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> Vol. 21 No. 8

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February 20. 1965

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Plenty of Places for a Cool One

COURT HOUSE — Better not get strand ed and thirsty before picking a fight with the local innkeeper in this hamlet Even though it's the county seat, there's only one public bar in town, the Bellevue Tavern, and its IV* miles to the next watering hole The Bellevue has been at the same spot for 80 years

There are 185 liquor licenses held by various establishments mostly in the name of corporations, in Cape May Coun ty Nearly a third of them are in Wildwood In many cases, which the proprietors operate both a bar and a retail store on the same premises which is allowed by retail consumption licenses Besides Wilwood's 59 licenses. North Wildwood has another 23 and. if you count three in West Wildwood. that makes a grand total of 85 in the Wildwoods. or 46 percent of all the licenses in the county The reason the Wildwoods have so many liquor licenses is because New Jersey set no population ratios when the licenses were issued for "peanuts" to veterans returning from World War II. say trade sources The population ratios today, however.

are one retail consumption license for every 3.000 people, and one package store for every 7.500 people BUT IN NEW JERSEY, the mitfucipali ty. not the state, is the issuing authority, said the Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Division in Trenton A spokesman there added that the state does not "allocate' licenses to municipalities The towns do that themselves The state mere ly sets up a population cap Wildwood s anything goes image pro liferated during those post-war years as it came to be known as a hard-drinking, blue collar, hell-raising summer resort "with a bar on practically every corner " Wither the reputation was deserved or not. the tag persisted while sleepy resort towns to the north grew at a much slower pace Vacationers there preferred the quieter life

3|I|Z I S "if Today licenses have a resale value ranging from as little as 890.000 to as much as $400,008 — depending on the neighborhood ABC lists no summer seasons, licenses for Cape May County' but many of the Wildwoods establishments an- closed in winter for lack of business They make up for it on summer weekends THE OTHER EXTREME is Ocean City, whose Blue Laws prohibit any sale of alcohol within the town limits V acationers < Page 18 Please

Liquor License Bids Solicited WOODBINE — For sale: liquor store license, eight years old. never used Buyer must build $350,000 restaurant or store complex to go with it. Public bidding is being sought on such a license which the borough set aside for a restaurant /store to be built in the late 1970s, but never was The bid will be awarded March 5. at 8 p m at the Municipal Services Building. Franklin and Monroe avenues. Prospective bidders must submit personal resumes plus financial statements and appropriate forms required by the New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control. IN LIEU OF A financial staetment. bidders must submit a $350,000 sureties performance bond Upon qualification on Feb 25. pros pec tive bidders must also file a survey, plot plan and sketch, showing a site location and a full description of the building or complex in mind According to Borough Clerk Beatrice (Page 18 Please)

Don* Ward FOR THE BIRDS — Sandy Men i grinds suet thai Ricky Helingx. left, and Mike McTamney will stick onto a pine cone which will then be rolled in bird seed and hung outside. It may not look tasty, but the birds love H. This happened in a mini-ecology class at the Wetlands Institute On Stone Harbor Boulevard in Middle Township. The children are four years old and their parents are Mr. and Mrs. Chip Ment of Court House. Mr. and Mrs. Richard Hellings of Clermont, and Mr. and Mrs Bernard McTamney of Avakm.

Schellenger's Landing Another Inner Harbor?

By E. J. DUFFY SCHELLENGER S LANDING - Most vacationers probably consider this island part of Cape May City. Actually. Schellenger's landing is part of Lower Township, though, as the city on#e was And the township wants to take advant age of the tourist trade into Cape May to develop its old fishing port as an attraction Situated at the southern end of the Garden State Parkway between bridges over the Cape May Canal and Cape Island Creek.

Schellenger's Landing is the major roadway link between Cape May and the rest of the world It's hounded by the creek on the south and west, the canal at its north end and Cold Spriftg (Cape May) Inlet on the east side It already attracts about 100 commercial fishing craft a year to its docks, sports fishermen and other boaters to its marinas and thousands of diners to its seafood restaurants But Lower s manager, James R Stump, has more in mind for the water front "WE SEE IT AS A Fishermen's Wharf district — tourist oriented." he explained "We're talking about the area — well, the whole island Councilman Robert F Conroy presented the concept to the county Industrial and Economic Development Commission last week "But there hasn't been anything formally done.' noted A H Child*, commission ex* ecutive director He said the commission would be glad to explore the possibility of grants to finance the proposed project , "But it's not my hallywick to announce it or explore. it," lie added What we'rr doing is. we ri doing some preliminary studies on some economic development projects down there," said Stump There's gold in them there docks, so to (Page 18 Plesse)

News — DiPPCt Weeks Top Stories Fatal C.ranh F.RMA — "Edith Devitt. M. of Union Street, Cape May, died in Burdette Tomlin Memorial Hospital after a Men day morning crash" on Route 9 here According to l^ower Township Police Sgt Frank Ma jane, the woman was driving south and attempted to make a U-turn from the road shoulder when her car was struck by one driven south by Matthew ( Page 8 Please )

County May Name • w Insurance Broker By JOE ZELMK COURT HOUSE — The county's insurance costs are going; "out of sight" and the Board of Freeholders may appoint a "broker of record'' to take over the responsibility of finding the best coverage at the lowest price. Charles Pessagno. president of National Associates of Cape Ma v.

talked briefly to freeholders last week and is expected to submit a proposal this week National is one of the three largest m sura nee agencies in the county and Pessagno is a large contributor to the Republican Party and its candidates All five freeholders are Republicans "We'll also ask for proposals from other people. said Freeholder William E Sturm Jr. who is responsible -for insurance "We won't just take the first ap pie out of the barrel " The possible change in insurance pro cedures comes in a year when most of the county's policies are up for renewal and at a time when Patricia Devaney. director of insurance and grants, is slated to give up that post to become administrator of Human Services, a new position <aee related story, this page) A LITTLE OVER 75 percent of Devaney 's $25,500 annual salary goes for her insurance position, indicating she spends about three-quarters of her time with those duties She gets $18,750 for her insurance post and $6,750 as administrator of the mental health, alcohol and dn^ (Page 18 Please)

Name Donohue I ndersheriff COURT HOUSE - Retim* Stone Kar bor Police Chief William B Donohue will replace the late James W Parker as a county u ndersheriff next month Sheriff James Plousis announced yesterday Named undersheriff only last month Parker. 63. of North Cape May. died in Burdette Tomlin Memorial Hospital last week After reviewing "quite a few resumes Plousis said he decided on Donohue. 50. for the 825.700-a year post The sheriff said he has known the chief for about 10 years and he is well respected in law enforcement both locallv and nationally DONOHUE. WHO OFFICIAL! V retirtv Feb 28. will be replaced by U Jim Swietier as acting chief The new under sheriff has been borough chief since Jan I, 1974 and with the department since 1989 (Page 18 Please *

New Position For Devaney COURT HOUSE - First step toward a 15 month-old proposal to create a county Human Services Department is expected with the Board of Freeholders appointment of Patricia A Devaney as Human Services administrator effective March I Devaney. 33. of Cape May. currently wears two hats insurance arid grants ad ministrator. and mental health, alcohol and drug abuse boards administrator Her salary now is 825.580 Her new one has not oeen announced DEVANEY TOLD the Herald Lantern she will develop priorities for mental health, alcohol and social services block grant monies through a coordinated com rmmitv based planning process " A state- financed management improve ment study conducted in the fall of 1983 con eluded that county government had a vnim her of social seme agencies "similar to or duplications of each other because of "a lack of central planning in Health and Human Services " It r«aid that "for each social service agon cy . there also exist separate admimstrativr staffs and budgets The solution, it said, was "one central Human Services Department '* IT SAID THIS could bring "savings by consolidating administrative staffs and ^ budgets Benefits would also be realired by having better planned and administered (Page 18 Please

inside ... 'General government drives up county budget Page 4 Conferences of despair from the Principal Page 35. Will a county sign pnek the fish hog's conscience? lou Rod* Page 1b Misery at the breakfast table lovnde IR page 15.