r dM, r ed “t “ ■ i »"« “»‘ wiw «^

Spectacular Boardwalk Blaze

by i*aul Artherton

WILDWOOD — An entire block of restaurants, games, a T-shirt shop and the front section of Mariners' Landing Amuse-

ment Pier were destroyed in a general alarm fire which swept along the boardwalk here between Oak and Cedar Aves. last Thursday night — Friday morning

WIND-FANNED FLAMES quickly spread along the walkway and when this section of stores collapsed, onlookers cheered. Officials believe the fire may have been caused by a malfunctioning compressor in the Hot Spot restaurant.

At the height of the blaze, balls of fire leaped 30 feet in the air while burning embers bounced offvthe roofs of nearby buildings. Strong winds fanned the fife which for a time threatened to engulf other

sections of the boardwalk.

Around midnight the fire seemed iJoder control but as the wind picked up speed, flames spread into Mariners' landing .Tho-wind died again, and by l a m. the fire

Was under control

THE FiRE. which broke out at 10:30 p.m., started in the block which housed the old Starlight Ballroom. Every fire com pany from North Wjldwood to Cape May responded to the^tfe alirm “It was as smokey as hell," said Chris Crofts of West WildwoochAve.. assistant manager of Mariners' I^ihding Pier "l couldn't see my hand in fronfi»f rtiy face " One \yitness, who preferred to remain anonymous, described the intdns'e heat. 'I was walking along the bpahjwalk by c;ienwood Ave. when I first saW the ffye It seemed small at first but by the time I got to Oak Ave., the flames were so hot I had to duck off the boardwalk behind a building MOST OF THE DAMAGE in Mariners,

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CAPE MAY CO UNIT Y

Vol. 16 No. 34 IWl J*a«rov« Corp

August 26,1681

Wildwood Water Tank Proposed in Twp.

WILDWOOD CftEST - A variance request to permit construction of a water standpipe of undetermined dimensions for the City of Wildwood in a section of Diamond Beach near here is scheduled to come before the Lower Township Zoning Board of Adjustment September 1. The variances is being requested by William Ciampetti on behalf of Diamond Beach Ventures, of which he is a partner. The proposed structure would be erected on two lots north of Pacific Ave. (Ocean

Dr.). The property, currently undeveloped, is near on area where Ciampetti has previously discussed condominium development, the proposed water toweksito is bordered by Raleigh Ave. on the west. Park Blvd. on the north and S. Station Ave. on the east — all umfnproved "paper" streets. "CURRENTLY located in a general business, GB-1, zone, the area may soon be changed by the township to residential.

R-4.

According to Wildwood Water utility superintendent Robert Bebee. the tower would be situated near the end of the water system maintained by the city and would swerve upwards of 1,300 units proposed for the Diamond Beach area.

(Page 13 Please)

News Digest JS&w ■Family Fluids Cut WASHINGTON An csllmalr4 1,500 - families in Cape May County will feel the pinch of cutbacks in federally-funded human service.programs, it was an nounced thru Trenton last week The Jersey Cafie'.s-shar.e of the $133 million cut in federal funds to the Garden State will amount ;to only a $i miljmn , reduction, much less than in other areas (it's $5 million in Atlantic County i According to esfijnates, federal food stamp cuts will affect over 2.300 Cape families while 200 would lose out in welfare Neediest families won t g<r without, it was indicated It was also noted that administrative costs to the county wduld. increase as a result of new federal guidelines Less for MUA Too TRENTON — The state Dept of Environmental Protection indicated last week just how costly "Reganomics" could mean to the Jersey Cape in other ways when it announced that 22 utility j projects across the state will have to / compete on equal footing for millions of dollars less in funding According to DEP. the Reagan ad ministration has cut previous Vtkper cent funding for sewer construction projects back th only 43 per ce(it The state's-solu-tion is to take what funds do beebrne ' available and parcel them equally among all projects ready for nr nearing con st ruction Locally, the bottom line would mean the County MCA would end up receiving Jess than hplfjof the more than $15 millioh it was'counting on to fund the (’ape May Regional wastewater treat • ment facility. Rails going Inc? A Teaneck based firm called Atlantic City Railwa'ydnc is reportedly negotiating with the Slate Dept, of Transportaiiori to take over and expand the service on Cape May/Atlantic City , Lindenwold rail line Whether such a take-over is possible is to be determined by mid September If ACRI isn't successful, indications utv DOT will seek to interest other private firms in taking the Seashore lines off its

hands

Cobrail. which operates the line owned by DOT. is said to be anxious to end ser vice by the end of ih$ year . 4th Fatal in Weeks MIDDLE TWP A 55 year old Swain ton man,became the fourth highway fatality in a month's time here Saturday afternoon when his pickup truck and a bus collided on Kt d Paul Mehan,-owner of Stone HarMtr Roofing and an apartment complex in Swainton, was driving north in May vide when his pickup and a Southbound TNJ bus With 15 passengers aboard collided on the rain soaked highw.iy A ladder on Mohan's truck ended up inside the bus windshield. The 42-year old driver and ifive passengers, ages 33 to H3. were ^ (Page 134*16380)

Spraying: Will Funds Suffice?

Statewide Defoliation Twice Last COURT HOUSE - Larry E. Newbold, county agricultural agent, after the record breaking defoliation by the Gypsy Moth in the county this year, is concerned that federal Forest Service funds may not be sqfficient to cover all the acreage involved in the Northeast for the 1982 spray pro-

gram

In the past, Newbold says, the Forest Service has underwritten 50 percent of the cost of the program. If all the Northeastern states affected put In for these

Area

Total

Defoliation

Severe

Heavy

Dennis Twp 12.424 acres

12,330

95

Lower Twp.

1,880 acres

1,880

0

Middle Twp

9,835 acres

9,230

605

Upper Twp

8,035 acres

7,810

225

Woodbine

2,815 acres

2,815

0

Total

34,990 acres

34,065

925

Yea/^ (see inside) funds, Newbold fears, there will not be enough money to go around. HOWEVER. NEWBOLD said; he is encouraged by indications that the state Dept, of Agriculture is anticipating more personnel to battle the moth next year. Also, he stated, the aircraft spraying program will be divided into three zones (South, Central and Northnern New Jersey). This should help to iasure that the planes used in the spraying will be centralized in one area and not covering the entire state. Newbold feels that the three spraying zones may be a big help in New Jersey, since the state has only four to six weeks to carry out a 300,000-acre spray program Newbold noted that most of the defoliation in Cape May County was severe (see Chart).

EF$ fiCTS OF DENNIS, the tropical storm that blew out to sea, showed themselves on the Jersey Cape last Saturday with wind and rain and rough seas. The elements failed to daunt these sailors, however, at the start of an ocean regatta in Avalon (see story Inside for winners). <