WILDWOOD HIGH SCHOOL students practice a few. steps for their production of West Side Story, to be staged this Wednesday thru Saturday in the school auditorium. Show time is 8 p.m.

Big Project Begins

-Hopes & Prayers— For President And Nation Word of the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan Monday afternoon was received throughout the world with a sense of dismay and shock. The reaction of Cape May County residents to the day’s event was <*xemplified in a solemn moment of silence requested by Lower Township Mayor Thomas Clydesdale prior to the evening’s special Committee meeting: “In view of what has taken place today. what is said here tonight may have little or no meaning,” the mayor said. "I hope and pray that this country will endure the leadership we have prayed so long for.”

Confiscate Criminals, Not GunsChinnici TRENTON — Assemblyman Joseph W. Chinnici, R., 1st Dist., reported last week he will vehemently oppose any bills introduced in the New Jersey legislature which will result in the confiscation of handguns. As an alternative, Chinnici urged the return of the death penalty for criminals who use handguns to commit murder. CHINNICI ALSO BLASTED Newark Mayor Kenneth Gibson, a gubernatorial candidate, foe stating he would confiscate shotguns and rifles if he was elected governor. "This is absolutely the most outrageous statement I have ever heard on gun control. There are thousands of sportsman throughout New Jersey who handle their firearms in a responsible manner and it would be senseless to punish them foe, the acts of criminals who have no regai^d 'for any law or person,” Chinnici said, f \ “I AM JUST SICK and tired of hearing about plans to stop crime by restrictipg guns when it is the criminal hirtiself .Who should be restricted," Chinnici sahL^ Chinnici has advocated the return of the death penalty for the past eight years. “I feel it is a basic right of Americans to own firearms for self-defense or in sports,” The Cape May-Cumberland Assemblyman said in a press release.

FISHERMEN Jimmy Lummii, left, and Herb Hudson take advantage of a break In the weather to entwine pots used to ensnare lobster, crab, and sea bass.

COLD SPRING — Although it has taken him eight years to get all of the necessary permits and approvals, Carl Mitnik finally witnessed the official groundbreaking ceremony for his Tranquility Park housing development on Mar 23. “We want to make this the finest job in Cape May County,” Mr. Mitnik said about his plans to develop the 135 acres in Lower Township between Ferry Rd. and the

COURT HOUSE - The County Board of Freeholders has introduced amendments to the 1961 county budget which will change the amounts to be raised by property taxation from $16,935,125 to $17,187,203, an increase of 1252,078 or under 1.5 per cent. The budget amendment will increase the county’s equalized tax rate for 1981 to 42.09 cents per $100 of assessed values compared with the previous figure of 41.44 cents. This will still be a decrease of 2.06 cents below the 1960 equalized tax rate Director of Revenue and Finance William E. Sturm Jr. said the revised figures reflected the changes in the 5 percent "CAP” Law which now allows capital expenditures, monies required for mat-

by Bob Shiles ERMA — Operators of local bus companies providing transportation for Lower Cape May Regional district students have requested the board of education consider terminating their multi-year contracts and renegotiate new contracts on a one-year basis. A letter presented to the board March 26 explained the contractors are finding it difficult to meet their financial obligations as a result of the sharp increase in fuel costs. Under the terms of the four-year contract, signed two years ago, the companies can only receive a 5 per cent increase per year. SOLICITOR GEORGE JAMES informed the board that even though the 5 per cent increase doesn’t come close to meeting the needs of the contractors, the

canal, and between Rt. 109 and Seashore Rd. "We’re going to make this the prettiest job ever done.” WHEN COMPLETED. Tranquility Park will consist of 248 houses ranging in price from $80,000 to $120,000. According to the developer, architects are currently involved in designing the home styles from which (Page 19 Please)

ching funds for state and federal grants, and increases for cost in public utilities and fuel oils in excess of 10 percent of the previous year’s expenditures to be allowed outside the 5 percent "CAP” CAPITAL EXPENDITURES in the amended budget wee $246,500. An item in the Capital Improvement fund was increased from $100,000 to $120,000, to reflect planned construction of the Great Channel Bridge in Stone Harbor; the Fishing Creek Gravity Flow System ••Project was budgeted for $35,000; the purchase of a commercial washer for the Crest Haven Nursing Home for $6,500; renovations to county buildings for $55,000, Which will in(Page 19 Please)

contracts are binding and the board can, if it wishes, hold the bus companies to the terms previously negotiated. He added the board can also choose to renegotiate the contracts. According to school district superintendent Ephraim keller, local bus contractors handle half of the district's transportation routes. Currently the district holds contracts with Coast Cities, Lower Bus Co., Phillips and McPhearson. •I HAVE NO COMPLAINTS about the local bus companies,” Keller said. He noted that they have tried to keep their prices as reasonable as possible over the years. A meeting between the board and the contractors has been scheduled for April 23 at 7 p.m.

'News lh . Digest Cs.L, Appeals Court Clears Sandman CAPE MAY — Former Rep. Charles W. Sandman Jr. told the Herald Monday that he had "no doubts" that a state appeals court would clear him of charges that he slandered former police officer Robert Marchiano here in 1976. The appeals court handed down the decision Wednesday that cleared Sandman of the slander verdict and a $75,000 damage award. He had been found quilty by a Superior Court jury in Cape May Court House in 1979 of saying at a City Council meeting two years earlier that the policeman had unmercifully beaten his chest during a drug arrest. Children Molested SEA ISLE CITY — Last week Robert Joseph Pezzi, 20, of Sea Isle was arrested for allegedly molesting 2-year-old-and 18-month-old children. Both youngsters were hospitalized following the attack and one child was reported still there this week. The matter is being investigated by the Division of Youth and Family Services. Dump Owner Cited COURT HOUSE - Last week Theodore Williams of Swainton received a sentence of two years probation and a suspended $1,000 fine for alleged involvement in the dumping of harmful chemicals in a field off Siegtown Rd. Reportedly more than 100 chemical drums Were found on Williams' property, and the cost of cleaning up the area is estimated to be in the vicinity of $1 million-$3 million. Over $100,000 has reportedly been spent trying to clean the site. Opened Alcohol To be Offense CAPE MAY - City Council is scheduled to act on an ordinace Monday night that would make it unlawful to possess an opened container of alcoholic beverage outdoors (unless on a licensed premises). •t Aimed at cutting down on late-night litter and boisterousness — particularly along the mall, beachfront and areas in between — the measure would provide for a fine of up to $500 upon conviction. Current local law prohibits off-premises Cohsumption outdoors. Prohibiting over-the-counter sales of beer after 10 p.m. had been advanced by Mayor Arthur Blomkvest as a way of dealing with the longstanding problem, of particular concern in the summer. School Votes Next Tuesday COURT HOUSE - Voters in virtually all of Cape May County's 16 municipalities will have the opportunity to go to the polls next Tuesday in the annual school district elections. While millions of dollars worth of tax levies and. m some cases, contested seats on local school board will be decided, the elections are destined to attract only a relative handful of voters — if past turnouts are an indication. Last year on a statewide basis, for example, out of 2.8 million eligible voters, (Page 111 Please)

County Tax Rate Now 42 c

a School Bus Operators Want Out of Contracts