T' '-■:<. - ^ CAPE%AY COUNTY ^ ^ cralii ^ \ __ _ — _ ______ __ j

VOI. 21 NO. 46 1 985 S*owov. Corp All ,19h.,

November 13, 1985

r?l^r&w^c^V^«MH'TS3,V-~",<SN a

Thornton Addresses Mourners CREST HAVEN — Nearly 200 mourners marked Veterans' Day during official ceremonies Monday at the county Veterans' Cemetery here. Gerald M. Thornton, director of the county Board of Chosen Freeholders, offered these observations: On the eleventh day of the eleventh month 67 years ago — the year was 1918 in Compienge. France — they signed an armistice/or the War to End All Wars. And that ended World War I. leaving 50.000 Americans dead and 237.000 casualties. During the same period of time, there was a major worldwide epidemic of influenza with hundreds of thousands of people dying in the United States, and 20 million worldwide. Sadly, the War to End All Wars didn't end war. So today we celebrate Veterans' Day. Since 1918. we have been able to find a cure for influenza, the nations have outlawed the horrible chemical called Mustard Gas. and today's weapons are a million times more horrible and devastating. And yet the world is unable to outlaw war or nuclear weapons. I'm sure that millions of^Uathers, mothers, wives, sons and dauglqm | wish that today was still named Armistice Day and that the wars that followed World War (Page 49 Please) /J1^NEWS H^V DIGEST >^37 /V7 / The Week's H II II Top Sto"es More Busha vs. Sloan AVALON — The borough's Ethics Board has found that Mayor Rachel Sloan's actions, in discussing appointments to the borough Planning Board at her home in June, "constituted an unintentional transgression" of the ethics code. Ethics Board members noted that Sloan did not call the meeting, and sought advice on the legal propriety of it while it was in progress. The complaint against Sloan was lodged by former councilman James Busha. who has initiated a recall movement against the mayor. Busha claimed the meeting was an example of "backroom politics." Costly Eyewash WILDWOOD — City Council President Ed Herman suggested last week that a "crisis public relations" firm be hired for $250,000 to counter adverse publicity the city has received after sewage overflow closed beaches for six days last August, i Page 26 Please)

— - — f I I n 1 Km 1 WWKta fk.ru Word INSIDER'S VIEW — Hospicomm partner Benjamin Miller admires one of the rooms in Court House Convalescent Center, the !20-bed nursing home Hospicomm is prepared to open this month on Magnolia Drive in Cape May Court House.

STARS AND STRIPES — Flags wave proudly over the graves of the fallen Monday at the, county Veterans" Cemetery. Crest llaven. Nearly 200 mourners observed Veterans' Day there during the county's official memorial service.

New Group to Aid Farmers Board of Agriculture Nominates 11 to Serve

By GREGG LAWSON t/ ' COURT HOUSE - County Freeholders were expected to pass a resolution yesterday to create a county Agriculture Development Board (CMCADB). According to state Secretary of Agriculture Arthur R Brown Jr., the board will make funds available to farmers who want to participate in soil and water conservation projects and to the county for the purchase of development easements to preserve farmland. The Farmland Preservation Bond Act of 1981 authorizes $50 million in state money to match local funds to purchase development easements and fund up to 50 percent of the cost of conservation projects — Early Deadline — Nov. 21 is the deadline for news, columns. letters, classified and display advertising to be printed in the Nov. 27 edition. That edition will be distributed a day early, on Tuesday, Nov. 26.

A development easement is a guarantee that a farmer's land will be used exclusively fot* agriculture in perpetuity The farmer is paid a sum of money, reached by an appraisal of the farmland, which can be used to pay off loans, invest, or for operating expenses. The farmer still owns the land, but he can onlrv use it for agriculture. Brown, who addressed a freeholder caucus last Thursday, said farmland preservation is important not only for farmers, but for the county as a whole. "THIS IS REC OGNIZED as a tourism community. It is important we have open space down here." he said "People don't want to come down here and see Patterson. New Jersey " The long-term effect, he said, will be more land available for young farmers to get established. Land values, based on agricultural worth, are much more affordable than those based on development potential. . "If (a young farmer) buys it for the agricultural value, he can afford it." Brown said. A five-page letter from the county Board of Agriculture (BOA) was sent to the

freeholders to guide them in forming the new board. In it. recording secretary Elizabeth E. Corson and former President Leslie C. Rea explained why the BOA was slow to move on the formation of a development board: "...our county Board of Agriculture has had some reluctance to urge the appointment of a CMCADB because of... strong feelings and concerns about the New Jersey Pinelands Plan." they wrote "Even though we still maintain that strong opposition to the Pinelands Plan and its affect on farm and property values, i we realize that the state Farmland Preservation Program. . . is strictly with voluntary participation of farmers and landowners and could have some long-term beneficial provisions for our county." they added, i "With the continuing increase of populai tion and consequent development, and with increased urbanization pressures on the mainland areas, this may well be the right time to begin a farmland preserva- • tion plan whith would allow farmland owners to voluntarily participate." TIIE RIGHT, TO FARM/ Agriculture I Retention Acts, signed by Governor > i Page *|9 Please )

Partner Says Convalescent Center Is 'Prepared to Go Ahead '

By GREGG LAWSON COURT HOUSE - Cape May Court House Neighborhood Association appears to be dropping out of the fight to block Court House Convalescent Center's controversial sewage treatment plant Association chairman John V. Beitel said the group has done all it can do. now it is up to Middle Township Committee to protest the system. "We have done all we can legally do to object." Beitel said. "The association has spent $20,000 on this. We, frankly, think we have done enough " A lawsuit by the association objects to a plan for an on-site septic system that would have discharged effluent into the ground.

Michael F. Catania, director of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Office of Regulatory Services, 'found enough merit to order the nursing home not be used until a final decision on. that suit was made. HOSPICOMM. THE HOME'S developer, has since abandoned that plan and the association will drop its appeal when assured of this. Beitel said The association also wanted an a$ree ment to install an above-ground plant capable of treating 12,000 gallons-a-day (GPtf) of sewage. Hospicomm applied directly to the DEP on Nov. 6 for an 8,000 GPD system with a 4,000 gallon overflow chamber. "We (the association) all feel that per (Page 49 Please)