The Herald and The Lantern

Wednesday. February 11. 1981

Page :io opinion

The Bridge Over Great Channel

editorial

■ It is refreshing to hear, that Stone Harbor Boront!h officials arc concerned about the high-level span proposed by the county Board of Freeholders as a replacement fot lhe %tb St bridge Kofreshing because it shows an uncommon reaction to s .o-calied progress. The members of the governing body of mans municipalities would give their eye h lo have a hiee high, modern concrete span leading into their downtown But. if we rood Slone Harbor meaning the elected ofMinh and those thev represent i correctly, lirst impressions have given way lo reality

And the reality is' that anything more than a moderately

'widened version of the - present bridge would spell disaster to he Inain street business district and doom to the character of this seaside community. There ire very obvious reasons for this: A high-level span would, of course, require the bridge approaches to be extended well into the heart of the borough. From a business standpoint, this would mean that prospective customers wouldn’t even see their prospective destination This would, in turn, breed those grotesque towering signs one usually sees when coming into a city that has been eviscerated by an elevated highway. •Another detriment is the Chinese wall effect ; the division of the downtown district into, in this case, north ilntj south. The reality is a barrier ithc wall) that divides a homogenious community. ‘ . , , There are aesthetic commercial values at stake loo One can fully imagine the Chinese wall effect, actually fasting a shadbw over all Ihose shops unfortunate enough to be on the wrong side b{ the bridge approach As it is now, cars and tfucks coming into the borough must, of necessity, slow down - which is good. Put in a high level span, and the traffic will come pouring in. The island .is so

MAIN STREET Stone Harbor with bridge in background,

thin, that's fit's certainly possible the wants to look at them?

llllll, UlUi o 'IV SJ v-v-* j r

screeching of tires would be a common occurrence. Also from a traffic standpoiht, there

rente, msu nu*»* « -t;, * ’ . , u * are the side streets (replete with ramps) that

would be necessary to handle

wou.u ue — motorists seeking a location nearer to Great Channel than Atlantic Ocean. Who pays for these; who

dllto IV/ iv/l/l\ av . .

If the powers that be — and the citizenry — in Stone Harbor stiek to their guns, maybe ‘progress’ can be slowed down just enough to

enable common sense to prevail.

—The Herald

The Need for Farms

■),

It was a few weeks ago that we reported on Xf^ms^ llnl^t^"h n e e re 0 arfa rS ,°o n t ,e38Percentjumpidffiecountydspopula^". more premable ways of'making a living -

and certainly a lot easier.

IT IS NOT ONLY MORE environmentally in keeping with our country-at-the-shoif resort image and heritage to have as many active farms as possible, it is also something which will soon be taking on more economic importance as well. This, because as the co?t e ^ truncrinrtation

< nl \THY I.IVI.Mi ill (ho s^orr; this old farmhouse and flrld ar** It'MN than I wo miles, from downtown (ape May.

Hcralft

the OO L»CI V.CHV jV4i>>|s ••• — jr - r r - during the past decade — a rate of increase third highest in the Garden State _ It was back in May we reported that the Jersey Cape’s year-round population was growing almost fourteen times as fast as the increase in the summer influx. Since 1970, the overall population here has gone up 27 per cent, compared to only a 2 per cent increase in summer population (even though the actual number of people here in the summer far ex-

ceeds the year-round populace).

Last week we reported on the short-course on small or part-time farming being offered thru the Cape May County Extension Service. A nine-week offering on Tuesday evenings beginning-level course is open to all who wish to get into farming for whatever reason. according to senior county agricultural agent John MacLeod, the course (which begins Feb. 17) is primarily for those whose income is from sources other than large scale farming. We think many others should

fconsider taking the course.

Given the first couple of statistics at the top of this editorial, we would like to suggest — to urge — that as many people with land as possible take advantage of this short-course. With the Jersey Cape population on the increase, and the available land in the county being eaten up by developers — the arable land that remains should be farmed as intensely within reason' as possible. And not just for the

y »lt»n. N.I

Edrfttr

Atlwrftntnft Director i (irnofti/ y/tanuf&f

Publisher

I’h.inr %7-:t;il2 For \rws Or Advprtisiim* Inform at inn OKADUSKS

John II \nrtrus II William.,l r Vlams

Hoimir Hfina DarrHI Kopp

Nrw\ & I’hotov

AdvrrtisinR

(lassifirri AdvrrtKinR

Thursday Friday • :t p.m. Mondav-Noon

Nrilher p*rtli liu/llnt »d»rrtl»rfv n«ir the puhllvhrrs of the ItV.K \l l> I \STKMN will Hr rr»p«i*i*ihle or liuhlr for mittnfnrmaOnn. 'imvprlot*. i»pour»phlc»l vrritrv Mr. in iv»ue The ertilor reverie* the right In edit «ni letter or grtRles vuhinilled for puhlira

of energy soars, specifically transportation costs between farmland market, the practicality, the advisability, of numerous sma farms close to large population centers wi become important. On a national scale, it will be another example of history repeating it; of hundreds, thousands, of small farms doting every state - Supplying dozens of nearby metropolitan markets with fruits and vegetables in season and,(thru freezing, cann-

ing and drying) year-round.

-'.What is more, as the same energy crunch hits home, literally, more and more homeowners are going to be expanding their backyard garden patches to mini farms and, it

the acrcage'is available, beyond.

If the County Extension Service shprtcourse on small and part-time farmihg tan educate more county residents in the salubrious and economic benefits of farming, it will be very beneficial. If, in the process, it can interest others who have the land but haven’t considered farming in this new age of expensive energy — it will be a.big plus.

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Townahip

LANTERN

PabUabrt Every Wetfnraday Bi ^ ThrSciwi vr Corporation

P O Bat in* Mllav N.J WZSI

lottmr% to thm editor

'Gem Dod... How Con A Sovonty Yoor Old Mon Who Cot* Jolly Boon* PowlWy Bo Dongoroti*?"

uMUMunm

Here It Is, Kids: Thank You All

By K.K. I enjoy reading the Herald and Lantern vfery much, and they keep me informed on what is gomR on in Cape May Countv The reason I am writing this is: There is a group of youngsters and thfcir parents who have given their time to bring happiness to nursing homes, schools, hospitals and motels in Wildwood. The youngsters have danced all summer in Convention Hall in Cape May and are known as the Joanne Keagan Mini Co. They have never been acknowledged by your paper, and have neyer been given a Thank you' by the people they tried to bring joy to. I happen to be a grandparent of one of these talented youngsters A little note of appreciation in the paper sure would help. R K is a Villas resident