MJ nr 1 CAPE MAY COUNTY ^ trali l ■ ■ f

Vol. 20 No. 46 -iwhow^c^.Ai^r^. November 14, 1984

Dreams and Headaches Going to Auction

By JOHN DONOHUE COURT HOUSE — Dreams of a retirement or vacation home will end up on the auction block for hundreds of lot owners throughout the county this month. Some properties may have been buildabie years ago but many of them are too small to build on legally now. Others are swampy. Still others are the same lots land hucksters carved up a lifetime ago and sold to unsuspecting suckers. It is a cycle that has been going on since the early days of this century, as much of the same land keep6 being churned over at public auction for back taxes.

In three separate auctions, more than 400 pieces of ground will be offered for public bidding this month alone in Dennis and Middle townships, plus Woodbine 3orough. IN SOME CASES, the owners are listed simply as "unknown," because title records were destroyed over the years. "In Upper Township, there are thousands of irregular lots measuring 25 feet by 35 feet that can't be built on," according to Edward F. Filipski of Stone Harbor. Filipski, one of the county's supervising principal planners, told the county Planning Board recently:

"In many cases, owners have been holding onto them (lots) for years, thinking they're worth a lot of money. But in fact, many will be foreclosed for back taxearand the township will wind up owning these lots, unless the owners argue and complain that the assessments should be lowered because they are unbuildable." IN ADDITION, Filipski said, "there are little pieces of land throughout the county belonging to VFWs and other private groups and organizations." David Rutherford of Cape May Point is also a supervising principal planner. He wrote about the same problems 13 years

ago in the county's annual data book. Little has changed since then. ' 'There's no question that these lots are a headache, just in record keeping," Rutherford said. "But, of course, the municipalities want to keep them on their tax rolls, too. That's their idea." Down the road, Rutherford envisions municipalities may eventually convert such land to public recreation. "That's how Belleplain State Forest was put together," he said. "IF A TOWNSHIP has an area of adjoining lots," "they can lump all the lots together and go through the foreclosure as (Page 12 Please)

News--^ DigeSt TopTstories Little Jack Horner NORTH WILDWOOD - Council President Timothy O'Leary will have a brand new city job waiting for him when he step6 down from council this month. His colleagues created a $20,000-a-year post of assistant superintendent of Public Works for him. Officially, O'Leary 's superior will be David Blaker, Public Works superintendent, who's slated to retire in 1985 or '86. O'Leary's immediate subordinate will be sewer department forman Thomas Marlow, an 11 -hour veteran who fills in for Blaker. Meeting Tonight AVALON — Members of the borough's school board meet tonight to discuss 1984-'8S objectives, Minimum Basic Skills test results and the June evaluation of the district. The 7 p.m. meeting will be held in the trailer board room, 3200 Ocean Drive. How's That Again? WILDWOOD — Attorney James Webb gets $40,000 a year salary as the city's legal barrister, a job he took over when Raymond Batten quit. But Webb continues submitting $900 a month vouchers to Wildwood for work he has done as city prosecutor. How come? Nobody seemed to know, so the city council plans to hold a formal hearing into the matter at 7 this evening. (Page 36 Please)

p Am Doris Ward

PREVENTION — Nurse Brenda Smith gives flu shot to Helen Glaninger, resident at the Cape May Care Center in Swainton.

Middle Creates Two * / * • Vistenzo-less Posts

COURT HOUSE — Middle Township Committee has created two full-time paid jobs — total salary : $32,616 — in order to reduce the posts held by construction official Michael Vistenzo. They named Vistenzo's secretary, Carole Nicolette of Burleigh, zoning official at $16,616, the same pay she made as his secretary. A new secretary will be hired to replace her in the construction official's office by the end of the year, accor-

% ding to committee member James E. Alexis. And they named Norman Loch ten of Burleigh code enforcement official at $15,000 a year." Alexis said the new jobs were created "to assist Mike and limit the overburdening he has lived with for many, many year$." BOTH ACTIONS took place at an (Page 36 Please)

Nursing Home Back on Track

COURT HOUSE — Site preparation continues this week for the proposed Court Jiouse Convalescent Center that appears on track. Builders of the Magnolia Drive nursing borne agreed last week to increase their septic system by 50 percent to satisfy county Health Department requirements.

And county Planning Director Elwood Jarmer said that, assuming the home's CAFRA (Coastal Areas Facilities Review Act) application satisfactorily answers questions about water quality, he will recommend that the planning board drop its appeal of the CAFRA permit. Hie outlook was for the home's new sewage design to be completed and approval by the end of this week. BENJAMIN MILLER of Court House Associates, the home's developer, said "everything should be resolved" with the Health Department by tomorrow. And he said be was "not concerned" with the Planning Board's water quality questions. They are covered in the CAFRA application, he said, and the planning board lacks jurisdiction. "They can't tie it up," he said. Most of Miller's positions were upheld in the meeting with Health Department of(Page 36 Please)

—Early Deadlines — News and advertising deadline for the Herald-Lantern's Thanksgiving edition/ is tomorrow, Nov. 15. The papers will be distributed a day early, on Tuesday, Nov. 20. Since the Herald-Lantern office in Court House will be closed Nov. 22 and 23 for Thanksgiving, deadline for the Nov. 28 issue will be Wednesday, Nov. 21.

Health, B-T Nix Free Flu Shots

By JOE ZELNIK • The county's 18,000 persons over the age of 65 will face winter's twin killers of the elderly — influenza and pneumoni — without the weapon of free flu shots. Burdette Tomlin Memorial Hospital, which gave free inoculations last year, won't this year, blaming a "lack of interest last year." And the county Health Department, citing "lengthy discussions with

the county's legal advisor (Albert M. Ash) and the Cape May County Public Health Advisory Committee," says flu shots are against its policy. / Those discussions, actually held several years ago, are the basis for the Health Department's position that "legal reasons (liabilities, etc.), and the potential for medical contraindications for people at meaicai cunirauiuicauuii> iui yeupie ai

high risk," preclude free flu shots. FLU SHOTS ARE NOT covered by Medicare. The price at a private physician runs $10 to $15. Health departments in adjacent counties and municipalities are giving them for free. "Practically all health departments have it," said Cumberland County Health Officer Manuel 06troff. "It's demanded by the public. If we didn't have it, our senior citizens would break the doors down." Cumberland County's inoculation program started last week and was to finish this week. Ostroff said it purchased 1,000 doses and has been giving about 800 a year for at least the last 10 years. He said it follows the recommendations of the U.S. Center for Disease Control and gives them to persons with chronic disease, especially children; a IT senior citizens, and "anybody in public service, such as police, because you can't afford to lose man hours in a critical occupation. "BUT NO ONE is turned away," said Ostroff. "You show up and roll up your sleeve and we shoot you." It will co6t Cumberland County about $2,800, he estimated, based on a cost of $2.28 a dose paying a doctor to administer them. Vineland, which has its own health department, used all 600 of its doses in October, according to Lou Cresci of the department. Atlantic County gave about 1,200 free shots and Atlantic City about 525, both last month, to "anybody that comes in," but with preference to residents over 60 or with chronic diseases. "WE'RE ONE OF THOSE that don't" said Cape May County Health Officer Louis Lamanna. "People come in off the street requesting shots. Who's to say what kind of reaction a person will have? We have no way of knowing their medical history." The county also did not give flu vaccine to local nursing homes this year, although * (Page 36 Please)

Nearly 80% Voted Tues.

By E. J. DUFFY COURT HOUSE - Nearly 80 percent of the county's eligible voters cast ballots in last week's presidential election — 42,189 voters, or 79.5 percent of the 53,008 registered. Final results confirm unofficial returns reported here last week. With absentee ballots counted, total votes changed in each race but the outcomes remained the same, according to official tallies released by the county clerk's office Friday afternoon. There were no upsets. Local voters opted for the status-quo — reelecting incumbents,, regardless of party, and choosing Republicans ova- Democrats to fill vacant county and municipal seats. APPROVAL OF STATE and municipal ballot questions, despite significant costs of many, seems to underscore voters' contentment for the most part with their lot in life, the economy and the governments that serve them. Voters were mostly interested in the top of the ballot. While 42,189 voted in the presidential race, that number decreased in each lower race with 40,433 voting fa U.S. Senator, 40,211 for Congressman and 37,775 fa county sheriff. Official figures show Ocean City (Page 12 Please) -inside — — STRIPED bass are in serious trouble. Lou Rodia, page 34. RAIDERS dinch first place in Cape Atlantic League. Mark Mattern, page. 32. TURKEY'S not the only Thanksgiving tradition. Florence Heal, page 5. THEY PAID how much for whatfl Property transfers, page 41.