Sjf. Study Concludes

Loneliness—a Problem for the Elderly

POMONA — Loneliness physical maintenance of their homes, personal care and transportation needs are major problems for elderly residents of South Jersey. That was established in a survey conducted by the Social and Behavioral Sciences faculty of Stockton State College which covered seven counties, including the Jersey Cape. * ' v THE PROJECT included a sitfvey of 9,000 elderly people, of whom' 2,500 responded. According to project director Mjchaelvrank, the report provides "the

most up-to-date and detailed information currently available" on the needs of the elderly. Combatting loneliness was a serious problem of the respondents. The survey showed that 42 percent of the respondents lived alone, and 45 percent with only one person. Many were either widowed or single. Although most were longtime resident* of their neighborhoods, 42 percent rarely or never visited their neighbors. THE STUDY concluded that there is “a continuing need for programs that en-

courage social contact among the elderly and support Community and neihborhood efforts to combat loneliness. and social isolation. Another finding was that over 53 percent needed minor housing repairs, and over 10 percent major repairs The cost of heating was alsd a serious problem. v The study indicates there isji need for. home-handyman Services, among the elderly. These services could include simple repairs and carpehty, as well as help and advice on weatherization techniques and energy Inventory checks.

CAPE MAY COUNTY

mirkfv jftnjpA/s

Voi. 16 No. 48 >Wt Wowovvcotp AH

December 2,1961

PUailSMfO rvrpv WCONISOAV BV TH| St AWAVE CORPORATION * O BOX 0 AVAION N J MPO?

Cutbacks Hit County Service Agencies * TRENTON — Three county social services will be affected by a $5.6 million cut in direct services to clients made by the state Dept, of Human Services to offset the loss of $14.8 million in federal aid. Hardest hit will be First Call For Help v which was slashed $8,275. Adult Day Care, under the Office of Aging, was cut $5,400, and Fare Free Transportation suffered the loss of $3,400. Cape May County, with a total funding loss of $17,075, fared well in comparison with other southern region counties, however. No programs were eliminated and the budgdt slash amounted to only 8

percent.

TWO DAY CARE programs were terminated in Atlantic County, for a loss of $90,572. In Cumberland, two homemaker programs were eliminated, and total cuts

were $28,751.

CanVden County was the biggest loser, with funding cutbacks of $249,134 in a budget totaling over $3 million. Over the region, child day care wa»the hardest hit, with $372,417 in cuts. The cuts were announced by Human Ser-, vices Commissioner Timothy Carden, who said they were effective Dec. 1, and affected 202 programs throughout the coun-i ties. The reduction means a loss of $2.1\ (Page 12 Please)

Designers At Work On County Landfill

& Welfare Society is sponsoring a sale of J

. T rt n I# ao nnrt /"'Kr’lctmac i f am b C f a rt I no at . ■

m, cakes and Christmas items starting at m

ft 10 a.m. Suhday at the Social Services ft SWAINTON - An engineering design 17 Building, Rts. 9 and 47 here. ,eam has be€n assembled and began work ft Participating In thi* fund ralter it ft *® sl we ®k on the design of the new en4* just one of many way* Jersey Cape vironmentally secure solid waste landfill ftcllizcn. con partake meanlng/ully In and transfer station (or Ihe county ko the yuletide zplrll. See Helping Hand t Th ' d « i Bn effort, to cost MOO,436, was ft page Inside. ' * ft approved by the CMCMUA board and is

£ headed by Pandullo Quirk Associates, the

ft 201 201 2M 2JK 2W Ufm 2J0 24f ft CMCMUA’S consulting engineering firm,

But Who Gives the OK?

and a group of engineers and scientists with specific background and experience in sanitary landfill design and construc-

tion.

The team will be headed by Francis Pandullo, Pandullo Quirk Associates, and Peter Failla, PQA’s Solid Waste Manager , artflTed O’Neill. Manager of Solid Waste (Page 25 Please)

MORE THAN 13 percent reported that transportation difficulties impeded proper medical care. In addition, 1 ' 11 percent indicated a need for Visiting nurse and/or homemaker aid. According to the study, transportation services for purposes of health care and food shopping are important.’Where providing transportation through senior/ citizen buses is not possible, efforts should be made to provide information and coordination for activities such as carpooling-, and mutual assistance ’ ** '—Ed Harnett

News Digest

^ ^ •

TWO-YEAR-OLD Brian Hcacock o4 North Cape May acema a little pottled by all the eicltemenl last week at the grand opening of Eckerd'a drug store. Breakwater and Bayshore Rds„ Fishing Creek. He's got a tight grip, on the two free lollipops though.

The

Week's .

Top Stories

, Florib Concedes Defeat

TRENTON — Democrat James Florio

•needed defeat on Monday to Republican Thomas Kean With the smallest margin in a New Jersey

gubernatorial race, Kean won by J,677 votes following a recount requested by Florio which is expected to be completed

this week.

MU A Rates Hit OCEAN CITY — At a hearing last „ Week, the county Municipal Utilities Authority was told point blank by a number of ^people that proposed MU A rates will be inequitable and a hardship for county taxpayers. While officials from'Cape May and Avalon asserted that residents there will be paying more than triple their cuiTent utHity costs when MUA plants begin 'operating in their regions, others called for a review of the process by which flow projections and rate estimates were

made.

WHILE THE MUA has estimated for years that the cost of providing services to a single-family dwelling for one year will W between $90 and $140, Avalon Councilmen Stewart Gray cited figures — including cost of MtlA services and thos^ that will continue to be provided by the local utility-that were much higher. According tor his projections, average costs per dwelling unit in Avalon in 1986 will be $394. Now there is a flat rate of $60 per unit. It’s anticipated this rate will jump to $90 in the near future Brush Fire Set GREEN CRfcEK - A brush fire that broke out behind the Bay Lane Campground he^e late Sunday burned some . 100 acres and was "definitely" set, according to Fire Chief Charles Frame. The chief said local volunteers arrived on scene about 9:30 p.m. and fought the blaze with assistance from the state Forest Firt Service until early Monday morning. THE FIRE LIT UP the night sky for miles, prompting at least one commercial fisherman off the Atlantic coast to think there was a big fire in Wildwood, Earlier in.the day. a blaze consumed five or six acres of brush off Seashore Rd. south of the Cape May Canal. That fire — still under investigation — was brought under control by fire-fighters from West Cape May and Lower Township. High northwest winds also fanned that fire, sending smoke across the Schelfenger Landing entrance to nearby Cape May. Beach Aid Upped TRENTON — A shore protection bill passed by the state Assembly last week (Page 12Please)

Meadowlands Protection Volunteered

COURT HOUSE - Protective measures in the South Cape May Meadows are now up to the Nature Conservancy — the national non profit land conservation organization that recently purchased a 180-acre tract of meadowlands from Combustion Engineering Inc. of Stamford, Conn. That’s what the County Freeholders said

Nov. 24, in response to a letter from Patfida Bowman of Sunset Blvd.. Lower Township, requesting the board’s assistance in establishing adequate ddne protection for the area. * EMPHASIZING THE SEVERE flooding potential of the meadows, Ms. Bowman suggested the use of snow fencing to collect sand in barren areas, and per-

sonally volunteered to organize a volunteer group to place Christmas trees — collected by local municipalities or the county — behind the fencing. She also volunteered to pursue this, dune stabilization by organizing a volunteer group to plant duhe grass in the spring. ‘‘This is an opportunity for us to set an example for other communities as our

Presyfent has encouraged, with self-help," Bowman wrote. "At the same time we would be taking part in the preservation of an ecologically ‘sensitive’ area. . ”' * RESPONDING TO THE LETTER, freeholder Gerald Thornton noted that because most of the meadowland is now in private hands, there isn’t a great deal the • Page l2F1ease)