CAPE MAY COUNTY HERALD

Vol. 21 No. 14

1984 Seawave corp. All rights reserved.

April 3, 1985

Swing and Sway at the Library ? COURT HOUSE COURT HOUSE Libraries used to

places where people said, "Ssshhh!" But the public meeting room at the county library will rock - well, throb - to the sound of music on April 25. The librarians offering a free introductory class in ballroom dancing. That includes foxtrot, waltz, tango, rumba, chacha, swing, jitterbug. Instructor is John Victor of Wildwood Crest, social dance director of Dance Magic, a fledgling local studio that has a The Digest Weeks Top Stories Would You Believe '86? STONE HARBOR - In the latest installment of the popular local soap opera "When Will the firidge Open?" officials say it will be about three weeks late (May 7 has been mentioned), but that will be a temporary opening and the Great Channel (96th Street) bridge linking Stone Harbor and Middle Township will be reclosed Oct. 15 for nobody's-guessing-how-long. Translation: The tourists will be able to get to town with their money this summer; the locals will be enjoying scenic drives through Avalon again next fall. Costly Directions BURLEIGH — "The Wildwoods," an electric sign that has directed vacationers to the resorts from the Garden State Parkway for 31 years, is slated for destruction this month, a victim of a rent increase to $5,000 and obscuring trees. Sobering Thought AVALON — The borough will use two state grants totaling $4,795 to put an unmarked patrol car with radar equipment on the street to combat drunken driving. The unit will run from midnight to about 6 a.m. starting around Easter, or as the summer season approaches. On Top 500 List? DIAS CRREEK — Mar-Tee landfill on Indian Trail Road, Middle Township, could be included on the list of the 500 most dangerous toxic dumps in the nation if reports that hundreds of barrels of highly toxic chemicals were dumped there before 1972 are substantiated. Reports come from a former employe of the Keuffel and Esser plant in Cape Mav Court House. Let There Be Light SWAINTON — Quiet in the winter, clogged in the summer, the intersection (Page 26 Please)

contract to offer lessons and dances at the Cape May Convention Center and is trying to negotiate the same thing at the Wiidwood Convention Center. Victor, who used to work for the Star Light Ballroom in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., defined ballroom dancing as "contact dancing where you hold a partner in your c arms."

He contrasted ballroom dancing for adults as an alternative to "the bar scene for meeting others." But he conceded most interest comes from those 40 and over, singles and couples. The county library asks interested persons to pre- register so that, if the 7 p.m. class fills, it can schedule a second one at

Doris Ward OF LOPS — Jayson Gangemi's Easter basket is filled with pedigreed Lop bunnies, raised by his aprents, Mr. and MRs. Dennis Gangemi of Rio Grande. Jayson is 7 and attends Middle Township Elementary School No. in Cape May Court House.

10 in a Trailer Without Water The Harrisons: Everybody Left

By JOE ZELNIK WHITESBORO - Brenda Harrison doesn't want her husband bothering people "I'm counting on the goodness of God," she said. And He works through people. I have faith it will get done." "It" is the shell of an uncompleted house next door to the two-bedroom trailer in which she, her husband, and eight children the oldest is 10 — have lived for more than a year. It has no running water. Her husband, Bobby, has a somewhat different point of view. "I'm the breadwinner," he said. "My wife tells me, 'If the people don't want to help, don't bother 'em.' But that's what they have organizations for. The way we're living is against the law, but it's against our will." THE HARRISONS SAY the were selfsufficient until a fire destroyed their home on Dec. 7, 1983. There were seven children then, and Mrs. Harrison was pregnant. The community rallied to their support. A trailer, intended for a short-range solu-

tion, was loaned and placed on their lot. So much used clothing and castoff furniture was brought to the family that they didn't have a place to put it all. A small two- bedroom home was donated by a Sea Isle City resident (sold for a dollar, actually), and moved for free to the Harrison lot. Realizing it was too small, workers helped build a cement block first floor beneath the house. THOSE GOOD NEWS stories got plenty of newspaper coverage with family photos showing the beaming family clutching Christmas gifts. Headlines proclaimed "For the Harrisons, the Future Looks Brighter." But the volunteer help drifted away, the skilled labor to do electrical, heat and plumbing, etc. never showed, and the house remains with no heat, no electric, no running water, not even a stairway to the second floor. Things seem to be getting worse. Harrison said the owner of the trailer wants it back by June. And, most important, the family is no

longer eligible for Welfare and the Medicaid that pays for almost any necessary medical service: doctor, dentist, hospital, prescriptions. TWO MONTHS AGO, with conditions intolerable, the Harrisons sent three of their children — Bichelle, 2; Barclay. 3; and Bearetta, 5 to live with Mrs. Harrison's disabled mother in Bridgeton. The reduced family size made them ineligible for Welfare. Mrs. Harrison, 35, will have her ninth child this month. Her husband, 37, says be won't let her bring a new baby back to the trailer. "I won't allow her to come back to no heat, no hot water, no toilet," be said. "The house is not fit to live in. It's terrible." There are a number of persons who feel the Harrisons have been helped enough the loan of a trailer, the gift of a house, Welfare, Medicaid, food stamps, unemployment. Some say Harrison is "waiting for everybody to do it for him" and that he (Page 26 Please)

County, Union Far Apart COURT HOUSE — Negotiators for the county and the union representing the bulk of its employes — about 750 — remain far apart with further talks slated this morning and a closed freeholder session to discuss the bargaining scheduled for 3:30 this afternoon The county reportedly has offered Local 1983 of the International Brotherhood of Painters and Allied Trades, AFL-CIO, a pay hike of around 5 percent, coupled with a reduction in benefits. Among the proposed benefit cuts: The employe cost per drug prescription would increase to $3 from $1 Major medical modifications would increase the employe-paid deductible and reduce the coverage. "One visit to the hospital would eat up a three-year wage hike," said a union member. AN END TO the "agency shop," which means that the county no longer would deduct union dues from paychecks. Under the former contract, which expired last Dec. 31, the county deducted union dues: and. for persons who did not belong to the union, but were subject to its contract, 85 percent of the dues as a "representative fee in lieu of dues for services rendered by the majority representative." Elimination of the longevity benefit for new hires. The county originally proposed it be eliminated for all employes. Longevity gives employes a 2 percent bonus every five years' service up through 12 percent for 30 years, and 14 percent for 40 years and over. Longevity is currently costing the county about $250,000 to $300,000 a year, according to Freeholder William E. Sturm Jr., director of Revenue and Finance. He gave (Page 26 Please)

inside Columist Zelnik pictured. Page 58. Here's who's offering what kind of IRAs. Page 49. Salt water fishing license: an elitist proposal. Lou Rodia. Page 22. Dieters don't laugh at anything. Joyride III, page 59.