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I Herald - Lantern - Dispatch 16 October '85

„ § The Wildwoods • ^ br'*' t m, 1 f° 5 om i/fc-r-i i

DURING THE storm, many surrounding communities suffered some beach erosion. The Wildwoods. with their magnificent, growing beaches, seemed to experience none of the sand vanishing act. In fact, we probably had several more - inches added as the adjacent communities lost theirs! While we have been fortunate regarding the beach erosion issue, it seems that it is an issue we will be facing in the very near future. Not that we anticipate any erosion, only that a segment of our tourism economy may be faced with a user tax to fund various beach protection plans Most directly effected would be the lodging industry. Sen Frank Pallonc from Monmouth County has proposed two "bits" of legislation designed to fund beach preservation and maintenance programs. The first proposed bill would impose a 2 percent sales tax on all hotel/motel rooms and campground spaces in shore communities This idea has the support of the New Jersey Shore and Beach Preservation Association. This pro posal would generate between $20 and $20 million annuallv. THE NEW JERSEY Hotel Motel Association has pounced upon this one and decried its passage They feel that it is too selective and throws the burden of collection and reporting on one small segment of the affected industry. As usual the old cryabout "What about the restaurants and clubs?" _ has arisen. Along Five Mile Beach you hear it all the time, whether it is beach protection or funding Convention Hall The lodging •\ industry just does not like to be singled out as a collection agency. The second proposal by Pallone would dedicate, through constitutional amendment, one-sixth of all sales taxes collected in the "almost too" shore communities Not a bad idea' it would generate the same amount of money and would also, for the FIRST time, give us true SOUTH Jersey residents an idea of the sales tax contributed from our area of the state.

UNFORTUNATELY, it is the sales tax disclosure portion that will be the "kiss of death" for this proposal. For decades, local Five Mile Beach business organizations have endeavored to pinpoint the amount of sales tax contributed to the state annually. It is felt that a large proportion of the sales tax is contributed from the South and the vast majority of services are given to the North I'll bet that as soon as North Jersey legislators catch wind of the disclosure aspect of this proposed bill it will fade off into oblivion. /The population-heavy northern counties will stop this bill in its tracks. AFTER ALL. they have had a good thing going for them: The very popular tourism-related South collects the money and the populated North benefits . from the per capita tax distribution This is one of the reasons that very few state programs of merit find there way into Cape May County The solution to the problem. however, should be a modified Pallone one-sixth sales tax amendment to the constitution. Be assured that the northern counties are not going to permit us to get any idea what is contributed annually in sales tax. SO. WE SHOULD permit them to assist by contributing to the beach protection fund also After all. the beaches are in our back yard, but they remain an asset to the state. The "Jersey Shore's" beach restoration and preservation fund could be funded, and funded proper !v. if one-sixth of the total sales tax collected were dedicated to this singular purpose It is a commitment that the state should make. All too often we hear legislators speaking of our beaches as "time bombs" and "a disaster waiting to happen." The solution would seem to be a state-wide commitment and the dedication of one-sixth of all sales tax until an adequate reserve could be established to become self-perpetuating I'm sure that the 400-plus Greater Wildwood in nkeepers would find this

preferable to the 2 percent room surcharge For those civic-minded ladies who are a bit fashion conscious and also enjoy an excellent meal, the Wildwood Civic Club has an event for you! For the 15th consecutive year, the ladies from the Civic Club are sponsoring a fashion show, and your are all invited. The date for the event has been set. so mark your calenders; Oct. 24. The annual show and luncheon will be held at the Wildwood Golf and Country Club on the stated Thursday at noon. It promises to be interesting and as well attended as ever. If you would like to attend, call either 522-3800 or 522-5669. THE CHILD identification program that has begun in the Wildwoods is an excellent idea. While our area has. to date, been spared the community trauma of missing children, it is indeed comforting to know that the business community is lining up behind a program geared at assisting officials should the tragedy occur. The latest program being offered to assist parents in obtaining identification materials for their child involves four communityminded businesses and they are to be complimented. The Morey Development Corporation. Stalier's Hardware. Midlantic Bank, and Foxy Photo have joined forces to establish a photo ID program and it is being offered free to any Wildwood resident with children. Great idea! Processing and photographs of your child may be obtained at Foxy's Photo's studios at 3721 Pacific Ave. any weekday between 1 and 5 p.m. If you are interested, and you should be. and would like to obtain further information, you are invited to call the staff at Foxy Photo - 522-3180. I NOTICED that Broward County. Florida, made the national AP wire services last week with yet another promotional gem It seems that the astute PR officials from this busy Florida County engineered a "hand-hold" that included approximately 20.000 people. While the effort fell short of the record listed in the Guiness Book of Records, in nonetheless made the national wire services. I men tion this because it has a ring of familiarity to it. as a massive "hand-hold" was one of the subjects at a PR/tourism meeting I attended about a year ago. The idea was to take the 100.000-plus tourists who visit the Boardwalk each Easter Sunday and request that they participate in a massive "hand-hold for World Peace and the elimination of hunger. The idea itself was worthy of consideration solely based on the reason for the event. The project went by the wayside, however, ** because it was felt that the expected media impact could not be generated

Broward County showed that not only is it a good - idea, it does grab the attention desired by the business s community. Maybe this coming Easter? J It is amazing the cumulative affect that a sustained program of PR gems produces. I remember Broward County promoting smoking and non-smoking sections of beach a few years ago. Ridiculous idea, to be sure, but it did receive wire sevice and national coverage. Perhaps the "powers that be" can develop a program to rival Broward County's constant program. Unfortunately, it seems that the only that the AP picks us up in its service is for pollution problems and passing hurricanes. CONGRATULATIONS are to be expected to the players on the Wildwood High football team. That "oh so long" losing streak has been broken with a recent 6 to 0 win over Pleasantville. It is good to see the gridiron program at WHS on the upswing. For years, the team has been rich with talent but just could not put the whole thing together. It would be nice to see a turnaround and a few wins this season. Speaking of noteworthy events it should be noted that "Duffy" and Mary Asseita recently celebrated their 49th wedding anniversary. Known throughout the Wildwoods for their restaurant acumen. "Duffy" and Mary are the parents of two excellent restaurant-owner children. Their daughter Trish operates Duffinetti's Restaurant with her husband Ed Celtel, and Trish's brother Mike, owns and operates Asseita 's Restaurant ONE OF THE casualties of hurriance Gloria as the Second Annual Hereford Lighthouse Run in North Wildwood. The weather has changed in fact, it is down-right invigorating - and the race has been rescheduled The Second annual festival will be held Sunday. Oct. 20, with the entire 8-kilometer race being held along North Wildwood streets. There will be plenty of trophies and ribbons and several categories have been set up to accommodate various age groups Since the U.S. embarked on the "metrification" of all standards several years ago. municipalities are obliged to establish events such as this in the metric systems. For those of you who are going to rush out to participate in the 8-kilometer run. please not that 8 kilometers is exactly 153.6 feet short of a full five-mile jaunt. So pull out your good sneakers. Further info may be obtained by calling Tom Flud at 522-5411. ANOTHER North Wildwood event during the coming weekend is a gigantic indoor flea market at the Moose Lodge on Spruce Street. It is a North Wildwood event because it happens to be held there but it certainly is Islandwide in scope as it is sponsored by Boy-Scout Troop 185.

i The date for the flea i market/rummage sale is Oct. 19 and it will be held 8 i a.m. - 4 p.m. Coordinators s of the event for the Scouts are Al Brannen and Bob » Osborne, either of whom i you may call for informat tion, Obsbom at 522-6078 [ and Brannen at 522-7285. 1 Other newsworthy North f Wildwood tid-bits (I heard from a lot of North Wildwoodians this ; week) ... At an Oct. 4th I meeting, City Council approved the $1 million exi penditure necessary to revamp the city's sewage I treatment facility. While acknowledging that the city's inadequate treatment facility was a contributing factor in the late August pollution scare, the city stopped short of shouldering the full blame for the unfortunate situation. Rightfully so, as inadequacies exist in other Five Mile Beach communities as well. But the Wildwood to the North has taken the "bull by the horns" and is taking rapid steps to correct its problem. That's good news. With the regional facility just two years away, the local politicians could easily have conducted study after study and deferred the expense until such time as it wasn't necessary Such was not the case, and many Islanders feel that the Mayor and Council in North Wildwood acted rapidly and responsibly. ALSO COMING he Halls at 10th and Atlantic is the news that New York Avenue is finally going to have a facelift. Final bids were to be in by yesterday and at that time a decison was to be made as to what firm will conduct the resurfacing of one of the bumpiest, chopped-up roads in the county - New York Avenue. At an estimated cost of $15,500 per block, the entire 16-block reconstruction is slated to cost the city approximately $250,000. Again, the rapid solution to the problem was based upon political cooperation: an unusual Five Mile Beach commodity, but one that seems to be surfacing with increasing regularity of late. LAST BUT. certainly not least coming out of North Wildwood, is notice of a surprise birthday party given North Wildwood's Superintendent of Schools.

Richard Veit. Hosted by the faculty and staff, the surprise gathering took place Friday, Oct. 11. We join with the North Wildwood faculty and staff in wishing Veit a very happy and pleasant birthday. A statement of age is not necessary as anybody with Dick Veit's energy and enthusiasm renders age irrelevent. Veit lives in Lower Township with his wife Linda and their "herd" of newfoundlands. As you may recall, it was the Veit's price pooch. Villa, that was named as the KennelRation Dog of the Year as a result of its life-saving rescue of a young neighbor during a particularly bad mid-winter storm. It was the dog's heroic act and the national attention that was the singular act that has raised the breed to prominence. NEWS OUT OF the Crest has to with the changing of a voting poll. Please note that effective Nov. 5. residents who reside in the Second District will be required to cast their ballots at the Masonic Lodge at Columbine and Atlantic. For many years, the voting has taken place at Borough Hall at Cardinal and Pacific. No longer, so make a note of it, and proceed to the Masonic Lodge the next time you cast ballot! Also, in preparation of the November referendum concerning the fate of Crest Pier, the borough is establishing two meetings specifically to discuss the plans and alternatives available to all Crest residents. To emphasize the need for a new structure and to afford all residents a firsthand look at the deteriorating building, the meetings have been set to be held at Crest Pier. You have two opportunities to listen to the discussions and to participate in the decision-making process* The first meeting is tonight, assuming that you picked this issue up "hot off the press" and the date is Oct 16. If you did, the meeting is scheduled for 7:30 this evening. If by chance you miss the October 16th session, another meeting has been set for Wednesday Oct. 30. at 7:30 p.m. Try to attend either of the meetings, as an informed opinion is important when you cast your ballot in November.

M _ |-RJ| L f V - ^ Tom Pohlig FULL PRESSURE — Second graders James Luckenbaugh and Terri Oakley got a feel for what it s like to battle fires last Wednesday when members of Dennisville Volunteer Fire Company showed their equipment to students in Elaine Champion's class at Dennis Township School. James is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Terry Luckenbaugh of Oceanview. and Terri is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Rick Oakley of Dennisville.

Hospital to Give Free Eye Tests

COURT HOUSE - For the 1 1th consecutive year, Burdette Tomlin Memorial Hospital here will participate in a statewide Eye Health Screening Program being sponsored during Eye Health Week by the Medical Society of New Jersey in cooperation with the New Jersey State Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired, the New Jersey Society to Prevent Blindness and several other health care organizations. Free eye screenings will be offered at the hospital 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Wednesday. Oct. 16. in the hospital's clinic. Stuart Billig. M.D . chairman of

the program, Joseph Furey. M.D.. Robert Nunn. M.D . and Paul Remer, M.D., will conduct the examinations SCREENING pro cedures are open to all per sons over 35 who are not already receiving opthalmological care. Included will be a simple, quick test for distance vision with present glasses; inspection of the eye; and most important, a painless pressure test for glaucoma. The purpose of the screening is to test fof evidence of any eye disease — or of any systematic disease reflected in the eyes — which should have treatment or follow-up by a physician.