your state senator today — before it’s too late.

Jamea Hurley la Assembly Minority Leader and one of two members of the lower house representing Cope May County in the legislature.

Jersey have the right to their own government?

NEW JERSEY STATE SAFETY COUNCIL