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Vol. 20 No. 44

I Residents Appeal Radio Station 9

By JOHN DONOHUE COURT HOUSE — A dozen families will appeal a Middle Tbwnship zoning variance allowing a radio station to be set up in their block. The variance allows a proposed FM studio and transmitter to operate in a garage at the rear of the* Louise .Monte home at 21 Hereford Ave Attorney William Balliette, who represents about 80 per cent of the block's residents, said his basis for the appeal is that the zoning board did not establish any special reasons for the use variance. a V

TV appeal, he added, will be filed in State Superior Court at Trenton, with the hearing i to be held either in Atlantic City or Cape May County. BALLIETTE WAS CRITICAL of how the zoning board decided the matter in handing down an unanimous 7-0 decision on Oct. 11. "We had a professional planner, Lewis Conley, testify in our behalf, and the zoning board had absolutely no discussion about it. They didn't .even ask their solicitor, 'Hey, what do you have to say about this? What do you think?' "That was the most astounding thing to me — they had absolutely no discussion

about it. They just came, sat down, voted yes, yes, yes right down the line And that was it." "The main ground for the appeal is that they said there was a special need to locate a radio station in Cape May Court House but even if there was a need, they didn't haw to put it in a residential area."" NEIGHBORS ALONG Hereford Avenue don't think so, either. "We've been here 23 years. This is just like throwing mud in our faces," said Stew Chase a music teacher who lives up the street at 31 Hereford Aw "Their minds were already made up"

Dr. Albert E. Wood, of 20 Hereford Aw, lives directly across the street from the radio station site He expressed fears in an interview that "It would open the street up to commercial uses." The zoing variance was sought on the basis that "No other county seat in the State of New Jersey is w ithout a radio station, and the grant of the variance sought by (the) applicant will create a distinct, community benefit." THE ZONING BOARD, in writing its twopage decision, said it agreed with that reasoning and added further that to use the (Page 7 6 Please)

News— ~ DigeSt TopTstones Tutu. Taboo ERMA — Lower Cape May Regional School District's Board of Education voted 6-2 Thursday to deny Joanne Reagan's request to use the high school auditorium next May for rehersals and performances by her dancing studio students. It was the second time the board voted down the request from the Cape May City school board member. Last month, however, the LCMR board voted unanimously against it and a similar request after high school principal Stanley Kotzen argued that district students should get first crack at the auditorium. Life in Cape May CAPE MAY — Last week it was Villa. America's bravest dog from Villas, in the November issue of "Reader's Digest". Now it's the "mystery weekends" at some of Cape May's Victorian inns presented in five pages of color photograpsh in the November issue of "Life." That's the one with John and Caroline Kennedy on the cover. See Below COURT HOUSE — Freeholder William E. Sturm Jr. has apologized to the county MUA for his "unfortunate remark. ..venting my frustration with a system that charges $13 per ton for depositing leaves, branches and tree stumps from a county road project in a sanitary landfill." Sturm stressed that he voted to appoint (Page 7 3 Please)

Jury Slaps Sewerage Officials

CELEBRATING — ri.clnm.rc „ j __ „ .. _ OorU Vart

CELEBRATING getting clipped, permed or styled at Suzi's Beauty Salon m g<>t SJfCke? °r an,ns*d bv employes costumed for Halloween. Lett right, Kelly Cramer as Strawberry Shortcake; clown Ruth Marsden ; catty Gloria D^pkUt ' M,r> Frot,mad,r- 8111 Sch»ck " M»rilvn Monro,: and plraln

Repici Indicted By JOE ZELN'IK A COURT HOUSE - A special investigative grand jury indicted local Realtor Thomas J. Repici for "theft of services" Monday. And it criticized a halfdozen Middle Township officials for their handling of Sewerage Commission duties. Although finding "no criminality" on the part of the Middle officials, the grand jury (ED. NOTE: Text of grand jury presentment begins on page 16. presentment did criticize township Sewerage Commission members John M. Ludlam, Michael Vi$tenzo and LeRoy Westcott ; its solicitor. John L. Ludlam ; its secretary, Helen B Westcott; and Mayor Michael J. Voll.

The 23-member grand jury was led through the commission's tangled history by the office of county Prosecutor John Corino and specifically by Assistant Prosecutor Robert G. Wells in six sessions over five months. The 60-page presentment, said a new release from the prosecutor's office, dealt with "non-criminal failure to discharge one's public duty" that should be made public. " » The presentment said its report was "a matter of serious public concern" and it concluded by urging "all citizens of Cape May County to review the findings arid recommendations." Thus the Herald and (Page 26 Please) ,-r

Is It 'Go' for Nursing Home? — - — - ^ -* ■* * • w

By JOE ZELN'IK COURT HOUSE — Court House Associates this week began clearing land on Magnolia Drive for a $4-million, 120-bed nursing home, Court House Convalescent Center. But the county Health Department said Middle Township should not have issued a construction permit and told Construction Official Michael Vistenzo "that no construction permit! s) for this project shall

be issued until such time as all certificaticns are completed by this department. " What Court e Associates now has is a permit to excavate and pour a foundation, a $60,000 portion of the job that ideally should be completed before cold weather. But County Health Officer Louis Lamanna, overruling his own inspector, Charles Adelizzi, said two requirements remain unmet: one foot of fill on the sewage disposal bed area, and a legal opinion from Middle Township Solicitor Bruce Gorman that a leasing agreement on land for those sewage system beds is "appropriate." ADELIZZI SAID the fill question was "nothing out of the ordinary. Sometimes we do put the cart before the horse. We used to issue a permit and say don't forget the fill. Then we'd go back and find the fill was not there. So we've changed our policy." Eugene Mayer, Court House Associates president, said he plans to use soil ex-

cavated for the building for fill over the adjacent septic fields. "It would be stupid to bring fill from elsewhere when I have it on site," he said. Gorman told the Herald and Lantern that be was reviewing the lease and would have an opinion "in the next couple days. " "They have to hold up everything until we're satisfied that all requirements of the code have been met," said La manna. "It's a protection for everybody. Mr. Adelizzi was in error and we're going to correct it immediately." LAMANNA SAID be had just had a similar problem in Woodbine and "I sent them a certified letter reiterating this department's policy. It is uniform and we apply it throughout the county. Before a construction permit can be issued, all requirements of the Health Department have to have been met. We haven't i&sred a sewage permit." (Page 26 Please)

GOP Outspends Dems by 8-1 By E. J. DUFFY Stapling pre-election financial reports from the 1984 Republican Campaign Committee (RCC) is no easy task. . Those disclosures are thick with lists of contributors to the local GOP's county ticket. They're thick because the RCC has raised and spent more than eight times as much as its Democratic counterpart. Accordi g to the latest RCC figures filed Friday with the County Clerk, it's raised $15,649.82 in contributions of $100 or less and $40,709 in largo* donations for a preelection total of $56,358.82. By Friday, the RCC spent $44,1(17.03 to elect Ocean City Patrolman James Pious is as county sheriff with his freeholder runn(Page 26 Please)

Chamber Fights State ' Grab '

CREST HAVEN — The county Chamber of Commerce saysjhe state Division of Tburism and Travel is trying to "grab" its tourist information center in the Seaville Service Center. Smoldering beneath the surface of the controversy is local tourist industry resentment at "mul ti -million dollar casino operations ... siphoning off business from Cape May County business establishments " The chamber has for 18 years operated a tourist information center in a former snack

bar at the center on the Garden State Parkway, Milepost No 18. ANNUAL VISITORS there have increased from 30,000 to 120,000, according to Robert C. Patterson, chamber executive director. This summer, however, the state placed a Tbuch and Go computer system in the center; then sent a distributor of state prxv motional literature. Patterson said most of the literature was (From Page 51)

Record Voting Rolls Ready BY E. J. DUFFY "Incredible! That's bow an 18-year veteran on the county Board of Elections described the sudden surgeto register for Tuesday s general election. Election workers put in overtime to sign up 187 new voters alooe on the Oct. 9 registration deadline. Several thnnsand Cape residents have registered since June, swelling the county voting roils from less than 48,000 then to just over an historic 53,000 now. The board processed a record 3,000 applications for absentee ballots by last week. Yesterday was the filing deadline. Voter interest in national, county and municipal elections plus registration .(Page 24 Please)