Herald & lantern 13 April '83

17

A Seeing Eye Puppy (From Page I > of training their dogs. Victor is also involved "It s a family project," he said While raising the dog for Seeing Eye. all veterinary costs are paid The host family also receives an allowance every three months that average out to 28 cents per day This is to cover the cost of food and any other necessary care items.

"How much an expense the dog is depends on how the allowance is manag ed." Roxane said. WHEN A IKK; is between 12 and 14 months old. it is returned to Seeing Eye for training First it undergoes a series of tests, including X-rays for hipdysplacia. a common ailment with large dogs If everything checks out, it then goes

Lower Chamber

Threatens Walk

Rv HOB SIIII.F.S

VILLAS — The Lower Township Chamber of Commerce has threatened to withdraw from the County Chamber over the county organization’s decision to take a stand on wine and beer licensing

In a letter to the county's board of directors, the township chamber questioned why the county group took a stand on the wine and beer issue when last year it wouldn't support STEP < Stop the Electric Punch) — a township chamber group that opposed an Atlantic Electric rate hike. Last month, after polling its member ship, the county chamber decided to support legislation that would allow restaurants to sell beer and wine by the glass According to the township, the county group shouldn'rhave taken a position on the issue since "chamber of commerce are supposed to unite the business community and not divide it " Members of the township chamber have on several occasions complained that the county group should have supported STEP Some have charged the county ig nored the issue because a number of its directors represent utilities, including Atlantic Electric In a letter sent to the county last week. William A Thomas, chairman of the board of the township chamber, noted that, "at the time STEP was in full swing, we were supported by the majority of local chambers and surrounding county chambers, including the Atlantic Alliance Chambers of Commerce of Atlantic Coun

ty, (but not) the ('ape May County Chamber of Commerce." According to the chairman, the county would not take a stand on the rate issue or inform the directors and membership on STEP’S pros and cons. "Why wasn't the issue brought before the body or why wasn't a meeting called to present facts on both sides as it was in this beer and wine issue' 7 " Thomas asked He noted that his board of directors met recently and the inference was made that the Lower Township Chamber of Com merce consider withdrawing its member ship from the Cape May County Chamt>er of Commerce " "Township chamber Secretary Bonnie Millard said Monday that the county group has -still "not responded to the local chamber's questions She added that her organization is waiting for the county to provide answers before deciding whether to withdraw its membership "The county executive board held a special meeting last Friday and decided to bring the matter up at the, next general meeting of its board of directors." Millard said That meeting will bb April 21 "We give them as lon|j as they need." the secretary added, "as long ns it doesn't take them years "

S10M for Nursing Home

(From Page I) "certificate of need" from the stale by July "We've got to move now, ' said Freeholder Director Anthony T Catanoso "Nothing's going to get cheaper NO DATE was mentioned for the courthouse expansion, but the Freeholders set a May 10 deadline for hiring a consultant to examine the judiciary's needs and prepare a report on how best to expand The new nursing home was fore shadowed in February when the Freeholders released a 162-page feasibility study jammed with deficiencies and viola tions of current state and federal codes meant to assure health and safety standards They pointed out that the state has granted waivers for those code deficiencies FREEHOLDER Gerald Thornton, in charge of health services, said 22,00(1 or 27 percent of the county's 82,000 people are over 60 and 33 percent of them, or 7,200, arc over 80 He said 13,500 or 62 percent of those over 60 are low-income and 19.000 or 88 percent are income^?ligible for medical assistance "Twenty years from now. those numbers probably will be much higher." he said Thornton pointed out that Crest Haven is primarily for low income and 92 percent of its residents are Medicaid eligible "You have to be in tragic circumstances to get in there," he said. He said the private sector is building facilities with additional nursing care beds in the county, but they will not be reserved for low-income elderly or even for Cape May County residents "It's first-come, first-serve," he said THORNTON CALLED nursing care for the elderly "our second highest priority, next to transportailon " He indicated the county would move its social services offices from rented space at the Social Services building in Rio Grande, saving some $38,000 a year in ren tal fees, and also collect rent from state of fices that presumably would move from Rio Grande to Crest Haven The Freeholders have a years-old plan to expand the courts in the present cour (house complex But the county also has amended its master plan to set aside space

at the ('rest Haven complex for "proposed court expansion " I'M FLEXIBLE as to location, said Judge Gruccio "I don't care where it is " 1 just don't want to do it patchwork " Corino agreed. "We can't fragment." he said "If the court is in another location, what do we do about grand juries'’ We've got to be adjacent or in the same

complex

"This is no longer a sleepy, one judge county," said Gruccio "Litigation just keeps coming in There is an influx of peo pie Our deed filings are equal to Essex

County "

Corino said there has been "a great in flux” In the criminal caseload, which, he said, is equal to Somerset County which has 250,000 people "There were 51 weeks of criminal trial scheduled in January." he said "Another judge is needed There are three murder trials pending, and a capital punishment case can lake 6 to 10 weeks.” "THIS COUNTY'S growing so rapidly," said Gruccio "We re the bedroom county for Atlantic County More people are look mg (o live here on a permanent basis than we believe " The county had two judges and is at tempting to get a third But there are often visiting judges and Gruccio cited a total of four courtrooms needed now and five or six in 5-10 years Corino said he has three and four detec lives to a room making it difficult to inter view individual witnesses He said there is one bathroom for 11 women and one for

17-18 men

THE FREEHOLDERS agreed to move all non-court-rclated services of the office of County Clerk Angela F Pulvino to the Cape May County Savings and Loan Association building on Mam Street this

summer

"Angie will gobble up and occupy that building. " but Gruccio "but you're not go^ mg to get anybody else m there " The county purchased that building for $;»40,000 earlier this year Freeholder Ralph W Evans had originally recommended that the surrogate’s office also be located m that Main Street building, but Gruccio said surrogate W Robert Hentges will be getting "some hearing powers and needs a minicourtroom, close to the courts "

through three months of inteasive training with one of Seeing Eye's 12 instructors This is followed by another month of intensive training with a blind person According to Victor, between 250 and 275 puppies are bred and raised each year Of this number, abour 225 graduate annually At each step in the program, a dog can be rejected Only those with all the necessary characteristics and abilities to make a gflod guide dog are selected to work with a blind person Gl’NNAR, WHO (he Krivitskl s say is coming along well, is the second dog they've raised for Seeing Eye Joel, their 16-month-old black labrador was rejected as a result of a freak accident last sum mer "He was chasing a fnsbee and ran into the side of a car," Victor said. Seeing Eye rejected him because of the possibility he would develop arthritis in eight or nine years The life expectancy of a dog is 12 to 14 years AFTER JOEL was rejected, the Krivit ski's decided to keep him as their own pet "He's been a big help in training Gunnar," Roxane said According to Victor. Seeing Eye estimates it costs about $3,000 to breed and train each dog The cost to a blind person is $150 for his Qrsl dog, which includes a month’s boarmat the school while training, and $25 for future dogs ' 'We're an unusual case to have a seeing eye pup." Roxane said, "because 4 H usually requires a family to have children " She said that she learned about the seeing eye program through her par

ticipation. as a youngster in 4-H dog obedience training clubs in Morris County "The first dog I trained was a golden retriever my mother acquired It had been rejected by Seeing Eye " ACCORDING TO the Krivitski's, Seeing Eye would like to have more people in Cape May County participate m the 4-H Puppy Project Those interested are encouraged to contact the County Exteasion Service al 465-5115 Any family with young people between the ages of nine and 19 is eligible to join the 4 H program and raise more than one puppy for Seeing Eye Seeing Eye will bring each family another puppy to raise when it sends one back to the school The program is excellent for shy kids." the Krivitski's said. According to Roxane. once the puppy is returned to Seeing Eye. the family no longer has contact with it They are, however, invited to come to the school and watch the dog with its trainer once it finishes training After the dog is placed with a blind person they are only ttild the city and state in which the dog is living Although admitting it’s often hard to give the dogs back to Seeing Eye. Roxane said that in many ways it s also a relief It's great to watch them grow and know that what they eventually do is partially possible because of your training," she said

■ ■Now’s the tune!-1

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