* rx 18 Herald tflSwern '84 — . /'*' v 3 — i \ ^

PAA Eligibility Out Free Food Rule Hits Seniors

By JOE ZELNIK I RIO GRANDE — A majority of Cape May County's senior citizens who have < been receiving free surplus Federal com- 1 modities may not be eligible any more. i The U.S. Department of Agriculture has « eliminated qualification for state Phar- < maceutical Assistance Program for the i Aged (PAA) as automatic eligibility for the commodities. ■ < Sources told the Herald and Lantern fois V « could be "devastating to the seniors "I David Fothergill-Quinlan of Cape Huma*r i Resources said he estimated the neymile < could eliminate 20 percent of the total ( recipients. (

The free food has been attracting as many as 7,500 families. BUT THE NEWS may not be devastating this time because the county will be distributing instant non-fat dry milk in late September instead of cheese and butter. Officials indicate surveys show considerably less interest in powdered milk. Eligibility for the PAA is maximum inof $12,000 a year for an individual and $15,000 for a couple. Eligibility for the surplus commodities is $9,213 for an individual and $12,432 for a couple. That's supposed to be 185 percent / of the poverty guidelines. / PERSONS WHO participate in SSI^thfc. ^ v (

Food Stamp program, Medicaid or ' Welfare will continue to be automatically eligible. Welfare and food stamp recipients will receive their notification with their September checks and stamps. Distribution schedule will be reported by the Herald and Lantern. Eligible participants will have to preregister at designated sites. Surplus commodities are distributed by Volunteers and Resources of the county Spcial Services Department and by Cape Hjuman Resources, the county's antipbverty agency, which coordinates the ^distribution.

County Winning Utility Cost Wai — — : J~

( From Page 1 1 building has only one boiler, Morie energy consultant Richard Buckley pointed out, so it's especially important that, if it fails in the middle of the night, someone be told. Usin& "artificial intelligence,"! as Buckley put it, the computer could dlert Kehr, either by ringing his beeper or his home phone. It could do the same thing if the air-conditioning compressors failed, Buckley said. "1 get those calls all the time," said * Freeholder Gerald M. Thornton. Kehr told the Herald and Lantern that the engineering and equipment for energy management should pay for themselves in

savings in a year and a half. For example, he said, the latest savings reported did not include a security lighting change from mechanically set timers to photo cells that will cut costs. Nor did they include running a hot water heater independently instead of through the boiler, resulting in no oil used since late May. Kehr said that for a new building such as the Crest Haven Nursing Home slated next year, the microprocessor system shouldn't cost any more than the normal $40,000 to $60,000 for automatic temperature control wiring.

Buckley said that the new system also should make occupants more comfortable because "outside sensors" will direct the heat to the coldest part of the building. "Each building is like a different person," commented Morie President Jay Morie. "With the right (computer) program, we could probably replace Skip," joked Thornton. "They're probably working on a program to replace us," commented Freeholder James S. Kilpatrick Jr.

Retirement Plan: Applying For SS

People in the Cape May County area plan to retire at the end of the year should take some time soon to think about Social Security retirement benefits, Del Brooks, Social Security Manager in Wildwood, said recently A person should apply for Social Security benefits two or three months before he or she plans to retire. This way, benefits can begin shortly after income I from work stops. ^ Before applying, a per(lr son should get the fji necessary evidence ' together. Brooks said. This will save time at application time. The first item a person needs is his or her .Social Security card or a record of the number. NEXT. PROOF of age is required. Preferred proof is an official record of birth or basptism recorded before age 5. If this does not exist, other proofs can be submitted. The people at the Wildwood Social Security office can tell you what kinds of evidence can be used. Records that might be used include school, church, state or federal census, insurance policies,

marriage, passports, employment, military service, children's birth certificates, union, immigration or naturalization. This is not an exclusive list and other records may be acceptable. Forms W-2 or selfemployment tax returns for the past two years should be provided. These are needed because recent earnings reports may not yet be in Social Security records. A HUSBAND or wife who also plans to apply should have about the same documents, A marriage certificate may be required, but is not needed in all cases. Information about any previous marriages is also needed Birth certificates of anyyoung, unmarried children should be obtained at well. Additional documentation may be required depending on the particulars of certain cases. The people at the Wildwood Social Security office will be glad to answer questions about retirement applications. The Wildwood office is at 136 E. Spicer Ave., and the telephone number is 800-272-1111.

STONE HARBOR DUPLICATE BRIDGE WINNERS A«g. J North It Sooth 1. Sally Robertson and Helen Miller 135 2 Helen-Jo Owens and Dot Welsh 125 3 Mr & Mrs Marcel Lalandi (Canada) 121 4. Millie Green and Eileen Kala/ski 105 East * West 1 Mr & Mrs Bill Fane 155 2 May Pinto and Eva Fairlie 137 3 Bob Owens and Bill Coan 133 4 Jean Vantilbum and Betty Williams 127

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r~ HEWS COUPON i | Here s a coupon you can clip and save. If at some time, you know of someone or some - | ■ thing we should write a story about, let us know. J | Include any details we may need (name, addresses, telephone numbers, etc.) and a brief I ^description. I } Story idea; ^ j I : ! I I J Sane aid Telephone: J 4 .. ml It. JIKHjH ZELNIK. EDITOR | | HERALb AttD LANTERN J I P.O. BOX 43# CAPE$IAV CT. HSL, NJ. 08210 I I TELEPHONE: 465-545S I 1 * I I

Crest Haven Plant OK

i CREST HAVEN — The county's Holmes Creek Treatment Plant is not above capacity after all. During all the recent fuss about the Middle Township Sewage Treatment Plant, which IS above capacity, some people ^an disparaging the county's plant, which serves the Crest Haven complex. Both discharge effluent into Crooked Creek and no one is ever sure which is responsible for that creek's reported contamination. County Health and Planning departments officials had conceded they were worried about their plant, especially about its ability to handle the proposed new *9.2-million Crest Haven Nursing Home. THE PLANT HAS a 100,000-gallons-per-day capacity and, they thought, a flow of 110,000 to 120,000 gallons The Court House engineering firtn of Van Note-Harvey was hired to study the plant, including reported infiltration into its lines. / The firm's first recommendation was for the plant's flow meter Woe calibrated. It was, arid found to be reading about 20 percent too high. The latest readings, according to George Morrison, chief sewer plifot operator, are 70,000 to 80,000 gallons a day. THAT APPARENTLY means the county can handle the sewage frohi a new nursing home without a costly rc^aHsion at the sewage treatment plant/ The plant is called Hohnes~Creek Treatment Plant because it useato dischargeeK fluent into Holmes Creek. That was chang-1 ed to Crooked Creek in 1978 /When the plantl was enlarged, Morrison said. The Holmes Creek plant now discharges into Crooked Creek al^ft 100 yards north of the Middle Township Sewage Treatment Plant. Middle's plant is a primary treatment operation, removing solids and adding chlorine; Crest Haven's is a secondary facility with a higher leyel of treatment.

Sodium High (From Pagev^X j But the department has Jfope upgraded the equipment so it ateflj^mtest^br heavy metals found in county Watfer last year. The new cost is about $17,000. J Sutton and L^manna said th (b week that they hope foj/the equipJSfent to arrive "before Labor Day" and be in operation sometime in October ,v > #ik LAM ANN A HAD ISSUED* a "health* alert" to doctors in March oa the basis of V high sodium readings in February sampling. Many of those numbers were denied and subsequent sampling made some of them, in fact, inexplicably suspect. But Cape May (and its Coast Guard base), Stone Harbor and Avalon have shown a pattern of readings over 50 mg/1 (milligrams per liter), the state maximum. The federal recommended maximum for persons on salt-restricted diets is 20 mg/1. Salt-restricted diets are often recommended for patients with heart, kidney or circulatory ailments, problems common to the elderly. Medical sources say one-third of Americans should be cm low salt diets because of high blood pressure, etc. But county cardiologists Robert Sorensen and Suketu Nanavati have poohpoohed the seriousness of the problem. THE LATEST SAMPLING found municipal well readings of 30, 66 and 119.6 in Cape May, but the well With the highest reading is used only in an emergency The sampling found municipal well readings of 51.5, 97, 50.9and '64.1 in Stone Harbor and 43.4, 63.9, 34 and 60.5 in Avalon. In samples taken from faucets at private residences, Cape May had readings of 58.3, jB3, 54.7 and 57.2; Stone Harbor, 57.6, 51.6 51 and 49.5; Avalon, 44.1, 46.9, 55.6 and 43.6. The U.S. Coast Guard base wells in Cape May had readings of 53.9 and 54 and a residence in Cape May Point, which receives Cape May water, had a reading of 48.7. THE SAMPLING also found a municipal well in Rio Grande which serves Wildwood with a 74.2 reading. Sutton said that was probably because that well is in a different aquifer than the other wells. The sampling included a surpise 50 reading from a private residence in Cape May Court House, along with readings of 48.6, 48.7 and 7.6. Court House gets its water from the New Jersey Water Co. headquartered in Lin wood The experts differ on whether salt water intrusion is responsible for high sodium readings on the barrier islands. The sampling program is supposed to lead to a combined Planning-Health Department report and recommendations. A RECAP of other communities tested: The Wildwoods had well readings of from 7.6 to 18, and private residence readings of 15.1 to 21.5. i Sea Isle City had municipal well readings of 29.5 to 38.3 and 'residence readings of 29.3 to 33.8. Ocean City had municipal wetTteadings of 29.5 and 29.7 and residence' readings ranging from 26.3 to 30.7. Lower Township had municipal well readings of 26.3 and 32^-aad^resideiice readings ranging from 26.8 • , Woodbine's municipal weliatesteiMjft^f-^: and 7 ; its residences at 7.2 and 7.5 V Volunteers Qount f (From Page -v / Home owners, represented •by) Ric J Goodwin. T 7 f HUMID WEATHER^LM^»^tQbs<<7l in the 90s didn't dissnade-l^ one bit. This is the second HE fynSy^TT that they're on the job from 10 a.m. to"8 *-*' p.m with teams of two working four-hour — morning or afternoon shifts." Traffic is being counted at 16 intersections under the direction of McCarthy and Charles Kona of Kona-Thomas Associates of Avalon/the planning board's engineer a«tolaniHH< Kona-Tromas submitted the low quotation of $s, MO to train and supervise the count, pUHpe data in the kind of report the state requir«s.and to summarize findings. Without foe volunteers, according to Andrew J- Etednayek, Avalon business administrataMRr cost could have been twice as much. "We're extremely appreciative of the volunteers' help and cooperation," he said. They saved us an additional 17,000 "