Herald & Lantern 6 February, 1985

Happy Valentine's Day

With Tongue in Cheek You are my favorite valentine. As if that's any news. You are the caviar and wine About which I enthuse: You are the lyric song that sings In sonnets I would write, You gave my clumsy spirit wings To tackle any flight ; You make a lark of staid routine. And not at all by chance You memory is always green With that which breathes romance. Let other wives week bitter tears, And curse their sorry fate Yours never is beset with fears Lest you should skip a date; And though other men. more stupid Forget their VALENTINES, I will rest in hope, dear cupid. You've read between the lines: By Viney H. Endicott Freeholders 1st Class Dolts The Cape May County Freeholders, lavish spenders that they are, might do well to hire someone to handle their public relations. Otherwise, the people in this beleagured county are going to think those same freeholders are firstclass dolts and dunderheads. What else but galloping ignorance or malignank elitism can explain their collective inability to respond coherently to questions about their own meetings? Have the freeholders risen to such Olympian heights that they deign to ignore their own agenda? For months now. The Herald & Lantern have been asking these elected nabobs simple questions about what takes place at their closed meetings. And their answers — which would embarass a fifth grader caught without his homework — are invariably the same: "I did not realize the resolution was not voted on", or "I don't know why it didn't come up" or "I thought it was postponed", or all their purpose comeback. "I have no comment." I GUESS I'D HAVE "no comment" too, if I was responsible for replacing one retired lawyer who made $81,000 a year, with three other lawyers who will earn a total of $115,000 a year. And I'd certainly say "no comment" if asked why I was keeping my buddy, retiring counsel, Mr. Ash, on the payroll at $100 an hour whenever he feels like working! Mr. Ash, you understand, is getting a pension of only $40,000 a year, so, God knows, he needs those extra 10 or 15 hours a week at $100 per hour. The only explanation for this Alice-in-Wonderland outlandishness is that the freeholders, like most of this county's politicians, are completely out of touch with those of us who have to work for a living. One hundred dollars an hour is an obscene amount of money for anybody to earn, but particularly so in this backwater county where thousnads of people are hard put every day to keep body and soul together. The latest incident of brazen effrontery, of belligerent arrogance, of callous indifference on the part of the freeholders is typical of the way government works in this county where crotch politics is. and always has been the name of the game. Once they get their elongated snouts into the public trough, politicians are oblivious to all else, even their own best interests. Witness the recent reluctant departures of Atlantic City's Mike Matthews, and Wildwood's answer to Lester Maddox, Earl Ostrander. One hope that more of the stammering yahoos who run government locally will join those two. either in the slammer or the unemployment line. Fat chance, though. I'm afraid. The freeholders and other local politicos will continue cranking out their fivepound grins at election time, mumbling idiotic nonsense between elections, and forging ahead with their only real jobs: plugging their friends and unplugging their enemies. Congratulations are in order to Mr. Ash whose friends plugged him in and light him up like a Christmas tree. For the rest of us, though, it's just one more electric bill to pay. OWEN MURPHY COURT HOUSE

From The Principal

By Stanley Kotzen Principal, Lower Cape May Regional High School

Building memories is a tough job, but we have a devoted group of youngsters and teachers who work at that ask diligently every day . Every high school has them. They are the staffs of the school publications, and in our case: Ebb Tides, our yearbook. The Seahorse. our newspaper, and Pegasus, our literary magazine. If you watch closely you can pick out the members of this corps of literati as students board the 5 o'clock bus at the end of a long school day. They are the ones without the gym bags, dancing shoes, or instrument cases. OFTEN THEY are arguing about deadlines, headlines, captions and "art work." When they talk about "layouts" they are not talking gymnastics, and when they discuss "copy" they are not planning to cheat. This is the language of print production, and it is never far from their consciousness as they strive to make their effort one that will be universally praised and admired. It seldom works that way. There are not many tangible rewards that exist beyond the recognition from their own colleagues who know and understand the extent of their skills and commitment. There is the tactile thrill of holding that publication in your hands and seeing your name in print on a masthead or byline, and there is the psychic reward of knowing that the student created this issue from nothing — that they were a part of the process from planning to finished product. BUT ALL OK this good feeling can be flushed by the comments by youngsters who complain that their name was misspelled or worse, omitted. Comparisons that take the form of "I liked last year's better" can puncture the sturdiest of ego balloons, and overheard comments that a particular piece is 'dumb" can really devastate a budding journalist. Yet they persist, and we are thankful that they do. Is there ajaore treasured volume in your family bookshelf than your high school yearbook? If you are like most people, inside the yearbook are those old school newspapers, particularly if the issue mentioned the names and accomplishments that you or your friends have come to treasure. (Without looking, I'll bet. you can remember pretty accurately what was written under your yearbook picture. ) It is also probable that unless you worked on the publications you never got to know those who did. If you are typical you never told them that you appreciated their efforts that enable you to relive some wonderful moments of your youth. We're not going to let our journalists or their advisors work in anonymity at Lower Cape May Regional. Here they are for all of us to recognize: Ebb Tides advisor, Sandra Beane, editor Janet Kelly.

Seahorse advisor Karen Stephens, editor Luann Cherry. Pegasus advisor Margaret Jaster, editor, Carolyn Morse. These are the students who are sub-editors ; Patty Branagan, Rene Luthe. Debbie Smith, Alice Ruediger. Paige Hunter. Joe Felsman, Sheila McCloy and I.aureen Weeden head a yearbook staff of 51 . Sharon Cruz, Angel McHale and Susan McDonald of the Seahorse. and Melanie Johnson and Tammy Gildea of Pegasus are responsible for some fine workmanship. Each of these names belongs to a student who has come to handle criticism, but seldom hears the sound of approval that can so easily be expressed with a simple "thanks for doing such a good job".

Scholarship Awards Set By Group OCEAN CITY - The Polish American Association of South Jersey again is offering two scholarships to deserving high school students of Polish ancestry, who will graduate in 1985. it was announced by Chester J. Spodobalski, the president The offer commemorates the memory of Rev Mon signor Leon S. Winowicz, of the Camden Diocese. it was his dream and plan to establish a scholarship awards program to provide aid to Polish American youth. Awards of $500 will be made to the selectees. Applications and instructions have been forwarded to area school counselors. Only students residing in Atlantic or Cape May County are eligible. All applications, school transcripts and recommendations must be returned to the Scholarship Committee. P.O. Box 18. Somers Point. N.J 08244 Closing Date is March 15. New Voice Club Meet RIO GRANDE - There will be a meeting of the New Voice Club of Cape May County Monday. Feb. 11, at 7:30 p.m. in the Unit Office of the American Cancer Society. 15 Delsea Dr Guest speaker will be Clay Sutton, whose presentation will be entitled "Impact of the Environment on Health " All Laryngec tomees. families and guests are welcome GOP Session COURT HOUSE - The Middle Township Republican Club will hold its monthly meeting 8 p.m. Monday, Feb. 11, at the county library, Mechanic Street. Thomas Bevis will discuss the duties of a committeeperson. For information, call 465-5885.

Joyride III By Libby Demp Forrest

Boys may come and boys may go, but certain expectations seem to go on forever in my household. I haven't stepped inside the door for years without being asked, "What did you bring me. Mom?" Over the years. No. 1 and No. 2 have held to the theory that every time I go out the door I'm expected to come back in with a treat of some kind. "What did you bring me, Mom?" No. 2 asked the other day when I came in the door "I only walked to the corner mailbox," I said in a huff. "WELL, YOU DON'T have to get mean about it." No. 2 said. "I just thought you might have stopped somewhere." "I did," I said. "I stopped at the mailbox and dropped a letter in." The other night when I came home from work. No. 2 was Johnny -on-the-spot with, "What did you bring me. Mom'? "I brought home my work from the office." I said. "That's all?" asked No. 2. My finest hours in No. 1 and No. 2's eyes have been when I came home with a little something extra. The boys have tried to train me to their ways over the years and there are times when I measure lip My best remembered entrances are when I pulled candy bars from my handbag or a package of tortilla chips from a coat pocket. WHEN NO. l AND No. 2 were younger their expectations were for little toys, animal crackers and storybooks. Entry into the house after a trip to the grocery store is still a virtual assault and I'm still met with. "What did you bring me. Mom?" The grocery bags are quickly gone through and the grapefruit, milk and celery are tossed aside for something more interesting. "That's it?" No. 2 asks after the bags have been gone through. "No ice cream?" asks No. 2. "No ice cream," 1 say. "You just bought food — that's all?" asks No. 2. "That's it," I say. "How about helping me put the groceries away?" "In a minute. Mom, ' says No. 2. "I have something I have to do right now." Of course, when the boys were younger they loved to help put groceries away. But first the canned goods were rolled around the floor, every box had to be shook and the coffee tasted just to see what it was like. Times have changed, but sometimes I think the grocery bags I bring home are still thought of as every bit as fascinating now as then without the havoc that only toddlers can make.

Rx Health Watch by Dr Robert G Beitman

Kidney infection is the next subject in our series on urinary tract conditions. The medical term for this is "pyelonephritis." It can come on rapidly, termed "acute," or be recurrent, termed "chronic." The first sympton your doctor may associate with kidney infection is back pain. She will be looking for sudden, intense pain in the back just above your waist. You may also have chills and trembling, possibly nausea and vomiting. FEVERS AS high as 104 F. are not uncommon. All the usual symptoms assicated with a bladder infection may begin — burning during urination, a sense that you need to urinate constantly, and even trouble urinating. The urine is likely to be cloudy, a sign of infection, and light red if some blood has been passed as a result of'irritation of the kidneys. Acute kidney infections are fairly common, in women especially. Promptly and properly treated, they usually pose no further problem. CERTAIN conditions tend to bring them on: Most notably pregnancy, kidney stones, bladder tumors and enlarged prostate glands. Inadequate hygiene, such as wiping from back to front after a bowel movement, can introduce bacteria into the urethra (entry to urinary tract) which then spreads up to

the bladder and on to the kidneys. Infectious agents can also be spread through the bloodstream to the kidneys from other parts of the body. CHRONIC pyelonephritis can be worrisome and endanger good health. Common causes of this condition include: blockages caused by kidney stones and bladder muscle malfunctions. These abnormalities allow urine to flow backwards and up into the kidneys. If a urinary tract infection is present at such time, it can then spread to the kidneys. The danger is greatest when kidney infections continue untreated to the point where chronic kidney failure results. We need our kidneys to live. THE KIDNEYS filter out dangerous impurities and mix them with water so we can safely pass them out as urine Infection can cause scarring of the kidney tissue, thus making the kidney less efficient and eventually failing to serve its vital function. Next week we will discuss tests used to detect urinary tract infections. Dr. Beitman is presidentelect of the Cape May County Unit of the American Cancer Society, of which Health Watch is a' fpublic education project. Address your medical questions to Dr. Beitman c/o 116 N. Main St., Cape May Court House.