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Herald & Lantern 21 October 81

, p • UMN HAS COME U» tbe Jertey Cape, the aeaaon of subtle earth colors highlighted by brilliant foliage, of crisp days aftd tool nlghU — a time to survey again the beauty of our peninsula before we’re forc>d Indooi^s by frigid temperatures and blustery northwest winds until another sprlhg.

The State We're In

v

Adequate Water, Safe Water

by David K. Moore .The New Jersey Water Supply Coalition is an organization of environmental types like mykelf which has been pulled together to scrutinize the efforts qf the. state Dept of Environmental Protection (DEP) and cithers to see that all of this stSTe we re in gets enough>rtable walerpt any time over the next 20 years or so Accordingly, I'm happy toreport that the Coalition has given its stamp of approval to the $350-million Water Supply Bond Act of 1981 * This didn't happen ihimcdiately. DEP held six hearings on the cloeely related statewide Water Supply Master Plan this summer and the Coalition found it lacking in several important areas, especially protection of aquifers and watersheds, public participation in project Selections and-conservation THE KICKER IS THAT the bond issue'monqy can be" spent only op projects recommended in the master plan, so,nobody .felt like coming out for the bond issue without tightening up the'master plan This has been done, with DEP doing some intensive alterations and addition^ for the master plan before its final version recently went public NOTICE TO

Letter Writers The newspaper is beginning to receive letters to the Editor which cannot he printed because we are Unable * to contact the writers to verify authenticity. Opinions for our Reader’s Forum should: • Be signed by the writer and include the-writer's address and phone number Letters can bq printa* anonymously, but the newspaper must have writer verification \ • * •Deal with one topic (fr issue in an accurate, nonlibelous manner - • Be typewritten or legibly handwritten, douhlespaced on one side of the paper • Be received by the newspaper prior to Friday.

nt C Apr. MAV II 1 4 X. ° T furalfc eaMhbftf K*rr* Hr4nr«<Ui P.O. Hoi •* Thr (fjwll— Xvaloti. \J M]t7 John H. Andrus II Editor William J. Adams Advertising Director Bonnie Relna General Manager Parrell Kopp Publisher 1««l Un~a— Ctxp All ad All property i.ghit lot Iho •oIho lOnianit ol ttHt fvbl-ta’ir, than bo ptopo", o» IS* V*o~a.< Co.p No part hafmcl may bo ttpiodutod withoai p'kx wniAn co^ta-' — DKAn | | N l :S “ New* A Photo* Thursday Advertising Friday - 3 p m. Classified Advertising ‘Friday • 3 p.m. j >(W«Mli For New* Or Advertising Information | *pM*r MrtklMlhiS »4vrrlKm nar 0*» ptihlMirM ol Oir HKRAI.il AND I.ANTERN will fcr or lUWr for mtalnformilian. mUprtnU, lr»o«r»pAk»l rrrnr*. rtr . In any l»«or Tlir editor rmrrtn tfcr ri|til to edit an> letter or ar1lrlr« •okmltied for Mtbllra Hoo , - i toarerl i II^F VD N — ^LANlfinlV

P (TBo* «M ColdSpeina N J aopt^

Bond issue-master plan projects come in several categories. In addition to fundamentals like conservation and protection of existing water resources, emphasis is strong on big new interconnections between existing water supply systems. It’s theorized that with enough such interconnections, particularly the controversial interbasin transfer between the Round Valley-Spruce Run reservoih system in Hunterdon County and the sometimes parched water purveyors in the watersheds, of the Hackensack and Passaic rivers, no rationing would have been necessary during the past year. THERE WOULD ALSO BE money in the bond issue to be earmarked for repairs to antiquated and leaky water distribution systems in our older cities. The most abundant water supply is of little use if it leaks away bef&re itgets to our kitchen faucet. Loans for that purpose must bo repaid by purveyors to the bond money fund, f Otjier money would be allocated to exploring*potential new sources of water supplies, such as untapped aquifers and possible dam and reservoir sites. Availability of frontend geological exploration money would hopefully avert future foulups such as was.recently experienced with the proposed Hackettstown reservoir and dam in the Musconetcong River, where land was bought before it was determined that the geology was unsuitable. The master plan says New Jersey has enough water to take care of itself for another 20 years or so. but that without needed interconnections it can't always be had in sufficient quantities at every place in the Atale to avoid ra " tioning situations. And the master plan rmut be upgraded at least every five years to stay abrelst of changing population arid development patterns. )j|i ALSO ON THE NOV. 3 ballots, but perhaps less well known, is a companion question through which we will vote on a $l00-million Hazardous Discharge Bond Act. This one is impossible to separate from the water bond issue because while the latter is to qiiarantee water supplies, the $100-million is to safeguard water quality. Lots of water is only a tragic joke if it's laced with deadly and cancer-inducing chemical wastes. The llOO-million bond fund is to pay for ^eanups of the worst of some 380 known toxic waste dumps in New Jersy. It is supposed to augment the existing but inadequate state Spill Compensation Fund and New Jersey’s share of the federal Superfund. « Superfund is being highly touted as a swell source of money for' toxic cleanups, but its bottom line is getting blurred due to current federal alludes on spending money. It looks more and more like New Jersey is going to have to tend to its own housecleaning, or stay dirty! A minimum of study about these two bond issues is needed to convince one that, expensive as they are, the alternatives are a lot more expensive, and disastrous, too. David Moore it executive director of the N.J. Conservation foundation.

m* SOVEREIGN STATE ol AFFAIRS

reader's forum Parkway Access Not Today’s Issue By Ruth M. Kovacs > "About 25 years ago," is the way Sea Isle City Mayor Dominic Raffa started a recent letter soliciting votes for Commissioner Kehner. At that time, "about 25 years ago," I was employed by the then-mayor, the late William A. Haffert Sr., and I know that the statements regarding the Parkway do npt happen to be 'so, so I must refute them. ' " Mayor Haffert and Comrhissioners Soeder and VahHook had nothing to do with preventing the construction of an off ramp for the Northbound lane at the Sea Isle City exit^First and foremost, Sea Isle City was not involved since the land belonged to Dennis Township, not Sea Isle City. Secondly, it was the Parkway’s decision not to include an off ramp for travelers coming from the South because they felt it would be Jopated too cloAe to the Seaville toll plaza, and travelers would be exiting at the Sfca Isle City ramp and using Route 9, rather than paying the toll. Thirdly, when Mayor Haffert and the Commissioners learned that Avalon was to have t\yo exits, they did all ia their power to try to persuade the Parkway | authorities to include a Northbound off ramp at Sea Isle (tity, but the'Parkway would not do so. YOU SPEAK OF "TIME PASSING- and the community suffering due tqlack of foresight — like the lack of adequate access fo the Parkway” — but it seems that our community is suffering from manjf worse things than lack of access to the Parkway! WfeVe lived with the Parkway situation for about 25 years, and none of the ensuing administrations, to my knowledge, has ever done anything un an attempt to rectify’the situation. Instead of reWrecting things that are a quarter century old, why not tell us what Mr. Kehner is > going to do for us in the future? Will he attempt to reduce already excessive taxes? Will he attempt tp reduce excessive -i employment and waste spending? WUI he stop being, part of land give-aways? Will he'take a stand against condominium construction? Does he hhve evolution to • inadequate water and sewer systems, withoQt-over-burdening them even more? You say that progress is inevitable, and you are right. But is there any reason why you can't try to achieve an orderly progress, using some of thp foresight you’ve accused others of lacking? Orderliness counts; disorder, multiplies ... and it seems that the multiplier key on Sea Isle City’s calculator is totalling up more disorder all the time! Ruth M.fMrs. E.G.) Kovacs is a resident of 84th St.. Sea Isle City. Editor's note: Mayor Dominic C. Raffa's letter, addressed to Sea Isle City voters, said: "About 25 years ago, the maydr and commissioners decided that they wanted to keep Sea Isle City a small fishing town and they refused to allow the Parkway to construct on and off ramps on both the north and south bound lanes...’’

R N E R by Lalin Steyson,

Autopsy

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By Milton Helpern The memoirs of the late Dr. Helpern make captivating reading. As chief medical examiner for the City of New York, he was probably the world's best known forensic pathologist. The lead character in the television show Quincy is said to be modeled after him and, indeed, some of the plots of that show seem to have been derived from actual cases in which Dr. Helpern was involved; Unlike some medical men, whose'vefforts might do well in professional journals but are hot appealing to the general public, Dr. Helpern writes with the skill of the practiced novelist. Many of the cases he describes have attracted national notoriety. He was involved in the Joan Robinson Hill case, the strange death of the Texas doctor’s wife which has spawned two best selling books, Blood and Money and Prescription Murder Closer to home, he testified in the trials of former New Jersey doctor Carl Coppolino, and sparred with famed attorney F. Lee Bailey who was defending Coppolino on two murder charges. •^e also discusses less dramatic, but just as important, cases where the experience of the pathologist has detected the real cause of deaths which otherwise would have gone unsuspected. A fascinating look behind the scenes. Leslie Steyson Is the pseudonym for a very real area bookstore proprietor.

DAVID BOYD

WHAT'S THE ARGUMENT AGAINST SELLING AWACS TO THE SAUDIS 7