Herald - Lantern - Dispatch j 29 May '85 61 ! —

News Digest (from Page 1)

approximately $15,000 per year" Thursday. The bill's for reserve capacity in the MUA treatment plant, Villas. The MUA never billed and the county never paid about two years' worth of reserve capacity fees for the county airport complex, Erma, Stump discovered when reviewing MUA records after a February investigation of them by the county prosecutor. Chlorinating Cox Hall TOWN BANK - James R. Stump, Lower Township's manager and executive director of its MUA, said Friday he's "decided to chlorinate Cox Hall Creek to reduce odors and bacteria levels. The MUA plant discharges treated sewage into the creek's Villas headwaters but Stump doesn't consider the authority responsible for past bayfront contamination from human waste bacteria. He does regard chlorination as the most "cost-effective" method of preventing bacteria and odors, however. This week, he confirmed, an MUA contractor will also dredge the creek. JVeu) Kind Of Jetty VILLAS — Don't throw away your old septic tank — there's a new use for it. Lower Township officials have found that five of the tanks have halted beach erosion when installed at the end of Miami and Pennsylvania avenues on the bay. Council plans to install more of them north of Miami Avenue if property owners share the costs. Duty to be Duty-Free? ERMA — Freeholders last week agreed to spend $15,000 to be included as a Foreign Trade Zone in the application of the Port of Salem to the U.S. Commerce Department. Designation, which would exempt foreign exporters from tariffs or taxes while in the zone, would apply initially to the county's Airport Industrial Park here. Bridgeton, Millville and Vineland also are expected to be included. Oh Ye of Little Faith STONE HARBOR - "Bridge Out" signs are being removed, but "Detour" signs are just being covered. That, state DOT officials explained, is just in case the Great Channel bridge malfunctions (there has been'one 12-minute mishap so far) and it becomes necessary to reroute motorists again. Bottoms And Tops Up STONE HARBOR - "Keep It On." not "Take It Off." is the thrust of an ordinance that prohibits stripping in public that will come up for passage June 4. at 7 p.m., in the Municipal Building. The measure makes it unlawful for anyone 10 years of age or older to appear bottomless or topless. Poor Public Works? AVALON — The borough's Publjc Works Department is "poorly managed," and has "no routines, unclear priorities, and (workers) are not properly supervised or trained," a managment improvement survey has found. The survey also urges an increase in taxes to improve services, and a tightening up of the beach tag inspection program. The findings are not binding. Kickbacks Kicked Out SWAINTON -^Superior Court Judge Michael Connor last week dismissed charges that John H. Sykes, president of PQA Engineering Co., paid kickbacks in

return for contracts from county MUA here. Deputy Attorney General Robert Donovan, who conceded the evidence was circumstantial, said the court's decision will be appealed. PQA received about $426 millin in fees from the MUA from 1973 to 1984 when a county grand jury indicted Sykes and several others. Shuttle Switch COURT HOUSE — The not-so-good news is that the shuttle bps direct from Cape May via Court House to Philadelphia ends June 28. The not-so-bad news is that it will be replaced June 29 with a shuttle from Cape May to Mar- . mora, linking up with the Ocean City shuttle to Philadelphia. A New Jersey Transit spokesman said very few people rode the Cape May shuttle, so this will be more cost-effective and the trip time "roughly equal." ^ City Hires Private Eyes WILDWOOD — City officials are planning to spend $3,500 to hire R.L. Holmes & Associates, Pleasantville, private investigators, to probe actions of the city Police Department in the alleged coverup of a drowning of a nine-year-old boy in August, 1984. The firm is headed by former state trooper and includes other long-time law enforcement officers. The Flapper Era AVALON — Flapper gates will be installed by the county along Ocean Drive to try to prevent flooding of low areas. Borough Administrator Andrew Bednarek said last week. Valves on the gates will permit water to drain into the bays. But when the valves are closed, they will prevent water from the bays flooding areas during high tides. No Torts For Six SEAVILLE — New Jersey's Surpeme Court last week suspended local lawyer Vincent James Milita II from practice for sxi months for "deceit and misrepresentation" in dealing with a state's witness in a drug case. A disciplinary review board recommended Milita be suspended for two years for trying to bribe former county Assistant Prosecutor Kyran Connor on another case. But the court found that Milita's conversation with Conor showed "not a corrupt criminal motive but a casual unconcern for the high degree of professionalism expected of every member of the bar." Taxpayers Lose Again WILDWOOD — City officials may be selling off vehicles as surplus before taxpayers are through paying for them. Councilman Edward Herman warned last week. Herman referred to 1981 and 1983 vehicles sold as junk at a recent public auction. Trash trucks that cost $60,000 were sold for $300, Herman said. Low Rate Mortgages COURT HOUSE - People buying their first homes with incomes of less than $24,000 may be able to get mortgage loans at 10 7 percent. Assemblyman Guy F. Muziani (R-Cape May, Cumberland) said last week. He said $110 million will be available through the state Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency. Homeowners, who haven't held a title to a property for at least three years also qualify for the loans. Income Extremes WASHINGTON - The largest in- ^ creases in personal income in 1983 were registered in Cape May and Sussex counties, reports the federal Commerce Department In Cape May County, income of residents grew by 9.3 percent in one year, from $1 billion to $1.1 billion.

In Sussex, in the state's northern tier, incomes went up 9.6 percent, $1.4 billion to $1.5 billion. Overall, the state's total personal income grew 7.6 percent from 1982 to 1983. Who Spends What TRENTON — Atlantic City's Casino Association spent $89,332 on lobbying in the state capital last year to make the list of the top 10 organizations trying to influence legislation. Fifth on the list with expenditure of $125,620 was the state Chamber of Commerce. The state attorney general's office, which oversees lobbyists, said.they increased from 326 two years ago to 450 this year. Anti-Litter Litter TRENTON — The state Legislature is littered with 23 bills designed to set up recycling programs, or frustrate the littering habits of many citizens. The bill most likely to pass would require all municipalities to get into recycling within one year. Three hundred and sixty-three of the state's 567 municipalities have programs One bill would require a 10* deposit on all beverage containers. Another would impose a tax on litter-generating products to pay for clean-up efforts. Recycling Resisted TRENTON — Recycling won't work because there are not enough markets for recycled materials. David Lloyd, vice president of the New Jersey Business & Industry Association told state legislators last week who are styling a bill that would create a mandatory recycling program The bill is supported

by Gov. Thomas H. Kean and environmentalists who think it would reduce roadside litter and help solve the problem of what to do with solid waste. Familiar Refrain ATLANTIC CITY — Completion of Route 55 in Cumberland County is among projects that the state will commit $3-4 billion for. Gov Thomas H. Kean told business leaders last week. Kean, a Republican running for re-election, conceded he is the fifth governor to pledge funds for the so-called "Road to Nowhere." No Interest In Vote TRENTON — Because Gov. Thomas H. Kean has no opposition in the Republican primary, more than 70 per cent of the state's eligible voters are expected to stay home, predicts state Election Division Director Christine St. John She said she expects voter turnout to be lower than the 29.4 percent that voted in the 1981 primary Loot For Cops TRENTON — Thirteen countymunicipalities will share some of $2.3 million in additional state aid for the hiring of beat cops under a bill signed last week by the governor The communities and the money they will receive are: Avalon $15,069; Cape May City $11,523; Cape May Point $886; Lower Township $23,933; Middle Township $28,365; North Wildwood $21,273; Ocean City $48,752; Sea Isle City $15,069; Stone Harbor $13,296; West Cape May $1,773; Wildwood $29,251; West Wildwood $1,773; Wildwood Crest. $17,728

Smut? Eight Would Rule

VILLAS — Lower Township councilmen unanimously introduced an antipornography ordinance last week that would establish a committee to gauge community moral standards if adopted after a public hearing June 3. "This is the latest in a continuing series, in trying to deal with this problem," Township Solicitor Bruce Gorman, who drafted proposed Ordinance 85-11. told council. "I hope this is the final solution." "I didn't think I would be able to recommend one to you...," he added, doing so. "I think this one has a fighting chance; I feel good about it." "The purpose of the. . . ordinance is to protect the health, safety and welfare of the township... by outlawing pornography. . while, at the same time, effectuating adherence to the provisions of the First Amendment (to the U.S. Constitution)," the pending ordinance states. IT DEFINES PORNOGRAPHY accord ing to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Miller versus California, the ruling that made a community's moral standards a test of what can be regarded as pornographic in that community That is, material or conduct which: "The average person, applying contemporary standards of the township would find — taken as a whole — appeals to the prurient interest and depicts or describes, in patently offensive ways, sexual conduct specifically defined by (state laws) and. taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic. political or scientific value ." According to the measure. "It shall be unlawful 4q sell. exhibit. pu»-vey, or otherwise exhibit pornography, as defined herein, within the confines of the township ," To determine what the community standards are in Lower would be the job of the eight-member Community Standards Review Board "It shall assemble said evidence through any means which may be reasonable including, but not limited to, public hearings, public petitions, public referenda, and the like," the proposed ordinance states. "The board shall maintain detailed and accurate records of said evidence." THAT BOARD ALSO IS charged with issuing written opinions about whether material or conduct it reviews is pornographic. Meeting at least once a month, the board would be appointed by township

council from a cross section of Lower residents. If someone files a complaint based on the definition of pornography in the proposed ordinance. the "board shall submit to the court a written advisory < non-binding ) opinion with regard to the materials and/or conduct at issue prior to trial." Fines for each violation range from $100-$500 and/or 90 days in jail. Most communities that have argued their standards oppose certain types of sexually explicit material, have lost in court, Gorman explained, because they lacked any evidence that they had uniform community standards He sees Ordinance 85-1 1 as an answer to the court test and any legal challenges COUNCIL HAD BEEN CONSIDERING Ordinance 85-2. an anti-pornography measure that virtually banned adult businesses in Lower through restrictive zoning. The Rev. George W Fincke. senior pastor of Covenant Bible Church, saw too many loopholes in that ordinance, however, and called for an all-out ban on "smut ." He presented council with a 3.435-name petition May 6 that supported that ban Council, in turn, scraped Ordinance 85-2 and adopted an anti-pornography resolution while Gorman told Fincke he would draft a stronger measure for council's consideration last week "I hope it's on the lines of what we discussed," the solicitor said of the new or dinance and discussions about it with Rev Fincke Gorman addressed the minister's son. Rev George B Fincke His father, and most of the following that has supported him during past council meetings, did not attend this week's session so there was little discussior of the latest antipornography measure beyond Gorman's explanation. "I've withheld the zoning aspect of this plan." he said, referring to a complimentary ordinance he expects to present for council future action