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Herald & Lantern 11 May '83

Itching for Some Expert Advice?

. Dori. Ward MIGHT MOVE — Future of the Sunset Beach Gift Shop depends on whether owner Marvin Hume can buy an acre from Harbison-Walker. owner of the magnesite plant seen in background. Magnesite TAosing

If /ou want to know how best to deal with mosquitoes, vvho better to ask then Cape ' May County Mosquito Commission Supt Judy Hansen Hansen, who said Mie "kept running in the house to get repellent" while trying to

. |>«rii Word rot NTF.ltATTACK - Margaret Morrell of Goshen examines pesticides in search of the best one with which to resist county mosquitoes.

mally don't come oat until June But this year, "they all came out the weekend of April JO " HANSEN SAID the county's yon trover sial purchase of two helicopter's, as opposed to contracting for the service, should rjot he blamed "We rarely contract before mid-April." she said, "and did no upland work Iasi year liecau.se we couldn’t afford it at WOO

an hour "

In the response typical of the competitor who has just lost the big one. Hansen gave her version-of "wail'll next year " . "Next year." she said, "we'll start our pre-season work early in March, w hich we couldn't afford other years We ll l>e larva ciding. killing them while they re still in the acquatic stnge That would control ho percent olSvhal you're feeding right now HANSEN SAID the commission had .received atniut 100 complaints in the last week." "a lot for this time of year Our telephones have been hot " Del Haven and Fishing .('reek are the county’s worst areas "right now." she said, although there have been “widespread complaints froni almost Tomatoes Ready — i From Page l > off. and then all of a sudden, push " Hut why announce in this week's local newspapers a Wednesday distribution, giving the public no advance notice’’ "I didn't pick the day." said Sheik "It was not one of the days I picked They aren't my facilities and that is the day when the facilities are available "I said a Wednesday." said Bernice H Gordon, executive director at Cape Human Resources' Thursday is clinic day at Wildwo<xi and Friday in payroll and check distribution If they wanted another week, that was up to the county Any Wednesday they picked was okay with me "THEY W ANTED cheese and tomatoes this week." she said, "hut our centers were ndt able to handle another cheese distribution right now That takes all of our staff: intake, registration .But tomatoes are not our program There are no social service requirements (»ne person can give out a plant And we don't expect the volume of people you would with cheese. You have to have a place to grow them, and interest it Sheik estimated each plant is capable of producing a bushel of tomatoes by the end of the summer With good soil, she said, each plant should have edible tomatoes by the second week in July Two member families will receive three plants. Sheik said, and families with three

work in her yard in Rio Grande last week, offered these comments: Most important, "if there's a large area of water, give-us a call, from 7 a.m. to 4:30 pm. at 465 9038 " Wear light-colored clothing because the bugs are attracted to dark colors • USE A BUG repellent She said it wouldn't be proper for her to recommend brand names Other sources said "Cutter's" and "Sportsmen" worked well The upland mosquito, she said, prefers to attack pcbple in the early morning or dusk The upland is the dark-appearing one. The salt marsh is black and white with a stripe down his back and banded legs It will "bite anytime, no matter where or when." she said. The itch. Hansen said, results because the mosquito injects a small amount of saliva into its victim's skin prior to syphoning blood Some people are bothered more than others Hansen said alcohol or witch hazel will alleviate the itch AS TO TALES about certain diets that will discourage mosquitoes, like eating lots of greens, or garlic, Hansen said they "never worked that I know of " In man vs mosquito, the odds definitely favor latter. Hansen said the upland breed continuously with the female laying 200 to 500 eggs every three days " As for the salt marsh, she lays her eggs in damp mud which has to dry out and then reflood, according to the tides <Inc acre of breeding salt marsh equals one brood of 200 to 300 million mosquitoes a month But with the rain the county has been having Hansen said, there could be as many as a half-dozen broods a month

everywhere in the county "I^ower Township. Ocean City. Dennisville " she recited "Normally Goshen and Eldora arc. the worst " Every call is logged on a complaint card and an inspector sent to examine the problem The commission employes 19 persons. 15 of them in the field, and will hire another 10 to 15 seasonal help at the end of

May

One of the inspector's tasks: taking "landing rate counts The inspector goes to a given area and counts the number of mosquitoes that land on him within one minute and within five minutes He also takes samples ■YOll CANT ALWAYS go just on com plaints." Hansen explained, "because some people are more sensitive than others “Morft ofour complaints are from people who have lived here two years," she said "The first year they think this is a bad dream that will go away The second year they get mad and want to know if something can't be done about it " And the third year 9 Today or more members will receive six plants THE PLANTS should lx* placed two feet apart if staked, four feet apart if not staked. she said They should be watered in small - amounts she said, and soaking avoided Assuming good soil, little fertilizer is need ed Other questions on care and planting is available from the county Extension Ser vice Center at 465-5111. Sheik said She said it is hoped this will be an annual project, and will include peppers and egg plants The tomato plant project was proposed by Tim Albrecht, a social worker with Youth and Family Services, a state agency Sheik made it a project of the Volunteers and Resources department when she look over Feb I THE PKOJEtT cost the county nothing Materials, including seedlings, soil and flats, and money were donated by the Potter Garden Center in Burleigh. Howey's Nursery. Villas. Albrecht. Ruth Fisher of South Dennis, and the'Sr Citizen Activities Center at the county airport The seedlings were raised by Albrecht. Fisher, the Senior Citizens Center. Crest Haven Nursing Home, the Women's Section of the county jail, the JINS (Juveniles in Need of Supervision > Shelter, the county Special Services School District, county vocational technical center and career center, and the Sunday School Class at St John's Lutheran Church of Ocean City.

< From Page 1) the property could lead to eventual con lamination of ground water. Presently the only restrooms in the area available for public use are located in the gift shop "We regret seeing the magnesite plant go because we don't know what will be coming." Hume recently said, emphasizing that he is currently negotiating with the company for purchase of the acretract. "We've always had a good relationship with the company." he continued, pointing out that local plaid production manager Raymond W Mccby is serving as liaison between himself iWid company officials in Pittsburgh ] Harbison-Walker officialsPittsburgh declined to comment on tie company's plaaA' for disposing of the property when contacted recently by the Herald and Lantern M.H McDonald, a former vice president and now consultant for the com pany, did say. however, that HarbisonWalker will be handling the sale itself Apparently no decision has yet been made whether any of the land will be sold separately or what the asking price will be "WE HAVE THE opportunity here to preserve something unique and continue to \ provide services free to the people." Hume said, pointing to the beach adjacent to the Higbec Beach State Park area "Once the beach front is gone, there'll never be another chance to preserve this natural area." he added According to Hume, he plans to submit a •

the state Department of Environmental Protection to buttress its beaches, but nothing has come through (except the waves).

Permit Grunted AVALON MANOR — William Darling figured out a way to finally turn a profit at his marina on Avalon Boulevard in this Middle Township community Since he began selling and docking houseboats, he's been able to hire 10 local residents Foreseeing a possible problem with houseboats (which aren't subject to property taxes) the township authorized the harbormaster to regulate the floating homes by issuing permits to those who want to live on them. Guess who's Avalon Manor's harbormaster'’

Teachers Barked ^ WILDWOOD — More than 1.100 signatures have been collected on peti lions objecting to the local school board's recent decision not to renew contracts of three high school teachers School officials have offered no explanation why the teachers. Dr Joseph Sladek. chemistry; Patrick Brooks, guidance counselor, and Doris Cummings, special education, were fired, although allegations of racial discrimination have been raised Brooks and Cummings are black. Less Grundy CAPE MAY — Michael Belansen's "Grand Hotel" designs on Beach Drive and Pennsylvania Avenue aren't as grand as he once planned Twice the motel owner has scaled down his original three-story. 42-umt model, trusting that the city planners would approve the revi-

package. complete with letters of support from county and local officials and engineering data, to Harbison-Walker outlining his purchase proposal He already has received backing from the LoWer Township Committee, the county planning and health departments, and the Cape May County Historical Society David Rutherford, a supervising planner with the county planning department, said that if Hume is forced to move his buildings, some planning action will have to be taken "Whatever is done will be done in cooperation with Lower Township planners," he pointed out. emphasizing that both the county and municipality will be concerned with potential traffic problems in the area. RUTHERFORD, who also is a county Historical Society trustee, said that the society's board of directors have discussed Hume's situation and will be forwarding a letter to Harbison Walker emphasizing the historic value of the lockers containing wood from the concrete ship. He also pointed to the beach area as being an excellent location for unearthing Indian arrowheads. Lower Township Committee members have also expressed an interest in purchasing part of the company's holdings adjacent to the Higbee Beach area. This would be accomplished through state Green Acres funding, when, and if, monies should become available

sions. Although they voted down his latest version of the "Grand Hotel" in February, the planners are expected to hold a public hearing on the matter soon.

Frustrated SEA ISLE CITY — Throwing more sand on the beach each year, only to see , K it wash away, has left the city fathers *’ frustrated with state approved replenish \- ment projects They want something a little more formidable from their $490,000 share of the beach-saving tally and favor extending the solid beachfront promenade south through Townsend's Inlet and north to Stralhmere

Too Tough AVALON — A local policeman's 45-day suspension without pay for making a per sonal phone call from department headquarters has been reduced to 15 days Superior Court Judge John Callinan recently ruled that the punishment im posed on Sgt Charles T Wenderwicz. a borough police officer some 20 years, was excessive Wenderwicz was found guilty last October, following a two-day depart mental hearing, of disobeying orders, making a personal phone call and neglect of duty

Open Primary NORTH WILDWOOD - An "open primary" will decide whether incumbent Councilman Robert Plum or challenger Anthony Visalli gets the GOP nomination for the First Ward Council seat Local party leader Anthony Catanosb proposed the arrangement at an organization meeting last week Plum is seeking his third council term Visalli is one of North Wildwood's two representatives on the Wildwood Parking Authority

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